An image capturing apparatus capable of interchanging a lens unit includes a processing unit configured to perform image correction processing based on data acquired by an acquisition unit. In the image capturing apparatus, the acquired data includes information of a first shooting condition, configured in a discrete manner, information of a plurality of second shooting conditions provided for each information of the first shooting condition, and correction information corresponding to a combination of the information of the first shooting condition and the information of the second shooting condition.

An image capturing apparatus such as a digital camera has been used in various purposes, and there is an increased demand to enhance quality of an image output from the image capturing apparatus. Image deterioration caused by the optical characteristics of an image capturing lens employed for forming an object image is one factor which hinders the image quality enhancement of the image. Marginal light attenuation, distortion aberration, and chromatic aberration of magnification can be given as examples of the optical characteristics which causes the image deterioration although these optical characteristics may vary depending on the optical system of a lens unit. The optical system from which the optical characteristics causing the image deterioration are completely eliminated has been difficult in recent years since miniaturization of the lens unit has been required. Therefore, there is provided a technique for correcting such deterioration in image quality by performing image processing.
It is very difficult to completely extract the optical characteristics of the lens from the image. Therefore, in order to perform such correction through image processing with high accuracy, optical correction data used for the above correction, which indicates the optical characteristics of an imaging optical system, is stored in a memory in the image capturing apparatus. In particular, in a single-lens reflex digital camera, the optical correction data for a plurality of lens units (imaging optical systems) that can be attached to that single-lens reflex digital camera has to be stored. In addition, even in the same imaging optical system, the optical characteristics may vary depending on the optical parameters such as a focal distance, a shooting distance, and a diaphragm value. Therefore, the optical correction data corresponding to a plurality of optical parameters is stored in a memory of the image capturing apparatus, so that a correction value conforming to shooting condition at the time of shooting is calculated from the optical correction data.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-286482, the distortion aberration data serving as a discrete point on an image height-distortion aberration curve which indicates a relationship between the image height (a distance from a central position of the image) and the distortion aberration is held, and a correction value is calculated from an image height-distortion aberration approximate equation generated from the distortion aberration data.
As described above, the optical characteristics may vary depending on the optical parameters such as the focal distance, the shooting distance and the diaphragm value. There is also provided a method in which correction values corresponding to the entire optical parameters that can be acquired at the shooting time are stored as the optical correction data. However, with this method, the size of the optical correction data will be remarkably large, so that a large-capacity memory is required for the image capturing apparatus and a signal processing apparatus.
Further, with the conventional technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-286482, a problem relating to the size of the optical correction data and the correction accuracy, which arises when a shooting range varies according to the focal distance, has not been solved.


The invention relates to a covering device for covering a mounting recess in a cover strip of a vehicle roof. Mounting recesses of this type are, for example, provided for fastening the feet of a roof luggage carrier. The covering device is comprised of an insertion part (1), which can be positioned inside the cover strip (3), and of a hinged cover (2), which is mounted in bearing shells (7) in a manner that enables it to pivot about an axis in the longitudinal direction of the strip and which fills the recess (4) when in a closed position. Said hinged cover comprises both bearing journals (6), which are shaped thereon at both ends, as well as detent journals (11), which can be locked in an open and closed position by means of spring elements (12). These spring elements are shaped onto the insertion part (1) and act upon the detent journals (11). The hinged cover (2), when in an open position, enables an unhindered access to the recess (4) by virtue of the fact that the bearing journals (6) and detent journals (11) are shaped onto the hinged cover (2) via a U-shaped element (5), which is dimensioned in such a manner that the edge (8) of the recess (4) projects into the open space (9) of the element (5) when the hinged cover (2) is open.

The invention refers to a covering device for covering mounting recesses in the cover strips of a vehicle roof.
These mounting recesses are provided with cover strips at the locations where, for example, anchoring points for possible fastening of the support feet of roof luggage carriers are found in the roof channel beneath. As long as the locations are not being utilized and there is no need for the channels to be open, the recesses are, as a rule, closed by a corresponding cover, not only for the protection of the fastening site but also for visual reasons.
A generic covering device is known from DE 198 40 294 C2, in which the hinged cover filling the recess in the closed position has bearing journals, projecting in the strip longitudinal direction, which are shaped as a straight extension of the pivoting cover edge. This results in the bearing shells below the recess being located close to the edge of the recess, and the cover, when pivoted up, of necessity narrows the recess corresponding to its cover thickness.
The goal of the invention is to design the generic covering device so that the hinged cover does not hinder access to the recess when open.

Covering device for covering mounting recesses in the cover strips of a vehicle roof


An adjustable vehicle pedal assembly is disclosed. The adjustable vehicle pedal assembly may include a tray sub-assembly and a push rod sub-assembly. The tray sub-assembly may include a vehicle pedal, a splined shaft, and a tray that is slidable, relative to the splined shaft, to permit a position of the vehicle pedal to be adjusted. The push rod sub-assembly may engage a valve based on actuation of the vehicle pedal. A mechanical linkage between the tray sub-assembly and the push rod sub-assembly being maintained when the position of the vehicle pedal is adjusted.

A vehicle pedal assembly may provide a mechanical linkage between a vehicle pedal (e.g., a brake pedal) and a valve or another type of actuator (e.g., a brake valve). However, the components included in the vehicle pedal assembly may be fixed such that a position of the vehicle pedal cannot be adjusted without breaking the mechanical linkage between the vehicle pedal and the valve. As a result, the fixed components may prevent ergonomic positioning of the vehicle pedal in an operator station for an operator.
One approach disclosed in U.K. Patent Publication No. GB2443915A, that published on May 21, 2008 ("the '915 publication"), describes "an adjustable pedal device for a motor vehicle." In particular, the '915 publication describes "an adjustable pedal device for a motor vehicle . . . comprising a pedal whose pad possesses a position that can be adjusted in terms of height and advance, as well as inclination, between a first top extreme position that is less advanced in the cabin, and also closer to the vertical, in particular adapted to a tall driver, and a second bottom extreme position that is more advanced in the cabin and also closer to the horizontal, in particular adapted to a short driver."
While the '915 publication may describe "an adjustable pedal device for a motor vehicle," the '915 publication does not describe an adjustable vehicle pedal assembly that includes a tray sub-assembly and a push rod sub-assembly that permits adjustments to a vehicle pedal while maintaining a mechanical linkage between the vehicle pedal and a valve.
The adjustable vehicle pedal assembly of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.


A blower configured to be positioned in confined spaces and to provide ventilation of a fluid, such as temperature controlled air, is disclosed. In various embodiments, the blower is configured to have a reduced axial thickness, which can be desired in such confined spaces. In some embodiments, the blower has an integral filter, a wire channel for the routing of one or more wires, and/or an exposed backplate. In some embodiments, the blower has a snap-fit circuit board, containment system for mounting the motor, one or more vanes for directing fluid flow, shrouded impeller, and/or integrated connector.

1. Field
The present application relates generally to ventilation devices. More particularly, some embodiments relate to a blower that is particularly useful for providing a flow of temperature-controlled air in confined spaces, such as seats (e.g., vehicle seats, wheelchair seats, and other seating assemblies), beds, and other occupant support assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain modern seats, such as some automobile seats, are equipped with ventilation systems that supply air to, or receive air from, a portion of the seat. Some such seats also include temperature control systems that allow the occupant to vary the temperature of the seat by flowing temperature-controlled air through the seat covering. One such system comprises a seat having a fan unit and a thermoelectric element mounted therein. The thermoelectric element is configured to heat or cool air that is moved over the element by the fan unit, which is also mounted within the seat. The conditioned air is distributed to the occupant by passing the air through the seat surface via a series of air ducts within the seat. In another system, air is fed into the ventilation and/or temperature control system via the ducts within the seat.
In many instances, the amount of space available within, below, and around the seat for such ventilation and/or temperature control systems is severely limited. For example, in some cars, to save weight or increase passenger room, the seats are only a few inches thick and abut the adjacent structure of the car, such as the floorboard or the back of the car. Further, automobile manufacturers are increasingly mounting various devices, such as electronic components or variable lumbar supports, within, below, and around the seat. Additionally, the size of the seat, particularly the seat back, needs to be as small as possible to reduce the amount of cabin space consumed by the seat.
Certain conventional ventilation and/or temperature control systems are too large to be mounted within, below, or around vehicle seats. For example, some systems may have a housing containing a squirrel-cage fan five or six inches in diameter and over two inches thick. The fan generates an air flow that passes through a duct to reach a heat exchanger that is several inches wide and long and at least an inch or so thick. From the heat exchanger, the air is transported through ducts to the bottom of the seat cushion and to the seat cushion back. Such systems are bulky and difficult to fit underneath or inside car seats. Furthermore, such a large fan to can generate more noise, which is generally undesirable, and is especially undesirable inside the closed space of a motor vehicle.
In light of at least these drawbacks, there is a need for a more compact ventilation blower for automobile seats, wheelchair seats, other vehicle seats, beds, and other occupant support assemblies.


In one embodiment, in response to receiving a notification to enter a packet filtering mode of operation for a NIC operating a link to a hub/switch in a normal mode of operation at one operating speed, a lower power consuming operating speed is re-negotiated with the hub/switch for the NIC to operate the link in the packet filtering mode. In another embodiment, another link to the hub/switch through another NIC is operated in the packet filtering mode at a lower power consuming speed, in place of the original link and NIC instead. In yet another embodiment, the lowest power consuming NIC among a number of jointly operating NICs is operated in the packet filtering mode, with the remaining NICs being shut down.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of managing power consumption in a computer system. More specifically, the present invention relates to the management of power consumption by a network interface device (also referred to as network interface card or NIC for short).
2. Background Information
Today, most computer systems are equipped with power management features. Their constituting components are power management enabled, i.e. they include provisions through which a power management enabled operating system may put some or all of these components into low-to-no function power saving modes when the components"" services are not needed. The components are brought back to the full function normal power consumption mode of operation when their services are needed again. Examples of these computer systems include ACPI compliant systems equipped with Window 95 or later (available from Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.). ACPI compliant means compliance with the Advanced Power and Configuration Interface specification, revision 1.0 or later, available from Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., a co-developer of the specification, and assignee of the present application.
Today, many computer systems are also equipped with NICs to enable the computer systems to be connectable to local, wide area or global networks, such as the Internet, via links to networking devices such as hubs or switches. For power management equipped computer systems, these NICs are equipped to operate in at least a full function normal power consumption mode, or a low function power saving consumption mode (selectably entered in response to instructions from the operating systems). Under the low function power saving consumption mode, a NIC would monitor the link for packets directed to the xe2x80x9chostxe2x80x9d computer system (i.e. the computer system on which the NIC is installed), where the xe2x80x9chostxe2x80x9d computer system should be awakened to process the packets. This low function power saving consumption mode of operation is referred to as the xe2x80x9cpacket filteringxe2x80x9d mode of operation.
Many NICs support only one speed of operation. Thus, the link is operated at the same speed regardless of whether the NIC is operating in the full function or packet filtering mode. Historically, this was not a problem, as the power required to sustain such packet filtering mode of operation (i.e. with the link being operated at the same speed as in the full function mode of operation), was well within the power available from the interconnecting system bus under a power saving mode of operation. For example, a Ethernet NIC typically requires only 0.5 watts to operate a link in the packet filtering mode at 100 Mbps, which is well within the 1.2 watts available from an interconnecting PCI bus under a power saving mode of operation. However, with the advent of higher operating speeds for networking links, this has become a problem; as many of these NICs that support only the higher ones of these operating speeds require more power to operate in the packet filtering mode than the power available from the interconnecting buses operating under a power saving mode, e.g., in the case of a gigabit Ethernet NIC interconnected to a PCI bus. As a result, these NICs and other interconnected components cannot be placed into the low function power saving mode of operation.
This problem exists also in NICs that support multiple speeds of operation, even though the multiple speeds include the lower speeds that in and of themselves would have required power that is within the power available from the interconnecting buses. The reason is because the actual full function operating speed is dynamically negotiated between the NIC and the interconnecting hub/switch. Often times, it is the higher speeds that are selected. Once the higher speeds are negotiated, these prior art NICs operate the links at the negotiated speeds, regardless of whether they are operating in the full function mode of operation or in the packet filtering mode of operation. Thus, upon establishing one of these higher power requirement operating speeds, these multi-speed NICs are no different from the single high speed NICs, as far as power management is concerned.
Thus, an improved NIC power management technique, without some of these disadvantages of the prior art, is desired.
A notification is received for a NIC operating a link to a hub/switch in a normal mode of operation at one operating speed to enter a packet filtering mode of operation. In response, a lower power consuming operating speed is re-negotiated with the hub/switch for the NIC to operate the link in the packet filtering mode.

Method and apparatus for conserving power consumed by a network interface device in packet filtering mode


An object of the present invention is to provide an extreme ultraviolet light source target which can emits extreme ultraviolet light with high emission efficiency. A solid target made of heavy metal or heavy-metal compound and having a density 0.5 to 80% that of the crystal density is used. When the target is irradiated with a laser beam, plasma of the heavy metal contained in the target is generated, and extreme ultraviolet light having a predetermined wavelength which corresponds to the kind of the heavy metal is emitted from the plasma. When the density of the target is made to be smaller than the crystal density as described above, space distribution of the density of the generated plasma can be controlled, and the region in which plasma absorbs energy of the laser beam overlaps the region in which the plasma emits the extreme ultraviolet light. Thus, emission efficiency can be improved, preventing energy loss. For example, in a case where the SnO2 target having a density 24% of the crystal density is used, the emission efficiency at around 13.5 nm wavelength is higher than in the case where a Sn crystal target is used.

Semiconductor integrated circuits are generally manufactured using a lithographic process. Since the minimum processing dimension of lithography depends on the wavelength of light used, it is necessary to shorten the wavelength of the irradiated light in order to improve the integration degree of the integrated circuit. Specifically, the lithographic process is, at present, performed using light having a wavelength of 157 to 365 nm. An object is to achieve the practical use of the lithography using extreme ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 11 to 14 nm.
For the light source of the extreme ultraviolet light, it is required that not only the light in the above wavelength region can be emitted, but also the light in the wavelength region can be selectively emitted (in other words, an emission in other wavelength regions is prevented), the light in the desired wavelength region can be emitted with high efficiency, and contaminating substances are not generated.
As a light source satisfying such conditions, a light source using a laser plasma method has been studied. According to the laser plasma method, a target is irradiated with a laser beam to form plasma, and extreme ultraviolet light emitted from the plasma is used. As the material of the target, materials in the form of gas, liquid, or solid, and made of various elements have been studied. Among them, as a gaseous target, one using xenon gas or the like is considered. A gaseous target is formed by injecting the gas into a predetermined region, and the gaseous target is used by irradiating the region with a laser beam. As a solid target, heavy metals or their compounds are considered. For example, a target made of a solid solution of 10% Th (thorium) in Sn (tin) matrix is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-208998.
However, conventional targets have the following problem. The problem is described with reference to FIG. 1, in which the relation between a spatial position and an electron temperature in the vicinity of a surface of a conventional solid target is shown. Regarding a horizontal axis, the position of 1×104 μm corresponds to the position of a surface 15 of a solid target, and the position with a greater value in the horizontal axis corresponds to the inside of the target. The laser beam is irradiated toward the surface 15 of the target as shown by the arrow 13. In FIG. 1, the wavelength λL of the laser beam is 1064 nm and the light intensity IL is 1×1012 W/cm2. The region shown by the reference numeral 11 in the drawing is a region in which the formed plasma absorbs energy of the laser beam (laser absorption region), and the region shown by the reference numeral 12 is a region in which the formed plasma emits extreme ultraviolet light (extreme ultraviolet light emission region). When the target is irradiated with the laser beam, the energy of the laser beam is absorbed in the laser absorption region 11, the energy is transported from the laser absorption region 11 to the extreme ultraviolet light emission region 12, and the extreme ultraviolet light is emitted from the extreme ultraviolet light emission region 12 owing to the transported energy. Here, while the energy is transported from the laser absorption region 11 to the extreme ultraviolet light emission region 12, a loss of the energy occurs. That is, a part of the absorbed energy is converted to heat, or the ratio of light in a region other than a desired wavelength increases, so that the emission spectrum has a broader distribution. As a result, the emission efficiency decreases.
In addition to that, when the solid or liquid target is irradiated with a laser beam, a part of the target turns into particles without generating any plasma, and the particles disperse from the target. When the dispersed particles (debris) fall on an optical system or the like, or damages the optical system or the like, the precision of the system could be lowered.

Extreme ultraviolet light source and extreme ultraviolet light source target


A cellular phone capable of observing a background. The cellular phone includes a first main body and a second main body slidably connected to the first main body. A display is provided to the second main body. The display is divided into a first area that is not overlapped with the first main body when the second main body is slidably open, and a second area that is overlapped with the first main body when the second main body is slidably open. In the cellular phone, the first area has first pixels formed into a transparent structure in which a background is observed, and the second area has second pixels formed into a non-transparent structure in which the background is not observed.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a cellular phone, and more particularly, to a cellular phone capable of observing a background.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there have been developed various types of flat panel display devices capable of reducing the weight and volume of cathode ray tubes, which are disadvantages. The flat panel display devices include a liquid crystal display, a field emission display, a plasma display panel, an organic light emitting display, and the like.
Among these flat panel display devices, the organic light emitting display device displays images by using organic light emitting diodes that emit light through recombination of electrons and holes. The organic light emitting display device has a fast response speed and is driven with low power consumption. Since the organic light emitting display has an advantage of low power consumption, the organic light emitting display is frequently used for portable devices, e.g., cellular phones and the like.
Generally, cellular phones are classified into a bar type, a flip type, a folder type and a slide type according to their outer appearances. Here, a slide type cellular phone performs a predetermined function when a main body is slidably open.
In a contemporary slide type cellular phone, however, a predetermined screen is displayed on a display when a main body is slidably open, and hence, the applications of the contemporary slide type cellular phone are restricted. Therefore, in order to extend applications, it is required to develop a cellular phone in which an object disposed at a backside of the cellular phone can be displayed via a display when a main body is slidably open.


A rotor blade for a fan, said rotor blade comprising a first blade zone having an airfoil cross-section and a second blade zone having a cross-section of reduced thickness, wherein the average thickness of the second blade zone is less than 50% of the average thickness of the first blade zone.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotor blade for a fan. Such fans are used for cooling and have a typical diameter which could amount up to 10 meters. Such fans comprise a hub on to which several rotor blades are mounted. Concentrically to this hub a housing is arranged, to direct the airflow which is generated by the rotation of the rotor blades.
2) Description of the Prior Art
The aerodynamic pressure generated locally by a rotor blade is proportional to the lift coefficient and to the square of the airspeed. At the tip, i.e. the free-end of the rotor blade, the aerodynamic pressure could be as high as 1500-2000 Pa.
The clearance between the tip and the housing is kept small in order to avoid xe2x80x9cleakagexe2x80x9d of the fan. As this tip clearance is small, the aerodynamic pressure generated at the tip of the blades is reacted onto the housing on a certain defined area. This area is proportional to the cordlength of the rotor blade and to the thickness at the tip of the blade. As the rotor blade rotates, and the housing is stationary, a high amplitude pulsating force is exerted onto the housing. This can result in fatigue cracks and/or failure of the housing, premature wear of the fan drive system and additional noise.
According to the prior art the disadvantages are at least partly eliminated by providing a stiff housing and/or support structure, or by increasing the number of fan blades. Both solutions result in an increase of the costs of a cooling unit.
It is therefore an object to provide a low cost solution relative to the solutions of the prior art.
This object is achieved by a rotor blade according to the invention, which blade comprises a first blade zone having an airfoil cross-section and a second blade zone having a cross-section of reduced thickness, wherein the average thickness of the second blade zone is less than 50% of the average thickness of the first blade zone.
By reducing the average thickness of the second blade zone, the area is reduced onto which the aerodynamic pressure is reacted. Therefore the pulse force is reduced which results in improvement of the fatigue life of the housing, reduction of the vibrations, reduction of the wear of the fan drive system and provides a solution at reduced costs.
In an embodiment of the rotor blade according to the invention, the length of the second blade zone is less than 15% of the length of the first blade zone.
Preferably, the length of the second blade zone is in the range of 0,05-0,6 of the average chord length of the first blade zone. Tests have revealed that these features provide for the desired reduction in the force exerted onto the housing, while keeping a sufficient performance.
In another preferred embodiment of the rotor blade according to the invention, the average thickness of the second blade zone is in the range of 0,02-0,2 of the average thickness of the first blade zone.
The thickness of a rotor blade is defined as the maximum thickness of a transversal cross-section of the rotor blade.
In again another preferred embodiment of the invention the mean line of the cross section of the second zone is substantially parallel to mean line of the cross section of the first zone. This provides for a similar air flow over the full length of the rotor blade.
In again another embodiment of the rotor blade according to the invention the upper surface of the second blade zone is substantially in line with the upper surface of the first blade.


The innovation supports the ability to map alpha characters entered directly into the dialer application of a smartphone. These alpha characters can be entered via a smartphone keyboard (e.g., QWERTY keyboard) and converted to the appropriate digits as mapped to a conventional telephone keypad. The resultant numerical digits can be used to prompt a network call. Additionally, the innovation can be used during an active call to respond to prompts that traditionally require 12-key mappings. This innovation allows a user to both dial a number directly via a smartphone keyboard, and filter contacts by name, in a non-modal manner.

With the ever-increasing popularity of personal mobile devices, e.g., cell phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal music players, laptops, etc., 'mobility' has been the focus of many consumer products as well as services offered by wireless providers. In the telecommunications industry, 'mobility' is at the forefront as consumers are no longer restricted by location with regard to communications and computing needs. Rather, today, as technology advances, more and more consumers use portable devices in day-to-day communications, activities, planning and entertainment. In fact, studies have shown that many people today are opting for mobile phones and smartphones in place of traditional land lines.
As mobile device popularity increases, the ability to make telephone calls, access electronic mail, communicate via instant message (IM) and access aggregated online services such as a calendar appointments and tasks from any location has also continued to evolve. Many mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones, PDAs or the like enable wireless synchronization with servers, for example mail servers. Accordingly, electronic messages can be sent and/or received via mobile devices by way of wireless synchronization.
In order to accommodate textual input, many mobile devices are equipped with a conventional QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard derives its name from the first six letters on the keyboards top row of alpha characters. Although the QWERTY keyboard is the most common modern-day keyboard layout on typewriter and computer keyboards, the layout of the keys does not always translate to mobile applications.
For example, a standard telephone keypad designates specific letters to numeric digits on the touch-tone pad. For example, the letters 'A', 'B' and 'C' are commonly associated with the number 2. Similarly, letters 'E', 'F' and 'G' are commonly associated with the number 3, and so on. When a QWERTY keyboard is used, it is not possible for a user to dial telephone numbers which include letters or words. Similarly, it is not possible to reply to option commands by depressing the corresponding letter, for example, 'enter the first three letters of the last name of the person you are trying to reach.'
Today, vanity telephone numbers (e.g., 555-HELP) and command interactions are becoming more and more prevalent. However, unfortunately, today's QWERTY equipped devices are not able to communicate in this manner. In other words, the QWERTY keyboard is not conventionally configured with correct mappings to easily translate letters to numbers and vice versa.
Mobile smartphone devices with QWERTY keypads do not have the standard alpha characters on the numeric keys for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is that the keys are often too small and this would confuse the user with regards to regular alpha entry. Therefore, the user would have to know the translation for phone numbers that employ alpha characters (e.g., 1-800-FLOWERS=18003569377) or refer to a conventional phone keypad to make the translation. This is very cumbersome to the user and therefore reduces the effectiveness of vanity numbers.

Alpha character support and translation in dialer


A method of forming a polyethercarbonate polyol enhances incorporation of CO2 into the polyethercarbonate polyol. The method provides a catalyst including a multimetal cyanide compound. The multimetal cyanide compound has an ordered structure defined by a cationic catalytic center and an anionic backbone with the anionic backbone spatially arranged about the cationic catalytic center. The anionic backbone is modified with a supplemental anionic spacer to affect the spatial arrangement and catalytic activity of the cationic catalytic center. The supplemental anionic spacer is incorporated into the multimetal cyanide compound to establish the general formula, M1a[M2b(CN)cMd3Xe]f, wherein M1, M2, and M3 are various metal ions and X is the supplemental anionic spacer. An H-functional initiator, an alkylene oxide, and CO2 are reacted in the presence of the modified multimetal cyanide compound to form the polyethercarbonate polyol.

Polyethercarbonate (PEC) polyols are known in the art. PEC polyols are utilized, in conjunction with a cross-linking agent, such as an isocyanate, to produce polyurethane polymers. The polyurethane polymers can be foamed or non-foamed, i.e., elastomeric. Generally, PEC polyols are the polymerization reaction product of an H-functional initiator, an alkylene oxide, and CO2 and these reactants are reacted in a reactor in the presence of a catalyst. More specifically, the PEC polyols are formed as a result of copolymerization of the alkylene oxides and CO2. Recently, there has been a significant focus on using catalysts that include a multimetal cyanide compound to catalyze the reaction of the H-functional initiator, the alkylene oxide, and CO2 to form the PEC polyols.
Although the recent focus has been to use conventional multimetal cyanide compounds, such as Zn3[Co(CN)6]2, it has been observed that these conventional compounds are not well suited for catalyzing the copolymerization of alkylene oxide with CO2 to yield the PEC polyol. When using the conventional multimetal cyanide compound, the extent that the CO2 is incorporated into the PEC polyol, specifically into the desired alkylene oxide—CO2 copolymer, is limited and difficult to control. Conventional multimetal cyanide compounds can possess amorphous structures and it is believed that, in part, these properties of conventional multimetal cyanide compounds contribute to the overall lack of activity of the catalysts in the copolymerization of alkylene oxide with CO2. As a result of the above, high CO2 pressures and/or low process temperatures are required to generate PEC polyols with adequate CO2 content. It is known that high CO2 pressures are undesirable due to the high cost of high pressure equipment and low process temperatures are undesirable due to the high catalyst (multimetal cyanide compound) concentrations and/or long cycle times required when low process temperatures are employed. Additionally, when using the conventional multimetal cyanide compound to form the PEC polyol, formation of cyclic alkylene carbonate as an undesirable byproduct of the copolymerization of the alkylene oxide and CO2 is considerable.
Instead of being used to form PEC polyols, it is known that conventional multimetal cyanide compounds are more suited for the homopolymerization of alkylene oxide to form a polyether polyol. Multimetal cyanide compounds have ordered structures that are defined by cationic catalytic centers and anionic backbones. The anionic backbones are spatially arranged about the cationic catalytic centers and these cationic catalytic centers of the multimetal cyanide compounds are ideally spaced to promote the homopolymerization of alkylene oxides to form the polyether polyol. Due to this ideal spacing, it is contemplated that the conventional multimetal cyanide compounds are essentially too active for the homopolymerization of alkylene oxide and, therefore, the growing carbonate chain ends in the PEC polyol are biased toward polymerization with alkylene oxide rather than CO2.
In view of the limitations associated with conventional multimetal cyanide compounds when used to form PEC polyols, including those limitations described above, there remains an opportunity to modify these multimetal cyanide compounds such that the compounds are more suitable for use in the formation of the PEC polyol. There also remains an opportunity to avoid use of the conventional multimetal cyanide compounds, which inherently have ideal spatial arrangements, altogether.

Complex of a multimetal cyanide compound and methods of forming polyethercarbonate polyols


The object of the present invention is to provide a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications, which has an action of reducing the blood sugar level. The present invention provides a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications which comprises, as an active ingredient, a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19.

The present invention relates to a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications, more specifically a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications which comprises, as an active ingredient, a mixture of poly lactic acids having certain condensation degree.
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder mainly of glucose metabolism which is based on deficient secretion of insulin or reduced sensitivity of target cells thereof, and a major characteristic of diabetes is hyperglycemia. If hyperglycemia persists for a long period, serious complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy arise in various organs and nerves with angiopathy as a prime factor. Therefore, it is extremely important in the treatment of diabetes to control the blood sugar level and maintain it at a normal level, and the means for this purpose has been studied for many years.
Diabetes is classified according to the types of disease into insulin dependent diabetes (IDDM; type I diabetes) and non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM; type II diabetes). In the case of non-insulin dependent diabetes (type II diabetes), onset of the disease is slow and insulin treatment is not necessarily required for maintaining life, and the blood sugar level can be controlled by a combination of diet therapy, kinesitherapy and drug therapy. In drug therapy, an insulin secretion promoting agent which is one type of oral agents for reducing the blood sugar level is widely and clinically used. However, since currently available insulin secretion promoting agents promote insulin secretion independent of blood sugar level, there arise problems that onset of serious hypoglycemia arises or the blood sugar level cannot be sufficiently controlled if the dosage is inadequate, and thus such agents are not satisfactory.
Therefore, if there is provided a novel medicament which can adequately control the blood sugar level and has little side effect, it is expected to be extremely useful for controlling the blood sugar level in diabetes patients.
An object of the present invention is to provide a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications, which has an action of reducing the blood sugar level.
As a result of concentrated research to achieve the aforementioned object, the present inventors have found that the blood sugar level can be significantly reduced by administering a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19 to diabetes-induced model rats, thereby providing the present invention. Although it has been reported in the research up to now that a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly L-lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19 is useful as an antineoplastic agent (Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open (Kokai) Nos. 9-227388 and 10-130153) and also as a QOL improving agent for cancer patients (Japanese Patent Application No. 11-39894 Specification; Bulletin of Japan Society of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 33, No.3, p. 493), the present inventors have found for the first time that it has an action of reducing the blood sugar level.
Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications which comprises, as an active ingredient, a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medicament for reducing the blood sugar level which comprises, as an active ingredient, a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19.
The medicament of the present invention may be used, in particular, for prevention and/or treatment of type II diabetes or complications thereof.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lactic acid which is a repeating unit in the poly lactic acid, substantially consists of L-lactic acid.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic-acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19 that is used as an active ingredient, is a fraction obtained by condensing lactic acids (preferably lactic acid substantially consisting of L-lactic acid) by dehydration under an inactive atmosphere, subjecting the ethanol- or methanol-soluble fraction of the obtained reaction solution to reverse phase column chromatography, and eluting with 25 to 50 weight % acetonitrile aqueous solution of pH 2 to 3 and then with 90 weight % or more acetonitrile aqueous solution of pH 2 to 3.
Condensation of lactic acids by dehydration may be performed, for example, by stepwise decompression and temperature rise under a nitrogen gas atmosphere.
Moreover, reverse phase column chromatography may be performed applying ODS column chromatography.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the use of a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19 for the production of a medicament for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications or a medicament for reducing the blood sugar level.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes or diabetes complications or a method for reduction of the blood sugar level, which comprises a step of administering to mammals including humans, a therapeutically effective amount of a mixture of cyclic and/or straight chain poly lactic acids having a condensation degree of 3 to 19.


The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for abstracting logical topology information of a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. The method includes: obtaining a set of Points of Presence (POPs) of peer clients in the P2P network; using a relevant algorithm of a routing protocol to calculate a best path between any two POPs in the set of POPs and a weight value of the best path; and collecting calculation results of the best path and the weight value that are obtained on each POP to obtain a set of abstract logical topology records of the P2P network. The embodiments of the present invention provide a universal and efficient method for abstracting logical topology information, which greatly reduces network topology information that needs to be transmitted, mitigates a risk of exposing lower-layer network topology information, and transmits the network topology information to a P2P application server securely and concisely.

Currently, with the development of networks, people have more and more requirements for networks, especially, for large-capacity information such as music and video files, which gives rise to popularity of a P2P application. In most circumstances, however, the P2P application is unable to find a best peer sequence, which leads to performance deterioration of a server and too much inter-domain traffic. The P2P application occupies plenty of network bandwidths and limited network resources of an operator. Therefore, it is important to optimize P2P traffic.
The Application-Layer Traffic Optimization (ALTO) working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is committed to formulating a technical standard for application-layer traffic optimization that is performed based on cooperation between an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a P2P application provider. The standard provides an ALTO service through the ISP, and optimizes selection of P2P resources by collecting and analyzing network topology information, with a view to reducing futile inter-domain traffic, using network bandwidth resources reasonably, and enhancing management on a P2P service.
When starting a P2P program, a client needs to requests a peer list from a P2P application server. The P2P application server may obtain network topology information through the ALTO service, optimize peer selection by using the network topology information, and return a list of preferred peers. For example, a user in Beijing may preferentially exchange a file fragment with another user in Beijing in this way.
In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventor finds that the conventional art has the following problems: No standard related to P2P traffic optimization is defined; an existing method for obtaining network topology information may enable the P2P application server to obtain lower-layer network topology information, but the amount of the lower-layer network topology information is too large and details of the operator are exposed excessively, which brings many security problems to an upper-layer application. Moreover, the large amount of transmitted network topology information seriously increases a network load, especially in an unstructured P2P network, and therefore the lower-layer network topology information is not suitable for being transmitted to the P2P application server for helping to optimize the peer selection.

Method and apparatus for abstracting logical topology information of peer-to-peer network


A first copier acquires data and determines a plurality of recipients to deliver split data. A data splitter 308 splits data into a plurality of data blocks and a dummy data generator 315 generates dummy data. A data delivery unit 310 delivers the data blocks and dummy data to the plurality of recipients. At the same time, the data delivery unit 310 outputs restoration information including information about the recipients of the data. Based on the restoration information, a second copier collects the plurality of data blocks and the dummy data from the plurality of recipients and discards the dummy data, acquiring the plurality of data blocks. The second copier reconstructs a set of data from the plurality of data blocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data distribution processing system, data distribution processing method, and program which split data into data blocks and distribute the data blocks to a plurality of devices connected to a network and then collect the data blocks to reconstruct the original data.
2. Description of the Related Art
With increases in functionality of copiers, recent copiers are equipped with a storage device such as a hard disk to temporarily hold images read by scanning paper documents and the like. Furthermore, the copiers are provided with networking functions to exchange data held in respective storage devices among themselves by being connected via a network.
An example of data exchange will be described by citing a system in which a plurality of copiers 201 to 210 are placed on a network 213 such as shown FIG. 2A. Generally, a document (original) scanned by copier A (201) is printed out by copier A (201).
A storage device such as a hard disk of a copier is used, for example, as follows. A document is scanned by copier A (201) and resulting image data 214 is stored on a hard disk or other storage device 211 of copier A (201). The image data 214 is acquired from the storage device 211 of copier A (201) by copier B (210) connected to the network 213. The acquired image data 214 is printed out by copier B (210).
Alternatively, when copier A (201) scans a document, the image data 214 read into the storage device 211 of copier A (201) may be transferred to a hard disk or other storage device 212 of copier B (210). In that case, copier B (210) produces printouts using the image data transferred and stored in the storage device 212.
It is assumed naturally that the copiers 201 to 210 perform appropriate authentication processes. Also, it is assumed that the copiers 201 to 210 are capable of identifying the image data stored in the storage device 211 or 212.
Due to increased security awareness, many companies and the like forbid taking notebook PCs, USB memories, or other external memories out of the companies or the like. Consequently, chances are increasing that documents (originals) scanned by a copier are outputted via an external network to which the copier is connected.
In view of this, security is enhanced by encrypting the data transferred between copiers.
Also, a method is known in which scanned images are stored in a distributed manner among storage devices of copiers connected to a network (see for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-118239).
However, simple encryption of the data transferred between copiers is not enough to prevent malicious third parties from intercepting the data even if the entire data is encrypted. Also, encryption may be broken by advanced computer technologies or the like. Besides, since the entire data flows through the network, all the data may leak once it is deciphered.
The method described in the patent document above enhances security by managing data in a distributed manner. However, the method assumes that the data is restored on the scanning copier and it does not allow for secure output from other copiers and similar devices on the network.

Data distribution processing system, data distribution processing method, and program for secure data transfer by splitting data, generating dummy data, and reconstructing data


A binding unit (1) for gliding boards, such as snowboards, is composed of two support plates (2) and (3) which can be independently telescoped along the longitudinal axis of a boot. Each support plate is slidingly guided along this longitudinal axis in a guide element (4 and 5, respectively). Sole-holding shackles (7 and 9) are held laterally. The support plates are form-lockingly held in a position set to the boot length by starting from a central fixing element (6).

This invention relates to bindings, and more particularly to a binding system for a gliding board, especially a snowboard, of the type having two binding units, each serving to mount a boot on the snowboard, each binding unit being provided with, a front and a rear sole holding-down means, at least one of which is equipped with an opening device, the sole holding-down means being secured in mountings which are displaceable on plates in the longitudinal direction of the boot and fixable, and the plates being connected via a mounting to the gliding board.
Binding systems for snowboards serve the primary purpose of holding the user's boots on the snowboard. Besides that, however, binding systems must meet other requirements, viz., adaptability to various shoe sizes and adjustability of the angle of the boots to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. Furthermore, it is customary for snowboarders to have the stronger or jumping leg assume the forward position on the snowboard. As a result, some of them have the left leg forward--this being called the "regular" position--whereas others have the right leg forward--this position being called "goofy". This means that it should be possible to switch the binding system over from the "regular" position to the "goofy" position.
Moreover, the binding system should be attached to the snowboard in such a way that the elastic deformation of the snowboard is unrestrictedly ensured in every direction during gliding. For the binding system, this means that even with clamped boots, no stiffening limiting the mobility of the snowboard must occur, for only in this way is the full running ease of the snowboard ensured.
Various binding systems for snowboards have been proposed. For example, Swiss Patent No. 677,191 discloses a binding system in which an elongated plate is held by a centrally disposed device in such a way that it can be fixed in virtually any desired swivel position. This device is made up of a base plate screwed to the snowboard and a bolt disposed in the center. A screw can be driven into the bolt, whereby the base plate can be fixed via intermediate plates to the plate screwed to the snowboard. For mounting the holding shackles for fixing the boots, means are provided which are screwed to the base plate and are displaceable longitudinally after loosening the screw connection in order to be able to set the binding to the length of the boots.
One drawback of the above binding system is that longitudinal adjustment for adapting to various boot lengths is particularly difficult. For one thing, the central screw must be unscrewed for this purpose so that the base plate can be removed in order to be able to loosen on the underside thereof the screws by which the mountings for the boots are connected to this base plate. Adjustment of the longitudinal setting cannot be carried out without an additional tool. For another thing, the length of the base plate is designed to accomodate even the largest boots. When it is adjusted for smaller boots, the front and back ends of the base plate extend past the ends of the boots. In the case of narrow snowboards, the base plate may thereby project beyond the edge of the snowboard so that these protruding ends are liable to come in contact with the underlying snow, especially in curves, which may lead to a fall. In addition, this is considered unattractive. Moreover, there are bare edges which someone may strike against or get caught on, whereby a certain risk of injury cannot be excluded.
Another such binding system is depicted in European Patent Application Publication No. 285,558. A turntable is held pivotingly via a ring and a flange secured to the snowboard by means of screws. The turntable may be fixed in each swivel position by a spring-loaded slide mounted for radial displacement in the turntable, which slide engages the teeth of the ring connected to the snowboard. The holding shackles for the boots are attached to a yoke secured to the turntable. The binding is set to the boot length by displacing the shackles along the yokes secured to the turntable. In this design, too, the yokes project beyond the front and back ends of the boots when the binding is adjusted for small boots, thus presenting a risk of getting caught in the snow or of injury.
It is an object of this invention to provide a binding system for a gliding board, especially a snowboard, which is attached in such a way that even with clamped boots, the elastic mobility of the board is not impaired in any way.
A further object of the invention is to provide such a binding system which is easily adjustable for boots of any size without requiring the use of an auxiliary tool.
Another object of the invention is to provide a binding system without parts which project beyond the ends of the boots after adjustment to the boot size.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a binding system which meets the requirements for attractiveness.

Adjustable length binding system for snowboards having independently variable heel and toe spans


An optical mark reader includes a housing formed by a base and an upper housing assembly. A scanner is associated with the upper housing assembly for performing scanning operations on cards that are input into the housing. The base and the upper housing are detachably connected to each other by a quick connect/disconnect fastening system which permits easy access to the lens of the scanner, whereby the lens can be cleaned as needed. In addition, the housing includes a unique card path defined, in part, by a pair of guide walls on the base. The card path includes an inlet that is tapered both vertically and horizontally make insertion of cards into the housing easier. Further, a single, offset drive wheel is used to transport cards through the housing.

This invention relates to optical mark readers. In particular, this invention relates to an improved optical mark reader for use in reading marked cards, including test cards, lottery game cards, and similar type cards that contain xe2x80x9cbubblexe2x80x9d or like marks which are filled in with a suitable writing instrument by a user.
Optical mark readers, also known as optical mark recognition devices and bubble card readers, are known in the art. These types of readers are used in a variety of fields, including education and gaming, to read pencil or pen marks that are placed onto a card by a user filling in pre-printed xe2x80x9cbubblesxe2x80x9d on the card. Optical mark readers are typically designed as peripheral units that interface with a local controller, such as a local personal computer, which receives and processes data from the reader, or designed as stand alone units which read and process data within the reader. They may also be connected to local area networks, or even global networks, with suitable interconnection devices.
In the education field, an optical mark reader needs to be highly accurate and reliable in order to provide reliable scoring of test results and the like. Further, the continuing rise in education costs and shrinking education budgets require that the cost of an optical mark reader be as low as possible to allow continued use of such devices within the classroom or school. Moreover, students are often the most frequent users of such readers. Therefore, an optical mark reader should be designed so that it is easy to use.
In some existing optical mark reader designs, the readers are constructed with a large number of parts, including parts that require special manufacturing, thereby increasing the costs of the readers. In addition, the parts are often assembled by hand in assembly line fashion by workers, which further increases costs. A reduction in, and simplification of, the parts of the reader would not only reduce parts costs, but would also reduce manufacturing costs, simplify assembly, improve reliability, and reduce reader size.
Further, many previous optical mark readers have been designed with a relatively narrow input slot through which a card to be read is inserted. Due to the narrow construction of the input slot, the card must be aligned precisely with the slot in order to achieve insertion. However, achieving this level of alignment is time consuming, and can be difficult for some individuals, such as children.
There is a continuing need for an improved optical mark reader that overcomes the aforementioned problems of prior optical mark readers as well as other problems existing with prior art readers.
The invention provides an improved optical mark reader for use in reading or scanning bubble cards. The reader has a reduced number of parts compared to conventional readers, and is simpler to construct and assemble. Moreover, the reader is designed without threaded fasteners. Instead, the reader components are secured to each other using attachment devices that are integral with the various components.
In one aspect of the invention, an optical mark reader is provided. The reader includes a base and an upper housing assembly that define a card path along which a card to be read travels. The base and the upper housing are detachably connected to each other by a quick connect/disconnect fastening system that is integral with the base and the upper housing assembly. By making the base and upper housing assembly readily detachable, debris can be readily removed from the scanning lens and card jams cleared by the reader user, without having the reader serviced by service personnel, and without using cleaning cards which can be expensive. Further, disconnection can be achieved without using tools.
In another aspect of the invention, an optical mark reader is provided that includes a housing having a card path along which a card to be read travels. A scanner is associated with the housing. Further, the card path includes an inlet, and the card path is defined at least in part by a pair of guide walls that are positioned opposite each other, with the guide walls having a height that varies from the inlet to the scanner.
In yet another aspect of the invention, an optical mark reader is provided that includes a housing having a card path along which a card to be read travels. A scanner associated with the housing. The card path includes a tapered inlet through which a card to be read is inserted into the housing, and the inlet tapers both vertically and horizontally. The tapered construction of the inlet makes insertion of a card into the housing easier since a larger insertion area is provided and the taper guides the forward edge of the card into proper alignment for subsequent reading.
In still another aspect of the invention, an optical mark reader for reading bubble cards is provided. The reader includes a housing having a card path along which a card to be read travels. The card path is defined by a pair of guide walls that are spaced apart along at least a portion of the guide path by a distance that is minimally greater than the width of a bubble card. In addition, a scanner is associated with the housing for scanning a card input into the housing. Further, a drive mechanism within the housing transports a card along the card path and through the housing. The drive mechanism includes a single drive wheel disposed adjacent to the scanner and positioned at a decentralized location of the card path. By locating the drive wheel at a decentralized location of the card path, the drive wheel is able to engage a decentralized region of the card where marking does not generally occur. Therefore, the drive wheel will not smear or mar markings on the card, which can potentially lead to inaccurate scanning results.
For a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying description, in which there is described a preferred embodiment of the invention.


A timed make-before-break circuit for analog switch control is provided. The invention contains one or more delay circuit and more than one logic gate. Each logic gate has one logic gate input line connected to a delay circuit input line and another logic gate input line connected to a delay circuit output line. The logic gate input lines are connected to the delay circuit input line and the delay circuit output line from the same delay circuit. The invention also has more than one switch. Each switch has an input control line connected to a logic gate output line.

Typical multi-state analog signal processing circuits have switching circuits. In an ideal closed loop circuit, one switch will be dosed at the same time that another switch is opened. However, what typically happens with the switching is that one switch will open before the next switch doses. During a short period of time, all switches will be open causing an open loop system. This causes instability and spurious distortion due to undefined transient open loop circuit states.
An example is the undefined gain or attenuation setting in programmable gain circuits that use multiple switches in their signal paths to perform some kind of analog signal processing. These circuits are momentarily unstable and have unpredictably large transient spikes between the two circuit states or gain settings. There is a need for switching circuits that provide stability and have smaller transient spiking between circuit states compared to the typical switching case.

Timed make-before-break circuit for analog switch control


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device includes forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element on a substrate, forming a first capping layer along the shape of the MTJ element, forming an insulating layer on the first capping layer, forming a trench exposing a portion of the first capping layer above the MTJ element by selectively etching the insulating layer, forming a second capping layer on sidewalls of the trench, removing the exposed portion of the first capping layer using the second capping layer as an etching mask to expose an upper surface of the MTJ element, and forming a conductive layer in the trench, wherein the conductive layer contacts the upper surface of the MTJ element.

The present invention relates to a magnetic tunnel junction device and a memory device including the magnetic tunnel junction device, and more particularly, to a magnetic tunnel junction device capable of storing multi-bit data in a limited area and a magneto-resistance memory device including the magnetic tunnel junction device.
A dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is a widely used semiconductor memory device, has advantages of high operation speed and high integration. However, the DRAM is a volatile memory device that loses data when a power supply is cut off, and the DRAM performs a refresh operation to prevent any loss of stored data. Meanwhile, a flash memory is a non-volatile memory device and may be highly integrated, but the flash memory has an uncompetitive operation speed. As compared with the DRAM and the flash memory, a magneto-resistance random memory device (MRAM) may have non-volatility, high operation speed, and high integration (scalability).
The MRAM device is a non-volatile memory device where data is stored by magnetic storage elements having different resistances according to a magnetic field between ferromagnetic plates. The magnetic storage element is a component including two ferromagnetic plates separated by an insulating layer. If polarities of the two ferromagnetic plates are parallel (the same), a resistance of magnetic storage element is minimized. Conversely, if polarities of the two ferromagnetic plates are opposite, the resistance is maximized. The MRAM device stores data based on cell's resistance, which changes according to the magnetization polarity of the ferromagnetic plates in the magnetic storage element. As a magnetic storage element, a Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ element) may be used.
In the MRAM, the MTJ element may include a stacked structure of a ferromagnetic layer, an insulating layer, and another ferromagnetic layer. When electrons passing through a first ferromagnetic layer penetrate into an insulating layer serving as a tunneling barrier, the probability of an electron penetrating into the insulating layer is determined by the magnetic direction of second ferromagnetic layer. If two ferromagnetic layers have the same polarity (parallel magnetic direction), an amount of current tunneling into the insulating layer is maximized. Conversely, if two ferromagnetic layers have an opposite magnetic direction, an amount of current is minimized. For example, when a resistance recognized in response to the tunneling current is high, information stored in the MTJ element may have a logic level "1" (or "0"). If the resistance is low, information stored may have a logic level "0" (or "1"). In the MTJ, a first ferromagnetic layer is called a pinned layer because its polarity is set to particular value, and a second ferromagnetic layer is called a free layer because its polarity may be changed according to a magnetic field or a supplied current.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same


A system for real time simulation of the environment of an aeroengine includes a digital computer having its inputs switched by a selection module included in the computer either to a respective sensor or else to a substitution digital bus configured to convey substitution digital data generated by a real time simulator.

The present invention lies in the field of simulating a complex system in real time.
It applies more particularly to the field of simulating the environment of an engine on board an aircraft, e.g. a helicopter or an airplane.
In general, a simulator seeks to reproduce an environment.
In the field of aviation, simulators are used in particular for research and development of new aircraft and for training crews.
In order to simulate complex systems in real time, one method known as "hardware in the loop" consists in coupling the on-board computer to a tool for simulating the environment of the computer and suitable for providing the computer with data that simulates one or more sensors of the aircraft, the commands generated by the computer being applied as inputs to the simulation tool, which tool is suitable for responding as a function of those commands and for modifying the input data to the computer.
Developing such simulation systems requires specific electronics cards to be developed for generating analog signals associated with each of the simulated sensors, which sensors may be of various different types: temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and speed sensors, in particular.
The fabrication of such electronics cards is expensive and they are complex to maintain, in particular in order to avoid problems of drift.

System for real time simulation of the environment of an aeroengine


A computer-implemented method, computer program product and computing system for associating a unique identifier with an entity. Network traffic directed toward the unique identifier is intercepted and routed to a computing device.

Cyber security is a multi-billion dollar industry, wherein an entire industry is dedicated to stopping the relentless attack of computer infrastructures around the world. Often in this industry, various groups share information concerning various cyber treats. Unfortunately, the information concerning these cyber threats is often scattered amongst different locations, is often formatted in incompatible formats, and is often full of inaccuracies/redundancies.
Summary of Disclosure
In one implementation, a computer-implemented method is executed on a computing device and includes associating a unique identifier with an entity. Network traffic directed toward the unique identifier is intercepted and routed to a computing device.
One or more of the following features may be included. The entity may include one or more of: a company; an organization; a corporation; and an individual. Intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier may include intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier via a router. The unique identifier may be a DNS address. The unique identifier may be an IP address. The computing device may be a remote computing device. The computing device may be a honeypot computing device.
In another implementation, a computer program product resides on a computer readable medium and has a plurality of instructions stored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to perform operations including associating a unique identifier with an entity. Network traffic directed toward the unique identifier is intercepted and routed to a computing device.
One or more of the following features may be included. The entity may include one or more of: a company; an organization; a corporation; and an individual. Intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier may include intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier via a router. The unique identifier may be a DNS address. The unique identifier may be an IP address. The computing device may be a remote computing device. The computing device may be a honeypot computing device.
In another implementation, a computing system including a processor and memory is configured to perform operations including associating a unique identifier with an entity. Network traffic directed toward the unique identifier is intercepted and routed to a computing device.
One or more of the following features may be included. The entity may include one or more of: a company; an organization; a corporation; and an individual. Intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier may include intercepting network traffic directed toward the unique identifier via a router. The unique identifier may be a DNS address. The unique identifier may be an IP address. The computing device may be a remote computing device. The computing device may be a honeypot computing device.
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.


Disclosed are an electrode for a lithium secondary battery which includes a metal substrate and a plated layer arranged on the metal substrate and bearing active material particles and resin particles embedded therein, in which a part of the active material particles and the resin particles has a protruding portion beyond the plated layer; and a lithium secondary battery using the electrode. The electrode helps the lithium secondary battery to be resistant to deterioration and property degradation at high temperature and allows the battery to have high input-output performance and to be suitable typically for hybrid electric vehicles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel electrode for a lithium secondary battery which has high input-output performance and is advantageous for use typically in hybrid electric vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been recently made demands to reduce emission of carbon dioxide for protection of the environment and for prevention from global warming. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) have been commercialized as devices for reducing carbon dioxide emission.
Secondary batteries which can undergo a number of charging/discharging cycles are essential devices as power sources for motor-driven vehicles.
Among them, lithium secondary batteries (lithium ion secondary batteries) receive attention as power sources (energy sources) for such motor-driven vehicles because of their high operating voltages and capability of generating a high output.
Lithium secondary batteries for use as power sources for HEVs and EVs require characteristic properties different from those of lithium secondary batteries for use typically in household appliances such as mobile phones and notebook computers.
Specifically, the lithium secondary batteries for HEVs require characteristic properties such as charging-discharging behavior at a high rate, operability at low temperatures of 0° C. or lower, and storage life and cycle life in an environment at high temperatures of higher than 50° C. Among them, battery life at high temperatures is important, because automobiles have product lifecycles longer than those of household appliances and are used in a high-temperature environment.
A carbon material such as graphite is mainly used as a negative-electrode active material for lithium secondary batteries. When this negative-electrode active material is used in a high-temperature environment, delamination between the negative-electrode active material and a copper current collector often occurs and worsens, because there is a difference in coefficient of linear expansion between the negative-electrode active material and the copper current collector and this causes a stress.
In addition, when the lithium secondary batteries are charged and discharged, positive and negative electrodes thereof intercalate and release lithium ions and thereby expand and contract.
The expansion and shrinkage of the electrodes can reduce adhesion between the positive-electrode active material and the current collector or between the negative-electrode active material and the current collector and can thereby cause delamination of the positive-electrode active material or the negative-electrode active material from the current collector.
Independently, the use of silicon (Si), tin (Sn) or another metal capable of forming an alloy with lithium and having a large theoretical capacity as a negative-electrode active material has been studied, for achieving larger capacities of lithium secondary batteries.
When the metal capable of forming an alloy with lithium is used in the negative-electrode active material, the resulting negative-electrode active material shows a volume change larger than that of the carbon material, and the delamination of the negative-electrode active material becomes a more significant problem.
Several possible solutions to these problems have been proposed as below.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-332797 (Patent Literature 1) proposes a technique of using an electrode for a lithium secondary battery, in which active material particles are arranged on a current collector, the active material particle being directly bonded to a surface of the current collector in a state where the bottom of the active material particle is imbedded in a concave portion formed on the surface of the current collector.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-146752 (Patent Literature 2) proposes a technique of using a current collector for a lithium ion secondary battery, in which adhesive resin particles are formed on a surface thereof, and a part of the resin particles is exposed from the surface.


Disclosed herein is a method for applying a fluid to a component during a placement cycle. The method includes providing a component placement machine including a housing having a frame attached thereto, the frame having a pick and place head. The method includes providing a fluid application station contiguous with the housing and adapted to apply fluid to the component, moving the housing to a pick location, picking the component from a supply of components using the pick and place head, moving the housing to a location, applying fluid to the picked component, and placing the picked component with the fluid applied onto the printed circuit board at the location. The fluid application step is accomplished during the moving step or placing step. The method may further include repeating the steps for another component where the fluid application step is accomplished during the repeated picking step of the additional component.

The use of sophisticated component placement machines in manufacturing printed circuit or similar cards, boards, panels, and the like is well known. The term printed circuit board (PCB) as used herein refers to any such electronic packaging structure. Typically, components are supplied to the placement machine by a variety of feeders. Examples of feeders include tape feeders which hold one or more reels of components, matrix feeders which hold one or more pallets of components, and wafer feeders which hold one or more wafers of dies. All of these feeders provide components at a pick station of some type. A housing carrying a rotatable frame having a plurality of pick and place heads, each pick and place head having a vacuum spindle equipped with a nozzle, may be moved in the X and Y axes in a plane above the PCB being populated. Each vacuum spindle may be moved in the Z-axis (i.e., in and out from an extended to a retracted position). Each nozzle is sized and otherwise configured for use with each different size and style of component to be placed by the machine.
In operation, the housing carrying the rotatable frame is moved to the feeder pick station and the nozzle of one of the pick/place heads is positioned over the component. The nozzle is lowered, via its associated vacuum spindle (i.e., extended) to a point where, upon application of vacuum, the component is removed from the feeder, and held tightly against the vacuum nozzle orifice. The rotatable frame is then moved to a point over the PCB being assembled. The vacuum spindle is then lowered and the component is deposited on the PCB at a predetermined location.
For some processes a component may need to have a fluid, such as flux, an adhesive, or the like, applied prior to placement on the PCB. In this case, the rotatable frame will first move to a fluid application station located in the machine and then extends the spindle such that the fluid is applied to the bottom of the component. Once the fluid is applied, the spindle is raised and the rotatable frame is moved to the PCB. With multi-pick and place head machines, the need to apply fluids to components efficiently to improve cycle rate has become more critical.
In the past, when the nozzle of a particular pick and place head carried a component requiring a fluid be applied, the entire housing and rotatable frame had to be moved in the X-Y plane to a designated fluid application station to apply the fluid to the component. Needless to say, as the entire multi-head rotatable frame needed to move, all other pick/place heads thereupon were prevented from picking and placing components during the trip to the fluid application station. This resulted in lower placement machine throughput because of this motion as would be true even for single pick/place heads.

Method and apparatus for applying fluid during a placement cycle


A compound semiconductor device includes: a substrate; a first barrier layer of a nitride semiconductor formed over the substrate; a well layer of a nitride semiconductor formed over the first barrier layer; and a second barrier layer of a nitride semiconductor formed over the well layer, wherein the first barrier layer, the well layer, and the second barrier layer each include a first region having, as an upper surface, a (0001) plane in terms of crystal orientation and a second region having, as an upper surface, a (000-1) plane in terms of crystal orientation, the first region of the first barrier layer, the first region of the well layer, and the first region of the second barrier layer are stacked, the second region of the first barrier layer, the second region of the well layer, and the second region of the second barrier layer are stacked.

Resonant-tunneling diodes (RTDs) having a GaAs/AlAs quantum well structure or an InGaAs/AlAs quantum well structure are quantum effect devices that have negative differential resistance characteristics, allow high-speed switching operation, and operate at room temperature. Multipliers, frequency dividers, sampling circuits, and multi-valued logic circuits using negative differential resistance characteristics have been developed. In particular, terahertz oscillators including RTDs have been increasingly developed in recent years, and application of RTDs to, for example, terahertz communication and image sensors is expected.
Recent studies have also focused on RTDs having a GaN/AlGaN quantum well structure (hereinafter may be referred to as GaN-based RTDs) that may be integrated with GaN-based high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs).
However, GaN-based RTDs exhibit asymmetric I-V characteristics due to an internal field generated by polarization that is characteristic of GaN. Even if the Fermi level is aligned with the quantum level as a result of the raising of the conduction band on an emitter side, electron tunneling is difficult. Thus, a high-speed logic gate monostable-bistable transition logic element (MOBILE) circuit integrating a GaN-based RTD and a GaN-based HEMT fails to have good I-V characteristics.
Although various studies have been conducted to obtain symmetric I-V characteristics of GaN-based RTDs, GaN-based RTDs that may be integrated with GaN-based HEMTs to provide good I-V characteristics have not been obtained.
The following documents are reference documents.
[Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-63917,
[Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-79417,
[Document 3] Sakr et al., "Ballistic transport in GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling Diodes", Journal of Applied Physics, 109, 023717 (2011),
[Document 4] Lee et al., "In situ measurements of the critical thickness for strain relaxation in AlGaN GaN heterostructures", Applied Physics letters, 85, 6164 (2004),
[Document 5] M. Park et al., "Micro-Raman study of electric properties of invention domains in GaN-based lateral polarity heterostructures", Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 93, Number 12, 15 Jun. 2003, and
[Document 6] M. H. Wong et al., "Polarity inversion of N-face GaN by plasma-assisted molecule beam epitaxy", Journal of Applied Physics, 104, 093710 (2008).

Compound semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same