A circuit is provided for time division duplexing with a frequency hopping technique and has a total of just two frequency synthesizers for the transmission and reception paths and only one up-converter in the transmission path. The UHF synthesizer frequency is additionally subjected to frequency division prior to insertion as a heterodyne frequency of the assigned converter in the transmission and reception paths, which, owing to the shorter transient recovery times, makes it possible to utilize the UHF frequency synthesizers at different frequencies for the transmission and reception slots, respectively. A particular application is in cordless telephones.

The invention relates to an integrable circuit for frequency conditioning in a radio transceiver, in particular a cordless telephone, operating in an UHF range in particular at 900 MHz, and functioning as a time division duplex system. The time division duplex system alternately forms transmission and reception time slots with a frequency hopping technique that allocates a frequency to each time slot according to a defined scheme. The circuit is formed of amplifiers, filters and converters provided in a transmission path and a reception path. The transmission and reception paths are both alternately connected to a common antenna via a time division duplex switch that can be change over in a controlled manner.
Defined UHF frequency ranges can be used for free radio services in many states if specific, precisely prescribed conditions are adhered to. By way of example, in the USA the frequency range between 902 MHz and 928 MHz is available as the so-called industrial scientific and medical (ISM) band.
Radio services, that is to say e.g. cordless telephones, are permitted to be realized in the UHF-frequency band. In this case, however, it is necessary to adhere to the boundary conditions specified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority with respect to the channel spacing, the 20 dB bandwidth, the output power, etc.
There are essentially three system approaches for realizing a cordless telephone. The first of these approaches consists in an embodiment as a so-called direct sequence spread spectrum system. In this case, the radio signal is modulated with a high-bit-rate sequence of digital signals, the so-called pseudonoise (PN) code, in such a way that a broadband transmission signal results from the superposition. Each bit of the message signal to be transmitted is thus coded with the PN code in a transmitter, which PN code can be decoded again in a receiver that knows the PN code.
The second of the system approaches consists in the realization of a so-called low power system. In this case, there are no restrictive regulations below a transmission power of approximately 0 dBm.
The third system approach consists in an embodiment as a so-called frequency hopping spread spectrum system. In the case of the aforementioned ISM band, for example, these systems are permitted to have a maximum channel spacing of 500 kHz, where 99% of the power has to be emitted within this bandwidth. Consequently, at least 50 channels are available in that case, which are utilized on the basis of a pseudorandom sequence.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an integrable circuit for the frequency conditioning of a radio transceiver, in particular a cordless telephone, operating in the UHF range which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, in which a frequency conditioning architecture is specified which enables the highest possible integration level for a frequency hopping method. In particular, the intention is to specify an efficient frequency plan which avoids undesirable mixed products and at the same time enables an optimum time division multiplex (TDMA; Time Division Multiple Access) frame format.
Furthermore, the object of the invention is to realize the smallest possible channel spacing of 200 kHz to 300 kHz in order that dynamic channels on which severe interference occurs can be masked out. At the same time, the intention is not to exceed a frame period of 4 ms in order that echo compensation can be dispensed with.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a circuit for frequency conditioning in a radio transceiver operating in an ultra high frequency (UHF) range and functioning as a time division duplex system (TDD), the time division duplex system alternately forming transmission and reception time slots and has a frequency hopping technique (FH) allocating a frequency to each time slot according to a defined scheme, the circuit including:
an IF frequency synthesizer having a first phase-locked loop and a first phase-regulated HF oscillator for generating a directly modulated output signal;
a UHF frequency synthesizer having a second phase-locked loop and a second phase-regulated HF oscillator for generating an output frequency which is a UHF heterodyne frequency;
a first 1:n frequency divider receiving the output frequency of the UHF frequency synthesizer and dividing down the output frequency, the first 1:n frequency divider outputting a first divided UHF output frequency having a value of 1/n times that of the output frequency;
a single up-converter receiving the directly modulated output signal of the IF frequency synthesizer as an input frequency and the first divided UHF output frequency from the first 1:n frequency divider, the single up-converter generating an up-converted output signal;
a filter receiving the up-converter output signal and outputting a filtered up-converted output signal;
a transmission amplifier stage receiving the filtered up-converted output signal from the filter and outputs an amplified output signal, the IF frequency synthesizer, the UHF frequency synthesizer, the single up-converter, the filter and the transmission amplifier stage define a transmission path;
a time division duplex switch having a reception access path and a transmission access path receiving the amplified output signal from the transmission amplifier stage, the time division duplex switch is a controlled time division duplex switch that can be switch in a controlled manner;
a low-noise amplifier connected to the reception access path of the time division duplex switch;
a UHF reception filter connected to the low-noise amplifier;
a second 1:n frequency divider receiving the UHF heterodyne frequency from the UHF frequency synthesizer and generates a second divided UHF output frequency;
a first down-converter having a first input connected to the UHF reception filter and a second input receives the second divided UHF output frequency, the first down-converter outputs a first down-converted output signal;
a first IF bandpass filter of an upper IF plane receiving the first down-converted output signal and outputs a filtered down-converted output signal;
a second down-converter has an output, a first input receiving the filtered down-converted output signal and a second input receiving the directly modulated output signal generated by the IF frequency synthesizer and being present as a heterodyne frequency;
a second IF bandpass filter of a lower IF plane is connected to the output of the second down-converter;
a first amplifier connected to the second IF bandpass filter;
a third IF bandpass filter connected to the first amplifier;
a second amplifier connected to the third IF bandpass filter;
a demodulator connected to the second amplifier;
the IF frequency synthesizer, the UHF frequency synthesizer, the low-noise amplifier, the UHF reception filter, the first down-converter, the first IF bandpass filter, the second down-converter, the second IF bandpass filter, the first amplifier, the third IF bandpass filter, the second amplifier and the demodulator define a reception path; and
a common antenna connected to the reception path and the transmission path via the time division duplex switch.
In the inventive circuit, merely two frequency synthesizers are necessary in the circuit according to the invention. Consequently, a third frequency synthesizer is omitted, which considerably promotes a higher integration level.
Furthermore, the configuration of the circuit according to the invention allows the use of inexpensive external filters.
By virtue of the synthesis of the required UHF oscillator signal at at least twice the frequency as used in prior art circuits, the phase detector reference frequency is increased, with the result that the transient recovery time of the UHF frequency synthesizer can be halved.
Consequently, two transient processes can be accommodated within the same frame period. These facts make it possible to utilize the UHF frequency synthesizer at different frequencies for the transmission and reception slots, that is to say the frequency offset due to the second intermediate frequency is compensated for by the UHF frequency synthesizer.
It is expedient for the up-conversion that takes place in the transmission path to be effected by an up-converter with suppression of image frequencies, in which case the 90xc2x0 phase shift between the input signals can be generated by frequency dividers.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an integrable circuit for the frequency conditioning of a radio transceiver, in particular a cordless telephone, operating in the UHF range, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

Integrable circuit for the frequency conditioning of radio transceiver, in particular a cordless telephone, operating in the UHF range


Disclosed is lithium iron phosphate having an olivine crystal structure, wherein the lithium iron phosphate has a composition represented by the following Formula 1 and carbon (C) is coated on the particle surface of the lithium iron phosphate containing a predetermined amount of sulfur (S).Li1+aFe1−xMx(PO4−b)Xb  (1)                (wherein M, X, a, x, and b are the same as defined in the specification).

Technological development and increased demand for mobile equipment have led to a rapid increase in the demand for secondary batteries as energy sources. Among these secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries having high energy density and voltage, long lifespan and low self-discharge are commercially available and widely used.
The lithium secondary batteries generally use a carbon material as an anode active material. Also, the use of lithium metals, sulfur compounds, silicon compounds, tin compounds and the like as the anode active material have been considered. Meanwhile, the lithium secondary batteries generally use lithium cobalt composite oxide (LiCoO2) as a cathode active material. Also, the use of lithium-manganese composite oxides such as LiMnO2 having a layered crystal structure and LiMn2O4 having a spinel crystal structure and lithium nickel composite oxide (LiNiO2) as the cathode active material has been considered.
LiCoO2 is currently used owing to superior physical properties such as cycle life, but has disadvantages of low stability and high-cost due to use of cobalt, which suffers from natural resource limitations, and limitations of mass-use as a power source for electric automobiles. LiNiO2 is unsuitable for practical application to mass-production at a reasonable cost due to many features associated with preparation methods thereof. Lithium manganese oxides such as LiMnO2 and LiMn2O4 have a disadvantage of short cycle life.
Accordingly, methods of using lithium transition metal phosphate as a cathode active material have been researched. Lithium transition metal phosphate is largely divided into LixM2(PO4)3 having a Nasicon structure and LiMPO4 having an olivine structure, and is found to exhibit superior high-temperature stability, as compared to conventional LiCoO2. To date, Li3V2(PO4)3 is the most widely known Nasicon structure compound, and LiFePO4 and Li(Mn, Fe)PO4 are the most widely studied olivine structure compounds.
Among olivine structure compounds, LiFePO4 has a high output voltage of 3.5V and a high volume density of 3.6 g/cm3, as compared to lithium (Li), and has a high theoretical capacity of 170 mAh/g, exhibits superior high-temperature stability, as compared to cobalt (Co), and utilizes cheap Fe as an component, thus being highly applicable as the cathode active material for lithium secondary batteries.
However, LiFePO4 disadvantageously causes an increase in internal resistance of batteries due to low electrical conductivity, when used as a cathode active material. For this reason, when battery circuits are closed, polarization potential increases, thus decreasing battery capacity.
In order to solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-110414 suggests incorporation of conductive materials into olivine-type metal phosphates in order to improve conductivity.
However, LiFePO4 is commonly prepared by solid state methods, hydrothermal methods and the like using Li2CO3 or LiOH as a lithium source. Lithium sources and carbon sources added to improve conductivity disadvantageously generate a great amount of Li2CO3. Such Li2CO3 is degraded during charging, or reacts with an electrolyte solution to produce CO2 gas, thus disadvantageously causing production of a great amount of gas during storage or cycles. As a result, disadvantageously, swelling of batteries is generated and high-temperature stability is deteriorated.
In this regard, a method for coating carbon on LiFePO4 is known. However, through repeated experimentation, the inventors of the present invention found that a great amount of carbon should be used in order to obtain the desired electrical conductivity using this method, deterioration in overall physical properties is inevitable during design of batteries and, further, a great amount of carbon used for coating is present in the form of aggregates between particles, thus disadvantageously making it difficult to realize uniform coating.
Accordingly, there is an increasing need for methods to solve these problems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate of olivine crystal structure and lithium secondary battery using the same


A camshaft phaser is provided for varying the phase relationship between a crankshaft and a camshaft in an engine. The camshaft phaser includes a stator having lobes. A rotor is disposed within the stator and includes vanes interspersed with the stator lobes to define alternating advance and retard chambers. A primary lock pin is provided for selective engagement with a primary lock pin seat for limiting rotation between the rotor and stator to a range between full advance and full retard. A secondary lock pin is provided for selective engagement with a secondary lock pin seat for preventing rotation between the rotor and the stator at a predetermined position within the range. A cap is disposed axially adjacent the rotor to define a bridging lock pin oil passage therebetween. The bridging lock pin oil passage provides fluid communication between the primary lock pin and the secondary lock pin.

A typical vane-type camshaft phaser generally comprises a plurality of outwardly-extending vanes on a rotor interspersed with a plurality of inwardly-extending lobes on a stator, forming alternating advance and retard chambers between the vanes and lobes. Engine oil is selectively supplied to one of the advance and retard chambers and vacated from the other of the advance and retard chambers in order to rotate the rotor within the stator and thereby change the phase relationship between an engine camshaft and an engine crankshaft. Camshaft phasers also commonly include two intermediate lock pins which selectively prevent relative rotation between the rotor and the stator at an angular position that is intermediate of a full advance and a full retard position. One example of such a camshaft phaser is described in United States Patent Application Publication number US 2009/0266322-A1. In this example, a primary lock pin is selectively seated in a primary lock pin seat which is elongated to allow relative rotation between the rotor and the stator in a range that is between full advance and full retard. The secondary lock pin is selectively seated in a secondary lock pin seat in order to substantially prevent relative rotation between the rotor and the stator at a predetermined position that is within the range. The primary lock pin assists in engagement of the secondary lock pin with the secondary lock pin seat by limiting rotation of the rotor to a small range when the primary lock pin is seated in the primary lock pin seat. With the primary lock pin constraining rotation of the rotor to a small range, it is easier to precisely align the secondary lock pin with the secondary lock pin seat which fit together very closely in order to substantially prevent relative rotation between the rotor and the stator.
Now referring to FIG. 1, it is known to use pressurized oil from the internal combustion engine to disengage the primary and secondary lock pins from the primary and secondary lock pin seats respectively. Pressurized oil is supplied to annular groove 10 of camshaft 12. Primary lock pin camshaft oil passage 14 extends axially into camshaft 12 and is in fluid communication with annular groove 10 through primary lock pin camshaft connecting passage 16 which extends radially into camshaft 12. Primary lock pin camshaft oil passage 14 is aligned with primary lock pin rotor oil passage 18 which extends axially into rotor 20. Primary lock pin rotor oil passage 18 is in fluid communication with primary lock pin 22 through primary lock pin rotor connecting passage 24 which extends radially into rotor 20. Similarly, secondary lock pin camshaft oil passage 26 extends axially into camshaft 12 and is in fluid communication with annular groove 10 through secondary lock pin camshaft connecting passage 28 which extends radially into camshaft 12. Secondary lock pin camshaft oil passage 26 is aligned with secondary lock pin rotor oil passage 30 which extends axially into rotor 20. Secondary lock pin rotor oil passage 30 is in fluid communication with secondary lock pin 32 through secondary lock pin rotor connecting passage 34 which extends radially into rotor 20.
While this arrangement of one axial lock pin oil passage in the camshaft for each lock pin may be satisfactory for some applications, it may be unsatisfactory for other applications. For example, an internal combustion engine manufacturer that had previously employed a camshaft phaser with a single lock pin, and consequently only one axial lock pin oil passage in the camshaft for communication with the lock pin, may wish to switch to a camshaft phaser with a dual lock pin arrangement. A redesign of the camshaft would be required to include a second axial lock pin oil passage in the camshaft in order to accommodate the second lock pin of the camshaft phaser. This redesign may be costly and time intensive.
This arrangement of one axial lock pin oil passage in the camshaft for each lock pin may also be unsatisfactory for some applications due to a limited availability of space in the camshaft. More specifically, the camshaft may include a plurality oil passages for supplying oil to and from the advance and retard chambers of the camshaft phaser. This plurality of oil passages for supplying oil to and from the advance and retard chambers may leave insufficient space for multiple axial lock pin oil passages in the camshaft.
What is needed is a camshaft phaser having primary and secondary lock pins and a single hydraulic interface with the internal combustion engine for communication of oil to and from both the primary and secondary lock pins. What is also needed is such a camshaft phaser which includes a rotor and a cap disposed axially adjacent to the rotor to define a lock pin passage therebetween which provides fluid communication between the primary and secondary lock pins.

Camshaft phaser with dual lock pins and a passage within the camshaft phaser connecting the lock pins


A technique for determining which permissions are required to perform certain administrative tasks efficiently records the required permissions between record and stop signals. An administrator presses a record button on a graphical user interface (GUI) and subsequently enters commands to perform the administrative tasks. After the last command is entered, the administrator presses a stop button on the GUI. Commands need not actually execute between the record and stop signals, but rather permissions for each command need to be recorded by an administration application, which is able to organize sets of permissions as roles. When a given user is associated with a particular role, the user is assigned all permissions for the role. Using this technique, the administrator may delegate administrative tasks to the user without the inefficiencies of conventional trial and error methods.

Enterprise computing environments employ increasing numbers of computer systems, network systems, and storage systems to satisfy growing computational and storage capacity requirements. A given computing environment typically hosts multiple applications, each requiring customization and certain types of isolation from other applications. To accommodate this customization and isolation, the systems implement a permissions regime that requires each user to be granted a specific permission to perform a specific corresponding action. For example, a computer system may require a user to have permission to execute programs, and a storage system may require a user to have permission to access a specific storage volume or a certain portion of the storage volume, such as a user directory. The storage system may also specifically require read, write, and execute permission for related operations within the storage volume.
As typical computing environments grow to comprise thousands of systems, managing detailed permissions associated with each system within the computing environment grows increasingly complex and challenging. Administrators are faced with a growing inventory of systems and increasing complexity required to manage each system. A staff of multiple users is typically employed to manage this growing complexity. One or more of the users may be associated with a predefined "role" that defines specific permissions that enable a user to perform related actions. Being associated with the predefined role has the effect of granting a user permission to perform their assigned administrative tasks within the computing environment.
Virtualized computing environments provide tremendous efficiency and flexibility to systems operators by enabling the computing, storage, and networking resources within the computing environment to be deployed as needed to accommodate specific applications or specific capacity requirements. For example, multiple virtual machines (VMs) may be created and operated on physical computer systems based on demand for new computation resources. Similarly, virtual storage may be allocated and assigned to specified applications as needed. Corresponding permissions for each virtualization management task are conventionally required. For example, permission is typically required to create a new VM, turn on or off a VM, allocate virtual storage, associate storage with a VM, and so forth. While virtualized computing and storage increases efficiency, virtualization also increases administrative complexity by introducing yet more different permissions.
One significant administrative challenge in enterprise computing environments is managing a large and growing collection of different permissions required to perform a growing set of administrative tasks. To properly grant a sufficient set of permissions to a particular role, an administrator typically adds incremental permissions to the role using an iterative, ad hoc process. This process involves the user testing the role to determine whether all necessary permissions have been granted for each administrative task, and asking the administrator for additional permissions when errors are encountered. Because no additional permissions should be granted to a role beyond those absolutely necessary to perform specific administrative tasks, this process typically involves incrementally finding and adding permissions to the role until a user is able to perform all administrative tasks using the role. This process is time consuming and inefficient. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a more efficient technique for determining which permissions should be associated with a given role in a computation environment.

System and method for recording and applying access privileges in a virtualized environment


An imaging system includes an imaging device that images a predetermined imaging area, an illumination device that performs irradiation with illumination light so as to illuminate an imaging area and is capable of adjusting a light amount of the illumination light for each of local regions narrower than the imaging area, and a control unit that controls the imaging device and the illumination device. Then, a high-luminance region having a luminance value exceeding a predetermined luminance range is detected in an image captured by the imaging device, and a light amount of illumination light with which the illumination device irradiates a local region corresponding to the high-luminance region is determined to be a reduction light amount reduced to be less than a light amount with respect to overall of the imaging area. The present technology can be applied to, for example, a camera system for operation.

Conventionally, in an operation using an observation system for operation utilizing an endoscope, a video microscope, an open imaging operative field camera, or the like, a surgeon visually recognizes an affected area with an image acquired by imaging an operative field including an organ, or the like, of a patient. By the way, depending on an organ to be operated on, there are both a region in which incident light is diffusely reflected in various directions and a region in which incident light is specularly reflected in one direction due to adhesion of water, oil, or the like. Therefore, an operative field imaged by an observation system for operation has often been a subject with a very wide dynamic range.
With this arrangement, with an operation using an observation system for operation, there is a concern that overexposure, underexposure, or the like may occur in a standard dynamic range (SDR) image captured in a standard dynamic range depending on a condition of exposure on an organ. Thus, it is expected that a surgeon has difficulty in well visually recognizing a condition of an operative field. Therefore, there has been a need for an observation system for operation that can acquire a high dynamic range (HDR) image that is captured in a wider dynamic range than an SDR image is.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an imaging system that sets an exposure amount for generating an exposure amount for an HDR image according to a timing of exposure processing on the basis of a reference exposure amount calculated from a detection result of detecting brightness of the image.

Imaging system and control device for determining high-luminance region and reduction light amount to illuminate region


An acidic solution for use as a cleaning composition for copper and copper alloys includes a solution of from about 1-20 weight percent hydrochloric acid and approximately 80-99 weight percent of an aqueous hydrochloric acid-based composition which has a pH of less than about 1.0 yet is substantially non-reactive with compounds having low oxidative states, including human skin tissue.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning compositions and, more particularly, to strong acid-based cleaning compositions. Specifically, the present invention relates to a composition for cleaning copper and copper alloys, such as brass and bronze, which composition has a pH value of less than 1.0 yet is nonreactive and nonirritating to human skin tissue.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous compositions and processes have been employed in the past for the purpose of brightening and cleaning deposits, residue and impurities from copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze. Various abrasive techniques have also been used in the past, such as scrubbing, scouring, sand blasting and the like, for the purpose of removing such materials. In addition, chemical compositions ranging from degreasers and detergents to extremely corrosive acid baths and washes as well as caustic chemicals, which are difficult and messy to apply, have been used for various copper and copper alloy cleaning applications.
Examples of acidic compositions which have been utilized for a wide variety of cleaning applications include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,675,120, 3,514,407, 3,630,933, 4,116,713, 4,181,622, 4,199,469, and 4,250,048. While many of these referenced patents are not specifically designed for cleaning copper and copper alloys, they do disclose acid-based compositions for the purposes of cleaning a wide variety of different types of surfaces. One unfortunate and significant disadvantage of many of these acid-based cleaning compositions is that while they are effective cleaning agents, they can be extremely corrosive and highly reactive with human skin tissue as well as other compositions having relatively low oxidative states. U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,364 discloses an acidic glass cleaning composition which has a low pH value for cleaning yet is relatively innocuous to skin tissue. However, this particular disclosure is directed only to the specific challenges relating to the cleaning of glass surfaces and is so limited thereto.
Abrasive cleaning methods tend to be very destructive and physically tiresome, and the abrasion process tends to scratch the metal surface being cleaned, thereby removing its natural luster. Moreover, abrasive cleaning is only temporarily effective and tends to be inconsistent in removing excess material from the surface being cleaned. It also tends to remove excess metal in some areas while not enough in others thereby creating weak spots and eroding different copper surface materials beyond acceptable tolerances. While soaps and degreasing solutions eliminate oil and grease build-up, they generally have negligible effect on oxides and surface discoloration. Moreover, acid-based cleaning solutions tend to react with these metals, and the pH values of acid-based cleaning solutions must be carefully controlled to avoid excessive corrosion and damage to the metal surfaces. The pH value of acid-based cleaning solutions must be low enough to provide the desired oxidation for cleaning, yet it must be sufficiently mild enough to permit ease of handling. Otherwise, strong acid-based solutions require special handling techniques and equipment not readily available to the average household user.
As a result of the above, there is still a need for an effective cleaning solution particularly applicable to copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze, such cleaners having requirements different from those of cleaning agents for other types of materials, surfaces and applications. Such a cleaning composition need not be abrasive, and should be effective in removing residue, deposits and impurities, non-corrosive to the copper or copper alloy surface being cleaned, and non-reactive with human skin tissue to permit easy and safe use by household or commercial consumers.

Cleaning composition for copper and copper alloys and method of manufacture thereof


Techniques and methods for providing additional safety for interactions with pedestrians. For instance, a vehicle may identify a region through which the vehicle and agent (such as a pedestrian) pass. The vehicle may determine a time buffer value and/or a distance buffer value based on the vehicle and the agent passing through the region. The vehicle may determine a time threshold and/or a distance threshold for passing through the region in the presence of the agent. The time threshold and/or the distance threshold may be based on a velocity of the vehicle, a safety factor, a hysteresis factor, a comfort factor, and/or an assertiveness factor. If the time buffer value is below the time threshold and/or the distance buffer value is below the distance threshold, the vehicle may yield to the agent. Otherwise, the vehicle may not yield to the agent within the region.

Vehicles may be equipped with collision avoidance systems configured to detect and avoid objects in an operating environment. The objects may include mobile objects, such as other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, etc. Traditional collision avoidance systems may avoid collisions by simply identifying the presence of surfaces in an environment and adjusting a velocity of a vehicle to avoid collision with a surface. However, these traditional systems may cause the vehicle to yield in situations in which it is unnecessary and unnatural, thereby potentially causing traffic delays.

Collision prediction and avoidance for vehicles


Optimization of a RAID volume is described. In an example, a method of optimizing a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) volume includes: identifying a RAID level used for a plurality of disks in the RAID volume; defining a relation among rebuild rate, scrub rate, and annualized data loss event rate (ADLER) for the RAID volume using constant values and the RAID level; selecting a value for the ADLER; applying a policy to the relation to choose a value for one of the rebuild rate or the scrub rate; and determining a value for the other of the rebuild rate or the scrub rate from the relation using the value of the rebuild rate or the scrub rate as determined from the policy.

In some computer systems, multiple physical disk drives can be grouped and accessed as a single logical volume. The logical volume is often implemented using a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technique. RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit. Data is distributed across the physical disk drives using a particular configuration or "RAID level." Different RAID levels can be employed, depending on what level of redundancy (e.g., fault tolerance) and performance is required. When data redundancy is lost in a RAID system due to disk failure(s), the disk array must recover redundancy before additional failures occur to avoid data loss.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The reinforced catheter sensor probe for intravascular use includes an aramid strand that extends along the length of the electromagnetic conduits and is bonded thereto. A greater than ten fold increase in tensile strength is thereby achieved. Additionally, the inherent strength of flexibility of the reinforcing strand ensures that a positive interconnection with the distal end of the sensor probe is maintained in the event the sensor probe is subjected to loads that cause its relatively more fragile components to sever. A protective, strain relieving introducer catheter is also provided to substantially prevent kinking and breakage of the sensor probe where the introducer catheter bends.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to reinforced catheter probe structures and more particularly pertains to the enhancement of the tensile strength of optical fiber containing sensor devices that are intended for intravascular introduction so as to effectively minimize or preclude the risk of detachment of a distal portion thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of sensor systems have been developed that require the introduction of an optical fiber or optical fiber bundle into a patient's vasculature in order to obtain real time measurement of certain physiological parameters. In order to expand the capabilities of such systems, sensor probes are being called upon to accommodate an increasing number of components therein while maintaining a very small outside diameter. These requirements constrain the individual components to be of reduced size and consequently, optical fibers of very small cross-section are used. Such optical fibers are relatively delicate and have little individual strength. Furthermore, when the optical fibers are displaced about the central axis of the sensor probe, they are subjected to increased stress in bending and are thus more susceptible to fracture. Invasive optical blood gas analyzers have been proposed that employ a sensor probe incorporating a plurality of optical fibers for sensing a number of parameters, including the partial pressure of oxygen, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, pH and blood temperature. Such sensors are particularly susceptible to fracture of the fibers due to bending or rough use.
Mechanical failure of such a sensor probe while it is inserted within a patient's vasculature could result in a portion of the sensor probe being carried into the blood stream with the resultant undesirable consequences, especially if the severed section of the sensor probe were carried to a critical area within the vasculature. It is therefore desirable to provide sensor probes with an internal member having sufficient tensile strength to avoid the likelihood of severance of a portion of the sensor probe tip if the fibers in the sensor probe are broken.
An additional important consideration in the design of such sensor probes is cost. Such sensor probes are intended for a one-time use only and risks of infection and the degradation of the sensors performance upon resterilization preclude the re-use of such devices. The sensor probes, including any provisions for enhancing tensile strength, must therefore be manufacturable as inexpensively as possible in order to render their disposability economically feasible.
The mechanical strength and more particularly, the tensile strength of some prior art optical fiber-containing sensor probe systems has been increased by the incorporation of a stainless steel wire disposed within the sensor probe and parallel to the optical fibers. The distal end of the wire is welded to a stainless steel spherical anchor element, the outer diameter of which conforms to or slightly exceeds the outer diameter of a sheath that envelops the optical fiber bundle. A portion of the sheath may similarly be constructed of stainless steel and welded to the anchor element. While such a configuration presumably imparts substantial tensile strength to the sensor probe system and prevents detachment of the tip if the optical fibers are broken, this configuration is incompatible with systems that require the distal end of the sensor probe to be fully exposed to blood flow. Further, the stainless steel components and the rather labor-intensive effort required for its assembly add substantial cost to the sensor probe.
It has also been found that optical fiber based sensor probes have a tendency to break where the strain of bending is imposed on the sensor probe. Such sensor probes are typically disposed within a conventional introducer catheter having a relatively inflexible hub or funnel portion and a relatively flexible elongated tubular portion. Breakage of the sensor typically occurs at the junction of the hub and flexible tubular portion within the introducer catheter due to the force of bending which can be imposed on the optical fiber portion of the sensor probe there.
It would be highly advantageous if a low cost means were available which substantially enhanced the tensile strength of an optical fiber sensor probe system, particularly if one or more optical fibers is fractured, allowed free access of an analyte to the distal end of the sensor probe and which protected and did not impair the flexibility of the sensor probe. The present invention provides such a capability.


A laser cathode ray tube (laser-CRT) is provided. The laser-CRT includes a connection ring connected to an end portion of a glass bulb where an electron gun is installed, a disk having a single-crystal for generating laser beams when electron beams emitted from the electron gun are input, a support ring connected to the disk and the connection ring, and a junction layer interposed between the support ring and the disk, having at least two metal thin films which have been pressurized and heated, to connect the support ring and the disk to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser cathode ray tube (laser-CRT) and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a laser-CRT in which the structure connecting a disk to a metal ring is improved to maintain a vacuum during operation of the laser-CRT at a low temperature.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional laser-CRT includes a glass bulb 12 having an electron gun 11 emitting electron beams inserted therein, a connection ring 13 connected to an end of the glass bulb 12, a target portion 14 on which electron beams emitted from the electron gun 11 collide to generate a laser beam to form an image, and a support ring 15 in which the target portion 14 is installed, connected to the connection ring 13. Here, the target portion 14 includes a single-crystal 16 for generating a laser beam when the electron beam is input, a resonator 18 composed of mirrors 17a and 17b formed on both sides of the single-crystal 16, and a disk 19 connected to one side of the resonator 18.
The inside of the laser-CRT is maintained in a vacuum, and when the electron beams emitted from the electron gun 11 are accelerated toward the target portion 14 to collide against the single-crystal 16 of the resonator 18, the laser beams are generated, to thereby form an image. The temperature of the single-crystal 16 must be maintained at 80-200K to generate stable laser beams, so that the disk 19 formed of sapphire having excellent thermal emission is connected to one side of the resonator 18. Also, a refrigerant such as liquid nitrogen is supplied to the disk 19 to maintain the resonator 18 at a relatively low temperature.
The room temperature of the laser-CRT becomes a low temperature during driving, so that junction portions of components are deformed due to a difference in the respective thermal expansion coefficients and thus the vacuum state of the laser-CRT may be compromised, which occurs more severely at the junction portion between the disk 19 of the target portion 14 and the support ring 15. In detail, referring to FIG. 2, the junction between the disk 19 of a nonmetal and the support ring 15, is realized by a metalizing method in which a metal layer 21 containing Mo or Mn and a Cu-layer 22 are interposed therebetween. That is, in the above junction process, a paste having Mo and Mn as a main material is coated on a surface of the disk 19 and then the surface is dried to thereby form a metal layer 21. Subsequently, when the metal layer 21 is heat-treated at a high temperature, a glass component of the disk 19 reacts with Mn of the metal layer 21 to realize a junction between the metal layer 21 and the disk 19. Also, a Cu-layer 22 is formed between the metal layer 21 and the support ring 15 using a Cu welding material, to thereby connect the disk 19 to the support ring 15.
However, when the conventional laser-CRT having the above junction structure is driven at 80.about.200K for an extended period of time, the metal layer 21 and the Cu-layer 22 tend to be brittle, so that cracks or deformations occur at the junction portion between the support ring 15 and the disk 19, to thereby damage the vacuum state of the laser-CRT.
When an impurity flows into the laser-CRT due to the lack of integrity in the vacuum state, a proceeding path of electron beams is distorted, so that the electron beams cannot accurately land, to thereby deteriorate the screen quality. Also, the durability of the laser CRT is deteriorated due to weakening of the junction portion, to thereby reduce the life of the device.

Laser cathode ray tube (laser-CRT) and method of manufacturing the same


A label that is removable from the article with which it is associated, or includes a removable section thereof, and includes only a single substrate. The substrate has a front side and a back side, and an ink disposed on the back side of the substrate, which remains with the substrate during removal of the substrate, or a section thereof, from an article. The label further includes an abhesive disposed adjacent the ink on the back side of the substrate. The label may have at least one set of perforations to provide a removable section of the label. These perforations may be provided by an apparatus for providing consistent perforations.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Articles, such as containers, are prevalent in a wide variety of shapes and sizes for holding many different kinds of materials such as cosmetics, cleaning supplies, foodstuffs, beverages, light duty liquids, heavy duty liquids, etc. Such articles may be fabricated from plastic (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyesters), glass, paperboard, cardboard, or other materials.
Regardless of the material, such articles are often provided with a label thereon, having text, logos, graphics, decorations, and/or other indicia that provide a consumer with information about the article and its contents. For example, this label information may include the trade name of the product, the producer of the product, ingredients, price, and/or other such information. In some instances, the label is associated with a surface of the article by means of an adhesive or the like. For example, one such type of label is a pressure-sensitive label. As is known to those skilled in the art, a pressure-sensitive label generally includes a substrate having indicia providing label information printed on one side thereof, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive applied on the opposite side thereof. The pressure-sensitive adhesive forms a bond between the label and an article when pressure is applied in order to adhere the label to the article.
The label information described above is generally situated on the label such that it is visible to a consumer when the label is associated with an article. However, in addition to the label information described above, certain labels may also include other information (in the form of text, logos, graphics, decorations, and/or other indicia), which may not be visible to the consumer when the label, or a section thereof, is associated with the article. Game-type information is an example of this sort of information. Game-type information may be included on the back side of the label (i.e., the nonvisible side). Another exemplary type of information that may be printed on the back side of a label includes coupon-type information. In order to be viewed, the label, or a section thereof, may be removed from the article, thereby exposing the game-type, coupon-type, or other type of information. Thus, it is desirable that the label, or a section of the label, be removable. This allows any game-type information to be revealed and any winning game piece (i.e., removable section or removable label) to be redeemed. It also allows for any coupon to be removed and retained by the retailer, or saved by the consumer for later use.
Labels that are removable from an article, or have removable sections, are known. However, these labels exhibit several drawbacks. For example, these known labels often include two substrates (with the first substrate affixed to an article, and a second substrate—the removable substrate—overlying and affixed to the first substrate). More specifically, in these labels, the second substrate may have indicia on its back side, and the back side is adhered to the first substrate. The back side of the first substrate is then affixed to an article to be labeled through the use of adhesives. The first substrate is applied to the article with greater force of adhesion (i.e., a stronger bond) than the force of adhesion of the second substrate to the first substrate. Thus, the second substrate can be removed from the first substrate while the first substrate remains adhered to the article. However, the use of two substrates increases the bulk of the label. This results in increases in materials used, with attendant increases in cost to prepare and ship the labels. Further, multiple adhesives of differing strengths must be used, further increasing the materials and cost, and increasing the time, calculation, and design that must go into the label. Further, the use of a first adhesive to bond the second substrate to the first substrate results in a second substrate that may not be easily removable from the first substrate, and may tear, thereby damaging the indicia.
As another drawback, prior labels having indicia printed on the back side of the second substrate have had difficulty in retaining the ink of that indicia on the back side of the second substrate during removal. For example, the adhesive of these labels can split during removal, leaving adhesive on both surfaces (i.e., first and second substrates). Moreover, the bond of the adhesive may become greater on aging than the strength of the substrate, resulting in tearing of the substrate on attempting to peel the label or a section thereof. This results in tearing of one or both of the substrates, and often results in the transfer of indicia from one surface to another, which removes indicia from one substrate and adheres it, in an unwanted fashion, to the other substrate. This destroys the usefulness of any game piece or coupon or other information.
Further, the very use of an adhesive on the removable label or removable section thereof (whether in a flood application or patterned application) can increase the difficulty in removing the label or removable section thereof from a secondary substrate, or article. This also can result in tearing or destruction of any coupon or game piece.
Further, even when a section of a label is designed to be removable (such as by including a release layer), the adhesives used for the remainder of a label (such as the standard adhesives used on labels for beer bottles), create a strong enough bond that the removable section also becomes bonded, thereby destroying its function. For example, some labels having a removable section may include a release coating over at least the removable section. However, before that label is placed onto an article or other substrate, the back side of the label is exposed to a roller, which floodcoats an adhesive onto the back side of the label, and thus over any release coating. In these labels, it is hoped that the release coating will continue to allow removal of the section, even in view of the presence of the adhesive. However, the adhesives are generally stronger than the release coating and create a bond between the article and the removable section, even in the presence of a release coating. This results in a removable section exhibiting the same drawbacks described above (e.g., a section that cannot be removed, that tears, that doesn't retain ink, etc.).
Further still, any label including a removable section may include perforations to define the removable section, and facilitate removal of the section from the remainder of the substrate. In general, perforations are made by methods well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, in one general method, an infeed roller directs a web of labels into a perforation apparatus, and a draw roller, disposed generally "downstream" from the infeed roller, pulls the web of labels through the perforation apparatus. Positioned between the infeed and draw rollers are one or more perforating wheels. The outer circumferential surface of each perforating wheel is provided with a plurality of "knives." Proximal to the perforating wheel or wheels is a secondary roller. A roller gap is thus formed between the perforating wheels and the secondary roller. The web of labels is stretched taut over the secondary roller and passes through this roller gap. The "knives" of the perforating wheels puncture or indent the web of labels as it passes, and the desired depth of the perforations can be controlled by controlling the pressure of the perforating wheel against the web of labels and secondary roller. For example, such pressure may be set using air pressure provided by a pneumatic cylinder.
However, there are drawbacks to these perforating apparatus that result in inconsistent perforations of poor quality. For example, the position of the perforating wheels relative to the secondary roller may be mechanically adjusted, but it is difficult to ensure that the pressure of the perforating wheels is constant during operation of the apparatus. Generally, a single air source provides the air for the pressure that is used for all of the perforating wheels in a perforating apparatus. Due to blockages that may arise within the system, the pressure may not be constant for each perforating wheel. Further, the wheels, pneumatic cylinders, or attachment of those two components may be different (due to different age, for example). Thus, the single air source may result in differing pressures in different perforating wheels. This leads to inconsistent perforations across a particular web of labels.
Further, during operation of a perforating apparatus, the pressure within the pneumatic cylinder itself may not be held constant. For example, variances in the operation of the apparatus may cause the pressure to fluctuate (i.e., increase or decrease) relative to the desired set pressure. All of the above can cause inconsistencies in perforations along each single line of perforations.
Further, in the perforating apparatus, the outer surface of the secondary roller is hard, as the rollers are generally made of a hard substance, such as steel. As described above, during a perforating operation, the web of labels moves against this hard surface as the "knives" of the perforating wheels puncture the labels. However, the hard surface of the secondary roller does not provide any "give," such that the knives may be stopped by the hard surface from puncturing the labels to the desired depth.
Any difference in pressure between the perforating wheels or within the pneumatic cylinder alters the depth, consistency, and quality of the perforations formed in the labels. This leads to labels with areas that are prematurely separated from the remainder of the label, labels that do not have a removable section at all (when they should), or labels with poorly functioning perforations (such that any attempted removal may tear the label where not intended).

Label that is removable or having a removable section


In a semiconductor memory device having a sense amplifier for amplifying a potential difference between a pair of regular bit lines, the memory device further comprises a dummy bit line having a load capacitance equal to that of each of the pair of regular bit lines, a dummy memory cell having a bit line drive capability equal to that of the regular memory cell, a precharging circuit for precharging the dummy bit line, a selecting circuit for simultaneously selecting the regular memory cell and the dummy memory cell, a dummy bit line potential sensing circuit for sensing that the potential of the dummy bit line is changed from a precharge potential by a predetrmined potential when the dummy memory cell is selected by the selecting circuit, and a sense amplifier control circuit for receiving an enable signal which enables operation of the sense amplifier, and a sensed signal from the dummy bit line potential sensing circuit, to determine an operation period of the sense amplifier, in response to both the enable and the sensed signals. When the output data is determined by the sense amplifer, an output logic level of the level sensor is inverted, and the sense amplifier is disabled. The sense amplifier is kept disabled until the next clock signal is generated, and no feedthrough current flows during this period, decreasing wasteful power current consumption.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device in which a pair of bit lines are precharged prior to data read access, and, in a data read mode, a potential difference between the pair of bit lines is amplified by a sense amplifier, in order to sense the data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional synchronous semiconductor memory device, a synchronous clock signal is used as an enable signal for a sense amplifier for sensing data.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a data read system circuit of a memory cell contained in a conventional synchronous semiconductor memory device.
Memory cell 14 includes a latch circuit 15, and n-channel MOS transistors 16 and 17 which serve as transfer gates and are inserted between the latch circuit 15 and a pair of bit lines 11 and 11, respectively. The gates of the transistors 16 and 17 are connected to the word line 12 which, along with precharge line 13, is intersected by bit lines 11 and 11.
A precharge circuit section 18 includes p-channel MOS transistors 19 and 20, one terminal of each of which is connected to the corresponding one of the pair of bit lines 11 and 11, the other terminal of each being connected to a power source voltage Vcc, and a p-channel MOS transistor 21 connected between the bit lines 11 and 11. Gates of the transistors 19, 20, and 21 are connected to the precharge line 13.
A potential difference between the bit lines 11 and 11 is input across the gates of n-channel MOS transistors 23 and 24, to which the bit lines are connected, respectively. P-channel MOS transistors 25 and 26 are inserted between the power source voltage Vcc and one terminal of the transistor 23 and between the power source voltage Vcc and one terminal of the transistor 24, respectively. The gates of transistors 25 and 26 are connected to each other, and are commonly connected to a connecting node SA located between the transistors 25 and 23. An n-channel MOS transistor 27 having a gate for receiving an enable signal for differential type sense amplifier 22 is inserted between the other terminal of each of the transistors 23 and 24, and a ground voltage Vss. A sensing result of the sense amplifier 22 is obtained at a connecting node SB located between the transistors 24 and 26, and is output as an output Out through two inverters 28 and 29.
Reference numeral 30 denotes a read control circuit including inverters 31, 32, and 34, and a NAND gate 33. A synchronous clock signal CK having a constant frequency is supplied to the inverters 31 and 32 located in separate signal paths, and is inverted by the inverters 31 and 32. The signal inverted by the inverter 31 is supplied as a precharge signal PR to the precharge line 13. The signal inverted by the inverter 32 is supplied to one input terminal of the 2-input NAND gate 33, the other input terminal of the gate 33 receiving a read/write signal RW. An output from the NAND gate 33 is supplied in the form of a read control signal RD via the inverter 34, to the gate of the transistor 27 contained in the sense amplifier 22.
FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing waveforms of sections within the circuit shown in FIG. 3, when in the read mode, the read/write signal RW being set at "H" level in this mode. A read operation performed by the circuit shown in FIG. 3 will now be described hereinafter, with reference to the above-mentioned timing chart.
When the signal CK goes to "H" level, the precharge signal PR goes to "L" level. As a result, the transistors 19, 20, and 21 in the precharge circuit 18 are turned on, and the bit lines 11 and 11 are precharged at "H" level.
When the clock signal CK goes to "L" level from "H" level, the precharge signal PR goes to "H" level, and the precharge operation in respect of the bit lines 11 and 11 is completed. When the signal CK goes to "L" level from "H" level, the signal RD goes to "H" level from "L" level, and the transistor 27 is turned on, as a result of which the sense amplifier 22 is enabled.
The word line 12 is selected by a decoder (not shown), and a signal WD goes from "L" level to "H" level, with the result that the transistors 16 and 17 in the memory cell 14 are turned on, and memory data "1" or "0" in the latch circuit 15 is read out on the bit lines 11 and 11. Bit line potentials BT and BT are set in accordance with the readout data. If the potential BT is set at "H" level and the potential BT is set at "L" level, the potential BT is reduced with time. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed and the difference between the potentials BT and BT is set to be .DELTA.V or more, the logic level of the node SB in the sense amplifier 22 becomes "H", and this "H"-level signal is output as the output Out through the inverters 28 and 29.
If the potential BT is set at "L" level and the potential BT is set at "H" level, the potential BT is reduced with time. As a result, the logic level of the node SB becomes "L"; hence the output Out serves as an "L"-level signal.
When the clock signal CK again goes to "H" level, a precharge operation in respect of the bit lines 11 and 11 is started by the precharge circuit 18. On the other hand, the signal RD goes to "L" level, and the sense amplifier 22 is disabled.
The above-mentioned conventional memory device has a problem, however, in that current consumption in the read mode is high, due to a feedthrough current being flown over an extended period of time.
More specifically, the operation period of the sense amplifier 22 depends on the level of the signal RD, and for this reason, the sense amplifier 22 is kept enabled during a period t wherein the signal RD is set at "H" level. In other words, the sense amplifier 22 is not disabled until the clock signal CK goes to "H" level after the logic level of the node SB is determined. Assume that the potential BT is set at "H" level and the potential BT is set at "L" level, in accordance with memory data of the memory cell 14. In this case, the transistor 23 is turned on, and the potential of the node SA is reduced. Thereafter, when the potential of the node SA exceeds an absolute value of the threshold voltage of the transistor 25, the transistor 25 is turned on. As a result, a feedthrough current is generated which passes through the transistors 25, 23, and 27, and flows during the time t after the logic level of the node SB is determined. As a result, current consumption in the read mode is high.
Thus, as described above, the conventional device has a problem in that its current consumption is high, due to the length of time the feedthrough current is supplied to the sense amplifier.

Semiconductor memory device with sense amplifier controller


Aspects described herein include a method and related network device and computer program product for use in an environment comprising a plurality of network devices capable of providing broadcast services to one or more client devices. The method comprises receiving, from a client device, a neighbor report that indicates whether one or more network devices of the plurality of network devices are advertising broadcast services. The method further comprises generating, using the neighbor report, a broadcast optimization map that indicates a set of one or more of the plurality of network devices that will provide a broadest coverage of broadcast services within the environment. The set corresponds to a minimum count of network devices that supports all current broadcast streams by the one or more client devices.

Wireless networking is increasingly used for broadcast streams, such as for streaming high-definition (HD) video content. However, using certain wireless networking protocols such as Wi-Fi, all client devices may be required to share a common channel with the access point (AP). This configuration may lead to congestion and starvation of airtime for other critical traffic. For Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) environments, the downstream broadcast traffic consumes bandwidth and spatial streams while being of interest for only a subset of users. Further, transmission rates of broadcast streams may be limited to relatively low rates, such as basic rates.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially used in other embodiments without specific recitation.

Dynamic allocation of broadcast stream support


A core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet has a faucet body, a locking ring unit, a valve case, a valve, a core shaft of the control stick, a stick fixing mount, a support base, a switch mount, and a faucet handle wherein the core shaft of the control stick joined to the stick fixing mount, the valve, and the support base respectively, is located onto the switch mount with an arc actuation block of the core shaft thereof inserted into a link activation cavity of the switch mount thereof. The valve case encased the valve and the switch mount therein is adapted to the faucet body and screw joined thereto via the locking ring unit thereof; the core shaft thereof is screw joined to the faucet handle via an externally threaded upper section thereof. In operation, the faucet handle is pushed forwards or downwards, bending said core shaft of the control stick which will move an upper switch valve of said switch mount therewith via the arc actuation block, for water to be channeled via a lower switch valve for the discharge of cold or hot water for use. To adjust water temperature, the faucet handle thereof is first bent forwards and then switched to the right or left to activate the upper switch valve thereof so as to adjust the amount of cold or hot water channeled via the lower switch valve thereof to be discharged at a desirable temperature for use.

The present invention is related to a core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet, comprising a faucet body, a locking ring unit, a valve case, a valve, a core shaft of the control stick, a stick fixing mount, a support base, a switch mount and a faucet handle wherein said core shaft of the control stick joined to said stick fixing mount, said valve, and said support base respectively, is located onto said switch mount with an arc actuation block of said core shaft thereof inserted into a link activation cavity of said switch mount thereof, and encased by said valve case therein. Said valve case thereof is then adapted to the faucet body via said locking ring unit, and said core shaft thereof is screw joined to faucet handle via an externally threaded upper section thereof. Via said core shaft thereof to activate said switch mount, the faucet handle can easily and accurately adjust the amount and temperature of cold and hot water discharged for use.
Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional the control stick of a faucet is mainly made up of a faucet body 10, a locking ring 13, a valve case 20, a valve 21, a control stick 22, a rotary positioning means 23, a switch mount 24, and a faucet handle 30. Said faucet body 10 is provided with a receiving cavity 11 with an internally threaded locking upper section 12 disposed at the rear center thereof to be communicated with internal water inlet and outlet passages thereof. Said locking ring 13 has a locking hole 131 disposed at the center thereof and externally threaded locking section 132 disposed at the lower outer periphery thereof. Said valve case 20, stepwise, is provided with a valve chamber 201 disposed at the inner side thereof and two limiting blocks 202 disposed at the top of said valve chamber 201 thereof. Said valve 21 is equipped with a through hole 211 disposed at the center thereof, two opposite vertical grooves 215 disposed at the inner periphery thereof, an upper arc abutment facet 212 extending at the upper inner section thereof, an upper tapered recess 213 extending at top of said upper arc abutment facet 212 thereof, and a positioning block 214 extending from the bottom at the outer periphery thereof
Said control stick 22 has a small actuation ball 221 disposed at the bottom thereof, a large rotary ball 223 disposed at the lower section thereof, and a link section 222 joining said small actuation ball 221 and said large rotary ball 223 thereof. A post 224 is extending at both ends at the middle of said large rotary ball 223 thereof, and a main shaft body 225 is extending at top of said large rotary ball 223 with an externally threaded upper section 226 disposed at the end thereof Said rotary positioning means 23, hollow-centered with an outer periphery smaller in diameter than the through hole 211 of said valve 21, is provided with a lower arc abutment facet 231, and a lower tapered recess 232 extending at the bottom of said lower arc abutment facet 231 thereof. Said switch mount 24 is made up of an upper switch valve 241 and a lower switch valve 242 wherein said upper switch valve 241 having a link activation cavity 243 disposed at the top thereof can be horizontally moved and rotated on said lower switch valve 242 for the purposes of switching the discharge of hot or cold water thereof. Said faucet handle 30, vertical-typed, has a round-headed bottom 31 and a turning part 32 extending at the upper section thereof.
Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3. In assembly, said control stick 22 is led through the through hole 211 and joined to said valve 21 from the bottom thereof with said main shaft body 225 extending out at the top thereof. The upper edge of said large rotary ball 223 is abutted against the upper abutment facet 212 thereof, and both ends of said post 224 thereof is adapted to said opposite vertical grooves 215 thereof. Said rotary positioning means 23 is then adapted to the through hole 211 of said valve from the bottom thereof with said link section 222 thereof received at the inner side of said lower tapered recess 232 thereof and said small actuation ball 221 extending out of said rotary positioning means 23 at the bottom thereof. The lower edge of said large rotary ball 223 is abutted against the lower abutment facet 231 thereof, securing locating said rotary positioning means 23 at the inner side of said valve 21 via said through hole 211 thereof. Said valve 21 is then located onto said switch mount 24 with said small actuation ball 221 inserted into said link activation cavity 243 thereof. Said valve case 20 is applied to encase said valve 21 and said switch mount 24 therein with the positioning block 214 of said valve 21 located at the space defined by the two limiting blocks 202 of said valve case thereof for limiting the location and preventing the rotation of said valve 21 thereof. The upper section of said main shaft body 225 thereof is extended out at the top of said valve case 20, and the lower section of said valve case 20 is engaged with the lower outer periphery of said switch mount 24 to complete a switch valve unit which is then adapted to the receiving cavity 11 of said faucet body 40 thereof and screw joined thereto via said locking ring 13. The upper section of said valve 21 is fixedly located at the locking hole 131 of said locking ring 13 thereof and said main shaft body 225 extending out at the top of said valve 21 is screw joined to said faucet handle 30 via said externally threaded upper section 226 thereof to complete the assembly thereof.
Please refer to FIG. 2. In operation, the turning part 32 of said faucet handle 30 is switched either to the left or right to activate the small actuation ball 221 of said control stick 22. Said upper switch valve 241 activated by said small actuation ball 221 to move therewith will slide to either sides thereof for the water inlet to the faucet body 10 thereof to be channeled by said lower switch valve 242 for discharge of cold or hot water. To adjust the temperature of water, said faucet handle 30 is first bent to one side for water to come out and then rotate in either direction to mix the cold and hot water into a proper temperature for use.
There are some drawbacks to such conventional control stick of a faucet. First, said faucet handle 30 is rotated for water to come out of said faucet body 10, and said control stick 22 is switched at either direction to mix said cold and hot water into a proper temperature for use, which is hard to reach in a short period of time and may cause quite a waste of water. Second, it is not only hard to obtain the proper water temperature for use, but also quite easy to get burned by hot water while said control stick is carelessly switched to hot water at a sudden.
It is, therefore, the primary purpose of the present invention to provide a core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet wherein via a core shaft of the control stick joined to a stick fixing mount and a support base, and located onto a switch mount, a faucet handle linked to said core shaft thereof can accurately control the amount and temperature of cold and hot water discharged for use.
It is, therefore, the second purpose of the present invention to provide a core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet wherein said faucet handle facilitated by said core shaft, stick fixing mount, and support base thereof can easily and quickly adjust cold and hot water into a proper temperature for use without wasting any water.
It is, therefore, the third purpose of the present invention to provide a core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet wherein via said core shaft of the control stick to activate said switch mount therewith, said faucet handle can accurately and quickly mix said cold and hot water into a desirable temperature without the danger of getting burned by hot water.

Core shaft of the control stick of a vertical type faucet


Provided is a plasma processing method which comprises steps of preparing a conveying carrier including a holding sheet and a frame provided on a peripheral region of the holding sheet, adhering the substrate on the holding sheet in an inner region inside the peripheral region to hold the substrate on the conveying carrier, sagging the holding sheet in the inner region, setting the conveying carrier on a stage provided within a plasma processing apparatus to contact the holding sheet on the stage so that the holding sheet in the inner region touches the stage before the holding sheet in the peripheral region does, and plasma processing the substrate.

One of processes for dicing the substrate is known as a plasma dicing process which achieves plasma-etching the substrate with a mask thereon so as to divide it into a plurality of individual chips. Patent Document 1 (JP 2014-513868 A or U.S. Pat. No. 8,802,545 B2) discloses the method for plasma processing the substrate, in which the substrate is held on a conveying carrier that includes a holding sheet and a frame adhered on a periphery thereof and the substrate is set on a stage provided within a plasma processing apparatus, for ease of the handling of the substrate during delivery thereof.
Although the frame is designed to typically have a flat surface, the flatness thereof may be insufficient due to deviation and/or tolerance in manufacturing thereof and wear by repeated use in a production line. The insufficient flatness of the frame likely crimps the holding sheet adhered thereon.
The plasma treatment is carried out while the conveying carrier is set on and contacted on the stage by an electrostatic chucking mechanism called as an electrostatic chuck. The electrostatic chucking mechanism pulls or sticks the holding sheet onto the stage by means of the coulomb force or Johnson-Rahbek force between the Electrostatic Chuck electrode (referred to as ESC electrode) provided within the stage and the holding sheet, upon application of voltage with the ESC electrode. The crimps on the holding sheet may cause it pulled or stuck on the stage with a portion raised from the stage. This causes an insufficient contact between the stage and the sheet holding the substrate. The thinner substrate makes the contact therebetween further insufficient, because the lighter weight of the substrate can less effectively spread the crimps on the holding sheet.
The insufficient contact between the stage and the sheet holding the substrate distorts a plasma sheath generated at an interface between the substrate and the plasma atmosphere so that the substrate is unevenly etched, and therefore causing variation of the processed configuration and/or generation of unprocessed portions. Also, the insufficient contact may cause a temperature of the substrate raised at local regions and/or an abnormal discharge. The raised temperature and the abnormal discharge may damage the ESC electrode as well as the substrate and the holding sheet, which eventually deteriorates the production yield of the element chips obtained by the plasma processing method.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Methods for culturing human lung mast cells in the absence of co-culture with feeder cells which are viable for longer than 4 days are provided. Also provided are methods for using these human lung mast cell cultures to assess biological and pharmacological activities of these cells in vivo and to identify modulators of the survival, proliferation, function and phenotypic expression of human lung mast cells. Modulators identified via these cells are useful in the prevention and treatment of diseases involving human lung mast cell function.

Allergic responses to commonly encountered substances in the everyday environment, or hypersensitivity reactions, are commonplace, with millions of Americans suffering from some form of hypersensitivity. Such allergic reactions are also often associated with the existence of asthma, a common disorder of the airways that is estimated to affect 4 to 5 percent of the population of the United States. There are no known cures for allergies or asthma, and currently available treatments in most cases only alleviate symptoms.
The human lung mast cell is a critical effector of respiratory hypersensitivity responses characteristic of both allergies and asthma. The release of inflammatory mediators from lung mast cells plays a central role in the pathophysiology of human allergic disorders. However, attempts to study the biochemistry and pharmacology of human lung mast cells has been stymied by technical difficulties in purification, low yields, inconsistent responsiveness to IgE-mediated stimulation, and short survival in vitro of these cells.
Methods to purify human lung mast cells are extremely difficult to execute and only a few laboratories worldwide have been successful at providing purified preparations of these cells.
Schulman et al. (J. Immunol. 1982 129:2662-2667) describe a method for purification of human lung mast cells where human lung tissue is finely minced and then dispersed into a single cell suspension using a series of enzymes. However, the cells purified by this method remain viable in culture for only short-term (24-96 hours).
Attempts have been made to co-culture human lung mast cells with fibroblasts and human tumor cell lines to extend the time period during which they are viable. Human lung mast cells cultured in culture dishes coated with human fibroblasts survived for approximately 15-30 days during which time the mast cells did not purify and did not proliferate (Levi-Schaffer et al. J. Immunol. 1987 139(2):494-500; and Dvorak et al. Am. J. Pathol. 1991 139(6):1309-18) while human lung mast cells cultured in dishes coated with a human tumor line survived for approximately 30 days (Hartzell et al. ARRD 139(4):A119, 1989). The precise mechanisms and chemical effectors through which the feeder cells allowed prolonged survival of mast cells was not determined in any of these studies.
Also, it is not known whether human lung mast cells in these co-cultures remain fully differentiated and maintain their unique characteristics manifested in vivo. Specifically, it is not known whether the critical cellular processes associated with mediator synthesis, storage and release remain unaltered under these culture conditions and thus maintain their specific phenotype as human lung mast cells. It is known that these mast cells do not proliferate under these conditions.
Attempts have also been made to raise mast cells from CD34 positive precursor stem cells. Most commonly, the source of these cells is human fetal cord blood, but peripheral blood and fetal liver have also been used. The ability to grow mast cells followed the cloning, in the early 1990's of stem-cell factor. Key to the success was combining stem cell factor with specific cytokine growth factors; usually interleukin-6 and/or Interleukin-3 surprisingly, addition to this mast cell culture system of interleukin-4, the cytokine that most defines allergic immunity, induces programmed cell death (apoptosis)(Oskeritzian et al. J. Immunol. 1999 162:5105-5115). Thus, the combination of growth factors mandatory for cultivating precursor-derived mast cells is critical. Although mast cells obtained by this method appeared to be useful for studies of areas such as mast cell biochemistry and signal transduction, their comparability to human lung mast cells was not conclusively demonstrated. Some reports have questioned the full maturity of such cells, with up to 50% of the nuclei in these cells displaying atypia which may be indicative of aberrant development (Bischoff et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1999 96:8080-8085; Dvorak et al. J. Leukoc. Biol. 1993 54:465-485; Toru et al. J. Allergy & Clin. Immunol. 1998 102:491-502). Furthermore, these cells and mature human lung mast cells responded differently to several physiologic and pharmacologic agonists. For example, human cord blood-derived mast cells can produce IL-13 only under co-stimulation with anti-IgE and stem cell factor, whereas human lung mast cells require only anti-IgE to produce IL-13. The cells also exhibit disparate responses to adenosine. Adenosine inhibits IgE-mediated histamine release in cord-blood precursor-derived mast cells as opposed to enhancement of anti-IgE-induced release observed in freshly isolated human lung mast cells(Kanbe et al. Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 1999 119(2):138-142; Suzuki et al. Biochem. Biophy. Res. Commun. 1998 242:697-702; Peachell et al. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 1988 138(5):1143-1151).
Bischoff et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1999 96:8080-8085) described enzymatic dispersion methods for intestinal mast cell purification from human intestinal surgery specimens. However, fundamental differences in the biology of mast cells originating in different tissues and organs of the human body have been well documented. For example, basic differences in triggers, surface receptors and mediators released from skin mast cells versus lung mast cells are remarkable. These major differences render it impossible to directly apply methods for culturing viable mast cells derived from one organ such as the intestine to the culturing of mast cells from another organ such as the lung (Schulman, E. S. and D. G. Raible. 1998. In: Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, vol. 1, 3rd edition, A. P. Fishman (ed.), McGraw Hill: New York, pp. 289-301; Schulman, E. S. Crit. Rev. Immunol. 1993 13:35-70).

Methods for culturing human lung mast cells and uses thereof

Philadelphia, Health and Education Corporation


An apparatus comprising a first interface configured to transmit or receive backbone traffic, a second interface configured to transmit or receive non-backbone traffic, and a third interface in communication with the first interface and second interface, the third interface configured to multiplex or demultiplex the backbone traffic and the non-backbone traffic is disclosed, wherein the backbone traffic is traffic that will be, is, or has been B-tagged. Also disclosed is a node comprising a processor configured to implement a method comprising receiving a first data stream comprising backbone traffic, receiving a second data stream comprising non-backbone traffic, and multiplexing the first data stream with the second data stream.

Modern communication and data networks are comprised of nodes that transport data through the network. The nodes may include routers, switches, and/or bridges that transport the individual data frames and/or packets through the network. A service provider may offer data transport services to customers to promote linking of otherwise disparate and segregated local area networks (LANs). Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) may use a VLAN identifier (VID) to associate data frames together.
One type of network is a provider bridged network (PBN). A PBN may transport data between a customer and a communication network. PBNs may comply with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1ad standard and may employ a 12-bit VID. A PBN may comprise provider edge bridges (PEBs) at the edges of the network and provider bridges (PBs) in the core of the network. A PBN may also comprise other communication nodes.
Another type of network is a provider backbone bridge network (PBBN). A PBBN may be a core network that transports data between PBNs. PBBNs may comply with an IEEE 802.1ah standard and may employ a 24-bit Service Instance Identifier (ISID), thereby promoting a substantially larger pool of unique Service Instances than may be supported by the 12-bit VID associated with the PBNs. A PBBN may comprise provider backbone edge bridges (BEBs) and provider backbone core bridges (BCBs). PBBNs may provide an Ethernet-like mechanism for interconnecting PBNs, which structures the network hierarchically and promotes end-to-end bridged networks that support low cost, low configuration effort network solutions.

Method of supporting an open provider backbone network