An atomizer device capable of reducing a flowable liquid to an ultrafine dispersion of liquid particles in a propellant gas, comprising a generally smooth surface having a central portion and a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion. At least one orifice is located in the surface, in at least a partially surrounding relationship to the central portion. A propellant gas is supplied to the underside of the surface, with such propellant gas being caused to pass at considerable speed through the orifice or orifices, thus forming at least one gas jet. The propellant gas flowing through the orifice or orifices create an area of low pressure at the central portion of the surface, and create at least one passway extending radially inwardly from the peripheral portion to the central portion, which passway, quite importantly, avoids direct contact with said gas jet. Liquid to be atomized is supplied at the location of the passway, which liquid is then swept through the passway toward the area of low pressure by ambient gas flowing through the passway to the area of low pressure. From this location within the overall envelope of the propellant gas flowing out of the orifice or orifices, the liquid is entrained into the propellant gas, such entrained liquid breaking into very fine droplets in the propellant gas.

A pneumatic atomizer is a device that uses a flow of gas to disperse a flowable liquid as small droplets. The present invention concerns an improved pneumatic atomizer for producing a fine dispersion of a flowable liquid in a gas. Several devices known for pneumatically atomizing a flowable liquid involve elements that produce a thin liquid filament or a thin liquid film and introduce the thin liquid filament or film to an adjacent high speed flow of gas. Examples of such devices include devices that:
(a) In accordance with the Erb and Resch U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,246 and Erb and Resch U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,387, liquid to be atomized is supplied between two elements, one of which is flexible and can be adjusted to provide a restricted outlet between the elements, the restricted outlet being in communication with a high speed flow of gas; PA1 (b) In accordance with the Erb and Resch U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,511, liquid to be atomized is supplied through shallow passages between two contacting elements, the outlet of the passages being in communication with a high speed flow of gas; and PA1 (c) In accordance with the Erb and Resch U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,281 and Erb and Resch U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,282, a controlled flow of the liquid to be atomized is supplied onto an exposed smooth surface that has an edge in communication with a high speed flow of gas whereby the liquid flows across the exposed surface as a thin film of liquid into the flowing gas.
All of such pneumatic atomizers involve an outlet orifice for the gas flowing through the atomizer, the gas outlet orifice passing through an exterior surface of the atomizer that is approximately perpendicular to the gas flow as the gas exits the gas orifice. An unavoidable consequence of gas flowing through a surface that is approximately perpendicular to the gas flow at the point where the gas exits the atomizer, as a gas eddy naturally forms just above the surface. The gas eddy surrounds the gas exiting the gas orifice, and this gas flows in a circular course. The gas in the gas eddy may thus be regarded as flowing in a course that commences in the gas flowing out of the atomizer at a place which is just downstream from the gas exit orifice, then flowing with the column of gas flowing out of the atomizer, then flowing perpendicular to the column of such gas, then flowing back toward the surface of the atomizer, then flowing across the surface of the atomizer to reenter the column of gas flowing out of the atomizer.
It is to be noted that the gas eddy has been the source of large droplets in the output of prior art pneumatic atomizers of the types described above, and for certain usages, such large droplets are undesirable. The gas eddy naturally contains gas from the column of gas flowing out of the atomizer. Such gas comes from the column of gas exiting the atomizer a short distance downstream in the gas flow from where the gas exited the atomizer and contains liquid droplets that were formed in the atomizer. It is to be realized that any liquid droplets that be in the gas that enters the gas eddy are carried into the gas eddy by such gas. The droplets are swept toward the atomizer by the gas in the eddy circulating back toward the atomizer. The gas circulating in the eddy toward the atomizer turns a short distance above the face of the atomizer to flow across the face of the atomizer towards the gas orifice, and as a consequence, many of the droplets in the circulating gas fly out of the eddy.
Quite a number of such droplets impact on the face of the atomizer around and about the gas orifice and any structural element of the atomizer that surrounds the face of the atomizer, such as the top plate in the aforementioned Erb and Resch Patents '281 and '282, wetting the face of the atomizer and any surrounding structural element.
The droplets collect as large droplets on the face of the atomizer and the surrounding structural element. Visually it appears as though the face of the atomizer and the surrounding structural element were sweating large droplets. The large droplets are swept by the gas flowing in the gas eddy toward the gas orifice and into the column of gas exiting the atomizer. The gas flowing out of the atomizer shatters the large droplets into small droplets when the large droplets come into contact with the gas flowing out of the gas orifice and carries the small droplets away within the column of gas leaving the atomizer. The droplets that are the result of the foregoing generally are not as small as the very small droplets initially formed by the atomizer.
The consequence of this is that the column of gas leaving the atomizer contains (a) the very small droplets initially formed by the atomizer and (b) the unwanted relatively large small droplets that are the result of the naturally occurring gas eddy.
It is the purpose of this invention to provide an atomizer that improves upon these results.

Pneumatic atomizer having improved flow paths for accomplishing the atomization of liquids


The present application relates to providing alert notifications of high-risk driving areas in a connected vehicle by calculating a first navigational route between a host vehicle location and a destination, transmitting the first navigational route via a wireless network, receiving via a wireless network an indication of a high-risk area in response to the first navigational route, generating a second navigational route in response to the high-risk area, presenting the second navigational route to a vehicle occupant via a user interface and prompting user action.

The present disclosure relates generally to programming motor vehicle control systems. More specifically, aspects of this disclosure relate to systems, methods and devices for predicting high-risk driving areas in response to historical and current data and generating a rerouting operation, driving warning or driver take over request in response to the prediction.
The operation of modern vehicles is becoming more automated, i.e. able to provide driving control with less and less driver intervention. Vehicle automation has been categorized into numerical levels ranging from zero, corresponding to no automation with full human control, to five, corresponding to full automation with no human control. Various advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), such as cruise control, adaptive cruise control, and parking assistance systems correspond to lower automation levels, while true "driverless" vehicles correspond to higher automation levels.
Certain levels of ADAS systems, such as level one and level two, may require a driver to take over operation of a vehicle under certain conditions. Take over requests may be generated in response to events such as entering a construction site, merging or exiting a freeway, loss of road markings, or presence of extreme weather conditions. In addition, as conditions change, such as weather or lane configuration, an area that had previously been a low risk area may become a high-risk area. It would be desirable to avoid high risk areas during vehicle navigation when lower risk areas are available in order to avoid vehicle incident and/or ADAS takeover requests. It would be desirable to address these problems to provide a method and apparatus for predicting a region of high-risk driving conditions to enable the systems to warn the driver, or automated driving system, in advance.
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.

Method and apparatus for providing alert notifications of high-risk driving areas in a connected vehicle


A quick release assembly is provided with a plate member including two bent end loops; an inner plate including a longitudinal channel, a lateral receptacle communicating with the longitudinal channel, and a through hole; a shuttle in the longitudinal channel, an upper tunnel on an edge, a lower tunnel, a lug in the through hole, a slot through the lug, an upper narrow hole in the slot, and a lower circular hole in the slot; a first spring actuated detent in the lateral receptacle and having one end urging against either the upper tunnel or the lower tunnel; an outer plate including a longitudinal recess, and a hole member through the longitudinal recess; a lock mechanism partially disposed in the longitudinal recess and including a lever and a concave part; and a second spring actuated detent in the through hole, the slot, the hole member, and the concave part.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to quick releases and more particularly to a quick release assembly for law enforcement equipment such as baton, the quick release assembly adapted to lock by pushing down a shuttle or unlock by pushing up the shuttle.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional system for carrying and rapidly accessing implements carried on a belt used by law enforcement officers is provided. The system uses a hinged floor carried on a flat plate having a belt loop. The hinged floor is held perpendicular to the flat plate by a strap having a quick-release latch at the top. When the strap is released the floor drops to form an angle with the flat plate so as to allow a user to quickly remove the implement using one hand.
While it has some utility, improvements in these products are desired, and these improvements are provided by the invention.

Quick release assembly for law enforcement equipment


A electric shaver of this invention has two rows of outer blade holders. These two rows of outer blade holders connect with links allowing independent vertical movement. The links connect with a frame in a manner allowing them to move freely up and down in parallel. When one outer blade holder is strongly pushed down by the skin, the coupling mechanism of the links forces the other outer blade holder down also.

This invention relates to an electric shaver having two rows of outer blades bowed into arch configurations in outer blade holders, and in particular to an electric shaver with outer blade holders connected such that they can move up and down independently.
An electric shaver with plate-like outer blades bent into arch shapes has the characteristic that deep shaving can be achieved by making the outer blade radius of curvature small. This is because an outer blade bent with a small radius of curvature can be forcefully pressed against the skin over the small area of the curved tip. Further, an outer blade bent with a small radius of curvature can reduce unshaved whiskers and reliably give a clean shave by applying pressure against the skin with the curved tip. However, this has the drawback that when the outer blade radius of curvature is reduced, the area of contact of the outer blades with the skin is reduced, and large beard areas cannot be easily shaved by applying soft pressure to the skin with the outer blades. An electric shaver with two rows of outer blades has been developed to eliminate this problem (Japanese Patent Application 131229, 1991).
The electric shaver described in this patent application has two rows of outer blade holders, wherein each outer blade is bowed into its blade holder with a small radius of curvature. The two rows of outer blade holders are connected in a manner allowing them to move up and down. As shown in the diagrammatic representation of FIG. 11, both ends of the outer blade holders are connected to links 3. The central regions of the links 3 are in turn connected to the frame in a manner allowing see-saw motion. In this type of electric shaver, when the left outer blade holder of FIG. 11 is pushed down as indicated by arrow A, the right outer blade holder is pushed up as indicated by arrow B.
An electric shaver has also been developed wherein the outer blade holders are connected to the frame in a manner allowing each blade holder to move up and down independently, rather than dependently using a see-saw link.
These types of electric shavers have the characteristic that the two rows of outer blades continuously provide balanced pressure against the skin allowing a large area to be shaved. However, these types of electric shavers have the drawback that it is difficult to deeply shave in one area by pressing the tip of one outer blade row forcefully against the skin. The reason for this is that the two rows of outer blades are always pushed against the skin with balanced forces.
When shaving, it is desirable at first to softly apply pressure with the outer blade against a large area of skin. However, it is difficult to achieve a good, clean shave over the entire area of skin in this fashion without leaving unshaved whiskers. This is because the skin has three-dimensional protrusions and recessions, and because whiskers do not always grow in the same manner. Whiskers in recessed areas or regions where the direction of beard growth makes shaving difficult are not easily removed, and the result is blotches of unshaved whiskers. In order to reliably remove whiskers in these areas, it is necessary to forcefully apply local pressure of an outer blade to the region.
Since currently used electric shavers with two rows of outer blades apply balanced pressure to the skin from both blades, they have the drawback that the curved tip of a single outer blade cannot be forcefully pressed against the skin. This means that when it becomes necessary to remove stubborn whiskers, it is difficult to forcefully press a small portion of the outer blade against the skin. Therefore these shavers have the drawback that remaining whiskers cannot be removed by shaving deeply at certain locations.
The present invention was developed to eliminate the previously mentioned drawbacks. It is thus a primary object of the present invention to provide an electric shaver with two rows of outer blades that can apply light pressure to the skin with both outer blades, and further, when necessary apply strong pressure against the skin in a small region with a single outer blade to reliably shave difficult-to-shave regions.

Electric shaver with two rows of outer blades


A recording medium magazine for an electron microscope feeds recording media to a recording position at which a recording medium is exposed to an electron beam which has passed thorugh a sample in an electron microscope. The recording medium magazine comprises a holder accommodating device for holding a plurality of holders which are permeable to an electron beam and each of which houses a single stimulable phosphor sheet serving as the recording medium so that the stimulable phosphor sheet can be taken out. A holder feed-in and feed-out device feeds the holders into and out of the holder accommodating device. A movement device moves the holder accommodating device with respect to the holder feed-in and feed-out device until a holder held in the holder accommodating device is associated with the holder feed-in and feed-out device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magazine for accommodating a plurality of recording media in an electron microscope. This invention particularly relates to a recording medium magazine for accommodating stimulable phosphor sheets which are housed in holders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electron microscopes have heretofore been known wherein an electron beam which has passed through a sample is refracted with an electric field or a magnetic field in order to obtain enlarged images of samples. In general, the electron microscope is provided with a camera chamber. A recording medium such as photographic film is positioned in the camera chamber and exposed to an electron beam which has passed through a sample in order to record an electron microscope image of the sample on the recording medium.
In cases where the recording medium is photographic film, a single sheet of photographic film is housed in a cassette and used to record an electron microscope image. After the recording of the electron microscope image is finished, the cassette is taken out of the camera chamber. The photographic film is then taken out of the cassette and subjected to development processing.
The applicant proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,651,220 and 4,847,497 novel systems for recording and reproducing an electron microscope image wherein, instead of photographic film being used, a stimulable phosphor sheet as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,258,264, 4,276,473, 4,315,318 and 4,387,428 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56(1981)-11395 is utilized as a recording medium. Basically, the proposed systems for recording and reproducing an electron microscope image comprise the steps of (i) exposing a stimulable phosphor sheet to an electron beam which has passed through a sample in a vacuum in order to store the energy of the electron beam on the stimulable phosphor sheet, (ii) thereafter exposing the stimulable phosphor sheet to stimulating rays or the like in order to release the stored energy in the form of emitted light, (iii) photoelectrically detecting the emitted light to obtain an image signal, and (iv) using the image signal to reproduce an electron beam image of the sample.
Also, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,990, a novel electron microscope has been proposed wherein photographic film or a stimulable phosphor sheet is selectively used as a recording medium in a single camera chamber.
In general, a plurality of recording media such as photographic film or stimulable phosphor sheets are housed in a feed magazine which is located in an electron microscope. The recording media are fed one after another from the feed magazine and located at a recording position where a recording medium is exposed to an electron beam. Recording media on which electron microscope images have been recorded are sequentially fed into a housing magazine which is capable of housing a plurality of recording media.
The applicant also proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62(1987)-317732 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,016, a magazine for housing both recording media on which no images have been recorded and recording media on which images have been recorded. The proposed magazine comprises a medium housing rack which is composed of a plurality of medium housing compartments each of which compartments houses a single recording medium. The medium housing rack can be moved vertically. A housing means is provided to push a recording medium, which is located at a predetermined height, out of the rack and to move a recording medium into the rack. Because a single magazine houses both unused recording media and used recording media on which images have been recorded, the number of magazines which are to be provided in an electron microscope can be kept small.
However, actually, photographic film is housed in a cassette when it is used in the camera chamber. On the other hand, stimulable phosphor sheets are used without being housed in cassettes because, for example, it is necessary for the stimulable phosphor sheets to be bent and conveyed when they are subjected to an image read-out operation wherein they are exposed to stimulating rays in order to obtain an image signal. Because cassettes housing photographic film and stimulable phosphor sheets are different in mechanical properties, they cannot be conveyed smoothly in the electron microscope. Therefore, in the electron microscope wherein photographic film and stimulable phosphor sheets are used selectively, a magazine for housing photographic film and a magazine for housing stimulable phosphor sheets must be provided independently from each other. Also, a conveyance system for photographic film and a conveyance system for stimulable phosphor sheets must be provided independently from each other. As a result, the electron microscope becomes large in size.

Recording medium magazine for electron microscopes


A small pouch for holding/storing jewelry. This pouch is made of a flexible rubber material with a small, linear slit in the top of the device. The pouch is created in order to hold or store different articles of jewelry. The purpose of the linear slit is to allow the jewelry to enter/exit the device. Attached to this, is a small metal clip. The metal clip allows the device to be secured to different articles of clothing. The metal clip contains a small metal bead which can bounce around within the clip, thereby causing a rattling sound. The purpose of this is to alert the user of the device's presence, therefore reminding them of the jewelry that has been stored within the rubber pouch.

The inventor works in the healthcare industry and is involved in surgeries/procedures in which the wearing of jewelry is not allowed. Frustrated with constantly taking off and potentially losing her jewelry, she decided to make a pouch for which to hold her jewelry safely. Although the Ring Cling may have many uses, it is mostly meant for surgeons, nurses, physician assistants, and all other health care personnel that may need to remove jewelry on a daily basis.


A vaccine comprises a portion of IHNV G protein and a portion of a second protein from a fish pathogen, or their respective nucleic acid coding sequences. The presence of the IHNV G protein boosts the immune response to the second protein, resulting in a protective effect against infection by the fish pathogen and/or mortality caused by the fish pathogen from which the second protein is derived.

Recombinant vaccines are occasionally employed in human and veterinary medicine as an alternative to more traditional approaches based on killed or attenuated pathogens. Many foreign antigens delivered systemically to the body in this way are capable of activating only one arm of the immune system, by stimulating the humoral immune response to generate antibodies by the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II pathway. However, an ideal vaccine should also induce a cellular response by destruction of infected cells through activation of the MHC class I pathway. The latter response is achieved through cytosolic degradation of foreign protein in infected cells, such that fragments of the foreign material are associated with MHC class I molecules and shuttled to the cell surface for presentation to CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTL).
Nucleic acid vaccines (NAVs) are a relatively new form of technology which are useful for delivery of pathogen antigens, especially viral antigens. As the viral proteins encoded by the vaccines are expressed in situ by the host's cellular apparatus, theory suggests that they should elicit a cell-mediated immune response capable of protecting animals when challenged. Results, however, have been mixed: in fish, NAVs expressing the infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) G protein (surface glycoprotein), and the viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus G protein are effective against. IHNV and VHSV infections, respectively. However, it has been difficult to demonstrate convincing protection of fish using NAVs based on other viral antigens.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved vaccines effective against a variety of diseases in fish and other animals caused by infection with pathogens.


A system for a grooming mirror in a portable electronic device with a user-facing CCD camera has a makeup function that when activated activates the user-facing camera on the device, the camera captures images of a user's face and displays live images of the user face on the screen, wherein, the device functions as a grooming mirror for the user. The makeup function operates on the captured images to crop and digitally focus the images to show close up images of the user face, thus the device functions as a mirror for the face for grooming and applying cosmetics. The device has a feature to put on hold a face to face communication function, while the user uses the makeup function for grooming and to apply cosmetics. The device is equipped with a user-facing light that is activated to light up the face for the camera.

Portable wireless communication devices, also known as smart phones, in various form factors have become indispensable for the masses for the many features they provide. Increasingly more features have been added such as multiple cameras and the ability to receive and view videos.
It is the objective of the embodiments herein to make such portable electronic devices even more useful to the masses by providing additional and new features in such devices.

System and method for a grooming mirror in a portable electronic device with a user-facing camera


Substituted N-benzotriazoles of the general formula ##STR1## exhibit herbicidal activity. Herbicidal compositions and related methods of using the substituted N-benzotriazoles are also disclosed.

This invention relates to substituted N-benzotriazoles of the formula ##STR2## in which R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 may independently be hydrogen; halogen; nitro; hydroxy; cyano; alkyl; amino; alkoxyiminoalkyl; cyanoalkyl; carboxyalkyl; carboalkoxyalkyl; cyano (carboalkoxy)alkyl; hydroxyalkyl; alkoxyalkyl; alkylsulfonylaminoalkyl; haloalkylsulfonylaminoalkyl; (alkyl).sub.n aminoalkyl; (alkylcarbonyloxy).sub.z alkyl; haloalkyl; formyl; alkylcarbonyl; carboxy or its salts; COOalkyl; carboxamido; mono or di- substituted carboxamido wherein the nitrogen substituents can be selected from hydrogen, alkyl, haloalkylsulfonyl, and alkylsulfonyl; sulfonamido wherein the nitrogen substituents can be selected from hydrogen and alkyl; (alkylsulfonyl).sub.z amino; (acetyl).sub.z amino; ##STR3## YR.sup.8 wherein Y is O, NR.sup.9, or S(O).sub.n ; and R.sup.8 is --(R.sup.10).sub.m --COR.sup.11 ; --(R.sup.10).sub.m --SO.sub.2 R.sup.11 ; ##STR4## alkyl; haloalkyl; hydroxyalkyl; aralkyl; cyanoalkyl; acetoxyalkyl; alkoxyalkyl; hydroxy; alkenyl or alkynyl;
R.sup.9 is hydrogen; alkyl; alkynyl, alkenyl or alkylcarbonyl; PA1 R.sup.10 is alkylene; PA1 or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached comprise an optionally substituted saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic ring having up to 6 ring members selected from carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur and wherein the substituents are selected from alkyl, alkoxy, halogen, haloalkyl, cyano, carboxy, formyl, oxo and carboalkoxy; PA1 or R.sup.3 is --(CH.sub.2).sub.q R.sup.14 where R.sup.14 is a 5, 6 or 7 membered saturated or unsaturated optionally substituted heterocyclic ring wherein the ring members are selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and sulphur and wherein the substituents are selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkoxy, halogen, haloalkyl, cyano, carboxy, formyl, oxo and carboalkoxy; PA1 or R.sup.3 is YR.sup.8 where R.sup.8 or R.sup.11 can be a 5, 6 or 7 membered saturated or unsaturated optionally substituted heterocyclic ring wherein the ring members are selected from nitrogen, carbon, oxygen and sulphur and the substituents are selected from alkyl, alkoxy, halogen, haloalkyl, cyano, carboxy, formyl, oxo and carboalkoxy; PA1 m is 0 or 1; PA1 n is 0, 1 or 2; PA1 z is 1 or 2; PA1 q is 0 or 1; PA1 M and Q are independently alkoxy; alkyl; (alkyl).sub.n amino; hydroxy; hydrogen; alkenyloxy; (alkenyl).sub.n amino; alkynyloxy; or (alkynyl).sub.n amino; PA1 L is oxygen or sulfur; PA1 P is phosphorus; PA1 R.sup.4 is hydrogen, halogen, alkyl or nitro; PA1 R.sup.5 is hydrogen; nitro; halogen; cyano; alkylthio; alkylsulfinyl; alkylsulfonyl; alkoxy; acetylamino or amino; PA1 R.sup.6 is hydrogen; halogen; haloalkyl; haloalkoxy; cyano or SO.sub.y R.sup.12 and R.sup.12 is alkyl or haloalkyl and y is 0, 1 or 2; PA1 R.sup.7 is hydrogen or halogen; PA1 X is N or CR.sup.13 wherein R.sup.13 is hydrogen; halogen; haloalkyl; cyano; nitro; alkylthio; alkylsulfonyl; alkylsulfinyl or alkoxy; and agriculturally acceptable salts thereof. PA1 R.sup.1 is hydrogen; halogen; cyano; alkyl and haloalkyl. More preferably hydrogen, halo and cyano. PA1 R.sup.2 is hydrogen; nitro; alkyl; halogen; alkoxy; carbonylalkoxy; haloalkyl; haloalkoxy; COOalkyl; SO.sub.3 H and YR.sup.8 wherein Y is O, NR.sup.9 and S(O).sub.n. PA1 R.sup.3 is hydrogen; alkyl; halogen; hydroxy; haloalkyl; amino; a 5, 6 or 7 member heterocyclic ring wherein the heterocyclic ring is attached to the benzotriazole ring by a N-atom or YR.sup.8 wherein Y is O, NR.sup.9 or S(O).sub.n and R.sup.8 is (--R.sup.10).sub.m COR.sup.11, cyanoalkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, haloalkyl, alkoxyalkyl and alkyl; R.sup.9 is hydrogen, alkyl and alkylcarbonyl and R.sup.11 is alkoxy, alkyl and alkynyloxy. PA1 R.sup.4 is hydrogen and alkyl. PA1 R.sup.5 is hydrogen and halogen. PA1 R.sup.6 is haloalkyl halogen and SO.sub.y R.sup.12. More preferably haloalkyl. PA1 R.sup.7 is hydrogen. PA1 R.sup.10 is --CH.sub.2 --, --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 -- or --CH(CH.sub.3)--. PA1 X is N or CR.sup.13 wherein R.sup.13 is hydrogen, halogen or haloalkyl. More preferably N or C-chloro.
R.sup.11 is alkyl; haloalkyl; hydrogen, hydroxy; alkoxy; haloalkoxy; alkoxyalkyl; alkoxyalkoxy; alkoxyalkylamino; dialkoxyalkylamino; aryloxy; aralkyl; alkoxycarbonyl; hydroxycarbonyl; alkoxycarbonylalkyl; hydroxycarbonylalkyl; (alkyl).sub.n amino; (alkyl).sub.n hydrazino; alkoxycarbonylalkylamino; hydroxyalkylamino; (alkyl).sub.n aminoalkylamino; (alkyl).sub.n aminocarbonylalkylamino; hydroxycarbonylalkylamino; alkylsulfonylamino; arylsulfonylamino; acetylaminoalkylamino; N-alkoxy-N-(alkyl).sub.m -amino; N-hydroxy-N-(alkyl).sub.m amino; cyanoalkylamino; (alkenyl).sub.n amino; alkoxyalkylamino; (alkynyl).sub.n amino; alkenyloxy; alkynyloxy or semicarbazido;


A bent pipe is made of a metal strip having one edge in a straight line and the other edge in a curved line by winding it helically. A double fold and a single fold are formed along the straight edge and the curved edge, respectively. Then the metal strip is wound helically so that the narrow portions will be in juxtaposition with one another.

This invention relates to a bent pipe or elbow used at a corner portion of an airconditioning duct, an exhaust pipe, a drain pipe or the like to connect pipe sections.
A bent pipe made by helically winding a metal strip and fastening together folded portions extending along its adjacent edges is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publications 59-27478 and 63-50595. Such a pipe is made from a metal strip having wide and narrow portions arranged alternately so that both side edges thereof will delineate moderately curved lines in a symmetrical relation. In making a metal strip having such a shape from a metal plate, edge portions are wasted. This contributes to the cost of the end product.


A method of dynamically allocating a variable in a tracing framework, including allocating a dynamic memory in the tracing framework having a plurality of data chunks, placing at least one of the plurality of data chunks onto a free list, allocating the at least one of the plurality of data chunks on the free list to store the variable and removing the at least one of the plurality of data chunks from the free list, deallocating the at least one of the plurality of data chunks and placing the at least one of the plurality of data chunks on a dirty list, and cleaning the at least one of the plurality of data chunks on the dirty list using a cleaning procedure to place the one of the plurality of data chunks on the free list.

Analyzing the dynamic behavior and performance of a complex software system is difficult. Typically, analysis of a software system is achieved by gathering data at each system call and post-processing the data. The following is a brief description of conventional tracing frameworks.
Conventional tracing frameworks are typically composed of various independent software modules. The primary source of information accessed by the conventional tracing frameworks is the kernel. The conventional tracing frameworks typically include a trace facility, a trace module, a daemon, and an offline data analysis and processing component. The trace facility gathers information from various components of the kernel and forwards events to the trace module. The trace module subsequently logs the events in its buffer. Periodically, the trace daemon reads the events from the trace module buffer and commits the recorded events into a user-provided file.
The trace facility is an extension to the core kernel facilities. The trace facility provides a unique entry point to all of the other kernel facilities requesting or requiring that an event be traced. Such events are not logged, but instead, the trace request is forwarded to the trace module. If the trace module is compiled as part of the kernel, then the trace module achieves this functionality by registering itself with the trace facility upon system startup. Otherwise, if the trace module is compiled and loaded as a separate module, then the registration takes place when the trace module is loaded.
During the registration process, the trace module provides the trace facility with a call-back function that is called whenever an event occurs. If no trace module is registered, then the traced events are ignored. Furthermore, the registration process provides the trace module with the ability to configure the manner in which the instruction pointer values are recorded upon the occurrence of a system call. Once configured, the kernel browses the stack to find an instruction pointer matching the desired constraints whenever a system call occurs. In summary, the kernel trace facility acts as a link between the trace module and the different kernel facilities.
The trace module stores the incoming event descriptions and delivers them efficiently to the daemon. More specifically, the trace module retrieves additional information for each event occurring in the kernel. This additional information includes the time at which the event occurred and the CPU identifier for the event.
The primary function of the daemon is to retrieve and store the information accumulated by the trace module, typically in a file. The daemon provides the user with a number of options to control the tracing process. In addition to giving the user access to the options available from the trace module, the daemon allows the user to specify the tracing duration. Once the daemon is launched, the daemon opens and configures the trace module, and sets a timer if a time duration was specified. Otherwise, the user terminates the daemon process manually to stop the trace.
During normal operation, the daemon typically sleeps, awaiting a signal to read from the trace module, or timer/terminate events to end tracing. Similar to the trace module, the daemon uses double buffering. When the daemon receives a signal from the trace module, the daemon reads the content of the buffer denoted as the read buffer and appends the content to the content in an associated internal buffer (not shown). Once the internal buffer is full, the contents of the internal buffer is committed to a file and, during this process, a second internal buffer is used to record the incoming data.
To enable processing of the event data, conventional tracing frameworks typically require the state information for the software system state prior to performing the trace. Specifically, the daemon reviews one or more system directories and records the following characteristics for each process: 1) process ID; 2) name; and 3) parent's process ID. The state information is typically retrieved after the configuration of the trace module and prior to the start of the trace. The information retrieved is stored in a file that is later used by the analysis software. Unlike the aforementioned components of the conventional tracing framework described above, the data analysis and presentation software is typically run off-line. The software uses both the initial process state and the trace data files created by the daemon to recreate the dynamic behavior of the system in a particular, observed time interval. Collating and sorting utilities with the software are used to display the stored information at the user-level.
Conventional tracing frameworks, such as the one described above, are typically designed to provide static behavior or dynamic behavior. The conventional tracing frameworks that provide static behavior are configured to perform predefined actions at predefined points within the instrumented program (i.e., the program being traced). In contrast, conventional tracing frameworks that provide dynamic behavior allow the user to configure the tracing framework to perform actions that may optionally manipulate user-defined variables. These user-defined variables are typically global and statically allocated.

Mechanism for dynamically-allocated variables in an arbitrary-context tracing framework


An input impedance matching circuit for a low noise amplifier includes a source pad, a gate pad, an input transistor, a source degeneration inductor and a matching capacitor. The gate pad receives an input signal and the input transistor amplifies the input signal transmitted from the gate pad. The source degeneration inductor electrically coupled to an external ground voltage is adapted for input impedance matching of the low noise amplifier. The source pad is coupled to a source electrode of the input transistor and the matching capacitor is formed between the gate pad and the source pad extending the source pad to be disposed under the gate pad. Accordingly, impedance matching of the low noise amplifier may be facilitated and the gain and noise figure of the low noise amplifier may be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving end of a low noise amplifier, and more particularly to a circuit for electrostatic discharge protection and input impedance matching of the low noise amplifier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a low noise amplifier having improved noise characteristics is used at a radio frequency (RF) receiver end to amplify a received RF signal. In addition, the low noise amplifier is used for impedance matching between internal elements of the low noise amplifier and an external circuit.
A degeneration inductor is widely used for impedance matching of a low noise amplifier. However, when a degeneration inductor is used for impedance matching of a low noise amplifier, noise figure may be deteriorated due to parasitic capacitance of an electrostatic discharge protection circuit and a bonding pad of the low noise amplifier so that implementing an impedance matching low noise amplifier becomes difficult.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show equivalent circuit diagrams illustrating a receiving end of a conventional low noise amplifier 10.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional low noise amplifier 10 includes a gate pad PG1, parasitic capacitors C1 and C2, an electro-static discharge protection unit D1, an input transistor M1, a source pad PS1 and a source degeneration inductor L1.
A received RF signal is input to the input transistor M1 through the gate pad PG1 and buffered by the input transistor M1 to be amplified. The electro-static discharge protection unit D1 is used to protect an RF receiver chip RFIC from an external electro-static discharge. As shown in FIG. 2, the parasitic capacitor C1 may be formed between the gate pad PG1 and a substrate SUBSTRATE of the chip RFIC. In addition, the parasitic capacitor C2 may also be formed between a source electrode and a gate electrode of the input transistor M1 during the manufacturing process of a semiconductor.
The source degeneration inductor L1 is used to remove a capacitance component of an impedance value (imaginary impedance) so that only a real impedance component will remain. The source degeneration inductor L1 may be implemented using a bonding wire to couple the source pad PS1 to an external circuit.
The input impedance of the RF receiver chip RFIC seen by the gate pad PG1 may be represented as a function of the capacitance of capacitor C2, the inductance of the source degeneration inductor L1 and the transconductance of the input transistor M1. To provide a target (desired) impedance value having only a real component required by a system, for example, 50 Ω, the capacitance value of the capacitor and the inductance value of the source degeneration inductor L1 may be adjusted to cancel each other. In addition, a matching inductor L2, which may be implemented in a separate chip and coupled to the gate pad PG1, may be used for ease of impedance matching.
As described above, except the capacitance C2 formed between the gate and source electrodes of the input transistor M1, the parasitic capacitance C1 between the substrate and the gate pad PG1 and the parasitic capacitance (not shown) between the substrate and the electrostatic discharge protection unit D1 are not used for impedance matching of the low noise amplifier, causing difficulty in the impedance matching. Moreover, the parasitic capacitance may lower the gain of the low noise amplifier and result in degradation of the noise figure.

Input impedance matching circuit for low noise amplifier


An objective of the invention is to provide an adsorbent allowing purification of a blood coagulation factor or a cell adhesion factor under mild conditions, according to simple procedures, and at a low cost and safely while having a high affinity and a high resistance to deterioration, and a method for purifying the blood coagulation factor or the cell adhesion factor; a solution is to apply a polypeptide having peptide fragments represented by formula (1) as the adsorbent for the blood coagulation factor or the cell adhesion factor, and to purify the blood coagulation factor or the cell adhesion factor using the adsorbent:-(Pro-Hyp-Gly)n-Wherein, in formula (1), n is an integer from 2 to 9,000.

Chromatography is generally known as a method for purifying biomolecules such as a protein. Specific examples include cation exchange chromatography, anion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography and affinity chromatography. An object protein can be highly purified by combining the processes. Therefore, the chromatography is an important technology in purification of erythropoietin, immunoglobulin or the like, to be used as a biomedicine, contained in blood, plasma or a culture liquid for a cell, for example. In particular, the affinity chromatography has a very higher selectivity to an object substance, as compared with other processes. Therefore, the object substance can be highly purified by a single operation, and the affinity chromatography is important as a technology by which a high productivity can be obtained in a short period of time of operation.
The affinity chromatography is performed by utilizing a ligand having an interaction with the object substance, and purification using the protein as the ligand may be performed. For example, an art is known in which an therapeutic antibodies is produced by purifying the immunoglobulins by using a protein A immobilized adsorbent, or a blood component such as fibronectin is purified by using a gelatin immobilized adsorbent.
The affinity chromatography using the protein as the ligand allows an efficient purification with a high selectivity. However, the affinity chromatography has a problem of degeneration or degradation of the ligand by alkaline washing, degradation of the ligand by protease, or deterioration of the ligand caused by weakness of the ligand per se.
Moreover, in the affinity chromatography using the protein as the ligand, an animal origin material may be mixed in a ligand material, and the affinity chromatography also has a problem of safety thereof. More specifically, a demand has been recently provided for avoiding use of a bovine origin gelatin as the ligand from a concern to zoonosis such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, and a ligand material in place of the animal origin material is required.
Furthermore, in the affinity chromatography using the protein as the ligand, conditions for recovering the object substance do not always become mild in consequence of a high affinity between the ligand and the object substance. For example, in one case, acidic conditions (pH 3, for example) are needed when allowing elution of the immunoglobulin from the protein A immobilized gel, and in another case, 8 M urea, 1 M NaBr, arginine or the like is used when allowing elution of the fibronectin from the gelatin immobilized gel (Non-patent literature No. 1). Under such severe elution conditions, the affinity chromatography has a fear of degeneration of the protein as the object substance, and expensiveness due to a high concentration of a reagent such as urea or arginine to be used for elution, and has a problem of cost and complicatedness thereof from necessity of treatment such as neutralization after an elution step.
Thus, an affinity ligand is required by which the protein can be purified in the purification of the protein under mild conditions, according to simple procedures, and at a low cost and safely while having a high affinity with the object substance and a high resistance to deterioration.
Meanwhile, a collagen well known as one of the biomolecules is a generic term for a protein having a triple helical structure formed of assembled three helices of polypeptides including repetitions of Gly-X-Y (wherein, X and Y represent various kinds of amino acids, X is Pro and Y is Hyp in many cases) in an identical direction.
A native collagen is known to be bonded with various kinds of biomolecules, or to have platelet aggregation capacity. A molecule such as a specific protein has been found to be bonded to a specific amino acid sequence in the native collagen so far (Non-patent literature No. 3). A study has been conducted for creating a collagen-like peptide to be bonded with a specific object molecule by utilizing such a finding. For example, a collagen-like peptide having a specific amino acid sequence to be bonded with collagen-binding molecules such as a von Willebrand factor is disclosed (Non-patent literature No. 2).
Moreover, a polypeptide having a repetition structure of a sequence of Pro-X-Gly (wherein X represents Pro or Hyp) as created as the collagen-like peptide has been found. The polypeptide has been found to have the platelet aggregation capacity (Non-patent literature No. 4), and a platelet aggregation induction substance containing the peptide has been disclosed (Patent literature No. 1). However, polypeptide fragments having the repetition structure of the sequence have not been known to be bonded with the fibronectin, the von Willebrand factor or the like with a high affinity.

Adsorbent for blood coagulation factor or cell adhesion factor and method for purifying the factor


The present invention relates generally to brush cutters and baling machines and methods of operation therefor, and more specifically, to an apparatus and a method for brush cutting and baling wood chips formed during land clearing activities. The apparatus includes a vehicle having front and rear ends. A brush cutter is carried at the front end of the vehicle. The brush cutter has a housing and a brush cutting head mounted for rotation within the housing. The brush cutting head has a support body and a plurality of cutting teeth mounted thereon. The cutting teeth are capable of reducing brush to wood chips and cutting debris when the brush cutting head is actuated. The brush cutting head is operable to take up at least some of the wood chips and cutting debris into the brush cutter housing while the cutting teeth are reducing brush to wood chips and cutting debris. The apparatus is further provided with a bale forming apparatus coupled for towage to the rear end of the vehicle. The bale forming apparatus is operable to form bales of wood chips. A plurality of conveyor assemblies is carried on the brush cutting and bale forming apparatus for transporting the wood chips from the brush cutter housing to the bale forming apparatus.

Land clearing (i.e. felling and mulching) operations are often performed with a heavy-duty brush cutter mounted to the front of a work vehicle. A typical brush cutter includes a brush cutting head provided with an elongate support body that carries about its outer surface a plurality of teeth adapted to cut trees, brush or the like. The cutting teeth are typically fixed to the outer surface of the drum via mounting blocks. As the support body rotates at high speed, the cutting edge of tooth comes into contact with the brush thereby creating debris as a result of the cutting action of the tooth. The resulting debris is comprised of wood chips, vegetative detritus, small rocks and dirt. Typically, following the land clearing activities, this debris is left on the ground where it will eventually (at least partially) decompose. While this may enrich the soil, it tends not to be a very efficient use of natural resources given that no effort is made to recover and use the wood chips which (while actually quite versatile) tend to be regarded as a waste by-product of land clearing activities.
In light of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to have an apparatus and method which would allow wood chips to be relatively easily, recovered, collected, stored and transported for use so as to minimize wastage of such wood chips and enhance utilization of natural resources.

Apparatus and method for brush cutting and baling wood chips formed during land clearing activities


A method of transmitting and receiving paging messages in a wireless communication system is disclosed. The method of transmitting paging messages in a wireless communication system comprises transmitting paging messages to a plurality of user equipments from a network of the wireless communication system, wherein the network transmits the paging messages to different user equipments, which are in different connection states, through different channels.

In a wireless communication system, a paging procedure is used to call a specific user equipment or a plurality of user equipments. Two kinds of paging messages, i.e., Paging Type 1 and Paging Type 2 are used in a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS).
The Paging Type 1 message is used to call a user equipment which is in an idle mode and a connected mode of CELL-PCH and URA_PCH. A core network can call a user equipment which is in an idle mode to set up signaling access to the user equipment or to request the user equipment of setup of call or session. Furthermore, the core network can call a user equipment which is in a state of CELL-PCH or URA_PCH so that the user equipment performs a cell update procedure or a URA (UTRAN Registration Area) update procedure. Also, UTRAN can use the Paging Type 1 message to command the user equipment to read updated system information. Since the updated system information is important for all user equipments within a cell, all user equipments within a cell can be called. To identify a user equipment which is to be called, a paging message includes identification information of a user equipment. If a user equipment is in an idle mode, the paging message includes identification information of an upper level, such as International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI), and Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI). If a user equipment is in a connected mode, the paging message includes UTRAN radio network temporary identity (U-RNTI).
The Paging Type 2 message is used in case where the user equipment is in a connected mode of Cell_DCH or Cell FACH state. Also, the Paging Type 2 message is used to additionally call the user equipment through RRC connection which is previously set. Since the RRC connection is used for the Paging Type 2 message, a dedicated call of a specific user equipment can be implemented.
A user equipment which is in an idle mode and a connected mode of CELL_PCH and URA_PCH state in the UMTS supports a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode to reduce power consumption. The discontinuous reception mode means that a user equipment does not always monitor a specific channel to receive downlink data transmitted from a network but is in a sleep mode for most of the time and wakes up for a specific interval to identify the presence of data received from the network. When there is a call from the user equipment, the UTRAN transmits paging indication (PI) to the user equipment through a paging indication channel (PICH) to indicate that a paging message will be transmitted after a certain time period. The user equipment which has received PI receives the paging message after a certain time period.
As described above, in a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a user equipment which is in a connected mode of CELL-PCH or URA-PCH as well as a user equipment which is in an idle mode is operated in accordance with the DTX mode. However, in the related art, since a network calls a user equipment which is in an idle mode and a user equipment which is in a connected mode of CELL_PCH or URA_PCH by using the same paging channel, problems occur in that the paging channel is not suitable for features of the user equipments which are in respective states and radio resources cannot be used efficiently.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of transmitting and receiving paging messages in a wireless communication system


A supporting panel for package comprises a rectangular base plate. Four inclining plates are formed at sides of the base plate, and provided with erecting plates, respectively. The supporting plates are formed into package members by folding the supporting panels along folds so that the inclining plates are inclined with respect to the base plate and the erecting plates are erected vertically. The packing device is composed of package members formed from the supporting panels which are opposed to each other, and partition plates disposed between the above-mentioned package members, wherein the supporting panels are connected with each other through partition plates. Plural wares can be packed one by one into parts into which a space between the package members are divided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting panel for package and a packing device which enables fragile wares to be packed safely, and in particular to a supporting panel and a packing device for packing safely fragile wares such as cases for micro-precision products into which photomasks, a color filter, and precision etching products are packed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, as to the above-mentioned supporting panel for package, the applicant disclosed a supporting panel in Utility Model Publication No. 41312 of 1988.
This supporting panel comprises a base plate, four inclining plates connected at four sides of the base plate with the base plate, four erecting plates connected with the inclining plates, respectively and hook-shaped slits which are formed at four corners in the inclining plates.
In fabricating the supporting panels for package into package members, the supporting panels are folded along folds around the hook-shaped slits so that the supporting panels are formed into tray-shaped package members having central portions which are concave.
When using the package members fabricated from the supporting panels for package, upper and lower sides of wares are covered by a pair of the package members.
However, when the above-mentioned supporting panels are formed into tray-shaped package members by using the hook-shaped slits and folding the supporting panels along folds around the hook-shaped slits, a special Jig for forming the supporting panel for package into package members is needed, and the supporting panels for package should be formed into a tray-shape by the special jig.
Further, when using the above-mentioned supporting panel for package, it is difficult to safely pack plural wares arranged in parallel.

Supporting panel for package and packing device


A pattern structure of a photomask for a patterned sapphire substrate (PPS) and an exposure method are disclosed. The pattern structure is formed by stitching a plurality of identical polygons each including at least two sector-shaped opaque areas (7) and one transparent area (2). The polygons are joined together by stitching the sector-shaped opaque areas (7) into round opaque areas (1). Boundary areas of the photomask that are unable to accommodate a complete one of the polygons are configured as opaque areas (1). This pattern structure ensures that the round opaque areas (1) near the frames will not be affected by lighting conditions. During the exposure of another identical PSS photomask pattern, it only needs to superimpose it with the first photomask pattern at their frames to allow the part other than the frame to be exposed. In this way, the photomask pattern and exposure method solves the problem of blurred pattern image edges arising from excessively narrow gaps between photomask frames and opaque areas (1).

In the fabrication of LEDs, the adoption of patterned sapphire substrates (hereinafter referred to as PSS) can help to achieve reduced internal light loss, enhanced lateral light extraction, less heat generation, extended life spans and a much milder lattice mismatch between sapphire and gallium nitride (GaN) of the LEDs. Therefore, the existing PSS technologies have been widely used in the LED industry. Due to the demanding PSS requirements for pattern uniformity, steppers are usually used for the exposure of the patterns.
At present, most common PSS patterns are arranged in a 60°-, 120°- or 180°-array, as shown in FIG. 1. However, steppers often perform exposure orthogonally in an X-Y coordinate system. Therefore, photomasks adopted in steppers usually assume a rectangular shape with chrome-plated opaque areas 01 that do not allow the passage of light from the light source and a transparent area 02 that is not plated with chrome and allows light from the light source to transmit through the transparent area 02. The photomask has a rectangular shape and the four sides thereof constitute boundaries of the photomask. As shown in the figure, some opaque areas 01 are cut by the boundaries of the photomask into halves. Generally, the round opaque areas 01 have a diameter of 2-2.3 μm and a minimum allowable pitch of 3 μm. With such a conventional pattern, an optical proximity effect (OPE) may be given rise due to excessively narrow gaps between the boundaries of the photomask and the nearby round opaque areas 01.
If P represents a recurrence period of the round opaque areas 01, D represents the diameter of the round opaque areas 01, and a represents the pitch between adjacent round opaque areas 01, then a=P−D. In the pattern of FIG. 1, a boundary of the photomask may traverse gaps that define the pitch a, so that the boundary is spaced apart from the nearest round opaque areas 01 by a distance of only a/2. Generally, P=3 μm and D ranges from 2 μm to 2.3 μm, so a/2 ranges from 0.35 μm to 0.5 μm. On the other hand, a photolithography machine has a lower resolution limit given by
      R    =                  k        1            ×              λ        NA              ,where λ denotes the wavelength, usually of 365 nm, NA denotes the numerical aperture, usually in the range of 0.32 to 0.5, and k1 denotes the process factor, usually of 0.7 μm. It will be found from a calculation that the lower resolution limit of photolithography machines commonly used in PSS technology is in the range of 0.5 μm to 0.8 μm, greater than a/2. In other words, the distances between the boundaries and adjacent round opaque areas 01 are too small. FIG. 2 shows a light intensity distribution of the light incident on the surface of a photoresist layer when using the photomask with the pattern of FIG. 1 to expose the photoresist. In FIG. 2, the photomask is shown to be placed in an X-Y coordinate system, the dark areas correspond to the opaque areas 01 and the bright area corresponds to the transparent area 02. An actual measurement revealed that the light intensity at the boundaries of the photomask was 50% of the light intensity at the central transparent area 02 of the photomask. This is considered to be a consequence of an optical proximity effect (OPE). Due to the optical proximity effect, in the image formed by exposing the photomask, those portions of the image corresponding to the round opaque areas 01 close to the boundaries of the photomask often present dimensional unevenness or cannot be clearly developed.
In order to overcome this problem, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN102520576B of Chinese Patent Application No. CN201110367148.5, filed Jun. 27, 2012, proposes a PSS photomask pattern, as shown in FIG. 3, which is made up of hexagonal units. However, in this pattern, a portion of the transparent area between a round opaque area and a boundary of the photomask has a width that is only one half of a distance between adjacent round areas, and the corresponding light intensity distribution is shown in FIG. 4. An actual measurement also revealed that the light intensity at the boundaries of the photomask was 50% of the light intensity at the central area of the photomask. Therefore, this solution fails to solve the aforementioned problem.
Chinese Patent Publication No. CN103365070A of Chinese Patent Application No. CN201210089168.5, filed Oct. 23, 2013, describes a photomask pattern consisting of two sets of holes that are periodically staggered and configured to produce light beams with different phases. While this pattern can produce a clear image, it requires the use of negative photoresist, and accordingly, proper adjustments must be made in the photolithography system, so the process cost is high.
Chinese Patent Publication No. CN103337566A of Chinese Patent Application No. CN201310243141.1, filed Oct. 2, 2013, proposes a method including the steps of: forming a patterned photoresist corresponding to part of a desired substrate pattern on a front side of a sapphire substrate using a photolithography process; depositing a stop layer over the front side of the substrate; removing the photoresist by a lift-off process, such that only the portion of the stop layer on the substrate is retained; forming another patterned photoresist corresponding to the remaining part of the desired substrate pattern by another photolithography process; depositing another stop layer over the substrate; removing the photoresist and the portion of the stop layer thereon using another lift-off process; and etching the sapphire substrate to form the desired substrate pattern by a wet or dry etching process. Although this solution can effectively mitigate the foregoing problem, the process is complex and costs much.
Chinese Patent Publication No. CN103576440A of Chinese Patent Application No. CN201310473082.7, filed Feb. 12, 2014, proposes to modify the opaque areas into plum-like shapes. It has also been proposed in the prior art to use volcano-shaped opaque areas. However, those opaque areas can only improve the light extraction, but still fail to solve the problem of blurred image edges arising from excessively narrow gaps between photomask boundaries and opaque areas.
Therefore, there is a need for a PSS photomask pattern and an exposure method, which can solve the problem of blurred pattern image edges that may arise from too small distances between photomask boundaries and opaque areas while not increasing process complexity and cost.

Pattern structure and exposure method of patterned sapphire substrate mask

SHANGHAI MICRO ELECTRONICS EQUIPMENT (GROUP) CO., LTD.


The present invention provides a pellet handling equipment for conveying pellets. The pellet handling equipment is essentially composed of a first roller device, a second roller device, and a pellet supplying device. The first roller device is supported generally horizontal and rotatable about an axis thereof for a rotation in a predetermined direction. The second roller device is disposed parallel and adjacent to the first roller device, supported rotatable about an axis thereof for a rotation in a same direction with the first roller device. The second roller device is provided with a slot formed in a circumferential surface thereof and extending in the axial direction. The slot is capable of receiving each one of the pellets. The pellet supplying device intermittently supplies the pellets to the first and second roller device. Each of the intermittently supplied pellets is supported by the first and second roller device therebetween so that the axis of the pellet is parallel to the axes of the first and second roller device. Then, the pellet is rotated about an axis thereof as the first and second roller device rotate, trapped in the slot of the second roller device, and conveyed to the side opposite to the first roller device.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to a mechanical apparatus for handling pellets and the like, as well as examining the external appearance of the handled material.
2. Prior Art
In general, pellets to be loaded into nuclear fuel rods are manufactured by molding green compacts of uranium dioxide and similar nuclear fuel powders into a cylindrical form, then sintering. Because defects may develop on the surface of the pellets during the manufacturing process, it is necessary that they be inspected.
In the past, inspection of such pellets has been carried out by visual examination by inspection personnel. During this inspection, pellets with surface flaws are removed. With such a method, however, it is necessary that each sintered pellet be individually examined in order to obtain reliable results. Such an inspection method is quite laborious and considerably inefficient, and furthermore, places considerable demands on the inspection personnel.
With this in mind, various types of imaging equipment for examining the surfaces of the pellets have been proposed. With such methods, however, elaborate pellet handling devices are required to handle the pellets. Thus visualization and throughput of the pellets at a sufficiently high rate has not yet been achieved.

Pellet handling and external inspection equipment


A cosmetic composition is provided having ingredients that may prevent signs or conditions of aging and/or damage in skin, improve the aesthetic appearance of skin, and promote recovery from environmental stresses. The composition includes natural ingredients, including pomegranate juice concentrate; pomegranate extract; pomegranate seed oil; and at least one pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the invention described herein pertain to the field of skin care compositions and methods relating to the production of such products. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention relate to a pomegranate based skin care composition particularly for topical applications related to counteracting skin aging, preventing risk of skin cancer, and improving overall skin health.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many personal care products currently available to consumers are directed primarily to improving the health and/or physical appearance of the skin. Among these skin care products, many are directed to delaying, minimizing or even eliminating skin wrinkling and other histological changes typically associated with the aging of skin or environmental damage to human skin. Numerous compounds are described in the art as being useful for regulating skin condition, including regulating fine lines, wrinkles and other forms of uneven or rough surface texture.
Skin aging is a complex phenomenon that occurs from interactions between many extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Extrinsic factors include ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g., from sun exposure), environmental pollution, wind, heat, low humidity, harsh surfactants, abrasives, and the like. Intrinsic factors include chronological aging and other biochemical changes (e.g., from genetically programmed process) from within the skin. Whether extrinsic or intrinsic, these factors result in visible signs of skin aging and environmental damage, such as wrinkling and other forms of roughness (including increased pore size, flaking and skin lines), loss of rigidity or elasticity, uneven pigmentation on the surface, and other histological changes associated with skin aging or damage. To many people, the visible signs of skin aging or damage are a reminder of the disappearance of youth. As a result, the elimination of visible signs of skin aging or damage is a booming business in youth-conscious societies. Treatments range from cosmetic creams and moisturizers to various forms of cosmetic surgery.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is one of extrinsic factors associated with skin disorders in human. UV radiation induces a number of harmful responses including erythema, edema, hyperpigmentation, hyperphasic responses, immunosuppression, photoaging and skin cancer. Both UVB and to a lesser extent UVA are causative factors for sun-light induced skin disorders diagnosed in humans. UVB radiation is the most damaging part of the solar radiation reaching the earth and acts mainly on the epidermal basal cell layer of skin. Exposure of skin to UV light initiates a photo-oxidative reaction which impairs the antioxidant status and increases cellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accompanied by activation of many ROS-sensitive signaling pathways. This impairs the ability of skin to protect itself resulting in increased oxidative stress, with consequent damage to the cutaneous tissues, a process commonly known as "photoaging". Among all adverse effects of UV radiation, skin cancer is of greatest concern because the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate and is the leading cause of malignancy in the United States.
Primary prevention of skin cancer, which includes the use of sunscreens or wearing of protective clothing, is recommended for reducing the risk of skin cancer but for many reasons these primary prevention approaches have met with limited success. Sunscreens and other anti-aging actives are not effective in revitalizing skin that has already been damaged by sun, aging or other factors.
Improved identification of key botanical and/or chemical actives for the effects on skin aging are made possible by analyzing for levels of the various biomarkers implicated in various skin disorders. It has been shown that exposure of human skin to UVB radiation upregulates the synthesis of the matrix-degrading enzymes matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), such as MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -8, -9, -11, and -12, which have been implicated in photoaging. UVB-mediated activation of biomarkers, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), plays an important role in inflammation, immunity, cell proliferation and skin carcinogenesis. As aforementioned, ROS have been implicated in many of the undesirable aspects of skin aging whether due to intrinsic cause or exposure to UV radiation.
Aquaporins (AQPs) are proteins that facilitate the transport of water across cell membranes. So far, thirteen different AQPs have been identified in mammals (AQP 0-12). The aquaglyceroporin AQP3 expression is related to the expressions of other epidermal proteins involved in water maintenance (i.e., CD44, claudin-1, and filaggrin). The expressions of AQP3 water channels are strongly affected by age and chronic sun exposure, and a defective osmotic equilibrium could occur in the epidermis, which would account for the skin dryness observed in older people and skin areas most exposed to sunlight.
Based on the foregoing, there is a continuing need to formulate skin care compositions with a viable shelf life containing actives that are effective in retarding the aging effects of sunlight, retarding the natural effects of aging on the skin, such as drying and loss of elasticity and improving the appearance of skin, moisturizing/re-hydrating and tightening and firming skin, while also having any combinations of potent free radical scavenging, antioxidant, antiflammatory, antimicrobial, antiproliferative and antitumoriogenic properties.

Pomegranate based skin protectant and topical application


A low profile backpack system is provided which includes a mechanism for allowing free movement of the shoulder straps as the wearer moves, bends, twists from side to side, etc. The inventive mechanism comprises a buckle having a pair of transverse elongated slots. The buckle is fixed to the top of the pack by means of a single vertically oriented strap which passes through the lower of the two slots. A second strap passes through the upper slot and has its ends fixed to an end of each of two shoulder straps adapted to fit over the shoulders of the wearer. A further inventive feature is the provision of a quick release fire shelter on the pack which may be deployed by one hand. The shelter is stored in a rectangularly shaped pouch depending from the bottom of the pack. An open end of the pouch is selectively closed by a flap secured by Velcro fasteners. Pulling a release strap depending from the pouch first disengages the fasteners. Further pulling of the release strap causes the folded safety tent to be ejected from a plastic housing in which it is stored within the pouch.

Backpacks used by firefighters include a pair of laterally spaced shoulder straps which are fixed to the top of the pack and pass over the shoulders to respective attachment points at the bottom of the pack. The packs may include a back panel which is adapted to contact the wearer's back, and a front panel spaced away from the wearer's back. A bottom panel connects the lower edge of the front panel with the lower edge of the back panel. A side panel extends from the left side of the bottom panel to the right side of the bottom panel. The panels are typically sewn together to form the pack and connect the shoulder straps. At least one zippered opening is provided to enable accessing the pack.
Typically, the shoulder straps have their upper free ends sewn to the top of the back panel. The lower free ends may be directly sewn to the lower back panel or to the side panel. Alternatively, a waist strap adapted to encircle the waist of the wearer is fixed to the lower back panel as by sewing. A releasable buckle permits the free ends to be secured together and adjustment buckles are provided to take up slack. Such adjustment buckles may also be provided to take up slack in the shoulder straps. If desired, the lower free ends of the shoulder straps may terminate and be fixed to the waist strap where one is provided.
In defending against forest or grass fires, firefighters frequently use shovels or trenching tools and operate these in a bent or at least partially bent over position. The firefighters' shoulders are frequently alternated in position, with first the left, then the right forward, and then back. With conventional backpacks, this necessary movement is inhibited by the fixed connection of the shoulder straps to the top of the pack. Since the shoulder straps with these conventional backpacks stay in one place, wearing them for many hours on the fireline can become uncomfortable and tiring. This reduces firefighter effectiveness.
Firefighters must also frequently carry a safety tent in a folded condition for quick deployment if a fire should suddenly turn on them. Such safety tents typically have a metallized surface which is fire resistant. When threatened, the firefighter has to remove his or her pack, unzip the pack flap, locate the safety tent in the pack, remove it from the pack and then deploy it. Alternatively, if the tent is stored within a pouch worn on the belt, the firefighter must open the pouch and pull the shelter vertically out of the pouch. This is difficult, especially in a panic situation and when wearing gloves. The firefighter then enters the tent and is protected as the fire passes over and around the tent. Since seconds may literally mean the difference between life and death, it is essential that the tent be deployed in the shortest possible time. Conventional packs thus described do not satisfy this need.

Anatomic low profile pack system with quick release fire shelter


This pump for refrigerating systems, in particular for aeronautical applications, comprises a pump body accommodating an impeller rotatable about a main axis; the impeller is substantially disk-shaped and has, on at least one of its faces, a plurality of radial blades arranged along a circular crown which is concentric to the main axis. The radial blades are accommodated in an annular duct which extends in the pump body concentrically to the main axis and is axially delimited, on one side, by the blade bearing face of the impeller; the annular duct has an intake port and a delivery port which are angularly spaced with respect to the main axis for the inflow and outflow of a fluid and is closed in an axial direction at least in the region not affected by the ports, so that when the impeller rotates the fluid advances along the annular duct from the intake port to the delivery port forming vortices about the circumference defined by the annular duct.

The present invention relates to a pump for refrigerating systems, in particular for aeronautical applications.
As is known, axial or centrifugal pumps are used in refrigerating systems to compress the working fluid, which is generally freon. Such pumps have a pumping capacity ##EQU1## (where .DELTA.p is the obtainable pressure difference, .rho. is the density of the working fluid and V.sub.p is the impeller peripheral speed) which is relatively low, and therefore when high pressure differences are required in the refrigerating cycle, i.e. when the difference between the condensation temperature and the evaporation temperature is large, it is necessary to use multiple compression stages and/or pumps with an impeller driven at a high rotation rate. In refrigerating systems for aeronautical applications, used for example to refrigerate electronic components, high pressure differences are required. However, in this particular application it is necessary to provide very compact refrigerating systems in order to keep their weight within acceptable limits. Therefore the use of centrifugal or axial pumps is troublesome since the required number of compression stages and/or the use of high-speed electric motors considerably increases the overall weight of the refrigerating system.
Furthermore, in view of the variability of the demand of condensed fluid, said fluid very often enters the first compression stage while it is still liquid, causing the breakage or malfunction of the pump and entailing the use of additional devices, such as for example safety valves, with the effect of further increasing the weight of the system.

Pump for refrigeration systems, in particular for aeronautical applications

F.I.M.A.C. Fabbrica Italiana Macchine Aria Compressa S.p.A.


A memory error detecting apparatus for detecting an error of a subject memory, the memory error detecting apparatus includes a memory bus connected to the subject memory, a mirror memory connected to the memory bus so as to receive the same data as data to be written into and read from the subject memory, the received data being written into the mirror memory, an address acquiring portion configured to acquire an address related to the data written into the subject memory, a mirror memory controller configured to control data writing or reading to or from the mirror memory on the basis of the acquired address, a comparator configured to compare data read from the subject memory and data read from the mirror memory, and an error detector configured to detect a data error on the basis of a result of the comparison.

Conventionally, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer may have had a memory module such as a DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) which is a main memory. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus 500 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 510, a memory controller 520, and a DIMM 530.
The CPU 510 is an arithmetic processing apparatus which performs data computing and processing and instructs the memory controller 520 to write/read data to/from the DIMM 530. The memory controller 520 is connected to the DIMM 530 and, in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 510, writes or reads data to or from the DIMM 530. The DIMM 530 has a plurality of DRAMs (dynamic random access memories) 531a to 531d, and the DRAMs 531a to 531d store data.
The memories are physically linearly disposed in accordance with the address spaces in the CPU. In recent years, a CPU has used virtual memory which virtually allocates a memory space protected for each process. Thus, a memory management function such as paging has been used which manages the space of a main storage device by dividing the space into pages having a predetermined size. Another method may be memory segmentation. Such a memory management function may be built in a CPU for a personal computer.
The virtual memory refers to a type of memory management method which allows a multitask operating system having discontinuous memory areas to pretend to have continuous memory areas against software (such as processes). The virtual memory provides a system for virtually implementing a larger storage area than a main storage device provided on a computer. The system of the virtual memory allows the use of a part of the memory space for a large-capacity external storage device such as a hard disk device and may provide the use of a memory space more than the capacity of the memory.
A virtually given address is called a logical address, and a valid address on real memory is called a physical address. The range of logical addresses is called a logical address space, and the range of physical addresses is called a physical address space.
A memory address is a unique identifier of a position on memory to or from which a CPU or other hardware writes and reads data in a computer. Typically, the memory address is expressed by an integer. In a computer in a byte access mode, an address is used for identifying one byte in memory. For that, data which does not fit to one byte is stored in a plurality of bytes occupying continuous addresses. A memory address is used in both logical memory and physical memory.
If a memory error occurs in the DIMM 530 when the information processing apparatus is being used, the information processing apparatus is stopped once, and the failed DIMM 530 may be replaced, imposing a load on a user. A memory error may be caused by a failed block (failure area) which is disabled to store data among memory blocks (storage areas) in the DRAMs 531a to 531d.
The failure information on the DRAMs 531a to 531d may be stored collectively in a non-volatile memory 532 provided in the DIMM 530, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The failure information on the DRAMs 531a to 531d may be separately stored in non-volatile memory areas provided within the DRAMs 531a to 531d.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a processing routine when a memory error occurs. As illustrated in FIG. 2, upon powered on, a chip set starts monitoring a failure condition of the DRAMs 531a to 531d (S101). Next, the chip set determines whether a failure of the DRAMs 531a to 531d has been detected or not (S102). If no failure is detected in the DRAMs 531a to 531d (No in S102), the processing moves to S101 where the chip set continuously monitors a failure condition of the DRAMs 531a to 531d. On the other hand, if it is determined that a failure in the DRAMs 531a to 531d has been detected (Yes in S102), the chip set saves the failure information (S103) and then powers off (S104). The processing then ends. If the DIMM 530 determined as having a failure is replaced by a new DIMM 530.
The memory error refers to a state that a failed block which is disabled to store data, that is, a failure region occurs in a memory block of a DRAM or a storage area. If a memory has an error, the module having the memory with the error is removed from the computer system, and the memory is replaced. Then, the memory module is inserted to the computer system again.
In a memory module having an error, the failure position in the memory may be analyzed and identified.
For the memory failure analysis, detecting an error address and error bit in the memory of a memory module is important. However, an error address and an error bit displayed by a CPU refer to a logical address and bit, the logical address may be converted to a physical address for identification of the memory having the error.
A memory controller accesses the position instructed in memory in accordance with an instruction from the CPU. When the conversion specifications for converting the logical address instructed by the CPU to a physical address in a memory controller is not available to a user, it is difficult to correlate the memory error and the error in the system having the memory module.
According to a memory error analysis method in a prior art, each of the memory modules may have been inserted to a testing system to determine the memory having an error within a memory module. Furthermore, because the conversion specifications to a physical address are not available, the error analysis has taken time.
When the analysis is performed by a testing system which is different from the system having used the memory module, a difference may occur in the system environment. The difference may result in a different error determination. For that reason, the error may not be found by the test in some error modes.
Detail examples of memory test coverage failures will be described. Following intermittent and marginal failures may cause a system operational failure though the memories having the failures operate normally when they are normally tested alone: 1) A failure caused when a subject memory is operated under a specific algorithm. 2) A failure caused only when the subject memory is dependent on specific write data. 3) A failure under influence a controller or a power supply system, which is caused only when the subject memory is used in applications for the controller or power supply system. 4) A failure under influence a load condition or a transmission system, which is caused only when the subject memory is used in applications for the load condition or transmission system. 5) A failure caused only when the subject memory is used at a specific timing (asynchronously). 6) A failure caused by significant operation variations of memory cells due to repetitive accesses to the subject memory. These failures may be analyzed only when the subject memory is used in an actual system.
The following is a reference document.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-102328

Memory error detecting apparatus and method


Systems for magnetoacoustically transferring sound across an acoustic barrier include first and second acoustic resonators positioned on opposite sides of the barrier. Each of the first and second resonators includes an attached magnet. Via magnetic coupling between the magnets, an acoustic oscillation at the first resonator induces an oscillation of the same frequency at the second resonator. Thus sound waves absorbed at the first resonator are magnetically transferred across the barrier to the second resonator, from which they are emitted.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it may be described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present technology.
Sound can propagate through compressible media such as air or water. If there is no medium (i.e., vacuum) or a medium is very rigid (negligible compressibility), sound propagation is prohibited. These sound barriers need to be overcome in some applications including communication, and wireless sound (or vibration) energy harvesting. Magnet coupling between magnets can exert a repulsive or attractive force depending on the polarity of the magnets. Such a non-contact force induced by magnetic coupling can be used to transport acoustic energy across sound barriers.
It would be desirable to provide a passive control system, requiring no input, and enabling a metamaterial composed of membrane resonators to specifically reflect high amplitude acoustic waves. It would additionally be desirable to provide a simple and highly effective mechanism for active control of such a metamaterial.

Magnetic coupling for sound transmission

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A support member includes a plate and an engaging member formed to the plate. The extends laterally and is defined by an upper surface, a lower surface and a rail that extends downward from the lower surface proximate an outer edge of the plate. The engaging member is formed to the lower surface of the plate and around a portion of the rail. The engaging member includes a surface engaging shoulder extending downward from a lower surface of the engaging member and formed around an outer surface of the engaging member. The surface engaging shoulder extends outside of and below the rail. The engaging member includes an upper shoulder formed above the surface engaging shoulder. The engaging member is configured so that the surface engaging shoulder and the upper shoulder flex upward when a force is applied downward to the upper surface of the plate.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems (IHSs), and more particularly to an IHS support member for supporting an IHS chassis.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an IHS. An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHSs typically include an IHS chassis that is commonly placed on a support surface when the IHS is being used. It is desirable for the IHS chassis to sit level with the support surface and not rock and/or wobble when a force is applied to the IHS chassis.
Preventing the rocking and/or wobbling of the IHS chassis, especially on an uneven surface, may be addressed by providing support members or 'feet' that extend from the bottom surface of the IHS chassis to engage the support surface in order to prevent the bottom surface of the IHS chassis from engaging the support surface. One solution includes relatively hard, solid support members fabricated from plastic, metal, or other similar materials. However, this type of solution requires careful control of the distortion tolerances in the IHS chassis that may be introduced during and/or after manufacture of the IHS to ensure that the rocking and/or wobble phenomenon is avoided. Distortion tolerances may arise due to assembly deviations, part bending, weight deviations, and/or any variety of reasons and thus, can raise costs of manufacturing the IHS. Another solution includes relatively soft solid support members fabricated from rubber or other similar material. However, the distortion tolerances discussed above can still result in the rocking and/or wobble phenomenon by preventing all of the support members from engaging the support surface simultaneously. Yet another solution is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a double shoot support member (A) having a rubber outer portion (B), a plastic insert support (C), which includes an integrated plastic attachment heat stake (D) to hold the member (A) to the IHS chassis (E). As should be understood, the plastic insert support (C) that extends outward near the outer edges of the support member (A) causes the support member (A) to have a small deformation capability. However, these traditional support members cannot transform shape enough to absorb system wobble.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved IHS support member for supporting an IHS chassis.

Information handling system support member


An engine ECU executes a control routine including steps of performing output variation control for periodically varying the output of an engine, if control of the engine is not being stopped, at the time of a communication abnormality, and a predetermined time elapses from the time of occurrence of the communication abnormality, and a step of performing fuel-cut control, when the engine speed falls outside a predetermined range.

1. Technical Field
The embodiment relates to control of a hybrid vehicle that uses two or more control units for engine control, and particularly relates to engine stop control when the two or more control units cannot communicate with each other.
2. Description of Related Art
A hybrid vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-231244 (JP 2014-231244 A) includes an engine, a first motor coupled to an output shaft of the engine, and a second motor for driving the vehicle. This hybrid vehicle is equipped with an engine control unit, and an HV (Hybrid Vehicle) control unit. The HV control unit controls the first motor and the second motor, and outputs an engine command signal to the engine control unit via communication with the engine control unit. The engine control unit controls the engine according to the engine command signal received from the HV control unit. When there is an abnormality in communication between the HV control unit and the engine control unit, the HV control unit cuts off a relay for supplying electric power to fuel injection valves of the engine, so as to stop operation of the engine. In this manner, even when an abnormality arises in communication between the HV control unit and the engine control unit, the HV control unit can directly stop the engine, without communicating with the engine control unit.