The invention relates to a method for analyzing an abnormal event in an industrial automation and control system, IACS, comprising the following steps: identifying the abnormal event; detecting a root cause of the abnormal event; and generating a notification if the root cause is not a user activity and, if the root cause is a user activity, evaluating the possible impact on the IACS caused by the abnormal event, and generating a notification if the evaluation of the possible impact does not match a predefined list of allowable behavior. The present invention also relates to a corresponding system and corresponding computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media having computer executable instructions for performing the steps of the method.

Industrial control devices are nowadays designed to include basic cyber security mechanisms such as authentication, authorization and logging. This imposes authentication needed for a user who want to perform some changes in the device.
For any authenticated user, the device will authorize certain permission to the respective user. Additionally, with a logging mechanism, a device can log all the user activities and send the events log to a centralized collection system.
The configuration of an IACS is nowadays mostly well-documented in a machine readable format. For instance, in the domain of IEC 61850, the configuration of an IACS is normally well described in a system configuration description.
Therefore, once the IEC 61850 substation is commissioned, changes to the configuration are unlikely to happen.
Reference [1] relates to a unit for validating a communication network of an industrial automation and control system and to a method of validating a communication network of an industrial automation and control system. In particular, reference [1] relates to a unit for validating a communication network of an industrial automation and control system, comprising a planner module configured to store plan data defining a designed communication network of an industrial automation and control system, a collector module configured to collect effective data defining a deployed communication network of the industrial automation and control system, and a difference detector configured to detect differences between the designed communication network and the deployed communication network using the plan data and the effective data.
Reference [2] is an IBM white paper and relates to enhance management for multiprotocol label switching networks with IBM solutions.

Detection of abnormal configuration changes


An information processing apparatus determines human task counts each representing a number of human tasks in individual workflows. Each workflow defines a procedure of tasks to be performed on a device under management, where the tasks include human tasks to be performed by humans and automated tasks to be executed automatically with remote control via a network. The information processing apparatus then determines priorities of the workflows, based on the human task counts determined therefor, for prioritized use of a connection that is established to communicate with the device under management in order to perform automated tasks thereon.

A series of tasks for operations management of a computer system may be executed automatically by using a workflow. For example, a workflow execution server is employed to perform tasks on managed target devices through remote control via a network, according to a workflow that defines a task procedure.
Such workflow-based automated execution of business tasks is applied to a growing area in the field of operations management, and there are increasing cases of concurrent execution of multiple workflows. When workflows run in parallel, two or more tasks may be directed to a single target device at the same time. In this case, the workflow execution server may set up multiple connections to the target device and use these connections to execute multiple tasks in parallel according to the workflows.
As an example of techniques about workflows, there is proposed an exclusive control method that dynamically determines exclusive sections in individual workflows to indicate where an exclusive lock is to take place. See, for example, the following document:
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-006740

Information processing apparatus and method for managing connections


Systems, methods, and devices are configured to implement hydraulic actuators. Devices may include a housing having an internal surface defining an internal cavity that may have a substantially circular cross sectional curvature. The devices may include a rotor that includes a first slot having a substantially circular curvature. The devices may include a first vane disk partially disposed within the first slot of the rotor, where the first vane disk has a substantially circular external geometry. The first vane disk may be mechanically coupled to the rotor via the first slot, and the first vane disk may be configured to form a first seal with the internal surface of the housing. The devices may include a first separator device that may be configured to form a second seal with the internal surface of the housing and a third seal with an external surface of the rotor.

Hydraulic motors or devices may be mechanical actuators that convert hydraulic pressure and flow into some sort of displacement. Thus, a hydraulic device may utilize hydraulic pressure, which may be generated by the flow of hydraulic fluid, to create a structural or mechanical displacement that may be used to move one or more components of a mechanical system. In the context of vehicles, and more specifically, aircraft, such hydraulic devices may potentially be utilized to move various parts of the vehicle, which may be an aircraft. However, conventional rotary hydraulic devices remain limited because they may be heavy and over-burdensome due to their design constraints, and they may be prone to large internal leakages which make them unsuitable for high pressure operation, as may be encountered in the aerospace industry.
For example, conventional hydraulic devices may include linear hydraulic cylinders which require the use of additional mechanical apparatus, such as rack and pinion gearing mechanisms, to convert linear motion produced by the linear hydraulic cylinder into rotational motion, as may be used in particular applications within the context of a vehicle such as an aerospace vehicle. The inclusion of such additional mechanical apparatus may result in the hydraulic device being relatively large, heavy, and not well-suited for aerospace applications due to the additional weight and space taken by the linear hydraulic cylinder and its associated gearing mechanisms.
Other conventional hydraulic devices may utilize vanes to convert hydraulic pressure to motion. However, such conventional hydraulic devices often utilize flat housings and flat seals which are structurally less efficient, and consequently more prone to deflections of components and unacceptable internal leakages. For example, components such as the vanes themselves may bend and deflect resulting in poor sealing and large internal leakages. Consequently, such conventional hydraulic devices are unsuitable for use in aerospace applications such as high pressure operation conditions which may be in excess of 3000 psi.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for rotary vane actuators


A driving force transmitting apparatus includes a rotating shaft, a frictional engagement device, a piston member, a piston housing, a piston chamber, an oil pressure sensor, an attachment hole, an operating-oil receiving chamber, a bubble removing chamber, and a bubble discharging groove. The rotating shaft has an axial direction and is rotatable around the axial direction. The frictional engagement device includes a frictional engagement unit which is disposed around the rotating shaft and which includes first and second friction members that are alternately stacked in the axial direction. The piston member is movable in the axial direction to press the frictional engagement unit so that the first and second friction members are engaged with each other. The piston housing contains the piston member. The piston chamber is defined between an inner surface of the piston housing and the piston member.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a driving force transmitting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a driving force transmitting apparatus for an automobile includes a frictional engagement device, such as a clutch or a brake, provided around a rotating shaft (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-218669 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1)). The driving force transmitting apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a clutch capable of switching between a state in which rotation is transmitted between two coaxially arranged rotating shafts and a state in which no rotation is transmitted between the two rotating shafts. The clutch includes a clutch housing fixed to one of the rotating shafts, a clutch hub fixed to the other rotating shaft in a region inside the clutch housing, and a frictional engagement unit. The frictional engagement unit includes a plurality of friction members fixed to the clutch housing and a plurality of friction members fixed to the clutch hub. The friction members fixed to the clutch housing and the friction members fixed to the clutch hub are alternately stacked in an axial direction in the clutch housing.
The clutch includes a piston member for pressing the frictional engagement unit in the direction in which the friction members are stacked, a piston housing that contains the piston member, and a piston chamber that is defined between the piston housing and the piston member and in which an oil pressure for moving the piston member toward the frictional engagement unit is generated. The clutch is engaged when the piston member is moved by the oil pressure generated in the piston chamber and the frictional engagement unit is pressed by the piston member.
The driving force transmitting apparatus including the above-described clutch includes an oil pressure sensor for detecting a clutch pressure (oil pressure in the piston chamber). The torque transmitted by the clutch is controlled in accordance with a clutch pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor.


An electric motor vehicle having a plurality of motors mounted thereon as a driving force source includes a detector for detecting the vehicle speed; a detector for detecting the load applied to the wheels; a calculating device for selecting a detected value of either one of these detectors and for determining driving force command values for respective motors corresponding to the wheels on the basis of the detected value selected and driving force values required of the electric motor vehicle; and a controller for controlling the driving forces of the motors on the basis of the driving force command values of the calculating device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric motor vehicle having an electric motor mounted thereon as a driving power source, and particularly to an electric motor vehicle having a plurality of electric motors mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are known electric motor vehicles with one electric motor mounted thereon as a driving power source. With such electric motor vehicles, drawbacks are experienced in that there are limitations to the driving force, the efficiency is poor, and it is impossible to effect fine control according to a driver's requirements as in the case of four-wheel drive.
On the other hand, electric motor vehicles with a plurality of motors mounted thereon as a driving power source have been proposed, as shown in FIG. 9(a), (b), and (c).
FIG. 9(a) shows an example in which two motors are disposed in series to drive front wheels or rear wheels. FIG. 9(b) shows an example in which the front wheels and rear wheels are respectively driven by two separately provided motors. FIG. 9(c) shows an example in which the four wheels are respectively driven by four individual motors. In the drawings, reference numerals 51-62 denote wheels; 63-70, motors, and 71-73, differential gears. With such conventional arrangements, however, since control is effected by balancing the plurality of motors in such a manner that all of their outputs become identical, there has been a drawback in that the overall efficiency of the electric motor vehicle is poor.
To give a detailed description in this regard, first, the efficiency of a motor in general varies according to the rotational speed and output torque, as shown in FIG. 7. For example, if consideration is given to the efficiency when the vehicle is driven by two motors, as in the case of FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), when the vehicle is running with each motor rotating at the rotational speed "A" in FIG. 7 and if the driver operates an accelerator pedal and requires torque "B" with respect to the vehicle, in a conventional vehicle, the two motors are controlled such that they output "B/2" of torque, respectively, so that the efficiency is only "X". However, if the torque "B" is within a range which can be sufficiently handled by one motor, if control is effected such that the output of one motor becomes "B" and the output of the other motor becomes zero, the efficiency becomes "Y(>X)", with the result that the efficiency can be increased.
Particularly in the case of an electric motor vehicle which runs with one or more batteries mounted thereon, since the weight of the batteries is generally large, there is a drawback in that the traveling distance is short as compared with a gasoline engine vehicle. Accordingly, an increase in the efficiency of the vehicle has been a very important objective in the technical field of electric motor vehicles in the light of the reduction of the weight of batteries, an increase in the traveling distance, and so on.

Control of electric vehicle motors responsive to detected vehicle speed and required total driving force


An intelligence AC to DC maximum power charging management method of a battery includes providing a battery charger having a power conversion unit coupled to a charging control device, which contains a micro-controller, a voltage detection unit, a current detection unit, a temperature sensor, and a communication port, and providing a battery pack electrically connected to the battery charger enabling the charging controller to provide charging management for the battery pack, wherein the micro-controller can calculate charging power through received battery voltage, battery charger current, and temperature of the battery charger and tracking the maximum output charging power.

Electronic equipments, for example, smart phone, laptop computer, tablet, or other electromechanical devices such as electric motorcycles, electric bicycles, etc., these electronic devices or electromechanical devices generally equipped with an internal rechargeable battery. Since the volume of these potable electronic devices or the internal space of the electromechanical device that can accommodate the battery are limited, and the capacity of the battery cells configured for these devices are also limited, it is necessary to charge these battery cells with a charging device making these portable electronic devices or electromechanical device can be reused.
Selecting an appropriate battery charger with a suitable charging method requires evaluating charging characteristics in different types of battery chargers.
In traditional battery charger, it operates in a fixed DC output current, the battery voltage rises from low to high, in this manner the charger still require having enough wattage in its design to cope the occurrences of maximum power in a short period of time. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates the output current (I_output) and output voltage (V_output) curves of the charger during a complete charging process, where the dashed curve 101 represents the output current (I_output) of the charger, and the solid line curve 103 represents the output voltage of the charger (V_output). The entire charging process includes a pre-charging mode, a constant current mode, a constant voltage mode, and a complete charging mode. However, at the beginning the charging power is relative low due to the charger can't output the maximum power of the power supply resulting a low charging power efficiency and therefore lengthening the charging time. The traditional way of battery charging as described above, the battery charger utilizes a two stage constant current-constant voltage charging method including a first pre-charging stage using a predetermined small current to charge the battery for a short period of time and then charge the battery with the maximum current to reach the desired voltage, a second constant-voltage charging stage using a constant voltage to charge the battery, once the battery voltage rises to the regulated voltage, the charging current is reduced, and the battery voltage is regulated to avoid overcharging. In this mode, when the battery is fully charged and the battery impedance is reduced, the current is gradually reduced. When the current drops to a predetermined level, charging process stops.
The conventional charging method can only charge the battery with a fixed maximum current, and the output power varies with the battery voltage, therefore the maximum power cannot be maintained.
In order to solve the above issue, the present invention proposes a power management method of a battery charger to achieve fast charging of the battery, to reduce waiting time of the users, and to improve their working efficiency by detecting the battery voltage, charging current and charging temperature, and determining the charging procedure for charging the battery. A specific way is utilized a microcontroller to calculate, adjust, track the charging power, and tune the charging condition according to the instant statuses of the charger and the battery.

Intelligence AC to DC maximum power management method of a battery charger


Disclosed is a method for producing a non-woven fiber fabric comprising a plurality of perforated structures extending along the entire cross-section of said fabric. The inventive method consists of the following steps: in a first step, the matted fibers are placed on a belt screen to form a web of fibers; in a second step, the web of fibers is conveyed to a perforated-structure manufacturing unit, in a third step, the perforated structures are manufactured by mechanically impinging upon the fibers, whereby the mechanical impingement upon said fibers does not affect the mechanical and chemical structure thereof; and in a fourth step, the web of fibers provided with said perforated structures is compacted in a compaction unit for form a non-woven fabric.

The invention concerns a procedure to make a fleece consisting of fibers with numerous hole structures extending over the entire cross-section, and a fleece manufactured according to this procedure.
One-layer or multilayer fleeces with hole structures extending over the entire cross-section are e.g. used for coverstock materials for articles of hygiene such as sanitary napkins and diapers, or for other textile or technical uses. The hole structures serve to quickly drain bodily fluids, tissue components and feces into the liquid-absorbing material of diapers, sanitary napkins, etc. Depending on the application, the fleeces can be single-layer or multilayer, whereby multilayer fleeces can be bonded with other sheet media such as films.
There are several prior-art procedures to introduce hole structures into a one-layer or multilayer fleece, whereby the common element of the prior-art procedures is that the hole structures are created in the finished fleece after bonding and especially thermobonding.
For example, a prior-art procedure in EP 0 687 757 A2 introduces hole structures into the bonded fleece by passing the fleece between heated stamps that are pressed together to melt holes in the bonded fleece. A similar prior-art procedure, a hot-needle punching procedure, is in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,829.
The advantage of this procedure is that the bond of the fleece structure is held due to the melted edges that arise around the holes. A disadvantage is that the softness is negatively influenced by the relatively hard melted edges. A fleece obtained in this manner feels relatively hard and can be unpleasant to users.
In DE 34 16 004 A1, there is a prior-art process in which an unbonded fleece of thermoplastic fibers is fed to a calender roller arrangement, and the thermoplastic material is melted and displaced by pressure in the area of the holes by the calender roller arrangement. This produces a liquid bump at the edge of the holes to form a bonded grid to stabilize and fix the remaining fleece sheet. A hard melted edge is specifically created to reinforce the fleece sheet which is positive for the strength of the fleece sheet, but is disadvantageous due to the hardness of the melted edges.
In another prior-art procedure, the hole structures are created by (cold) stamping/cutting the fibers out of the bonded fleece. Such procedures have the advantage that hard stamped or melted edges do not arise, and materials obtained in this manner are soft. A disadvantage is that this procedure can only be done when the fleece is conveyed at a slow speed. In addition, the fibers are shortened along the holes which decreases the strength of the fleece.
A disadvantage of the cited procedures is that material is unnecessarily destroyed or wasted by hot and cold stamping or burning.
In another prior-art procedure in EP 0 214 608 A2, the fleece is manufactured and the hole structures are created by two rollers between which the fleece is guided. One roller has numerous heated needles, and the other roller has corresponding holes to receive the needles of the first roller. The needles purportedly displace the fibers while forming the hole structures and simultaneously form recesses around the hole structures, and they seal the edges of the hold structures by melting the fibers. In this procedure, the fibers are not shortened or destroyed, however hard melted edges arise that negatively influence the softness. In addition, it is involved and expensive to introduce hole structures after the fleece is thermobonded.
The problem of the invention is therefore to create a procedure that enables professionals to manufacture a fleece with hole structures that feels soft, the bond of the fibers is not weakened by introducing hole structures, the procedure can be done without waste, and it is simple and economical.
This problem is solved with a procedure of the initially-cited type that has the features of patent claim 1.
According to the invention, the fibers are randomly deposited on a screen belt to form a fibrous web in a first step of a procedure to create a fleece made of fibers with numerous hole structures extending over the entire cross-section of the fleece. In a second step, the fibrous web is transported to a hole-structure-creating machine; in a third step, the hole structures are created by mechanically displacing the fibers. The displacement of the fibers does not influence their mechanical and chemical structure. In a fourth step, the fibrous web with the hole structures is bonded in a bonding unit to form a fleece.
The invention is therefore based on the surprising knowledge that, to generate hole structures, it is sufficient to displace the fibers that cover the area of the holes to be formed and compress the fibers in this area and/or the neighboring area without having to destroy or impair the fibrous web in the area of the holes to be formed and/or its general appearance. In brief, the fibers of the fibrous web are reoriented in the area of the hole structures or diverted from their prior course in the procedure according to the invention before manufacturing the fleece by bonding and possibly thermobonding without requiring a heat treatment or simultaneous compression.
Suitable fibers or filaments for creating a fleece by the procedure according to the invention are any fibers or filaments suitable to form fleeces according to the various procedures, especially staple fibers, endless filaments, and bicomponent fibers and filaments. In particular, staple fibers are highly suitable.
It is particularly advantageous that no unnecessary waste or lost material arises, that the fibers are not shortened or destroyed in the area of the hole structures, and that the softness of the finished fleece is very good, and that no additional hardening at the edge of the hole structures impairs the softness of the finished fleece.
Such a solution has not been pursed to date since in particular in a prior-art process in EP 0 214 608 A2 it is assumed that the fibers would tend to return to their original position after being displaced due to the return effect which would eliminate the created hole structures. It was surprisingly shown that this return effect is irrelevant in the procedure according to the invention.
Before the third step, the fibrous web can be bonded to one or more fleeces and/or with another sheet medium such as a film.
In addition, the danger of the fibers springing back can be advantageously countered by feeding the fibrous web directly to the bonding unit after creating the hole structure. In such a bonding unit, e.g. a calender roller arrangement, the fibrous web is compressed to create the finished fleece and, in an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is simultaneously thermobonded. A very short path is desirable so that the hole structure is not lost while the fleece is being transported from the hole-structure-creating unit to the bonding unit.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the fibrous web is prebonded before the third step so that the tensile strength of the prebonded fibrous web is 0.1 to 75% and especially 50% of the tensile strength of the bonded fleece.
The unbonded fibrous web is more-or-less held by a few widely-spaced bonding points or by applying pressure and/or heat. This provides a certain amount of mechanical stability to the fibrous web so that it can be transported faster to the hole-structure-creating unit. The faster speed enables faster manufacturing.
In an advantageous embodiment of the procedure, the fibers surrounding the hole structures are fixed before feeding the fibrous web to the bonding unit. This serves to prevent the hole structures from stretching while transporting the fibrous web with the hole structures. Fixing the fibers, i.e., slightly adhering the fibers around the hole structure can be done with suitable means such as by applying heat and/or pressure to the fibrous web, e.g. by smooth rollers.
In addition, the fourth step can be carried out with the hole-structure-creating unit directly after the third step. In this case, the hole structure-creating unit is simultaneously used for bonding.
In a practical embodiment of the invention, the hole-structure-creating unit has two elements with facing surfaces between which the fibrous web is guided, whereby the surface of a first element has numerous barbs facing the fibrous web, and whereby the surface of a second element has openings in which the barbs of the first surface can at least partially enter, whereby the fibers of the fibrous web below the barbs are displaced without being destroyed when the barbs sink into the openings and the hole structures are formed.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the openings of the second surface communicate with a source for a vacuum or pressure such as a blower so that fibers of the fibrous web in the area of the openings are sucked into or blown out of the openings. By sucking the fibers into the openings of the second surface, such a blower can support the nondestructive displacement of the fibers to form the hole structures, and the blower can blow the fibrous web with the hole structures away from the second surface to gently prevent potential adhesion of the fibrous web to the second surface after creating the hole structures.
The channels and openings of the vacuum source can shaped and dimensioned so that the fibers to be deformed or reoriented that are sucked into the openings and channel of the vacuum source are not caught.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first element is a roller. In practical embodiments of the invention, the roller has a diameter of 100-500 mm. Such a roller can be advantageous when a relatively fast production speed is to be attained.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the first element is a raising and lowering plate. Such a plate that can create discontinuous hole structures can be advantageous when the fibers are to be slowly and carefully displaced.
In practical embodiments of the invention, the barbs of the first element are conical or have an involuted shape or an ogival cross-section, whereby the barbs can have a practical height of 0.5-5 mm. Various shapes, sizes and heights of the barbs are used depending on the requirements, of the fleece to be created that can be single-layer multilayer fleece, e.g. a SMS fleece or a combination of fleece and other sheet media.
In another practical embodiment of the invention, the second element is a perforated belt. The fibrous web to be treated can be placed on such a perforated belt and transported to the first element where the barbs of the first element penetrate through the fibrous web into the holes of the perforated belt. Alternately, the second element can be calender roller. A calender roller would also be used as the second element.
In another practical embodiment of the invention, a fleece created by the procedure according to the invention has hole structures with a diameter of 0.5-5 mm, the bonding surface is 3-40% of the fleece surface, and the number of bonding points is 20-120 per square centimeter. Such a number of bonding points and a corresponding diameter of hole structures ensures a sufficient number of bonding points at the edge of the hole structures, and this fixes the hole structure so that the displaced filaments around the hole structures after hardening and thermobonding no longer return to their original position.

Method for producing a non-woven fibre fabric


A light emitting device including a blue-system semiconductor light emitting element, a green-system semiconductor light emitting element, a yellow fluorescent member which absorbs a part of blue light from the blue-system semiconductor light emitting element and emits yellow-system light as excitation light, and a red fluorescent member which absorbs a part of green light from the green-system semiconductor light emitting element and emits red-system light as excitation light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device and an illumination apparatus using the light emitting device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a light emitting diode (LED) device configured to emit white-system light by a combination of a blue LED element and a yellow fluorescent member having a complementary chromatic relationship to blue light emitted from the blue LED element, has been marketed as a package with a high light intensity.
However, there is a problem that the LED device has low color rendering properties and color rendering properties show an index representing the naturalness of color obtained when illuminating. That is to say, because both green and red spectrum components are not included or sufficient in the combination of the blue LED element and the yellow fluorescent member, it has not been possible to obtain sufficient color rendering properties for a backlight of a liquid crystal display, light source for illumination, or the like.
Therefore, what has conventionally been proposed is a light emitting device which is configured to emit the three primary colors and improve the color rendering properties by dispersing both a green fluorescent material 3 and a red fluorescent material 4 in a sealing body 2 covering a blue LED element 1, as shown, for example, in FIG. 7A (see, for reference, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-144331, claims and FIG. 13).
There has also been proposed a light emitting device which is configured to emit the three primary colors and improve the color rendering properties by dispersing each of a blue fluorescent material 7, a green fluorescent material 3 and a red fluorescent material 4 in a sealing body 6 covering an ultraviolet LED element 5, as shown, for example, in FIG. 7B (see, for reference, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-127988, claims and FIG. 2).
However, the following problems may be experienced with the above-mentioned light emitting devices.
The conventional light emitting devices including the combination of a single color LED element such as the blue LED element 1 or ultraviolet LED element 5 and a plurality of fluorescent material such as the blue, green and red fluorescent material 3, 4, 7 and configured to obtain the three primary colors have sufficient color rendering properties, but have low emission efficiency making it difficult to obtain the required light intensity.
In other words, the plurality of the fluorescent material having different colors must be excited by a single color of the single LED element. Accordingly, a high brightness is required for light emitted from the single LED element. In addition, because each of the fluorescent material has a different emission efficiency with respect to the single color of light, it is not possible to obtain sufficient light intensity and good color rendering properties for the light emitting device.

White light source and illumination apparatus using the same


The invention relates to a modified spray head suitable for use with an aerosol composition. Preferably the spray head is suitable for use with an automatic aerosol dispensing device. The spray comprises a single piece of moulded plastic and an angled output section.

Prior art devices for spraying fragrances, deodorising agents and sanitising fluids into a room consist of a mechanically actuated arm which is periodically activated to press down on a spray head secured to an aerosol canister containing the material to be sprayed.
The prior art devices are typically constructed as follows. An outer casing has an opening through which the spray is ejected. The casing has a removable section which is removed to allow a refill canister containing the spray material to be placed in the casing. A moulded spray head, comprised of two discrete parts, a main body 1 and an insert 9, as shown in FIG. 1, is placed over the outlet stem of an aerosol spray can. The spray head has an inlet section having an opening to be placed over the outlet stem of the aerosol canister. The spray head also has an outlet section comprising the insert 9. The actuation arm is located over the spray head and is caused periodically to press against the spray head to cause material from the aerosol can to be ejected through the spray head out of the opening in the casing and into the surroundings. The actuator arm is either battery powered or mains powered and can be set to activate at various time intervals which, for example, may be to activate every seven minutes, every fifteen minutes or every thirty minutes, whichever is set by a user.
A commercial example of such a device is the Air Wick Freshmatic® device.
A problem with the use of these devices is the complexity of their construction. The insert is required to provide the desired characteristics of the spray output. The internal shape and arrangement of the insert is varied to break up the spray output depending many parameters including the pressure of the canister, chemical formulation used, required spray pattern and droplet size.
It is an objective of the present invention to attempt to overcome these problems.


The temperature calibration characteristic curve of a semiconductor component can be readily determined by interconnecting the power connections of the semiconductor component with a first current source for a load current, a second current source for a measurement current and a voltmeter for measuring the voltage drop across the power connections. Furthermore, the semiconductor component is connected to a data processing system and heated by the dissipated power at time intervals when the first current source is connected, and the voltage drop across the power or auxiliary connections is measured when the first current source disconnected and the second current source is connected between the intervals after a time duration determined by the thermal main time constant of the semiconductor component. The temperature of the semiconductor component is separately measured and the temperature calibration characteristic curve is obtained by correlating the measured temperature with the voltage drop.

The invention relates to a method and a device for determining the temperature calibration characteristic curve of a semiconductor component appertaining to power electronics.
Semiconductor components appertaining to power electronics are for example known bipolar transistors with insulated gate electrodes (insulated-gate bipolar transistors, abbreviated to IGBT). Such a component combines the benefits of a bipolar transistor in the form of good on-state behavior and a high blocking voltage with the benefits of a field effect transistor in the form of largely zero-power activation.
Four different basic types are identified in such cases. Depending on the doping of the basic material, n-channel and p-channel power semiconductors can be fabricated. These are divided in each case into a self-conducting and, a self-blocking type. The semiconductor component has the connections collector (C) and emitter (E). The further gate connection (G) serves in all types as a control connection.
To obtain the calibration characteristic curve UCE(T), also referred to as VCE(T), the semiconductor components are passively brought to specific temperature levels and the corresponding UCE voltage is measured there, while a small measurement current Imeas is flowing. The heating up resulting from this process can be ignored.
The passive heating up occurs through an external temperature feed. For this purpose the semiconductor components are brought into an encapsulated heating device and subjected to a constant temperature until such time as the temperature of the semiconductor has reached that of the heating device. A homogeneous temperature distribution obtains in the semiconductor. With the aid of the injected measurement current Imeas a measurement point for the calibration characteristic curve is recorded.
Depending on the number of measurement points needed, a number of temperature levels are thus approached and measured there. The entire process of obtaining the characteristic temperature curve lasts several hours. The calibration process takes place outside the subsequent deployment site. Different structures are used for the measurement and calibration, so that measurement deviations cannot be excluded.
The publication DE 30 37 192 A1 discloses a test method for semiconductor arrangements which delivers characteristic data of the semiconductor at different temperatures in a relatively short time. In this invention the semiconductor arrangement is heated up locally by means of a heating element and the characteristic data is measured at the different temperatures. The test circuit for recording the measurement result remains at room temperature during the method.
Publication DE 38 32 273 A1 contains a method and an arrangement for determining the thermal resistance of IGBT components. For this method the collector-emitter voltage is first measured in the cold state of the IGBT component to be tested, subsequently an electrical power impulse defined in relation to power and duration is applied to the IGBT component and in a second measurement the collector-emitter voltage immediately after the end of the power impulse is determined.

Method and device for determining the temperature calibration characteristic curve of a semiconductor component appertaining to power electronics


A lid for a pack for consumer goods, in particular a pack for smoking articles, comprising a container and a lid being pivotable about a hinge with a lid top wall, a lid front wall, a lid back wall and two opposite lid side walls, wherein the lid further comprises a reinforcement structure bonded to a contact surface of the lid top wall comprising a lid top wall counter panel, a first stabilizing flap and a second stabilizing flap, and wherein the reinforcement structure is further configured such that at least a part of an edge of the first stabilizing flap is aligned with at least part of a first edge of the lid top wall counter panel and at least a part of an edge of the second stabilizing flap is aligned with at least part of a second edge of the lid top wall counter panel.

Although the present invention relates to all kinds of packs of consumer goods, the present invention is described exemplary in relation to packs for cigarettes currently made by folding a packaging blank into a hinged-lid pack. Packs of consumer goods commonly show on their visible outside surface printed information comprising for example branding items and consumer oriented information about the goods as well as any legally compulsory information such as, in the case of cigarette packs, compulsory health warnings. This printed information is printed on one side of the packaging blank before forming of the packs by folding of the packaging blank in such a way that the printed side of the packaging blank forms the outer surface of the pack.
In the tobacco and other heavily regulated industries, the legally compulsory information to be printed on the packs is generally increasing and consequently the corresponding surface area on the outer surface of the packs is also increasing. As a consequence the remaining surface area for other consumer directed information such as branding and product information is proportionally decreasing.
Consumer goods manufacturers therefore seek for optimization of the available printing surface area on the packs to communicate product information to consumers while complying with all compulsory legal requirements.
WO 2014/097200 A1 describes a hinge-lid pack for smoking articles, which shall provide additional information visible for its purchaser on an inner surface of the lid top wall of the lid of the pack after the opening of the pack. To provide the additional information on the inner surface of the lid top wall of the lid, the pack comprises a counter panel structure extending from the lid's front wall and being folded inside the lid against the lid's front, top and back walls. However, the pack described in WO 2014/097200 A1 with the special lid is particularly difficult to form and to close due to the additional material layer created by the counter panel structure on the inside of the lid, in particular on the back and top walls. This additional material layer further increases significantly the material costs for manufacturing the pack.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide at least one improved opportunity for increasing communication space in a hinge-lid pack with information printed on an inner surface of its lid top wall without the disadvantages listed above.

Pack for consumer goods and a packaging blank and a method for folding a pack for consumer goods


Novel substituted liposaccharides useful as in the prophylactic and affirmative treatment of endotoxemia including sepsis, septicemia and various forms of septic shock and methods of using these agents are provided. Also provided are methods of preparing these agents and intermediates useful therein.

The invention relates to analogs of Lipid A which are useful as inhibitors of endotoxemia.
The incidence of gram negative bacteremia in the United States has been estimated to be approximately 100,000 to 300,000 cases per year, with a mortality rate of 30-60%. Antibiotics are commonly used as the primary chemotherapy for this disease; however, their bactericidal action can result in disruption of the bacterium and concomitant release of endotoxin, i.e., the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) moiety of the bacterial outer membrane. The liberated LPS induces a number of pathophysiological events in mammals (collectively referred to as gram-negative endotoxemia or sepsis syndrome). These include fever, generalized inflammation, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), hypotension, acute renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), hepatocelluiar destruction and cardiac failure.
Although endotoxin initiates septic shock, it has little or no direct toxic effect on tissues; instead, it triggers an immunobiological response leading to a cascade of release of cytokines such as tumor-necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1, interieukin-6 and interieukin-8, and other biological mediators such as nitric oxide, as well as an array of secondary mediators (e.g., prostaglandins, leukotrienes, interferons, platelet-activating factor, endorphins and colony-stimulating factors). Generation of pathophysiological concentrations of these cytokines and inflammatory mediators influence vasomotor tone, microvascular permeability and the aggregation of leukocytes and platelets causing a syndrome termed systemic inflammatory response syndrome (or SIRS) and septic shock.
The bacterial lipopolysaccharide molecule has three main regions: a long chain polysaccharide (O Antigen), a core region and a Lipid A region. The entire lipopolysaccharide molecule, as well as some of its individual components possess toxic effects described above. Most of these toxic effects, however, are believed to be attributable to the Lipid A portion. Structurally, Lipid A is composed of a diphosphorylated disaccharide acylated by long chain fatty acids.
Therapies for endotoxin-related diseases have generally been directed towards controlling the inflammatory response. Such therapies include corticosteriod treatment, suggested to ameliorate endotoxin-mediated cell membrane injury and to reduce production of certain biological mediators; administration of antibodies designed to neutralize bacterial LPS; treatment with agents to suppress hypotension or with naloxone which apparently blocks the hypotensive effects associated with sepsis syndrome; and treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, purported to block cyclooxygenanses and thereby decrease the production of certain secondary mediators such as prostaglandins and thromboxane.
However, none of these therapies to date has resulted in significant reduction in the morbidity and mortality resulting from sepsis and septic shock syndrome. Thus there is a long felt need for agents to affirmatively treat this disorder.
Christ, et al., "Anti-Endotoxin Compounds," U.S. Ser. No. 07/935,050, filed Aug. 25, 1992, the contents of which are included by reference, disclose certain disaccharide compounds, such as B531 shown below, useful for the treatment of endotoxemia. ##STR1##
Other references which disclose certain lipodisaccharides include Macher, et al., Great Britain patent 2,179,945, Meyers, et al., Great Britain patent 2,220,211, Shiba, et al., European patent 172,581, Anderson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,346 and Shiba, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,794.

Substituted liposaccharides useful in the treatment and prevention of endotoxemia


The invention relates generally to methods, systems, and devices for measuring the concentration of target analytes present in a biological system using a series of measurements obtained from a monitoring system and a Mixtures of Experts (MOE) algorithm. In one embodiment, the present invention describes a method for measuring blood glucose in a subject.

The Mixtures of Experts model is a statistical method for classification and regression (Waterhouse, S., "Classification and Regression Using Mixtures of Experts, October 1997, Ph.D. Thesis, Cambridge University). Waterhouse discusses Mixtures of Experts models from a theoretical perspective and compares them with other models, such as, trees, switching regression models, modular networks. The first extension described in Waterhouse's thesis is a constructive algorithm for learning model architecture and parameters, which is inspired by recursive partitioning. The second extension described in Waterhouse's thesis uses Bayesian methods for learning the parameters of the model. These extensions are compared empirically with the standard Mixtures of Experts model and with other statistical models on small to medium sized data sets. Waterhouse also describes the application of the Mixtures of Experts framework to acoustic modeling within a large vocabulary speech recognition system.
The Mixtures of Experts model has been employed in protein secondary structure prediction (Barlow, T. W., Journal Of Molecular Graphics, 13 (3), p. 175-183, 1995). In this method input data were clustered and used to train a series different networks. Application of a Hierarchical Mixtures of Experts to the prediction of protein secondary structure was shown to provide no advantages over a single network.
Mixtures of Experts algorithms have also been applied to the analysis of a variety of different kinds of data sets including the following: human motor systems (Ghahramani, Z. and Wolpert, D. M., Nature, 386 (6623): 392-395, 1997); and economic analysis (Hamilton, J. D. and Susmel, R., Journal of Econometrics, 64 (1-2): 307-333, 1994).

Method and device for predicting physiological values


According to one embodiment, there is provided an image reading device including a conveyance unit, a reading unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit is configured to convey a sheet to a reading surface. The reading unit is configured to read a predetermined pattern image formed on the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit for each of a plurality of reading candidate positions on the reading surface which are different from each other in a conveyance direction of the sheet. The control unit is configured to cause a reading position of the reading unit to be moved in the conveyance direction on the reading surface by causing the reading unit to be moved based on reading magnification of each of the pattern images read for each of the reading candidate positions.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a multi-function peripheral (MFP) is provided with an image reading device that reads a document. In an image reading device including an automatic document feeder (ADF), through-read glass is disposed at a position (hereinafter referred to as "reading position") where a conveyed document is read. A document moving on the reading position by being conveyed by the ADF is read by an image scanning optical system fixed near the reading position.
For example, dust such as paper dust generated by conveyance of a paper sheet may adhere to the through-read glass. When a document is read with dust adhered, dust present as dots appears as longitudinal stripes extending in a document feeding direction (sub-scanning direction) in an image. As such, when dust adheres to the through-read glass, image quality is significantly deteriorated.
At a position (hereinafter, referred to as "contact position") where the conveyed paper sheet and the through-read glass come into contact with each other, the adhered dust may be scraped out as the paper sheet is conveyed. The adhered dust is scraped out, for example, by friction with an edge of the paper sheet or a front surface of the paper sheet. In this way, a self-cleaning effect occurs at the contact position. For that reason, deterioration of the image quality can be suppressed by setting the contact position as the reading position.
However, in a manufacturing process of the image forming apparatus, component tolerance, variation during product assembly, and the like may occur. As a result, the contact position and the reading position are not always coincident with each other. For that reason, there is a problem that the document may not be read at the contact position where the self-cleaning effect is high.

Moving a reading position of an image reading devices based on a reading magnification of pattern images


A terminal device is provided such that in a case that closed-loop UE transmit antenna selection is configured, a bit sequence is given by scrambling CRC parity bits with an RNTI and an antenna selection mask, in a case that the number of the CRC parity bits is a first value, a first transmit antenna port is given by a first antenna selection mask, and in a case that the number of the CRC parity bits is a second value, the first transmit antenna port is given by a second antenna selection mask that is different from the first antenna selection mask.

In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a radio access method and a radio network for cellular mobile communications (hereinafter, referred to as "Long Term Evolution (LTE)," or "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA)") have been considered (NPL 1, NPL 2, NPL 3, NPL 4, and NPL 5). In LTE, a base station device is also referred to as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), and a terminal device is also referred to as a User Equipment (UE). LTE is a cellular communication system in which an area is divided into a plurality of cells to form a cellular pattern, each of the cells being served by a base station device. A single base station device may manage a plurality of cells.
LTE supports a Time Division Duplex (TDD). LTE that employs a TDD scheme is also referred to as TD-LTE or LTE TDD. In TDD, uplink signals and downlink signals are time-division multiplexed. LTE supports a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD).
In 3GPP, Carrier Aggregation is specified such that a terminal device is capable of simultaneously performing transmission and/or reception on five serving cells (component carriers) at most.
Further, in the 3GPP, a configuration, in which a terminal device simultaneously performs transmission and/or reception on more than five serving cells (component carriers), is studied. Furthermore, a configuration, in which a terminal device performs transmission of a physical uplink control channel on a secondary cell that is a serving cell different from a primary cell, is studied (NPL 6).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Terminal device, base station device, communication method, and integrated circuit


A system and method are provided for determining object access to a resource by comparing reference inputs from an object profile, an object selection profile, an environmental status, and/or a complex outcome to one or more resource profile reference conditions contained in one or more resource profiles. The object profile reference input comparison to the resource profile reference conditions is based on a plurality of object profile categories each including a plurality of hierarchically linked object profile values. The object profile represents no more than one object profile value for each object profile category. The object selection profile reference input comparison to the resource profile reference conditions is based on a plurality of object selection profile categories each including a plurality of hierarchically linked object selection profile values. The object selection profile includes one or more object selection profile values for a particular object selection profile category.

Access of objects to resources such as, software applications, web services, physical containers or even facilities, are becoming increasingly difficult to manage via access control lists (ACLs) or group policies. An "object" typically represents a person or thing seeking resource access. ACLs usually grant resource access by evaluating an object's name or unique identifier and comparing it to a pre-approved list. If an object, such as a user, is re-assigned, changes clearance, or is promoted, access to resources should also change. Currently, ACL resource managers (RMs) must evaluate personnel records to determine resource access. Such a task can become time-consuming and inefficient as the number of personnel and resources within an organization grow. Limited access to personnel records by RMs could compound the problem.
Another limitation with ACLs and group policies is their inability to accurately and quickly respond to the existence of constantly changing environmental statuses. Homeland Security and regional Information Assurance (IA) agencies are authorized to impose security levels (environmental condition) within their jurisdiction. Access to a wide range of resources by many objects should be affected at the precise time a security level (environmental status) changes. Sudden changes in security conditions may not allow sufficient time to modify an ACL or group, thereby creating possible security breaches by un-authorized resource access. Finer granularity of resource access may be required during certain security conditions.
In addition to the above features, an RM may also find it beneficial to establish a policy that forces the object to make a set of selections or provide information, the result of which can then be compared with the policy conditions to either grant or deny resource access. Conditioning access based upon information dynamically obtained from an object provides for a greater level of resource security.
An access control system having the above-identified capabilities is non-existent in the art and is highly desirable.

Enterprise dynamic access control system and method using an object selection profile

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The invention relates to a composition of ionisable fluoropolymers, in particular to polymer compositions comprising: a) at least one fluorinated ionisable polymer (A), which comprises recurring fluorinated blocks and recurring functional blocks, each of said recurring functional blocks comprising at least one ionisable anionic group, and in which polymer (A) at least one of the said recurring functional blocks is comprised between two fluorinated blocks; b) at least one fluorinated ionisable polymer (B), which comprises recurring fluorinated blocks and recurring functional blocks, each of said recurring functional blocks comprising at least one ionisable cationic group, and in which polymer (B) at least one of the said recurring functional blocks is comprised between two fluorinated blocks; wherein the ratio between the ionic equivalents of polymer (A) and the ionic equivalents of polymer (B) ranges from 1.1 to 0.9.

Elastomeric compositions based on supramolecular polymer assemblies are known, for example, from US 2009062551 (ARKEMA FRANCE). This application discloses a material comprising at least one molecule with a molecular mass from 9 to 9000 g/mol, in particular a molecule derived from fatty acids, namely saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids containing at least five carbon atoms, such as linear or branched diacids, and dimers or trimers of fatty acids of plant origin. Each molecule comprises at least three associative functional groups which allow to form intermolecular bonds; in particular, this prior art document discloses associative functional groups able to form hydrogen bonds. These materials become fluid above a certain temperature and, upon cooling, they exhibit again the properties of rubber elasticity and are said to be self-repairing. US 2009062521 does not disclose groups that contain ionisable groups able to form intermolecular ionic bonds.
WO 2010/000715 (SOLVAY SOLEXIS SPA) discloses compositions for imparting grease, oil- and water-repellence to substrates; the compositions comprise at least a (per)fluoropolyether derivative which contains at least one fluorinated block and at least one urethane block of formula:—OC(O)—NH—E—NH—C(O)O—wherein E is a divalent hydrocarbon group, optionally comprising one or more aromatic rings. The fluorinated block may contain at least one functional block comprising at least one ionisable group, like a sulfonic acid group, a carboxy group or an amino group. This document does not disclose or suggest compositions comprising (per)fluoropolyether derivatives with opposite charges, i.e. at least one (per)fluoropolyether derivative comprising fluorinated blocks containing at least one ionisable anionic group and at least one (per)fluoropolyether derivative comprising fluorinated blocks containing at least one ionisable cationic group in a defined ratio of ionic equivalents. Furthermore, the compositions disclosed in this document do not form materials endowed with elastomeric and/or self-healing properties.
WO 2008/138927 (SOLVAY SOLEXIS SPA) relates to fluorinated polyurethane compositions for imparting water- and oil-repellence and soil release properties to textile substrates. The polyurethane is a (per)fluoropolyether urethane comprising at least one fluorinated block and at least one functional block, wherein the functional block contains at least one ionisable group. The urethane moiety joining the fluorinated block and the functional block together complies with formula:—OC(O)—NH—E—NH—C(O)O—wherein E is a divalent hydrocarbon group, optionally comprising one or more aromatic rings. Similarly to WO 2010/000715, WO 2008/138927 does not disclose or suggest to prepare compositions based on (per)fluoropolyether polyurethanes with functional blocks having opposite charges in a defined ratio of ionic equivalents.
WO 2007/102993 (3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO) relates to surface active block copolymers, their use in the manufacture of a foam composition and articles comprising the polymerised foam composition. The fluorinated block polymers comprise a (per)fluorinated block and may also contain functional blocks typically having one or more polar groups, such as carboxy, sulphonic or amino groups. Neither the description, nor the examples specifically disclose or suggest compositions comprising block copolymers containing functional blocks having opposite charges in a defined ratio of ionic equivalents.
WO 2010/028226 (ARROWSTAR LLC) discloses compositions for imparting water and oil repellency to fibers, the compositions comprising a fluorinated polyurethane having a plurality of ionisable groups. This document discloses in particular a mixture of a cationic fluorinated polyurethane, namely Fluorolink® 5032 polyurethane, and an anionic fluorinated polyurethane, namely Fluorolink® P56 polyurethane; the compositions further comprise an acrylic polymer and are in the liquid form. Example 2, in particular, discloses a composition containing 8.8% by weight Fluorolink® 5032 polyurethane and 30.0% by weight Fluorolink® P56 polyurethane. From the Applicant's calculations, it appears that the two polymers are not present in a stoichiometric equivalent ratio of ionic groups with opposite charges. Indeed, the equivalent weight of Fluorolink® 5032 polyurethane is 0.25 eq/kg and the equivalent weight of Fluorolink® P56 polyurethane is 0.49 eq/kg; accordingly, in the compositions of example 2, the equivalent ratio between Fluorolink® 5032 polyurethane and Fluorolink® P56 polyurethane is calculated to be 0.2, while the equivalent ratio between Fluorolink® P56 polyurethane and Fluorolink® 5032 polyurethane is calculated to be 6.7.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,457 (HITACHI) relates to a magnetic recording medium having a lubricant layer comprising ionically interbonded fluoropolyethers with acidic and basic terminal groups; preferably, each fluoropolyether has at least two acidic terminal groups or basic terminal groups in one molecule. According to a specific embodiment, the fluoropolyether containing acidic terminal groups complies with formulaHO2C(CF2O)n(CF2CF2O)mCF2CO2H,wherein m and n are integers, while the perfluoropolyether containing basic terminal groups complies with formula H2NHCH2CHNO2C(CF2O)n(CF2CF2O)mCF2CO2NHCH2CH2NH2,where m and n are integers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,457 does not disclose or suggests polymer mixtures based on fluoropolyethers containing recurring fluoropolyether blocks and recurring cationic or anionic blocks wherein at least one of the cationic or anionic blocks is between two fluoropolyether blocks.

Compositions of ionisable fluoropolymers


The size of a fusible link (22C.sub.F) created from part of a metal layer (22) is controlled by an oxidation performed in a deposition chamber that is also used for depositing a dielectric layer (30) over the fuse structure. The metal layer serves as a diffusion barrier between semiconductor material (14 and 16) and another metal layer (24).

Fusible links are employed in integrated circuits to create programmable elements. To reduce the number of processing steps needed to fabricate a programmable integrated circuit, the material used to make fuses often serves other purposes in the circuit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,860 describes a programmable memory in which a patterned layer of titanium-tungsten nitride provides fusible links and also functions as a barrier metal between semiconductor material and another metal in the electrical interconnection system for the memory.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,860, the starting point for defining a fusible link is a monocrystalline silicon semiconductor body having a dielectric layer along its upper surface. Several apertures extend through the dielectric layer down to the silicon. Thin metal silicide films lie along the silicon at the bottoms of some of the apertures.
A blanket layer of titanium-tungsten nitride (approximate formula TiW.sub.2 N) is deposited on the dielectric layer and into the apertures down to the silicon or metal silicide. The TiW.sub.2 N layer is patterned so as to leave a main portion of the titanium-tungsten nitride in an elongated lateral shape consisting of a pair of end sections and an intermediate section extending between the end sections. The intermediate TiW.sub.2 N section, which reaches a width much less than that of either end section, constitutes the fusible link. Other TiW.sub.2 N portions remain in the apertures having the metal silicide films.
A first electrical interconnect layer is created by depositing a blanket layer of aluminum on the upper surface of the structure and patterning the aluminum to remove selected parts, including all the aluminum on the TiW.sub.2 N fusible link. Aluminum remains on both TiW.sub.2 N sections at the ends of the fuse. Aluminum also remains on the TiW.sub.2 N portions in the apertures having the metal silicide films. The titanium-tungsten nitride in these apertures acts as a diffusion barrier to prevent the aluminum and silicon from intermixing.
A second dielectric layer is deposited on the upper surface of the structure. Apertures are then etched through the second dielectric layer down to selected parts of the patterned first aluminum. The basic interconnection system for the memory is completed by providing the structure with a patterned second aluminum layer that lies on the second dielectric layer and extends through the apertures in it down to the first aluminum.
To program the memory element containing the fuse, a suitable high voltage is applied between the TiW.sub.2 N sections at the ends of the fuse. This creates an open circuit by causing the fusible link to melt (at the narrowest cross-section).
One difficulty with using the same material for both the fuse and barrier metal, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,860, is that the fuse and barrier metal have certain opposing requirements. The barrier metal effectiveness is compromised if the metal is too thin. On the other hand, the fuse blows easier when there is less metal to melt.
Given an acceptable minimum barrier metal thickness (e.g., 1,000 angstroms), one way of approaching the problem is to make the fuse quite narrow. That is, the "width" of the fuse in the lateral direction perpendicular to the current flow should be made small. However, with conventional photolithographic/etching equipment of reasonable cost, the minimum achievable width is approximately 1 micron with a fairly wide variation. This frequently results in a fuse resistance that is too low. Consequently, the programming yield is poor.
The fuse resistance can be controlled by performing an oxidation on the fuse after it has been photolithographically defined and etched. See published Japanese patent application 59-54240. The oxidation reduces both the width and thickness of the fuse, thereby increasing its resistance.
A disadvantage of the foregoing Japanese application is that a buffer metal is used between the fuse metal and the overlying interconnect layer. The buffer metal is patterned at the same time as the interconnect layer and then, after the oxidation, is etched further to reduce the lateral area. The use and further etching of the buffer metal increase the fabrication time and expense.

Fabrication method using oxidation to control size of fusible link

North American Philips Corp., Signetics Division


In a seat cushion for a vehicle seat, the seat cushion is joined to a frame by a disengageable locking apparatus that has a wire spring engaging behind a mushroom head. The wire spring has two opposite limbs that at their one end are joined to one another and at their other end are open. In order to ensure a secure attachment, the two limbs of the wire spring may have at their open end an eye which engages behind a strut shaped onto the cushion shell.

The present invention relates to a seat cushion.
Such seat cushions are principally used, in practice, in the back-seat area of vehicles, where space is limited and usually there is no installation space available for bolting the seat cushions to the vehicle. The seat cushion nevertheless needs to be immovably anchored and easy to install.
German Published Patent Application No. 195 24 174 describes a seat cushion that has a locking apparatus having a wire spring that coacts with a catch head. Upon assembly, the seat cushion locks automatically by the application of pressure from above onto the seat cushion, whereupon the wire spring is spread apart by the catch head and then engages in interlocking fashion behind it. A disadvantage with this apparatus is that the introduction of large forces can cause the wire spring to yield and bend. The risk then exists that it may come out of engagement with the catch head and release the seat cushion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat cushion that may be easily installed and easily replaced, in which context the seat cushion may not accidentally come loose when large forces occur.
The above and other beneficial objects of the present invention may be achieved by providing a seat cushion as described herein.
An example embodiment of a seat cushion has a locking apparatus having a two-limbed wire spring that engages behind a mushroom head. The two limbs of the wire spring are joined to one another at one end and open at the other end. The wire spring may be arranged, for example, from one piece of spring wire that is appropriately shaped. At the open end, the limbs of the wire spring each have an eye which, when the locking apparatus is locked, engages behind a strut shaped onto the cushion shell. The two limbs of the wire spring are fixed at both ends and may not move away from one another. At one end the limbs are joined to one another, and at the other end they are immobilized by the eyes that are in engagement with the cushion shell. As a result, in the locked position the wire spring may always be in engagement with the mushroom head. The locking apparatus may thus remain securely locked even when large forces are introduced.
To allow easy replacement of the seat cushion, provision may be made for the locking apparatus to be arranged disengageably. It has a manual actuation element that is joined to the wire spring, e.g., retains the joined end of the wire spring. The actuation element transfers the pressure introduced by manual actuation directly to the wire spring and forces it in the opening direction.
An example embodiment provides for the spring to be arranged in approximately a U-shape, the limbs of the wire spring being shaped and/or positioned as mirror images of one another. Each limb may have at least one obliquely extending segment that coacts with an oblique guidance surface, e.g., a spreader element. When the wire spring is acted upon in the opening direction, it moves linearly along the oblique guidance surface, is spread as a result of the obliquely shaped limb segments, and comes out of engagement with the mushroom head.
An example embodiment provides for the wire spring to have a spring tension that moves the two limbs toward one another. By coaction of the spreader wedges and the oblique segments of the spring limbs, the spring tension forces the wire spring in the closing direction, so that the locking apparatus automatically locks.
A further example embodiment provides for the strut beneath which the eye engages to be arranged as a spreader wedge. The strut may have on one side a pocket and/or a groove into which the eye engages. The other side of the strut may be arranged as an oblique surface that is in contact with, and guides, an oblique segment of the limb of the wire spring.
To ensure easy actuation of the locking apparatus on the one hand and secure retention of the seat cushion on the other hand, provision may be made for each limb of the wire spring to have at least two oblique segments. A first oblique segment is positioned before the mushroom head and a second after the mushroom head, in order to immobilize the wire spring on both sides of the mushroom head. The oblique segments may be arranged such that they at least partially wrap around the wire spring and thus guide and retain it.
Provision may be made for use of the seat cushion according to the present invention in bench seats and individual seats in the back-seat area of a vehicle and/or in individual seats e.g., in buses or rail vehicles or aircraft, etc.
Further aspects and example embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the Figures. The features and feature combinations described above and described below are usable not only in the particular combination indicated but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Further example embodiments of the present invention are depicted and explained in the Figures.


An in-vehicle device performing communication with a mobile terminal device includes a vehicle exterior communication unit, an in-vehicle detection unit that detects a vehicle present location, a vehicle interior communication unit that acquires detection information on an object from a detection unit, and an in-vehicle control unit that generates recognition information including position information on the object based on vehicle position information indicating the vehicle present location and the detection information on the object and makes the vehicle exterior communication unit deliver the recognition information. The vehicle exterior communication unit receives existence notification information transmitted from the mobile terminal device when the mobile terminal device receiving the recognition information judges that the in-vehicle device has not recognized existence of a first object equipped with the mobile terminal device.

There have been proposed various types of wireless communication systems for preventing traffic accidents by notifying a pedestrian or a driver of another vehicle of the existence of a host vehicle (i.e., calling attention) through direct wireless communication (i.e., wireless communication not via a telephone network) between an in-vehicle device installed in the vehicle (host vehicle) and a mobile terminal device provided on the object (e.g., a pedestrian or a another vehicle) (see Patent References 1 and 2, for example).
The Patent Reference 1 describes a wireless communication system in which an in-vehicle wireless communication device (in-vehicle device) installed in a vehicle and a pedestrian mobile wireless communication device (mobile terminal device) carried by a pedestrian perform direct wireless communication. In this system, the in-vehicle device transmits a pedestrian transmission signal including identification information (ID) on the mobile terminal device to the mobile terminal device. The mobile terminal device judges whether or not identification information on the mobile terminal device itself is included in the received pedestrian transmission signal, and calls attention of the pedestrian if the identification information on the mobile terminal device itself is not included in the received pedestrian transmission signal.
The Patent Reference 2 describes a traffic information communication system in which an in-vehicle communication device (in-vehicle device) installed in a vehicle and a cellular phone device (mobile terminal device) carried by a pedestrian perform wireless communication. In this system, the in-vehicle device identifies a mobile terminal device as the target of the attention by using an identifier (ID) acquired from the mobile terminal device and transmits information including the ID of the mobile terminal device. The mobile terminal device receiving the information outputs an attention display on an output unit of the mobile terminal device if the ID included in the received information coincides with the ID of the mobile terminal device (host terminal).

In-vehicle device, mobile terminal device, recognition support system, recognition support method, and recognition support program


A computer-implemented method is disclosed for layout pattern or layout constraint reuse by identifying sub-circuits with identical or similar schematic structure based on a topology comparison strategy. The selected sub-circuit is transformed into a topology representing the relative positions among the instances of the selected sub-circuit. Based on the topology, one or more sub-circuits with identical or similar topologies in a predefined scope of a schematic are recognized and identified. Accordingly, the layout or the layout constraint of the selected sub-circuit is copied and associated to each of the identified sub-circuits. Furthermore, once the sub-circuits are identified, they can be listed on a user interface with notations to allow users to confirm each of the identified sub-circuits respectively.

I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a computer-implemented method for electronic design automation (EDA) to generate a layout for a circuit and, in particular, to generate a layout for an analog circuit based on schematics.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Since invented in 1960s, the size of an integrated circuit (IC) has grown quickly. Twenty years ago, an IC might comprise hundreds to thousands of basic cells. Today, an IC may comprise thousands to millions of basic cells.
There are many forms to represent a circuit design; the forms mainly include a netlist and a schematic. A netlist which is described in text form lists all the components and the connections among the components. However, compared with a netlist, a schematic can further include the topology of all the components in the circuit. One could easily understand the structure of a circuit network with the schematic of the circuit network. That is, schematic design flow is a more intuitive way to design the circuit network. As a result, schematic design flow is nowadays broadly taken as a useful method for designing an analog IC.
As the IC nowadays includes thousands to millions of basic cells, it's getting more difficult for an engineer to draw the layout of each of basic cells. Consequently, it is desired to develop methods and/or tools to help engineers in order to reduce the time of drawing a layout. There are some electronic design automation (EDA) tools which are developed to cut short the time of drawing a layout. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,779, a sub-circuit in a netlist is compared with standard cells in a library. If the circuit structure of the sub-circuit, that is, the basic cells with parameters and the connection relationship thereof, is identical to one of the standard cells, the sub-circuit is recognized as the same as the standard cell; and the layout of the standard cell is then copied and associated to the sub-circuit. With this method, the time of drawing a layout is shortened.
While generating a layout of a digital circuit, a netlist design flow is usually useful because there are typically well-developed standard libraries for translating each gate of the digital circuit to a corresponding standard cell. The reason is that there are few variants of each type of basic functional block and most of them are well described. For example, there are only four types of broadly used full-adders, namely ripple adder, carry-look-ahead adder, carry-select adder, and Manchester chain. Further, in most of the IC design, the ripple adder meets the requirement and that kind of adder is supported and described in the standard library. Hence, netlist design flow is capable for generating the layout of a digital circuit.
However, the netlist design flow is not that powerful for saving the time of drawing a layout of an analog circuit and/or a high performance digital circuit. In an analog circuit design and/or a high performance digital circuit design, the circuit structures are usually different from typical circuit structures described in the standard library. As a result, most circuits in the analog circuit design and/or in the digital circuit design cannot be recognized with the netlist design flow. Thus, time of drawing a layout of an analog circuit and/or a high performance digital circuit can not be significantly reduced by using the netlist design flow.
Therefore, what is needed is a method which can recognize circuits which have similar circuit structures to allow circuit designers to reuse the layouts of those circuit structures. With such method, the time of drawing layout of analog circuits and/or high performance digital circuits can be significantly reduced.

Method of schematic driven layout creation


A bracket assembly for mounting a link chain includes first and second opposed mirror image brackets each bracket having a uniformly thick base flange for mounting on a surface for support and an upstanding transverse link attachment flange which includes spaced openings symmetrically positioned for replication of a chain link plate and for attachment of the plates of a chain link to a pair of opposed spaced brackets.

In a principal aspect the invention relates to a bracket assembly in combination with a link chain wherein the link chain is comprised of an elongate series of connected, spaced plates that may be driven by a sprocket drive.
Various types of machinery incorporate link chains which may be driven by a drive sprocket. The link chain is comprised of spaced plates that are interconnected by pins. The gear teeth of a drive sprocket engage between the spaced plates and upon rotation of the drive sprocket cause movement of the chain. In this manner, the chain which is connected to some moving part of a machine is caused to reciprocate, rotate or otherwise move.
For example, such link chains are fastened in some fashion to a reciprocating machine member or element such as a cutter blade. A sprocket drive engaged with the link chain may thus effect reciprocal movement of the blade.
Various assemblies have been proposed for attachment of the link chain to an element of a machine to thereby utilize the movement, such as reciprocal movement, of the link chain to drive that element. Design of bracket assemblies for this purpose thus becomes a significant challenge inasmuch as such assemblies must be cooperative with link chains and at the same time be easily fastened onto a machine element. Also such assemblies must also be sized in a manner that will enable them to work efficiently with various types and sizes of machine elements.

Bracket construction for mounting a link chain


An insert for a dental prosthesis screwed onto an implant, in particular of the type having a superstructure and an implant to be integrated in the bone, which are reciprocally joined by a screw. The insert is composed of an element made of a damping material interposed between the coupling surface of the superstructure and the implant. With an insert according to the invention, a dental prosthesis screwed onto an implant is obtained, which reproduces the natural anchoring state of the tooth to the bone, so that the stress peaks on the superstructure are damped before being discharged onto the implant and consequently also onto the bone. An insert according to the invention also offers the advantage of sealing the contact area between the superstructure and the implant, thus preventing dangerous bacterial infiltrations.

The fixing of a superstructure onto an implant is traditionally effected by direct contact between the parts, i.e. without any intermediate elements suitable for separating the respective contact surfaces. Any stress on the superstructure, generated in particular by mastication, is consequently discharged directly onto the implant and therefore also onto the bone sustaining it. The stress peaks transmitted onto the contact surface between the bone and the implant are, however, particularly detrimental as they can cause the detachment of the implant from its seat and consequently instability of the prosthesis, with a possible loss of the implant.


Methods for preparing an electrode comprise: providing a mixture of carbon particles and a solvent and shearing the mixture to form a dispersion of the carbon particles in the solvent; adding non-fibrillated POLY(TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE) to the dispersion to provide a resultant mixture and shearing the resultant mixture until at least a portion of the poly(tetrafluoroethylene) has been fibrillated; processing the resultant mixture into a sheet; and attaching the sheet onto a current collector. Methods for preparing sheet for the electrode and composition for the sheet are also provided.

This disclosure relates generally to electrodes and, more specifically, to methods for preparing composition, sheet comprising the composition, and electrode comprising the sheet and used in electrochemical device such as supercapacitor, fuel cell and supercapacitor desalination.
Supercapacitors are energy storage devices having high capacitance per unit mass (of the order of several tens of farads per gram (F/g) of active material to about 100 F/g of active material) and high instantaneous specific power. Supercapacitor electrosorption deionization is proposed recently as a new desalination technology to lower water treatment cost and prevent environmental pollution.
A supercapacitor comprises two identical electrodes, an electrolyte, and a separator sandwiched by the electrodes and permeable to ions of the electrolyte. Supercapacitors are categorized into different types depending on the structure of the electrodes and the nature of the electrolytes. One type of supercapacitors has an organic electrolyte and activated carbon electrodes with a large specific surface area lying in the range 1000 m2/g to 3000 m2/g, and operates electrostatically.
The activated carbon electrodes of a supercapacitor are obtained by depositing a paste sheet on a current collector. The paste is a mixture of an active carbon, a solvent, and a binder. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is commonly used as the electrode binder.
In preparing the paste sheet, PTFE, carbon and solvents are mixed under high shear and high temperature, biaxially calendered at high temperature, extruded into the final form at high temperature, and dried at high temperature to remove the solvents. High temperatures, especially those approaching the boiling point of water, cause water lost quickly. As water is lost, the viscosity of the material rises in an uncontrolled manner, the rate of fibrillation of PTFE increases quickly, and it is very difficult to fibrillate the PTFE to a consistent level. Drying also causes water that had been incorporated into the very small pores within and around the carbon particles to be removed as vapor. It usually takes an extremely long time to rewet the carbon PTFE material and some of the originally wet internal pores of the carbon PTFE material even cannot get rewetted again.
It has been proposed to run this operation at room temperature, low shear rate and without drying. However, this method mixes all materials in one step (one-step method) and induces non-uniform mixing of PTFE and poor fibrillation of PTFE, resulting in poor electrode sheet. Furthermore, this method usually takes a relatively long time.
A need therefore exists for improved methods for preparing composition, sheet comprising the composition and electrode comprising the sheet.


A multichannel interpolator has an input that receives input data that consists of interleaved channel data from a plurality of data channels. A block random access memory (BRAM) stores data samples from the input data received from the input. Input control logic receives the data samples from the input and places the data samples into the BRAM. Interpolator logic interpolates the data samples to produce output data. The output data is interpolated at an interpolation ratio programmed by a user. The interpolator logic includes a phase generator that calculates a value indicating the interpolation ratio, and a fractional template block that provides a fractional template used to interpolate the data samples to produce the output data, the fraction template block selecting, based on the value calculated by the phase generator. The fractional template is used to interpolate the data samples to produce the output data. Output control logic accesses the BRAM to provide the interpolator logic with the data samples stored in the BRAM as the data samples are needed to interpolate the data samples to produce the output data.

A signal generator generates electronic signals with set properties of amplitude, frequency and wave shape. The generated signals can be used as a stimulus for designing and testing electronic systems.
When generating a signal, interpolation can be used to increase the number of discrete digital waveform data samples. When a data stream includes multiple data channels, the interpolation is done separately for each data channel. A separate interpolator logic can be used for interpolation of each data channel. Alternatively, a single interpolator circuit can be used to interpolate multiple data channels within a data stream.


The application provides a Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling device including an information acquisition unit configured to acquire working state information or application scenario information of a chip connected with the Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling device in real time and a voltage frequency scaling unit configured to send voltage frequency scaling information to the chip according to the working state information or the application scenario information of the chip. The embodiment of the application dynamically scales the voltage frequency on chip-level and reduces the power consumption of chips.

Along with increase of a working frequency and constant development of a semiconductor process, a problem about power consumption of a chip has become an important factor considered for a deep sub-nanometer integrated circuit. Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS) is a DVFS technology which is widely adopted for the field of semiconductors at present. The DVFS technology dynamically scales a running frequency and voltage of a chip (for the same chip, if the frequency is higher, a higher voltage is required), thereby achieving a purpose of saving energy. However, in related arts, there are no DVFS methods and corresponding device designs applied to intelligent chips and it is impossible to complete advanced scaling over a voltage and a frequency of a chip by use of application scenario information.

Dynamic voltage frequency scaling device and method

SHANGHAI CAMBRICON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


A pipeline control system for implementing a virtual architecture having a complex instruction set is distributed over RISC-like semi-autonomous functional units in a processor. Decoder logic fetches instructions of the target architecture and translates them into simpler RISC-like operations. These operations, each having an associated tag, are issued to the functional units. Address processing unit computes addresses of the instructions and operands, performs segment relocation, and manages the processor's memory. Operations are executed by the units in a manner that is generally independent of operation processing by the other units. The units report termination information back to the decoder logic, but do not irrevocably change the state of the machine. Based on the termination information, the decoder logic retires normally terminated operations in order. Thus, the functional units enable multiple operations to be executed in a speculative and out-of-order manner to fully utilize the resources of the processor.

The present invention relates generally to computers, and more particularly to techniques for advanced processor design and operation.
The explosion of the Personal Computer industry has until recently been fueled primarily by the 68000 family incorporated into most Apple Macintosh personal computers and the x86 family incorporated into most IBM-PC compatible products (PCs). The IBM-PC quickly achieved a dominant position due to its open architecture that allowed a host of vendors to make compatible peripherals and system units. The PC is now a mass-market consumer item.
The initial IBM PC was designed around the 8088, an 16-bit internal, 8-bit external bus, microprocessor manufactured by Intel. Subsequent advances in microprocessor fabrication and design were incorporated into later microprocessors developed by NexGen, AMD, Cyrix, Intel, and others. Each of these microprocessors became the engines for more advanced versions of the IBM-compatible PC.
Early on it was recognized that the x86 basic architecture had a number of technical limitations. A number of these limitations are related to the x86's use of a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) Architecture. The CISC architecture requires that the processor hardware be built to execute a large number of complex instructions. Many of these instructions are infrequently used but have design consequences that slow down all instructions, due to, for example, complexities that must be introduced in the decoder and datapath timing. The hardware needed to implement these infrequently used instructions results in a poor use of silicon resources--resources which could be better used doing such things as aggressive instruction prefetch. Advanced microprocessor techniques such as pipelining and superscalar decoding are difficult to implement on a CISC-type architecture. Furthermore, it is difficult to design optimizing compilers that make effective use of more than just a subset of the CISC instructions. As a result, CISC processors are often not able to enjoy the benefits of advanced static instruction scheduling.
In addition, the x86 architecture includes a number of limitations above and beyond those inherent in CISC. Among these additional limitations are a limited number of on-chip registers, variable length instructions included in the instruction set, non-consistent field encodings, and a requirement that interrupts be precise (be generated and handled a determined number of instructions from the instruction that caused the interrupt). Additionally, the x86's segmented memory architecture, protection mode features, and compatible paging make it especially difficult to apply advanced microprocessor techniques.
Some aspects related to the x86 architecture are discussed in two U.S. Patents assigned to Intel: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,972,338 and 5,321,836, which are incorporated herein by reference to the extent necessary to understand those parts of this disclosure related to the x86 architecture.
With respect to the microprocessors disclosed in '338 and '836, pipelining is really not done in the contemporary sense. However, instruction fetch and instruction execution are loosely coupled, permitting parallel instruction fetch and execution. Furthermore, microprocessors designed during the associated period typically relied heavily on microcode implementations that resulted in multiple cycles per instruction to execute and had a single conventional register file in the execution unit. Additional limitations include that the address generation is implemented with sequential generation of effective and intermediate addresses and the bus interface has a flat memory hierarchy with no explicit cache subsystem.
The Intel patents also discuss an architecture that is lacking in many advanced features. The architecture is scalar, meaning that there is just one integer add unit, for example and that it must be accessed over a number of cycles to execute one instruction so that all of the adds associated with address computation, operand fetching, and the operation on the operand can be performed. It is believed that there is no pipeline within any of the functional blocks of the microprocessors discussed in the patents and no queues other that for instruction fetch. Execution of instructions is in-order and the use of hardware in the processor is sequential.
Despite these numerous limitations, the x86 has remained the industry standard primarily due to market factors. There currently exists in the market a massive installed base of both hardware and software compatible with the x86. Virtually all PC software is distributed in binary form only, so that end users can not recompile their software to target different architectures. The typical user has a large investment in all software types: operating systems (OS), applications programs, device drivers, and utilities. Further major investments are likely to exist in multiple system units and compatible peripherals. As a result, the cost of switching to a new architecture can be quite daunting.
What is needed is a collection of microprocessor structures and techniques that permit an advanced microprocessor to maintain compatibility with the large installed base of x86 hardware and software while overcoming the limitations of the x86 architecture to provide performance competitive to other contemporary processors implementing other architectures.

Method and apparatus for executing string instructions