An integrated photovoltaic system includes a plurality of individual photovoltaic modules that each convert solar energy into DC power. Each of the photovoltaic modules is coupled to a busway that combines the DC power generated by each photovoltaic module into a DC power output. The connection between each photovoltaic module and the busway is environmentally sealed, as is the electrical wiring contained within the busway. The busway is coupled to a DC to AC power inverter that provides a supply of AC power. The coupling between the busway and the power inverter is environmentally protected, such that the entire DC wiring for the photovoltaic system is environmentally sealed and the system functions as an "AC photovoltaic system" having an AC power output.

The present invention generally relates to a photovoltaic energy system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a photovoltaic energy system that includes a plurality of photovoltaic modules coupled to a power inverter by environmentally protected wiring within a busway such that the photovoltaic system outputs AC power.
Conventional photovoltaic power systems for use in residential and small commercial applications typically include a plurality of interconnected photovoltaic modules mounted on the roof of the residential or commercial building. The interconnected modules are often referred to an array. Each of the photovoltaic modules includes numerous photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into DC power. Typically, the DC power generated by each of the modules is combined by conventional external wiring and fed to a remote DC to AC power inverter, such as the Series 2400 produced by Omnion Power Engineering Corporation, East Troy, Wis., assignees of the present application. In this type of photovoltaic system, the external wiring carrying the DC power runs from the photovoltaic modules on the roof of the building down to the power inverter, which is mounted either internally or externally to a wall of the building. In most photovoltaic power systems, the power inverter is positioned near the electrical power input to the building from a utility provider, since the AC power output of the power inverter is fed into the distribution panel for the building along with the utility power supply.
Although this type of photovoltaic power system has proved to be an effective way to supplement the electrical energy supplied by the utility provider, the external DC wiring running between the individual photovoltaic modules and from the roof of the building down to the power inverter presents problems during installation of the photovoltaic power system. Since DC wiring is seldom installed in building projects other than photovoltaic systems, electricians more familiar with AC wiring codes and requirements often have difficulty in knowing how to comply with all of the specific building code requirements that accompany the proper installation of DC wiring. Thus, the installation of a photovoltaic power systems having external DC wiring requires the electrician installing the system to expend a significant amount of time reviewing seldom used building code requirements for DC wiring, which increases the cost and time of the installation process.
In addition to the problems caused by the DC wiring during the installation process, the National Electric Code, which is adopted by most local governments, imposes additional requirements on photovoltaic power systems that include external DC wiring running from the photovoltaic modules to the power inverter. The more stringent requirements for external DC wiring mandated by the National Electric Code result in higher system cost due to the additional components and safety devices that must be included in the photovoltaic power system.
One way to alleviate the above-identified installation problems and to avoid the code requirements imposed on photovoltaic systems having external DC wiring is to incorporate a DC to AC power inverter directly into each individual photovoltaic panel. In such a system, such as the Sunsine.TM. 300 manufactured by Ascension Technology, Inc., Waltham, Mass., the DC power generated by each individual photovoltaic panel is converted into AC power within the panel itself, such that an electrician installing the panel does not have to deal with external DC wiring. Although this type of "AC photovoltaic module" functions well and avoids many of the above-identified problems, incorporating a DC to AC power inverter into each individual photovoltaic panel greatly increases the cost of the individual panels as compared to conventional photovoltaic panels that output DC power.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a photovoltaic energy system that combines a plurality of individual photovoltaic modules and a single DC to AC power inverter into an environmentally protected assembly that outputs a supply of AC power. It is a further object of the invention to provide a photovoltaic system that incorporates a busway that interconnects the plurality of individual photovoltaic modules and the power inverter in an environmentally protected manner. It still a further object of the invention to provide a photovoltaic module in which the busway and the individual photovoltaic modules include mating plug members and receptacles that allow the individual modules to be connected to the busway in an environmentally sealed manner. It is still a further object of the invention to provide an DC to AC power inverter that is removably connected to the busway and environmentally protected when attached to the busway, such that the entire DC wiring for the photovoltaic system is concealed and protected.
In yet another object of the invention, the busway includes multiple segments that are each attached to or incorporated within the frame member defining each individual photovoltaic module. It is still a further object of the invention to provide a photovoltaic system in which the busway is formed from joined busway segments that each include an end plug and an end receptacle that allows the busway segments to be connected and environmentally sealed.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.


A memory apparatus includes a plurality of first bit columns for constructing a common memory space and at least one reserve second bit column. A column address of a damaged first bit column is recorded as a predetermined column address. When a byte column is accessed, data recorded in the first bit columns and the second bit columns are respectively latched in a first latching device and a second latching device. In the event that the latched access data is accessed, data is outputted by comparing the predetermined column address of each first bit column and an access column address, and when the access column address matches with the predetermined column address, data is outputted via the second latching device; otherwise, the data is outputted via the first latching device.

A chip is a most important hardware component in a modern electronic system. Since functions of the chip have become more and more diversified and complicated, a memory apparatus built in the chip has been adopted to support a memory space for operating the chip. However, a yield rate of the chip is reduced due to damage of the memory apparatus.


Disclosed are primer set compositions, methods and kits for human identification using the highly complex sequence locus, SE33 (ACTBP2) in single and multiplex PCR reactions. Additionally, disclosed are three newly discovered single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the SE33 locus that can cause discordance seen as mobility shift or allelic dropout. Also disclosed are kits useful in human identification.

The fields of forensics, paternity testing, tissue typing, and personalized medicine routinely use DNA-based techniques for identity determinations, genotyping, phenotypic prediction, and in the prediction and/or prevention of disease. DNA typing involves the analysis of alleles of genomic DNA with characteristics of interest, commonly referred to as "markers." Most typing methods in use today are specifically designed to detect and analyze differences in the length and/or sequence of one or more regions of DNA markers known to appear in at least two different forms in a population. Such length and/or sequence variation is referred to as "polymorphism." Any region (i.e., "locus") of DNA in which such a variation occurs is referred to as a "polymorphic locus."
In recent years, the discovery and development of polymorphic short tandem repeats (STRs) as genetic markers has played an important role in DNA typing. STRs have become the primary means for human identity and forensic DNA testing. In 2005, the European forensic community first published recommendations on the development of new multiplexes to provide greater discrimination power and enhanced performance on the increasing number of difficult samples encountered by forensic laboratories. Recently, the number of loci was expanded, referred to as the European Standard Set of Loci (ESSL), to include the SE33 locus for those European countries that chose to analyze this highly informative marker. The German National DNA database has included SE33 in the standard set of loci and SE33 is also profiled by neighbouring countries for data sharing purposes. SE33 is also known as ACTBP2 for β-actin pseudogene or as HUMACTBP2 and is located at 6q14. It has a high level of short tandem repeat (STR) complexity contributing to multiple length and sequence micorvariants that often create difficulties in identifying stable primer-binding sites and in primer design. With its high mutation rate and complicated short tandem repeat sequence SE33 is also highly discriminatory and useful in forensics, disaster victim identification, missing persons investigations and complex kinship analysis.
Accurate DNA analysis has both identified missing persons and exonerated the innocent. The adoption of DNA test results has established DNA-based methodologies as a standard investigative, diagnostic or prognostic tool depending on the application. Matching DNA profiles produced from existing commercial STR assays with improved STR assays provides continuity and comparability of the DNA profiles within and between databases. An alteration in the DNA sequence due to, for example, an unknown mutation, polymorphism or re-arrangement, can result in allelic dropout (the failure or significantly reduced amplification of a target nucleic acid) or mobility shift (discordance of results for the same sample in relation to an allelic ladder when analyzing DNA fragment length on an electrophoresis instrument). The identification of such alterations can be useful in the continued effort to maintain the sensitivity, specificity, quality and reliability of DNA-based technologies. The occurrence of a shift in mobility or allelic dropout in new STR assays can make DNA profile matching within and between databases difficult or imprecise. Thus, careful design of new assays such that all potential amplification products are detected in as large a portion of the population as possible remains an ongoing concern when developing new STR assays. Therefore, there exists a need in the art, to improve DNA-based technologies based on the discovery of new variations in human DNA sequences.

SE33 mutations impacting genotype concordance


A method of cutting, thinning, welding and chemically functionalizing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with carboxyl and allyl moieties, and altering the electrical properties of the CNT films by applying high current densities combined with air-exposure is developed and demonstrated. Such welded high-conductance CNT networks of functionalized CNTs could be useful for device and sensor applications, and may serve as high mechanical toughness mat fillers that are amenable to integration with nanocomposite matrices.

The present invention relates generally to the field of carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
Many envisioned CNT-based applications such as device interconnections in integrated circuits require directed growth of aligned CNTs, and low-resistance high-strength CNT junctions with tunable chemistry, stability and electronic properties. Significant progress has been made in directing the growth of CNT bundles, and utilizing them as interlayer interconnects. However, forming CNT-CNT junctions on the substrate plane in a scalable fashion, to enable in-plane device circuitry and interconnections, remains to be realized. Even in small-scale test-structures with overlapping CNTs created through nanoprobe manipulation and electrofluidic techniques, transforming the high contact resistance at overlapping CNTs to low-resistance CNT-CNT welds without destroying the CNT structure is a major challenge.

Electrical current-induced structural changes and chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes


A system and method for knob refinement. A method includes determining an ordered list of knobs organized with respect to impact on the target metric for a system based on a plurality of historical sets of target metric measurements; determining a second system configuration based on the ordered list of knobs and a first set of target metric measurements recorded for the system when the system is configured according to a first system configuration, the system having a plurality of knobs, wherein the second system configuration includes at least one knob of the plurality of knobs that is reconfigured as compared to the first system configuration; and applying one of the first system configuration and the second system configuration, wherein the applied system configuration is determined based on the first set of target metric measurements and a second set of target metric measurements.

During the process of optimizing computer performance, adjusting the configuration of knobs used by the computer can greatly affect the resulting performance. For example, when compiling software for a computer, the selection of compiler flags may particularly affect resulting performance. Suitable compiler flag selections may be identified in a process known as compiler flag mining. Compiler flag mining is a process of matching compiler flags with an application and the computer system it runs on to achieve the best performance.
Existing solutions for configuration tuning include manual selection of knob values by a human operator. This approach is impractical due to the number of possible configurations of the knobs and their values which may need to be considered. Further, when tuning is performed continuously as frequent changes are made, manually re-selecting of configuration parameters becomes impossible for the human operator.
Other existing solutions may include configuring knobs based on known information about the system being tuned. However, these approaches are inflexible and do not account for differences among hardware-software combinations among systems used for different applications. The result is that these configurations are determined based on predetermined "typical" conditions instead of actual performance variability. Thus, these approaches do not always yield truly optimal performance.
Existing automated solutions for configuration tuning use algorithms that quickly explore the space of possible configurations, searching for a configuration that is near-optimal with regard to a desired performance metric.
Configurations that are a result of a manual or automated search usually include a large set of knob values that are different from the baseline configuration. Some of these knob values contribute to the performance metric, but many of them might not have significant influence and could be left at their baseline values. Having many knobs whose values are different from baseline is undesirable. One of the reasons why this is undesirable is that it increases the validation time required to ensure that the configuration works correctly. Another reason is that system operators can generate insights from having only a short list of influential knobs.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.


The present invention relates to methods for treating melanoma with apilimod and related compositions and methods.

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that develops in the cells (melanocytes) that make our skin color. Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, and the number of melanoma cases diagnosed annually is increasing faster than for any other cancer. An estimated 73,870 new cases of invasive melanoma will be diagnosed in the US in 2015. An estimated 9,940 people will die of melanoma in 2015. Melanoma accounts for less than two percent of skin cancer cases, but the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. 1 in 50 men and women will be diagnosed with melanoma of the skin during their lifetime.
Early-stage melanoma can often be completely removed via surgery of the affected area. But once it has metastasized, it is much harder to treat. In most cases, it is not possible to completely eliminate or cure the cancer once it has metastasized. Depending upon where and how big the metastases are, treatment may involve chemotherapy, surgery, gene therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and combinations of these. There remains a need for more effective and less toxic treatment options for melanoma.

Apilimod for use in the treatment of melanoma


An apparatus having a processor and a circuit is disclosed. The processor may be configured to (i) compare, at a first level of a motion estimation hierarchy, first units of a current picture with a reference picture to generate first metrics, (ii) combine, at the first level, the first metrics to generate second metrics and (iii) refine, at a second level of the hierarchy, the first metrics and the second metrics to generate motion vectors. Multiple metrics may be refined in parallel. The first metrics generally correspond to the first units in an overlapping unit of the current picture. The second metrics generally correspond to a plurality of second units in the overlapping unit. Each second unit may overlap one or more first units. The circuit may be configured to process the overlapping unit based on the motion vectors to generate an output signal.

Conventional tree-coded video compression allows encoding of a picture in units of variable size. The picture is divided into a sequence of basic units, known as coding tree units, that are further divided using a K-tree partitioning into variable size coding units. Each coding unit can be further divided into prediction units, thereby extending the decision tree to even higher depths by considering one of several prediction unit configurations.
Depending on content, different coding unit/prediction unit sizes within a coding tree unit will lead to better quality. Therefore, all combinations of coding unit/prediction units are commonly explored to find the tree partitioning that yields the best quality video coding. Exploring all combinations increases a coding complexity by a factor of N*M, where N is a number of levels in the coding tree and M is a number of prediction units. What is lacking is a motion estimation system that can efficiently explore a solution space for all coding unit/prediction unit combinations that are possible with the tree-coded video compression.
It would be desirable to implement shared motion estimation cost metrics for overlapping units.

Shared motion estimation cost metrics for overlapping units


A process for producing a solar cell comprises the steps of; forming at least one electrode on a first surface of a semiconductor substrate for constructing a solar cell, attaching a support substrate to the first surface of the semiconductor substrate on which said electrode is formed, and then processing the semiconductor substrate into a thin-film semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing solar cells and solar cells produced thereby, and more particularly relates to a process for producing solar cells for use in outer space which can be borne by an artificial satellite and solar cells produced by the process.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, solar cells which can be used in outer space are under active development.
Solar cells in use in space are exposed to cosmic rays flying around in huge numbers. As a result, the solar cells deteriorate in properties including conversion efficiency with varying degrees of deterioration depending upon the kind of the solar cells. Accordingly, it is one of the most important challenges in development of space-use solar cells to realize the highest possible output for an final output (i.e., minimum output during their service) in view of irradiation doses in a use environment.
Typical space-use solar cells are produced by the following process:
First, as shown in FIG. 12(a), a semiconductor substrate 50 is used. The semiconductor substrate 50 is cut from an ingot of single-crystal silicon usually in the form of a wafer of about 300 .mu.m thickness.
Next, as shown in FIG. 12(b), this substrate 50 is made into a thin-film silicon substrate 51 of about 100 to 200 .mu.m thickness by etching with an aqueous acidic or alkali solution or by polishing. Subsequently, the thin-film silicon substrate 51 is washed a number of times. Then, p-type diffusion layers (not shown) are formed on one surface of the silicon substrate 51, for example, on a surface opposite to a photo-receptive face-to-be (i.e., on a non-photo-receptive face).
Subsequently, high-concentration n-type diffusion layers (not shown) are formed on the photo-receptive face. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12(c), an insulating film is partially removed, and n-electrodes 52 of Ag/Pd/Ti and p-electrodes (not shown) of Ag/Pd/Ti/Al are formed on the photo-receptive face and on the non-photo-receptive face, respectively.
Then, as shown in FIG. 12(d), the resulting substrate is separated into individual cells. Thus solar cells of single-crystal silicon are obtained.
Also solar cells in which both electrodes contact on a rear surface are well known. The solar cells of this type are produced by the following process:
First, a semiconductor substrate 50 as shown in FIG. 13(a) which is cut in the form of a wafer as in the above-described process is made into a thin-film silicon substrate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 13(b). Subsequently, the silicon substrate 51 is subjected to a number of washings.
Thereafter, on one surface of the silicon substrate 51, for example, on the non-photo-receptive face thereof, p-type diffusion layers and n-type diffusion layers are formed in the form of islands.
Then, as shown in FIG. 13(c), an insulating film is partially removed, and electrodes, for example, of Ag/Pd/Ti/Al are formed as p-electrodes 54 and n-electrodes 52 so as to come in contact with the island-like p-type and n-type diffusion layers, respectively.
Subsequently, as in the aforementioned process, the resulting substrate is divided into individual cells, as shown in FIG. 13(d). Thus solar cells of single-crystal silicon are obtained.
Generally, the thinner the substrate of a solar cell is, the less susceptible to the effect of cosmic rays the solar cell is.
However, in the case of a substrate of a crystalline semiconductor, the thinner the substrate is, the stronger the possibility of the substrate breaking during manufacture of solar cells becomes. Therefore, it is actually impossible to manufacture thin solar cells from a very thin substrate of a crystalline semiconductor. In a conventional technique, the marginal thickness of the substrate is about 100 .mu.m. Furthermore, in this case, it is required to process an originally thick substrate into a substrate of about 100 .mu.m thickness before entering the process of constructing a solar cell structure.
On the other hand, in the case where an amorphous semiconductor is used, it is possible to obtain very thin solar cells. This is because the amorphous semiconductor can usually be formed in extreme thin films on transparent substrates by CVD and the thin films can be used for the solar cells. In addition to that, the amorphous semiconductor can have relatively free band gaps, and accordingly is excellent in radiation resistance. However, the films of the amorphous semiconductor include lots of elements nucleating re-association of minority carriers such as in-gap levels and grain boundaries within the full area of the films, and the films of the amorphous semiconductor have a shorter diffusion length for carriers, which greatly affects the conversion efficiency of solar cells, compared with single-crystal silicon. Therefore, a high initial conversion efficiency cannot be expected unless a breakthrough technique is introduced to the thin films.
In contrast, with solar cells of crystalline materials typified by silicon, a high initial conversion efficiency before exposure to radiation can be realized. However, every crystalline material has its own fixed band gap. In addition to that, a thin substrate thereof is difficult to handle as described above. Therefore, it has been very hard to improve the radiation resistance of the solar cells of this type.

Process for producing solar cells and solar cells produced thereby


An adjusting and cutting tool including a distal end engageable with an elongate portion of an implantable article to facilitate manipulation of the elongate portion relative to a support portion of the implantable article and to facilitate cutting of the elongate portion. Also included is method of treating vaginal prolapse, the method including the steps of providing a multi-piece implantable article having at least one extension portion piece and a support portion piece, placing the support portion piece in contact with vaginal tissue, placing at least one extension portion piece in contact with tissue of a component of sacral anatomy, adjusting a position of the at least one extension portion piece relative to the support portion piece using a adjusting and cutting tool, and cutting the at least one extension portion with the adjusting and cutting tool.

Pelvic health for men and women is a medical area of increasing importance, at least in part due to an aging population. Examples of common pelvic ailments include incontinence (e.g., fecal and urinary incontinence), pelvic tissue prolapse (e.g., female vaginal prolapse), and other conditions that affect the pelvic floor. Pelvic disorders such as these can be caused by weakness or damage to normal pelvic support systems. Common etiologies include childbearing, removal of the uterus, connective tissue defects, prolonged heavy physical labor, and postmenopausal atrophy.
In more particularity, pelvic floor disorders include cystocele, rectocele, and prolapse such as anal, uterine, and vaginal vault prolapse. Vaginal vault prolapse is a condition that occurs when the upper portion of the vagina loses its normal shape and moves downwardly into the vaginal canal. In its severest forms, vaginal vault prolapse can result in the distension of the vaginal apex outside of the vagina. Vaginal vault prolapse may occur alone, such as can be caused by weakness of the pelvic and vaginal tissues and muscles, or can be associated with a rectocele, cystocele and/or enterocele. A rectocele is caused by a weakening or stretching of tissues and muscles that hold the rectum in place, which can result in the rectum moving from its usual location to a position where it presses against the back wall of the vagina. A cystocele is a hernia of the bladder, usually into the vagina and introitus. An enterocele is a vaginal hernia in which the peritoneal sac containing a portion of the small bowel extends into the rectovaginal space. All of these conditions can represent challenging forms of pelvic disorders for surgeons to treat, which treatment procedures can involve relatively lengthy surgical procedure times. Some of these treatments include, for example, abdominal sacralcolpopexy (SCP), which may be performed laparoscopically, and transvaginal sacralcolpopexy (TSCP), wherein these procedures are performed using a variety of different instruments, implants, and surgical methods. It is known to repair vaginal vault prolapse by suturing the vaginal vault (e.g., by stitches) to the supraspinous ligament or by attaching the vaginal vault through mesh or fascia to the sacrum.
There is ongoing need to provide physicians with improved methods and associated instruments for treating pelvic conditions including incontinence, vaginal prolapse (e.g., vaginal vault prolapse), and other pelvic organ prolapse conditions, wherein such methods can include those that are minimally invasive, safe, and highly effective.

Implants, tools, and methods for treatment of pelvic conditions


The invention relates to a device for holding and releasing an object, such device having a body with a cavity in which the object is accommodatable, an elastic retaining member for retaining the object in the cavity, and, a pushing member for pushing the object out of the body past the retaining member. The pushing member has a first stimuli responsive gel, which has a volume that varies in response to variation of a selected physical stimulating parameter and a controller capable of activating the pushing member by stimulating the first gel.

For producing a gas and/or oil field a hole is drilled into a number of geological formations. The gas and/or oil seeps through these layers into the hole from which the oil and/or gas is transported to the surface. For larger fields a main hole is drilled with a number of branches. To each branch oil and/or gas seeps and is collected into the main hole.
When producing an oil field or gas field it is desired to measure certain quantities in the wells. In for example a well with branches it is desired to detect if a branch still produces oil or gas or if for example water seeps into the branch. In this case the branch has to be shut off.
The applicant has developed sensors, which can be arranged into a hole in order to detect the certain quantities. These sensors are described in the international patent application WO 99/66172.
These sensors have to be arranged downhole at in some cases a few kilometres from the production platform. It is costly to provide cables downhole to the arrangement, which holds these sensors.


A waterproof connector capable of maintaining high waterproof properties even under high water pressure is provided. The waterproof connector includes: a connector main body having connection terminals held by a housing; a casing having a connector accommodating portion in which the connector main body is accommodated; and a sealing material fixed to an outer peripheral portion of the housing and preventing water from entering between the housing and the casing. The sealing material includes a peripheral abutting portion configured to abut against an inner peripheral surface of the connector accommodating portion, and a rear abutting portion configured to abut against a rear wall portion of the connector accommodating portion, and the housing includes a sealing material supporting surface configured to support a rear surface portion of the rear abutting portion.

In recent years, portable communication terminals such as smartphones and electronic devices such as wristwatch-type terminals in accordance with waterproof specifications have been widely used, and such waterproof electronic devices are provided with waterproof connectors for connection with chargers and other devices (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
The waterproof connector includes a connection terminal for connecting to a substrate or the like of an electronic device, and a connector main body for holding the terminal. The waterproof connecter is configured such that the connector main body is accommodated in a casing forming a housing of the electronic device, and a gap between the casing and the connector main body is sealed by a sealing material such as a packing fitted to an outer periphery of the connector main body.


An upper turning body is mounted on a lower travelling body to be capable of turning. An attachment is arranged in the upper turning body. A power storage device is arranged in the upper turning body together with the attachment. A discharge current from the power storage device drives electric parts. The power storage device has a housing in which a first flow path for coolant's flow is formed. A power storage module is arranged inside the housing. The power storage module includes stacked power storage cells, and the power storage cells are thermally coupled to the first flow path. The housing includes a lower housing and an upper housing. The first flow path is formed in one of a bottom panel of the lower housing and an upper panel of the upper housing.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a shovel equipped with a power storage device.
Description of Related Art
A power storage module has been known in which a plurality of plate-shaped power storage cells are stacked on one another and the stacked power storage cells are connected in series. A heat transfer plate for cooling is inserted between the power storage cells. Pushing plates are arranged in both ends of a stacked body formed of the power storage cells and the heat transfer plates, and tie rods are passed through two pushing plates. The tie rods apply compressive force to the stacked body.
Two pairs of wallboards are arranged on the left, right, top and bottom of the stacked body, and are fixed to the pushing plates by bolts or the like. One pair of wallboards is thermally coupled to the heat transfer plates via end surfaces of the heat transfer plates, thereby absorbing heat of the heat transfer plates. Two pushing plates and two pairs of wallboards are fixed to each other by the bolts so as to configure a robust parallelepiped structure. This can improve impact resistance of the power storage module.
A shovel includes a lower travelling body having crawlers and an upper turning body mounted thereon. Many parts such as an engine, a counterweight, a cabin, a hydraulic oil tank, a fuel tank and the like are mounted on the upper turning body. Accordingly, there are limitations on a space for installing the power storage device accommodating the power storage module.

Shovel including power storage device with housing having coolant flow path


Memory of a database management system (DBMS) that is running in a virtual or physical machine is managed using techniques that that reduce the effect of memory swaps on the performance of the physical or virtual machine. One such technique includes the steps of determining a swap rate while the database application is in an executing state, and decreasing the size of memory space available to the database application if the swap rate is above a threshold.

Due to the specialized ways that database management systems (DBMS) utilize memory to access data, a DBMS typically implements its own memory management techniques rather than relying on more general memory management techniques that are provided by the underlying operating system on which the DBMS runs. For example, a DBMS may expressly request that the operating system allocate to it a portion of memory so that it can manage such memory on its own, thereby avoiding triggering of memory management techniques (disk swaps, LRU page replacement algorithms, etc.) that the underlying operating system may typically use to "over-commit" its available physical memory in an effort to provide running applications a larger "virtual" memory space in which to execute. That is, although the operating system may provide the DBMS a virtual memory space that is larger than the portion of physical memory allocated to the DBMS application, the DBMS application can, using its own memory management techniques, ensure that it utilizes its virtual memory space within the bounds of its allocated physical memory and therefore avoid any operating system level memory management activities that would otherwise adversely affect performance of the DBMS (e.g., untimely writes to swap disk, etc.).
Tuning the DBMS memory has been at the forefront of database research. Recently, autonomic techniques for tuning the memory of DBMS at runtime have been developed for some commercial relational databases. One such technique employs memory pools, each employing specialized paging policies apart from the paging policies of the operating system. Tuning parameters in this technique include the amount of memory to be allocated to these pools and how that memory is to be divided among the various memory pools.
The largest of the memory pools is the buffer pool, which contains the memory pages of database tables that are actively involved in transaction processing. As a transaction modifies rows in database tables, the pages containing these rows are brought into the buffer pool from disk and are modified in place. When the transaction is eventually committed by the DBMS, these "dirty" pages are flushed to disk under the control of the DBMS, for example, by atomically writing a record relating to committed transaction into a write-ahead transaction log on disk to ensure that the transaction's changes are never lost. It should be noted that the DBMS, not the operating system, determines when dirty pages of the buffer pool are written to disk.
In addition, the DBMS, implementing its own memory management, typically maintains its own free list of memory pages and memory page descriptor data structures that are separate and different from any memory management based free memory page lists and data structures maintained by the operating system. Indeed, a memory page that the DBMS may regard as free (e.g., because it has recently completed a database query transaction relating to the data in the memory page) may actually appear to the operating system to be a more important memory page because the DBMS has recently accessed the memory page. As an additional example, memory page descriptor data structures maintained by the DBMS may indicate which memory pages are "clean" and which ones are not. Clean memory pages are those that contain data that matches the corresponding data stored in the database on disk. Because the operating system has no knowledge that the DBMS utilizes portions of its allocated memory as an in-memory cache of the data it stores in the database on disk (e.g., for faster access and query response times), it is not able to similarly characterize the memory pages used by the DBMS.
The DBMS's own memory management techniques referenced above work well when the DBMS is the only application running on a host computer and is able to ensure its own allocation of physical memory. However, when a DBMS is run in a virtual machine that is hosted on a computer with other virtual machines, or the DBMS is run in a physical machine alongside other workloads, the DBMS, as initially tuned, may be forced to run with insufficient physical memory, resulting in performance degradations, e.g., due to disk swaps.

Dynamic database memory management according to swap rates


A gas detection device comprises a pump module for drawing in air; a sensor module including a plurality of unit sensors detecting a gas included in the air; a driving module driving the pump module and the sensor module; and a case including a main body mounted to allow at least one among the pump module, the sensor module, and the driving module to be detachable and a cover connected to the main body to allow the at least one among the pump module, the sensor module, and the driving module to be exposed.

The present disclosure relates to a gas detection device.
Various gases may be used in semiconductor process lines and industrial sites, and gas detection devices may be operated to prevent large-scale accidents due to gas leaks. Gas detection devices may be used to detect gas in a chamber in which a semiconductor process is performed, or a gas pipe or a valve connected to such a chamber. Alternatively, gas detection devices may be used to detect a gas leak at industrial sites. Generally, various kinds of gases can be used in the field, therefore, there is an increasing demand for gas detecting apparatus being capable of detecting various kinds of gases.


A shipping container for a personal watercraft, in which a first and second pair of roller guides attach to a pallet for removably receiving a pair of trusses that support a personal watercraft thereon, the trusses movable between a first position for loading or unloading the personal watercraft and a second position for storing and transporting of the personal watercraft at an oblique angle. A method of containing a personal watercraft in a shipping container is disclosed.

Personal watercraft are increasingly popular for recreational activities. Over the years since introduction, the various models of personal watercraft have changed in size and performance. A manufactured watercraft is packaged in a palletized container for warehouse storage and for shipping by truck from a manufacturer to retailer. Initially, such watercraft were placed in containers that allowed two to be placed side-by-side in a section of a truck and two additional containers stacked on top.
The watercraft however have changed from initial small-beam powered craft to single and multiple seating powerful watercraft having larger beam widths and longer aft-to-stern lengths. The increased beam provides stability for the larger multi-passenger personal watercraft.
The increased beam, or maximum width, of newer models of personal watercraft however poses transport problems. Because domestic (U.S.) truck trailers typically provide about 96-98 inches usable transverse space (nominal 102 inch wide trailers), pallet containers have a maximum of 48 inches width in order to maintain usage at two containers positioned side-by-side in a trailer. A single pallet container leaves significant space that typically is filled with buffer material to restrict movement of the container during transport. However, transport of watercraft in single pallet container loading (rather than side-by-side container transport) increases shipping costs. Export containers are more restrictive with a maximum width of 45 inches for side-by-side positioning in a 90-92 inch usable storage width (nominal 98 inches).
The industry resolved this transport problem by mounting personal watercraft on angled supports of about 40-48 degrees. This positioned a horizontal axis of the personal watercraft at an angle to the pallet that sits parallel to the floor of the trailer. The angled positioning accommodated the larger beam watercraft.
The use of angled support containers however lead to uncrating problems at retailers. The personal watercraft is heavy, long and wide, and can be 1400 pounds or more, with 10-12 foot lengths and 48 inch beams. Retailers generally lack lifting equipment to engage the watercraft angled on the pallet, and then, support and lift the watercraft to a horizontal orientation, and remove the watercraft from the pallet for placing on a wheeled dolly to move to a display or to a body of water.
There is a need in the industry for shipping containers that are readily usable in trucking to remote retailers of personal watercraft mounted at an angled orientation relative to a pallet of the shipping container while facilitating the handling of the personal watercraft at a horizontal orientation for creating for storage and shipping and uncrating of the watercraft for display and sale. It is to such that the present invention is directed.

Transport shipping container for personal watercraft


A handheld marking instrument includes a body having a substantially flat shape, a first chamber formed within the body and having an inner surface configured to receive and contain a marking substance within the body, and a first marking device configured to deliver the marking substance to a desired surface during marking. The first marking device is incorporated in the body and in communication with the first chamber to access the marking substance contained by the inner surface. At least a part of the first marking device is moveable between an exposed position for marking on the desired surface, and a retracted position. In one embodiment, the body has a form factor of a financial transaction card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a marking instrument.
2. Description of the Related Art
Marking instruments of all types, three-dimensional shapes, and sizes exist, and may be used for writing and marking on a desired surface. The most common form for a marking instrument is a rigid extended cylindrical shape of varying length and diameter, containing an apparatus to contain a marking substance and/or solid (hereinafter referred to as a "marking substance-containing apparatus"), and an apparatus to suitably deliver the marking substance and/or solid (hereinafter referred to as a "marking substance") to the surface to be written upon or marked (hereinafter referred to as a "marking device" or a "marking solid-delivering apparatus").
Generally, such writing and marking instruments also contain an apparatus to prevent the marking device and/or the marking solid-delivering apparatus from marking surfaces when the writing and marking instrument is not being used, commonly in the form of a capping apparatus or a retracting apparatus. Additionally, common writing and marking instruments often contain an apparatus to attach the writing and marking instrument to clothing worn by the user (hereinafter referred to as an "attachment apparatus"), generally in the form of a semi-rigid clip apparatus.
Common embodiments of such writing and marking instruments are ball point pens, fountain pens, porous-nib pens and markers, mechanical pencils, and various combinations of pens, mechanical pencils and markers. Pens and markers use a variety of suitable inks and marking chemical compounds to mark surfaces. Pencils use a variety of suitable solid marking compounds to mark surfaces (hereinafter referred to as "marking solids").

Marking instruments and methods of manufacturing marking instruments


A method and apparatus for making an inference using frame-based knowledge representation in which each slot is accompanied by information regarding a quantitative correspondence between its slot value and the frame to which it belongs. This makes an accurate comprehension of what can be inherited possible so an inference can be carried out with consistent accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method and apparatus for making inferences, using frame-based knowledge representation primarily utilized in artificial intelligence technology, in which various knowledge about an object of interest is collectively stored in frames, and inferences are made utilizing hierarchical data structure formed by the frames interactively.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A method known as frame-based knowledge representation is an effective way of representing knowledge of various kind in a flexible manner which allows easy access, management, and utilization of the knowledge.
In this frame-based knowledge representation, an object is represented by a frame comprised of slot - slot value pairs. Each slot represents a categorized character and each slot-value represents a particular character value corresponding to the object being represented. An example of such frame-based knowledge representation is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, where a frame is shown as a rectangular box with a frame name such as `computer` or `processor` given on the upper side of each box. Labels given inside each box such as `super` or `sub` are slots, and those accompanying each slot (following : symbol) such as `personal computer` or `microcomputer` are slot values. In a given frame representing a certain object, a slot `super` indicates a broader concept of the object, a slot `sub` indicates a narrower concept of the object, a slot `has part` indicates a component of the object, a slot `has-instance` indicates an example of the object, a slot `part-of` indicates what the object is a component of, and a slot `instance-of` indicates what the object is an example of.
In an apparatus for making inferences using such frame-based knowledge representations in a knowledge base, if a required character value of an object was not found in a frame representing the object, the character value is inferred by so-called inheritance, i.e., a slot value of a slot belonging to a frame representing a broader concept of the object and representing the same character as that of the required character value is regarded as the required character value of the object. For instance, in the example shown in FIG. 1, if a question asked was `Does a business personal computer have a microprocessor as a component ?`, then a frame `business personal computer` is looked up first. But as there is no slot `has-part` found in that frame, a frame `personal computer` which represents a broader concept is looked up next. As there is a slot `has-part` in this frame with a slot value `microprocessor`, this slot value is inherited by the frame `business personal computer` as the character value needed, and an answer `true` will be given to the original question.
As in this example, the inheritance conventionally has been an unrestricted transferring of a slot--slot value pair of a frame representing the broader concept to a frame representing the narrower concept. However, there is trouble with this manner of the inheritance in the following circumstance. In an example shown in FIG. 1, if a question asked was `What is 4 bMP (4 bit microprocessor) a component of ?`, then as there is no slot `part-of` found in the frame `4 bMP`, the pair of the slot `part-of` and a slot value `personal computer` in a frame `microprocessor` which represents a broader concept of 4 bMP will be inherited down to the frame `4 bMP`, and an answer `4 bMP is a component of a personal computer` will be inferred. The trouble is that this answer contradicts our common knowledge. The source of this trouble is that it is not that a personal computer has all the microprocessors as its components as the process of the inference in this example appears to interpret, but that a personal computer in general has some kind of a microprocessor as its component. In other words, `microprocessor` appearing in the frame `personal computer` does not necessarily corresponds one-to-one with a general notion of microprocessor.
Thus the conventional mechanism of inheritance in frame-based knowledge representation has a problem in not being able to distinguish differences in ranges of certain concepts and different senses of hierarchical relationships among frames representing such concepts, and this may induce incorrect inferences.

Method and apparatus for making inferences using frame-based knowledge representation


A robot arm with a robot-hand drive device, which has at least three electric motors arranged in an arm boom of the robot arm for driving a multi-axis robot hand of the arm boom, each electric motor having an electric rotor, each of which has a motor shaft. The at least three electric motors are arranged in the interior of a common housing cylinder block, in such a way that each rotor lies in a separate cylinder sector of the housing cylinder block, more specifically with its respective motor shaft running parallel to the center axis of the housing cylinder block, said axis running longitudinally along the arm boom.

A robot arm with a robot-hand drive device is known from EP 2 024 144 B1 which comprises a plurality of drive motors with drive shafts arranged in an arm boom of the robot for driving a robot hand of the arm boom, wherein at least one of the drive motors is arranged forwardly offset from at least one other of the drive motors in the axial direction of the robot hand and wherein the drive shafts of the drive motors are formed as straight shafts that run parallel to each other, which end at substantially the same axial height, wherein three drive shafts are provided that are arranged so that a distance of the drive shaft of a middle drive motor from one of the drive shafts of two lateral drive motors is less than the sum of the radii of the motor housings of an adjacent pair of the axially offset drive motors.

Robot arm with a robot-hand drive device


In an output stage, an n-FET and a p-FET are connected in series, which is interposed between a power supply line and a ground. A first serial connection circuit generates a gate potential of the n-FET, and a second serial connection circuit generates a gate potential of the p-FET. The first and the second serial connection circuits are connected in parallel to each other, each of which has its one end connected to the power supply line through a resistor, and its other end connected to the ground through a resistor. As a result, even if a resistance value of the resistor is small, currents to be consumed can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to voltage generating circuits for a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to an improvement of a circuit for generating a voltage to be applied to a predetermined part of a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a semiconductor device such as a dynamic RAM, a voltage generating circuit is provided for generating a voltage to be applied to cell plates and bit lines.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a voltage generating circuit for such a conventional semiconductor memory device, which is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,455. In the drawing, the voltage generating circuit comprises n-type field effect transistors 1-3, p-type field effect transistors 4-6, and resistors 7-10. Two serial connection circuits 31 and 32 are interposed in parallel between a power supply line 20 and a ground. The first serial connection circuit 31 comprises the resistor 7, the n-type field effect transistors (hereinafter referred to as n-FET) 1 and 2 and the resistor 8 connected in series. The resistor 7 has one end connected to the power supply line 20, and the other end connected to a drain electrode and a gate electrode of the n-FET 1. A source electrode of the n-FET 1 is connected to a drain electrode and a gate electrode of the n-FET 2. A source electrode of the n-FET 2 is connected to one end of the resistor 8. The other end of the resistor 8 is connected to the ground. On the other hand, the second serial connection circuit 32 comprises the resistor 9, the p-type field effect transistors (hereinafter, referred to as p-FET) 4 and 5, and the resistor 10 connected in series. The resistor 9 has one end connected to the power supply line 20, and the other end connected to a source electrode of the p-FET 4. A drain electrode of the p-FET 4 is connected to its gate electrode and a source electrode of the p-FET 5. A drain electrode of the p-FET 5 is connected to its gate electrode and one end of the resistor 10. The other end of the resistor 10 is connected to the ground. The n-FET 3 and p-FET 6 are connected in series to be interposed between the power supply line 20 and the ground. More specifically, the n-FET 3 has its drain electrode connected to the power supply line 20, and its source electrode connected to a source electrode of the n-FET 6. A drain electrode of the p-FET 6 is connected to the ground, while a gate electrode of the n-FET 3 is connected to the drain electrode of the n-FET 1, and a gate electrode of the p-FET 6 is connected to the drain electrode of the p-FET 5. An output V.sub.out is taken from a node between the source electrode of the n-FET 3 and the source electrode of the p-FET 6.
Now, operation of the voltage generating circuit shown in FIG. 1 will be described. When a power supply is turned on, a power supply voltage V.sub.CC is applied to the power supply line 20, so that n-FETs 1 and 2 are rendered conductive, and the p-FETs 4 and 5 also rendered conductive. Now, assuming that a resistance value R7 of the resistor 7 and a resistance value R8 of the resistor 8 are equal (R7=R8), a potential at a node between the drain electrode of the n-FET 1 and the resistor 7, that is, a gate potential of the n-FET 3 becomes as represented by the following equation, EQU (V.sub.CC /2)+V.sub.thn
while a potential at a node between the drain electrode of the p-FET 5 and the resistor 10, that is, a gate potential of the p-FET 6 is represented by the following equation, EQU (V.sub.CC /2)-V.sub.thp
Accordingly, when the output voltage V.sub.OUT becomes larger than V.sub.CC /2, the p-FET 6 is rendered conductive so that the output voltage V.sub.OUT drops. On the other hand, when the output voltage V.sub.OUT becomes smaller than V.sub.CC /2, the n-FET 3 is rendered conductive, so that the output voltage V.sub.OUT rises. Accordingly, the output voltage V.sub.OUT is always held at V.sub.CC /2.
More specifically, the voltage generating circuit of FIG. 1 is a voltage generating circuit for stably generating a voltage V.sub.CC /2 which is half of the power supply voltage.
Since a conventional voltage generating circuit is constructed as the above, currents always flow through the first serial connection circuit 31 and the second serial connection circuit 32. Therefore, resistance values of the resistors 7-10 should be made larger in order to reduce power consumption. However, because the resistors 7-10 are formed by diffusion resistance in a semiconductor substrate, the area of the resistors is increased in proportion to the resistance values. As a result, a circuit area of a voltage generating circuit became larger. The resistors 7 and 8, and 9 and 10 form voltage dividing circuits for generating each gate potential of the n-FET 3 and p-FET 6, respectively. Therefore, if resistance values become larger, fluctuation of the power supply voltage V.sub.CC causes accuracy of detection of a reference voltage to be generated in each voltage dividing circuit to be rendered, so that the output voltage V.sub.OUT could not be held at V.sub.CC /2.

Voltage generating circuit for semiconductor device


There is provided a four-wheel drive hybrid electric automobile in which right and left front wheels are driven by a liquid fuel engine and right and left rear wheels are driven by switched reluctance motors. A liquid fuel engine (2) for driving first and second front wheels (21, 22) is arranged at a front part of a vehicle body (1), and first and second switched reluctance motors (8, 9) for driving first and second rear wheels (23, 24) are arranged at a rear part of the vehicle body (1). By arranging the first and second switched reluctance motors (8, 9) not in the wheel hubs of the first and second rear wheels (23, 24) but on the rear part of the vehicle body (1) with wide layout space, the degree of freedom when the switched reluctance motors (8, 9) are laid out on the vehicle can be improved.

In recent years, a so-called four-wheel drive hybrid automobile using an electric motor as a driving source is suggested. Additionally, among four-wheel drive hybrid electric automobiles, an electric automobile which drives right and left front wheels with a liquid fuel engine and drives right and left rear wheels with a direct-current motor is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In the four-wheel drive hybrid electric automobile in the example of Patent Document 1, the driving force of an alternating-current (AC) motor is transmitted to a differential gear of a rear wheel via a speed reducer and an electromagnetic clutch, and the driving force of the AC motor is distributed to right and left rear wheels by this differential gear.
However, in such a four-wheel drive hybrid electric automobile, machine parts such as the differential gear and the electromagnetic clutch exist, and reduction of fuel cost is difficult due to the weight of the machine parts. Therefore, further improvement in fuel efficiency by reduction of the weight of the machine parts is required.
Thus, there is suggested a structure which drives the right and left rear wheels (for example, refer to Patent Document 2) in which switched reluctance motors (hereinafter referred to as "SR motors") are directly arranged in the wheel hubs of the right and left rear wheels, respectively, not via a differential gear and an electromagnetic clutch, the output shafts of the SR motors are connected to the brake discs fixed to the wheels, and the driving force of the SR motors is transmitted to the wheels via the brake discs.
On the other hand, generally an automobile transmits rotation of an engine shaft which is an output portion of a liquid fuel engine to the wheels, and travels by the rotation of the wheels.
Then, in order to cope with traveling modes, such as the start of a vehicle on an upward slope, that is, traveling at low speed with high torque, and traveling on a highway, that is, traveling at high speed with low torque, the rotation of the engine shaft is decelerated or accelerated (shifted) by a transmission, and is transmitted to the wheels. That is, the automobile travels by rotating a driving shaft by the rotation of the decelerated or accelerated engine shaft, and rotating the wheels connected to the driving shaft. In particular, since it is necessary to rotate the wheels with large torque in order to start the vehicle from a stopped state, the transmission requires a mechanism which significantly decelerates the rotation of the engine shaft.
Moreover, it is necessary for the vehicle not only to travel forward but also to enter a parking lot or leave the parking lot, or reverse for a change in direction or the like. Therefore, the transmission requires a mechanism which converts the direction of rotation of the engine shaft into rotation in a direction opposite to the direction when traveling forward, transmits the rotation converted into the rotation in the opposite direction to the driving shaft, and rotates the driving shaft in the opposite direction.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a transmission attached to a liquid fuel engine of an automobile. This drawing shows an internal structure of a transmission loaded on an automobile (a so-called FF vehicle) in which a liquid fuel engine is arranged at the front of a vehicle to drive right and left front wheels. An engine shaft 30 of the liquid fuel engine is inserted into the transmission 3, and is rotatably arranged inside the transmission 3.
In the engine shaft 30 to be inserted into the transmission 3, a reverse driving gear 32a, a first driving gear 33a, a second driving gear 34a, a third driving gear 35a, and a fourth driving gear 36a are integrally formed sequentially toward the side (left side on the plane of the sheet) far from the liquid fuel engine from the side (right side on the plane of the sheet) near the liquid fuel engine. Additionally, in the first to fourth driving gears (33a to 36a), the number of teeth z1 of the first driving gear 33a is the smallest, and the number of teeth is set so as to become large in order of the number of teeth z2 of the second driving gear 34a, the number of teeth z3 of the third driving gear 35a, and the number of teeth z4 of the fourth driving gear 36a.
A main shaft 31 which is a driven shaft is rotatably arranged inside the transmission 3, similarly to the engine shaft 30, at a position parallel to the engine shaft 30 which is a main driving shaft. In the main shaft 31, a final driving gear 37a, a reverse driven gear 32b, a first driven gear 33b, a second driven gear 34b, a third driven gear 35b, and a fourth driven gear 36b are provided sequentially toward the side (left side on the plane of the sheet) far from the liquid fuel engine from the side (right side on the plane of the sheet) near the liquid fuel engine. The final driving gear 37a and the reverse driven gear 32b are formed integrally with the main shaft 31.
Meanwhile, a recess-shaped serration 31a which extends in an axial direction is formed at regular pitches in a circumferential direction on the surface of a portion (the left side on the plane of the sheet) in which the final driving gear 37a and reverse driven gear 32b of the main shaft 31 are not formed. The first driven gear 33b, the second driven gear 34b, the third driven gear 35b, and the fourth driven gear 36b are movable in the axial direction along the above-described recess shape of the main shaft 31, the movement of these gears in the circumferential direction is prevented by the main shaft 31. Additionally, the movement of the first to fourth driven shafts (32b to 36b) in the axial direction is controlled by a command from the vehicle.
In the first to fourth driven gears (33b to 36b), the number of teeth Z1 of the first driven gear 33b is the greatest, and the number of teeth is set so as to become small in order of the number of teeth Z2 of the second driven gear 34b, the number of teeth Z3 of the third driven gear 35b, and the number of teeth Z4 of the fourth driven gear 36b.
The first driven gear 33b meshes with the first driving gear 33a, and the first driving gear 33a and first driving gear 33b mesh with each other so as to form a first gear pair 33. Similarly, the second driven gear 34b meshes with the second driving gear 34a, and the second driving gear 34a and the second driving gear 34b mesh with each other so as to form a second gear pair 34, the third driven gear 35b meshes with the third driving gear 35a, and the third driving gear 35a and the second driving gear 35b mesh with each other so as to form a third gear pair 35, a fourth driven gear 36b meshes with the fourth driving gear 36a, and the fourth driving gear 36a and the second driving gear 36b mesh with each other so as to form a fourth gear pair 36.
Here, as described above, although the first to fourth driven gears (33b to 36b) are moved in the axial direction of the main shaft 31 by a command from the vehicle, only one gear pair of the first to fourth gear pairs (33 to 36) is controlled so as to be selected during this movement. Here, the transmission ratio r1 of the first gear pair is Z1/z1, the transmission ratio r2 of the second gear pair is Z2/z2, the transmission ratio r3 of the third gear pair is Z3/z3, and the transmission ratio r4 of the fourth gear pair is Z4/z4. When one gear pair is selected by a command from the vehicle, the main shaft 31 rotates in the transmission ratio (r1 to r4) of a selected gear pair, and the rotation of the engine shaft 30 is decelerated or accelerated.
The driving shaft 39 is rotatably arranged at the transmission 3 at a position parallel to the main shaft 31 similarly to the main shaft 31, a front right wheel driving shaft 39a protrudes from the transmission 3 in one direction (right direction on the plane of the sheet), and a front left wheel driven shaft 39b protrudes from the transmission 3 in the other direction (left direction on the plane of the sheet 9. A differential gear 38 is provided at an axial center portion of the driving shaft 39 inside the transmission 3, and a final driven gear 37b is connected to an outer circumferential portion of the differential gear 38.
The final driven gear 37b meshes with the final driving gear 37a formed integrally with the main shaft 31, and a final gear pair 37 is formed by the final driving gear 37a and the final driving gear 37b. Here, the number of teeth of the final driving gear 37a is defined as zf, the number of teeth of the final driven gear 37b is defined as Zf, and the reduction ratio rf of the final gear pair 37 is Zf/zf. In addition, in general vehicles, the reduction ratio rf is defined as about 3 to about 6.
As described above, the rotation of the engine shaft 30 is shifted by one gear pair selected from the first to fourth gear pairs (33 to 36), and then decelerated by the final gear pair 37, and the driving shaft 39 is rotated. Accordingly, the transmission ratio R of the driving shaft 39 to the engine shaft 30 becomes R1=r1×rf, R2=r2×rf, R3=r3×fr, and R4=r4×rf, R1 becomes the greatest, R2, R3, and R4 become small in this order, and R4 becomes the smallest (R1>R2>R3>R4).
Incidentally, in the case of the start from stop where a low speed and a high torque are required, the transmission ratio R1 is selected. When the number of revolutions of the engine shaft 30 is defined as Ne, the number of revolutions Nd of the driving shaft 39 in the case of the transmission ratio R1 becomes Nd=Ne/R1, and torque is increased while the number of revolutions becomes small. In addition, in general vehicles, often, the transmission ratio R1 is set to about 11 to 15, the transmission ratio R2 is set to about 6 to 9, the transmission ratio R3 is set to about 4 to 7, and the transmission ratio R4 is set to 3 to 5.
Next, the structure and operation of the transmission 3 for moving a vehicle backward will be described. As described above, the reverse driving gear 32a is formed integrally with the engine shaft 30 at the end of the engine shaft 30 inside the transmission 3 on the side (right side on the plane of the sheet) near the liquid fuel engine 2. Additionally, in the main shaft 31, the reverse driven gear 32b is formed integrally with the main shaft 31. Although the reverse driving gear 32a is arranged at the same position as the reverse driven gear 32b in the axial direction, the reverse driving gear 32a and reverse driven gear 32b are set so as not to directly mesh with each other.
The transmission 3 is equipped with a reverse idle gear 32c which is movable in the axial direction of the engine shaft 30 and the main shaft 31 which are arranged parallel to each other. The reverse idle gear 32c meshes with both the reverse driving gear 32a and the reverse driven gear 32b. In a case where the vehicle is advancing, the reverse idle gear 32c is arranged at a position where the reverse idle gear does not mesh with either the reverse driving gear 32a or the reverse driven gear 32b, and the reverse idle gear moves in the axial direction on a command of moving the vehicle backward from the vehicle, the reverse idle gear is arranged at a position where the reverse idle gear meshes with both the reverse driving gear 32a and the reverse driven gear 32b. When the reverse idle gear 32c meshes with both the reverse driving gear 32a and the reverse driven gear 32b, the rotation of the reverse driving gear 32a is transmitted to the reverse driven gear 32b via the reverse idle gear 32c, and the reverse driven gear 32b rotates.
The rotation of the above-described first to fourth driving gears (33a to 36a) is directly transmitted to the first to fourth driven gears (33b to 36b), whereas similarly to the rotation of the first to fourth driving gears (33a to 36a), the rotation of the reverse driving gear 32a formed integrally with the engine shaft 30 is transmitted to the reverse driven gear 32b via the reverse idle gear 33c. Therefore, the rotation of the reverse idle gear 33c becomes reverse to the direction of rotation of the first to fourth driven gears (33b to 36b), and the main shaft 31 rotates in a direction reverse to the direction at the time of an advance on a command of moving the vehicle backward from the vehicle. The rotation of the main shaft 31 is transmitted to the driving shaft 39 via the final driven gear 37b from the final driving gear 37a, and rotates the driving shaft 39 in a direction reverse to the direction at the time of an advance.
The number of teeth of the reverse driving gear 32a is defined as zr, and the number of teeth of the reverse driven gear 32b is defined as Zr, and the transmission ratio of the reverse gear group 32 composed of the reverse driving gear 32a, the reverse driven gear 32b, and the reverse idle gear 32c is rr=Zr/zr. Accordingly, the transmission ratio Rr at the time of a reverse of the vehicle becomes Rr=rr×rf. In addition, since the start from a stopped state is performed at the time of a reverse, in order to rotate the driving shaft 39 at a low speed with a high torque, the transmission ratio Rr at the time of a reverse of the vehicle is a value close to the transmission ratio R1 at the time of an advance of the vehicle (Rr≅R1). In addition, in general vehicles, the transmission ratio Rr is often about 10 to 14.
In the automobile using the liquid fuel engine as a driving source in this way, there is a need for traveling forward at a wide range of speed from low speed to high speed, and reverse traveling, and as shown in FIG. 7, various combinations of gears are indispensable to the configuration (for example, refer to Patent Document 3). Therefore, irrespective of the fact that the light weight of a transmission is required in reduction in the size and weight of an automobile, there are limits to significant reduction in the size and weight of the transmission.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-288006    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-305861    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. 2007-147057


There is provided a multi-layered chip electronic component, including: a multi-layered body including a plurality of first magnetic layers on which conductive patterns are formed; and second magnetic layers interposed between the first magnetic layers within the multi-layered body, wherein the conductive patterns are electrically connected to form coil patterns in a stacking direction, and when a thickness of the second magnetic layer is defined as Ts and a thickness of the conductive pattern is defined as Te, 0.1≦Ts:Te≦0.3 is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-layered chip electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among multi-layered chip electronic components, an inductor, in addition to a resistor and a capacitor, is a representative passive element capable of removing noise through being included in an electronic circuit.
A multi-layered chip type inductor may be manufactured by printing conductive patterns so as to form a coil within a magnetic substance or a dielectric substance and by stacking the resultant layers. The multi-layered chip inductor has a structure in which a plurality of magnetic layers on which conductive patterns are formed are stacked. Internal conductive patterns within the multi-layered chip inductor are sequentially connected by via electrodes formed in each magnetic layer so as to allow a coil structure to be formed within a chip to implement targeted inductance and impedance characteristics.
Recently, as the multi-layered chip inductor has been miniaturized and thinned, the multi-layered chip inductor has a defect of reduced inductance due to DC bias. In addition, a set in which the miniaturized multi-layered chip inductor is adopted is driven at high current and therefore, the multi-layered chip inductor is also required to be able to cope with high current.
Therefore, a need exists for development of a multi-layered chip inductor capable of coping with high levels of current while allowing DC bias characteristics to be excellent.


A detachable fixing mechanism includes a supporter, a contacting component, a fixing component, a track component and an ejecting component. An electronic component is hold be the supporter. The supporter includes a base, a rear wall and two lateral walls. The rear wall and the lateral walls are disposed on three sides of the base. The contacting is connected to an upper edge of the lateral wall, so as to buckle the electronic component with the base. The fixing component is movably disposed on the lateral wall. The fixing component includes a constraint portion to resiliently pass through a hole on the lateral wall. The track component is disposed on the lateral wall of the supporter. The ejecting component is slidably disposed between the track component and the supporter. A second part of the ejecting component inserts into the supporter to contact against the rear end of the electronic component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing mechanism and a related electronic device, and more particularly, to a detachable fixing mechanism applied to a removable hard disk and having rapid disassembling function without utilization of a tray and the related electronic device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional computer system, such as the personal computer or the commercial server, includes a plurality of detachable hard disk devices, and the detachable hard disk device is disposed on an inner bracket of the computer system via the conventional tray. With the advanced technology, aesthetic design of the computer system (including the personal computer and the commercial server) can be varied according to consumer trend for matching the user's demand, and the inner bracket and the related detachable tray device of the computer system are designed to conform to variation of the casing aesthetic of the computer system. However, develop and usage period of the consumer computer product are decreased, manufacturing cost and manufacturing period of the product are wasted as the tray device has been designed according to each variation of the casing aesthetic of the computer system, and reliability test and adjustment of the tray device are necessary during development of the product, which delays scheduled progress of the product. Therefore, design of a detachable hard disk device without a tray for tooless assembly/disassembly function is an important issue in the related computer mechanical industry.

Fixing mechanism and related electronic device


A plier device includes two handles each having an open channel formed in one end, and a pair of rods pivotally secured together at a middle pivot pin. The rods include two ends each having a pair of jaws. The jaws each includes a rib engaged into the channels of the handles for detachably securing the tool device to the handles. The handles each includes a pair of flanges extended inward of the channel, the jaws each includes a pair of opposite grooves for receiving the flanges of the handles. The handles each has a spring-biased projection engaged with the jaws.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plier device, and more particularly to a plier device having two tool members that may be changed with each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical plier device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,721 to Lowe et al. and comprises a pair of jaw elements pivotally coupled to the handles and each including two ends each having a tool member provided thereon. The tool members may not be easily and quickly replaced or changed with each other.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional plier devices.

Plier device having changeable tool members


The present invention is directed toward a method for preparing Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols. In particular, the present invention employs a sulfurization catalyst in the preparation of Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols. Use of a sulfurization catalyst in this preparation results in a product generally characterized as having lower crude sediment, a higher Total Base Number and lower viscosity than a similar product prepared without using a sulfurization catalyst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward a method for preparing Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols. In particular, the present invention is directed toward the discovery that the use of a sulfurization catalyst during the preparation of Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols results in a product generally characterized as having lower crude sediment, a higher Total Base Number (TBN) and lower viscosity than similar products prepared without a sulfurization catalyst.
2. Prior Art
Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols are useful lubricating oil additives which impart detergency and dispersancy properties to the lubricating oil composition as well as providing for an alkalinity reserve in the oil. Alkalinity reserve is necessary in order to neutralize acids generated during engine operation. Without this alkalinity reserve, the acids so generated would result in harmful engine corrosion.
One method of preparing Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,368, where an alkylphenol, a sulfonate, a high molecular weight alcohol, lubricating oil and sulfur are combined and heated with agitation. Hydrated lime is then added, the system heated and ethylene glycol added. Water of reaction is removed, the mixture cooled, and carbon dioxide added. Uncombined CO.sub.2 is removed and the reaction vessel is heated to remove ethylene glycol, water and the high molecular alcohol. The product is overbased by the incorporation therein of hydrated lime and carbon dioxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,867 discloses a similar process to that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,368 with the exception that this reference discloses that the use of alkyl groups on the alkylphenol which are mixtures of straight- and branched-chain alkyl results in products having suitable viscosities as well as antifoaming properties.
I have now discovered a novel method for preparing Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols. In particular, in the method of the instant invention, Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols are prepared by employing a "sulfurization catalyst" in the preparation of these additives. A particularly preferred catalyst is 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and derivatives thereof.
To my knowledge, the use of a sulfurization catalyst in the preparation of Group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols is not taught in the prior art. Prior art references include U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,085 which describes the use of ammonia or ammonium hydroxide as a promoter in the synthesis of overbased sulfurized alkylphenols. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,752 describes the use of certain amino promoters, such as primary and secondary alkylamines, polyalkyleneamines, amino acids, etc., in the synthesis of overbased sulfurized alkylphenols.

Methods for preparing, group II metal overbased sulfurized alkylphenols


An interlocking nut and washer system complies with new standards identified in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J2535, Setting Preload in Heavy-Duty Wheel Bearings, and with maintenance recommendations issued by the Technology Maintenance Council (TMC) Recommended Practice RP618, Wheel Bearing Adjustment Procedure. The system includes an improved inner washer, adjustment nut, intermediate washer, and outer nut that interlocks with the intermediate washer following the introduction of an established level of preload force by the adjustment nut. The inner washer isolates the adjustment nut from the inner bearing race to eliminate frictional wear. An increase in outer diameter of the inner washer provides an interference capability that serves as a safety factor to prevent separation of the wheel hub from the axle spindle in event of bearing failure. The inner washer includes markers to establish the final adjusted preload or the endplay position of the adjustment nut.

Recently, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J2535, Setting Preload in Heavy-Duty Wheel Bearings was reviewed in the interest of eliminating vague phraseology and to provide more specific detail by adding the following definition: Target Preload Setting—the preload force value that is the preliminary level of adjustment from which the final wheel bearing adjustment can be achieved. This is the first instance in having an absolute value of preload force identified that can be used as the basis for recommended preload installation procedures. Now it is possible for spindle nut manufacturers to develop instructions on how their products can be used to install controllable and repeatable preload.
In addition to setting controlled preload, the teachings of the UltraHigh-Integrity Interlocking Nut and Washer System can be used to establish and securely lock the adjusted amount of end play or axial clearance as defined in SAE Recommended Practice J2535. The means to accomplish this are described in the Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) Recommended Practice RP 618, Wheel Bearing Adjustment Procedures.
At the present time, there are no specific standards or recommendations stating the maximum limit for preload, but from a practical standpoint, the value eventually recommended should be in the same order that provides the measured retardation-which normally exists in wheel-end systems installed with endplay. Wheel bearing engineers have suggested that a range of 2 to 5 pounds of preload force would be acceptable, but they also state that the spindle nut manufacturers are responsible for establishing the specific maximum amount of allowable preload force. Conjecture about this will be resolved following action by the TMC to provide a revised recommended practice describing how to secure an acceptable amount of preload after the reaching the 50 foot pound spindle nut torque level prior to initiating back-off rotation described in the TMC Recommended Practice 618.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,795,037 and 7,000,995 disclose systems and methods used to install precise levels of preload on tapered roller bearings of the type used in conventional wheel-end systems of highway trailers. However, the principles described therein only apply to double-jam nut systems. With the new guidelines now established within the tractor-trailer industry, it will now be possible for all spindle nut manufacturers to issue new instructions for installing controlled preload to their existing single nut systems.

Ultrahigh-integrity interlocking nut and washer system for trailer axles


This invention is directed to a vest and backpack combination which can be adjusted to fit people of different sizes and configurations. In fact, the combination can be adjusted so that a person wearing the combination need not have anything between the persons's body and the combination or the person wearing the combination can have a jacket or a mackenole or a shirt between the wearer and the combination. This combination is useful for hunters, fisherman, backpacker and military personnel for carrying equipment such as fish hooks, food, dry clothes such as socks, and ammunition.

Many people are active in the outdoors and like to get to the outdoors for recreational activities and also for work. Fisherman, hunters, backpackers, hikers, soldiers and construction workers and loggers are in the outdoors a considerable amount of the time. Often, there is needed a garment for carrying items.
A fisherman may want fish hooks, a fish line, dry socks, a knife, matches, a compass and some food.
A hunter may want ammunition, a knife, matches, dry socks, a compass, food and a cap.
A backpacker may want food, a blanket, matches, a compass, dry socks, a knife and a cap.
A hiker may want food, matches, a knife, compass, dry socks and a cap.
A soldier may want a knife, ammunition, hand grenades, matches, food, a compass, dry clothing, and maybe a walkie-talkie communication outfit.
A construction worker may want a garment having facilities for carrying tools.
A logger may want a garment for carrying tools for sharpening an axe or a chainsaw, and maybe a cap.
An objective is to provide a garment which can satisfy the needs of these various people. The garment should have a minimum number of sizes such as two sizes. With a properly designed garment two sizes should accommodate a wide range of people of various shapes and configurations. Another desirable feature is to have a garment which is waterproof but allows the circulation of air.


A method provides for the optimal location of servers and the optimal assignment of programs to the servers in a video-on-demand (VOD) network with a tree topology. Each node may have demands for multiple VOD programs. The central server at the root of the network stores all programs, and each of the other servers may store some of these programs. The cost considered include cost of servers, cost of assigning programs to servers, and cost of link bandwidths used for broadcasting programs from servers to demands at various nodes. The demand for a specific program is served by the closest server that has this program along the path that connects the requesting node to the root of the tree network. The invention consists of a dynamic programming method that determines optimal server locations and optimal program assignments for minimizing the costs. Starting from the end-nodes of the tree network, the method determines optimal solutions to sub-trees, eventually reaching the root node, thus providing an optimal solution to the entire network.

Many telecommunications network services providers and cable TV operators are showing significant interest in provisioning Video-on-Demand (VOD) services. These services are expected to grow significantly over time. Primary application areas include on-demand home entertainment, distance learning and training, and news-on-demand. These services require significant capital investments. In one extreme network configuration, a central server would broadcast all programs to all demand nodes, imposing very large bandwidth requirements on numerous links. In another extreme, a server would be installed at every node and all programs that might be requested would be stored at the node. The latter configuration would require a large number of servers and would incur large storage and processing costs.
The present invention considers a flexible configuration in which servers can be located in a subset of the nodes and a subset of the programs is assigned to each of the servers. In practice, the programs are aggregated into program families, where a program family includes multiple programs with the same characteristics. For example, children's movies may be represented by one family, action movies by another, etc. As used hereinbelow, a program family is referred to as a program.
Various related problems have been explored. A. Balakrishnan, T. L. Magnanti, and R. T. Wong, "A Decomposition Algorithm for Local Access Telecommunications Network Expansion Planning", Operations Research, 43, 58-76, 1995, B. Li, M. J. Golin, G. F. Italiano, and X. Deng, "On the Optimal Placement of Web Proxies in the Internet", Proceedings of IEEE INFOCOM 1999 Conference, V. 3, 1282-1290, 1999, O. E. Flippo, A. W. J. Kolen, A. M. C. A. Koster, and R. L. M. J. Van de Leensel, "A Dynamic Programming Algorithm for the Local Access Telecommunication Network Expansion Problem", European Journal of Operational Research, 127, 189-202, 2000, T. Carpenter, M. Eiger, P. Seymour, and D. Shallcross, "Node Placement and Sizing for Copper Broadband Access Networks", Annals of Operations Research, 106, 199-228, 2001, I. Cidon, S. Kutten, and R. Soffer, "Optimal Allocation of Electronic Content", Computer Networks 40, 205-218, 2002, and C. A. Behrens, T. Carpenter, M. Eiger, H. Luss, G. Seymour, and P. Seymour, "Digital Subscriber Line Network Deployment Method", U.S. Pat. No. 7,082,401, issued Jul. 25, 2006 present models and variations of dynamic programming algorithms for placing concentrators in traditional access networks and for placing equipment for diverse broadband services. Such equipment may include Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Access Multiplexers for DSL services, Optical Network Units in Fiber-to-the-Curb networks and in cable networks, web proxies, etc. The algorithms presented in these references can be used to solve a special case of the present invention in which all programs are assigned to all servers. G. Dammicco, U. Mocci, and F. U. Bordoni, "Optimal Server Location in VOD Networks", Global Telecommunications Conference (GLOBECOM) 1997, IEEE 1, 197-201, 3-8 Nov., 1997 present a simple model for server locations and program assignments in VOD tree networks. Their model partitions the tree nodes into levels where all nodes of the same level are equally far from node 0 in terms of number of hops. The model finds the optimal level where servers should be installed and the optimal subset of programs that should be assigned to servers at that level. The model is restrictive as all nodes at the selected level would have a server and the same subset of programs. T. Bektas, O. Oguz, and I. Ouveysi, "Designing Cost-Effective Content Distribution Networks", Computers and Operations Research, article in press, expected to appear in 2007 (available online, 13 Oct. 2005) discuss a content distribution model for a logical tree network, where servers are directly connected to the central server and each of the demand nodes is directly connected to one of the servers. The resulting network configuration is limited to trees with a depth of two hops from the root node to the demand nodes.
The present invention uses a dynamic programming optimization method to determine optimal location of servers throughout a network with a general tree topology and optimal assignment of programs to each of these servers. Current state-of-the-art systems use ad-hoc heuristics and communications network managers' experience to design such flexible network configurations.

Optimal content distribution in video-on-demand tree networks


A method of using a technique of fuzzy inference for partioning a particle size distribution diagram indicative of a relationship between particle size and its frequency of a mixture of several kinds of granular substances, such as white blood corpuscles including lymph corpuscles, monocytes and granulocytes, to define particle size regions for the respective substances. More particularly, some estimation points are selected on the abscissa of the particle size distribution diagram and some characteristic parameters are calculated at each estimation point with the corresponding frequency. A fuzzy production rule for each characteristic parameter is applied to seek an estimated value of the estimation point and the estimated values for all characteristic parameters at each estimation point are combined to obtain a composite estimated value. The estimation point corresponding to the greatest one of all resultant composite estimated values is appointed to an objective partition point.

This invention relates to a method of partitioning a particle size distribution diagram of a mixture of several kinds of granular substances having different mean particle sizes, that is, a method of drawing boundary lines between the distributions of respective substances and, especially, to such method using a technique of fuzzy inference in its process.
For example, white blood corpuscles are composed of a mixture of lymph corpuscles, monocytes and granulocytes and its particle size distribution diagram prepared by measuring its particle size and corresponding frequency shows a curve, as shown in FIG. 1, having three peaks A, B and C which correspond respectively to the lymph corpuscle, monocytes and granulocytes. When the number of particles of each substance is counted from this diagram it is necessary to draw partition lines 2 and 4 between the respective peaks to define the regions of respective substances. While these partition lines may be drawn from the bottoms of valleys of the distribution curve as shown, it cannot be done so simply in practice. Because the particle size distribution curve available from a conventional device such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,884 has undulations as shown in FIG. 2 due to quantizing errors at the time of A/D conversion of measured particle sizes. Such a particle size distribution diagram having undulations often provides a result falling short of an expectaton of experts, when it is input in a computer to seek a position of the minimum frequency. Accordingly, it has been a general practice to execute a smoothing process, such as calculation of a moving average of the data, before patitioning or analyzing the particle size distribution as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4 817 446 for example.
However, it has been impossible to completely remove the undulations by such a smoothing process and, due to such a simple definition of the partitioning position as the minimum frequency position, the above-mentioned problem has been maintained and reproducibility of the result has been very low. For example, if some undulations as shown in FIG. 3 are left in the valley of the distribution curve, the partitioning position of the computer is liable to move within a range R. Although the apparent undulations can be removed completely by enforcing the smoothing process, it is not recommended since the distribution may lose its characteristic feature.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved method which can determine the partitioning position constantly at high reproducibility, using a particle size distribution curve having undulations as described above.

Method of partitioning particle size distrubution datum

Toa Medical Electronics Company, Limited