Liquid phase separations (eg. liquid chromatography and electrophoretic separations) have long been used as investigative tools by scientists and researchers seeking to identify the structure of molecules, particularly peptides (as used herein the term “peptides” refers to polymers having more than one amino acid, and includes, without limitation, dipeptides, tripeptides, oligopeptides, and polypeptides. The term “protein” refers to molecules containing one or more polypeptide chains).
Proteomics involves the broad and systematic analysis of proteins, which includes their identification, quantification, and ultimately the attribution of one or more biological functions. Proteomic analyses are challenging due to the high complexity and dynamic range of protein abundances. The industrialisation of biology requires that the systematic analysis of expressed proteins be conducted in a high-throughput manner and with high sensitivity, further increasing the challenge. Recent technological advances in instrumentation, bio-informatics and automation have contributed to progress towards this goal. Specifically, in the area of proteomic identification, it is evident that greater specificity benefits the ability to deal with the high complexity of proteomes. As a result, recent efforts have focused on improvements in separation speed, resolving power and dynamic range, and these methods have generally been based on the combination of separations with mass spectrometry (MS), using correlation of tandem mass spectra with established protein databases or predictions from genome sequence data for identifications.
Additionally, modern proteomics research has increasingly taken advantage of the ability of liquid chromatography to identify proteins from their elution time from a chromatographic column. The information gleaned from a liquid chromatograph can be enhanced by identifying the molecule's mass, or mass to charge, by coupling the liquid chromatograph either on line or off line, with a mass spectrometer. Common methods include offline tryptic digestion and subsequent electrophoretic or chromatographic separation with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization or electrospray time-of-flight or ion trap mass spectrometry. Capillary electrophoresis, mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry coupled online via electrospray interfaces have also been used to analyze tryptic and other digests of complex biological samples such as whole cell lysates and human body fluids. The dynamic range of the mass spectrometer in these methods may be limited when a sample is directly infused by ion suppression in the electrospray and the detector. Further, the dynamic range of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) and ion trap mass spectrometers can be limited by the storage capacity within the instrument, although it has been shown that the use of a mass selective quadrupole to selectively load the FTICR cell.
Researchers attempting to enhance the accuracy of these methods have devised a number of schemes to increase their accuracy. For example, in the paper “Prediction of Chromatographic Retention and Protein Identification in Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry” Magnus Palmblad, Margareta Ramstrom, Karin E. Markides, Per Hakansson, and Jonas Bergquist, Analytic Chemistry p. 4–9, 2002, the authors describe a method for using the information from liquid separation schemes such as chromatography and electrophoretic methods, to improve peptide mass fingerprinting based on accurate mass measurement. The author's concede that the resolving power and accuracy in chromatographic separations are several orders of magnitude lower than in mass spectrometry, but they contend that the information is complementary in nature and available at negligible computational cost and at no additional experimental cost. Briefly, the method described in the Palmblad paper assigns “retention coefficients” for the 20 amino acids, as well as the number of each amino acid, a term that compensates for void volumes and a delay between sample injection and acquisition of mass spectra. The parameters are then fitted by the least squares method to experimental data from ˜70 BSA peptides of ˜100 HAS and transferrin peptides putatively identified by accurate mass measurement and high relative intensities in the mass spectra. The authors found that “the accuracy of the predictor was found to be 8–10% when “trained” by each of the six BSA and CSF data sets.” While approaches such as that described in the Palmblad paper provide some useful information, their utility is limited by the accuracy of the predictions.
Thus, at the present, there are two major approaches for proteomic analyses. The first one consists of the off-line combination of two-dimensional polyacrylamide electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) with MS. The proteins are first separated in a gel by their pI and mass and then the protein “spots” are enzymatically hydrolysed resulting in peptide mixtures which are analysed by matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) or electrospray (ESI)-MS. Another rapid evolving approach consists of a global proteome-wide enzymatic digestion followed by analysis using on-line 1-D or 2-D liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with ESI-MS. The detection of the peptides is achieved by tandem MS (7,13) or more recently by single stage Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR)-MS, which provides high sensitivity, large dynamic range and high throughput in routine applications by circumventing the need for tandem MS.
An aspect of proteomic analysis that has not yet been exploited involves use of the information available from the separations (eg. LC elution time). Indeed, retention time in LC is unique and structurally dependent for a defined experiment (mobile phase composition, stationary phase etc.). If there is a way to predict the LC retention time for a given peptide structure, then this could be used in conjunction with either MS/MS data to improve the confidence of peptide identifications and/or increase the number of peptide identifications, or, with sufficiently high accuracy MS, to reduce the need for MS/MS data (i.e. if the prediction is reliable enough).
The idea that chromatographic behaviour of peptides could be predicted based on the amino acid composition is not new. In 1951, Knight and Pardee showed that synthetic peptides retention factor (Rf) values on paper chromatography could be predicted with some accuracy. In 1952, Sanger introduced the problem of isomers by demonstrating that the relationship between Rf and composition was not absolutely accurate since peptides containing the same amino acids but having difference sequences could frequently be separated. More recently, there have been several reports on the prediction of peptide elution times in reversed-phase (RP) or normal phase liquid chromatography. These methods used quantitative structure-chromatographic retention relationships (QSRR's) (e.g. partial least square or multiple linear regression) for the peptide elution time prediction. Casal et al. demonstrated that partial least squares regression provides a better predictive ability with these models using a mixture of 25 small standard peptides. One limitation of these models is that they are most effective for peptides with less than 15–20 amino acid residues.
Another approach, based on artificial neural networks (ANNs), has demonstrated better predictive capabilities in several areas of chemistry including: (i) conformational states for small peptides (31), (ii) carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts and (iii) the retardation factor or retention time of small molecules in thin layer chromatography, GC and LC. While these advances are significant, until the present invention, those having skill in the art have not yet used ANNs for peptide elution time prediction.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods for predicting the identity of peptides and proteins.


Analytical chemistry is the analysis of samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition. The goal of many chemical analysis protocols is to analyze a given sample (e.g., a physiological sample, an environmental sample, a manufacturing sample, etc.) for a variety of different purposes, such as to identify the presence of one or more analytes of interest in the sample, to characterize the makeup of the sample, for example in quality control, etc.
Many different analytical chemistry protocols have been developed. One broad category of analytical protocols that have been developed is chromatography. Chromatography is a family of analytical chemistry techniques for the separation of mixtures. In chromatography, a sample (the analyte) in a “mobile phase”, often in a stream of solvent, is passed through a “stationary phase”, where the stationary phase is some form of material that will provide resistance between the components of the sample and the material. Usually, each component has a characteristic separation rate that can be used to identify it and thus the composition of the original mixture.
A chromatograph takes a chemical mixture carried by liquid or gas and separates it into its component parts as a result of differential distributions of the solutes as they flow around or over a stationary liquid or solid phase. Various techniques for the separation of complex mixtures rely on the differential affinities of substances for a gas or liquid mobile medium and for a stationary adsorbing medium through which they pass; such as paper, gelatin, or magnesium silicate gel.
Many different chromatographic analytical devices have been developed in order to perform various chromatographic protocols. Examples of various chromatographic devices include, but are not limited to: gas chromatography devices, liquid chromatography devices, capillary electrophoresis devices, and supercritical fluid chromatography devices.
Chromatographic devices are typically operated according to an analytical device method, which method is used by a chromatographic device data system (e.g., such as the ChemStation system from Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, Calif.) to provide all of the setpoints for a device to perform a given sample analysis. As such, an analytical device method generally at least includes instrument control, sample injection and data analysis setpoints. Traditionally, all of the instrument control setpoints for a given method are provided together as a package to a user, e.g., as may be provided in a plurality of selectable complete methods packaged with an analytical device, or as may be imported into the operating data system of a device as a complete method obtained from an outside source. In certain instances, it is possible to import the sample injection and/or data analysis set points as a group into a given data analysis system. In addition, certain chromatographic analytical device data systems provide for editing of one or more parameters of a pre-existing method. However, the inventors are not aware of any product that provides for the ability to selectively import instrument control information into a system that can be used by the system develop a method de novo. Prior solutions have required that the information needed to develop an analysis must be imported in the format defined for that system. For example, current versions of the Agilent ChemStation requires a pre-existing method be imported into the ChemStation methods directory.
The access to scientific information has been changed dramatically by the presence of the Internet and by advances in storage media for computers. This improved access has provided electronic access to scientific knowledge in an unprecedented fashion.
There is a need in the art to provide for the ability to capitalize on the enhanced access to scientific knowledge in the development of analytical device methods. The present invention satisfies this need.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrochromic display device.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with popularization of an electronic information network, publication in the form of an electronic book, namely electronic publication, has come to be actively performed, in place of publication in the form of a book using a conventional printing technique. As a device which displays electronic information distributed by such a network, for example, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display and a backlight type liquid crystal display have generally been used. However, with respect to a display using these display devices, a place where a user can read the display is more restricted and a weight, size, shape and portability are inferior in terms of handling, compared with a conventional display printed on paper. Further, since these display devices consume large electrical power, when driving them with a battery, a display time is restricted. Moreover, since these display devices are light emission type displays, they may cause too much tiredness when a user fixes the eyes on the devices for a ling time.
Accordingly, a display device which can solve the problem as described above has been desired. Further, a rewritable display device has been desired. As such display device, one referred to as a paper-like display or electronic paper has been proposed. Specifically, there have hitherto been proposed, for example, a display device of a reflection type liquid crystal system, a display device of an electrophoretic system, a display device of a system in which a dichroic grain is rotated in an electric field, a display device of an electrochromic system (e.g. see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-84216), and the like.
However, since the electrochromic display device of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-84216 supplies a scanning signal to a gate wire to sequentially scan pixels so as to rewrite the pixels on a line-by-line basis, in the case of a display device with a large number of lines, such as a large screen and a high definition screen, rewriting its screen takes a long time.
Therefore, the conventional display device is not suitable for an application requiring a faster rewriting speed and a rapid switching of a screen.


The c-myc proto-oncogene encodes a nuclear phosphoprotein with leucine zipper and helix-loop-helix structural motifs which appears to be important in the molecular biology of normal and abnormal cellular proliferation. Myc is implicated in the control of both differentiation and replication (Cole, Annu. Rev. Genet. 20:361-384 (1986)), and recent reports link myc to apoptotic cell death (Askew et al., Oncogene 6:1915-1922 (1991), Evan et al., Cell, 69:119-125 (1992), and Neiman et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:5857-5861 (1991), each of which is incorporated herein by reference). Myc and its dimerization partner Max form stable heterodimers through their helix-loop-helix and leucine zipper domains and bind specifically to a core "E box" CACGTG DNA sequence (Blackwood et al., Science 251:1211-1217 (1991), incorporated herein by reference). Max homodimers may serve as transcriptional repressors, whereas myc/max heterodimers can activate transcription (Kretzner et al., Nature 359:426-429 (1992), incorporated herein by reference). Certain of the biological functions of myc may be mediated by transcriptional regulation of putative target genes.
Despite recent progress in defining the mechanism of myc action on "down stream" events, less progress has been made in defining the proteins regulating the expression of c-myc itself. Both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms appear to play a role in regulation of c-myc gene expression (Cole, Annu. Rev. Genet. 20:361-384 (1986), Spencer et al., Cancer Res. 56:1-48 (1991), and Marcu et al., Annual Rev. Biochem. 61:809-860 (1992), each of which is incorporated herein by reference). Maintenance of the level of the c-myc MRNA is achieved by regulation of both transcriptional initiation and elongation. Both initiation, and elongation of the c-myc mRNA, depend upon promoter elements which interact specifically with particular nuclear factors (Spencer, Oncogene 5:777-785 (1990) and Spencer et al., Cancer Res. 56:1-48 (1991), each of which is incorporated herein by reference). A general map of mouse and human c-myc transcription elements has been suggested and nuclear factors which bind to these elements have been reported. In certain cases novel cDNA's encoding such factors have been isolated and sequenced including: ZF87 (also called MAZ), a proline-rich six Zn-finger protein binding to ME1a1/ME1a2 elements within P2 promoter of the murine c-myc gene (Pyrc et al., Biochem. 31:4102-4110 (1992) and Bossone et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:7452-7456 (1992), each of which is incorporated herein by reference); a 37-kDa protein, MBP-1, which appears to be a negative regulator of the human c-myc promoter (Ray et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:2154-2161 (1991), incorporated herein by reference); and nuclease sensitive element protein-1 (NSEP-1) which binds to a region necessary for efficient P2 initiation (Kolluri and Kinniburgh, Nucl. Acids Res. 17:4771 (1991), incorporated herein by reference). In addition, an Rb binding protein E2F which recognizes an E1A-transactivation site in the human c-myc promoter (Thalmeier et al., Genes Dev. 3:527-536 (1989), incorporated herein by reference) has also been cloned (Helin et al., Cell 70:337-350 (1992), incorporated herein by reference).
The chicken c-myc 5'-flanking region is at least 10-fold enriched in CpG-pairs compared with total chicken DNA and is presently thought to be a member of the family of CpG-rich islands involved in regulating certain house keeping genes (Bird et al., Nature 321:209-213 (1986), incorporated herein by reference). Overall high GC content (.about.80%) of the 5'-flanking region predicts that most of the potential regulatory DNA elements will be GC-rich. Analysis of DNA-protein interactions within the 5'-flanking region of the chicken c-myc gene revealed multiple GC-rich sequences which specifically interact with nuclear proteins (Lobanenkov et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 159:181-188 (1986), incorporated herein by reference). Proteins binding to one specific region within a hypersensitive site approximately 200 base pairs upstream of the start of transcription have reportedly been analyzed (Lobanenkov et al., Oncogene 5:1743-1753 (1990) and Lobanenkov et al., Gene Reg. and AIDS, Portfolio Publishing Corp., Texas, p. 45-68 (1989), incorporated herein by reference). Three nuclear factors were found that bind to several overlapping sequences within 180-230 bp upstream of the start of transcription. Two of the proteins appear to resemble the transcription factor Sp1, the other is a factor which seems to bind to a GC-rich sequence containing three regularly spaced repeats of the core sequence CCCTC. The CCCTC-binding factor was termed CTCF (Lobanenkov et al., Oncogene 5:1743-1753 (1990) and Lobanenkov et al., Gene Reg. and AIDS, Portfolio Publishing Corp., Texas, p. 45-68 (1989), incorporated herein by reference).
Studies suggest that during embryonic development the regulatory state of c-myc transcription can determine whether a cell continues to proliferate, or stops, and enters a pathway to terminal differentiation. Failure to properly regulate myc may be one pathway to malignancy. Thus, identifying the suppressor mechanisms by which myc is regulated would provide important reagents and assays useful in the detection of mutants that are indicative of a disease state such as cancer and the development of candidate therapeutic agents can that regulate cell proliferation, for example, inhibiting cell proliferation in cancer on the one hand, or stimulating cell proliferation in a damaged tissue on the other hand. Quite surprisingly, the present invention fulfills these and other related needs.


Generally, transistors of semiconductor devices are classified as NMOS, PMOS, or CMOS according type of channel employed in the transistors. An NMOS type transistor is formed with an N-channel, and a PMOS transistor with a P-channel. In addition, a CMOS (complementary metal oxide silicon) has both NMOS and PMOS, and, thus, both an N-channel and a P-channel are formed therein.
To form a CMOS type transistor, an n-well and a p-well are first formed in a horizontal direction on a semiconductor substrate by an ion implantation process, and then shallow trench isolation (STI) is formed. An STI structure prevents a malfunction between neighboring devices by electrically isolating the devices on a semiconductor substrate.
A well in a semiconductor substrate is classified as a p-well or an n-well according to the type of ions implanted in the well. A p-well is formed on the semiconductor substrate to form an NMOS structure, and an n-well is formed to form a PMOS structure. Subsequently, a gate oxide layer is formed on the semiconductor substrate, and then a polysilicon layer is formed thereon to form a gate stack. The gate stack forms a gate electrode of the NMOS and the PMOS using a photolithography process and an etching process.
Then, n-type dopants and p-type dopants are respectively implanted into the semiconductor substrate using the gate electrode of the NMOS or the PMOS as an implantation mask. Thus, a source/drain region is formed outward of the gate electrode on an active region of the semiconductor substrate.
As described above, the NMOS and the PMOS structures are formed in a horizontal direction in a typical CMOS process and, thus, a CMOS circuit occupies a larger area than does an NMOS circuit or a PMOS circuit. As a result, the CMOS circuit has a drawback in terms of integration.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


The invention relates to pharmaceutically active macrolides, synthesis thereof and intermediates thereto. Halichondrin B is a potent anticancer agent originally isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai, and subsequently found in Axinella sp., Phakellia carteri, and Lisson-dendryx sp. A total synthesis of Halichondrin B was published in 1992 (Aicher, T. D. et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114: 3162-3164). Halichondrin B has demonstrated in vitro inhibition of tubulin polymerization, microtubule assembly, betaS-tubulin crosslinking, GTP and vinblastine binding to tubulin, and tubulin-dependent GTP hydrolysis and has shown in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer properties. Accordingly, there is a need to develop synthetic methods for preparing analogs of Halichondrin B useful as anti-cancer agents.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coded modulation system suited for a poor channel in quality impaired by noise, interferences, and/or distortion such as a mobile, portable, or very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite communications channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
The duobinary frequency-modulation (DBFM) system with modulation index h=0.5 proposed by P. J. McLane, "The Viterbi receiver for correlative encoded MSK signals (IEEE Trans. Commun., COM-31, 2, pp. 290-295, Feb. 1983)," is known as a modulation system that possesses the constant envelope, compact spectrum, and almost the same BER performance as the antipodal modulation systems, i.e., BPSK, QPSK, and MSK.
The system combines the duobinary technique with the minimum-shift keying (MSK) and applies a soft-decision Viterbi decoding technique in order to demodulate the signals. However, DBFM has a few disadvantages as follows:
(1) DBFM necessitates block synchronization between the transmit and receive ends because DBFM applies alternatively two different state-transition tables in order to decode the signals.
(2) It is difficult for DBFM to employ bit-interleaving because DBFM utilizes the specific behavior of phasor in two-dimensional signal space.
(3) It is less effective for DBFM to connect tandem in trivial manner such a forward error correction (FEC) codec as a convolutional codec because DBFM already uses up a soft-decision Viterbi decoding of constraint length K=3.


This invention relates to apparatus for preventing the accidental tip-over of free-standing structures such as domestic home appliances.
In free-standing electric or gas ranges, the oven door is hinged at its bottom edge and pivots downwardly approximately 90.degree. from a vertical closed position to a horizontal open position. In the open position the door may extend parallel to the floor at a height of several inches to a foot above floor level. In this position it is possible for objects to be placed on the door of sufficient weight to cause the appliance to tilt forward, and possibly to tip completely over.
One approach to this problem is described and claimed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,695 to Chou. In this arrangement a pair of rigid brackets are mounted to the wall behind the appliance and project forward to be received in corresponding apertures in the rear of the appliance. Each support member is positioned to engage the lower edge of its respective aperture to limit tipping of the appliance when positioned adjacent the wall. The wall engaging portion of each bracket has a length greater than the distance between wall frame members to insure attachment to a frame member. This arrangement has been demonstrated to work satisfactorily. However, the brackets are relatively large to provide the necessary length and rigidity in the portion which engages the appliance and to provide the desired mounting versatility, rendering the approach relatively costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,948 to Casciani discloses an alternative approach in which a pair of U-shaped brackets are disposed proximate to the intersection of wall and floor with the vertically extending bight attached to the wall and one leg attached to the floor. The free leg projects forward to extend into an aperture formed in the rear cabinet wall of the appliance. The U-shaped brackets must be rigid enough and long enough to prevent the tipping movement of the appliance from causing it to slide off of the retaining arm. In addition, a pair of brackets is required. In an alternative arrangement therein disclosed, a pair of rearwardly extending projections are secured to the rear of the appliance to extend into corresponding holes drilled in the wall behind the appliance. This use of projections extending from the appliance presents obvious alignment problems rendering installation difficult.
In view of the limitations of the foregoing prior art, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved anti-tip apparatus for appliances which is easy to install initially and which facilitates removal and reinstallation such as for cleaning around or servicing the appliance, and which is relatively inexpensive.


Recent years have seen development of fuel cells that have good power generation efficiency and do not emit carbon dioxide from the viewpoint of preserving the global environment. This fuel cell generates power by causing hydrogen and oxygen to react with each other. A basic structure of a fuel cell resembles a sandwich and is constituted by an electrolyte membrane (i.e., ion exchange membrane), two electrodes (i.e., a fuel electrode and an air electrode), a diffusion layer for diffusing hydrogen and oxygen (air), and two separators. Phosphoric-acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid-oxide fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, and the like have been developed in accordance with the type of electrolyte used.
Of these fuel cells, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells in particular have the following advantages over molten carbonate fuel cells, phosphoric-acid fuel cells, and the like:
(a) Operating temperature is significantly low, i.e., about 80° C.
(b) Weight- and size-reduction of the fuel cell main body is possible.
(c) The time taken for start-up is short and fuel efficiency and output density are high.
Accordingly, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are one of the most prospective fuel cells today, for onboard power supplies for electric vehicles and portable and compact dispersed power systems for household use (stationary type compact electric generator).
A proton-exchange membrane fuel cell is based on the principle of extracting power from hydrogen and oxygen through a polymer membrane and has a structure shown in FIG. 1, in which a membrane-electrode assembly 1 is sandwiched by gas diffusion layers 2 and 3 such as carbon cloths and these form a single constitutional element (also known as a single cell). Electromotive force is generated between the separators 4 and 5.
The membrane-electrode assembly 1 is also known as MEA (Membrane-Electrode Assembly) and is made by integrating a polymer membrane and an electrode material such as carbon black carrying a platinum catalyst, the electrode material being provided on front and back surfaces of the polymer membrane. The thickness of the membrane-electrode assembly 1 is several ten to several hundred micrometers. The gas diffusion layers 2 and 3 are frequently integrated with the membrane-electrode assembly 1.
When proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are applied to the usages described above, several ten to several hundred single cells described above are connected in series to form a fuel cell stack, and the fuel cell stack is used.
The separators 4 and 5 are required to have
(A) a function of a separator that separates between single cells each other, as well as
(B) a function of an electric conductor that carries electrons generated;
(C) a function of a channel for oxygen (air) and hydrogen (air channels 6 and hydrogen channels 7 in FIG. 1); and
(D) a function of a discharge channel for discharging water and gas generated (air channels 6 and hydrogen channels 7 also serve as this discharge channel).
In order to use a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell in practical application, separators having good durability and conductivity must be used.
The durability expected is about 5000 hours for fuel cells for electric vehicles and about 40000 hours for stationary type electric generators used as compact dispersed power systems for household use and the like.
Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells that have been put to practice hitherto use carbon materials as separators. However, since the separators using carbon materials are susceptible to fracture upon impact, they have the drawbacks that not only the size-reduction is difficult but also the process cost for forming channels is high. In particular, the cost problem has been the largest impediment for spread of fuel cells.
In response, attempts have been made to use a metal material, in particular, stainless steel, instead of carbon materials as the material for separators.
The operating environment the separators are exposed to are characteristic in that the environment is acidic and has a high temperature of 70° C. or higher and the expected potential range is as wide as from about 0 V vs SHE to 1.0 V vs SHE or higher (hereinafter all potentials are versus SHE and simply denoted as V). In order to use stainless steel, the corrosion resistance in the expected potential range needs to be improved. In particular, at and near 1.0 V, transpassive dissolution of Cr, which is the main element of the stainless steel, occurs and thus it is difficult to maintain corrosion resistance solely by Cr on one hand. On the other hand, Cr is primarily responsible for maintaining the corrosion resistance at 0.6 V or less. Thus, according to the conventional art, the corrosion resistance could not be maintained in a wide potential range from a low potential to a high potential.
For example, patent document 1 discloses a stainless steel for a separator in which the corrosion resistance is improved from the composition aspect by increasing the Cr and Mo contents.
Patent document 2 discloses a method for producing a separator for a low-temperature-type fuel cell characterized in that a stainless steel sheet containing 0.5 mass % or more of Cu is subjected to alternation electrolytic etching of alternately performing anodic electrolyzation at a potential of +0.5 V or more and cathodic electrolyzation at a potential between −0.2 V and −0.8 V in an aqueous solution of ferric chloride.
Patent document 3 discloses a stainless steel conductive part and method of producing the same that has excellent conductivity and low contact electrical resistance formed by modifying a passive film on a stainless steel surface by injecting fluorine in the passive film.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing a catalyst for polymerization of aliphatic polycarbonates and a method of polymerizing an aliphatic polycarbonate, and more particularly, to a method of preparing a catalyst for polymerization of aliphatic polycarbonates exhibiting high catalyst activity using an amphiphilic block copolymer.
2. Background of the Invention
Carbon dioxide from industrial activities, among atmospheric pollutants, has been known as one reason for climatic change according to the UNFCCC, so various studies to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced have been undertaken all around the world. Therefore, in order to protect the environment and to use carbon dioxide, a method in which an epoxide reacts with carbon dioxide as a carbon source in the presence of a zinc-included catalyst to prepare an aliphatic polycarbonate has attracted attention.
The aliphatic polycarbonate is able to form a film or a particle, and has uses in many areas such as for ceramic binders, evaporative pattern casting, and adhesives. However, this method has a low yield because of low carbon dioxide reactivity. Accordingly, it is difficult to use industrially, so it is required to prepare a catalyst exhibiting high efficiency for increasing the yield of the aliphatic polycarbonate.
Inoue teaches a method of polycarbonate production from carbon dioxide and epoxide in U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,168.
The Inoue catalyst system was prepared by the reaction of a diethylzinc catalyst with materials containing active hydrogen compounds, e.g., water, dicarboxylic acid, or dihydric phenols, and the typical catalyst productivities ranged from 2.0 to 10.0 grams of polymer per gram of catalyst used. The catalyst has shortcomings associated with use and storage, because of stability and sensitivity to moisture and to other catalyst poisons, and it has a low yield, so it has been required to study other catalyst systems.
Zinc dicarboxylic acid esters (Polymer J. 13(4), 407(1981)) reported by Soga have also been described as effective catalysts for copolymerization of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide, and since these are stable materials with none of the handling problems associated with diethylzinc, they represent interesting candidates for a practical commercial catalyst system.
Motika (U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,676) teaches a method for preparing zinc dicarboxylic acid ester in which zinc oxide reacts with dicarboxylic acid in the presence of an organic solvent. Glutaric acid and adipic acid produced catalysts with higher activity than the known zinc dicarboxylic acid ester catalysts, and the catalyst production is about 2 to 26 grams of the aliphatic polycarbonate per gram of catalyst.
Zinc dicarboxylic acid ester is a heterogeneous catalyst of which catalyst activity depends on its surface structure, so various processes to form a surface structure that gives high catalyst activity have been proposed. For example, Kawachi (U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,948) teaches a method of producing zinc dicarboxylic acid ester with a mechanical pulverization treatment such as with a ball mill, and the yield of the aliphatic polycarbonate is 8.1 to 34.2 gram per gram of the catalyst.
In addition, a method of preparing zinc dicarboxylic acid ester as a homogeneous catalyst is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,445, by Sun. This method includes a reaction of zinc salts with a dicarboxylic acid monoester in an organic solvent, and the yield is 5.1 to 12.4 gram per gram of the catalyst.


A strut may be connected to a vehicle using a top mount.


Manufacturing a shoe typically requires a number of assembly steps, such as cutting, forming, assembling, adhering, and/or stitching several shoe parts together. Some methods of completing these steps, such as those that rely heavily on manual execution, may be resource intensive and may have a high rate of variability.


The present invention relates to a dynamic type RAM (random access memory) and, more particularly, to a technique which may be effectively utilized for a semiconductor integrated circuit device having a dynamic type RAM formed using one-element type dynamic memory cells each consisting of a data storing capacitor and an address selecting MOSFET.
As a result of the increase in the storage capacity of dynamic type RAMs, the chip size of the semiconductor substrate has become larger, and the distributed resistance of word lines which are formed from a polycrystalline silicon or the like has become a serious problem. As one of the solutions to this problem, the Al shunt method is known in which word lines are divided into appropriate lengths to define divided word lines which are coupled to word lines which are formed from an aluminum layer having a relatively large conductivity. The Al shunt method is described, for example, in "Digest of Technical Papers" of ISSCC, SESSION-XVI, February 1983, pp. 226-227.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a misfire-detecting system for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to a misfire-detecting system of this kind, which is adapted to detect a misfire attributable to the fuel supply system.
2. Prior Art
In an internal combustion engine having spark plugs, a misfire can occur, in which normal ignition does not take place at one or more of the spark plugs. Misfires are largely classified into ones attributable to the fuel supply system and ones attributable to the ignition system. Misfires attributable to the fuel supply system are caused by the supply of a lean mixture or a rich mixture to the engine, while misfires attributable to the ignition system are caused by failure to spark (so-called mis-sparking), i.e. normal spark discharge does not take place at the spark plug, for example, due to smoking or wetting of the spark plug with fuel, particularly adhesion of carbon in the fuel or unburnt fuel to the spark plug, or abnormality in the sparking voltage supply system.
The present assignee has already proposed a misfire-detecting system for detecting misfires attributable to the fuel supply system, which comprises sparking voltage detecting means which detects sparking voltage, i.e. voltage across electrodes of the spark plug, and misfire-determining means which determines that a misfire has occurred when a time period over which the detected value of the sparking voltage exceeds a predetermined reference value (Japanese Patent Application No. 3(1991)-326507 and corresponding U.S. Ser. No. 07/846,238 filed Mar. 5, 1992).
In the above proposed system, the time period over which the detected value of sparking voltage exceeds the predetermined reference value corresponds to a time period over which a predetermined amount of electric charge or more is stored in floating capacitance in the vicinity of the spark plug. Depending upon the behavior of discharge caused by sparking of the spark plug, the charge can be discharged within a short time period even if a misfire has occurred. This phenomenon can take place when the sparking voltage assumes a considerably high voltage value at the end of an inductive discharge caused by sparking, due to occurrence of a misfire. In such an event, discharge again takes place between the electrodes of the spark plug and terminates within a short time period so that the misfire is not detected to have occurred.
Further, even in the case where the spark plug has just started smoking due to adhesion of carbon, etc. to the electrodes of the spark plug and hence has decreased insulation resistance between the electrodes, or in the case where the spark plug has just started recovering from its smoking state due to its own purifying action, dielectric breakdown is likely to occur so that there is no significant difference in the time period over which the sparking voltage exceeds the predetermined reference value between when normal firing has occurred and when a misfire has occurred.


In many industries, such as health care, banking, and finance, the protection and ensuring of a person's privacy is often considered a top priority. In certain cases, ensuring privacy may also be mandated by law. Thus, various health care services, providers, and stakeholders (i.e. a doctor, nurse, or the like) may implement processes and methods that ensure that a person's Protected Health Information (PHI) is secure and shared with the actual person whose health the information is about. In the banking, credit, and finance industries, both Protected Individual Information (PII) and Protected Credit Information (PCI) are secured and shared with the person to whom the information belongs. PHI, PII, and PCI are of great value and can be targets for theft by hackers who can resell the information.
In the present health care industry, various health care services exist that allow a care giver, a hospital, or other relevant health care provider stakeholder to provide services to a patient. In providing health care, the various stakeholders may access private information about a patient or a group of patients and their Protected Health Information (PHI) and Protected Identity Information (PII) in order to provide the health care services. Other service-oriented industries are similar, such as a teller accessing the PII or Protected Credit Information (PCI) of a bank customer, or a credit authorization agent verifying the PII and PCI of a credit card user to permit a financial transaction to be completed.
The services to retrieve and access PHI, PCI and PII may be guarded by one or more security firewalls, each of which requires an authentication process to get beyond to access the information. The authentication process may be referred to in healthcare or other industries as authentication, identity authentication, or identity verification.


This invention relates to medical diagnostic x-ray apparatus, particularly apparatus for performing angiography.
In angiography procedures it is frequently necessary to obtain simultaneous x-ray views of the blood vessels in two different directions, such as in the postero-anterior direction and in the lateral direction. Apparatus which permits postero-anterior views is shown in U.S. Ser. No. 202,094, filed by Stivender et al. on Oct. 31, 1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,856 and assigned to the owner of the present invention. That application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to explain the construction and operation of the L-U arm apparatus for taking such views.
Two approaches are currently used for taking simultaneous lateral views. In the first approach, an x-ray source hung from the ceiling is positioned on one side of the patient and a freestanding x-ray detection device is positioned on the other side of the patient. As is well known, the freestanding detector and its associated electrical cables prevent the physician from moving freely around the patient and can also interfere with the source or detector for taking postero-anterior views. Another deficiency of this apparatus is that the source and detector for lateral views must be aligned manually.
A second approach is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, illustrating two prior art devices. In the device shown in FIG. 12, a single structural member 20 carries an x-ray source 22 and an electronic image intensifier 24 at its respective ends. Member 20 is supported by a brace 26 pivotally mounted to an overhead support 28 for rotating the pattern of radiation passing from source 22 to detector 24 about a vertical axis without disturbing the relative alignment of source and detector. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, source 22 and detector 24 are rigidly mounted to the respective ends of a rigid C-shaped member 30 received in a guide 32, which again is pivotally mounted to an overhead support 34. In this embodiment, member 30 can be rotated as before, or can be driven in either direction through guide 32 to rotate the pattern of x-rays passing between source 22 and detector 24 about the longitudinal axis of a patient.
The devices of FIGS. 12 and 13 seriously interfere with access to the patient by the physician, and when in motion can present a hazard to the patient and those working around the patient. Also, since in both prior art embodiments the mass of the x-ray tube and image intensifier is supported at a single point between them, support members 20 and 30 are prone to gravitational and inertial bending moments and oscillations which complicate the problem of aiming source 22 at detector 24. Furthermore, such devices can be disturbing to the patient, who is encircled by machinery. These structures also are difficult or impossible to move out of the way when they are not in use, as the entire assembly must be moved as a unit and cannot be retracted or collapsed to provide head room.


An investigation has been conducted on use of, for example, an alloy as a hydrogen-storing material expected to be applicable to a hydrogen-storing system in a fuel-cell vehicle or the like. However, when a hydrogen-storing alloy is used, its hydrogen storage capacity is insufficient. In addition, depending on kinds of metal to be used, the alloy not only has low durability but also involves problems in terms of price and reserve.
On the other hand, use of a carbon material that raises no concern about exhaustion of resources and is relatively inexpensive has been investigated. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a carbon material whose hydrogen storage quantity is increased by expanding an average distance between carbon layers to 0.5 nm or more to cause the carbon layers to hold hydrogen therebetween. In addition, Patent Literature 2 describes an activated carbon material with an increased hydrogen storage quantity as a result of possession of a pore diameter of 0.3 nm or more and 1.5 nm or less.


Gypsum-based building products are commonly used in construction. Wallboard made of gypsum is fire retardant and can be used in the construction of walls of almost any shape. It is used primarily as an interior wall and ceiling product. Gypsum has sound-deadening properties. It is relatively easily patched or replaced if it becomes damaged. There are a variety of decorative finishes that can be applied to the wallboard, including paint and wallpaper. Even with all of these advantages, it is still a relatively inexpensive building material.
Gypsum is also known as calcium sulfate dihydrate, terra alba or landplaster. Plaster of Paris is also known as calcined gypsum, stucco, calcium sulfate semihydrate, calcium sulfate half-hydrate or calcium sulfate hemihydrate. Synthetic gypsum, for example, that which is a byproduct of flue gas desulfurization processes from power plants, may also be used. When it is mined, raw gypsum is generally found in the dihydrate form. In this form, there are two water molecules associated with each molecule of calcium sulfate. To produce the hemihydrate form, the gypsum is calcined to drive off some of the water of hydration by the following equation:CaSO4.2H2O→CaSO4.1/2H2O+3/2H2O
A number of useful gypsum products can be made by mixing the stucco with water and permitting it to set by allowing the calcium sulfate hemihydrate to react with water to convert the hemihydrate into a matrix of interlocking calcium sulfate dihydrate crystals. As the matrix forms, the product slurry becomes firm and holds a desired shape. Excess water must then be removed from the product by drying.
Significant amounts of energy are expended in the process of making gypsum articles. Landplaster is calcined to make stucco by heating it to drive off water of hydration. Later the water is replaced as the gypsum sets by hydration of the hemihydrate to the dihydrate form. Excess water used to fluidize the slurry is then driven from the set article by drying it in an oven or a kiln. Thus, reducing the amount of water needed to fluidize the slurry turns into a monetary savings when fuel requirements are decreased. Additional fuel savings would result if the amount of material that required calcining were reduced.
Attempts have been made to reduce the amount of water used to make a fluid slurry using dispersants. Polycarboxylate superplasticizers are very effective in allowing water reduction and where water reduction results in increased density, a strength increase is achieved. These materials are relatively expensive. When used in large doses, polycarboxylate dispersants can be one of the single, most expensive additives in making gypsum products. The high price of this component can overcome the narrow margins afforded these products in a highly competitive marketplace.
Another disadvantage associated with polycarboxylate dispersants is the retardation of the setting reaction. Gypsum board is made on high-speed production lines where the slurry is mixed, poured, shaped and dried in a matter of minutes. The board must be able to hold its shape to be moved from one conveyor line to another to put the board into the kiln. Damage can occur if the boards have not attained a minimum green strength by the time they are cut to length and handled during the manufacturing process. If the board line has to be slowed down because the board is not sufficiently set to move on to the next step in the process, production costs are driven up, resulting in an economically uncompetitive product.
Modifiers have been found that increase the efficacy of the dispersant in fluidizing the slurry, allowing the modifier to replace a portion of the expensive dispersant while still reducing water demand. However, it has been found that the modifier does not work consistently, depending on how and when it is added to the slurry. Thus, there is a need for a delivery vehicle to carry the modifier to the slurry in a manner that allows it to perform consistently so that the amount of dispersant can be reduced.
The use of fillers that are easily fluidizable in water have been considered as another method of reducing fuel demand. However, one of the important properties of gypsum products, and especially gypsum panels or wallboard, is its fire resistance. Calcium sulfate dihydrate is approximately 20% water by weight. Replacing a portion of the calcined gypsum with fillers that are less fire retardant diminishes this property in the finished product. Many fillers also reduce the compressive strength and the nail pull strength of wallboard.
Landplaster has been used as a filler in gypsum products. It is also fire retardant, inexpensive, readily available and reduces the amount of calcined gypsum that is needed, but it also has disadvantages. Calcium sulfate dihydrate used in sufficient quantities to act as a filler also acts as a set accelerator for the hemihydrate by providing seed crystals that start the crystallization process more quickly. This leads to premature stiffening of the slurry.
Thus there is a need in the art for a filler for use in gypsum articles, particularly wallboard, that reduces fuel consumption by replacing calcined gypsum, by reducing the amount of water driven from the set product or both. The filler should have fire retardancy approximately equal to set gypsum and it should be inexpensive, readily available and should not decrease the strength of the finished product.
Thus, there is a need in the art to reduce the dosage of dispersants used in a gypsum slurry while maintaining flowability of the slurry. Reduction in dispersant use would result in saving of costs spent on the dispersant and would reduce adverse side effects, such as set retardation.


Objective lens assemblies are commonly used in microscopes, telescopes, cameras and other devices for gathering light from an object being observed and focusing the light to form an image of the object. Objective lens assemblies that operate in visible spectrum of light are quite common.
Currently, the applicant of the present invention is developing a microscope that operates in the mid infrared (“MIR”) light spectrum. Unfortunately, existing objective lens assemblies do not provide sufficient performance in the MIR light spectrum.


The present disclosure relates to an analysis system for determining an analyte in a body fluid having a disposable integrated sample acquisition and analysis element and having a reusable analysis instrument.
For diagnostic, purposes, small quantities of body fluids, such as blood, are taken from a body part. For this purpose, piercing devices having lancets are typically used, such devices generate a wound in the body part, for example, in the finger or in the ear lobe. The piercing systems are implemented in such a manner that they may also be used by laymen.
However, when determining an analyte in the body fluid, a procedure in multiple steps is required. Firstly, a wound must be generated in the body part using a piercing system, which comprises a piercing device and a lancet. A body fluid, such as, for example, blood, then exits from the wound. In a further step, the fluid must be received by a test element and supplied to an analysis system, which determines the desired analyte in the body fluid.
This procedure is complex, in particular for diabetics, who must determine the glucose content in the blood multiple times a day. Therefore, in addition to pain-free piercing as much as possible, increased operating comfort is also required.
In order to come one step closer to the desired operating comfort, integrated analysis systems have been proposed in the prior art, which also comprise an analysis unit in addition to a piercing device. An analysis system is known from WO 2006/027101 A1, in which, after the generation of the wound in the body part, the piercing device is moved away from an opening of the analysis system and an analysis unit is moved to the opening of the system in a second step, so that blood exiting from the wound can be received by the analysis unit.
In order to improve the handling ability and the comfort of the analysis systems, analysis systems have been developed which propose test elements and/or test sensors having an integrated lancet.
For example, an analysis system having a test sensor with an integrated lancet, in which an analyte in a body fluid is determined by an electrochemical measurement is known from WO2006/092281. The disposable test sensor comprises a test strip, on whose top side a capillary channel is provided, which is used to transfer the received body fluid to test electrodes, which are also located on the top side of the test strip, in order to determine an analyte in the body fluid. A lancet is located on the bottom side of the test strip, which is movably mounted relative to the test strip. The lancet is enclosed by a sterile envelope, from which it exits before piercing into the body part.
For the sample acquisition, the test sensor is guided into the vicinity of the opening of the analysis system. The lancet is then moved forward in the puncture direction until it exits from the opening of the receptacle system and generates a wound in a body part which is pressed against the opening. After the puncture, the lancet is retracted again until it is positioned in its sterile protective envelope again. The blood exiting from the puncture wound and/or the exiting body fluid is suctioned in by the capillary channel on the top side of the test strip and finally reaches the electrodes, so that an analyte in the body fluid may be determined electrochemically.
A system of this type has the disadvantage that two separate handling steps are necessary in order to, on the one hand, ensure the puncture in the skin and, on the other hand, ensure the transfer of a sufficiently large blood sample onto the test element.
This may be performed manually, after execution of the puncture, the analysis system being removed from the body part and the body part subsequently being “milked” in order to promote the escape of blood from the wound. As soon as a sufficiently large quantity of blood has exited from the wound, the analysis system is guided back to the wound manually in order to suction the sample into the capillary channel. This requires cumbersome handling by the patient and is difficult in particular for older people, who are frequently affected by diabetes. Alternatively to the manual procedure and the operation comprising multiple steps, the “milking” may be mechanized by the analysis system itself. For this purpose, systems having a so-called finger cone have been proposed. After the piercing procedure, the expression of a liquid sample is caused by pressure on the cone. For this purpose, the manual handling is thus replaced by a corresponding instrument function, which requires significant design effort and makes the instruments more costly, however.
As a third, rather theoretical possibility, which is also opposed by the demand for piercing with as little pain as possible, the lancet may be pierced so deeply into the body part that a sufficiently large blood droplet exits without additional measures such as manual or mechanical milking. The pain connected with the deep piercing is so great, however, that a system of this type is unsuitable for practice.
Therefore, there is a need for an analysis system which is distinguishable from the prior art by a high comfort for the user, in particular in that he only has to hold the analysis system on the body part once in order to determine the desired analyte. In addition, the analysis system will be easy to operate and will be based on a simple and cost-effective design.


During wire-bonding of semiconductor devices, wherein electrical connections are made between bond pads of dice and/or substrates on which they are attached, it is common to utilize a wire clamp to feed a roll of bonding wire towards a bonding site. The clamp is opened to allow wire to feed through during threading of the wire through a capillary and thereafter closed to control the wire. The wire clamp may also be used to hold the wire in position during the making of a first bond and a second bond on the die and/or substrate. The clamp is further commonly used to enable looping of a length of bonding wire between electrical contact points on the die and/or substrate, and/or to pull wires from bonds after the bonds have been made.
The clamp typically comprises a movable arm or member, and a fixed arm or member. The movable arm is opened and closed by a solenoid or a linear motor, and is usually urged towards the fixed arm by a spring or the motor. The bonding wire is very fine, to the order of 1 mil or less. Thus the wire is easily broken if subjected to excessive force. It is important that a clamping force exerted by the wire clamp is sufficient to grasp the wire, but not too high so as to cause abnormal deformation or to break the wire. It is also important that a gap between the movable and fixed arms is sufficient for the wire to pass through, and yet not be so large as compared to the size of the wire when opened so that the clamping force cannot be easily or reliably controlled.
In view of the above, it is usually necessary to calibrate a wire clamp prior to using it. Prior art devices for calibrating wire clamps have been devised, but such prior art devices involve too much human intervention and have become less effective as the diameters of bonding wires decrease together with decreasing dimensions of semiconductor packages.
For example, in order to measure clamping force, a gram gauge (see FIG. 1) has been used in the prior art. The gram gauge has a deflectable lever, which measures a deflecting force exerted on the lever by a movable wire clamp member. The gram gauge functions in much the same way as a conventional weighing scale. However, a spring which biases the lever during deflection is not sufficiently sensitive where the clamping force is small and only deflects the deflectable lever minimally.
In order to measure a gap between clamping members, a thin gauge sheet of a known thickness may be inserted between the clamping members (see FIG. 2). If the gauge sheet cannot fit into the gap, it means that the distance between the clamp members is smaller than the thickness of the gauge sheet. If the gauge sheet can fit into the gap with space to spare, then the distance is much larger than the thickness of the gauge sheet. The distance between the clamp members should be adjusted so that the gauge sheet just fits into the gap. Thus, this method is based on trial-and-error, and the error margin gets larger as the distance between clamp members (for smaller diameters of wires) gets smaller. In the event, this method does not offer sufficient accuracy for thinner wires for smaller semiconductor packages.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit breaker used in a power semiconductor device, such as an inverter that passes large current, and specifically to a small and low-cost circuit breaker that can reliably break a circuit regardless of operating conditions, and has a small wiring loss.
2. Background Art
There is a case wherein an element of an inverter for driving a motor installed in a hybrid motor vehicle or the like is broken to be a short-circuited state, and regenerative current flows back from a motor rotated by an engine power. In order to prevent the flow of a large current into the circuit in such abnormality, a circuit breaker has been used. As a circuit breaker, a device wherein a fuse is broken by the heat of a heater has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-119858).
In a conventional circuit breaker, a heater was serially inserted in a current path, and a fuse was broken when a larger current than in normal operation flows in abnormality. However, in the case of a hybrid vehicle or the like, since there was no significant difference in the current value for driving a motor in normal operation and the regenerative current value from the motor in abnormality, the fuse cannot be reliably broken. In addition, since an electric resistor serially inserted in a current path was used as the heater, there was a problem of large wiring loss. If the fuse was substituted by a relay, although the circuit was reliably broken, there were problems of contact resistance, costs, and a space.


(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of sonar signal processing and, more particularly, to determining whether d-dimensional data sets are random or non-random in nature.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Naval sonar systems require that signals be classified according to structure; i.e., periodic, transient, random or chaotic. For instance, in many cases it may be highly desirable and/or critical to know whether data received by a sonar system is simply random noise, which may be a false alarm, or is more likely due to detection of sound energy emitted from a submarine or other vessel of interest. In the study of nonlinear dynamics analysis, scientists, in a search for “chaos” in signals or other physical measurements, often resort to “embedding dimensions analysis,” or “phase-space portrait analysis.” One method of finding chaos is by selecting the appropriate time-delay close to the first “zero-crossing” of the autocorrelation function, and then performing delay plot analyses. Other methods for detection of spatial randomness are based on an approach sometimes known as “box counting” and/or “box counting enumerative” models. Other methods such as power spectral density (PSD) techniques may be employed in naval sonar systems. Methods such as these may be discussed in the subsequently listed patents and/or the above-cited related patent applications which are hereby incorporated by reference and may also be discussed in patents and/or applications by the inventors of the above-cited related patent applications and/or subsequently listed patents.
It is also noted that recent research has revealed a critical need for highly sparse data set time distribution analysis methods and apparatus separate and apart from those adapted for treating large sample distributions. It is well known that large sample methods often fail when applied to small sample distributions, but that the same is not necessarily true for small sample methods applied to large data sets. Very small data set distributions may be defined as those with less than about ten (10) to thirty (30) measurement (data) points.
Examples of exemplary patents related to the general field of the endeavor of analysis of sonar signals include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,553, issued Oct. 7, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method for filling in missing data intelligence in a quantified time-dependent data signal that is generated by, e.g., an underwater acoustic sensing device. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, this quantified time-dependent data signal is analyzed to determine the number and location of any intervals of missing data, i.e., gaps in the time series data signal caused by noise in the sensing equipment or the local environment. The quantified time-dependent data signal is also modified by a low pass filter to remove any undesirable high frequency noise components within the signal. A plurality of mathematical models are then individually tested to derive an optimum regression curve for that model, relative to a selected portion of the signal data immediately preceding each previously identified data gap. The aforesaid selected portion is empirically determined on the basis of a data base of signal values compiled from actual undersea propagated signals received in cases of known target motion scenarios. An optimum regression curve is that regression curve, linear or nonlinear, for which a mathematical convergence of the model is achieved. Convergence of the model is determined by application of a smallest root-mean-square analysis to each of the plurality of models tested. Once a model possessing the smallest root-mean-square value is derived from among the plurality of models tested, that optimum model is then selected, recorded, and stored for use in filling the data gap. This process is then repeated for each subsequent data gap until all of the identified data gaps are filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,906, issued Dec. 30, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal, generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing three mutually orthogonal items of measurement information represented as a sample point in a symbolic Cartesian three-dimensional spatial reference system. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls the operation of an information processing sub-system for extracting the information component in response to the random noise assessment or a combination of the random noise assessment and the degree-of-randomness assessment. The information processing system is illustrated as combat control equipment for submarine warfare, which utilizes a sonar signal produced by a towed linear transducer array, and whose mode operation employs three orthogonally related dimensions of data, namely: (i) clock time associated with the interval of time over which the sample point measurements are taken, (ii) conical angle representing bearing of a passive sonar contact derived from the signal produced by the towed array, and (iii) a frequency characteristic of the sonar signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,414, issued Oct. 12, 1999, to Francis J. O'Brien, Jr., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generated in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component. An information processing sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment that the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and controls the operation of the information processing sub-system in response to the random noise assessment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,460, issued Jul. 14, 1998, to Nguyen et al., discloses a chaotic signal processing system which receives an input signal from a sensor in a chaotic environment and performs a processing operation in connection therewith to provide an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes in the chaotic environment. The chaotic signal processing system comprises an input section, a processing section and a control section. The input section is responsive to input data selection information for providing a digital data stream selectively representative of the input signal provided by the sensor or a synthetic input representative of a selected chaotic process. The processing section includes a plurality of processing modules each for receiving the digital data stream from the input means and for generating therefrom an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes. The processing section is responsive to processing selection information to select one of the plurality of processing modules to provide the output. The control module generates the input data selection information and the processing selection information in response to inputs provided by an operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,591, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing four mutually orthogonal items of measurement information representable as a sample point in a symbolic four-dimensional hyperspatial reference system. An information processing and decision sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls whether or not the information processing and decision sub-system is used, in response to one or both of these generated outputs. One prospective practical application of the invention is the performance of a triage function upon signals from sonar receivers aboard naval submarines, to determine suitability of the signal for feeding to a subsequent contact localization and motion analysis (CLMA) stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,234, issued May 28, 2002, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus are provided for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of said time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize a grid in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cells in the grid containing at least-one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cells which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grid; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,595, issued Sep. 1, 1992, to Graham et al., discloses an adaptive statistical filter providing improved performance target motion analysis noise discrimination includes a bank of parallel Kalman filters. Each filter estimates a statistic vector of specific order, which in the exemplary third order bank of filters of the preferred embodiment, respectively constitute coefficients of a constant, linear and quadratic fit. In addition, each filter provides a sum-of-squares residuals performance index. A sequential comparator is disclosed that performs a likelihood ratio test performed pairwise for a given model order and the next lowest, which indicates whether the tested model orders provide significant information above the next model order. The optimum model order is selected based on testing the highest model orders. A robust, unbiased estimate of minimal rank for information retention providing computational efficiency and improved performance noise discrimination is therewith accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,675, issued May 26, 1998, to O'Brien, Jr., discloses an improved method for laying out a workspace using the prior art crowding index, PDI, where the average interpoint distance between the personnel and/or equipment to be laid out can be determined. The improvement lies in using the convex hull area of the distribution of points being laid out within the workplace space to calculate the actual crowding index for the workspace. The convex hull area is that area having a boundary line connecting pairs of points being laid out such that no line connecting any pair of points crosses the boundary line. The calculation of the convex hull area is illustrated using Pick's theorem with additional methods using the Surveyor's Area formula and Hero's formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,516, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a three-dimensional time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of the time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize grids in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cubes in the grids containing at least one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cubes which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grids; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom, and/or random or nonrandom within what probability, prior to its output from the invention to the remainder of the data processing system for further analysis.
The above cited art, while extremely useful under certain circumstances, does not provide sufficient flexibility in processing different dimensionalities of data sets of sonar data. Consequently, those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses these and other problems.


The present invention is concerned with a decorative method and a blank for a decorator""s tool and in particular a decorative method for providing a grained appearance on a substrate.
Grain imitation techniques are known in which a scumble glaze is applied to a painted wood substrate, the scumble glaze being applied in a streaky discontinuous manner to give the appearance of natural graining. Currently used techniques however are very time consuming and require considerable expertise, such as that of a craftsman, to create a desired natural grain appearance. They do not therefore appeal to amateur (that is, xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d) painters, who represent an increasingly important part of the market.
Similarly, it is known to create imitation woodgrains on a surface using specialised tools to create the grain finish. Normally, at least two tools are required in order to achieve the desired effect. Existing tools consist of combs having teeth or the like which are used to establish a continuous streaked or grained appearance on a painted substrate, and a separate tool having a convex surface, with a series of concentric ridge formations on the convex surface, which can be used to selectively expose parts of the surface, so as to produce a simulated woodgrain appearance on the surface. Using separate tools to create the woodgrain finish suffers from a number of drawbacks. In addition, packaging of two separate tools in a box or the like requires extra packaging space and packaging material, which adds to the total cost of the product.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a method which will appeal to the amateur and alleviate some of the abovementioned problems.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a blank for a unitary, hand-holdable tool, suitable for use by both amateur and professional decorators in creating an imitation woodgrained finish on a surface.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a decorative coating for an opaque surface, which method comprises applying to said opaque surface a substantially continuous layer comprising an intimate mixture comprising a particulate (preferably non film-forming) material and an aqueous film-forming polymer binder, said particulate material and said layer both being lighter in color than said opaque surface, and discontinuously removing part of said layer (preferably in streaks) using a tool so as to selectively expose part of said opaque surface.
Any experienced professional or amateur painter will know, by judgement by eye and instinct, the difference between lighter and darker shades of color. However, if needed, guidance can be gained from the international system of color definition known as the Natural Color System (xe2x80x9cNCS.xe2x80x9d) The NCS system is described in the xe2x80x9cICI Colour Dimensions Colour Atlasxe2x80x9d published by Imperial Chemical Industries P1c of London in 1986 (xe2x80x9cColour Dimensionsxe2x80x9d is a trademark of Imperial Chemical Industries). The NCS system defines color in terms of a cypher, the first two digits of which extend from 00 to 99 with 00 representing white (that is, the ultimate lightness) and 99 representing black, and the intermediate values from 01 to 98 representing increasingly darker shades. Lighter shades therefore have a lower pair of first digits. It is preferred that the particular material and the continuous layer have an NCS value at least 10 units lower than that of the surface.
The particulate material is typically an inorganic material, which may be hydrated, such as plaster (gypsum), clay or the like, or non-hydrated, such as chalk or titanium dioxide. When an inorganic material is used, it is advantageous that the intimate mixture used in the method according to the invention may be fire retardant.
Alternatively, an organic particulate material, such as hollow or alveolate beads of polystyrene or the like, or finely chopped fibers may be used. Suitable organic beads are described, for example, in European Patent Specification No. 0,113,435 B1, published Jun. 7, 1989. This European Patent Specification describes an aqueous paint having an improved xe2x80x9chiding quality.xe2x80x9d The aqueous paint in the European reference consists essentially of pigmented vesiculated beads and opaque polymer particles in a ratio of 30/70 to 90/10, the proportion of opaque polymer particles being smaller at higher pigment volume concentrations. The particulate material is intimately mixed with the aqueous polymer binder, preferably together with thixotropising material, such as a polyurea adduct or bentonite clay, so as to provide thixotropic mixture.
It may be preferred that the intimate mixture further comprises reinforcing fibers which can serve to strengthen a resulting coating provided on the opaque surface.
Advantageously, the intimate mixture further comprises a drying retardant (a material which retards drying of the coating). The use of a drying retardant is beneficial in allowing the mixture to be applied as a substantially continuous layer and further allowing subsequent removal thereof before substantial drying of the layer has occurred.
A preferred drying retardant comprises a gel material. Examples of gels suitable for use as a drying retardant are cellulose-based products such as carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxymethyl cellulose and methyl cellulose, acrylamide and acrylate polymers and copolymers, gelatin, polysaccharides, polyoxamers (polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymers), pectins and agar.
It is preferred that the aqueous polymer binder is translucent. Preferably the binder comprises an aqueous dispersion of particles of polymer which are capable of coalescing as the dispersion dries so as to form a film of polymeric material. Suitable polymers include polymers and copolymers of esters such as methyl, ethyl, propyl and hexyl esters of acrylic or methacrylic acids, optionally with acrylic or methacrylic acid or polymers, or copolymers of vinyl esters including vinyl acetate. Certain copolymers of these types are now available as aqueous solutions as opposed to dispersions.
The aqueous polymer binder may, in some cases, contain a minor proportion by weight of an organic solvent, which should be miscible with water. An example of such a solvent is an alcohol.
It is preferred that the intimate mixture comprises substantially equal amounts of an aqueous carrier, typically water, and the particulate material, the aqueous carrier and particulate material being present in excess of the polymer binder. A preferred intimate mixture comprises 4 to 6 parts by weight of the particulate material, 4 to 6 parts by weight of water optionally 0 to 2 parts organic (preferably alcoholic) co-solvent to assist film formation and 0.5 to 3 parts by weight of the aqueous polymer binder. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the intimate mixture further comprises a drying retardant substantially as hereinbefore described, the preferred intimate mixture includes 0.5 to 3 parts by weight of the drying retardant.
The opaque surface may be provided by wood, plastics, metal or the like, and it preferably has a darker color than the intimate mixture. In some embodiments it is preferred that the substrate comprises wood. The invention is particularly advantageous in enabling the production of an article having a grained appearance, such as that simulating limed oak, limed maple, limed ash or the like. The substrate may, for example, be timber, or a fiber board such as MDF (medium density fiber board).
Advantageously, the substrate comprises a building structure such as a wall panel, door, door frame, window frame, wainscotting or the like. Alternately the substrate may comprise a furniture component such as a fitted kitchen or bedroom unit, closet door, table, seat or the like. In some embodiments, the substrate comprises at least one generally planar surface which is required to have a grained appearance as described above.
It is preferred that the method involves applying an opaque protective or decorative coating to the substrate so as to provide the latter with a sufficiently dark opaque surface substantially as hereinbefore described. The opaque coating is preferably applied so as to substantially cover an exposed surface of the substrate. Preferably the opaque coating is water based, although organic solvent-based coatings may be employed.
It is further preferred that the method according to the invention involves applying a translucent or transparent coating (such as a varnish, which is preferably water-based), over the discontinuous decorative coating described above. The translucent or transparent coating (which may be lighter or darker than the previously mentioned decorative coating) may itself contain a stain material, pigment, dye or the like; alternately, a stain may be applied to the translucent or transparent coating.
The opaque surface typically comprises a paint selected to provide a surface of the substrate with a desired base color. A particularly preferred color of the opaque surface is brown or beige, which can contrast with the lighter color of the intimate mixture, and give the appearance of a naturally grained effect. Further preferred colors of the opaque surface include gray, or other background colors, such as blue, green, red, yellow or the like.
The particulate material preferably has a white, cream, beige or brown color which contrasts with the darker color of the opaque surface. Examples of suitable such colors are Y 00 R (usually written as xe2x80x9cYxe2x80x9d) up to Y 90 R according to the NCS definition referred to above. The particulate material may advantageously be mixed with colorants or the like to provide the intimate mixture with a desired color. The color combination of the opaque surface and the intimate mixture is advantageously selected to simulate a grained appearance of a desired wood effect.
The decorative coating may be applied by brushing, pad spreading, rolling or spraying onto the opaque surface. Advantageously the decorative coating is allowed to substantially dry (typically for at least one hour) before subsequent application of the intimate mixture thereon.
The intimate mixture is preferably similarly applied to the opaque surface by brushing, pad spreading, rolling or spraying thereon. The intimate mixture is preferably applied to provide a substantially continuous layer having a thickness (prior to drying) in the range of 0.3 to 2 mm. The thickness of the layer is selected to provide an appearance of a desired grain, a preferred thickness being about 0.5 mm.
It is preferred that removal of the continuous layer involves at least two stages. In the first stage, it is preferred that the continuous layer is discontinuously removed in non-linear streaks to give the opaque surface a veined, streaked or grained appearance, preferably using a comb member including a plurality of distal teeth, the comb member being drawn along the opaque surface to provide a veined appearance resembling that of woodgrain. Preferably the tips of the teeth each respectively comprise a contact edge extending for about 2 to 5 mm in the general direction of the comb member, the tips advantageously being spaced apart by about 2 to 10 mm.
Advantageously, in a second stage of the removal of the continuous layer, it is preferred that the veined, grained or streaked surface is treated with at least one tool member having a plurality of spaced apart proud formations (typically of plastics or elastomeric material or the like), to selectively expose parts of the opaque surface.
In a highly preferred embodiment, the tool member is a rockable tool, which preferably comprises a convex face, such that the tool can be rocked about the convex face, with a plurality of substantially concentric raised arc formations on the convex face.
A xe2x80x9crockingxe2x80x9d action is, of course, quite different from a sliding or rolling action. When the tool is rocked, it is caused (generally by a cocking action of the user""s wrist) to pivot, or partially rotate, through no more than 180 degrees, about an axis substantially parallel to the surface, as it is drawn across the surface, before being partially rotated in the opposite sense. This rocking is generally a reciprocal or oscillatory action, in which the tool is rocked to-and-fro in a manner similar to at least one oscillation of a see-saw. This rocking action is generally achieved manually by the user cocking his wrists as the tool is drawn across the surface.
As the tool is rocked, the proud formations of the tool are in contact with (and are drawn along) the layer on the substrate. The rockable tool is typically drawn along the opaque surface, advantageously in the general direction of the previously formed veined, grained or streaked appearance, so as to provide a knot or heart grain effect (sometimes known as crown grain effect) on the opaque surface. This knot or heart grain has been found to be especially aesthetically attractive, being a simulation of a cut lengthwise along the trunk of sawn timber (parallel or tangential to growth rings and simulating a cut through a knot region of cut timber).
It is further preferred that as the rockable tool is drawn along the opaque surface, the convex face thereof is rocked to and fro substantially in the direction of travel of the tool (that is, about an axis substantially transverse to the direction of travel).
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is, therefore provided a blank for forming a decorator""s tool, which blank can be wrapped around and secured to itself by securing means to form said tool, such that said tool comprises at one end thereof a hollow body having a convex surface with a plurality of spaced-apart proud formations on the convex surface.
The proud formations on the convex surface may comprise a series of substantially concentric formations. Advantageously, the concentric formations comprise a series of alternating ridges and furrows concentric about a substantially intermediate point on the convex surface of the tool. The tool can be rocked about the convex surface to complete a simulated woodgrained finish created by the concentric ridges and furrows. Alternately, the proud formations may be more irregular, or may comprise a series of spaced ridges in the form of straight or wavy lines. It may be desirable to provide gaps in such lines at spaced intervals (that is, the lines may be discontinuous).
The tool is generally hollow, and is generally also resilient; this means that the user can vary the effect on the surface by varying the pressure applied while drawing and rocking the tool. This represents an operational advantage relative to a non-resilient tool. Preferably, a plurality of apertures are positioned within the alternating ridges and furrows on the convex surface of the tool. Thus, a build-up of excess woodgraining material within the furrows may be substantially alleviated as the material can pass into the interior of the tubular body of the tool, thus facilitating cleaning of the tool and collection of the excess material when such material has passed through the apertures on the convex surface, to the inside of the hollow body of the tool, during the woodgraining process.
According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the blank may contain a plurality of teeth disposed at one end of the tool. Thus, advantageously, in this embodiment both working surfaces needed to create the desired effect are provided in a single hand-held portable unit, which can be formed from an easily storable blank, and either end may be held, as appropriate, when the tool is used to create the grained appearance.
In one embodiment of the invention, the teeth may be on a separate attachment which can be secured to the tool. The teeth on the separate attachment may also function as the securing means of the tool which advantageously fits over the ends of the blank when wrapped around itself to form the tool. In another embodiment, the teeth may be on one or both ends of the blank which forms the tool. Where the teeth are on both ends of the blank, two sets of teeth may be provided which advantageously may be orientated in substantially opposite directions on the tool.
When the teeth have been used to produce a veined appearance on the surface, the ridges on the convex surface, when rocked about the convex surface, complete the continuous natural grained finish. Typically, the tips of the teeth comprise a contact edge in which one face is relatively more bevelled (a so-called xe2x80x9cchiselxe2x80x9d type tooth), or the two faces may be at substantially the same angle of inclination (a so-called spear-section). The respective inclined faces may typically extend for about 2 to 5 mm from each tip of the teeth.
In some embodiments, either side of the teeth can be used in either direction, eliminating confusion as to which side of the tool is to be used. Typically, the teeth and ridge formations are from 2 to 10 mm apart.
In a preferred embodiment, the teeth, the convex surface and the proud formations all together comprise a unitary integral molding.
In another embodiment, the proud formations may be on a separate molding attachment, releasably engageable with the blank which comprises the base of the tool. This would allow imitation woodgrains of different size and shape to be created by the same tool.
Typically, the securing means comprise complementary jointing formations such as a dovetail joint, or pop studs releasably engageable with reception apertures on the blank. In the latter case, further reception apertures may be provided in series along the length of the blank to receive such pop studs, serving to maintain the blank in its proper configuration. Alternate securing means comprise adhesive (for example double-sided adhesive tape). Thus, advantageously, the diameter of the convex surface of the tool may be varied, thus creating grains of different size and shape.
Connection means may also be provided to connect the molding attachment to the tool; the connection means may comprise pop studs releasably engageable with reception apertures of the type as described for maintaining the blank in the tool configuration.
The blank may be made of any suitably stiff material, but which is sufficiently flexible to allow the blank to be wrapped around, or doubled over on itself, without snapping. The material used for the blank may comprise a suitable plastics material, which is sufficiently flexible and lightweight, and thus easily portable. As mentioned above, the resulting hollow tool is preferably resilient.
In one embodiment of the invention, the blank is substantially flat, and may have a plurality of fold lines along its length such that when the blank is wrapped around itself along the fold lines it forms the tool. Alternatively, the blank may be stepped in cross section.
The present invention is particularly advantageous in providing a decorated article, and a method of producing the same, which are largely free of organic solvents (except possibly for small amounts of co-solvent). This aspect is environmentally beneficial, which is particularly advantageous when the resulting articles are found or used within building interiors.
There is further provided by the present invention an article having a decorative coating, and obtained according to a method substantially as hereinbefore described.
The method according to the present invention results in an article comprising:
(a) a substrate having an opaque surface;
(b) a decorative coating provided on said surface and comprising an intimate mixture comprising a particulate material and an aqueous film-forming polymer binder, said coating being lighter in color than said surface and being discontinuously provided thereon so as to expose part of said surface.
The nature of the substrate, opaque surface and decorative coating are substantially as hereinbefore described.