An apparatus using a film cartridge having an IC memory unit. The IC memory unit is arranged beneath a side of a cartridge shell of the film cartridge, and a positioning hole is formed on the side of the cartridge shell. In order to read/write information from/to the IC memory unit, an arm of a contact unit is rotated towards the cartridge shell, so that a positioning pin provided at the arm end engages the positioning hole to position the cartridge shell, and contact pins provided at the arm end are brought into contact with terminals of the IC memory unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a film cartridge with an IC memory, an apparatus that uses it, and a method of using it, and more particularly to a film cartridge with an IC memory, an apparatus that uses the film cartridge with the IC memory such as a camera, a photofinishing apparatus and a film image reproducing apparatus, and a method of using the film cartridge with the IC memory including a procedure for reading information from the IC memory.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been proposed an advanced photographic film in which a magnetic layer is formed on one side of a silver halide film (U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,745). A film cartridge for containing the film and a camera that uses the film cartridge have also been developed, and they have become standardized worldwide.
As shown in FIGS. 19(A) and 19(B), in the above-mentioned new standard film cartridge 100, a continuous photographic film 103 is wound on a spool 102 and is contained in a substantially cylindrical cartridge shell 101, which has a light-shielding structure. A light-shielding door 104 is provided at one end of the cartridge shell 101. The film 103 is entirely contained in the cartridge shell 101 and the light-shielding door 104 protects the film 103 from external light, if the film cartridge 100 containing the unexposed film has not been loaded in the camera yet or when the film cartridge 100 containing the exposed film is out of the camera. The light-shielding door 104 is opened and closed by inserting a door driver (not shown) into a door driving hole 106 and rotating the door driver.
A data disk 105 is provided at one side (a reference side) of the cartridge shell 101, and the data disk 105 rotates in association with the spool 102. A bar code indicating film information such as type, sensitivity and a number of frames to be exposed of the film 103 is printed on the outer surface of the data disk 105. Circular, square, X and semicircular holes 111, 112, 113 and 114 are punched at the other side of the cartridge shell 101. A white sectorial piece (not shown) is provided at the back of the holes and is fixed to the spool 102, and one of the circular, square, X and semicircular marks is shown in white in accordance with a position of the sectorial piece.
In the film 103, a silver halide photosensitive layer is formed on a surface 103F of a film base, and a magnetic recording layer is formed on the reverse surface 103R of the film base. A plurality of perforations 121 are punched at the edge of the film 103, and they specify each frame 120. Exposure information such as the type of a light source and a focal length on the exposure, and a user's message such as a title of a photograph can be magnetically recorded in magnetic record areas 124, 125 at the top end and bottom end of each frame.
When the film cartridge 100 is loaded in the camera, the camera reads the bar code information on the data disk 105 with an optical reading mechanism, and detects the position of the sectorial piece, thereby automatically recognizing the film information and the used status of the film. If the camera recognizes that the film cartridge 100 contains a film in which at least one unexposed frame remains, the light-shielding door 104 is opened and the spool 102 is rotated in a predetermined direction, so that the film 103 can be automatically fed to the first unexposed frame.
After all the frames on the film 103 are exposed, a rewinding mechanism of the camera rewinds film 103 into the cartridge shell 101, and the light-shielding door 104 is closed. Then, the sectorial piece that is fixed to the spool 102 is stopped at the X hole, so that the X hole is shown in white to indicate that the film cartridge 100 contains the film 103 on which all the frames have already been exposed.
There has been proposed a film image reproducing apparatus using the film cartridge 100 containing the film 103 that is developed. The film image reproducing apparatus automatically transports the film 103 from the film cartridge 100, and reads the frame image using an image pickup unit. The film image reproducing apparatus is then able to output image signals representing the read frame image to a TV monitor and/or a personal computer.
In the apparatus such as the camera and the film image reproducing apparatus that use the film cartridge 100, there is provided in a cartridge loading chamber a spool drive shaft and a door driver, which are inserted into the spool 102 and the door driving hole 106, respectively, of the film cartridge 100. Guide shafts that are inserted into the spool 102 and the door driving hole 106, respectively, are provided on the inside face of a chamber door on the cartridge loading chamber. When the film 103 is transported, the spool 102 and the door driving hole 106 are pivotally supported by the spool drive shaft, the door driver and the guide shafts in such a manner as to prevent the cartridge shell 101 from being in contact with the inner wall of the cartridge loading chamber. Thereby, the cartridge shell 101 is able to float (this will hereinafter be referred to as a shell floating state).
Since the spool 102 is rotatably arranged with play in the cartridge shell 101, the cartridge shell 101 has freedom in the shell floating state. This prevents the film 103 from being damaged by the cartridge shell 101 while the film 103 is transported.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a film cartridge provided with an IC memory unit (Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 7-287323). Since terminals of the IC memory unit are provided on a cartridge shell of the film cartridge, positions of the terminals cannot be fixed during the shell-floating. Thus, a contact area of each terminal on the cartridge shell must be large enough so that the terminal comes into contact with each of the contacts on the cartridge loading chamber without fail in view of the movement amount of the cartridge shell while the shell is floating. In this case, it is impossible to provide a plurality of terminals on the limited surface area of the cartridge shell.
The terminals on the cartridge shell are arranged on a side that is perpendicular to a direction in which the cartridge is loaded in the cartridge loading chamber. For this reason, the loading of the film cartridge into the cartridge loading chamber does not cause the contacts on the cartridge loading chamber to rub the terminals on the cartridge shell. Hence, a reliable electrical connection between the contacts. On the cartridge loading chamber and the terminals on the cartridge shell may become impossible due to corrosion on the terminals, the adhesion of dust, or the like.

Film cartridge with IC memory and apparatus that uses it and method of using it


The present invention provides an arc-extinguishing device, including an arc-extinguishing chamber, where the arc-extinguishing chamber includes a support, a plurality of arc-extinguishing grid sheets, a first gas-evolving hood, and a second gas-evolving hood; the plurality of arc-extinguishing grid sheets are mounted on the supports, the arc-extinguishing grid sheet has a groove to form a moving track for a moving contact, both sides of the groove extend toward the moving contact respectively to form a first extension leg and a second extension leg, an end and an inner side of the first extension leg are wrapped by the first gas-evolving hood, and an end and an inner side of the second extension leg are wrapped by the second gas-evolving hood; a surface of the gas-evolving hood extending along the inner side of the extension leg toward the groove is referred to as a wrapping surface.

At present, a circuit breaker is mainly composed of a contact system, an arc-extinguishing system, a housing, an operation mechanism and a release system. The contact system is mainly composed of a moving contact, a fixed contact, a moving contact point, a fixed contact point and an arcing horn, and the arc-extinguishing system is mainly composed of an arc-extinguishing grid sheet, a support, a flash barrier, and a gas-evolving hood. Because the existing circuit breaker does not take into account the cooperation between the arc-extinguishing system and the contact system during an arc extinguishing process, strong energy of a short circuit current will easily burn out the circuit breaker in case of occurrence of short-circuiting. In this way, the arc-extinguishing system and the contact system are required to cooperatively work to form an arc-extinguishing device with good performance so as to help the circuit breaker to successfully disconnect the short circuit current.

Arc-extinguishing device and circuit breaker provided with same


An arbor press staple and washer of the invention is for use in a practice of a surgical procedure for securing a ligament, that is either natural or prosthetic, onto a bone cortex surface and includes a staple having spaced equal parallel legs with a flat web arranged between the top ends of the staple legs. The staple is for driving into a bone cortex surface and includes barb ridges around three of its four sides for resisting staple withdrawal. The staple flat web includes at least one hole, that is preferably tapped, formed therethrough that is for receiving a threaded section of a threaded pin turned therethrough, and includes a pair of guide posts that extend, at right angles, from the web undersurface. An arbor plate type washer, that is a flat plate that has concave notches formed in opposite ends, is for arrangement between the staple legs, the concave notches sliding along the staple legs prohibiting washer rotation. The flat plate includes a pair of guide post holes that receive the guide pins that extend from the staple web undersurface, and includes a center smooth hole wherethrough a pin end of the threaded pin travels to where the threaded section lower face and engages the flat plate top surface, the continued turning of the threaded pin to urge the washer away from the staple web, causing spikes that extend from the washer flat plate undersurface to travel through a ligament that the staple legs straddle and into a bone cortex surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices and arrangements for securing a ligament, or the like, onto a bone surface during a ligament repair or replacement surgical procedure.
2. Prior Art
One of the present inventors is the co-inventor of an earlier invention entitled, Channel Ligament Clamp and System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,420, and a U.S. Patent Application entitled, Improved Channel Ligament Clamp, U.S. Ser. No. 07/959,546, that show arrangements of clamping devices for mounting a ligament onto a bone surface. Which channel ligament clamps, like the present invention, employ a flat ligament engaging surface, wherefrom a plurality of spikes extend to penetrate the ligament and pass into the bone surface providing purchase therewith. Unique therefrom, the present invention provides, as a reference, a staple arrangement with parallel legs for driving into a bone surface, to straddle a ligament, with a movable arbor plate type washer wherefrom spikes extend arranged to travel between the staple legs through a ligament and into the bone surface. For moving the arbor plate type washer, the staple web is flattened and has a tapped hole formed therethrough that a threaded pin is turned into. The pin has a pointed end that when it is turned through the tapped hole, travels into a center hole that has been formed in the arbor plate type washer, a flat section above the pin top end urging that arbor plate type washer away from the staple web forcing the arbor plate type washer spikes through a ligament that the staple legs straddle and into the bone cortex.
Additional to the above cited channel ligament clamp type systems, staple arrangements that do not include the movable arbor plate type washer, have been earlier employed in ligament repair and replacement surgical procedures for attaching a ligament to a bone surface. Examples of such staple devices for medical applications are shown in patents to Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,524; to Johnson, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,022; to Griggs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,903; to Borzone, U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,091; to Kurland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,833; to Shapiro, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,967; to Pratt, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,769; and to Wevers, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,006. All of which staple devices provide for fitting the staple like device across the ligament to secure the ligament between the staple legs by driving it into the bone surface. None of these staple devices, however, employ a movable spike mounting arbor plate type washer like that of the present invention, and an arrangement for moving the spikes of that arbor plate type washer into a ligament that is independent of movement of the staple, as does the present invention. Also, while a number of staple and staple like devices are common to wood working, none employ the movable arbor plate type washer arrangement like that of the present invention, and are additionally structurally and functionally unlike the present invention. Some examples of wood working type staple like devices are shown in early patents to Tileston, U.S. Pat. No. 82,181; to Southwick, U.S. Pat. No. 431,175; to Yost, U.S. Pat. No. 758,881; to Hartley, U.S. Pat. No. 1,425,199; to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,598,026; to Dyer, U.S. Pat. No. 1,638,477; to Le Page, U.S. Pat. No. 1,948,462; to Putnam, U.S. Pat. No. 2,134,765; to Soderberg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,398,603; and in a later patent to Lambuth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,604.
Some examples of other devices for connecting ligament ends to a bone surface or within a bone are shown in a patent to Hunt, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,928 and in patents that one of the present inventors is the co-inventor of, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,632,100 and 4,738,255. Further patents to Vives, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,234 and to Paulos, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,351, show, respectively, pin and disk couplings for ligament mounting to a bone mass. Also, devices for mounting a ligament onto a bone surface are shown in patents to Jurgutis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,346 and to Frey, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,335 that show multi-pin staple arrangements.
None of which connector and mounting configurations, set out above, however, involve a staple with a spike mounting arbor plate type washer that is arranged to be vertically movable, guided by the staple legs, that includes with the staple legs seated in a bone surface an arrangement for moving the arbor plate type washer so as to clamp a ligament onto the bone surface.

Arbor press staple and washer and method for its use


A light amount adjusting device includes: a board including an opening; a linear moving blade linearly and movably supported by the board; and a swinging blade swingably supported by the board, wherein: the linear moving blade and the swinging blade are receded from the opening to form a fully opened state; the linear moving blade covers the opening to form a fully closed state; and the swinging blade has a small aperture opening with a diameter smaller than a diameter of the opening, and causes the small aperture opening and the opening to be overlapped with each other to form a small aperture state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light amount adjusting devices and optical devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is conventionally known a light amount adjusting device, for use in a camera, which allows an opening formed on a board to be in a small aperture state by using plural blades. In a device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-65252, a board has a rectangular shape, and blades linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the board. The device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent
Publication No. 2008-65252 is a so-called guillotine type of a light amount adjusting device.
In the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, however the plural blades cooperatively reduce the aperture of the opening, so that the fluctuation in the aperture may be caused in the small aperture state due to a slight displacement of the blade or the like. This may fluctuate the amount of exposure and influence image quality.

Light amount adjusting device and optical device


A multiplayer gaming system and methods for manufacturing and using same. The multiplayer game has game indicia and a plurality of game elements including one or more exposed game elements and at least one concealed game element associated with each player. Video interface systems are disposed at respective player seats and present different perspective views of the game indicia and the exposed game elements to the players. The multiplayer gaming system likewise includes a plurality of handheld player control devices that provide a customized game interface for presenting the concealed game element to the associated player while inhibiting other players from viewing the concealed game element and for enabling the player to actively control his participation in the multiplayer game. The multiplayer gaming system thereby simulates an experience of physically participating in a tangible game.

Passenger vehicles, such as automobiles and aircraft, often include vehicle information systems for satisfying passenger demand for access to viewing content, such as entertainment, information content, or other viewing content, while traveling.
Conventional vehicle information (or entertainment) systems typically include overhead cabin video systems or seat-based video systems with individual controls such that viewing content is selectable by the passengers. The viewing content can include audio and video content that is derived from a variety of content sources. Prerecorded viewing content, such as motion pictures and music, can be provided by internal content sources, such as audio and video players, that are installed aboard the vehicle. The conventional vehicle information systems likewise can include an antenna system for receiving viewing content, such as live television programming and/or Internet content, transmitted from one or more content providers (or sources) that are external to, and/or remote from, the vehicle.
Such conventional vehicle information systems, however, suffer from numerous disadvantages. Selection of the viewing content, for example, can prove difficult due to the awkward placement and operation of the user controls. Similarly, the video systems of the vehicle information systems typically are located distally from the passenger controls, such as overhead and/or on an opposing seatback. Some passengers, for example, wish to play games during travel but find the vehicle information systems to be complicated to operate and the games difficult to enjoy.
In addition, when participating in multiplayer games with other passengers traveling aboard the passenger vehicle, conventional vehicle information systems typically present the game elements via the seatback (or overhead) video systems; however, the participating passengers want to be able to conceal hidden game elements from the other participating passengers during play. If participating in a card game, for instance, each participating passenger does not want any other participating passengers to be able to view his cards. Such system shortcomings are a frequent source of passenger complaints during travel.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an improved multiplayer gaming system and method that provides versatile and intuitive user controls in an effort to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of conventional vehicle information systems.

System and method for hosting multiplayer games


A power circuit breaker is disclosed wherein an electric current is monitored by an electronic trip unit in order to detect an electrical fault. In an embodiment, a first magnetic device of the power circuit breaker, in the event of a fault being detected, is configured to be excited which, when it is excited, trips a trip mechanism via a plunger. As a result of tripping, the trip mechanism disconnects two contacts via which the current flows. The power circuit breaker of an embodiment includes a second magnetic device which is likewise able to be excited by the ETU and by which the trip mechanism is likewise able to be tripped.

A power circuit breaker is sold, for example, by Siemens AG under the product name SENTRON 3WL. A safety device of this type serves to protect personnel, systems and equipment. The trip function for interrupting the power flow is generally realized by way of an actuating magnet. This magnetic device can be an electrical coil in which a ferromagnetic rod or plunger is placed. The coil, as a result of being energized, becomes excited and thus generates a magnetic field which drives the plunger out of the coil. Generally, the plunger is held in the coil against a spring force by means of a permanent magnet, with the result that, as a result of the electrical coil being excited, only a short force impulse must be generated in order then to push the plunger out of the magnetic device with the help of the spring.
The functional capability of the power circuit breaker depends, inter alia, on the magnetic device functioning faultlessly. If the power supply lines for the electrical coil are interrupted, if there is a short circuit in the trip circuit or else if there are mechanical problems, such as the plunger being jammed or frozen, the protection device will not work.
In order to monitor the operational capability or to detect possible faults, the magnetic device therefore is subjected to cyclical tests. For this purpose, the power circuit breaker is brought out of the operation mode and into a test mode, in which, however, it cannot then interrupt any current in the event of an electrical fault. In other words, the part of the system which is protected by the power circuit breaker must be switched off or be fed with current by a parallel branch. An on-line test, that is to say during operation of the power circuit breaker, is only known in connection with the electrical parameters of the magnetic device, for instance a continuity test or a measurement of the impedance of the coil. A complete test of the magnetic unit, that is to say including the mechanical functionality, in the course of operation is not possible.


The present invention provides a plasma display panel (PDP) with a structure that can reduce an outer reflection of an external light source and increase the reflection of visible rays emitted from the phosphor, remarkably increase the aperture ratio of the front panel, and remarkably reduce occurrence of a permanent residual image. The PDP includes: a transparent front panel; a rear panel disposed in parallel with the front panel; a plurality of opaque upper barrier ribs disposed between the front panel and the rear panel to define a plurality of discharge cells, and formed of a dielectric material; a lower discharge electrode and an upper discharge electrode disposed within the plurality of opaque upper barrier ribs so as to enclose the discharge cells; a plurality of lower barrier ribs disposed between the plurality of opaque upper barrier ribs and the rear panel; a phosphor layer disposed within a space defined by the plurality of lower barrier ribs; and a discharge gas disposed inside the discharge cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a PDP that forms an image by applying a discharge voltage to a plurality of electrodes arranged on two panels facing each other to generate ultraviolet rays which excite phosphor layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a flat panel display employing a plasma display panel (PDP) has been in the spotlight as a next generation display owing to superior characteristics such as a large-sized screen, a high picture quality, a slim profile and a wide viewing angle, a simple fabrication method, and it being easy to make a large-sized screen compared with other flat displays.
The PDP may be classified into a DC (direct current) type PDP, an AC (alternating current) type PDP, and a hybrid type PDP according to a discharge voltage applied to the panel, and also be classified into a facing discharge type PDP and a surface discharge type PDP according to a discharge structure.
The DC type PDP has a structure in which all electrodes are exposed to a discharge space and charges move directly between the electrodes. The AC type PDP has a structure in which at least one electrode is covered with a dielectric layer, and charges do not move directly between the corresponding electrodes but discharge is performed by wall charges.
The DC type PDP has a drawback in that the electrodes are seriously damaged because charges are directly moved between corresponding electrodes. To this end, the AC type PDP, especially, an AC type PDP having a three-electrode surface discharge structure has been generally employed.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional surface discharge type PDP 10 with such an AC type three-electrode surface discharge structure includes a front panel 20 and a rear panel 30.
Address electrodes 33 generating an address discharge, a rear dielectric layer 35 covering the address electrodes 33, barrier ribs 37 partitioning discharge cells, and a phosphor layer 39 formed on both sidewalls of each of the barrier ribs 37 and on the rear dielectric layer 35 on which the barrier ribs 37 are not formed are arranged on the rear panel 30.
The front panel 20 is spaced apart from and facing the rear panel 30. Moreover, common electrodes 22, scan electrodes 23, a front dielectric layer 25 covering the common electrodes 22 and the scan electrodes 23, and a passivation layer 29 covering the front dielectric layer 25 are arranged on the front panel.
The common electrodes 22 disposed on the front panel 20 through which visible rays generated from the phosphor layer 39 of a discharge space pass, have a transparent common electrode 22a and a bus common electrode 22b disposed at one edge of the transparent common electrode 22a, the scan electrodes 23 have a transparent scan electrode 23a and a bus scan electrode 23b disposed at one edge of the transparent scan electrode 23a, and the front dielectric layer 25 and the passivation layer 29 covering the front dielectric layer 25 are sequentially formed on the common electrodes 22 and the scan electrodes 23. Due to the aforementioned elements, only 60% of the visible rays can pass through the front panel 20, which serves as an important factor.
Also, the conventional surface discharge PDP 10 has a drawback that the luminous efficiency is low because electrodes generating a discharge are arranged on an upper surface of the discharge space, i.e., on an inner surface of the front panel 20 through which the visible rays pass so that the discharge is generated in the inner surface of the front panel 20.
Further, the conventional surface discharge PDP 10 may cause a permanent residual image because when the conventional surface discharge PDP 10 is used for a long time, charged particles of discharge gases generate ion sputtering in the phosphor due to an applied electric field.
Furthermore, the front dielectric layer formed on the front panel 20 should be transparent, such that the visible rays excited from the phosphor layer pass therethrough. Due to the transparent front dielectric layer, external light that is incident into the PDP is reflected by the transparent front dielectric layer and then emitted to an exterior. As a result, the conventional surface discharge PDP 10 has a drawback that a contrast ratio is not high.
To improve the above drawbacks, a black stripe is disposed on non-discharge regions, or a line width of the bus electrode is increased, thereby more or less increasing the contrast ratio. However, since the size of the non-discharge area is limited so as to maintain the aperture ratio above a predetermined value, there is a limitation in disposing the black stripe or increasing the line width of the bus electrode.

Plasma display panel comprising discharge electrodes disposed within opaque upper barrier ribs


The presented application discloses a capacitor structure and a method for manufacturing the same. The capacitor structure comprises a plurality of sub-capacitors formed on a substrate, each of which comprises a top capacitor plate, a bottom capacitor plate and a dielectric layer sandwiched therebetween; and a first capacitor electrode and a second capacitor electrode connecting the plurality of sub-capacitors in parallel, wherein the plurality of sub-capacitors includes a plurality of first sub-capacitors and a plurality of second sub-capacitors stacked in an alternate manner, each of the first sub-capacitors has a bottom capacitor plate overlapping with a top capacitor plate of an underlying second sub-capacitor, with the overlapping plate being a first electrode layer; and each of the second sub-capacitors has a bottom capacitor plate overlapping with a top capacitor plate of an underlying first sub-capacitor, with the overlapping plate being a second electrode layer, the capacitor structure is characterized in that the first electrode layer and the second electrode layers are made of different conductive materials. The capacitor structure has a small footprint on the chip and a large capacitance value, and can be used as an integrated capacitor in an analogous circuit, an RF circuit, an embedded memory, and the like.

1. Field of Invention
The presented application relates to a capacitor structure and a method for manufacturing the same, in particular, to an integrated capacitor structure using in an embedded memory device and a method of manufacture.
2. Description of Prior Art
There is a great demand for an integrated capacitor formed on a substrate in the field such as cellular phones. The integrated capacitor can be used in an analogous circuit and an RF circuit where a capacitance value of above pF is typically required. However, the maximum value of planar capacitance density, which can be achieved in the current integrated circuit process, is about tens of fF/μm2. In order to achieve the capacitance value of above pF, the resultant capacitor must have a relatively large footprint on the chip. This decreases an integration level, and causes an undesired parasitic effect due to those wirings having an increased length. Moreover, when used in an embedded memory (such as eDRAM) in a digital circuit, the capacitance value of a memory cell is of critical importance to a retention time of the device. In order to achieve a retention time as long as possible for each memory cell, an integrated capacitor should have a capacitance density as large as possible.
Wang Geng et al. proposed an eDRAM cell having a deep trench capacitor formed in a substrate in U.S. patent application US20090174031A1. Sidewalls of the trench provide most area of a capacitor plate, which reduces a footprint of the eDRAM cell on the surface of the chip, while providing a large capacitance value.
However, the eDRAM cell comprising a deep trench capacitor still has many difficulties in manufacturing process. For example, since a deep trench has a high aspect ratio, a reactive ion etching (RIE) process will take a long time for forming the deep trench, and voids possibly exist in the following metal filling process.
Consequently, the deep trench capacitor has a high manufacturing cost and a poor reliability.
On the other hand, the above difficulties in the manufacturing processes limit the depth of the trench to be formed. The resultant capacitance value is too small to provide a desired retention time of the eDRAM cell.
Yasuo Watanabe et al. proposed a multi-layer ceramic capacitor in U.S. patent application US20050095851A1 which comprises a stack of a dielectric layer paste and an internal electrode paste and includes a sintering step. Although the multi-layer ceramic capacitor structure has a reduced surface area, it is not compatible with a conventional integrated circuit process.

Capacitor structure and method of manufacture

Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences


Flame-retarded polymer compositions comprising a hydrated inorganic filler, at least one ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate copolymer and at least one copolymer of ethylene and of at least one .alpha.-olefin, which compositions consist essentially of 120 to 240 parts by weight of hydrated inorganic filler per 100 parts by weight of a polymer phase consisting of:. (a) 30 to 75 parts by weight of at least one ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate copolymer (A) having a content of alkyl (meth)acrylate of between 1 and 50 mol %, PA1 (b) 10 to 30 parts by weight of at least one ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate/unsaturated dicarboxylic acid anhydride terpolymer (B), PA1 (c) 5 to 55 parts by weight of at least one copolymer of ethylene and of at least one .alpha.-olefin (C) having a density of between 0.865 and 0.915 and a degree of crystallinity equal to at least 5%, and PA1 (d) 0 to 5 parts by weight of at least one low-density polyethylene (D).. Industrial articles comprising such a flame-retarded polymer composition.

The present invention relates to flame-retardant polymer compositions containing ethylene copolymers. More especially, these compositions do not contain halogenated derivatives and are capable of being processed by conventional techniques into articles having good fire resistance, such as, in particular, insulating sheathings for electrical cables.
Improvement of the fire resistance of compositions containing polymer materials is a constant objective of the manufacturers and processors of these materials, directed towards obtaining a significant reduction in the inflammability and capacity for flame propagation of these materials. The use of halogenated derivatives as flame-retardant agents is well known, but has the great drawback of leading, on combustion, to toxic and corrosive gases. The manufacturers and processors have hence turned their attention to the development of compositions containing oxides, hydroxides or inorganic salts of metals, such as hydrated alumina and magnesium hydroxide.
However, the addition of such inorganic fillers in a sufficient amount to obtain good fire resistance leads to materials having mediocre mechanical properties and/or presenting great difficulties of processing by conventional methods such as extrusion. Thus, the addition of large amounts of hydrated alumina to an ethylene/alkyl (meth)acrylate copolymer leads to a composition whose mechanical properties are greatly inferior to those of said copolymer.

Flame-retardant polymer compositions and their application to the sheathing of electrical cables


A data coherence system includes a generation number written to a data track of a logical sub-system. The generation number is compared to a corresponding generation number in a processing device when it is initialized. If the two generations numbers are the same, the generation numbers are incremented and saved. If not, cache associated with the logical sub-system residing within the processing device is erased and the generation numbers are reset.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of data storage systems. In particular, the invention consists of verifying that information stored in cache associated with a logical sub-system is not stale after a processing cluster is initiated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computer storage systems typically include one or more high-capacity disk arrays for storing digital information. These high-capacity disk arrays are often partitioned into one or more logical sub-system. A computer storage system may utilize multiple data processing servers or may use a single processing server consisting of multiple processing clusters to provide redundancy. Each data processing server or processing cluster ("cluster") may be substantially identical and redundant. Each cluster is primarily associated with a logical sub-system, however, each cluster typically has access to the entire disk array.
It is customary for one or more hosts to send requests to clusters to read data from or write data to the logical sub-systems. The requests are delivered to the clusters over a multi-path communication device such as a bus, switch, router, bridge, point-to-point network, local area network, or other similar connecting device. Once a cluster receives a read-data request, the relevant information is retrieved from the disk array and placed into a read/write memory cache, which is relatively fast compared with other storage mechanisms. Because the cache is typically composed of volatile memory, data stored in this cache will become corrupted if the cluster loses electrical power or is taken off-line for maintenance.
Accessing data from the read/write cache is much faster than retrieving information directly from the disk array. Requested information is passed to the requesting host and a copy is maintained in the read/write cache in case it is again requested by the same or other host. If a host transmits a write request to a processing cluster, either new information is being written to the disk array or information already residing in the disk array is being modified.
In order to protect cached information, a copy of the cached information may be written to non-volatile memory. When a cluster that has been powered down or taken off-line for maintenance is re-initialized, the contents of the non-volatile memory are copied back to the volatile memory of the cache.
In a truly redundant computer storage system, each cluster may access logical sub-systems primarily associated with other clusters. In this manner, if a cluster fails, hosts may still read information from or write information to the associated logical sub-system. Accordingly, a cluster may maintain a cache for its associated logical sub-system and separate caches for each logical sub-system that it has access to. If the cluster loses power or is taken off-line, copies of each cache may be written to the non-volatile memory.
A problem may occur when a cluster is subsequently re-initialized. During the initialization process, the contents of the non-volatile memory are written back to the cluster caches. However, data in the corresponding logical sub-systems may have been modified during the time the cluster was inactive. Since multiple clusters may have cached information from the same logical sub-system, it is desirable to have a system for ensuring that each cache contain data that is coherent with each other corresponding cache and consistent with the information in the logical sub-system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


In various embodiments, the gaming system, gaming device, and gaming method disclosed herein includes an accumulation sequence and a competition sequence. In one embodiment, the gaming system includes competitor points which determine (i) a competitor's eligibility to participate in the competition sequence and (ii) the competitor's relative probability of success in the competition sequence. In this embodiment, a competitor (which is either representative of an actual player or a virtual, gaming system controlled player) accumulates competitor points during one or more point accumulation sequences which occur in association with designated events. For a subsequent competition sequence, the gaming system determines if a competitor will participate in the triggered competition sequence based on the competitor's accumulated competitor points. For the subsequent competition sequence, the gaming system further determines the competitor's relative probability of success in the competition sequence based on the competitor's accumulated competitor points.

Gaming devices which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming devices generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming devices, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur usually provide higher awards.
In such known gaming devices, the amount of the wager made on the primary game by the player may vary. For instance, the gaming device may enable the player to wager a minimum number of credits, such as one credit (e.g., one penny, nickel, dime, quarter or dollar) up to a maximum number of credits, such as five credits. This wager may be made by the player a single time or multiple times in a single play of the primary game. For instance, a slot game may have one or more paylines and the slot game may enable the player to make a wager on each payline in a single play of the primary game. Thus, it is known that a gaming device, such as a slot game, may enable players to make wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of the primary or base game ranging, for example, from 1 credit up to 125 credits (e.g., 5 credits on each of 25 separate paylines). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wagering amounts or levels and at substantially different rates of play.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming devices. The secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Certain secondary or bonus games are activated or hit upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on the payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine may hit the secondary bonus game. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming devices is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be).
There is also a continuing need to provide new and different gaming devices and gaming systems as well as new and different ways to provide awards to players including bonus awards.

Gaming system, gaming device and method for determining an outcome of a secondary game based on one or more events which occur in association with a primary game


In a tip-up fishing pole for ice fishing having handle and pole segments in assembly together. A series of open ended eyelets. Fasteners attaching one end of each of the eyelets at spaced intervals on the pole segment. Each of the open ended eyelets being loop-shaped and having an outwardly bent free end spaced from the pole segment leaving a gap there between allowing a fisherman to pick up a hand line unattached to a fishing pole and to drape the line through the gaps between the free ends of the loop-shaped open ended eyelets and the pole to allow a fisherman to quickly use a pole to assist in setting a baited fishing hook in the event a fish strikes the baited hook on a hand line.

My devices have been used in part for ice fishing. One such device is one where an ice fisherman will set the device over a precut ice hole after he has baited the hook with a minnow. The fishing line runs off of a reel that is located on the bottom side of the tip-up device, and is supported on an upstanding shaft. A trigger mechanism is provided whereby when a fish hits the bait, the fish then starts to move the bait, the line unreels off of the reel, and the flag on the top side of Beaver Dam "Tip-Up" apparatus swings into an upstanding position signaling to the fisherman that a fish in running with the bait.
The upstanding post that was previously described as a shaft is tubular in nature and internally thereof is a solid shaft that is fixedly connected to the reel at the bottom end. As the reel is unreeled the interior shaft rotates. The top end of the shaft extends through the base plate of the "tip-up" mechanism above the ice so that the fisherman can see this shaft as it rotates to inform the fisherman that the fish is moving the bait away from where it was originally located.
In the past, when a fish is on a line, the fisherman would then pick up the entire apparatus and attempt to set the line by yanking the line gently to try to set the hook into the fish.
My new pole has been provided with special eyelets embodying important features of my invention to assist the fisherman in setting the line. In the past, many fish have been lost because in the process of setting the line, the line would break. Another problem that exists with the commonly used tip-ups is that the fisherman will employ a heavier line, and with a heavier line apparently there are fewer strikes by the fish.
Now according to my invention, a six pound test line can be used rather than a fifteen test line, and such lighter line can be more effectively used than with the heavier line.
The new pole embodying my invention can be used by the fisherman in such a way that after the fish is noted to have taken the bait, the fisherman will then lift up the Beaver Dam "Tip-up" and allow a little slack to flow and then engage the open ended eyelets of the fishing pole with the line and at the same time manually grasp an end of the line in adjacency to the handle of the pole in a rather loose sort of a way so that line can still be allowed to move with the fish should the fish require or demand further line. At this point in time, the fisherman is then in a position where he can attempt to set the hook in the fish either in a kneeling or standing position as he may wish. By employing this type of a procedure, the fisherman obtains the benefit of a fishing pole and the spring action of a fishing pole, and the lighter touch of a fishing pole all as aids in setting the line with less chance for breaking the line off at the time when the bait is set into the fish.
After the fish has been hooked, the rod can be used in the same way as a fly rod. To this end, the fisherman can manually retrieve the line along the length of the pole in a hand over hand fashion to draw the bait, hook and fish towards the fisherman and ultimately through the ice hole and thereby land the fish.


A porous glass substrate for displays and a method of manufacturing the same, with which the optical characteristics of a display such as an organic light-emitting device (OLED) can be improved. The porous glass substrate includes a glass substrate and a porous layer formed in at least one portion of one surface of the glass substrate and extending into the glass substrate, the refractive index of the porous layer being smaller than the refractive index of the glass substrate. The porous layer has a plurality of pores which is formed in the glass substrate such that at least one component of the glass substrate except for silicon dioxide (SiO2) is eluted from the glass substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a porous glass substrate for displays and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a porous glass substrate for displays and a method of manufacturing the same, with which the optical characteristics of a display such as an organic light-emitting device (OLED) can be improved.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional and conceptual view depicting the light extraction efficiency of an organic light-emitting device (OLED) of the related art. As shown in FIG. 6, in the OLED of the related art, only about 20% of light generated is emitted to the outside and about 80% of the light is lost by waveguiding due to the different refractive indices of a glass substrate 10, an anode 20 and an organic light-emitting layer 30 which includes a hole injection layer, a hole carrier layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron carrier layer and an electron injection layer and by total internal reflection due to the difference in the refractive indices between the glass substrate 10 and air. Specifically, the refractive index of the inside organic light-emitting layer 30 ranges from 1.7 to 1.8, and the refractive index of indium tin oxide (ITO) that is typically used for the anode 20 ranges from 1.9 to 2.0. The two layers have a very small thickness ranging from about 100 nm to about 400 nm and the refractive index of glass which is used for the glass substrate 10 is about 1.5, whereby a planar waveguide is formed inside the OLED. It is calculated that about 45% of the light is lost by the inside waveguiding due to the above-described reason. In addition, the refractive index of the glass substrate 10 is about 1.5, and the refractive index of the ambient air is 1.0. When the light is directed outward from the inside of the glass substrate 10, a ray of the light having an angle of incidence greater than a critical angle is totally reflected and is trapped inside the glass substrate 10. The ratio of the trapped light is up to about 35%, and thus only about 20% of the generated light is emitted to the outside. Herein, reference numerals 31, 32 and 33 indicate components of the organic light-emitting layer 30. Specifically, 31 indicates the hole injection layer and the hole carrier layer, 32 indicates the light-emitting layer, and 33 indicates the electron injection layer and the electron carrier layer.
In the related art, in order to overcome this problem, a silica aerogel film, or a low-refractivity film, is situated as a coating between the glass substrate and the ITO in order to extract light that is trapped by total internal reflection (see FIG. 7). However, the silica aerogel has not been applied to an actual product, since the manufacturing process thereof is complicated, difficult and expensive. In addition, the ability of the silica aerogel to be formed in a thin film is limited, thereby causing the increased thickness of the substrate.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, in the related art, a concave-convex structure 60 is disposed under the anode 20 (with respect to the paper surface), i.e. in the interface between the anode 20 and the glass substrate 10, in order to enhance light extraction efficiency.
As described above, the anode 20 and the organic light-emitting layer 30 generally act as one light waveguide between the cathode 40 and the glass substrate 10. Accordingly, in the state in which the anode 20 and the organic light-emitting layer 30 act in a waveguide mode, when the concave-convex structure 60 which causes light scattering is formed in the interface adjacent to the anode 20, the waveguide mode is disturbed, so that the quantity of light that is extracted to the outside is increased. However, when the concave-convex structure 60 is formed below the anode 20, the shape of the anode 20 resembles the shape of the concave-convex structure 60 below the anode 20, thereby increasing the possibility that a sharp portion may be localized. Since the OLED has a stacked structure of very thin films, when the anode 20 has a sharp protruding portion, current is concentrated in that portion, which acts as a reason for large leakage current or decreases power efficiency. Accordingly, in order to prevent such deterioration in the electrical characteristics, a flat film 70 is necessarily added when the concave-convex structure 60 is formed below the anode 20. The flat film 70 serves to make the convex and concave portions of the concave-convex structure 60 be flat. When the flat film 70 is not flat and has sharp protruding portions, the anode 20 also has protruding portions, which cause leakage current. Therefore, the flatness of the flat film 70 is very important and is required to be about Rpv=30 nm or less.
In addition, the flat film 70 is required to be made of a material, the refractive index of which is similar to that of the anode 20. If the refractive index of the flat film 70 is low, most light is reflected at the interface between the anode 20 and the flat film 70 before being disturbed by the concave-convex structure 60. The light is then trapped between the anode 20 and the organic light-emitting layer 30, which is referred to as the waveguide mode. The flat film 70 is required to be as thin as possible. If the flat film 70 is too thick, more light may be unnecessarily absorbed, and the effect of scattering may be decreased since the distance between the concave-convex structure 60 and the organic light-emitting layer 30 is too large.
However, the process of completely flattening the concave-convex structure 60 using the thin flat film 70 having a thickness of several hundreds of nm is very difficult. In addition, the methods of covering and flattening the concave-convex structure 60 include deposition coating and solution coating. Since the deposition coating is characterized by forming a film following the shape of the concave-convex structure 60, the solution coating is better than the deposition coating when forming the flat film 70. However, at present, it is very difficult to obtain a solution coating material that has a high refractive index, i.e. a refractive index that is equal to or greater than the refractive index of the ITO anode 20, and that satisfies process conditions for polycrystalline thin-film transistors, such as complicated conditions required on the surface of the OLED substrate and high-temperature processing.
In the related art, a micro-cavity structure was applied to an OLED in order to improve the light extraction efficiency of the OLED. Here, the ITO anode 20, or the transparent electrode, is made of ITO/metal/ITO. In this approach, a part of light is reflected from the anode 20 and micro cavities are formed between the anode 20 and the metal cathode 40 such that the light is subjected to constructive interference and resonance, thereby increasing the light extraction efficiency. However, this micro-cavity structure has the problem of causing color shift in which colors are changed depending on the position of a viewer within the viewing angle.
The information disclosed in the Background of the Invention section is only for better understanding of the background of the invention, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms a prior art that would already be known to a person skilled in the art.

Porous glass substrate for displays and method of manufacturing the same

Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd.


A double diaphragm pump subassembly, having a pair of diaphragm mounting plates, wholly confines an air valving mechanism between the plates. The mechanism is modular in nature, being substantially devoid of fasteners, and is nested in the plates for easy removal and parts replacement.

This invention pertains to double diaphragm pumps, and in particular to an air valving mechanism in combination with a double diaphragm pump subassembly.
Prior art air valving mechanisms, for double diaphragm pumps, commonly use conventional spool valves, or the like, which exhaust the motive air through the valve. Typically, these exhaust the air through blocks, plates, and such, which have right-angularly formed air passages therefor. Undesirably, these passages promote the formation of ice on the internal, working parts of the valving mechanism and consequently, subject the mechanism to malfunctioning.
The air valving mechanisms known in the prior art, further, are external to the diaphragm-supporting plates, have a great number of components and parts, and require an appreciable number of fasteners therein.
The foregoing notes limitations known to exist in present devices. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more such limitations. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided, including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.

Air valving mechanism, in combination with a double diaphragm pump subassembly


The present disclosure provides an attachable external display screen for use on electronic devices. The display screen may be removably mounted onto a surface of an electronic device to provide the user with an additional display screen. The attachable display screen may utilize a dual sliding mechanism that allows for the display screen to slide out to different lengths relative to the screen of the electronic device. The attachable display screen may also utilize a torque hinge to pivotally couple the display screen to a frame that mounts onto the electronic device. The attachable display screen is rotatable about both the horizontal and vertical axes, which allows a user to tilt and adjust the angle of the display screen.

Conventional portable electronic devices, such as laptop computers, are generally provided with a single display screen. Users need to switch among windows on the screen when viewing different graphics or processing different files of data at the same time. This causes inconvenience to the user and does not satisfy user requirements. While attachable display accessories, such as attachable display screens, have been developed, these accessories are bulky and are not easily transportable. In addition, the attachable display screens currently on the market are designed to fit a specific electronic device. If a user purchases a new electronic device of a different size, the attachable display screen must be replaced with one that fits the new device or the positioning of the attachable display screen must be adjusted. Moreover, the attachable display screens currently on the market are not adjustable or rotatable to a user's viewing preference.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an attachable display screen that is compact, easily transportable, can be used on different sized electronic devices without having to adjust the positioning of the attachable display screen, and that is rotatable about both the horizontal and vertical axes.

Attachable display screen for electronic devices


A new Geranium cultivar particularly distinguished by the large size of its flower clusters carried on strong, upright stems well above a compact foliage mass of medium green color, the foliage mass having a height of about 28 cm. and the flower stalks being of a length of about 18 to 20 cm. so that the flower clusters will stand at an average height of from 5 to 10 cm. above the foliage body. The florets are rather large having an average diameter of about 5.2 cm. and a definitely hot pink coloration and there is a sufficient number of florets in each cluster to make the cluster group provide a very brilliant coloration to enhance the entire floral display of this geranium plant.

This new Geranium cultivar originated as a seedling of a hybrid developed by me by crossing the geranium Blues (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,373) with an unknown pink variety selected from my collection of pelargonium varieties maintained at my nursery at Stuttgart, West Germany for breeding purposes. This particular seedling was selected by me from those produced by the said hybrid because of its very advantageous growth habit and its outstanding coloration. This particular seedling first bloomed in 1985 with such advantageous characteristics that I decided to propagate this seedling, which I did by means of cuttings at Stuttgart, West Germany, and the results were so satisfactory that under my direction this particular variety was propagated under controlled conditions, both indoors and outdoors, for almost four years which demonstrated conclusively that the advantageous characteristics of this variety would hold true from generation to generation and appeared to be firmly fixed. My new geranium cultivar is propagated vegetatively at my nursery at Stuttgart, West Germany for commercial purposes.


Managing transfer of device ownership is provided. A digitally signed state change request for a device that includes at least one of a new device owner, a new designated successor device owner, and a new device ownership reversibility control bit is accepted. A stored state for the device that includes at least one of a current device owner, a previous device owner, a designated successor device owner, and a current device ownership reversibility control bit is read. The previous device owner is replaced with the current device owner, the current device owner is replaced with the new device owner, the designated successor device owner is replaced with the new designated successor device owner, and the new device ownership reversibility control bit is set in response to the new device ownership reversibility control bit being included in the digitally signed state change request.

1. Field
The disclosure relates generally to data processing devices and more specifically to managing transfer of ownership of a cryptographically controlled data processing device using public keys corresponding to current, previous, and designated successor owners.
2. Description of the Related Art
Asymmetric public-key cryptography, where the non-sensitive half of each "keypair" may be freely published, allows verification of ownership based on non-sensitive information. However, securely transferring ownership between public keys, or digital certificates representing the public keys, may be challenging if the final target public key is not yet known at the time of transfer, for example. Considerable variation in the degree of synchronization exists between source and target public keys depending on temporal availability and the level of cooperation between the owners of the public keys. Many current schemes are optimized for the closely synchronized online case and may not adapt to looser coordination between source and target public keys.


Systems and methods for accessing digital content using electronic tickets and ticket tokens in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a user device includes a processor, a network interface, and memory configured to store an electronic ticket, and a ticket token, and the processor is configured by an application to send a request for digital content, receive a ticket token from a merchant server, wherein the ticket token is generated by a DRM server and associated with an electronic ticket that enables playback of the requested digital content, send the ticket token to a DRM server, receive an electronic ticket that enables playback of requested digital content, request the digital content associated with the electronic ticket, and play back the requested digital content using the electronic ticket.

When a customer visits a movie theater, the process typically involves purchasing a "ticket" at the ticket booth and having the ticket "torn" when the customer enters the theater. A ticket serves as a physical proof of purchase for the right to view a particular movie. A ticket can change possession from the purchaser to another customer and can be used by either person. When a ticket is claimed by entering the theater and being torn, the ticket is thought to be redeemed by the customer presenting the ticket and henceforth the viewing rights granted by the ticket are owned by that customer.
In a digital multimedia playback system, viewing rights are generally governed by possession of physical media that contains digital content. When the content is not tied to physical media, such as when digital content is streamed over a network, a digital rights management (DRM) system is often used to restrict access to the content. Such systems typically involve user accounts and associating purchased content with a user account. A user device may be registered to a user account and then have access to the content purchased under that user account.


A printer includes an ejection portion configured to eject liquid, a flat plate-shaped platen arranged at a distance from the ejection portion, a support portion configured to support the platen, a pair of rails extending in a first direction, a movement portion configured to move in the first direction along the pair of rails, a connection portion configured to connect the support portion and the movement portion, and an adjustment mechanism configured to connect the support portion and the movement portion via the connection portion, allowing adjustment of an arrangement of the support portion with respect to the pair of rails. The adjustment mechanism includes at least three sets of adjustment portions, each of the at least three sets of adjustment portions including a penetration portion, a screw hole and a screw.

The present disclosure relates to a printer that is configured to perform printing by ejecting liquid onto a print medium that is arranged on a flat plate-shaped platen.
A printer is known that includes a platen and a liquid ejection portion. The platen is configured to support a print medium (a cloth, for example) from below. The printer is configured to perform printing on the print medium by moving the platen in a direction orthogonal to a movement direction of the liquid ejection portion. In this type of printer, it may be desirable that the distance from the liquid ejection portion to the platen be constant with respect to any portion of the whole platen. This is to inhibit printing quality from deteriorating due to displacement of a landing position of liquid ejected from the liquid ejection portion. To address this, for example, a printer is known that includes support members and screw members as a mechanism for adjusting a horizontal inclination of the platen. The support members are arranged between a platen mounting member and the platen. The screw members are configured to fasten the platen to the platen mounting member. Three or more of the support members are provided. At least two of the support members are elastic members. At least two of the support members are arranged substantially in parallel with the movement direction of the platen or the movement direction of the liquid ejection portion. Two or more of the screw members are provided. With the printer, an operator can adjust the horizontal inclination of the platen with respect to the platen mounting member, by adjusting a fastening condition of each of the screw members.


A motor drive system comprising: an inverter that supplies power to a three-phase motor; and a control unit that controls switching elements of upper and lower arms included in the inverter by switching between supply control of controlling the switching elements so that alternating current is supplied to three phases of the three-phase motor and suspension control of controlling the switching elements so that the supply of current is stopped. The suspension control involves: putting and keeping, in a conduction state, a switching element of at least one upper arm each corresponding to one of one or more phases through which current flows in a direction entering the three-phase motor at a timing at which the supply of current is stopped, and putting and keeping switching elements of rest of the upper arms and switching elements of lower arms in a non-conduction state.

In recent years, electric vehicles driven by electric motors are gaining popularity. An electric vehicle is equipped with a motor that is capable of generating drive torque for driving the vehicle, and includes an inverter that generates three-phase alternating current to be supplied to the motor and a control unit that controls the inverter. When performing control of the motor, it is important to increase the efficiency with which the motor is driven in order to reduce electric energy consumption of the motor as much as possible.
FIG. 10 illustrates a correlation between a rotation speed of a conventional motor, torque generated by the motor, and energy efficiency of the motor. As can be seen from FIG. 10, the energy efficiency of the motor changes depending upon both the rotation speed of the motor and the torque generated by the motor. In other words, even when the rotation speed of the motor does not change, the energy efficiency of the motor changes when the torque generated by the motor changes. In relation to this, conventional technology discloses a motor drive system that drives a motor intermittently at a drive point realizing high energy efficiency, thereby realizing a reduction in average energy loss of the motor and an increase in overall energy efficiency of the motor (e.g., Patent Literature 1).
FIG. 11 is a timing chart indicating a chronological change in torque generated by the motor when the motor drive technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is applied.
As can be seen from FIG. 11, within a period of a powering state where drive torque needs to be generated by the electric motor, a control unit sets, in alternation, a first drive period and a second drive period. The first drive period is a period during which the electric motor is driven according to a first drive torque command value that indicates a smaller torque value than a demanded torque value. On the other hand, the second drive period is a period during which the electric motor is driven according to a second drive torque command value that indicates a larger torque value than the demanded torque value. Here, the demanded torque value is a torque value that is determined according to the direction of an accelerator. By the first drive period and the second drive period being set in alternation during the period of the powering state as described above, the electric motor alternates between a state where three-phase alternating current is supplied thereto and a state where three-phase alternating current is not supplied thereto. Accordingly, torque is generated intermittently by the electric motor. Further, an average value of the first drive torque and the second drive torque generated by the electric motor during the period of the powering state is within a predetermined error range of the demanded torque value. Here, the energy efficiency of the electric motor, when driven according to the second drive torque command value, is set so as to indicate a higher value than the energy efficiency of the electric motor, when driven according to the demanded torque value.
By driving the electric motor in such a manner, the overall energy efficiency of the electric motor, when averaging the first drive torque and the second drive torque during the period of the powering state, is higher than the energy efficiency of the electric motor when the electric motor continuously outputs the demanded torque in accordance with the direction of the accelerator. As such, by setting two drive torque command values as described above, and further, by changing the torque generated by the electric motor by performing alternate switching between the two drive torque command values as illustrated in FIG. 11, the overall energy efficiency of the electric motor during the period of the powering state is improved while it is ensured that the torque generated by the electric motor equals the demanded torque without excess or deficiency.
In the meantime, electric vehicles are not only expected to reduce electrical power consumption, but also expected to provide, to its passengers, a comfortable ride. In relation to this, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology of setting the first drive period and the second drive period during the period of the powering state such that a frequency at which the alternate switching between the first torque command value and the second torque command value is performed during the period of the powering state is sufficiently high compared to a natural frequency of a drive system. More specifically, according to Patent Literature 1, it is desirable that the frequency for alternate switching between the two torque command values be set to, for instance, a frequency around 100 Hz or higher. Commonly, a natural frequency of a drive system of an electric vehicle is around several Hz. As such, by setting the frequency for alternate switching between the two torque command values to around 100 Hz or higher, vibration of a chassis of an electric vehicle, etc., that takes place as a result of torque generated by a motor changing can be suppressed. Consequently, a comfortable ride can be realized. Note that here, the term "drive system" refers to an entirety of a device for transmitting torque generated by a motor to wheels of an electric vehicle.

Motor drive system and control method thereof


The invention provides a control mechanism for controlling flight of an aircraft, the control mechanism comprising a cyclic control stick (1) that is mounted to tilt (B1, B2) on a carrier structure (4) and that is in engagement with remote mechanical transmission members (2, 3). The stick (1) is arranged as a telescopic member provided with locking means (20) for locking it in a normal-use retracted position, and is equipped with deployment means (21). Unlocking of the locking means (20) and use of the deployment means (21) depend on an assistance device (17) associated with the stick (1) being in a defective state. In the event of such a defective state being detected, the stick (1) is suitable for being deployed so as to increase the comfort of the pilot while manipulating it.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of aircraft, and in particular to the field of rotorcraft, and it relates more particularly to command systems of transmissions that are actuated by a human for controlling the flight directions of an aircraft, and in particular in pitching and in roll. The invention relates more specifically to control sticks for controlling the flight directions of an aircraft, and in particular for changing the angle of incidence of the blades of a rotor equipping a rotorcraft. The invention relates, in particular, to a control stick for mechanically transmitting commands that is of structure axially short and suitable for being incorporated in the armrest of a pilot's seat.
(2) Description of Related Art
Rotorcraft are commonly equipped with manually operated control systems for enabling a pilot to control the rotorcraft. Among such control systems, a cyclic control lever enables the pilot to change the angle of incidence of the blades so as to control the rotorcraft on the basis of selective flight commands, respectively for pitching control and for roll control. The control lever is hinged to a frame, e.g. being arranged as a box or the like, while being mounted to tilt in at least two control directions that are assigned to respective flight commands. The control lever is in hinged engagement with the frame at a distal one of its ends, and is provided at its proximal other end with a grip that can be taken hold of by the pilot. The proximal end is the end of the control lever that can be manipulated by the pilot, the distal end being the end of the control lever that is opposite from the proximal end. As soon as the control lever is tilted in either of the control directions, a corresponding command transmission member is activated to bring into use a remote power-assisted member, in particular a hydraulic servo-control actuator, that is assigned to corresponding pitching or roll flight control. The transmission member may be of the mechanical type, by being arranged as a rod, as a link, as a ball-bearing sheath, as a cable, or as an analogous remote mechanical transmission member, or else said transmission member may be of the electrical type by being arranged as a contactor connected to the remote power-assisted member via a wire connection.
Among cyclic control levers, long cyclic columns are known that tend to be reserved for transmitting commands mechanically, and short cyclic sticks are known that tend to be reserved for transmitting commands electrically. By way of indication, the length of a long cyclic column is about three to four times the length of a short cyclic stick. A long cyclic column is hinged in front of the seat and offers the advantage of transmitting commands mechanically, which is less costly than transmitting commands electrically.
A cyclic column has a lever arm that is considerable, thereby facilitating mechanical transmission of commands, and making manipulation easy for the pilot. Pilots can use their entire arms for operating the cyclic column with appropriate force, and can feel directly the resistance forces opposed by the remote power-assisted members against being operated.
A cyclic stick, of small size, can be mounted in the armrest of a pilot's seat, so as to make control comfortable for the pilot sitting in the seat, with improved visibility and improved overall ergonomics for the cockpit, by releasing the space extending in front of the pilot sitting in the seat. The cyclic stick is easy to manipulate since it can be tilted effortlessly through small amplitudes and effortlessly by wrist actions of the pilot, with this being made possible by using electrical-type transmission means and by implementing an electromechanical force-simulation device that is servo-controlled to the remote power-assisted members so as to reproduce the resistance forces they oppose to being operated.
Ideally, a good compromise could be obtained by using a short cyclic stick suitable for incorporating in the armrest, and by equipping the stick with transmission members of the mechanical type. In order to mitigate the insufficient lever arm of the cyclic stick, a force-developing assistance device may be interposed in the transmission system between the cyclic stick and the remote power-assisted member. Unfortunately, that solution is not fully satisfactory as it stands, and needs improving. It is found that, in the event of malfunction of the assistance devices, the cyclic stick becomes difficult to use.
For information about a technological environment close to the present invention, reference can be made, for example, to Documents EP 0 844 171 (AEROSPATIALE) and US 2008/0272243 (DECKER W. E.) that describe flight control mechanisms for controlling flight of an aircraft that implement control sticks.
The teaching from the following documents is also known: EP 1 218 240 (BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC) discloses the use of a device making it possible to modulate the relationships governing forces felt by the pilot on the pilot's control member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,548 (ROCKWELL INT CORP) discloses a console for supporting a control stick, which console is mounted telescopically on the floor of an aircraft. Document U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,612 (HAMBURGER FLUGZEUGBRAU GMBH) describes a column that is mounted to the floor of an aircraft so as to move longitudinally in order to procure flight control on the basis of its movement.
Document US 2010/0123045 presents a control mechanism provided with a column cooperating with a trim actuator.
Document GB 279 206 discloses a control mechanism for protecting a pilot from control means in the event of an accident.

Cyclic stick for mechanically transmitting commands for controlling a rotorcraft, the stick having a lever arm that is amplified selectively in the event of an emergency


A glass for chemical strengthening has a Young's modulus E of 70 GPa or more. The glass satisfies X1+X2+X3 being 1760 or less. Here, X1 is a numerical value equivalent to a value [unit: kPa/° C.] obtained by multiplying the Young's modulus E by an average coefficient α of thermal expansion at 50° C. to 350° C., X2 is a numeral value equivalent to a value of a temperature Tf [unit: ° C.] at which a viscosity of the glass reaches 100 MPa·s, and X3 is a numerical value equivalent to a value of a difference [unit: 105 Pa·s] between the viscosity (100 MPa·s) at the Tf and a viscosity η+10 at a temperature 10° C. higher than the Tf.

Thin and high-strength chemically strengthened glasses are used as cover glasses for display devices of mobile devices such as mobile phones and smart phones and cover glasses for onboard display members such as instrument panels and head-up displays (HUDs). In these display devices, a cover glass having a curved surface shape is sometimes required to improve operability and visibility. The cover glass having the curved surface shape can be produced by heating a flat glass sheet and bend-forming it into the curved surface shape using a forming mold (also referred to as three-dimensional forming) (see Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 2 discloses a lithium aluminosilicate glass having a glass transition temperature of 550° C. or less and capable of being subjected to three-dimensional forming and chemical strengthening.

Glass for chemical strengthening, chemically strengthened glass and method for manufacturing chemically strengthened glass


An arrangement for controlling the location of sprayed viscous material, in which a spray head forms a stream of the viscous material, and has at least three orifices for forming air streams. The orifices are disposed at substantially equal angles around the material stream. Air pressure is applied to the orifices, and this air pressure is controlled by a valve. The valve is adjusted proportional to the position of a plate that is positioned by a control. The spray head has at least three additional orifices that form second air streams placed symmetrically about the viscous material streams. These second air streams are directed to impinge upon the viscous material after the latter is deposited on a surface. An additional valve controls air pressure applied to the additional orifices, and this additional valve is adjusted proportional to the position of the plate.

Sealant is an important component of the modern car. It must be applied accurately if it is to accomplish its intended function of sealing cracks against moisture, fumes and sound. Also, accurate application assures good aesthetic appearance, avoids intrusion into unacceptable locations and minimizes the amount of sealant required per car to reduce cost.
Robotic application of sealant requires machine vision to gauge the as built seam locations so that the sealant bead can be adaptively applied. The sealant stream must be accurately aimed at the seam by the robot to form a bead on the seam. Often there is inadequate room to maneuver the robot wrist to achieve the desired sealant stream direction. Accordingly, a final directional correction by the applicator tool is desirable. Then the bead should be spread to provide an even coating in the immediate area.
Mechanical spreading of sealant is associated with the problems of maintaining a clean tool, not dripping, and contour following. A far better method of sealant spreading involves the use of controlled air streams to move the bead material after being applied to the surface and to flatten the material to the desired even coverage. The major drawbacks of mechanical tool spreading are thus avoided, albeit by the introduction of an air stream control problem.
Singular air stream spreading does not appear to be a viable approach. As a result, multiple air stream control is required to properly move and spread sealant bead material, once the material has been applied to the surface. This necessarily increases the complexity of this methodology and any simplification can greatly benefit the process.


Systems, methods, apparatuses and computer program products configured to provide sound feedback for input devices are described. Embodiments take input from a digitizer, such as input using as stylus/pen, and produce sound feedback to enhance the user's input interface experience. Embodiments thus provide a user with a more realistic interface with an electronic device, emulating use of conventional writing implements.

The subject matter described herein generally relates to user interfaces for electronic devices.
Tablet computers, for example a ThinkPad® X41 tablet computer, slate computers, personal digital assistants, smart phones, and other electronic devices permit users to provide input using a digitizer pen, stylus or the like. For example, a tablet digitizer pen can be used to control a computer as with a mouse or keyboard. Besides functioning as a basic selection tool, the tablet digitizer pen allows writing (text, drawings, et cetera) on the screen, as with a pen on a piece of paper, for example to jot down notes and illustrations and store them digitally. Different ways of providing input using the table digitizer pen can be chosen from a control panel. ThinkPad® is a registered mark of Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in the United States and other countries.
A digitizer is an input device that allows writing digital input with the digitizer pen/stylus. The digitizer is used to capture data input with the stylus. Some digitizers visually display the writing input in near real-time, thus functioning as a secondary computer screen that can be interacted with directly using the stylus.

Systems and methods for input device audio feedback


An arrangement compensates for the fact that multiple entities may generate distinct call data records for the same call. In the arrangement a consolidated call data records database receives multiple call data records and analyzes them to determine which, if any, are related to the same call. Where multiple call data records are discovered to be associated with the same call the consolidated database links those call data records.

The invention generally relates to accurate call data recordkeeping operations in a telecommunications environment. More specifically the invention relates to a process of consolidating all separately generated call detail records associated with a given call such as a telephone call.
In conventional telecommunications, networks, particularly, in those involving some sort of telephony such as is in a voice over interne protocol (VoIP) communication arrangement, it is common for each call that is set up in the arrangement to initiate the generation of a new call detail record. Each call detail record contains parameters relating to a given call. Such parameters may include things as the origin terminus of the call, the destination terminus of the call, the start time of the call, the end time of the call, an information about the links and/or nodes which make up the call connection to establish the call, etc. Additional parameters maybe associated with the given call detail record where such metrics are easily detected within the network in question and affiliated with the given call. These call detail records therefore provide a detailed set of characteristics which describe the essential aspects of the call from the service providers perspective. Call detail records can be used in connection with such processes as facilities resource management, billing, etc.
Call detail records are also useful in connection with providing an overall perspective of the quality of the service being provided to the customers of the service provider. In addition, this can be an important indicator to the service provider as to either areas within the service or service backbone which require either immediate attention, such as for the treatment of an existing fault, or failure within the service or network or alternatively, proactive treatment of service or network component aspects of the arrangement.
In certain situations within the known communications arrangements, multiple call detail records may actually be produced in connection with attempts to set up the same call. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 1.
In this arrangement 100, an origin device may seek to communicate with a user at destination 1 (155). The origin device (110) interacts with a network element 115 within network 170. As the caller attempts to establish the call through the network element 115, a call data record 1 is generated (116). Since the call is intended for destination 1 (155), network element 115 attempts to establish the call through network elements 125 and 150 respectively. It may happen that the user at destination (155) may operate to attempt to transfer the call to a user at destination 2 (145); the transfer of the call is delineated by the dashed lines which show that the call is being transferred via network elements 150, 125 and 140 to destination 2 (145). Thus, the origin device (110) is now connected via network elements 115 and 125 and 140 to destination 2. However, for purposes of the perspective of origin device (110), this constitutes the same call. Nonetheless, because the network element 125 has been prompted to reroute or switch the call to destination 2 via the transfer operation requested by destination 1, that network element 125 generates its own call detail record, too (126). These two call detail records CDR1 and CDR2 are provided to respective call detail record databases 120 and 130. Thus, in the prior art, multiple call detail records may be generated in connection with the establishment of the same call from an origin device perspective and those multiple CDRs may be transferred to distinct databases. In this case then, the system does not have the capability of providing an accurate reflection of the user experience by the user of origin device 110 as the two separate aspects of the single call are treated as two separate events in two distinct databases. It would be beneficial to provide an arrangement whereby the service provider can have a more complete and accurate view of the user experience of the user of origin device 110.

Method and apparatus for consolidating call data records


In various embodiments, an integrated circuit die is provided. The integrated circuit die may include a circuit on a surface of a semiconductor substrate that has a peripheral sidewall extending substantially perpendicular to and away from the surface. A first protective layer may cover the sidewall of the semiconductor substrate and peripheral edges of the circuit to provide protection from contaminant diffusion. In some embodiments, a semiconductor substrate is provided that has a plurality of dice contained thereon. Each of the dice may have an integrated circuit region and a peripheral sidewall etched into the semiconductor substrate. A first protective layer may be used to cover the peripheral sidewall of the semiconductor substrate to provide protection from contaminant diffusion. Additional apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Semiconductor integrated circuits (IC) are widely used in a large variety of applications. The impressive progress in technology has allowed the integration of many functions, i.e. logical, data storage, parameter and/or motion sensors, etc. Correspondingly a wide variety of semiconductor ICs are produced, such as micro-processors, volatile and non-volatile memories, micro-electro-mechanical devices, embedded products, and others.
Typically many (from a few hundred to some thousands of) IC chips are realized on a wafer, such as a silicon wafer. The improved control on processing technology has lead to a miniaturization of the elementary electronic components, so that current ICs including more than 1 billion transistors are available, the maximum number being essentially limited by the chip size on the wafer and economic considerations based on a corresponding achievable yield. However, in many other cases ICs are much smaller, so that typical chip size may range from about 1 mm2 to about 2 cm2 (these figures are not absolute limits).
In all cases both cost and reliability are fundamental parameters to be considered together with functionality and performance. Reliability is affected by several variables such as contaminants entering the IC device. To limit such an occurrence, a top passivation layer is usually formed on the IC chip, however the finishing at the chip's edge sidewalls is a potential source of contaminants. This problem is particularly severe in those applications in which the IC is directly assembled on a board without additional assembly or package to further protect the semiconductor chip (this often occurs when space and/or weight constraints are important, such as in mobile phone apparatuses). Overall cost is not only affected by chip area but also by wafer area not useful in the final product, such as inter-dice separation scribe lanes that, despite necessary, can be viewed as wasted wafer area; which is more important in the case of small sized IC chips.

Integrated circuit dice with edge finishing


A connector comprising a container-like fastener holder (4) of finite depth with a front (6) and a rear plate and side walls (8) wherein the rear wall and substantially the whole depth of the holder can be cast into a concrete structure to form a space within the concrete structure, fastening means (12) which can assume a range of positions within the holder (4) and a move able connection part (16) or device which can be fastened to the front plate (6) by the fastening means (12).

The present invention relates to a connector for joining building elements.
In the building construction industry it is often necessary to fix a beam or other horizontal element to a wall or other vertical element or vice versa. Concrete walls or columns are well known for their strength and ease of construction. However once the concrete is hardened it becomes difficult to resiliently fix beams or other load bearing items to the wall.
The construction of a building is a precise art and a beam or horizontal element must be fixed to a wall or vertical element in the correct position. Similarly, it is often desirable to fix a vertical member to a horizontal floor or ceiling.
A known construction method comprises drilling holes into a hardened concrete structure and fixing bolts into the hole. The hole locations often clash with steel reinforcements and problems often arise on site which cause additional costs and delays in construction.
A further known construction technique for securing a horizontal beam to a vertical concrete wall involves casting bolts into the wall during construction so that the beam can be fastened to the bolts and thereby secured to the wall.
Unfortunately it is difficult to cast bolts into a vertical or horizontal member in the correct position in order to secure the horizontal or vertical member in the desired position.


A small-sized tape cassette adaptor system in which a small-sized tape cassette is accommodated in an adaptor whose size is the same as that of a standardized tape cassette so that the small-sized tape cassette may be loaded into a recording and/or reproducing apparatus utilizing the standardized tape cassette. Tape withdrawing levers are provided within the small-sized tape cassette for withdrawing a magnetic tape, and a rotating member is mounted within the adaptor in a position for rotating the tape withdrawing levers, so that the tape withdrawing levers are rotated by the rotating member upon insertion of the small-sized tape cassette into the adaptor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to adaptors for a tape cassette and, more particularly, is directed to an adaptor for making a small-sized tape cassette compatible with a standardized tape cassette so that the small-sized tape cassette can be loaded onto a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for the standardized tape cassette.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is preferred that electronic equipment such as portable-type video tape recorders and video cameras used outdoors should be made light-weight and compact in size. With respect to recording and/or reproducing apparatus utilizing a tape cassette as a record medium, the standardization of the tape cassette necessarily restricts the sizes of the video tape recorder and the video camera. To solve this problem, it has been proposed to make a tape cassette smaller than a standardized tape cassette. This type of small tape cassette is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 58-185072 and the like. A small-sized tape cassette utilizes an adaptor so that it can be made compatible with a standardized tape cassette. Thus, when a conventional small-sized tape cassette is reproduced by, for example, a floor-type video tape recorder, the small-sized tape cassette is accommodated within the adaptor and is then loaded on the video tape recorder.
A prior-art adaptor for a conventional small-sized tape cassette utilizes a motor to move a magnetic tape incorporated within the small-sized tape cassette so that the magnetic tape is extended within the adaptor. This motor and a battery for the motor increase the weight of the adaptor, and they also make the adaptor very expensive from the standpoints of function and monetary cost. Further, the prior-art adaptor utilizing the motor and battery cannot be driven when the battery is dead, and the drive speed of the adaptor is low. Furthermore, the motor and the battery make it very difficult to miniaturize the adaptor.