A continuously variable transmission has a fixed pulley piece and a movable pulley piece supported on the fixed pulley piece so that the movable pulley piece can be moved toward and away from the fixed pulley piece, the width of a groove between the pieces being increased or decreased by changing hydraulic pressure so that the rotational radius of a belt looped around the pulleys is increased or decreased to vary a belt ratio. A clutch pressure control device includes a hydraulic clutch for which engagement and disengagement is controlled according to various control modes, and a control arrangement which calculates a target clutch pressure with reference to a slip amount of the hydraulic clutch and which feedback controls the target clutch pressure so that the slip amount of the clutch is maintained substantially constant.

In a vehicle, a transmission is interposed between an internal combustion engine and a driving wheel. This transmission changes the driving power provided to the driving wheel and the traveling speed in accordance with traveling conditions which are widely changed, so that the internal combustion engine can exhibit excellent performance. As an example of one kind of such transmission, there is a continuously variable transmission in which a transmission gear ratio (belt ratio) for transmitting power is changed by increasing and decreasing a rotational radius of a belt looped around a pulley having a fixed pulley piece fixed to a rotational shaft and a movable pulley piece movably supported on the rotational shaft so that the movable pulley piece can be moved toward and away from the fixed pulley piece to increase and decrease the width of a groove formed between the two pulleys by means of variations in hydraulic oil pressure. Such a continuously variable transmission is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 57-186656, Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 59-43249, Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 59-77159 and Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 61-233256.
Also, as such a continuously transmission, there is one which has a single plate type hydraulic clutch and selectively supplies power under hydraulic oil pressure control. This single plate type hydraulic clutch is controlled in various control modes in accord with a signal representing an engine speed, such as an opening degree of a throttle valve of a carburetor or the like.
In a conventional clutch pressure control device for a hydraulic clutch, there is a method for controlling clutch pressure to a target clutch pressure determined by an engine speed in a hold state of a half-clutch state, a method for controlling pressure to realize a target number of rotations determined by a throttle opening degree obtained by stepping on an accelerating pedal in a start mode, and a method for gradually increasing clutch pressure in accord with passage of time or determining clutch pressure as a minimum or maximum.
However, the hydraulic clutch is normally locked up when a vehicle is coasting at a medium or low speed where an accelerating pedal is not significantly pressed, that is, where a throttle opening degree is almost zero and a condition of traveling speed less than 5 km/hr is satisfied. Therefore, there arises an inconvenience in that, when the accelerating pedal is stepped on at that time, the engine torque generated is directly transmitted to the transmission and a vehicle body and gives vibrations or a shock to passengers.
Also, when accelerating from a reduced speed or a very low speed traveling when the hydraulic clutch is locked up, the engine speed is restrained immediately after the accelerating pedal is stepped on. As a result, an acceleration response is delayed and the state of the clutch is radically changed to generate a great shock. Consequently, the driving feeling is badly spoiled.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to realize a clutch pressure control in which, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned inconveniences, an engine braking works well while a vehicle is coasting at a medium or low speed by calculating a target clutch pressure with reference to a slip amount of a hydraulic clutch and feed-back controlling the target pressure so that the slip amount of the clutch is maintained substantially constant. When accelerating, a response to acceleration is enhanced to improve acceleration performance, and a radical change of the state of the clutch is prevented to improve the driving feeling.

Clutch pressure control device for continuously variable transmission


An LCD comprises an LCD panel on which an image is formed, a light guiding plate disposed behind the LCD panel, an LED unit disposed along at least one side of the light guiding plate and providing light to the LCD panel, a bottom chassis accommodating the light guiding plate and the LED unit, and a heat conduction member disposed across an external surface of the bottom chassis from an area facing the LED unit to an area apart from the LED unit and having a higher thermal conductivity than the bottom chassis.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a heat conduction member and a liquid crystal display (LCD) having the same, and more particularly, to a lightweight heat conduction member and a corresponding LCD having the same, which exhibit improved cooling efficiency.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprises an LCD panel having a thin-film transistor (TFT) substrate, a color filter substrate and a liquid crystal layer disposed therebetween. The LCD panel does not emit light by itself. Therefore, a backlight unit may be disposed behind the TFT substrate for providing light. The transmittance of the light from the backlight unit depends on an alignment of liquid crystal molecules within the liquid crystal layer. The LCD panel and the backlight unit are accommodated within a chassis.
The backlight unit is classified into an edge type backlight unit or a direct type backlight unit according to where a light source is disposed in the backlight unit.
The edge type backlight unit is employed in a small-sized LCD, such as, a monitor of laptop and desktop computers or a portable terminal apparatus. The edge type backlight unit comprises a light guiding plate disposed behind the LCD panel, and a reflecting sheet disposed behind the light guiding plate. The edge type backlight unit also includes a lamp unit disposed along at least one side of the light guiding plate, the lamp unit providing light to the LCD panel. Optical sheets, which diffuse and focus the light guided by the light guiding plate, are disposed on the light guiding plate.
An Electro Luminescence (EL) device, a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL), a Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL), an External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp (EEFL), or an Light Emitting Diode (LED) may be used as a lamp unit.
Light emitted from the lamp unit is transformed to a surface light source by the light guiding plate and may be incident upon the LCD panel.
An LED light source generates more heat than other light sources (e.g., CCFL and EEFL). The heat from the LED causes brightness to decrease and a color shift to generate.
A radiating fin, a heat pipe and a cooling fan are used to remove the heat from the LED, but also cause the LCD to be weighty and thick.

Heat conduction member and liquid crystal display having the same


An ATM cell processing apparatus including a DRAM for a frame producing buffer of a frame producing unit. In order to absorb the anisotropy of the access rate of the DRAM access, the random access mode of the DRAM access is always used. To compensate a drop in access rate in this case, the DRAM is arranged is an array form and each cell is divided. Resultant partial cell data are written into and read from respective DRAM banks in order. As a result, a fast cell buffer having a large capacity can be formed. The present cell buffer can be applied to a FIFO and the like as well.

The present invention relates to a communication apparatus of asynchronous transfer mode (hereafter referred to as ATM) suitable for broad-band communication, and in particular to a CLAD (Cell Assembly and Disassembly) apparatus for generating a frame from fixed length packets (cells) and generating fixed length packets from a frame.
The ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a technique capable of sending all of various kinds of information such as speech, video image, and data via the same network. In the ATM system, a communicated data is converted from various forms (e.g. streaming data or various length frames) to fixed-length packets (ATM cells) and the cell is managed as a unit.
For partitioning information frames of various forms to ATM cells, and reconstructing frames from ATM cells, the CLAD (Cell Assembly and Disassembly) function described in "Standard ATM Text" published by ASCII company on March 1995, p. 109 is required. As described in "Standard ATM Text," p. 63, the CLAD has a function of mounting frames or packet data of a higher layer onto cells and reconstructing frames or packets from incoming cells. An example of the CLAD is disclosed in JP-A-7-183887 filed for a Japanese patent application by the present assignee.
The cell disassembly and frame producing function included in the CLAD function is a function of assembling a frame from one or more cells. It becomes necessary to buffer cells in a memory until frame production is completed and the frame is sent to a processor which manages the function of higher layer. This cell buffer memory typically is composed of SRAMs (Static Random Access Memory).
In recent years, enhanced functions are required to the CLAD function. For example, as the Internet spreads, the traffic incorporating IP (Internet Protocol) in the ATM system increases. In the routing of the IP, analysis of data in the IP layer is required. In an ATM system which has IP routing function (IP router) therefore, it is necessary to disassemble an ATM cell once to obtain IP frames, conduct routing decision processing, and then assemble the ATM cells in cases of LAN emulation, IP switching, and the like. In some cases, such an IP router is disposed in a backbone network transmitting data at high bit rate. The cell disassembly and frame assembly apparatus of the CLAD apparatus classifies cells which have arrived for each VC connection, assembles frames, and sends the assembled frames to a processor which manages the function of higher layer. Since frames multiplexed on the transmission channel are sent mixedly in time as ATM cells, the CLAD is required to assemble a plurality of frames at the same time. Since a large number of ATM communication channels are accommodated in a fast ATM switching apparatus, the CLAD function is required to assemble an increased number of frames at the same time. Therefore, it should be considered how to implement a big buffer memory in capacity.
As for implementation of the buffer memory, a method of connecting an external RAM to an LSI including a control circuit and a method of disposing a SRAM within an LSI are typical. If it is attempted to form an ATM CLAD apparatus having a large capacity as in the former method, the access speed to the RAMs and the number of input and output pins of the LSI and the RAM restrict the capacity and speed of CLAD. Furthermore, in the latter case where the LSI incorporates a memory, the area on which the RAM can be mounted is limited and consequently it is difficult to implement a cell buffer with large capacity by using a SRAM. For solving this problem, it is conceivable to embed DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory) having a simple memory structure and a small mounting area as the RAM forming a cell buffer with large capacity instead of the SRAMs.
As described in "VLSI memory" published by Baifukan in November 1994, pp. 101-110, a DRAM is formed by a plurality of banks each having a plurality of memory devices arranged in a matrix form in the column direction and in the row direction. With an address selected by using three parameters, i.e., the column, row, and bank, data writing and reading are executed. Such an access mode that the column is changed with the same bank and row is referred to as column access. Such an access mode that the bank is changed irrespective of the column and row is referred to as bank access. Furthermore, such an access mode that the row is changed with the same bank irrespective of the column is referred to as row access. The DRAM is a memory having such a property (referred to as anisotropy) that a change occurs in the access time and data output time according to each access mode.
To be concrete, in view of access time, fast access is possible in the column access and the bank access. However, the row access requires an access time which is several times as long as that of the column access and the bank access. Furthermore, in the case of the column access, fast data outputting is possible. In the case of the bank access and row access, it takes a time several times as long as that of the column access to output data. Furthermore, in all access modes, the data read time in the read access is longer than the data write time in the write access.
In other words, the DRAM is such a memory that the fastest consecutive access becomes possible when performing the data writing and reading operation by using the consecutive column access, such as the consecutive address read operation and write operation, and fast operation is conducted in this operation mode. In some information processors such as computer systems, a large amount of data, such as picture data and file data of the computer system, are written into a memory in a burst manner (consecutive address write), stored until they are needed, and read out from the memory in a burst manner when needed (consecutive address read). The DRAM is a memory suitable for fast execution of such burst data input and output and storage of data. On the other hand, in such a utilization method that the three access modes occur at random, i.e., addressing in conducting the data read operation and data write operation occurs at random, the latency (access time delay and data output delay) differs because of the anisotropy described above and consequently high throughput cannot be expected. Furthermore, since data disappear when a time has elapsed because of an electric property specific to the structure of the DRAM, it is also necessary to execute data refreshing for providing dedicated timing in order to prevent this.
On the other hand, the CLAD function, categorizes and accommodates the cells which are input from the transmission path periodically, in accordance with the VCI/VPI value. Therefore, the CLAD accesses to the cell buffer at random.
In other words, in the CLAD apparatus, cell inputting and outputting with random addresses are executed nearly continuously in order to assemble a plurality of cells input from each of a plurality of connections. In addition, the random state of the input and output timing and address of the cells input to the CLAD apparatus varies in accordance with the random traffic state of the communication network. Even if it is attempted to define predetermined rules beforehand and exercise control in the CLAD apparatus, such random state varies in accordance with the state of the communication network using a switch.
After the frame assembling finishes, the frame has to be read out. One possible implementation is that higher layer management is performed by MPU (Microprocessor Unit). In such implementation the read timing of MPU is at random. It means that the access wait causes if the MPU tries to read the frame while the CLAD is writing the cell to the buffer. This results in a problem of lowered throughput.
If a DRAM is used in the cell buffer of the CLAD apparatus having the above described properties, the three access modes described above occur at random. Therefore, the anisotropy becomes a bottleneck. If the frame production is not conducted at timing with due regard to the longest access time and the longest data input/output delay of the DRAM, cell loss occurs. If the switching rate is lowered in order to avoid this cell loss, the throughput is lowered. Furthermore, if the data refreshing operation is conducted at appropriate intervals in such a state that the cell inputting and outputting are being executed substantially continuously, the throughput is further limited.
Specifically, the switching rate with due regard to the longest access time and the longest data input and output delay time of the current DRAM is approximately one ten-and-several-th that of the SRAM. Therefore, it is difficult to simply use a DRAM in the CLAD apparatus of the ATM system required to have high throughput.
As one of the ATM switching systems, a shared buffer type switch is known. In this case, ATM cells sent from a plurality of input ports to the switching system in parallel are converted to a time series of ATM cells by a multiplexer, and thereafter temporarily stored in a shared buffer memory. The ATM cells read out from the buffer memory are selectively distributed to one of a plurality of output ports associated with header information (VP/VCI) of each cell, via a demultiplexer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,475 discloses a shared memory type ATM switching system. In this ATM switching system, a buffer memory is formed by eight buffer memory LSIs associated with respective bits of 8 bit parallel format byte of an ATM cell. Each byte of ATM cell data is subjected to bit slice and written into these memory LSIs in parallel.
Furthermore, a literature "32.times.32 Shared Buffer Type ATM system VLSI for B-ISDN," IEEE International Conference on Communications, Jun. 23-26, 1991 discloses configuring the above described bit sliced buffer memory LSIs by using synchronous-clocked static RAMs.


An apparatus for fixing a wearable structure and/or a user-feedback element to a user is provided. The apparatus includes a wearable structure configured to be worn by a user, and a grounding assembly, coupled to the wearable structure. The grounding assembly includes: (i) an inflatable bladder, coupled to a first portion of the wearable structure, and (ii) a cord, coupled to a second portion of the wearable structure and the inflatable bladder. The inflatable bladder is configured to receive a fluid from a source. The cord is configured to tighten around a portion of the user's body according to and in proportion with the fluid pressure inside the inflatable bladder.

Artificial-reality devices (e.g., virtual-reality devices, augmented-reality devices, etc.) have wide applications in various fields, including engineering design, medical surgery practice, military simulated practice, and video gaming. Haptic or kinesthetic stimulations recreate the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to a user, and are frequently implemented with artificial-reality devices in the form of a wearable device (sometimes referred to as a "haptic display").
Performance of these wearable devices with haptic-creating mechanisms is closely related to how well these mechanisms are attached to a user's body during operation, and how reliably they transfer forces to the user's body. "Grounding" refers to the part of wearable devices responsible for transferring the forces from a haptic-creating mechanism to the user's body. Careful grounding design is critical for a wearable device's performance and, in turn, a user's experience with the artificial-reality device as a whole.
However, existing wearable devices do not implement adequate grounding mechanisms. At present, most designers have focused their efforts on basic passive grounding techniques, such as where a Velcro strap is used to secure the haptic-creating mechanisms (and the wearable device generally) to the user's hand. This approach results in a cumbersome grounding solution where each strap requires large pretension to adequately secure a haptic-creating mechanisms to the user's body. Due to the design and nature of the straps, this approach also restricts blood flow, making these devices uncomfortable. Furthermore, donning and doffing a wearable device with these types of straps is labor intensive, as each strap has to be physically undone and reattached between uses, which makes the entire artificial-reality experience sub-optimal.

Passive and active grounding techniques for haptic devices


A controller includes a real-time communication unit, an application communication unit, and a socket management unit. The real-time communication unit communicates with an external node by using a first socket on a basis of a transmission right map indicating a node possessing a transmission right out of multiple nodes. The application communication unit communicates, not on a basis of the transmission right map, with the external node by using a second socket differing from the first socket. The socket management unit restricts at least one of transmission of information by the application communication unit to the external node and reception of information by the application communication unit from the external node.

For implementing real-time communication with the external node over a local area network (LAN), an industrial controller causes a transmission control unit provided in the controller to determine which node has obtained a transmission right and control a timing of communication between nodes on the basis of a result of the determination.
With the spread of IoT, the number of devices connected to a LAN increases, and there is an increasing demand for a LAN to which nodes performing communication in different communication procedures can be connected, instead of a dedicated LAN to which only nodes performing communication in the same communication procedure are connected. This is because in a case where the nodes that perform communication in different communication procedures share the LAN, cost required for laying the network and the number of devices for connection can be reduced.

Controller to determine a transmission right and control a timing of communication between nodes

TOSHIBA INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


A vehicle that is chargeable using power from an external power source includes: a chargeable electric storage device; a charging device that charges the electric storage device by using the power from the external power source; and a control device that, based on maximum supply power that is able to be supplied to the electric storage device and based on actual charge power actually supplied to the electric storage device, calculates a shortfall with respect to charge power supplied to the electric storage device in a case where charging is performed at the maximum supply power, and stores information relating to a causal factor for the shortfall.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle and to a vehicle control method, and more specifically, to a log function for factors for charging time extension in a vehicle that is chargeable using external power.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicles that run using a driving force generated from power stored in an electric storage device (for instance, a secondary battery, a capacitor and the like) have received attention as environmentally-friendly vehicles. Such vehicles include, for instance, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles and the like. Technologies have been proposed for charging the electric storage device installed in such vehicles by way of a commercial power source having high power-generation efficiency.
Conventional hybrid vehicles include vehicles having, as in the case of electric vehicles, an in-vehicle electric storage device that is chargeable from a power source external to the vehicle (hereafter also referred to as "external power source"). For instance, so-called "plug-in hybrid vehicles" are available such vehicles having an electric storage device that is chargeable from an ordinary domestic power source, through connection, by way of a charging cable, between an outlet provided in a house and a charging port (may be also referred to as "inlet") provided in the vehicle. This can be expected to result in increased fuel consumption efficiency of the hybrid vehicle.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-100569 (JP-A-2009-100569) describes a technique wherein, in a vehicle capable of being charged using an external power source, charging time is extended, before or after a predefined charging time, if it is determined that a required charging amount is not obtained within a lapse of time from start of charging until a predefined time interval is over, when the vehicle is charged using an external power source.
In a vehicle capable of being charged using an external power source, charging time may be extended (the point in time at which the charging time is over may be delayed) during execution of charging using an external power source, depending on the state of devices that are related to charging and that are installed in the vehicle, for instance, the electric storage device, the charging device and the like, or depending on the state of use of auxiliary devices in the vehicle.
Thus, driving may be impossible or mileage may be limited, on account of charging not being yet complete, when the user attempts to drive the vehicle expecting charging to be complete. In such cases, the user may have a feeling of uncertainty regarding the system, if the factor underlying the extension of charging time is unclear. The user may mistake that charging time extension for a system malfunction or anomaly, and may make a complaint accordingly.


A heat dissipating assembly includes a circuit board having opposite first and second faces. The circuit board further includes a through-hole extending from the first face through the second face. A heat generating element is mounted on the first face of the circuit board and electrically coupled to the circuit board. The heat generating element includes a heat conducting portion aligned with the through-hole. A heat dissipating unit includes a base having an engaging face in contact with the second face of the circuit board. A heat conducting adhesive is filled in the through-hole. The heat conducting adhesive is engaged with the engaging face of the base and the heat conducting portion of the heat generating element. The heat generating element is directly engaged with the heat dissipating unit by the heat conducting adhesive to effectively enhance the overall heat dissipating efficiency while reducing the number of members to lower the manufacturing costs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a heat dissipating assembly and, more particularly, to a heat dissipating assembly that is simple in structure and that can be manufactured at low costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1-3 show a conventional heat dissipating assembly 9 including a circuit board 91, a plurality of heat generating elements 92, a heat spreader plate 93, and a heat dissipating unit 94. A plurality of contacts 911 is provided on a side of the circuit board 91 and electrically connected to the heat generating elements 92. The heat spreader plate 93 includes first and second faces 931 and 932. The circuit board 91 is engaged with the first face 931 of the heat spreader plate 93 by heat pressing, adhering, or screwing. The heat spreader plate 93 is made of aluminum having excellent thermal conductivity and low specific gravity. The heat dissipating unit 94 is a metal heat sink and is firmly bonded to the second face 932 of the heat spreader plate 93 by a heat-conducting binding layer 95 of adhesive with excellent heat conductivity. The heat dissipating unit 94 includes a plurality of spaced fins 941 on a surface not engaged with the heat spreader plate 93.
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the heat generated during operation of the heat generating elements 92 is transmitted to and absorbed by the heat spreader plate 93 via the circuit board 91. The heat is then transmitted to the heat dissipating unit 94. The fins 941 increase the heat dissipating area and thus enhances the heat dissipating efficiency, avoiding damage to or degraded performance of the heat generating elements 92 due to excessively high working temperature.
The heat conducting efficiency is poor, because the heat generated by the heat generating elements 92 must be transmitted through many members including the circuit board 91, the heat spreader plate 93, and the heat-conducting binding layer 95 made of different materials before heat exchange occurs at the fins 941 of the heat dissipating unit 94. The circuit board 91 made of insulating material further decreases the heat conducting efficiency. Furthermore, the heat dissipating assembly 9 has many members and thus has high manufacturing costs. Further, the heat spreader plate 93 and the heat dissipating unit 94 are both made of metal material and thus, require the heat-conducting binding layer 95 to provide reliable engagement therebetween. Further, the circuit board 91 must be engaged with the first face 931 of the heat spreader plate 93 by heat pressing, adhering, or screwing. All of these increase the complexity and difficulties in assembling the heat dissipating assembly 9. The production/assembling efficiency is thus low. Thus, a need exists for an improved heat dissipating assembly.

Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Co., Ltd.


A shoulder strap repositioner, which may also be referred to as an "adjuster," for repositioning or deflecting away from the face of a child the diagonally-extending shoulder strap component of a vehicle seat belt assembly of the type having a lap belt and a diagonally-extending shoulder strap. In an exemplary embodiment, the repositioner includes a body positionable against the torso of a seated person. The body in turn includes a center section having opposed front and rear surfaces, and left and right side wings likewise having opposed front and rear surfaces. Each of the side wings is joined to the center section at the top and bottom, so that inner edges of the side wings and side edges of the center section cooperate to define a pair of laterally spaced generally vertically-extending slots in the body, the slots having closed peripheries. During use, the lap belt and shoulder strap pass through the slots. In an exemplary manner of use, the lap belt and shoulder strap cross over portions of the front surfaces of the side wings, and over portions of the rear surface of the center section. The lap belt is positioned adjacent relatively the lower terminations of the slots, and the shoulder strap contacts the relatively upper terminations of one of the slots to thereby be repositioned or deflected.

The invention relates generally to vehicle seat belt assemblies of the type having a lap belt and a diagonally-extending shoulder strap. The invention more particularly relates to shoulder strap repositioners, which may also be referred to as "adjusters," for repositioning or deflecting the diagonally-extending shoulder strap component of the vehicle seat belt assembly.
Conventional vehicle seat belt assemblies, which include a lap belt and a diagonally-extending shoulder strap, are designed primarily for use by adults of average size. When used by an adult, the shoulder strap extends generally across the chest and shoulder of the individual.
However, when the seat belt assembly is used by a child or a smaller adult, the shoulder strap typically extends across the neck or face of the child because his or her upper body is not quite as long as that of a taller individual.
A variety of shoulder strap repositioners or "adjusters," particularly for use by children, have been proposed, and several have been commercially produced. Examples are disclosed in McCracken U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,439; Kornblum et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,940; Barr et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,910; Vicanti U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,468; Golder U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,957 and Zheng U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,614.
While many of these repositioners or "adjusters" are apparently effective for their intended purpose, there nevertheless remains room for improvement in areas such as ease of use, comfort, and manufacturability.

Shoulder strap repositioner for vehicle seat belt assembly


Disclosed are implementations of methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable storage media for rendering information. In some implementations, user interface data including content capable of being displayed on a page is received. A dynamic window including one or more links linked with respective identifiable portions of the content on the page can be generated. The page of content and the dynamic window can be displayed in a user interface on a display of a computing device. The user interface can have a first state in which a first view of the page of content is displayed and a second state in which a second view of the page is displayed, where the second view is different from the first view. The dynamic window is capable of remaining displayed independent of a change of the user interface from the first state to the second state.

"Cloud computing" services provide shared resources, software, and information to computers and other devices upon request. In cloud computing environments, software can be accessible over the Internet rather than installed locally on in-house computer systems. Cloud computing typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. Technological details can be abstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them.
Web browser programs and software applications can be provided on a computing system and are sometimes implemented in a cloud computing environment. Such browser programs and software applications often present data as long vertical pages of information, which do not fit on a graphical user interface displayed on a computer display. For instance, some web sites have data formatted as a single page with a long flow of information, where only a portion of the information is visible at a particular time. As a result, a user often has to waste time and resources to scroll or page up/down many times on a page to find and consume information in different areas of the page.

Computer implemented methods and apparatus for dynamic windowing in user interfaces


Systems, components, devices, and methods for synchronizing a local object model with a remote object model are provided. A non-limiting example is a system or method for synchronizing a local object model with a remote object model. The method includes receiving a plurality of changes associated with the local object model. The changes modify at least one attribute state of an object in the local object model. The method also includes identifying outcome attribute states of the objects that are modified by the plurality of changes. The method includes identifying required attribute states of the objects for the plurality of changes. The method also includes building a dependency graph for the plurality of changes based on the identified required attribute states and generating an ordered list of the plurality of changes based on the dependency graph.

Network-based storage services store files on a computing device that is available via a network. Non-limiting examples of network-based storage services include OneDrive from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Google Drive from Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., Box from Box Inc. of Los Altos, Calif., Dropbox from DropBox, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., Syncplicity from Syncplicity LLC of Santa Clara, Calif., and ODrive from Oxygen Cloud, Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. Depending on the use, the files stored using the network-based storage services may be accessible to only a single user or to multiple users.
Network-based storage services also often synchronize files that are stored locally on a client computing device with files stored by the network-based storage services. For example, the network-based storage services may synchronize files located in one or more directories in a file system on the client computing device. After a file in the directory is edited by a user, the changes to the file are relayed to the network-based storage services. Conversely, if a file that is being synchronized is changed in the network-based storage services (e.g., by another user having access to the file), those changes are relayed to the file on the client computing device.
Multiple changes may be grouped for synchronization at the same time. When the changes depend on one another, they may need to be applied in a particular order to comply with various policies that govern the file system (e.g., a file cannot be created in a folder that does not exist). The synchronization operation may fail if the changes are not applied in the correct order.
It is with respect to these and other general considerations that aspects have been made. Also, although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the aspects should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background.

Attribute-based dependency identification for operation ordering


Chips C which have already been diced are attached to a ring frame F using an adhesive sheet, and a protective sheet S1 is attached to a circuit pattern surface of the chips C. The chips C, along with a ring frame F, are held in place on a table 27 of a protective sheet peeling apparatus 20. A supply portion for an adhesive tape T is disposed in the vicinity of a table 24, and the supplied adhesive tape T is attached to the protective sheet S1. When the protective sheet S1 is peeled from the circuit pattern surface, peeling starts from corner portions of the chips C or opposing corner positions by pulling the adhesive tape T.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for peeling a protective sheet that is attached to the circuit pattern surfaces of chips after a dicing before grinding method has been conducted.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method for producing a semiconductor wafer, a method has been known for forming a circuit pattern on the surface of a large diameter disc-shaped wafer, grinding the backside while the surface is protected by a protective tape, and peeling the protective sheet. After the semiconductor wafer is attached to a ring frame using an adhesive sheet, it is diced into a plurality of chips in cube-shape using a dicing cutter, and is transferred in this condition to the next processes of washing, drying, die bonding, etc.
With this type of method, however, there is a concern that transfer trouble and wafer breakage, etc. will occur when using an ultra-thin wafer as a result of the warping of the wafer. Recently, to deal with such issues a method called xe2x80x9cdicing before grindingxe2x80x9d has been proposed. In xe2x80x9cdicing before grindingxe2x80x9d a wafer is diced from a surface to which a circuit pattern has been formed to a prescribed depth to form bottomed grooves, and a protective sheet is attached on the wafer surface, the wafer backside is ground until reaching the bottomed grooves, and the wafer is separated into a plurality of chips. Next, after the backsides of the chips are attached to the ring frame using an adhesive sheet, the protective sheet is peeled off and the chips are transferred to the next processes of washing, drying, die bonding, etc.
Meanwhile, as a method for peeling the protective sheet from the circuit pattern surface of the wafer, a method has been known for attaching adhesive tape with a specified length to the end portion of the protective sheet and peeling the protective sheet by pulling the adhesive tape.
When performing this type of peeling, however, if the adhesive tape is pulled improperly, there is the problem of the adhesive from the protective sheet remaining on the circuit pattern. More particularly, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, on a circuit pattern 80 on a wafer W, if protective sheet is peeled in the direction of arrow A from an end portion 80A of the circuit pattern 80, the protective sheet adhesive remains on the end portion 80A.
In addition, in the case of peeling the protective sheet from the circuit pattern surface of the ultra thin chips to which a dicing before grinding method has been conducted, when attaching protective sheet to conventional chips with a thickness of approximately 350 xcexcm and modern chips with a thickness of approximately 30 xcexcm to 150 xcexcm, and then peeling the protective sheet, the rigidity of the chips will be diminished. As a result, this leads to the problem of chip breakage and damage due to the peeling resistance of the adhesive when the protective sheet is peeled.
To overcome such issues, when the inventors conducted various experiments, so that no protective sheet adhesive remains on chips C and to avoid breakage and damage to the ultra thin chips, it was verified that by regularly maintaining a specified direction in which the protective sheet is peeled it is possible to keep the adhesive from remaining on the chips and to avoid breakage and damage to the chips.
The present invention was devised in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for peeling a protective sheet so that the adhesive of the protective sheet does not remain on the chip when the protective sheet is peeled off, and to avoid breakage and damage to ultra thin chips.
In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a method for peeling a protective sheet that is attached to a circuit pattern surface after a dicing before grinding method is conducted on a semiconductor wafer on which a circuit pattern is formed and the semiconductor wafer is divided into chips, in which the protective sheet is peeled from the corner portions of the chips. By using this method, because the adhesion area between the protective sheet and the chips is minimized in the initial peeling period when peeling resistance is greatest, no adhesive remains on the chips and it is possible to peel the protective sheet without breakage or damage to the ultra thin chips. In other words, by peeling the protective sheet from the corner portions of the chips, the peeling resistance during the initial period can be minimized and the protective sheet can be cleanly peeled with no adhesive remaining on the corner portions of the chips, while avoiding breakage or damage to the ultra thin chips.
Also, the protective sheet peeling method can be used for chips with a thickness of 30 xcexcm to 150 xcexcm. Even with ultra thin chips, breakage and damage to the chips can be avoided for the mentioned reasons.
Furthermore, it is preferable to employ a method in which the protective sheet is peeled diagonally from the chips, and by doing so, breakage and damage to the chips can be avoided even more reliably.
Also, the present invention provides an apparatus for peeling a protective sheet that is attached to a circuit pattern surface after a dicing before grinding method is conducted on a semiconductor wafer on which the circuit pattern is formed and the wafer is divided into chips, in which a rotatable table on which the chips are placed is provided, and the rotational position of the table is controlled so that the protective sheet is peeled from the corner portions of the chips.


The present disclosure provides derivatives of abiraterone, non-covalently bound complexes of the abiraterone derivatives with serum albumin, pharmaceutical compositions of the same, and methods of use thereof. The non-covalently bound complexes are significantly more water-soluble than abiraterone and are useful for the treatment of a disease or condition that can benefit from CYP17 inhibition, such as prostate cancer.

About 30% of drugs that appear on the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Drug List were reported to be poorly water-soluble, based on the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS). See, for example, Kasim, N. A., et al., Molecular properties of WHO essential drugs and provisional biopharmaceutical classification, Molecular Pharmaceutics 2004, 1(1): p. 85-96. Over 40% of newly developed pharmaceutically active substances have solubility issues. See Lipinski, C. A., Drug-like properties and the causes of poor solubility and poor permeability, Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 2000, 44(1): p. 235-249. The poor dissolution and/or permeability of these drugs often results in low, but highly variable, bioavailability. Further, a major obstacle of successfully commercializing these compounds is the difficulty of enhancing their dissolution rate and extent of dissolution.
For example, abiraterone acetate is approved in the United States as an oral treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The product insert describes abiraterone acetate as a lipophilic compound that is practically insoluble in water. See Zytiga™ Full Prescribing Information, 2012, Janssen Biotech Inc., Section 11. While the insolubility of abiraterone acetate allows for its preparation in capsule form for oral dosing, it precludes intravenous (IV) administration which is used for other treatments of prostate cancer, such as cabazitaxel. See Sartor, O. et al. The Oncologist 2011, 16: 1487-1497.
Due to its insolubility, abiraterone acetate suffers from low bioavailability that arises from poor absorption, as 77% of the administered drug is excreted. See Ratain, M. J. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2011, 29(30): 3958-3959). Thus, most of the administered drug is not used for its intended treatment.
The low water solubility of abiraterone acetate has led to a food-effect that is greater than any other marketed drug (five- to ten-fold, depending on fat content of the meal), and significant interindividual pharmacokinetic variability. This food-effect can also afford a large intraindividual variability, resulting in underdosing or overdosing. Thus, strict patient compliance is required to achieve the dosing under labeled conditions.
Further, abiraterone acetate is a substrate of the CYP3A4 liver enzyme, which can lead to potential drug-drug interactions with other administered drugs that inhibit or induce CYP3A4. See Zytiga™ Full Prescribing Information, 2012, Janssen Biotech Inc., Section 7.2.
The development of soluble abiraterone derivatives would allow for IV dosing, which bypasses the liver, and could alleviate some of the aforementioned problems.
Accordingly, there is a clear and continuing need to create more soluble forms of abiraterone.

Abiraterone derivatives and non-covalent complexes with albumin


A modified projection on convex sets (POCS) algorithm and method for partial k-space reconstruction using low resolution phase maps for scaling full sets of reconstructed k-space data. The algorithm can be used with partial k-space trajectories in which the trajectories share a common point such as the origin of k-space, including variable-density spiral trajectories, projection reconstruction trajectories with a semicircle region acquisition, and projection reconstruction trajectories with every other spike acquired.

This invention relates generally to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and more particularly, the invention relates to fast MRI imaging using partial k-space data acquisition.
MRI signals for reconstructing an image of an object are obtained by placing the object in a magnetic field, applying magnetic gradients for slice selection, applying a magnetic excitation pulse to tilt nuclei spins in the desired slice, and then detecting MRI signals emitted from the tilted nuclei spins. The detected signals can be envisioned as traversing lines in a Fourier transformed space (k-space) with the lines aligned and spaced parallel in Cartesian trajectories and emanating from an origin in k-space in spiral trajectories.
Variable-density spiral trajectories have been extensively used in fast MRI imaging, but other radial trajectories are also used. Partial-k-space reconstruction algorithms exploit the facts that the Fourier transform of real images have Hermitian symmetry. Since most MR images depict the spin density as a function of the spatial position, the images should be real under ideal conditions. Therefore, ideally only half of the spatial frequency data would need to be collected. Unfortunately, due to various sources of phase errors, the images end up being complex. As a result, partial k-space reconstruction requires some form of phase correction. This leads to the partial k-space reconstruction method that involves the steps of phase correction and conjugate synthesis. However, performing one step after the other can provide major error. Iterative algorithms are used to overcome this problem by iterating through the phase correction and conjugate synthesis so that the phase condition and the conjugate symmetry condition are better assured. Even with iterative reconstruction methods, partial k-space reconstruction does not work well for many k-space trajectories. It is especially difficult to perform partial k-space reconstruction, even with the iterative algorithm when the data is acquired in an even and odd fashion. If the data acquisition is not done in a continuous fashion to cover half of k-space, reconstruction is difficult since the errors become a coherent aliasing error.
For spiral trajectories, under-sampling can be done by acquiring every other interleave while using variable-density spirals to obtain a low resolution phase map. An odd number of interleaves should be used to take advantage of the conjugate symmetry. The major issue with this under-sampling scheme is whether the alternate interleaves are conjugate symmetric with the missing alternate interleaves. Local variants in resonance frequency can result in shifts in the actual k-space location and with the alternate under-sampling scheme, the missing data has less chance of having the conjugate symmetry. Since both the prior art phase-corrected conjugate synthesis and homodyne assume an artifact in quadrature with the image, they do not work well when artifacts are coherent. Projection on convex sets (POCS) as disclosed by Haacke et al., "A Fast, Iterative Partial-Fourier Technique Capable of Local Phase Recovery," Journal of Magnetic Resonance 92, 126-145 (1991) provides a method of improved local phase recovery and improved magnitude images when only limited, uniformly-sampled Fourier data are presented.
The present invention provides a modified POCS algorithm for reconstructing partial k-space data.

Partial k-space reconstruction for radial k-space trajectories in magnetic resonance imaging

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A machine for continuously producing metal tubing from a flat metal strip in which the welder, weld closing rolls, and seam guide are attached to a base plate slidably attached to a support structure. The base plate is displaceable relative to the support structure between an operating position and a start position. The base plate may be displaced by a manually operated actuator or by an electromechanical mechanism. The base plate is placed in the start position when the machine is stopped and is slowly displaced to the operating position when the machine is restarted. During displacement of the base plate to the operation position, the welder overwelds a portion of the seam previously welded. The seam weld during a restart transition of the base plate from the start to the operating position produces a defect-free seam weld.

In the manufacture of tubing by forming flat metal strips into a hollow tubular form, then welding the seam formed by the abutting longitudinal edges, it is difficult to stop and restart the manufacturing process without creating a hole in the welded seam. For long runs, it is necessary to stop the manufacturing process to resharpen the electrode of the welder or add new stock. This becomes of considerable importance when one or more wires are being fed into the hollow tubing as it is being formed and when the hollow tubing is being continuously filled with a ceramic powder to insulate the one or more wires from each other and from the metal tube sheathing these wires. It is vital that no holes be generated along the seam during a stop and subsequent restart of the process so that the ceramic powder will be contained within the tubing as it is formed and not contaminate the welding area.
The problem of holes being formed in the welded seam upon restarting of the tube forming machine after having been stopped was addressed by Filler in British Patent No. 2 237 223 A. In the process of manufacturing mineral insulated cables disclosed by Filler, the axial position of the welding heads are adjustable to enable a new weld to overlap a portion of the seam welded prior to the process being stopped. Filler provides a servo mechanism which adjusts the position of the welding heads so that the desired weld overlap occurs.
The present invention is an improvement ever the tube forming method and apparatus taught by Filler.

Machine for forming a metal strip into a tubular form having a stop-restart displacement mechanism


Disclosed herein is a method of preparing a perfluoroalkadiene. A dihaloperfluorocarbon used as a starting material is added dropwise to a nonpolar organic solvent, a metal powder and an organic metal compound. The dihaloperfluorocarbon is slowly added dropwise in a temperature range from 30° C. to 150° C. for a certain period of time. Moreover, the nonpolar organic solvent used may be benzene, toluene, xylene, etc., and the organic metal compound is used by being dissolved in ethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran at a concentration of 1 to 3M. The metal powder used may be Mg, Zn, Cd, etc.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of preparing a perfluoroalkadiene and, more particularly, to a method of preparing a perfluoroalkadiene which can prevent side reactions at low cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Perfluoroalkadiene is a compound that can be used as a polymer for coating, an etching gas for semiconductor and a cleaning gas for semiconductor and has double bonds at both ends thereof.
Especially, in case of hexafluorobutadiene (C4F6) having double bonds at both ends thereof, there are a number of conventional methods.
Firstly, a method proposed by R. N. Haszeldine prepares CCl2F—CClF1 by reacting CCl2F═CF2 with, I—Cl and then forms CClF2—CClF—CClF—CClF2 through a photoreaction in the presence of mercury. Subsequently, CClF2—CClF—CClF—CClF2 is processed with zinc in the presence alcohol such as ethanol to form C4F6 (J. Chem. Soc., 4423. 1952). However, this method causes several drawbacks in that it requires a number of processes and it causes environmental problems.
Secondly, a method proposed by W. T. Miller prepares CF2═CF—CClF—CClCF2 by reacting CClF═CF2 (chlorotrifluoroethylene, CTFE) with itself at 550° C. and then forms CF2X═CFX—CClF—CCLCF2 (X═Br or I) through a chlorination or bromination reaction. Subsequently, CF2X═CFX—CClF—CClCF2 (X═Br or I) is processed with zinc to obtain C4F6 (U.S. Pat. No. 2,668,182). However, this method has also some drawbacks in that the yield of CF2═CF—CClF—CClF2 is low and it generates side reaction products in quantity.
Thirdly, there is a method proposed by G. Bargigia, et al., which can obtain CF2X═CFX—CClF—CClCF2 (X═Br or I) comparatively easily (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,448 and 5,082,981); however, it still has drawbacks in that the handling of the compound is dangerous due to a high dehalogenation activity and its manufacturing cost is high since it uses an organic metal compound of high price.
The last method is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2002-193,643, in which C4F6 is prepared by adding dimethylformamide (DMF) to a solution in which a mixed solution of CF2I—CF2—CF2—CF2I, perfluoro solvent and zinc powder are heated to reflux. That is, the zinc powder and alkyl halide as an activator are mixed in a nonprotonic polar organic solvent such as DMF and a nonpolar organic solvent such as xylene, toluene, etc. Subsequently, CF2Br—CF2—CF2—CF2Br is added to the mixed solution and then heated to reflux to obtain the C4F6.
The above-described four conventional methods commonly use polar organic solvents. If a polar organic solvent is used, side reaction products such as CF2H—CF2—CF═CF2, CF2H—CF2—CF2—CF2H, and the like are generated more than about 10%, and the thus generated side reaction products exert a bad influence on the overall process yield. Moreover, since the zinc remaining after reaction is discharged in the form of sludge due to the polar organic solvent, it is difficult to dispose of the remaining zinc and to go through the following process. Furthermore, since it is difficult to recycle the used polar solvent, a high cost is required.


The present invention relates to: an ion exchange membrane containing, in a channel, an inorganic particle, substituted with an organic compound including SO4− group; and a method for manufacturing the ion exchange membrane. The ion exchange membrane according to the present invention can provide excellent physical properties while also maintaining ion conductivity.

A cation exchange membrane is one having a cation exchange group in itself to allow selective permeation of cations and is used in the field of electrodialysis, diffusion dialysis, fuel cells, or the like. Particularly, in the field of fuel cells, a cation exchange membrane is used widely for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), redox flow batteries (RFB), or the like. An ion exchange membrane provided with lower electrical resistance, higher selective ion permeability, higher chemical stability and higher mechanical strength has higher utility.
Particular examples of the ion exchange membranes known to date include those developed by using non-fluoropolymers and polymers partially substituted with fluorine. Typical examples of such cation exchange membranes include those using polymers based on sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide), poly(phenylene sulfide), polysulfone, poly(para-phenylene), polyetherether ketone, polyimide, or the like. Most of commercially available cation exchange membranes include a fluoropolymer having a cation exchange group introduced thereto. Typical examples of such cation exchange membranes include Nafion available from DuPont, Dow membranes available from Dow Chemicals, Aciplex-S membranes available from Asahi Chemicals, and Flemion membranes available from Asahi glass. Particularly, Nafion™ includes a sulfonate group introduced to a polytetrafluoroethylene backbone, and has an ion conductivity of 0.1 S/cm under its saturated moisture content, high mechanical strength and chemical resistance. Thus, it has been used widely as an electrolyte separator in a vanadium redox flow battery.
Meanwhile, an ion exchange membrane used as a constituting element of a redox flow battery is a semi-permeable membrane which separates an electrolyte solution of a cathode from that of an anode while allowing selective permeation of cations or anions during oxidation/reduction. In addition, such an ion exchange membrane includes a main chain supporting the structure of the membrane and a function group having an ion exchange function. An ion exchange membrane is a main component that has an important effect upon the output, capacity, lifespan and cost of a redox flow battery. An ion exchange membrane including an organic material always exists in a state where it is immersed in an electrolyte solution, and thus shows higher possibility of undergoing degradation of its quality due to oxidation or the like, as compared to the other components. Therefore, the durability of such an ion exchange membrane becomes a main factor determining the lifespan of a redox flow battery. Particularly, it is problematic that the cathode and anode electrolyte solutions that are aqueous solutions damage the component, and thus causes broadening of the channel of an ion exchange membrane through which water passes, resulting in crossover of undesired ions. To prevent such a crossover phenomenon, it is known that fine inorganic particles are introduced into an organic ion exchange membrane so that the physical durability of the ion exchange membrane may be improved and the component may be prevented from being damaged. However, introduction of inorganic particles into an ion exchange membrane causes a drop in proportion of functional groups in the ion exchange membrane and a rapid decrease in ion conductivity, resulting in an increase in lifespan of a battery but degradation of quality.
Under these circumstances, the present inventors have invented an organic/inorganic hybrid ion exchange membrane by introducing inorganic particles to an ion exchange membrane, while introducing functional groups to the surface of the inorganic particles to prevent a decrease in ion conductivity and to improve physical properties.
Referring to the related art, Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 2013-0025582 discloses "Anion Exchange Membrane for Redox Flow Battery and Method for Manufacturing the Same", Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 2010-0116888 discloses "Method for Manufacturing Separator for Vanadium Redox Flow Secondary Battery and Separator Obtained Thereby", and Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 2013-0060159 discloses "Ion Exchange for Redox Flow Battery". The above-mentioned patent documents disclose ion exchange membranes containing a reaction product of an organic compound or polymer with inorganic particles and thus having improved physical properties. However, such a reaction product is different from the organic/inorganic hybrid particles disclosed herein and the method for manufacturing the same is more complex than the method disclosed herein.

Ion exchange membrane and method for manufacturing same

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co., Ltd.


An improved method for dying leather with propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) systems comprising adding polyacrylate resin base, C3 and C4 alcohols, and n-butyl acetate and negating the need for teflon dispersions, dibutyl phthalate, and improves the dye penetration, hastens the flash times, improve the dust free time, and improves the tape time.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to leather coating compositions, particularly those compositions for dyeing, staining, or otherwise modifying the color of leather.
2. Background of the Prior Art
In recent years numerous advancements have been made in processes for coloring leather. U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,341 disclosed a mixture of at least 2 metal-free dyes having a trichromatic formulation that enhances the brilliance of the finished color on the leather. The dyes carry a single sulfo or carboxyl group and molecular weight of 450 to 700. The dyeing time routinely requires 30 to 180 minutes to dry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,147 likewise disclosed improvements in the trichromatic technique by employing dyes having two sulfo or carboxyl groups and molecular weights between 790 to 1100, but the dyeing process still required 30 to 180 minutes to dry.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,866 disclosed that an aqueous coating composition comprising copolymerized acetoacetate or acetoacetamide monomer and copolymerized carboxylic acid monomer, in contact with metal oxide, hydroxide, or carbonate provided aesthetically pleasing and protective dried coatings on leather that had good embossability and wet-flex resistance. No enhancements in processing time at ambient temperature were noted; however, when drying at elevated temperatures of about 200° F. (93.3° C.), drying time still required at least 2.0 minutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,291 discloses raising the glass transition temperature of the above-described aqueous coating compositions by increasing the amount of copolymerized acetoacetate or acetoacetamide. Again the leather products required 2 minutes or 120 seconds to dry at elevated temperatures of 93.3° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,885 discloses a multistage emulsion polymer for an aqueous leather coating composition, said polymer containing copolymerized monoethylenically-unsaturated nonionic monomer which are predominantly acrylic, i.e. monomers selected from, e.g. esters of (meth) acrylic acid. It also contains copolymerized monoethylenically-unsaturated carboxylic acid monomer. Again, however, the coated leather required 120 seconds to dry at 90° C.
Currently, state-of-the art aqueous coating compositions employed for dyeing leather employ dye mixtures of all types dispersed in propylene glycol monomethyl ether. Even with predominantly acrylic polymers, certain vehicles have been used for enhancing dye penetration, for example polytetrafluoroethylene, (i.e. teflon), and carboxylic acid derivatives such as dibutyl phthalate have been employed as an elastomeric plasticizer to help soften the leather. However, the enhanced dye penetration still requires, at ambient temperature, leather dyeing process times of 5 to 10 minutes and higher before dry surface is obtained. Also, the quality of the finish is not as soft and natural as desired, even though dibutyl phthalate is used.
An improved leather dyeing process with enhanced drying or "flash time" while still providing aesthetically pleasing soft natural coatings with good wet-flex resistance is a long felt need in the industry.


A storage management process and a storage management apparatus for managing first data stored in a storage area in a storage device in a first one of storage nodes constituting a distributed storage system. The first data is read out from the storage device and checked for normality in response to a request. When the first data is abnormal, a second one of the storage nodes paired with the first one is determined by reference to management information which is stored in advance, and second data which is identical to the first data and managed by the second one of the storage nodes is acquired. Then, the storage area is overwritten with the acquired second data when the first data is abnormal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage management process, a storage management apparatus, and a computer-readable medium storing a storage management program for managing data in a plurality of storage nodes in a distributed manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the disk drives, failure can occur in a block or sector even during operation as well as during installation. When a block of a disk in which initially data are correctly written becomes defective, the data written in the bad block cannot be read out (i.e., the data loss occurs) in the worst case. (The data loss means that data stored in a storage system is lost. Therefore, for example, in the case where identical data is doubly stored in two different storage nodes, the data loss does not occur even when the data stored in one of the two storage nodes is lost as long as the data stored in the other of the two storage nodes remains.)
As mentioned above, the bad block is a serious risk factor in data preservation. In order to detect a bad block, it is necessary to actually access the bad block. In some types of RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) systems, a RAID controller periodically checks mediums in disk drives. When the RAID controller detects a bad block, the RAID controller acquires the data stored in the bad block, on the basis of data stored in another disk drive, and writes the acquired data in the disk drive having the bad block. Thus, the data stored in the bad block is written in a region which is different from the bad block and called an alternative block. Thereafter, when a request for access to a region in the bad block occurs, the RAID controller accesses a block as an alternative to the bad block, so that it looks as if the RAID system has no bad block and the data are stored in the initial positions. The writing in the alternative block is disclosed in, for example, "Patrol Function Enhancing Data Reliability," published in Japanese on the Internet by Fujitsu Limited at the URL "http//:storage-system.fujitsu.com/jp/products/iadiskarray/feature/a01/" and searched for by the applicant on Aug. 31, 2006.
In addition, troubles in a disk device can cause unintentional writing of data in a position different from an original position in which the data is to be written. In this case, the data is also lost although data reading operations can be performed, as distinct from the case of the bad block.
In a system which has been proposed as a countermeasure against the above data loss, data are redundantly and distributedly stored over multiple computers (nodes). When a failure occurs in a node in the above system, it is possible to restore data stored in the failed node on the basis of data stored in another node, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-076207, paragraph No. 0046.
However, according to the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-076207, an operation for restoration of a node is performed after a failure occurs in the node. Therefore, the reliability of the system is lowered during the operation for restoration. That is, when a failure occurs in a node, data stored in another node is accessed during the operation for restoration. Therefore, it is unnecessary to stop the service. However, the data redundancy is not regained until the failed node is restored, so that the system reliability is lowered during the operation for restoration. In addition, since it takes a long time to restore the entire node, it is necessary to use the system with the lowered reliability for the long time.
In the above circumstances, it is desired to detect a sign of the data loss in a system in which data are redundantly and distributedly stored over multiple nodes, and remove the cause of a data loss before data is actually lost. Further, even when a data loss has already occurred, it is necessary to perform an operation for restoring the node on a per-data access basis.

Storage management process, storage management apparatus, and computer-readable medium storing storage management program


A propeller shield apparatus for mounting to a trolling motor having an exposed propeller with a horizontal axis includes a vertical fin and an arcuate propeller shield. The arcuate propeller shield is oriented concave downward and fixed to the vertical fin. The vertical fin is carried by the trolling motor. The vertical fin spaces the propeller shield above the propeller. A curved bracket is provided, connected to the vertical fin, and is clamped to the trolling motor. Angular fins can be provided at opposite ends of the propeller shield which extend substantially radially from the horizontal axis.

Trolling motors for fishing boats are well known in the art and have been used by fishermen for many years. Trolling motors are typically small, low power insulated electric motors which are mounted on the lower end of a hollow tube or shaft. The electric motor drives a rotatable propeller at the rearward end of the motor body. Power cables extend through the tube to supply power to the motor. During use, the tube is vertically aligned so that the motor body is submerged beneath the water. The tube is configured to be rotatable to change the direction of thrust of the propeller to steer the boat. A trolling motor can also include a rudder to assist in the steering of the boat. A trolling motor is typically used during fishing to slowly and quietly maneuver the boat over short distances. A complete description of a trolling motor is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 7,056,166 B2.
When a trolling motor is not in use it can be pivoted up to where the tube is oriented horizontally and the motor is removed from the water.
The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a trolling motor attachment that increases the usefulness of a trolling motor. The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a trolling motor that is more reliably operable in shallow water and that increases the maneuverability and stability of the boat attached thereto. The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a trolling motor attachment that is rugged, easy to install onto a trolling motor and is economically manufactured.

Propeller shield apparatus for trolling motor


A wiper having an integrated seal, comprising at least one dynamically stressed, first sealing lip arranged in the direction of a space to be sealed, and at least one wiping lip disposed on the side facing away from the space to be sealed. The wiper having an integrated seal also includes quasi-statically stressed second, third and fourth sealing lips which are each configured to be placed against at least one counter-surface of a mounting space of the wiper with integrated seal. The second sealing lip is fluid-conductive. The third and fourth sealing lips are each configured as a pressure relief valve, and sealing lips are arranged in series.

The present invention relates to a wiper. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wiper having an integrated seal.
German Patent Application No. 296 16 242 U1 describes a double wiper. The double wiper is provided for sealing a movable part with respect to a pressure system, the double wiper surrounding the movable part as a ring. A connection is produced between the two end faces of the double wiper when an opening pressure in the pressure system is exceeded.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention seeks to provide a wiper of the type described above in such a way that the wiper with the integrated seal is relieved from pressure. In addition, the present invention seeks to provide a wiper of the type described above in such a way that penetration of dirt and moisture along quasi-static sealing lips in the direction of the space to be sealed is reliably avoided.
To achieve the objective, a wiper having an integrated seal is provided, including at least one first, dynamically stressed sealing lip arranged in the direction of the space to be sealed and at least one wiping lip arranged on the side facing away from the space to be sealed. In addition, the wiper with integrated seal includes three quasi-statically stressed second, third and fourth sealing lips, which are each able to be placed against at least one counter-surface of the mounting space of the wiper with integrated seal. The second sealing lip is fluid-conductive. Each of the third and fourth sealing lips are formed and operate as a pressure relief valve. The second, third and fourth sealing lips are arranged to function in series. Due to the arrangement of the quasi-statically stressed sealing lips in series, they essentially function as a labyrinth seal to effectively prevent penetration of impurities from the surroundings past the quasi-statically stressed sealing lips into the space to be sealed.
To avoid an undesirably large displacement of the wiper with integrated seal within its mounting space, the second sealing lip is fluid-conductive, the third and fourth sealing lips are configured as a pressure relief valve. The third and fourth sealing lips are able to be lifted off of their respective counter-surfaces, for example, in response to an opening pressure of approximately 4 bar. The wiper is thereby prevented from being undesirably greatly deformed and/or being forced out of its mounting space. The third sealing lip is disposed functionally between the second and the fourth sealing lips. The third sealing lip prevents impurities from the surroundings from being able to penetrate past the second sealing lip into the space to be sealed. Even if the impurities have already passed the fourth sealing lip, there is no disadvantageous effect on the working properties of the wiper. Because the impurities are reliably held back by the fourth and third sealing lips, the second sealing lip does not come into contact with the impurities. The second sealing lip is thereby protected from wear and tear during a long service life, and dirt is effectively prevented from penetrating into the space to be sealed off.
Under normal operating conditions, the space to be sealed off in front of the seal integrated into the wiper is at zero pressure. The space may be empty, partially filled or completely filled with a medium to be sealed off. Under certain conditions, the medium may also be under a low pressure of up to 4 bar.
The third and fourth sealing lips sealingly abut against the wall of a housing, the wall bounding the mounting space.
The third sealing lip is configured such that medium to be sealed is reliably held back on the side of the second sealing lip facing the space to be sealed. A passage of fluid past the third sealing lip in the direction of the fourth sealing lip is prevented provided that the aforementioned pressure is not exceeded.
The second sealing lip is constructed so that it also abuts against the wall of the housing. However, due to the structure of its surface or due to small gaps in the sealing edge, the second sealing lip allows a small volumetric flow to pass which is sufficient to relieve the pressure.
If the pressure within the space to be sealed rises above 4 bar, for example, due to leakage of a further seal upstream of the wiper with integrated seal in the direction of the space to be sealed off, then a volumetric flow takes place past the second sealing lip in the direction of the third sealing lip. Due to the pressure, the third sealing lip allows the volumetric flow to pass in the direction of the fourth sealing lip. The fourth sealing lip lifts off briefly from its counter-surface, so that the volumetric flow emerges visibly as leakage in the direction of the surroundings. The visible leakage is an indication that seals within the space to be sealed and/or the rod to be sealed are damaged/worn out and should be replaced.
Of the quasi-statically stressed sealing lips, at least the second sealing lip facing the space to be sealed has a surface structure with a roughness Ra of greater than 2 xcexcm. Such a surface structure can be achieved, for example, when manufacturing the wiper with integrated seal by forming in a mold having a corresponding surface roughness. The surface roughness in the mold can be produced, for example, by eroding the relevant surface.
It is also possible to produce the surface structure in a different manner, for example, by blasting the surface with a granular material of steel, non-ferrous metals, sand, ceramics or plastic having a particle size of the granular material of approximately 2 to 20 xcexcm. The surface roughness yields for the medium to be sealed a fluid-conductive connection in the direction of the third sealing lip via the second sealing lip without the second sealing lip lifting off from the counter-surface. Thus, the surface structure permits a fluid-conductive connection between the space to be sealed and the third sealing lip.
The fluid-conductive connection may also be produced or supported by one or more gaps, for example, by grooves running in the axial direction in the area of the second sealing edge.
The third sealing lip, arranged between the second and the fourth sealing lips, preferably has a sealing edge which is bounded by two mutually intersecting conical surfaces. The first conical surface faces the space to be sealed, forming a smaller angle relative to an imaginary axis parallel to the axis of symmetry than the second conical surface facing away from the space to be sealed. The first conical surface preferably forms a first angle of approximately 15xc2x0 relative to the axis. The second conical surface preferably forms a second angle of approximately 45xc2x0 relative to the axis.
The third sealing edge may be smooth or else may be provided with a structure similar to the second sealing edge. Due to the comparatively flat first angle and the steeper second angle, when the opening pressure is exceeded, the third sealing lip is deformed in such a way that the medium to be sealed passes the third sealing lip in the direction of the fourth sealing lip. Advantageously, a volumetric flow is able to travel past the third sealing lip in the direction of the fourth sealing lip, for example, through grooves extending essentially in the radial direction, within the sealing ring between the third and the fourth sealing edge, or through channels within the mounting space which are also not closable by an adjacent seal.
According to a preferred embodiment, the passage may be formed by a plurality of grooves, extending in the radial direction and distributed uniformly in the circumferential direction, which form a component of the wiper with integrated seal.
To achieve good seal tightness, the dynamically stressed, first sealing lip preferably has a sealing edge which is sharp or provided with a small radius of 0.2 mm or less. The wiping lip is preferably rounded, having a radius R=0.2. In contrast, sharp-edged wiping lips wipe off too strongly, causing unwanted wiper leakage, and, for example, the medium to be sealed located on a rod is not completely conveyed back again in the direction of the space to be sealed.
According to a preferred embodiment, the wiper with integrated seal is used in conjunction with one or more upstream rod seals, for example, in building machinery or other applications of mobile hydraulics.


Disclosed is a method (100) of providing a personalized parameter model of at least part of the physiology of a person (10) carrying a set of sensors (12, 14, 16) with a computer system (20, 50) comprising a processor arrangement (22, 52) for the purpose of updating a biophysical model or digital twin of the person. The method comprises, with said processor arrangement, receiving (103) sensor data from said set of sensors with the communication interface over a defined period of time, the sensor data from each sensor representing a parameter relevant to an actual physiological state of the person; evaluating (105) the received sensor data from each sensor to define the personalized parameter model (3), said model including the evaluated dynamic behaviour of the values of each parameter observed with said sensors over the defined period of time and providing (107) the defined personalized parameter model for updating a digital model (1) of at least part of the anatomy of said person. Also disclosed is a method (200) for updating such a digital twin in which the digital twin is updated using such a personalized parameter model. In addition, a computer program product for implementing such methods and a computer system (20) implementing such methods are also disclosed.

In many developed countries, the provision of healthcare is becoming increasingly strained. Some reasons for this include the growth of the population and increasing life expectancy. Unfortunately, although people live longer, the average age at which their health deteriorates to the point where regular medical care is required is not increasing accordingly, such that the ageing population is unwell for longer, which increases the pressure on the healthcare system, e.g. on medical practitioners, medical infrastructures such as hospitals, diagnostic equipment therein, and so on. Hence, rather than simply increasing medical resources, for which the financial resources may not be available, there exists a need to improve the efficiency of such healthcare systems.
A recent development in technology is the so-called digital twin concept. In this concept, a digital representation (the digital twin) of a physical system is provided and connected to its physical counterpart, for example through the Internet of things as explained in US 2017/286572 A1. Through this connection, the digital twin typically receives data pertaining to the state of the physical system, such as sensor readings or the like, based on which the digital twin can predict the actual or future status of the physical system, e.g. through simulation, as well as analyze or interpret a status history of the physical twin. In case of electromechanical systems, this for example may be used to predict the end-of-life of components of the system, thereby reducing the risk of component failure as timely replacement of the component may be arranged based on its end-of-life as estimated by the digital twin.
Such digital twin technology is also becoming of interest in the medical field, as it provides an approach to more efficient medical care provision. For example, the digital twin may be built using imaging data of the patient, e.g. a patient suffering from a diagnosed medical condition as captured in the imaging data.
Such a digital twin may serve a number of purposes. Firstly, the digital twin rather than the patient may be subjected to a number of virtual tests, e.g. treatment plans, to determine which treatment plan is most likely to be successful to the patient. This therefore reduces the number of tests that physically need to be performed on the actual patient. The digital twin of the patient for instance further may be used to predict the onset, treatment or development of such medical conditions of the patient using a patient-derived digital model, e.g. a digital model that has been derived from medical image data of the patient. In this manner, the medical status of a patient may be monitored in a smarter manner, with a more efficient involvement of a medical practitioner, e.g. avoiding unnecessary periodic routine physical checks of the patient. Instead, only when the digital twin predicts a medical status of the patient indicative of the patient requiring medical attention based on the received sensor readings may the digital twin arrange for an appointment to see a medical practitioner to be made for the patient, for example. This therefore helps to minimize cost, improve patient and practitioner satisfaction.
This typically also leads to an improvement in the medical care of the patient, as the onset of certain diseases or medical conditions may be predicted with the digital twin, such that the patient can be treated accordingly at an early stage, which not only is beneficial to the patient but can also reduce (treatment) costs. Moreover, major medical incidents that the patient may be about to suffer may be predicted by the digital twin based on the monitoring of the patient's sensor readings, thereby reducing the risk of such incidents actually occurring. Such prevention avoids the need for the provision of substantial aftercare following such a major medical incident, which also alleviates the pressure on a healthcare system otherwise providing such aftercare.
Such remote monitoring of a patient may lead to an infrequent need for the patient to physically meet a healthcare professional. However, a drawback of this approach is that such a digital model at least initially may present a rather incomplete or inaccurate model of the actual patient due to the limited data on which the digital model is based. Hence, there exists a need to update the digital model or at least the procedures leading to its updating at certain times without such a patient having to be subjected to tests in a controlled environment such as a doctor's surgery or a medical clinic such as a hospital.


A pressing tool includes a motor, a sensor, and a microcontroller coupled to the motor and the sensor. The microcontroller is configured to cause the motor to operate in a first direction, and obtain a motor parameter from the sensor. The microcontroller is further configured to determine an occurrence of a fault condition of the motor when the motor parameter satisfies a threshold. In response to determining the fault condition, the microcontroller is further configured to cause the motor to change from operation in the first direction to operate in a second direction, pause operation of the motor in the second direction, and resume operation of the motor in the first direction.

Cross-linked polyethylene tubing, commonly abbreviated as PEX or XLPE, is often used for domestic water piping to replace traditional copper piping. PEX tubing is typically attached to fittings using compression rings. In its nominal (uncompressed) state, a compression ring can be slid over the PEX tubing and fitting, then compressed using a pressing tool to clamp the PEX tubing to the fitting. Manual pressing tools, including clamping tools for use with clamp rings and crimping tools for use with crimp rings, typically include a pair of handles coupled to pressing jaws by a pivoting linkage arrangement. Automatic or electric pressing tools may be used as well.

Pressing tool and method for a re-pressing operation


A micro-electro-mechanical switch includes at least one portion of a conductive line in the chamber, a beam with imbedded charge, and control electrodes. The beam has a conductive section which is positioned in substantial alignment with the at least one portion of the conductive line. The conductive section of the beam has an open position spaced away from the at least one portion of the conductive line and a closed position on the at least one portion of the conductive line. Each of the control electrodes is spaced away from an opposing side of the beam to control movement of the beam.

Micro-electro-mechanical switches are operated by an electrostatic charge, thermal, piezoelectric or other actuation mechanism. Application of an electrostatic charge to a control electrode in the MEMS causes the switch to close, while removal of the electrostatic charge on the control electrode, allowing the mechanical spring restoration force of the armature to open the switch. Although these MEMS switches work problems have prevented their more widespread use.
For example, one problem with cantilever type MEMS is that they often freeze into a closed position due to a phenomenon known as stiction. These cantilever type MEMS may be actuated by electrostatic forces, however there is no convenient way to apply a force in the opposite direction to release the MEMS to the open position.
One solution to this problem is a design which uses electrostatic repulsive forces to force apart MEMS contacts, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,744 to R. Streeter et al. which is herein incorporated by reference. In this design, the improved switch includes an insulating substrate, a conductive contact, a cantilever support, a first conductive surface and a cantilever beam. Additionally, a first control surface is provided on the lower surface of and is insulated from the beam by a layer of insulation. A second control surface is disposed over and is separated from the first conductive surface by a layer of insulative material. A variable capacitor is formed by the two control surfaces and the dielectric between them. This capacitor must be considered in addition to the capacitors formed by the first control surface, the layer of insulation and the beam and by the second control surface, the layer of insulation and the first conductive surface.
Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to this design. As discussed above, the additional layers used for attraction or repulsion charge form capacitors which require additional power for operation and thus impose a serious limitation on this type of design. These additional layers also add mass that limits the response time of the switch. Further, this design results in a variable parasitic capacitor between the cantilever beam and contact post.

Micro-electro-mechanical switch and a method of using and making thereof


This GTO thyristor comprises: (i) a cathode layer that is divided into a large number of cathode-layer fingers, (ii) a gate layer contiguous with the fingers, with a PN junction J1 between each finger and the gate layer, (iii) a cathode electrode on each finger, and (iv) a gate electrode on the gate layer having portions surrounding the fingers disposed in spaced relation to the fingers. Turn-off of the GTO thyristor is effected by forcing a turn-off current to flow between the cathode electrode of each finger and the gate electrode through the associated PN junction J1. This PN junction at each finger has a centrally-located region that is characterized by an avalanche voltage that is substantially lower than the avalanche voltage that characterizes this junction in the region of the junction surrounding the centrally-located region, and this relatively lower avalanche voltage enhances the current turn-off capabilities of the GTO thyristor.

The type of GTO thyristor that this invention is concerned with comprises a semiconductor body having at least four layers, with contiguous layers being of different P and N conductivity types and with one end layer constituting an anode layer, the opposed end layer constituting a cathode layer (or emitter), and an intermediate layer contiguous with the cathode layer constituting a gate layer, which has a gate electrode in ohmic contact therewith. When the thyristor is in its "on" state, power current enters the anode layer through an anode electrode thereon and flows through the semiconductor body between the anode and cathode layers, exiting through a cathode electrode.
Turn-off of this GTO thyristor is effected by forcing a turn-off current between the cathode electrode and the gate electrode via a path that extends first through the PN junction between the cathode layer and the gate layer (referred to hereinafter as junction J1) and then laterally of the gate layer into the gate electrode. This turn-off current flows through junction J1 in a direction opposite to the power current flowing therethrough.
To enable high values of anode-to-cathode current to be turned off by the GTO thyristor in response to a gate turn-off signal of the above character, the cathode layer of the thyristor is divided into many elongated fingers that share the anode-to-cathode current through the thyristor. In ohmic contact with each of these cathode-layer (or emitter) fingers is a registering portion of the cathode electrode. The gate layer has predetermined surface regions immediately adjacent the cathode-layer fingers that are not covered by these fingers and extend alongside the junction J1 between the associated cathode-layer finger and the gate layer. The gate electrode is in ohmic contact with these predetermined surface regions of the gate layer and has portions that extend alongside the cathode-layer fingers, but in spaced relationship to the associated fingers and cathode electrode portions thereon.
The above-described turn-off current is shared by all the cathode layer fingers, flowing through the associated PN junction J1 adjacent each finger, then laterally of the contiguous gate layer into the associated gate electrode. Each cathode-layer finger acts as the cathode layer of a miniature GTO thyristor, the miniature GTO thyristors all being connected in parallel and sharing the anode-to-cathode current through the overall thyristor. In a successful turn-off operation, the turn-off current, shared by all the miniature thyristors, forces to zero (or squeezes off) the anode-to-cathode current through all of them, though not precisely at the same instant. During the brief interval immediately after such current squeeze-off, all of the miniature thyristors, including the last one to have conducted, must withstand the voltage imposed across the J1 junction of the device without such a resumption of current thereacross that would again trigger any of the miniature thyristors into conduction. Such a retriggering would cause large values of anode-to-cathode current to flow through the retriggered miniature thyristor, and this would cause a failure of the overall thyristor.