A die for molding a disk substrate capable of forming fine recessed and projected pits and grooves up to the outer periphery of the disk substrate by preventing low heat conductive elements from peeling off and burrs from occurring on the outer periphery thereof. The die includes a first base die, a second base die disposed oppositely to the first base die, a first low heat conductive element fixed to the first base die, a stamper fixed onto the first low heat conductive element, a second low heat conductive element fixed onto the second base die, and a ring-like regulating member fitted to and in slidable contact with either of the first and second low heat conductive elements. The die is characterized in that the end part of the ring-shaped regulating member is positioned within the range of the outer peripheral side face of the low heat conductive element in slidable contact therewith.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to disk-substrate molding dies and disk-substrate fabricating methods for forming a disk substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
Disk-shaped substrates such as optical-disk substrates and magnetic optical disks are fabricated by charging molten thermoplastic resin into a cavity provided within a die in view of productivity. Fine convex and concave pits and grooves are formed on a stamper made of nickel or the like which is mounted within the die. The stamper comes into contact with the molten thermoplastic resin so that the fine convex and concave pits and grooves on the stamper are transferred to the thermoplastic resin, and thereafter, the molten thermoplastic resin is solidified to provide a desired optical-disk substrate (refer to JP-A No. 8-66945, for example).
In a conventional common die construction disclosed in JP-A No. 8-66945, a fixed-side mirror-surface plate and a movable-side mirror-surface plate, which are controlled in the temperature, are provided at the upper and lower portions of the cavity. A stamper is mounted on the movable-side mirror-surface plate, and the stamper is secured by a stamper holder at its inner side and also secured by an outer ring at its outer side.
On the other hand, as the density is increased, the intervals between fine convex and concave pits and grooves on the stamper are decreased, thus making it more difficult to introduce thermoplastic resin into the fine convex and concave pits and grooves. In order to transfer convex and concave pits and grooves to an optical-disk substrate, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the stamper to above the thermal deformation temperature of the thermoplastic resin. Since it is necessary to further raise the maximum stamper temperature in order to increase the flowability of the thermoplastic resin, it is necessary to further raise the temperature of a heat medium for adjusting the die temperature.
However, if the temperature of the heat medium for adjusting the die temperature is raised to a high temperature, then it will take a long time to cool down the thermoplastic resin charged within the die to a temperature which enables extraction thereof, thus resulting in an increase of the molding time for an optical-disk substrate. Therefore, there has been suggested a die construction employing a heat insulation sheet provided on the back surface of the stamper, in order to make the stamper temperature high even when the heat-medium temperature is low (refer to JP-A No. 62-5824, for example).
Further, there has been disclosed a die construction including low heat-conductivity members provided within an upper die and a lower die, in order to cause the temperature within the upper and lower dies to change in a upper-lower symmetrical manner along the thickwise direction (refer to JP-A No. 7-100866, JP-A No. 9-207141 and JP-A No. 2000-331385, for example).
As the low heat-conductivity members, heat resistant plastics such as polyimide and ceramics have been mainly employed. JP-A No. 62-5824 discloses employing aluminum and cupper as metal low heat-conductivity materials, and JP-A No. 2000-331385 discloses employing bismuth as a low heat-conductivity material.
Further, conventional die constructions have malfunctions as follows.
In a die construction disclosed in JP-A No. 7-100866, a fixed-side stamper and a movable-side stamper include a slow-cooling plate. The fixed-side stamper and the movable-side stamper are secured by an inner holder at their inner sides and are secured by outer rings at their outer sides. Namely, the outer surfaces of the slow-cooling plates are protected by the outer rings. The movable-side stamper is configured and sized to be greater than the fixed-side stamper, and therefore the movable-side outer ring is positioned outside the fixed-side outer ring. Consequently, the fixed-side outer ring holds the fixed-side stamper and also comes into contact with the outer peripheral portion of the movable-side stamper. Namely, the fixed-side outer ring is sandwiched between the fixed-side stamper and the movable-side stamper. Further, the fixed-side outer ring defines the outer peripheral side surface of an optical-disk substrate. As a result, if the resin charge pressure overcomes the die fastening pressure, then the die is opened from the contacting surface of the movable-side stamper. Consequently, resin enters into the gap between the fixed-side outer ring and the movable-side stamper, thus forming burrs on the outer peripheral side surface of the optical disk substrate.
In a die construction disclosed in JP-A No. 9-207141, a nest mounted on a nest-mounting portion of the die is secured by an inner pressing plate at its inner peripheral portion and is secured by an outer pressing plate at its outer peripheral portion. However, since a step is formed at the outer peripheral portion of the nest by the outer pressing plate, there is caused the problem that fine convex and concave pits and grooves can not be formed at the outer peripheral portion of the formed optical disk substrate.
A die construction disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-331385 is configured such that a movable die is slidably fit in a concave-shaped portion of a fixed die. A heat insulation member is mounted on each of the movable die and the fixed die. When the movable die slides, the outer peripheral surface of the heat insulation member mounted on the movable die is slid while being fit against the inner peripheral surface of the concave-shaped portion of the fixed die, and therefore the heat insulation member is prone to be exfoliated from the outer peripheral side surface.
In a die construction disclosed in JP-A No. 9-262838, a heat insulation layer made of a heat insulation polymer and a metal layer are extended from the cavity surface of the base die to the side surface. However, the heat insulation layer and the metal layer provided on the side surface come into contact with a fixed-side mounting plate which is faced thereto and also constitute split surfaces which can be split into two surfaces. Consequently, the heat insulation layer and the metal layer provided on the side surface of the base die will not serve as a sliding portion during the molding operation.
Further, although plastic materials, ceramic materials and metal materials are conventionally employed as low-heat conductivity materials, these low heat-conductivity materials have problems as follows.
Namely, plastic materials generally have poor stiffness and poor surface strengths. Ceramic materials are generally brittle and thus have poor impact resistances. Aluminum and cupper (metal materials) disclosed in JP-A No. 62-5824 have heat conductivities higher than that of the stainless steel constituting the die and therefore can not serve as low heat-conductivity materials. Bismuth disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-331385 is brittle and has poor hardness and therefore has undesirable mechanical characteristics.

Die for molding disk substrate and method of manufacturing disk substrate

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed is a method for forming alumina arc tubes of complex shapes. The method comprises molding alumina powders with different shrinkage rates into a green body. The green body is prefired to remove binders in the green body and then sintered. The resulting arc tube has an inner diameter that is smallest where the highest shrinkage powder was molded and an inner diameter that is greatest where the lowest shrinkage powder was used.

This invention relates to the ceramic arc tubes for use in high pressure metal vapor discharge lamps. More particularly, this invention describes a method for forming green ceramic structures which on subsequent sintering result in alumina arc tubes of complex geometries.
Metal vapor discharge lamps consist of an arc tube which holds metal vapor and a protective envelope surrounding the arc tube. The arc tube is required to have both a good translucency of light and a high corrosion resistivity against the light emitting material sealed within, such as sodium vapor or metal halide vapor. Presently, only alumina ceramics have been found to meet the need of high corrosion resistivity against the light emitting material and good translucency, so that alumina ceramics have been used almost exclusively for the arc tubes of high pressure metal vapor discharge lamps.
Typically, enclosed alumina arc tubes are manufactured for use in high pressure metal vapor discharge lamps. Alumina ceramics are used for arc tubes because they exhibit good dimensional stability at elevated temperatures and pressures, high thermal shock resistance and chemical endurance on repeated thermal cycling and high in-line and integrated transmission. Methods for producing these green alumina ceramic arc tubes include isostatic pressing either dry bag or wet bag, slip casting and the use of complex multi piece molds and inflation equipment.
The wet bag isostatic pressing technique for forming arc tubes consists of loading particulate materials of alumina, sintering agents and binding agents and unloading the plastic components outside the pressure vessel This process is labor intensive and requires considerable machining. In an example of one wet isostatic pressing technique a perforated rigid metal cylinder is lined with thin flexible rubber. The perforations allow the pressure transmitting fluid to come in contact with the thin rubber lining. A steel mandrel is located centrally in a rubber bung and the thin, flexible rubber lining is pulled over rubber bung and tied to prevent fluid in the pressure chamber from contacting the particulate aluminum materials. The other end of the perforated metal tube is also closed with a rubber bung and tied with the flexible rubber lining. The particulate material is then consolidated by compacting at pressures ranging from 60 to 100 MPa. The compacted alumina tube is removed carefully from the mandrel, prefired in air for several hours to improve the strength in handling of the green component for subsequent machining operation. Some form of vibratory motion during packing is generally necessary to achieve the uniform packing density and to avoid the swelling effect often seen on translucent tubes after sintering. The swelling effect is usually associated with poor packing of the alumina particulate matter.
In dry bag isostatic pressing, the tooling system is an integral part of the pressure vessel. Filling and removal of the particulate alumina mixture is accomplished mold removal. The technique is more suited for fast production. The dry bag tooling derives its name from the absence of contact of a flexible mold with the pressure transmitting fluid. The latter contacts only the thin rubber sheath lined externally around the flexible mold. The technique of fabricating the thin wall tubes consists of loading particulate alumina and sintering agents into a cavity formed by a mandrel and a mold. Once the particulate matter is loaded into the cavity, pressure is applied to the lined mold which in turn compacts the particulate material. Once the pressure is released the mold is taken apart and the green body of alumina is removed from the mandrel. The green body is ready for prefiring and subsequent sintering.
For the slip casting process, a slip is prepared by combining alumina powder, binders, wetting agents, sintering aids and dispersing agents in a selected casting liquid. The slip is allowed to age until its characteristics are relatively constant. The slip is then poured into a mold that has the capability of absorbing water and causing the wet powder to stick the mold wall. The excess slurry or slip is poured from the center of the mold, leaving a green body within the mold. Upon drying, this body shrinks from the mold wall and can be removed by opening the mold. At present, it is not known whether this method is used for the manufacture of arc tubes.
Another technique for producing ceramic arc tubes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,067. In this patent a method for producing a green ceramic body is disclosed. The method consists of preparing and molding a mixture of alumina particles and plasticizer. A tubular green body is formed with a molding machine and subsequently placed within a fusiform cavity of a die and fluid pressure is applied to the inside of the tubular green body, so as to shape the tubular green body by inflating the middle portion of the die. The green shaped body is removed from the die and fired and sintered.
The above-identified methods for producing ceramic arc tubes all have serious drawbacks. The isostatic pressure methods are extremely labor intensive and are thus not conducive to large scale production. Furthermore, these methods require complex mandrels and bags. The method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,067 requires complex molds and produces arc tubes wherein the wall thickness is not consistent over the entire length of the tube. The present invention solves these problems and results in a considerable savings of time and labor. In addition, the present invention allows one to create arc tubes of relatively complex shapes without requiring complex molds or mandrels.


When a printing head is filled with an ink, a circulating pump is controlled so that an ink equal to or greater than the entire volume of a circulating path circulates from a feeding path hole to a returning path hole via a printing head (in a forward direction), and after that, the circulating pump is controlled so that the ink equal to or greater than the entire volume of the circulating path circulates from the returning path hole to the feeding path hole via the printing head (in a reverse direction). By doing so, gas (bubbles) in the circulating path may be more securely discharged to a sub tank.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid discharging apparatus and a control method thereof.
2. Related Art
Heretofore, as such a kind of liquid discharging apparatus, an apparatus has been proposed including a printing head for ejecting ink, an ink tank accommodating the ink, a first ink channel for supplying the ink from the ink tank to a manifold of the printing head, a second ink channel for retrieving the ink from the manifold to the ink tank, an ink circulating pump installed at the first ink channel, an opening/closing valve installed at the second ink channel, a suction cap for covering nozzle surface of the printing head, and a suction pump connected to the suction cap via a suction pipe, wherein, when the ink is filled in the printing head, the nozzle surface of the printing head is covered by the suction cap and the opening/closing valve opens to rotatably drive the ink circulating pump, so that the ink circulates through a circulating channel composed of the first ink channel, the manifold, and the second ink channel (for example, see JP-A-2000-33714). In this apparatus, when the ink circulates through the circulating channel in order to fill the printing head with the ink, the rotation direction of the ink circulating pump is reversed only for a short time, which easily removes bubbles in the circulating channel and restrains a back flow of ink or bubbles in the circulating channel.
In the above liquid discharging apparatus, it is possible to prevent ink or bubbles from flowing backward, but in the case where the circulating channel has a location at which bubbles tend to stay (for example, a joint of each component of the circulating channel) when ink flows in a forward direction, the bubbles in the circulating channel may not be sufficiently removed.

Liquid discharging apparatus and control method thereof


This invention presents a new cDNA amplification method. RNA is first converted to cDNA. The synthesis of cDNA can include a promoter tagged oligonucleotide, and then this cDNA is ligated to form circles (or possibly concatemers). This is then amplified using a Phi29 DNA polymerase based rolling circle and strand displacement amplification. The invention allows for RNA promoter sequences to be attached to the cDNA to facilitate additional amplification through the generation of RNA from the amplified cDNA. The resulting product can then be used to make materials for gene expression studies or other RNA analysis procedures.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed invention is generally in the field of nucleic acid amplification and expression profiling.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of methods have been developed for exponential amplification of nucleic acids. These include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), ligase chain reaction (LCR), self-sustained sequence replication (3SR), nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA), strand displacement amplification (SDA), multiple displacement amplification (MDA, U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,120), and rolling circle amplification (RCA, U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,495).
Current methods of PCR amplification involve the use of two primers which hybridize to the regions flanking a nucleic acid sequence of interest such that DNA replication initiated at the primers will replicate the nucleic acid sequence of interest. By separating the replicated strands from the template strand with a denaturation step, another round of replication using the same primers can lead to geometric amplification of the nucleic acid sequence of interest. PCR amplification has the disadvantage that the amplification reaction cannot proceed continuously and must be carried out by subjecting the nucleic acid sample to multiple cycles in a series of reaction conditions.
A variant of PCR amplification, termed whole genome PCR, involves the use of random or partially random primers to amplify the entire genome of an organism in the same PCR reaction. This technique relies on having a sufficient number of primers of random or partially random sequence such that pairs of primers will hybridize throughout the genomic DNA at moderate intervals. Replication initiated at the primers can then result in replicated strands overlapping sites where another primer can hybridize. By subjecting the genomic sample to amplification cycles, the genomic sequences will be amplified. Whole genome PCR has the same disadvantages as other forms of PCR.
A field in which amplification is particularly relevant is RNA expression profiling, where the objective is to determine the relative concentration of many different molecular species of RNA in a biological sample. Some of the RNA's of interest are present in relatively low concentrations, and it is desirable to amplify them prior to analysis. It is not possible to use the polymerase chain reaction to amplify them because the mRNA mixture is complex, typically consisting of 5,000 to 20,000 different molecular species. The polymerase chain reaction has the disadvantage that different molecular species will be amplified at different rates, distorting the relative concentrations of mRNAs.
Some procedures have been described that permit moderate amplification of all RNA's in a sample simultaneously. For example, in Lockhart et al., Nature Biotechnology 14:1675-1680 (1996), double-stranded cDNA was synthesized in such a manner that a strong RNA polymerase promoter was incorporated at the end of each cDNA. This promoter sequence was then used to transcribe the cDNA's, generating approximately 100 to 150 RNA copies for each cDNA molecule. This weak amplification system allowed RNA profiling of biological samples that contained a minimum of 1,000 cells. However, there is a need for a more powerful amplification method that would permit the profiling analysis of samples containing a very small number of cells. Also, a number of methods use an RNA polymerase promoter attached to the 5′ end of primer used to generate the first strand during cDNA synthesis. A second strand is then generated and the resultant double stranded cDNA is transcribed to make an antisense RNA transcript which can be used for expression studies. However, the level of amplification is very limited.
Accordingly, there is a need for amplification methods that are more reliable, and produce greater amplification in a shorter time. This concern is addressed in greater detail below.

Amplification of self-ligated, circularized cDNA for expression profiling


The present invention relates to spectacles comprising a spectacle frame and a spectacle glass. The spectacle frame, in turn, comprises a frame which defines a receiving opening for the spectacle glass and essentially completely borders the spectacle glass. The spectacle glass is fixed in the receiving opening by means of a thread inserted between the frame defining the receiving opening and the edge of the spectacle glass.

The present application relates to a spectacle frame, a special fixing thread for fixing a spectacle glass or lens in a spectacle frame as well as to spectacles.
Spectacles normally consist of a spectacle frame comprising bows or arms and two ground or cast spectacle glasses, which as a rule serve as visual aid or for protecting the eyes. The spectacle frame is often made of a synthetic material or metal. However, also other materials are used.
The spectacle glasses must be reliably fixed in the spectacle frame. There are various conventional ways for achieving this. On the one hand, there are spectacle frames which consist of two parts and can be opened or bent open so that the spectacle glasses can be inserted. Then, the spectacle frames consisting of two parts are screwed together in order to guarantee that the spectacle glasses are reliably fixed in the spectacle frame. If the spectacle frame consists of one part, the frame is expanded by means of heat so that the glasses can be received therein. However, this method is only possible if sufficiently expandable materials are used, in particular synthetic materials/plastics and some metals. However, wood and aluminum cannot be sufficiently expanded. For aesthetic reasons, however, it can also be necessary to manufacture a one-part spectacle frame also from, e.g., wood or aluminum. In accordance with conventional methods this is not possible or only possible with great difficulties.


A reconfigurable interactive kiosk for producing a printout of a digital image. The interactive kiosk includes: a processor for processing digital images. The processor includes memory, display screen, user input device, updatable stored scalable digital images and a hard copy medium connected to the processor for transferring the combined digital image to a hard copy medium that can be a composite image on a single size/type of medium, or on multiple size/types of medium. A camera captures a digital image and provides the captured image to the processor. At least one of a CD ROM drive, a floppy disk drive and a photo scanner may be connected for adding digital images to the user input. Input devices may include a roller ball, keypad, microphone and joystick and/or laser gun and display screen icons for selecting a desired function represented by the selected icon. The processor displays a menu of operational instructions for a user on the display screen that may be a touch screen, which may include animation to aid the user. The kiosk further includes a web interface providing the owner/operator access in order to facilitate upgrades, maintenance, and for ascertaining operations reports for marketing purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector and to a connector assembly provided with a partial connection preventing function.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,542 and FIGS. 21 and 22 herein show a connector used in an airbag circuit of an automotive vehicle and constructed to prevent the connector from being left partly connected during a connecting operation. With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, the connector has male and female housings 1 and 2 that are connectable with one another. The male housing 1 has a lock arm 3 that is deformed resiliently by a lock 4 of the female housing 2 as the male and female housings 1, 2 are being connected. A slider 5 is assembled with the male housing 1 and is biased forwardly by a spring 6. The deformed lock arm 3 prevents a backward movement of the slider 5. A rib 7 of the female housing 2 compresses the spring 6 during connection and a biasing force for separating the housings 1, 2 is accumulated in the spring 6. The biasing force in the spring 6 is released if the connecting operation is interrupted with the two connectors 1, 2 only partly connected to separate the housings 1, 2 forcibly. This prevents the two housings 1, 2 from being left partly connected.
The lock arm 3 returns resiliently to its original shape and engages the lock 4 when the connectors 1, 2 are connected properly. Thus, the lock arm 3 is disengaged from the slider 5, and the biasing force of the spring 6 is released to move the slider 5 back. At this time, a restricting portion 8 of the slider 5 enters a deformation space above the lock arm 3 and prevents the lock arm 3 from deforming. In this way, the two housings 1, 2 are held in a properly connected condition, and the connection reliability of the airbag circuit can be improved.
The two housings 1, 2 may have to be separated for maintenance or other reason. Separation is achieved by moving the slider 5 forward to retract the restricting portion 8 from the lock arm 3. The lock arm 3 then is deformed and disengaged from the lock 4 and the male housing 1 is pulled back.
The slider 5 must be pushed forward and the male housing 1 must be pulled back in succession to separate the two housings 1, 2. The need to operate the male housing 1 and the slider 5 in completely opposite directions creates difficulties and operational inefficiencies.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to improve separation operability.
The invention relates to a connector with a housing formed with a resilient lock arm. The housing is connectable with a mating housing formed with a lock. The lock arm deforms and moves onto the lock of the mating housing in the process of connecting the two housings. The lock arm then resiliently returns toward an undeformed condition and engages the lock when the housings are connected properly. A slider is assembled to the housing and is movable forward and back substantially along a connecting direction of the housings between a deformation preventing position where the slider enters a deformation space for the lock arm to prevent deformation of the lock arm and a deformation permitting position where the slider is retracted from the deformation space to permit deformation of the lock arm. At least one curved biasing member is mounted between the slider and the mating housing.
The two housings can be aligned with one another for connection with the slider at the deformation permitting position. Connection begins by moving the housings toward one another along the connecting direction. As a result, the lock arm moves onto the lock and deforms. The deformed lock arm engages the slider and prevents the slider from moving forward to the deformation preventing position. Accordingly, the biasing member is compressed between the mating housing and the slider and accumulates a biasing force to separate the housings. The lock arm returns to and undeformed condition and engages the lock when the housings are connected properly. Thus, the slider is freed, and the biasing force accumulated in the biasing member is released to move the slider forward to the deformation preventing position and prevents further deformation of the lock arm. Consequently, the housings are locked firmly together.
The connecting operation could be interrupted halfway. In this situation, the biasing force accumulated in the biasing member is released to separate the two housings. This prevents the two connectors from being left partly connected.
The biasing member preferably is curved through an arc of over 120xc2x0. Thus, the slider is moved forward by the biasing force of the biasing member when the housings are connected properly. Accordingly, the slider is operated in substantially the same direction as the mating housing is separated, thereby making separation operability better.
The housings can be separated by moving the slider back from the deformation preventing position to the deformation permitting position. The lock arm then is deformed and the housing is pulled back from the mating housing.
Opposite ends of the curved biasing member preferably face forward. One end preferably is received by a receiving portion of the slider and the other end is pushed by a pushing portion of the housing. Thus, the biasing member is compressed between the pushing portion and the receiving portion.
The slider preferably comprises a holding arm for engaging a holding portion of the mating housing and preventing the slider from moving forward from the deformation permitting position. At least one of the holding arm and the holding portion has a guide for guiding the holding arm through a resilient deformation to disengage the holding arm from the holding portion when a force of a specified intensity or higher acts on the slider to move the slider forward.
The slider can be held at the deformation permitting position until the housings are connected. Thus, the connecting operation can be performed with the slider at the deformation permitting position, thereby improving connection operability. The holding arm is guided through a resilient deformation and disengages automatically from the holding portion when the biasing force of the biasing member moves the slider forward during the connecting operation. As a result the slider moves forward to the deformation preventing position. The holding arm and the holding portion have a semi-locking construction. Hence, operability is better then a case where the holding arm must be deformed separately.
The slider preferably has a pushable portion to push the lock arm and to deform the lock arm when the slider is at the deformation permitting position.
The pushable portion is operated while the slider is moved back from the deformation preventing position to the deformation permitting position for separating the housings. Thus, the lock arm can be pushed and deformed, and operability is better than a case where the lock arm needs to be pushed after the slider is moved back.
The lock arm preferably comprises a disengagement guide that is pushed by the slider as the slider is moved toward the deformation permitting position for separating the housings. The disengagement guide guides the lock arm through a deformation that disengages the lock arm from the lock. Thus, the lock arm is deformed automatically by moving the slider back, and separation operability is improved as compared to a case where an operation of resiliently deforming the lock arm must be performed separately.
The slider may have a protecting portion to substantially cover at least part of the lock arm and the holding arm to prevent the lock arm and the holding arm from being inadvertently operated.
A seal ring may be mounted on the housing to provide water tightness between the housings.
A moving stroke of the slider may be substantially the same as a maximum compression of the biasing member. Accordingly, the biasing member can be returned to the substantially same state as before the connecting operation.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.


A pole for supporting at least one light fixture and at least one information and communication device thereon, the pole comprising: an elongate structural core to support weight of the pole; and an elongate external covering housing at least an upper portion of the structural core therein; the structural core defining a plural number of channels within the external covering to separate electrical wiring provided in each of the number channels.

Poles are traditionally used to raise lighting fixtures for illuminating roads and walkways. In smart city infrastructure and the Internet of Things (IoT), poles used for lighting may also conveniently be used as supports or attachment points for cameras, sensors and other information and communication technology (ICT) devices that may be used to implement various functions of the smart city and inter-networking of physical devices. Currently, providing ICT devices as part of smart city infrastructure is performed on an ad-hoc basis where each device is mounted onto an existing light pole or street sign pole and connected individually, resulting in an aesthetically unpleasant finish as well as being labour intensive and time consuming to perform.


A method for removing aflatoxins from Chinese herbal medicines comprises the steps of grinding a predetermined Chinese herbal medicine and submerging it into an amount of alcohol solvent twice as much as the dry weight of the medicine and using water to flush away the alcohol solvent from the medicine after a being submerged for a predetermined period of time. The Chinese herbal medicine is then dried to reduce its water content. The above steps are repeated at least twice so as to reduce its aflatoxins under a safety level.

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi Aspergillus Flavus Link and A. Parasiticus Speare, which are classified into B1, B2, G1 and G2 types. The fungi Aspergillus Flavus Link mainly produce B1 and B2 types, whereas the fungi A. Parasiticus produce G1 and G2 types, in addition to B1 and B2 types. Among those types, B1 type is the most vicious carcinogenic substance.
Taking food and Chinese herbal medicines polluted with aflatoxins of high concentration may lead to diseases of hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity or immuno-supression, sometimes leading to deaths. Further, the food poisoning caused by aflatoxins, Aflatoxin-cosis, is a liver disease characterized by vomit, stomachache, spastic, pulmonary edema, coma or store fat in liver, kidney and heart or hydrocephalus, which may result in deaths. It is found, in the African and Asian epidemiological studies, that people in the regions of higher levels of aflatoxins pollution are more susceptible to liver cancer. Further, atlatoxins are a cause why B-type hepatitis virus carriers develop liver cancer.
To avoid endangering human health, the conventional method for suppressing aflatoxins is storing food or Chinese herbal medicines in a fungi-unfriendly environment, such as places of low humidity, whereby the chance for fungi growth is suppressed, and aflatoxins produced during the proliferation and metabolism of fungi become limited. Therefore, the chance of aflatoxin pollution on food become low. We can also remove the aflatoxin pollution by a mechanical means, which is particularly applied to remove the polluted portions of food contraindicated by aflatoxins. Thereby, unpolluted portions of food or Chinese herbal medicines can be kept for future consumptions. Further, the toxicity of aflatoxins can be damaged by alkali-added solvents and reduced to safety level.
However, the storage of food or Chinese herbal medicines in a dry space, though being capable of suppressing fungi growth, will cause management problem if it lasts for a long period of time. Similarly, the mechanical removal of aflatoxins by taking away polluted portions of food cannot guarantee that the remained portions is not polluted by aflatoxins. Especially, it cannot recognize the portions covered by the expansion of the pollution. Finally, the addition of alkali substances into a solvent and then reducing of the toxicity of aflatoxins in food may cause harmful quality changes of the food.
Therefore, the conventional methods of suppressing aflatoxins in food or Chinese herbal medicines have at least the following disadvantages.                1. The incomplete removal by the mechanical means;        2. The effect of chemical substances left during the toxicity reduction of aflatoxin by alkali-added solvents on human health.

Method for removing aflatoxins from Chinese herbal medicines


According to one embodiment, a display device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a first wiring electrically connected to the first electrode, a second wiring electrically connected to the second electrode, and a controller electrically connected to the first wiring and the second wiring, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are located in a display area, the first electrode is connected to the first wiring in a position away from the controller than the second electrode, the second electrode is connected to the second wiring in a position closer to the controller than the first electrode, and a number of the first wiring being greater than a number of the second wiring.

In recent years, display devices with a touch sensor which detects approaching or contacting of an object with respect to the display device are put in practical use. For example, a display device which comprises a touch sensor not only in a display area which displays images, but also in a peripheral region of the display area has been proposed.
Here, in a touch sensor in which sensor electrodes are arranged in a matrix, a difference in time constant is created between sensor electrodes due to a difference in length of line between sensor wiring lines connected to the respective sensor electrodes, which may cause degrading of detection performance.


In an embodiment, a method includes: during a first portion of a cycle of a clock signal generated by an oscillator, pre-charging a first capacitor of a first switched capacitor stage until a first comparator determines that a first node voltage of the first switched capacitor stage is greater than a first reference voltage at a first reference voltage node; applying a second reference voltage to the first reference voltage node; and responsive to a first edge of the clock signal, charging the first capacitor until the first comparator determines that the first node voltage is greater than the second reference voltage at the first reference voltage node.

Many electronic devices operate using one or more clocks. These clocks are often generated using an oscillator. Many different oscillator types exist and can be implemented in different systems. Typical integrated circuits (ICs) often include one or more on-chip oscillators to develop clock signals. Some such oscillators are formed using resistors and capacitors (so-called RC circuits) that are selected to generate a desired clock frequency. For most systems a stable clock frequency is a requisite for proper operation.
One issue affecting output frequency stability over temperature with existing comparator-based relaxation oscillators is that comparator and logic delay is temperature dependent. The temperature coefficient itself varies from part-to-part mainly due to random variations of transistor threshold voltage (VT) and transistor beta. As a result, the random variations temperature coefficient of each IC is factory trimmed at multiple temperature points, which is extremely costly. Another issue in using a comparator-based oscillator is that comparator and logic delay is supply dependent.


Amorphous para-oriented aromatic homo- and co-polyamides are prepared from terephthaloyl chloride or 2,6-naphthoyl chloride and 2,2'-dibromo-5,5'-dimethoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diamine with up to 92.5 mol % of certain other diamines.

Crystalline para-oriented aromatic polyamide fiber, such as poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) have been spun from concentrated sulfuric acid solution. While crystallinity is desired for many uses, there are applications where noncrystalline polymers and highly oriented fibers and films of amorphous oriented aromatic polyamides permit processing, modification or properties not attainable with crystalline products. Stable, highly amorphous character is not usually easy to achieve in condensation polymers and often the result is a high degree of solvent sensitivity and lack of dimensional stability at elevated temperatures.
Essentially amorphous aromatic polyterephthalamides are described in Macromolecules 1985, v. 18, pp 1058-1068 and J. Poly. Sci. Part A: Polymer Chem. V 25, 1249-1271 (1987). The noncoplanar conformation of certain of the polyamides disclosed in these publications is said to enhance solubility. The authors refer to solubility in amide solvents, such as tetramethylurea (TMU) even without LiCl, a known solubility promoter. Omission of the salt results in a cost-saving but more importantly, avoids the need for salt elimination by washing with water and drying. However, the particular soluble polyterephthalamide mentioned cannot be spun from sulfuric acid solution because the aromatic --CF.sub.3 group is unstable therein and is converted to --CO.sub.2 H and beyond. The present invention provides new aromatic homopolyterephthalamides and homo-2,6-naphthalamides that overcome such deficiencies and certain copolymers thereof, as well as fibers and films of the polymers.

Soluble amorphous para-oriented aromatic polyamide from 2,2'-dibromo-5,5'-dimethoxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diamine


A side-view type light emitting diode package for emitting light, emitted from a light emitting diode chip, toward a side surface is disclosed. The side-view type light emitting diode package comprises a package body having an opening portion for exposing the light emitting diode chip in a light emitting direction; and a light-transmittable resin covering the light emitting diode chip, wherein at least a portion of an inner wall of the opening portion is formed with a step projection for partitioning the opening portion into upper and lower sections, and the lower section of the opening portion below the step projection is filled with the light-transmittable resin. Accordingly, the light-transmittable resin with the convex lens shape may be easily formed, so that the light emission efficiency thereof can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode package, and more particularly, to a side-view type light emitting diode package adopting an opening portion, wherein at least a portion of an inner wall of the opening portion is provided with a step projection.
2. Discussion of the Background
Generally, a light source system using a light emitting diode chip is formed by mounting a light emitting diode chip into various kinds of packages depending on their use. Since a side-view type light emitting diode package is located on a side surface of a light guide plate to provide light in parallel therewith, it is generally used as a backlight illuminator for a display.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are plan and perspective views illustrating a conventional side-view type light emitting diode package, respectively, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a dashed dotted line A-A of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the side-view type light emitting diode package includes a pair of lead terminals, i.e., first and second lead terminals 11 and 13. The first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 are formed out of a lead frame manufactured with a phosphor bronze plate, and a surface thereof is plated with silver in order to increase light reflectivity. The first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 are supported by a package body 15. The package body 15 is generally formed by insert molding the lead terminals with polyphthalamide (PPA).
For convenience of description, the package body 15 may be sectionalized into an upper package body 15a and a lower package body 15b based on the position level of the first and second lead terminals 11 and 13.
The upper package body 15a has an opening portion 16 for exposing the first and second lead terminals 11 and 13. The first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 are positioned on a bottom surface of the opening portion 16, i.e., on the lower package body 15b, and spaced apart from each other in the opening portion 16. Further, the first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 protrude to the outside of the package body 15 in order to be electrically connected to an external power source. The first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 which protrude outward may have various shapes and be bent with various shapes. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the first and second lead terminals 11 and 13 which are bent from a lower surface of the package body 15 to side surfaces thereof to implement surface mounting.
A light emitting diode chip 17 is mounted onto the first lead terminal 11 in the opening portion 16 to be electrically connected to the first lead terminal 11, and electrically connected to the second lead terminal 12 using a bonding wire 19. The opening portion 16 may be filled with a light-transmittable resin 23, and a phosphor may be contained in the light-transmittable resin.
The conventional side-view type light emitting diode package is provided with the opening portion 16 with an elongated shape, and sidewalls, specifically sidewalls 15w in a major axis are formed to be inclined to widen a visible angle in the major axis. Accordingly, a side-view type light emitting diode package suitable to a backlight for display may be provided, and a side-view type light emitting diode which emits white light may be provided by the suitable selection of a light emitting diode chip and a phosphor.
However, in the conventional side-view type light emitting diode package, when the opening portion 16 for exposing the light emitting diode chip is filled with the light-transmittable resin 23 containing a phosphor, the light efficiency may be reduced since an upper surface of the light-transmittable resin 23 is formed to be concave. If the amount of the light-transmittable resin 23 increases to solve such a problem, the light-transmittable resin 23 may protrude above an upper surface of the package body 15, so that the light-transmittable resin 23 may be damaged by external force.


A method and apparatus for compensating an oscillator in a location-enabled wireless device is described. In an example, a mobile device includes a wireless receiver for receiving wireless signals and a GPS receiver for receiving GPS signals. The mobile device also includes an oscillator having an associated temperature model. A frequency error is derived from a wireless signal. The temperature model is adjusted in response to the frequency error and a temperature proximate the oscillator. Frequency error of the oscillator is compensated using the adjusted temperature model. In another example, a frequency error is derived using a second oscillator within the wireless receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to global position system (GPS) devices and, more particularly, to compensating an oscillator used to receive satellite signals within a location-enabled wireless device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The process of measuring a global positioning system (GPS) signal begins with a procedure to search for the GPS signal in the presence of noise by attempting a series of correlations of the incoming signal against a known pseudo-random noise (PRN) code. The search process can be lengthy, as both the exact frequency of the signal and the time-of-arrival delay are unknown. To find the signal, receivers traditionally conduct a two dimensional search, checking each delay possibility at every possible frequency. To test for the presence of a signal at a particular frequency and delay, the receiver is tuned to the frequency, and the incoming signal is correlated with the known PRN code delayed by an amount corresponding to the time of arrival. If no signal is detected, the search continues to the next delay possibility, and after all delay possibilities are checked, continues to the next frequency possibility. Each individual correlation is performed over one or more milliseconds in order to allow sufficient signal averaging to distinguish the signal from the noise. Such averaging is known as "integration". Because many thousand frequency and delay possibilities are checked, the overall acquisition process can require tens of seconds.
Recently, new applications of GPS technology in wireless devices have emerged, for example, imbedding GPS receivers in cellular phones to provide emergency location capability. In these applications, rapid signal acquisition in just a few seconds is required. Furthermore, these applications require a GPS receiver to operate in harsh signal environments and indoors, where GPS signal levels are greatly attenuated. Detecting attenuated signals requires each correlation to be performed over a relatively long period of time. For example, integration may be performed over a few seconds, as opposed to the 1-10 millisecond period used in traditional GPS receivers. The two-dimensional sequential search process employed by traditional receivers becomes impractical at such long integration times, because the overall search time increases by a factor of 100 or more.
The performance of a GPS receiver is greatly affected by the frequency stability of the oscillator used to receive the satellite signals. A high stability oscillator source may dramatically decrease the amount of time required to fix location by eliminating the need to search across a wide range of frequency bins. Furthermore, a high stability oscillator source enables the use of long integration intervals in the GPS receiver, greatly enhancing the ability to detect attenuated satellite signals.
In some cases, GPS receivers utilize a temperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) to provide a stable frequency source. TCXOs employ a-priori temperature models or characteristics to adjust output frequency as a function of temperature. Cost effective TCXOs are available that provide stability on the order of two parts per million. While this is adequate for conventional GPS receivers, such stability is not adequate for GPS receivers designed to operate very quickly, with long integration intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,708 describes a method of performing temperature compensation of an oscillator using a temperature sensor. The method uses frequency error measurements from GPS signals to adjust a temperature model for a TCXO over time. Adjusting the temperature model over time improves oscillator accuracy when compared to continuous use of an a-priori temperature model. The adjustment process requires the GPS receiver to be operated on a regular basis to keep the temperature model accurate. Such a technique, however, is unsuitable for cellular telephone phone emergency location using GPS, where the GPS receiver may be unused for extended periods. Furthermore, the technique requires that the GPS receiver have the capability of performing Doppler measurements, which typically requires a tracking loop receiver, as opposed to a matched filter receiver often preferred in cellular telephone applications.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus that compensates an oscillator in a GPS-capable wireless device without employing frequency error measurements obtained from satellite signals.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for compensating an oscillator in a location-enabled wireless device


An optical recording medium and a method for manufacturing the same, which offer to an information layer formed on a spacer layer the same electric characteristics such as a jitter and a noise as those of an information layer formed on a substrate, are provided. A convexo-concave pattern is transferred to a face of a spacer layer, which is opposite to the side of a substrate, so that a radial width of a convex portion is limited to be 53% or larger and 72% or smaller with respect to a radial pitch of concavity and convexity. A second information layer (information layer on the spacer layer) is formed in accordance with the convexo-concave pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical recording medium including an information layer formed on a substrate, a spacer layer formed on the information layer, and another information layer formed on the spacer layer. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, optical recording media such as a CD (Compact Disc) and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) are rapidly spreading as information recording media. The optical recording medium is generally standardized to have an outer diameter of 120 mm and a thickness of 1.2 mm. In the case of the DVD, a laser beam having a shorter wavelength than that for the CD is used as irradiation light. In addition, a numerical aperture of a lens of the DVD for the irradiation light is set larger than that for the CD. As a result, the DVD is capable of recording and reproducing a larger amount of information at a higher density than the CD.
On the other hand, information recording and reproduction accuracy is more likely to lower as the wavelength of irradiation light becomes shorter and the numerical aperture of a lens becomes larger. This is because coma aberration occurs due to inclination and warp of a disc. Thus, the DVD includes a light transmitting layer having a half thickness of that of the CD, that is, 0.6 mm so as to ensure a margin for the inclination and the warp of the disc to maintain the information recording/reproduction accuracy.
Since the light transmitting layer at a thickness of 0.6 mm alone does not offer sufficient stiffness and strength, the DVD has such a structure that a pair of substrates, each having a thickness of 0.6 mm, are bonded to each other so that the information recording faces inside. As a result, the DVD has a thickness of 1.2 mm, which is equal to that of the CD, to ensure almost the same stiffness and strength as those of the CD.
In order to realize the recording of a larger amount of information at a higher density, the wavelength of irradiation light is further reduced while the numerical aperture of a lens is further increased. In response thereto, an optical recording medium including a light transmitting layer at a further reduced thickness has attracted attention (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-85836).
In order to standardize the specifications, a blue-violet laser beam having a wavelength of approximately 405 nm is used as irradiation light while the numerical aperture is set to 0.85. In correspondence with the laser beam and the numerical aperture, an optical recording medium including a light transmitting layer at a thickness of approximately 100 μm is now increasingly in widespread use. It is proposed that a track pitch of a convexo-concave pattern of pits or grooves (pitch of concave and convex portions in radial direction) of an information layer is set to approximately 320 nm.
The optical recording medium can also be formed as a dual-layer recording medium by forming a spacer layer on an information layer formed on either one of or both the surfaces of a substrate having a convexo-concave pattern such as a pit and a groove and then forming another information layer on the spacer layer. In order to standardize the specifications for the dual-layer recording medium, it is suggested to set a thickness of the spacer layer to approximately 25 μm and a thickness of the light transmitting layer to approximately 75 μm (total thickness of approximately 100 μm). Incidentally, the dual-layer recording medium may have two or more spacer layers to form three or more information layers.
As a technique of forming a plurality of information layers, each being in a convexo-concave patterned shape composed of pits and grooves, the following technique is known (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-91887). According to the technique, a convexo-concave pattern is first formed on a substrate by injection molding. An information layer is formed by sputtering or the like in accordance with the convexo-concave pattern. Next, an energy beam curable resin in a flowing state is applied onto the information layer and a light transmitting stamper is abutted on the energy beam curable resin to transfer the convexo-concave pattern thereto. After an energy beam such as an ultraviolet ray or an electron beam is radiated onto the energy beam curable resin through the light transmitting stamper to cure the energy beam curable resin, the light transmitting stamper is removed to form a spacer layer. Another information layer is formed by sputtering or the like in accordance with a convexo-concave pattern of the spacer layer.
If an information layer in a convexo-concave patterned shape having a track pitch (a radial pitch between convex and concave portions) of 320 nm is formed by the above-mentioned technique, however, electric characteristics such as a jitter or a noise of the information layer formed on the spacer layer are likely to be inferior to those of the information layer formed on the substrate. As a result, there is a problem that desired electric characteristics cannot be obtained for the information layer formed on the spacer layer.

Optical recording medium having a relationship between convex width and track pitch


A system for collecting viewing data (or viewing habits) and automatically measuring the size of an audience viewing or watching a broadcast at any particular time is provided. In the system, a remote control device may be adapted to collect and manage the collection of the viewing data on television audiences, including requests for the data from third parties. The data may be collected using a remote control device and then transmitted to a remote computer where it may be stored and accumulated, so that over time, the viewing habits of the User may be identified. The remote control device may also be used to allow a User to interact with the television to order a product, monetize advertising, participate in an auction and/or rate a television program.

Television ratings, which reflect the average size of the audience of a television broadcast, are very valuable to an advertiser because they tell the size of the audience for the advertiser's commercial. The fees that a television or broadcast station charges to broadcast an advertisement on the air are largely dependent upon the ratings, so it is important to accurately measure the ratings.
One existing method of measuring an audience size is using an audience research company, such as Nielsen Media Research. Nielsen Television Ratings are generally gathered in one of two ways. One way is with the use of diaries that are kept by viewers, i.e. a target audience self-records its viewing habits. Audience research companies randomly select a limited number of people to maintain a written log or diary for a specified time period, such as for a week, for describing their viewing habits, i.e., each television or broadcast station watched. At the end of the specified period, the completed diaries are returned to the audience research company which then manually compiles the data. These habits can be broken down by demographic and sometimes psychographic information to help broadcasters and advertisers determine who is watching rather than just how many. By targeting various demographics, advertisers can be provided with the types of audiences of any given show, network, and programming hour.
In addition to the use of diaries, audience research companies can also gather viewing data using small devices connected to televisions in selected homes. These devices gather the viewing habits of the home and transmit the information nightly to the audience research company through a "Home Unit" connected to a phone line. The technology-based home unit system is meant to allow market researchers to study television viewing habits on a minute to minute basis, seeing the exact moment viewers change channels or turn off their TV. Both of these existing methods are inherently inaccurate because they depend on the measurement company's ability to select a representative group of people who ostensibly represent the likes and dislikes of the hugely larger actual audience, and the diligence of the participants. Furthermore, these prior art methods are also flawed due to the limited number of participants.
Consequently, a system and method for measuring the audience size of television broadcasts which alleviates the problems inherent in conventional methods as described previously is needed.

Systems and methods for collecting television viewing data and television interactivity


A packaging product taking the form of a thermally insulating packaging material includes a first multi-layer film bonded to a second layer of multi-layer film. Each multi-layer film can include one or more polymer layers and one or more metallized layers. The multi-layer films are bonded to each other with a pattern that leaves a number of inflatable cells dispersed across a surface of the sheet. At least one end of the sheet can be left unbonded. The uninflated packaging product can be stored and distributed in its uninflated state prior to it being used as a packaging material. Once ready for use, the cells can be inflated through the unbonded ends and the unbonded ends of the sheets can then be sealed to form a robust sheet of thermally insulating packaging material.

Packaging materials taking the form of laminated or heat sealed film layers defining numerous discrete pockets of air have been commonly used in the industry to reduce the stress of impacts upon items being transported. While these types of packaging materials can reduce the transmission of stresses or impacts received by a shipping container to an item carried within the shipping container, the spacing between the discrete pockets of air can prevent the packaging materials from providing a robust thermal barrier suitable for maintaining a temperature of the item being carried within the shipping container. For at least this reason, improvements in shipping materials that also provide excellent thermal insulation are highly desirable.

Packaging product with thermal and mechanical insulation features


Disclosed is a system for collecting data from an automated plant having a field device connected for communication and for exchanging telegrams with a superordinate unit by means of a communication loop using a first protocol. The system includes a hat rail; and a terminal module mounted on the hat rail and embodied to monitor telegrams transmitted from the field device to the superordinate unit via the communication loop. The terminal module is further embodied to convert monitored telegrams into a second protocol and to output the converted telegrams. The system further includes a head module mounted on the hat rail and connected with the terminal module. The electronics unit of the head module is embodied to convert telegrams output from the terminal module into a third protocol to output them via the first network interface.

Known in the state of the art are field devices, which are used in industrial plants. Field devices are often applied for process automation as well as for manufacturing automation. Referred to as field devices are, in principle, all devices, which are applied near to a process and which deliver, or process, process relevant information. Field devices are used for registering and/or for influencing process variables. Serving for registering process variables are measuring devices, or sensors. Such are used, for example, for pressure- and temperature measurement, conductivity measurement, flow measurement, pH measurement, fill level measurement, etc. and register the corresponding process variables, pressure, temperature, conductivity, pH value, fill level, flow, etc. Used for influencing process variables are actuators. Such are, for example, pumps or valves, which can influence the flow of a liquid in a tube, pipe or pipeline or the fill level in a container. Besides the above mentioned measuring devices and actuators, referred to as field devices are also remote I/Os, radio adapters, and, in general, devices, which are arranged at the field level.
A large number of such field devices are produced and sold by the Endress+Hauser group of companies.
In modern industrial plants, field devices are, as a rule, connected with superordinated units via communication networks, such as, for example, fieldbusses (Profibus®, Foundation® Fieldbus, HART®, etc.). Normally, the superordinated units are control units, such as, for example, a PLC (programmable logic controller). The superordinated units serve, among other things, for process control, as well as for commissioning of field devices. The measured values registered by field devices, especially by their sensors, are transmitted via the bus system to one or more superordinated unit(s), which, in given cases, process the measured values further and forward them to the control station of the plant. The control station serves for process visualizing, process monitoring and process control via the superordinated units. In addition, also a data transmission from a superordinated unit via the bus system to the field devices is required, especially for configuration and parametering of field devices as well as for operation of actuators.
For servicing field devices, corresponding operating programs (operating tools) are used, which run either on their own in the superordinated units (Endress+Hauser FieldCare, Pactware, AMS Fisher-Rosemount, PDM Siemens) or are integrated in applications of the control station (Siemens PSC7, ABB Symphony, Emerson Delta V).
In the course of the continued digitizing under the heading "Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)" and "Industry 4.0", which certainly also involves components of process plants, there is an increased need to provide data from sensor systems, especially measurement data, diagnostic data, parameter values, etc. to a central location and from such data to provide added value (headings for this are "Big Data Analysis", "Predictive Maintenance", etc.). The central location is frequently a database contactable via the Internet, especially a so-called cloud-capable database. Typically transmitted into the database by means of Ethernet are data of the components, especially field devices, of the process plants.
A basic problem in the case of all such applications (IIoT, etc.) is the lack of connectivity of the field devices to the database, since the field devices in many existing plants communicate with the superordinated units by means of 4-20 mA technology and/or by means of HART technology. For this, the field devices are fashioned as two-wire field devices. Each of these field devices is connected by means of a separate communication loop with the superordinated unit, which is typically arranged in an electrical cabinet. Typically, the cables of the individual communication loops are connected in the electrical cabinet to a terminal block having individual terminal modules and connected from the terminal block with the superordinated unit. The terminal block, the superordinated unit and other components of the electrical cabinet are typically secured by mounting on hat rails. In 4-20 mA technology, the size of the process values ascertained by the field devices is transmitted to the superordinated units via varying energy values in the range from 4 to 20 mA corresponding to the present size of the process values. In HART technology, a supplemental digital signal is modulated onto the 4-20 mA signal.
In the case of new plants, this basic problem can, most often, be solved simply, since it can still be addressed in the planning phase. For already existing plants, indeed, gateways, which can convert the 4-20 mA signal, or the HART signal, are obtainable for solution of the problem. However, this introduces the problem of a greater wiring effort, since the gateway must be connected in parallel into each individual communication loop, for which purpose the communication loops must be individually opened. Likewise, sufficient space for this must be present in the electrical cabinet, this being for existing plants often not the case.

Terminal module, head module, and system for collecting data from an automation system


Each of a plurality of Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) performance profiles can be determined upon a corresponding performance goal. A particular performance profile can be selected from the plurality of BIOS performance profiles. A BIOS configuration can be determined for a computer system automatically based at least in part on the particular performance profile or a hardware configuration of the computer system. The computer system can be initialized with the BIOS configuration.

This application relates to a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of a computer system, and more particularly to a method of configuring BIOS performance profiles for the computer system.
In a typical computer system (e.g., a rack server in a data center), a BIOS software program is stored on a BIOS chip located on a motherboard of the computer system. The BIOS stores firmware executed when the computer system is first powered on along with a set of configurations specified for the BIOS. The BIOS firmware and BIOS configurations are stored in a non-volatile memory such as a non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) or a read-only memory (ROM). The BIOS typically recognizes, initializes, and tests hardware present in a given computing system based on the set of configurations. The BIOS then gives control of the computer system to an operating system (OS). The BIOS provides an interface that allows a variety of different parameters to be set. For example, the BIOS can be used to specify clock and bus speeds, specify what peripherals are attached to the computer system, specify monitoring of health (e.g., fan speeds and CPU temperature limits), and specify a variety of other parameters that affect overall performance and power usage of the computer system.
Servers can be used by different data centers with different computing needs. For example, some servers are configured with an emphasis on power savings to reduce energy bills and heat management for a data center. In another example, other servers are configured with an emphasis on performance, regardless of power use, for use in high performance computing (HPC). For optimized operation, the servers for power savings can require a very different BIOS configuration than servers for high performance computing.
However, typical servers are preloaded with a single BIOS default configuration that cannot be optimal for the differing needs of the customers. In addition, BIOS configurations for servers are often complicated and can be closely tied to hardware combinations in each server. Traditionally, an administrator needs a human-to-machine interface and an OS application to select BIOS configurations for servers, which limits initial configurations of the servers.

System and method for automatically configuring bios performance profiles


The present invention relates to a novel interactive information system which can be used to make a traditional print medium such as a magazine, xe2x80x9cinteractivexe2x80x9d. When the traditional print medium is placed on a print media receiving unit in a predetermined position, a user can interact with the traditional print medium. Printed matter elements on the printed medium can be made xe2x80x9cselectablexe2x80x9d by the user.

Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for interacting with or augmenting print media.
xe2x80x9cHard copyxe2x80x9d print media such as paperback books have a number of advantages over electronic publications. Some electronic books, for example, can be read using a device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). However, the screens of PDAs are very small and it can be difficult to read the text of books on the PDAs. Moreover, it is difficult to manipulate the pages of an electronic book as a user must scroll through a number of pages to get to a page of interest. It is often faster for the user to turn a page of an ordinary book to quickly get to the desired page. Because the pages of an ordinary book can be turned quickly, the user can understand the context of a story or article that occupies many pages of the book much more quickly than would otherwise be the case when turning the pages of an electronic book. Furthermore, although improvements have been made to electronic display screens in recent years, printed matter on paper is often easier for people to read than electronic print on an electronic display screen. For instance, glare on an electronic display screen can make an electronic book difficult to read. Paper, on the other hand, typically does not produce excessive glare. Lastly, although sales of electronic publications are increasing, sales of traditional print media remain very high indicating a continuing consumer preference for hard copy print media. One reason for this may be that traditional print media are typically easier to use than electronic print media.
Although hard copy printed media have many advantages over electronic publications, hard copy printed media have a number of limitations. For example, the information which can be present in a hard copy printed medium such as a magazine is limited to the number of pages within it. If the reader wants additional information about a particular subject being read, the reader must take the time search for the information. For example, if a reader wants more information about a product in a story or an advertisement that he or she sees in a magazine, the reader must take affirmative steps to locate the additional information. The reader can contact the seller of the product by mail, phone or the Internet to obtain additional information about the particular product advertised. The additional effort undertaken by the reader is very inconvenient to the reader. Moreover, the retrieval of the additional information is delayed by the time needed to determine how to obtain the information as well as the time needed to actually obtain the information.
To address this problem, some have suggested printing specialized machine readable codes such as barcodes or digital watermarks containing embedded information of a uniform resource locator (URL) on the pages of a print medium such as a magazine. The barcodes or watermarks can then be scanned using a scanner and a computer can obtain auxiliary information from the Internet using the URL.
Printing many specialized machine readable codes such as multiple barcodes or digital watermarks on a print medium such as a magazine, however, has a number of disadvantages. For example, having many barcodes or watermarks in a print medium makes the printing process for the particular print medium more difficult and more expensive. The increased cost will likely deter many publishers from printing many the machine readable codes in their publications. Moreover, the visual appearance of a print medium is significantly compromised when the print medium includes multiple barcodes. Pages of a magazine, for instance, appear cluttered to a reader and thus less visually pleasing when many barcodes are present. Furthermore, if the barcodes or watermarks are blurred in some manner in the printing process, the scanner may not be able to scan the barcode and obtain the auxiliary information.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems.
Embodiments of the invention can provide auxiliary information to a user, conveniently and efficiently. The auxiliary information is provided to the user without significant effort on the part of the user. Moreover, in embodiments of the invention, a xe2x80x9chard copyxe2x80x9d print medium is used. The benefits of a traditional hard copy print medium are retained while gaining the ability to efficiently retrieve auxiliary information related to the print medium and perform actions related to the print medium.
One embodiment of the invention is directed to a print media information system. The system comprises: (a) a print media receiving unit including (i) a surface suitable for receiving a print medium, and (ii) an electronic position determining system capable of determining a position of a selected portion of the print medium when the print medium is disposed on the surface; and (b) an information server computer adapted to perform a task after receiving the information relating to the position of the selected portion of the print medium.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of interacting with a print medium. The method comprises: (a) receiving information relating to a position of a selected portion of a print medium on a surface of a print media receiving unit comprising an electronic position determining system; and (b) performing a task after receiving the information relating to the position of the selected portion of the print medium.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a print media receiving unit. The unit comprises: a surface capable of receiving a print medium; an electronic detection system capable of detecting a section of a portion of the print medium by a user when the print medium is disposed on the surface; a writeable memory device adapted to receive auxiliary information from an information server computer; and an output device adapted to communicate the auxiliary information to a person.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a print media information system. The system comprises a print media receiving unit including (i) a surface suitable for receiving a print medium, and (ii) an electronic detection system capable of detecting a selection of a portion of the print medium by a user when the print medium is disposed on the surface; (b) an information server computer; and (c) a print media database on or accessible to the information server computer.
Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of augmenting a print medium. The method comprises: (a) electronically encoding information relating to portions of a print medium; and (b) sending the information relating to the portions of the print medium to a user via a communication medium, wherein the sent information is to be used in a print media receiving unit comprising an electronic detection system capable of detecting a selected portion of the print medium when the print medium is disposed on the surface.
These and other embodiments are discussed in further detail below.

Print media information system with a portable print media receiving unit assembly


A method for providing system acknowledge back responses from a plurality of remote stations to a central station is provided. The system acknowledge back responses include a predetermined station identification number assigned to each remote station and any individual acknowledge back responses received by each remote station from a plurality of portable communication receivers. The station identification number assigned to each remote station begins with a first station number and ends with a last station number in a predetermined sequential order. The method provides a start signal being first generated by the central station to initiate the transmission of the system acknowledge back responses from each of the plurality of remote stations. The transmissions begin from the first station in response to the first station receiving the start signal, and from each subsequent remote station in the predetermined sequential order in response to each subsequent station in the predetermined sequential order receiving the predetermined station identification number of the previous remote station. The central station, or a previous remote station may repeat the station identification number of the previous station when a subsequent station fails to respond, thereby insuring a reliable transmission of acknowledge back responses from the remote stations to the central station.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of communications systems providing acknowledge back response capability for portable communication receivers, and more specifically to a system and method for optimally transmitting the acknowledge back responses received from the portable communication receiver at a remote receiving stations to a central receiving station.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Communication systems providing acknowledge back response capability have been available for a number of years. One such system enables a portable communication receiver having acknowledge back capability, to immediately communicate back a response, after the receiver has been initially contacted. The response provided may be a voice, numeric or alphanumeric message informing the originator of the communication that the message was successfully received by the portable receiving unit, and may further provide a response to the received message. Such acknowledge back systems have generally been only suitable for use in small, on-site systems, having a single central transmitter, and one or more wire-line connected acknowledge back system receivers for receiving the acknowledge back responses. The number of acknowledge back system receivers provided was a function of the acknowledge back transmitter power output provided with the portable communication receiver. Such transmitter power outputs were generally low, much less than one watt, due to the requirement for portability of the communication receiver, and the necessity to minimize the size of the battery subsequently required.
For large, wide area systems, the infrastructure required for providing acknowledge back response capability becomes considerably more complex. Wide area systems require messages intended for the portable communication receivers to be inputted through a terminal, such as a paging terminal, located at a central location. The messages are then distributed via wire-line or via link transmitters and receivers to each of a number of remote system transmitters or remote stations. The messages are then transmitted from the central station and from all remote system transmitters in a simulcast manner. In such systems, the number of communication receivers which can be in operation is high, ranging from one to ten thousand units and more, and the requirement for message throughput to support such a large number of communication receivers is equally high. The provision of acknowledge back capability in such a system places a tremendous strain on the ability of the system to maintain the message throughput. The problem may be further complicated by an increase in the number of system receivers which are required to support the communication receiver acknowledge back responses, and the problem of providing an efficient distribution of these responses from each of the remote stations back to the central station so that the response may be delivered to the message originators. An acknowledge back system for handling acknowledge back responses in an wide area communication system is required which does not compromise message throughput. The acknowledge back system must also insure reliable transmission of the communication acknowledge back responses received at the remote stations back to the central station for ultimate distribution back to the message originators.

System and method for optimally transmitting acknowledge back responses


A convertible backpack assembly for carrying items therewithin, yet provides a readily adaptable assembly for conversion to a "beach"-type chair. The assembly includes a frame base and forward and rearward frame portions each attached to the frame base by a ratchet arrangement. A pair of leg members extend downwardly from the frame base. The forwardmost leg member is pivotably attached to the frame base so as to be swingable away from the lower back of the carrier of the convertible backpack assembly. Envelopes of webbed material may be disposed over the frame portions and across the frame base, to define the front and back of the backpack as well as the back, seat and leg support portions of the "chair". The seat portion may have its tension adjusted under the frame base, to allow greatest sitter comfort. A pair of side panels of webbed material are removably disposed between the forward and rearward frame portions to define the sides of the backpack assembly. The webbed side panels may also be secured together under the frame base.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to backpacks, and more particularly, to a backpack which converts into a chair.
2. Prior Art
Most convertible "backpack/beachchair" carrying-type devices are typically cumbersome, uncomfortable foldable chairs which are able to provide some sort of load carrying capabilities.
One such chair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,451, wherein a storage bag is attached to a foldable chair frame. Another pack is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,686, which utilizes chains and pivotable links to create a chair from a backpack frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,345 shows a folding (typically wooden) chair with a container attached to its backside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,901 discloses a folding chair with carrier straps, and a cushioning pad to minimize discomfort to the lower back of the person carrying the chair. Platt U.S. Pat. No. 3,307,758 shows a bag and backrest which includes ropes to hold the seat and back together in proper supporting position. Kerschner U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,932 discloses a box-like pack which converts to a stool. This utilizes frame components which are unscrewed from the pack and reattached to make legs for the stool. U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,739 shows a frame set-up which when collapsed, may act as a backpack, and when unfolded, may make a chair, with the bag portion hanging from side rails of the pack.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,707 discloses a foldable chair with carrying straps, which chair frame might be usable to hold a bag. Bradbury U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,548 shows a foldable beach type chair with a carrying bag attached to its backside.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,574 discloses a foldable frame which is adapted to carry a bag, when the frame is folded. This frame appears particularly uncomfortable for the lower back of the carrier.
The prior art discloses primarily chairs with carrying bags attached, with little concern for the comfort of the carrier or the user of the chair.
It is an object of the present invention, to overcome these limitations and to provide a practical backpack which readily converts into a chair, having a variety of configurations, each of which configuration is comfortable and convenient for its carrier and/or user.


Cis .alpha.,.alpha./.beta., .beta.-3-amino-4-[2-(2-furyl)eth-1-yl]-1-methoxycarbonylmethyl-azetidin-2- one is resolved via (-)-2,3:4,6-di-O-isopropylidene-2-keto-L-gulonic acid hydrate (DAG).

An important clinical trial candidate, (6R,7S) 7-(R)-phenylglycylinamido-3-chloro-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]-oct-2-en-8-on-2-car bonxylic acid (loracarbef) may be synthesized by various routes. One of the more noteworthy total syntheses of loracarbef is that made possible by Evans and Sjogren, U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,171. The Evans and Sjogren methodology provides a chiral 2+2 (ketene plus imine) cycloaddition, and accordingly, entry to a wide variety of chiral cis .beta.-lactams. However, the Evans and Sjogren methodology provides for the utilization of a chiral auxiliary of the formula ##STR1## in the 2+2 cycloaddition with a Schiff's base, wherein X' is chloro, bromo, trifluoroacetoxy, or --OP(=)X.sub.2, wherein X is halogen. The above chiral auxiliary is synthesized in seven steps from L-phenylglycine. The resulting cycloaddition provides compounds of the formula ##STR2## wherein Ar is phenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkylphenyl, halophenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxyphenyl, naphthyl, thienyl, furyl, benzothienyl, or benzofuryl; R is phenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkylphenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxyphenyl, or halophenyl; Y is --CH.dbd.CH--, or --CH.sub.2 -CH.sub.2 --; and R' is phenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkylphenyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxyphenyl, halophenyl, furyl or naphthyl.
The obvious shortcomings of the Evans and Sjogren route are that a very expensive starting material, L-phenylglycine, is used, the chiral auxiliary is synthesized in several steps in linear fashion; and further, the chiral auxiliary is removed and discarded using Li/NH.sub.3 /t-C.sub.4 H.sub.9 OH to provide a free 3-aminoazetidinone.
As an achiral alternative, Hatanaka et al., Tetrahedron Letters Vol. 24, No. 49, pp 4837-4838 (1983), provides a method of preparing a 3-hydroxy(.+-.)-1-carbacephalosporin via a 2+2 cycloaddition much in the same fashion as that of Evans and Sjogren, but without the use of a chiral auxiliary as the ketene source. The Hatanaka methodology provides many of the same intermediates as does the Evans and Sjogren synthesis, albeit in achiral form. The advantage of the achiral synthesis is economy of steps and starting material. However, a resolution step is necessary to obtain the desired .beta., .beta.isomer free from the .alpha., .alpha. isomer.

Method of resolving cis 3-amino-4-[2-(2-furyl)eth-1-yl]-1-methoxycarbonylmethyl-azetidin-2-one using (-)-DAG


An in-vehicle apparatus includes a plurality of operations sections, a detection section, and a cancellation section. The operation sections are configured to receive an operation by a user while driving of a vehicle and respectively include distortion detection elements that respectively transmit detection signals in accordance with loads generated due to the operation. The detection section detects the operation to the operation sections based on the detection signals. The cancellation section determines whether loads are generated in the operation sections in a same period based on the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements and cancels the detection signals transmitted from the distortion detection elements in the same period when the loads are generated in the same period.

JP-A-2010-181398 (corresponding to US 2010/0170349 A1) discloses an in-vehicle apparatus that detects a load applied to an operation portion with a distortion detection element and detects an operation applied to the operation portion by a user based on the load. Because the in-vehicle apparatus can detect a magnitude of a force applied to the operation portion, the in-vehicle apparatus can accept various operations.
However, a load may be generated in the operation portion due to a vibration of the vehicle, and thereby an operation of a user may be misdetected. Accordingly, a malfunction of in-vehicle apparatus may occur. In order to avoid the above-described issue, an operation detected by the distortion detection element at a time when a vibration of the vehicle occurs may be canceled. However, an additional component, such as an acceleration sensor, for detecting a vibration of the vehicle is required and a cost may increase.

In-vehicle apparatus including distortion detection element