A solid state drive (SSD) device includes a printed-circuit board assembly (PCBA), a connector mounted on the circuit board, an open-frame support-type housing including first and second parallel elongated brackets extending along opposing peripheral edges of said circuit board, each bracket including a first connecting structure for securing the circuit board to the housing, and a second connecting structure for connecting the housing to an internal rack frame of a host system. The open-frame support type housing does not include a top cover and a bottom cover, whereby both of said opposing first and second surfaces are exposed by first and second openings. The housing includes optional end rails that form a box-like frame. The elongated brackets are formed using die-cast metal, stamped metal, or molded plastic with copper posts. Optional clamp-type brackets clamp along side edges of the PCBA.

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a memory data storage device that utilizes solid-state memory (e.g., flash-type "non-volatile" memory or synchronous dynamic access memory (SDRAM) "volatile" memory) to store persistent data. SSDs are an alternative to conventional hard disk drive that has slower memory data access times due to the mechanical moving parts. The absent of rotating disks and mechanical devices in the SSD greatly improves electro-magnetic-interference (EMI), physical shock resistance and reliability. However, SSDs may be more prone to electro-static-discharge relative to the conventional servo motor hard drive where the recording surfaces are made of magnetic material that is highly EDS resistive. Providing ground post to ground all electronic components on PBCA to bigger ground plane to allow better static charges to dissipate before it harms the weaker components on the PCBA.
As higher memory density is compacting into the ever shrinking real estate of electronic device or gadget, heat has also becomes an issue to the performance of the electronics. Better heat convection plus light weight package or housing will gain prominence and popularity due to the smaller and lighter electronic gadget trends.
What is desired is a light weight SSD device that provides electro-static-discharge (ESD) protection and improved heat dissipation characteristics.

Solid state drive (SSD) with open top and bottom covers


A one-way damper unit of a pull cord device includes a unidirectional clutch that is disposed in a housing to form a liquid-filled gap therewith and that includes: a casing formed with deep and shallow groove portions; a main shaft having an insert segment extending into the casing and a connecting segment extending outwardly of the casing for connecting to a driven wheel; and a clutching member including a clutching body that extends into the groove and that has a cross-sectional dimension shorter than a distance between the insert segment and the deep groove portion, and longer than a distance between the insert segment and the shallow groove portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window covering, more particularly to a window covering provided with a pull cord device.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,406,995B2 discloses a pull cord device for controlling raising and lowering of a base rail of a window covering. The pull cord device includes a locking wheel having a toothed segment turnable between locked and unlocked positions to engage and disengage from a cord spool, respectively, a cord-release controlling member having a cord retaining region to engage a pull cord to be movable along a linear running path when the pull cord is pulled in the unlocked position, a guideway disposed in the locking wheel, and including an angularly extending first route and a looped route, a guided member having a key end disposed in the guideway, and a linkage coupling the controlling member with the locking wheel such that when the controlling member is moved, the locking wheel is turned from the locked position to the unlocked position, and such that, in the unlocked position, the cord retaining region remains unmoved in each of the regions in the looped route.
Although the pull cord device is capable of retaining releasably the base rail at a desired height, a braking effect of the pull cord device is not functional when the base rail is being lowered. Therefore, downward moving speed of the base rail may be too fast especially when the combined weight of the base rail and slats of the window covering is greater than the restoring force of a coil spring of the pull cord device, which can be a cause of injury to a person or damage to an object under the base rail.

Pull cord device and window covering including the same

Taicang Kingfu Plastic Manufacture Co., Ltd.


The assembly of a hydraulic motor and of a brake, comprising a frame; a cylinder-block mounted to rotate via a bearing and provided with a communication face; a fluid distributor valve provided with a distribution face in abutment against the communication face of the cylinder-block. A plurality of braking members are provided, some fast with the frame, the others fast with a brake shaft itself fast in rotation with the cylinder-block. An axial thrust braking member and a brake-release jack are coupled between the frame and the brake shaft. The brake shaft is fast in translation with the cylinder-block in the direction opposite that of the thrust force producing abutment of the distribution face against the communication face.

An assembly of a hydraulic motor and of a brake is already known, comprising: a motor frame; a cylinder-block mounted to rotate about an axis of rotation and maintained axially in position at least in one direction with respect to the frame by means of a bearing device, and provided with a plane communication face perpendicular to the axis of rotation; an internal fluid distributor valve, provided with a plane distribution face, generally in abutment on the communication face of the cylinder-block, jacks capable of containing fluids under pressure, being interposed between the frame and the internal fluid distributor valve and capable of generating a thrust for abutment of the distribution face against the communication face; two groups of braking members fast in rotation, the braking members of a first of the two groups with the motor frame, and the braking members of the second group with a brake shaft itself fast in rotation with the cylinder block; an axial thrust member for controlling braking, with displacement parallel to the axis of rotation, coupled to the brake shaft so as to be fast therewith with respect to a translation of said thrust member parallel to the axis of rotation, of direction opposite that of the thrust for abutment of the distribution face against the communication face; a device for controlling the braking coupled to the thrust member and capable of generating thereon an axial braking thrust; and a brake-release jack coupled between the motor frame and the thrust member, with effect antagonistic to that of the braking control device, capable of generating on the thrust member an axial thrust of direction opposite that of the thrust for abutment of the distribution face against the communication face.
It is ascertained that the bearing device must be capable of withstanding a considerable axial thrust: that transmitted to the cylinder-block by the internal fluid distributor valve during abutment of the distribution face of the internal distributor valve on the communication face of the cylinder-block. The dimensions of the bearing device might be reduced or its operative life might be increased if, during nominal running of the motor, with the maximum nominal pressure provided, an effort antagonistic to that of said thrust for abutment of the distribution face on the communication face were developed and applied to the cylinder-block to reduce and even cancel the effect of said thrust.
It is also ascertained that, in an assembly of a motor and of a brake, the motor may function only if the action of the brake is cancelled or only when an effort of brake-release is generated.
The invention contemplates bringing these observations together and, by transmitting in the appropriate direction the brake-release effort which exists simultaneously with the thrust for abutment of the distribution face of the internal distributor valve on the communication face of the cylinder-block, in obtaining the partial or total neutralization of the latter by the former.


In a battery pack (1),a current loop between the positive and negative electrode plates of an electrode assembly passes points P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11, P12, P13 and P14 in this order. A line that connects P2 to P3 intersects a line that connects P11 to P12 in the part where the loop passes a sealing plate (12), which is arranged on the top of a battery unit (10). The loop can be divided into loop parts B1 and B2. The part B1 is formed on the exterior side of the battery unit, and extends from the intersection A through a circuit board (20) back to the intersection A. The part B2 is formed on the interior side of the battery unit relative to the intersection A. The current flows counterclockwise and clockwise in the parts B1 and B2, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack that includes a battery unit and a circuit board, and in particular to a battery pack that includes a rectangular battery unit and a circuit board that is arranged on or above an exterior surface of a sealing member or exterior container of the rectangular battery unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rectangular rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and polymer batteries have been developed for mobile electronic devices. The rectangular rechargeable lithium-ion batteries typically include a low-profile exterior container, an electrode assembly, a sealing plate, and positive and negative electrode tabs. The low-profile exterior container has a bottom-closed hollow shape. The electrode assembly includes positive and negative electrode plates that face each other, and are accommodated in the exterior container. The opening of the exterior container is closed by the sealing plate. The positive electrode tab extends from the positive electrode plate, and is connected to the sealing plate. The negative electrode tab extends from the negative electrode plate, and is connected to a negative terminal. The negative terminal passes through the sealing plate.
Also, battery packs have been developed and widely used which include a circuit board that is arranged on or above the exterior surface of the aforementioned type of battery unit.
FIG. 6 shows a battery pack that includes a typical rectangular lithium ion battery.
The battery pack shown in FIG. 6 includes a protection circuit in a circuit board 120, and external positive and negative terminals (P24, P26) that are arranged on or above an exterior surface of the circuit board 120. Electric power is supplied through the external positive and negative terminals from the battery pack.
In addition, positive and negative electrode tabs 116 and 117 extend toward a sealing plate 112, and are arranged in parallel to each other in a battery unit.
Also, a positive terminal (P23) and a negative terminal 113 on or above the sealing plate 112 of the battery unit are connected to the circuit board 120 through a connection lead 131 and a lead-equipped safety device 132, respectively. Thus, electric power can be supplied through the circuit board and the external positive and negative terminals from the battery unit to an external circuit (P25).
In the battery pack including the aforementioned battery unit, when electric power is supplied, a current loop is formed from the battery unit to the circuit board, and will produce flux linkage.
The current loop is shown by the lines that connect points of P21 to P33 in FIG. 6.
As shown in FIG. 6, the current loop is formed from the positive electrode plate of the electrode assembly through the positive electrode tab 116 (P21, P22), the positive terminal (P23) on the sealing plate 112, the external positive and negative terminals (P24, P26) on the circuit board 120, wiring (P26 to P29) on the circuit board 120, the lead-equipped safety device 132, the negative terminal 113 and the negative electrode tab 117 to the negative electrode plate of the electrode assembly.
Thus, the formed current loop has a relatively large loop area, which extends from the interior side of the battery unit through the exterior-side circuit board back to the interior side of the battery unit.
This current loop will produce flux linkage. This flux linkage may cause EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) on a mobile electronic device, which in turn may cause malfunctions of the electronic device.
For this reason, it is required to prevent EMI. In particular, in the case where the output of the battery is high, the flux linkage will be also high. Correspondingly, it is required to prevent EMI.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. JP 2003-242,956 A discloses a battery module which addressed this. The battery module includes a plurality of batteries that are connected to each other through bus bars. The plurality of batteries are arranged in particular arrangement, and connected to each other in a particular connection order so as to prevent EMI. The particular arrangement and the particular connection order form a plurality of loop circuits in the connection path. The current flows in the loop circuit adjacent to each other are opposite to each other so that the magnetic fields that are produced by the plurality of loop circuits cancel each other.
This technology is effective at reducing the total strength of the produced magnetic fields, but cannot be applied to battery packs that include one rectangular battery unit that is provided with the circuit as discussed above.
Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. JP 2007-317,668 A discloses a battery pack that includes an electromagnetic wave shielding plate that is arranged along the battery pack. It can be said that this battery pack is effective at preventing EMI. On the other hand, it is also required to suppress electromagnetic waves without such an electromagnetic wave shielding plate in battery packs that are required to be thin or small.
The present invention is aimed at solving the above problems, and its main object is to provide a battery pack that includes a circuit board on an exterior surface of a battery unit but can suppress EMI without an electromagnetic wave shielding plate, and the like.


Real time interactive networked gaming is provided with two different classes of bookmarked online game players: “Friends” and “Rivals.” “Friends” are game players that are known personally. “Rivals” are game players who are not known personally but whom one has played against in the past in an online gaming scenario. Game software may allow chatting or other direct communication with “Friends” but not with “Rivals.” Rivals may be tracked to a limited degree so that for example it is possible to play against the Rival when he or she is online. Rivals may for example be players who you wish to track or keep track of, but in a manner that is safe for both you and the “rival.” When a player goes online again, he or she can see whether his or her Rivals are online and invite them to play another game. Inviting Rivals to play may be selectable, so an online player can invite Friends, Rivals or both to play.

Within the last decade, computerized gaming, computer graphics and electronic networking have revolutionized remote networked game play. The Internet, cellular communications networks, and wireless communications networks such as WI-FI have opened exciting new possibilities for networked multiplayer gaming. If one desires the competitiveness of a multiplayer game and it isn't practical or possible to invite friends over, it's now possible to connect to a network and use the network to carry game play signaling between different gaming or other appliances. A child can now operate a handheld gaming platform at a kitchen table or in a fast food restaurant and interact wirelessly in real time with another player across town, across the country or on the other side of the globe. One can play against friends, neighbors, acquaintances or people one hasn't yet met.
Technology may sometimes have unintended consequences. Widely available digital networked communications and easy-to-use interfaces provide enhanced connectivity and accessibility, but also create risks inherent in any anonymous or pseudo-anonymous mode of communications. As much as we sometimes might not like to think about it, we share the world with charlatans, criminals and predators who may wish us and our children harm. For their own self-interests, such miscreants can take advantage of the anonymity of computer networks to learn information that can compromise our security and privacy. It is not always possible to ascertain with any certainty the true identity of people communicating over a computer network, but predators can often glean information through computer text and/or voice chat, blogs and other networked message exchanges that they can then use to invade our privacy and our lives.
Email communications over a computer network is similar in many ways to conventional mail delivered to your home mailbox. You can simply throw away or delete email messages that you consider to be "junk mail." Real time instant messaging and chat, on the other hand, can be more aggressive and more difficult to ignore. Upon entering and participating in an Internet or other network "chat room," one does not really know who the people in the chat room really are. An adult may be able to successfully masquerade as a child for a variety of purposes—some of them nefarious. For these and other reasons, most parents are not comfortable having their children chat with people their children do not already know.
Many online games allow players to chat with other players within or outside of a game environment. A common feature that many of these games share is that an updated list is kept by a server of all players on the network at a given time. This allows players to search for opponents or allies for an upcoming game. However, browsing through lists of online participants can be tedious. A game may have thousands of players logged on at a given time. Players may have to spend a good deal of time searching the list for a proper competitor or a friend met in a previous match. In the past, lists have been provided with sorting functions, such as alphabetical sorting, to facilitate opponent and friend searching. Additionally, some online environments have allowed players to bookmark "buddies" (online friends) in a manner similar to "Instant Messaging" offered by America Online and others.
Unfortunately, due to the exploitation of the Internet by unsavory characters, it may not be safe for a child to select and maintain an online relationship with a "buddy" he or she does not know. Previous buddy lists generally do not include any way of weeding out "dangerous" acquaintances from "safe" ones. Parents may be reluctant to allow children to play in such online environments.
Needs exist for a safe method of providing an online buddy or similar list or roster that does not potentially expose children to undesirably intrusive contacts. Additionally, needs exist for methods of preventing unapproved player tracking. Such methods should not interfere overmuch with the general purpose and function of the buddy list, which is to allow players to easily meet with, communicate with, and play with selected friends and rivals online.
To help ensure privacy, Nintendo recommends that a player should never give out personal information such as last name, phone number, birth date, age, email address or home address when communicating with others. For example, Nintendo provides a Wi-Fi Connection ID for use with its Nintendo DS portable video game system. A player's Wi-Fi Connection ID is tied to a Friend Roster and is stored on the player's Nintendo DS system. Nintendo recommends players should be sure to properly safeguard their Nintendo DS system and to delete user information from the Nintendo "WFC" set up, if the player will no longer be using the system or game, to prevent a subsequent user from having access to the Friend Roster. Nintendo also warns players about receiving messages from, or communicating with strangers; recommends having an adult assist children with system setup and instruct them not to use personal information for their nickname and personal message; asks parents to be sure children know how to identify when someone has entered a chat room; and has parents instruct their children not to use the chat feature if the parents are not comfortable with such use. While these precautions are helpful and useful, further improvements are possible and desirable.
The technology herein provides methods for "buddy list" implementation that keep all desired aspects of a buddy list intact while securely protecting the user from online miscreants and invasion of privacy and security.
Using an exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, once you're connected to the network it's time to hop into a game. You control who you play with. You can connect with friends you know or find new opponents online. You can exchange unique Friend Keys with the people you know so you can play and chat with each other when you're both online. When a friend is not online, or when you feel like taking on a new challenger, a matchmaking server can find opponents for you. No personal information is transmitted, so you can have fun competing securely and anonymously. In certain games, you can also get connected by being "auto-matched." Auto-match goes out and randomly sets a game player up with any other game player who is online and looking to play. This broadens the number of opponents who you can be matched against to thousands of other players around the world. The way Auto-match is set up and used may be different for each game. For example, in some games, a player can choose whether he or she wishes to play only against players on their Friends Roster, players within the same geographical region, or players anywhere in the world. Not all games need to contain a chat feature. For those that do, "open" chat is generally allowed between friends who have exchanged Friend Codes. "Open" chat may also be possible if two players who have not exchanged Friend Codes interact with a game hosted by another player with whom they have both exchanged Friend Codes. "Closed" chat can be provided as an operational mode in which a player can select from a set of "canned" phrases to send to an opponent but which restricts content (e.g., so that the player may not type whatever he or she wants).
One exemplary illustrative technique provides two different classes of "remembered" online game players: "Friends" and "Rivals." "Friends" are game players that are known personally and with whom chatting is permissible. "Rivals" may be game players who are not known personally but whom one has played against in the past in an online gaming scenario. Game software may allow chatting or other direct communication with "Friends" but not with "Rivals." Rivals may be tracked to a limited degree so that for example it is possible to play against the Rival when he or she is online. Rivals may for example be players who you wish to track or keep track of, but in a manner that is safe for both you and the "rival." The exemplary illustrative non-limiting technology herein allows the game player to "bookmark" or otherwise keep track of Rivals (i.e., strangers that you have played with in the past). When a player goes online again, he or she can see whether his or her Rivals are online and invite them to play another game. Inviting Rivals to play may be selectable, so an online player can invite Friends, Rivals or both to play.
In other exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations, it may be possible to send certain predefined or "canned" messages to Rivals while prohibiting "free chat" reserved for Friends. Such exemplary illustrative non-limiting arrangements might, for example, allow a player to send an invitation message to a Rival asking the Rival whether he or she wishes to join a game, but limit the ability of the player to send any other information (e.g., personal information that might reveal his or her identity) for safety reasons. Rivals may or may not have other qualifications as well (e.g., similar rankings or standings). In accordance with additional exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations of the technology herein, a "lobby" system allows a game player to see who (i.e., which Friends and which Rivals) is online before starting a game. The player can then start a game in the hope that a Friend or Rival will join or the player may be able to invite the Friend or Rival to join the game. Such tracking techniques can operate, if desired, in conjunction with a website or other auxiliary presentation technique to allow players to find, track, and determine the online/offline state of "Friends" and "Rivals." Different colored displays or other presentation technique can be used to indicate status.
Game players who do not wish to be tracked may, in exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations herein, deactivate tracking so that it is not possible for others to determine their online/offline state. Different classes or categories of players may be provided with access to voice chat, text chat capabilities, or neither. For example, voice chat and text chat may be limited only to Friends and not extended to Rivals in one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation of the technology herein.
In one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, if you have a Friend set up on your list, you can use the voice-over IP chat online, or you can chat with them using the messenger program. There is also a way to keep track of Rivals too, but still keep everyone safe online. After you play someone, you can decide to add them to your Rivals list. If they agree, you will become Rivals. Then you can follow that person's statistics and you can try to connect with them again later. If you activate your Rival Radar and pass by someone else who has it on, you'll download their Hunter's License and they'll become your Rival.
According to other aspects of exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations, players may be added as a Friend to a buddy list only when the player has met face-to-face with another player and exchanged a buddy card. A buddy card is a virtual "card" representing the relevant attributes of the player, and may contain any information that the game developer desires. Players who are not face-to-face may exchange cards through use of user passwords or other protections based on for example mutual agreement.
According to further aspects of exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations, users may add rivals, who are different from buddies, to a list of rivals. This list can be part of the buddy list or it can be a separate list entirely. In some exemplary illustrative implementations, a player may only be added to a rival list after giving permission to be added.
Further exemplary illustrative non-limiting features and advantages of an exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation include:
Buddy List:
                "Buddy List" allows users to keep track of their "Buddies" (people they know) indicating if they are online or not and even chat with them.        "Buddy List" also allow these online "Buddies" to join each other's games in order to play against each other.        "Buddy List" consists of a collected database of "Gamer's Cards" in which players exchange during LAN (face to face) Multiplayer games.        Because players exchanged these "Gamer's Card" from playing someone else face to face (and assuming they know them), these "Gamer's Card" fall under a player's "Buddy List", allowing them to find and play with them online, and even allow them to CHAT with each other.        There are other possible ways to exchange "Gamer's Cards" with real friends (people you know) in which doesn't involve face to face interaction. It is possible to set up an online portal ID key/password exchange in which players need to enter a certain code at the same time in order for the game to find each other and exchange "Gamer's Card"Rival List:        "Rival List" will allow users to keep track of "rivals", players they have played against online. These online "rivals" are (most likely) total strangers to the player.        "Rival List" is made of up of "Gamer's Cards" that were exchanged after a Wi-Fi Connect online match with online players. Also, these exchange of "Gamer's Card" must be confirmed by both players.        Because of online safety concerns, a player's "Rival List" only allows them to "track" their "Rivals" (see if they are online or not) and invite them to a game. Players will not be able to chat with their "Rivals" and certain information on their "Gamer's Card" may also be limited/hidden from their "Rivals". Only "Buddies" can see all information on your "Gamer's Card"Bookmarking Rivals:        After completing a Wi-Fi Connect online match with random (strangers) players, a list of all current players' standing and stats of the previous game can be shown. Here, any player can go down the list and "check off" or "bookmark" any of the other players as a "Rival" in order to keep track of them later.        This "bookmarking" is done without any confirmation or knowledge of the other player.        Once a "Rival" has been "bookmarked", a player can keep track of that player and use the options of the game to always show up in games against the "Rival."        In some implementations, the player can also request a "Rival" to become a "Buddy".Gamers Card or Buddy Card        Every player will have a CARD that you can exchange with other players. Each CARD will have certain information about that player.        Exchanging GAMERS CARD will also put each player on each others BUDDY/RIVAL LIST for easier locating when online.        A player is either a BUDDY or a RIVAL based on how they exchanged their GAMERS CARD.        A player becomes a RIVAL after playing them ONLINE and then agreeing to exchange a GAMERS CARD.        A player becomes a BUDDY when players exchange GAMERS CARD in REAL LIFE by just playing a LAN game with them.        Players can be BUDDY thru the Internet using the ADD BUDDY function below.Gamers Card        May contain the following information:                    NAME            RANKING (this can be updated every time that person goes online)            FAVORITE CHARACTER USED (this can be updated every time that person goes online)            LOCATION (if desired)            WINS/LOSES/KILLS (this can be updated every time that player goes online)            OtherBuddy Card                        To be on each other's BUDDY LIST, EACH PLAYER must have EACH OTHER'S BUDDY CARD.        To exchange a BUDDY CARD, players can exchange in REAL LIFE by just playing a LAN game with them (or wireless LAN trade).        Players can also exchange BUDDY CARDS thru the Internet using the ADD BUDDY function.

Systems, methods and techniques for safely and effectively coordinating video game play and other activities among multiple remote networked friends and rivals


Disclosed embodiments of power machines, implements and hydraulic systems utilize a hydraulic flow control circuit and method to implement multiple modes of operation while optimizing hydraulic fluid flow to either or both of primary and secondary function devices.

Loaders and other power machines typically utilize a hydraulic system including one or more hydraulic pumps, in conjunction with control valves and actuators, to power travel motors, to raise, lower, and, in some cases, extend and retract a boom or an arm, to power hydraulic implements operably coupled to the power machine, and the like. Many hydraulic implements that are capable of being operably coupled to, and receive hydraulic fluid from a power machine have a primary function and one or more secondary functions which are all hydraulically powered. That is, such implements accomplish a plurality of functions through hydraulic devices located on the implement, with a primary function supported by secondary functions. For example, cutting type implements such as planers, slab cutters, and stump grinders, have a hydraulic motor driven cutting wheel or drum for cutting a material and this cutting wheel is a primary function on the implement. Secondary functions of such an implement include functions that position or move the cutting wheel or drum to desired positions, in desired patterns, at desired speeds or patterns to achieve feed rates, etc. For example, in a planer, one secondary function is a side shift function, while two other secondary functions control left and right moving skis. In another example, in a stump grinder, one secondary function is an arm raising or lowering function that positions the cutting wheel. Another secondary function of a stump grinder controls lateral movement of the cutting wheel.
On a conventional implement of this type, hydraulic fluid for an implement is provided from a hydraulic system on the power machine to a first coupler, often a male coupler, on the implement primarily for purposes of performing the primary function. The conventional implement is further capable of diverting small amounts of hydraulic fluid to perform the secondary functions, i.e, the diverted fluid is not provided to the primary function. Because providing flow to the primary function is deemed to be the highest priority on conventional implements, relatively little flow may be left to provide to secondary functions, leaving the secondary functions less than optimally supplied with hydraulic fluid and therefore the secondary functions often operate more slowly than desired. In addition, diversion of hydraulic fluid from the primary function, for example from a hydraulic motor, can result in the primary function operating at a less than peak level. When the primary function is not active but an operator wishes to employ secondary functions to, for example, position the primary element, conventional implements employ the same diversion technique, resulting in a large amount of oil being provide to the implement, only a relatively small portion of which is provided through a diverter to the secondary device or devices that are being actuated. The remainder of the hydraulic fluid is merely returned to tank. The entire process results in the creation of unwanted heat in the hydraulic system. In addition, the secondary function still often operate more slowly than desired.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of any claimed subject matter.

Selectable hydraulic flow control circuit


A user equipment and wireless provisioning method and system associated with a first wireless network are provided. The wireless provisioning system includes a processor, a network interface in communication with the first wireless network, and a non-transitory memory storing a first set and a second set of information of a profile related to operation of a UE on a second wireless network. The processor transmits the first set of information to the UE for provisioning to the UE files associated with authorization and authentication of the UE on the second wireless network. The processor validates that the first set of information was provisioned to the UE and transmits the second set of information to the UE for provisioning to the UE pointer updates for updating pointers on the UE to point to the first set of information. The processor transmits an instruction for the UE to reboot.

Mobile communication devices or user equipment (UEs) may have subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. The SIM card is stored on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), which may be removed from the UE. The SIM card includes credentials, such as confidential keys and encryption keys that are retrieved by the UE's radio modem and used by the radio access network (RAN) to establish a wireless link with a cell site. The SIM card may also include branding information related to the network operator associated with the UE. SIM cards may vary depending on the type of network in which the UE operates—SIMs operate in Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks, code-division multiple access (CDMA) SIMs (CSIM) operate on CDMA networks, and universal SIMs (USIM) operate in GSM as well as in other networks, such as universal mobile telephone service (UMTS). More current devices have an embedded SIM card (eSIM) that provides the functions formerly provided by removable SIM cards. An eSIM is embedded on the motherboard of the UE instead of being removable as in the case of legacy SIM cards.

System and methods for over-the-air SIM profile transfer


The invention relates to a pack for an article and a method of packaging an article in a pack. The article can include, for example, a cosmetic product. The pack can include a cylindrical body whose cross-section includes at least one convex curved portion and at least one concave curved portion having a radius of curvature similar to the radius of curvature of the convex portion. The cylindrical body can be formed of at least one sheet conformed to the cross-section and whose side edges can be fastened pairwise to one another along at least one fastening zone extending longitudinally to the body. The sheet can define an opening at least at one end of the body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pack for an article, in particular an article containing a cosmetic product.
2. Discussion of Background
Packs for articles can come in many shapes, such as parallelepipedal or cylindrical shapes. The shape is generally a function of the shape of the article that is to be contained within the pack. Parallelepipedal packs, or at least packs having two flat faces, offer the advantage that they can be stacked during transport and also on shelving in shops, which is not the case with cylindrical packaging.
It has consequently been proposed, particularly in EP 0 322 259, to provide a pack of a generally cylindrical shape comprising along the entire height of its side wall a groove as well as a rib. When several of these packs are stacked, the rib of a first pack lies in the groove of a second pack. The stack obtained with such packs is relatively stable.
However, the cylindrical shape is obtained by molding which means that it is necessary to transport empty packs from the line on which they are molded to the line on which the article is packaged. FR 2752824 also describes a pack formed by two shells that are fastened to one another and whose shape is obtained by molding. Because such packs are fairly bulky, the volume that has to be transported is large, making transport costs relatively high even though only empty packs are transported.
In order to reduce the space occupied by packaging during its transportation, there are generally used packs in the form of cartons that are obtained from a precut blank which is folded to produce the final shape. Blanks can be transported flat, which means that they occupy very little space. The cartons are then erected just before or at the same time as the article to be packaged is placed inside them.
However, a precut blank can only be used to produce parallelepipedal or cylindrical cartons such as those illustrated for example in FR 2 777 865, U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,271 or EP 0 949 151.

Pack for an article and a method of packaging an article


Provided is an image sensor device. The image sensor device includes a device substrate having a front side and a back side. The device substrate has a radiation-sensing region that can sense radiation that has a corresponding wavelength. The image sensor also includes a first layer formed over the front side of the device substrate. The first layer has a first refractive index and a first thickness that is a function of the first refractive index. The image sensor also has a second layer formed over the first layer. The second layer is different from the first layer and has a second refractive index and a second thickness that is a function of the second refractive index.

Semiconductor image sensors are used for sensing light. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors (CIS) and charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors are widely used in various applications such as digital still camera or mobile phone camera applications. These devices utilize an array of pixels in a substrate, including photodiodes and transistors, that can absorb radiation projected towards the substrate and convert the sensed radiation into electrical signals. Thus, an image sensor's efficiency in sensing the projected radiation depends on how much radiation is absorbed by the pixels. However, image sensors fabricated using current technologies are not optimized for the absorption of radiation by the pixels. Thus, while existing methods of fabricating image sensors have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.

Backside illuminated image sensor device with refractive index dependent layer thicknesses and method of forming the same

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


The present invention relates to a method and a system for improving sensitivity of a first sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanism of a subject by stimulating a second sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanism of the subject. For that purpose a noise is applied to the second sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanism to improve the sensitivity of the first sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanism due to cross-modal SR interactions.

Stochastic Resonance (SR) is a well-known phenomenon that occurs in different macro, micro and even nano systems. SR allows for improving the detectability of a signal below a threshold by injecting a noise into the systems. Therefore, SR appears to be an interesting and attractive phenomenon to be applied in sensory systems in order to improve the sensitivity of the subject's sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanisms.
Indeed, it has been shown that, when a weak sensory stimulus applied to an individual, for stimulating a specific sense, is added with an appropriate amount of white noise, the weak sensory stimulus can then be detected and thus activate the reactions of that particular sense in response to the applied weak sensory stimulus.
For example, in "The Benefits of Background Noise", a paper written by Frank Moss and Kurt Wiesenfeld, for Scientific American Inc., in 1995, the role of SR was investigated in biological sensory systems. For that purpose, the fine hairs in a crayfish's tail were under test. The fine hairs can detect motions, such as water motions caused by the arrival (movement) of a potential predator. In the experimental set-up, a crayfish's tail was isolated and mounted to a post and then placed inside a tank containing a saline solution. Also, an electrode was inserted in the nerve cord connected to the hairs, in order to measure the level of nerve impulses generated by the nerve, in response to the motions of the post detected by the hairs. A random noise was then added to the signal moving the post so as to create fluctuations in the motions of the post. Results showed that the sensitivity of the fine hairs was increased and the results exhibited the SR phenomenon.
It is further suggested in the same paper that SR has practical applications in the field of medical science and more specifically in the nervous system of human beings. In the same way, the paper entitled "Stochastic Resonance in Psychophysics and in Animal Behavior", by L. M. Ward et al., published in Biological Cybernetics, 87, 91-1001, in 2002, states that SR can be used for improving human performance through auditory, visual and tactile sensory systems since they contain a neural system.
Regarding Japanese patent application JP2003048453 A2, entitled "Display Device for Vehicle", by Hirose Satoro, published in 2003, a device is provided for a driver's car for increasing the driver's awareness of the surroundings and for keeping his/her attention focused on the road. To do so, a plurality of embodiments of the device has been developed, using different sensory stimulations, such as a visual, auditory or vibratory stimulation. The different embodiments were installed on the side mirrors of the car, on the steering wheel, etc. Each embodiment comprises a noise generator for producing a noise necessary for improving the perception of the driver according to the SR phenomenon. However, this device is meant for use only with car driving.
In US Patent Application No. 2004/0073271 A1, entitled "Method and System for Neurophysiologic Performance", by J. D. Harry et al., published in 2004, a system for improving neurophysiologic performance is disclosed. The system consists of a garment which comprises at least one input signal device that can be positioned at different locations on the garment, and one signal generator. The input signal device, such as electrodes or muscle stimulators, allows for inputting a bias signal to sensory cells for improving the functions thereof during a physical activity. The bias signal is generated by the signal generator. This system mainly focuses on contact stimulations through the skin.
In US Patent Application No. 2004/0173220 A1, entitled "Method and System for Improving Human Balance and Gait and Preventing Foot Injury", by J. D. Harry et al., published in 2004, a wearable device such as a shoe insert or a sock for shoes is disclosed. The wearable device comprises electrodes and vibratory actuators for producing vibrations so as to stimulate the feet and ankles of an individual. Furthermore, the wearable device also comprises a signal generator for generating a random noise to be added to the vibrations. Using the SR principle, the wearable device allows for improving the gait and balance of the individual. This device is used only for foot stimulations.
So far, it has been shown that the principle of SR can be applied in a uni-modal way, meaning that both the signal and the noise are applied to a same receptor. For example, to enhance the tactile sensitivity, a tactile stimulus and a tactile noise are applied to a tactile mechanism, and to enhance the visual sensitivity, a visual stimulus and associate noise are applied to a visual mechanism.
However, so far, it has never been shown how to stimulate one subject's sensory mechanism with noise to affect another sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanism of the same subject, and how the noise acts upon a multi-sensory integration system.

Method and system for improving a subject's sensory, reflex and/or motor mechanisms via auditory, tactile or visual stimulations


The invention relates to a method and terminal equipment for planting vegetables on internet rental land, thereby enabling land lessees with idle land to cooperate with urban people seeking to eat green vegetables which are economical and practical, on the one hand, meeting the requirement that urban people eat green vegetables which are practical and reliable, on the other hand, enabling idle land to be reasonably utilized, especially wasting land in rural areas, and bringing considerable benefits to the land lessees; meanwhile, along with the popularization and application of the method and the terminal equipment, a large number of employment posts can be brought to rural areas, and the economic development of the rural areas can be promoted.

People living in cities will encounter a problem, namely food safety. Although the safety of the green food is guaranteed, the green food is expensive and difficult to adapt to common consumer groups. In order to enjoy safe and beneficial green food, such as green vegetables, some urban residents can consider self-planting and self-sufficient food, but the planting efficiency is low, the labor cost is high, and the management is inconvenient. In addition, there is a problem in that urban land resources are lacking and it is difficult to satisfy with all of these self-planting people.
At the same time, many people living in rural areas, because of the low income in rural areas and the lack of money-earning types of work, also caused a large number of rural population away from rural wells, thousands of miles, to the city to work for livelihood, on the one hand, will undoubtedly increase the density of urban population, poor living environment, leisure and unemployed population, on the other hand, the rural areas become rare, a large amount of land will be abandoned idle.
As can be seen, at least the following problems exist in the prior art: there is no implementation scheme of how to coordinate green food planting and idle land use.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a technical means to solve the above-mentioned problems.

Method and terminal equipment for planting vegetables on internet rental land


This invention relates to carbide inserts used on roller cone bits for oil and gas drilling applications as well as for other geological drilling applications, and more specifically, relates to the convex crested insert with deflected wedge surfaces. The insert comprises a cylindrical portion and a crest portion. Said crest portion is composed of a conical crest base, a top surface and two opposing wedge surfaces. Upper ends of the two wedge surfaces are merged smoothly with top surface of the insert. The specific feature of the structure is that top surface of the crest portion is convexed outwardly and forms a smooth curve surface which is higher in the middle and lowers down gradually to each end. Said two wedge surfaces are slant wedge surfaces, so that a width of the top surface and therefore a width of the insert crest are tapered from one end to the other. Advantages of this invention include: 1. Help for rock breaking and therefore, it can increase drilling efficiency of the cutters and lower the overall drilling cost; 2. higher anti-breakage capability and longer working life; and 3. when inserts of this invention are used as heel row cutting elements on bit, contact area between wider end of the top surface of the insert and borehole wall is larger and therefore the gouging action applied on the borehole wall is higher and can also achieve better gage protection of the bit.

Roller cone bits are widely used in oil and gas, mining and engineering drilling applications. During drilling, heel row cutters on cones of the bit undertake multiple jobs including break bottom hole rocks by impact actions, gouge borehole wall and help to maintain bit diameter in order to prevent bit diameter shrinkage. Breaking bottom hole rocks by impact actions requires sharper top surface of the insert; gouging borehole wall and maintaining bit diameter require larger contact area between heel row cutter and borehole wall. Heel row cutters normally used on roller cone bits of prior art include inserts with deflected wedge surfaces and conical spherical inserts, which can not meet the two requirements mentioned above simultaneously. Inserts with deflected wedge surfaces has a larger contact area with borehole wall and is helpful for gouging borehole wall and maintaining bit diameter. But this insert has a blunter top surface because there is a plain on the top surface of the insert, and so it is not beneficial to breaking bottom hole rocks by impact actions. When inserts with deflected wedge surfaces are used as heel row cutters on roller cone bit, heel row cutters become one of the main causes to the low rate of penetration. Although conical spherical insert has a sharper top surface and helpful for breaking bottom hole rocks by impact actions, the contact area between heel row cutters and borehole wall become smaller when conical spherical inserts are used as heel row cutters on bit, therefore causing weaker gouging actions to borehole wall and lower gage protection ability of the bit.

Convex crested insert with deflected wedge surfaces


A computerized system and method for facilitating and organizing the creative process of planning events either along one line, or multiple in parallel, with a designated order but not at specific points in time.

There exists no sufficient plot building software for writers that addresses multiple overlapping plotlines, especially in the cases where a story has multiple characters. Normally writers would resort to using story boards, spreadsheets, or software that plots out their book along either a timeline or sequentially is it may occur in a book. This is a problem however because not all events which occur in a book are sequential. Characters live their own separate lives which may not be included as scenes within a book. And resorting to the more primitive usage of a physical storyboard, such as with index cards, can be mentally taxing, disorganized, and easily to lose if the story board is accidentally shuffled.

Computerized system and method for creative facilitation and organization


A jig securing alignment and positional accuracy in all directions (x, y, z) for an electrical component to be soldered to a PCB is provided. The jig positions the IC in the x and y directions, and keeps the IC from rotating. The jig also holds the IC down during the soldering process to make sure that the IC remains parallel to the PCB before, during and after soldering. The jig attaches to mounting holes on the PCB and its placement can be automated or performed manually.

The present disclosure relates to the assembly of printed circuit boards, and, more particularly, a device and methodology for positioning and retaining an electronic component on a printed circuit board during assembly.
Printed circuit boards (PCB) are known in the art for positioning and connecting electronic components, such as integrated circuits (IC), thereon. Typically, the placement and soldering of the ICs onto the PCB is an automated process in which armatures select components from a storage location and place the selected component in a pre-programmed position on the PCB. Printed circuit boards for surface mounted components have flat, usually tin, silver or gold plated copper pads without holes. In such configurations, components are attached to the printed circuit boards by soldering them onto these pads.
Prior to soldering, solder paste, a sticky mixture of flux and tiny solder particles, is applied to all the solder pads. After initial placement of all of the components, the PCB moves through a soldering area where the components are soldered to the PCB. In the soldering area the temperature is high enough to melt the solder particles in the solder paste, bonding the component pins to the pads on the circuit board. The surface tension of the molten solder helps keep the components in place, and if the solder pad geometries are correctly designed, surface tension automatically aligns the components on their pads.
Some components (an optical sensors, for example) require precise positioning with respect to the PCB or to another object (optical lens, for example). For example, an image sensor and an associated optical lens are to be mounted directly onto a PCB. The PCB has mounting holes for the optical lens. If the sensor is not aligned correctly with the mounting holes in the PCB (and hence the optical lens) the picture quality from the sensor will be less than optimal, and time-consuming adjustments might be necessary. Due to the very small sizes and pin spacing of surface mounted devices (SMD) manual handling and component-level repair is extremely difficult, and often uneconomical.
During placement of IC components on the printed circuit board and subsequent soldering process, an IC component may migrate from an initial placement position. Even if the IC is glued to the PCB when initially placed, misalignment in several directions may occur. As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, an IC may be misaligned in both x and y directions, and may also be misaligned in rotation (the dotted line 34 in FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrates the perfect position for the component pins). Additionally, solder may form under the pins or soldering points of the IC causing a lifting in the z direction (upward from the PCB), as illustrated in FIG. 1C, and tilting the sensor with respect to the PCB.
For most IC's, for example microprocessors and memory chips, such misalignment does not degrade the performance of the IC as long as the component pins have sufficient contact with the correct solder pads. However, such misalignment may result in severe problems in optical sensor systems. For example, in systems where an optical sensor and its optical lens are connected to the same PCB, the slightest misalignment of the image sensor may cause severe image deterioration. This occurs because once the optical sensor is tilted with respect to the PCB, at least part of the optical sensor may fall outside a focus plane of the lens.
One method of accounting for such deficiencies is to align or attach the optics directly to the sensor instead of the PCB, however, this is both expensive and complicated. Furthermore, there are several examples of soldering jigs for connectors, switches and other electric devices, but few of these jigs are intended for electronic components mounted on a PCB.
One device intended for preventing components having pins that go through the PCB from lifting during the soldering process, is described in Japanese patent application JP2002261433. This device does not guide or adjust the position of the component and is used for components with pins that go through the PCB.
Japanese publication, JP3038089, describes a jig in the form of a frame that is placed around an IC. This solution is intended for surface mounted components and holds the IC in place in the horizontal plane while soldering. However, this soldering jig does not secure the IC in the vertical direction, and is not constructed to guide the IC to a correct position. On the contrary, the cavity of the jig is larger than the IC, requiring manual mounting of the jig on the PCB.
The soldering jig of Japanese publication JP10084183 is also placed over a surface mounted IC. This jig, however, is intended to prevent solder bridges by masking the space between each of the pines of an IC during the soldering process. Japanese publication JP6334325 describes a guide pin on the IC and a corresponding tapered part on the PCB to position the IC on the printed circuit board.


An antihyperlipidemic pharmaceutical or dietary supplement composition for oral use consisting essentially of a combination of niacin and a gel-forming dietary fiber, and a method of lowering cholesterol levels with such oral pharmaceutical composition, or by the simultaneous oral administration of the active ingredients thereof, which eliminates the usual undesirable flushing and itching side effects of niacin while effectively lowering cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol levels, is disclosed.

1. Field of Invention
Antihyperlipidemic pharmaceutical or dietary supplement compositions and method of treating hyperlipidemic conditions therewith; combination compositions and therapy employing niacin and another active antihyperlipidemic principle, namely, gel-forming dietary fiber, which eliminate the usual undesirable side effects of niacin.
2. Background of the Invention and Prior Art
Nicotinic acid was the only agent studied by the Coronary Drug Project which produced a significant decrease in coronary events. Coronary Drug Project Research Group: Clofibrate and Niacin and Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA 231:360 (1975). This research demonstrated that niacin lowers blood cholesterol on an average by nine percent and reduces the recurrence rate of myocardial infarction by 29%. The study involved more than 8,000 individuals and was conducted over a period of six (6) years. The usual dosage range for niacin therapy is 3 to 6 grams per day, which dosage is capable of lowering cholesterol level from 10 to 25%, triglyceride level by 45 to 50%, and elevating HDL cholesterol by 15 to 20%.
In a paper in the Journal of Lipid Research 22:24-36 (1981) entitled "Influence of Nicotinic Acid on Metabolis of Cholesterol and Triglycerides in Man", it is stated as follows:
"Although the magnitude of plasma lipid lowering by nicotinic acid can be appreciable, its usefulness has been limited by certain disagreeable side effects such as flushing of the face and other skin reactions." PA1 "Its use has been clinically stymied, however, by side effects.",
Although the actual mechanisms by which niacin reduces cholesterol and triglycerides is not completely known, it is known that niacin does produce these effects and that niacin, moreover, has an ability to increase the amount of the protective form of cholesterol, namely, HDL cholesterol.
A major shortcoming of niacin is the necessity of administering large doses of niacin to effectively lower cholesterol level. Most subjects treated will experience accompanying side effects of flushing, prickling of the skin, and itching when they begin niacin, when the dosage is increased, or when the treatment is temporarily terminated and then commenced once more at the same dose. Ordinarily, it is necessary for a subject to gradually increase the dosage of niacin to a three to six gram per day dosage level over a period of months, starting with one 50 mg tablet three times daily for a total dose of 150 mg per day, to avoid being overwhelmed with the unpleasant side effects.
The prior art is replete with reports of the reduction of cholesterol levels and control of cholesterol levels in a subject in need of the same employing niacin (nicotinic acid) and of the undesirable side effects ordinarily produced when an effective amount of niacin is employed for such purpose. The side effects include flushing and itching, and it is well documented in the literature that such flushing, itching, and so on is not eliminated by intermittent niacin therapy, and generally reappears even when the therapy is interrupted and reinstituted. Although the degree or intensity of such side effects varies from patient to patient, it is frequently observed that such therapy cannot be applied in the case of various patients who are hypersensitive to the niacin or to the side effects which result in such patients upon oral administration thereof.
The present status of niacin treatment has been capsulated by Luria in Arch Intern Med 148, pp. 2493-2495 (Nov 1988) in the following words:
so that only low dosages may be administered with safety and patient acceptability, although even this latter is not a certainty even with low dosages over an extended perod.
Numerous other approaches to the lowering of cholesterol in a subject in need thereof have been proposed. For example, cholestyramine and other drugs which theoretically affect the bile acid pool and pull cholesterol out of the bloodstream according to the postulated mechanism are also available as are the gel-forming dietary fiber materials, such as guar gum and the like. Guar gum has been suggested as a dietary supplement fiber having an effect on cholesterol upon ingestion, but having a somewhat reduced effect when compared to bile acid-binding agents such as cholestyramine. Although the effect of guar gum is clear, its mechanism of action as a plasma cholesterol-lowering agent is unclear. What is clear, however, is that guar gum has no specific affinity for either cholesterol or for bile salts and that it does not act as a bile acid-binding agent in the manner of cholestyramine or the like, being 60-70 percent less effective in this regard, but yet being able to lower cholesterol levels almost as well as cholestyramine.
Dietary supplements or regimens combining oat bran (e.g., 100 grams per patient per day) and niacin have been recommended, but there has been no evidence or suggestion that such combination dietary treatment or approach has any effect upon the undesirable side effects of niacin, least of all at cholesterol-lowering dosages or intakes. Although it has been reported that side effects and especially gastric irritation may be somewhat reduced by taking the medication with meals and by the use of antacids or by combined therapy with colestipol, a bile acid-sequestering resin having proton-binding properties, its side effects continue to hamper its general applicability in cholesterol lowering and poor patient compliance often results because of these side effects.
It is accordingly reported that "Continuous flushing, resulting from harmless dilation of skin capillaries, occurs in most individuals at onset of treatment and when dosage is increased.--Patients should be warned that if several doses are missed, the flushing will recur.--Gastric irritation is also frequently encountered.--"
Since niacin, at a dosage level of three to six grams per day, is very effective in reduction of undesirable cholesterol levels, which reportedly fall by a mean of approximately 22% during some controlled clinical evaluations, it would be highly desirable to provide a way in which this valuable cholesterol-lowering material could be more generally applied without fear of or limitation by the said undesirable side effects, and the present invention addresses this problem, which has heretofore had no satisfactory solution, by combined therapy employing also guar gum, or another gel-forming natural dietary fiber which itself is a dietary supplement and which itself may be known to produce a cholesterol-lowering effect, but which unpredictably, as found according to the present invention, essentially eliminates or at least very substantially reduces the usual niacin side effects when administered simultaneously and preferably in a combination composition therewith.
Combination therapy employing colestipol, a bile acid sequestrant, together with niacin or its prodrug clofibrate, produced reduction in cholesterol levels as expected, which were greater when niacin was used together with colestipol rather than its prodrug clofibrate, but care still had to be taken to "mitigate the prostaglandin-mediated cutaneous flushing often associated with niacin", aspirin therefore being administered a half hour before each dose of niacin for this purpose. Combination therapy involving Lovastatin, plus a resin such as cholestyramine or colestipol, and niacin has also been suggested, it being reported that the Lovastatin reduced the amount of resin and niacin required to produce satisfactory results, and providing a possible powerful therapy for severe familial hypercholesterolemia, although such bile acid-sequestering resins are suspect as possibly binding and at least partially inactivating niacin as well. In any case, the combination of niacin plus the already-established guar gum or other gel-forming dietary fiber supplement (fiber intake already having been established as "inversely related to all-cause mortality"), as provided by the present invention, would appear to be a much simpler solution to the problem of the undesirable niacin side effects, while at the same time providing effective double-barrel cholesterol-lowering effect and results, than any combination, method-of-treating, or dietary supplement approach which has been suggested previously.
Guar gum is derived from a leguminous plant which bears bean-like pods containing six to nine seeds, known as Cyanopsis tetragonoloba. The seed is 40-46% germ, 38-45% endosperm, and 14-16% husk. Guar gum is prepared by first removing the husk and sperm components and then is derived essentially from the endosperm. It is marketed commercially in different grades and is chemically a galactomannan with galactose on every other mannose unit, having a molecular weight of approximately 220,000. It disperses in cold water to form a viscous pseudoplastic sol, the viscosity of which can be enhanced with heating, and it has an extremely high viscosity, which is fivefold higher per unit weight than starch, and is commercially available in various grades of dispersibility, viscosity, and thickening power, being generally packaged in powder form which requires dispersion in water. The problem of dispersing the guar gum in water is one which confronts one desiring to prepare a drinkable dispersion thereof, and also one who desires to disperse the guar gum internally upon oral ingestion, especially when most rapid action is desired. Although the mechanism of action as a plasma cholesterol-lowering agent of guar gum is unclear, it is clear that both niacin (nicotinic acid) and guar gum have been known to be effective cholesterol-lowering entities for at least twenty (20) years but, up to the time of this invention, no one has disclosed or even suggested that a combination of guar gum or any other gel-forming dietary fiber with niacin would virtually eliminate the unpleasant and normally limiting side effects of niacin in addition to providing enhanced cholesterol-lowering effect.
A Dialog search from the U.S. Patents data base for niacin for U.S. Patent Abstracts 1971-81, 1982-1987, and weekly from 12/87 through the middle of February 1988, turned up a few niacin prodrugs with or without allegedly reduced side effects and U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,902 relating to high polymers containing nicotinic acid in which nicotinic acid radicals are bound through covalent ester bonds which gradually hydrolyze in a biological environment by setting free nicotinic acid, and which allegedly have a therapeutic activity similar to that of nicotinic acid itself but longer lasting and with the elimination or least reduction of "collateral effects", the product of this patent apparently being some sort of a "depo" nicotinic acid-containing material, but of course the question remains whether the slow release of nicotinic acid as disclosed in this patent will provide adequate niacin levels for effective cholesterol lowering in practice. At any rate, this patent merely emphasizes the continued existence of the problem of niacin side effects and allegedly provides one approach to its possible solution, being in no way suggestive of the entirely different solution to the problem discovered by the present applicant.
For purposes of definition in this specification, the term "dietary fiber" is defined as "remnants of plant cells resistant to hydrolysis by the alimentary enzymes of man, the group of substances that remain in the ileum but are partly hydrolyzed by bacteria in the colon", according to JAMA 262, pp. 542-546 No. 4 (July 28, 1989) Council Report entitled "Dietary Fiber and Health", at page 542. This article, moreover, gives considerable information as to what constitutes a "dietary fiber" and is accordingly incorporated herein by reference.
Gel-forming dietary fibers include mucillages, plant gums, pectins or pectic substances, and lignin, all of which are endogenous compounds of plant materials which are resistant to digestion by enzymes in the monogastric stomach or small intestine. Chemically, nearly all of these plant materials are carbohydrates composed of repeating monosaccharide (sugar) units. Disaccharides have two sugar units, oligosaccharides three to twelve, and polysaccharides may contain a million or more. The water-soluble fractions of these substances form gels in the stomach and intestinal tract and lower serum cholesterol.
Gums and mucillages have no common structure but are polysaccharides containing several sugars with alternating monomer structures, and may or may not contain uronic acids. There are many gums found in plants and cereal grains. Guar and locust bean gums are galactomannans, whereas gum arabic is an acidic polymer of galactose and rhammose. Oat and barley contain gums, but are not practical for use in the present application because of the low percentage of active gums per weight volume. Large amounts of oat bran (e.g., 100 grams per day) are also required to lower serum cholesterol. Most of the gums in the present application are effective at much lower dosages. Suitable gums include, inter alia, besides guar gum, the following: locust bean gum, acacia gum, gum arabic, xanthan gum, carrageenan gum, karaya gum, tragacanth gum, and ghatti gum.
Pectin substances or pectins are mixtures of polysaccharides of partially methylated and 1,4-D galacturonic acid units with side chains containing arabinose, galactose, xylose, and rhammose. They are contained in many fruits and vegetables as well as other plants.
Other suitable gel-forming dietary fibers include psyllium husks, algal polysaccharides, glucomannan, and agar, to name a few. Lignin is a non-carbohydrate polymer of aromatic plant alcohols comprising oxygenated phenylpropane units. As a plant matures, more lignin is produced, which acts as a sort of cement as it hardens and holds together other plant cell wall constituents. Lignin passes through the digestive tract with very little change.
As already mentioned, a recent review of dietary fiber which mentions these substances is contained in the following reference: Dietary Fiber and Health, JAMA 262: 542-546 (1989), from the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association.


A data storage system in which data storage space for storing data storage metadata is selectively allocated from non-volatile data storage devices contained in a first storage enclosure. The first storage enclosure is directly connected to at least one storage processor of the data storage system, and the data storage system further includes at least one secondary storage enclosure that is indirectly connected to the storage processor. Data storage metadata is generated within the data storage system, and the data storage metadata generated within the data storage system is stored into the data storage space that was selectively allocated for storing data storage metadata from the non-volatile data storage devices contained in the first storage enclosure.

Data storage systems are arrangements of hardware and software that include non-volatile data storage devices (e.g. electronic flash drives, magnetic disk drives, and/or optical drives) that are used to provide non-volatile storage for processing I/O (Input/Output) requests (i.e. writes and/or reads) that are received from one or more hosts (e.g. host computers). The host I/O requests that are processed by a data storage system may include block I/O requests as well as file I/O requests. The host I/O requests indicate host data that is stored in logical volumes of non-volatile data storage that are contained in and maintained by the data storage system. The data storage system performs various data storage services that organize and secure host data received from host computers on the non-volatile data storage devices of the data storage system.

Placement of metadata on data storage drives in a first storage enclosure of a data storage system


Provided is a bipolar electrostatic chuck, which has excellent substrate attracting/holding performance when a voltage is applied, and excellent residual charges reducing performance when voltage application is stopped. The bipolar electrostatic chuck includes at least an electrode layer including a first electrode and a second electrode, and an upper insulating layer which forms a substrate attracting surface for attracting a substrate. In a case where a surface of the electrode layer is regarded to be divided into a plurality of virtual cells having a predetermined width (L) in an x direction and a y direction, first electrode sections forming the first electrode and second electrode sections forming the second electrode are alternately arranged in the plurality of virtual cells in the x direction, and are alternately arranged in the plurality of virtual cells in the y direction.

An electrostatic chuck is used for attracting and holding a semiconductor substrate in various apparatuses such as an ion implantation apparatus, an ion doping apparatus, and a plasma immersion in a semiconductor manufacturing process, an exposing apparatus using an electron beam or an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, or a wafer inspection apparatus for silicon wafers or the like. In addition, in a field of manufacturing liquid crystal displays, the electrostatic chuck is used for attracting and holding an insulating substrate in a substrate combining apparatus, which is used for filling liquid crystal between glass substrates, or in an ion doping apparatus.
The electrostatic chuck usually attracts a substrate via an upper insulating layer made of a high electric insulating material such as a polyimide film or a ceramic material. In addition, the electrostatic chuck is used inside a vacuum chamber or in the environment with very low humidity. Therefore, the electrostatic chuck itself is apt to be charged easily. Therefore, there is a problem that charged particles such as ions and electrons that are used for processing of the substrate may be attracted by the upper insulating layer so as to generate residual charges, which maintains the substrate in the attracted state even after a long period from power-off. In addition, there is also a problem that charged and floating particles around the electrostatic chuck may be attracted.
In order to cancel residual charges of the electrostatic chuck, it is necessary to provide a path for the accumulated charges to flow easily to the earth (ground) or the like, or to supply charges having opposite polarity to the portion where the charges exist. However, in recent years, a structure of the electrostatic chuck is apt to be complicated because of necessities of improving attraction force of the electrostatic chuck or processing substrates of increasing size. For this reason, it is difficult to cancel the residual charges completely by leading the charges to flow to the earth or by supplying charges having the opposite polarity.
Therefore, there is proposed a method, for example, in which a part of the upper insulating layer on the substrate side is cut off (step section is provided) corresponding to the part of the electrode layer where no electrode exists so that the upper insulating layer does not contact directly with the substrate in the part where no electrode exists (see FIG. 1(c) of Patent Literature 1). In the upper insulating layer corresponding to the part where no electrode exists, there is formed a dielectric polarization along the transverse direction connecting the end of the electrode existing nearby and the substrate to be attracted. The charges accumulated in this direction are hardly canceled by electric control after voltage application is stopped. Therefore, the above-mentioned proposal relates to a method of canceling charges that are hardly canceled by electric control, by cutting off the upper insulating layer corresponding to the part where no electrode exists.
However, as described above, in recent years, an electrode having a complicated shape such as a comb-shaped electrode is studied for improving the attraction force, and hence it is actually difficult to adopt the above-mentioned method for such electrode. In addition, even if the above-mentioned method can be adopted, it is necessary to supply appropriate and proper amount of charges having the opposite polarity to the part where residual charges exist, in order to cancel completely the charges accumulated once in the electrostatic chuck by electric control or the like. The control or the like is very difficult.


A method to tune an emission wavelength of a wavelength tunable LD is disclosed. The wavelength tunable LD includes two regions each providing micro heaters to modify the refractive index of micro regions provided with power. The method periodically detects a difference between the emission wavelength and the target wavelength. This wavelength difference is converted into power next supplied to respective micro heaters independently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a method to tune an emission wavelength of a wavelength tunable laser diode (hereafter denoted as LD).
2. Related Background Art
As recent development in the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system, an LD installed therein as an optical signal source has been requested to tune an emission wavelength thereof precisely. A wavelength tunable LD is one of solutions for such an optical signal source. A wavelength tunable LD in an arrangement thereof provides an active region put between optical gratings each having a specific diffracting wavelength different from others, and the emission wavelength thereof may be adjusted to vary the diffracting wavelength.
Two techniques have been known to vary the diffracting wavelength of the grating, both of which vary the refractive index of the grating. The first technique changes a concentration of free carriers in the diffracting grating, while, the second technique changes a temperature there.

Method to tune emission wavelength of wavelength tunable laser diode


An antibacterial substance comprising a peptide comprising a fragment constituting lepidopteran A and containing the N-terminal amino acid residue of the lepidopteran A, wherein the carboxyl group at the C-terminal of said peptide is substituted with an alkyl amide group represented by Formula (I): EQU --CONH(CH.sub.2).sub.n CH.sub.3 (I). wherein n is an integer of 2 to 16.. This antibacterial substance shows good antibacterial activities against various bacteria, and is useful as pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel antibacterial substance, and, particularly, to a novel lepidopteran type antibacterial substance having high antibacterial activities.
2. Description of Related Art
An immune response substance lepidopteran is known to be produced by vaccinating silkworm with killed E. coli treated with formalin. Lepidopteran includes three homologues called lepidoperan A, B and C, respectively, whose structure has all been made clear, and among which lepidopteran A has been made available through a synthetic route. Synthetic lepidopteran A has substantially the same antibacterial activities with those of the naturally occurring lepidopteran A, but it shows insufficient antibacterial activities as a practical antibacterial agent used in, for example, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals and so forth, and there is necessity for improvement.


Embodiments described herein generate proximal groupings of wireless signals based upon the temporal persistence and spatial proximity of the wireless signals as observed by a plurality of observer devices. For example, a first observer device may observe a first set of wireless signals at a first timepoint and a second observer device may observe a second set of wireless signals at a second timepoint. The first observer device may again observe a third set of wireless signals at a third timepoint. Based upon these observations, a server may generate a proximal grouping a wireless signals containing a subset of the first, second, third of wireless signals based upon temporal persistence and spatial proximity. Temporal persistence may be based upon the repeated observations of the subset of wireless signals across different timepoints and the spatial proximity may be based upon the proximity of locations of the observer devices.

Electronic devices, especially wireless communications devices, are ubiquitous. It is however difficult to determine proximal relationships between these devices in a world where their locations may not be known and/or are continuously changing. Determining device relationships can reveal groups of similar devices and describe properties of different classes of physical spaces (e.g., hotels, restaurants, etc.), in a similar fashion to systems such as recommendation and classification engines.
Current systems for determining proximal relationships between electronic devices have several technical shortcomings. One problem with conventional approaches is that they rely on (clustering-based) algorithms that operate on location information associated with the electronic devices. In other words, a key premise underlying conventional clustering approaches is that each point (e.g., an electronic device) is described by its location in a given physical space. But locations of the electronic devices may not always be observed directly. Electronic devices may choose not to broadcast their locations or mask their locations for privacy and security reasons. Furthermore, technologies like Virtual Private Network (VPN) have allowed electronic devices to mimic a co-location with a remote network environment.
Without the location information to determine a proximal grouping of electronic devices, then a naive approach would be to find approximations for missing location data from other signals' locations where available. This calculation is expensive, inefficient, and cannot produce results in real-time or pseudo real-time.
As a consequence, a significant improvement in systems and methods for grouping of electronic devices is required.

Systems and methods for generating and updating proximal groupings of electronic devices


Disclosed herein are a power package module and a method for fabricating the same, including: a base substrate; a plurality of high power chips and a plurality of low power chips electrically connected to the base substrate; and a plurality of metal lead plates electrically connecting the plurality of high power chips and the plurality of low power chips to the base substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power package module and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a semiconductor package includes a single or a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on a lead frame or a printed circuit board and has the inside thereof protect by sealing them with a sealing resin, and is then coupled with a mother board or a printed circuit board for a system.
However, with the recent rapid progress of a high-speed, high-volume, and high-integration of electronic equipment, there is a demand for compact and light power device used in automobiles, industrial equipment, and home appliances at low costs. One method to meet the demand is to configure a power module package using a method of mounting a plurality of semiconductor chips on a single semiconductor package. The power module package includes a power circuit chip and a control chip and in particular, the power circuit chip generates more heat as compared to other semiconductor chip. Therefore, effective radiation of the generated heat to the outside becomes an important issue in order to maintain high reliability for a long period.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a power package module 100 according to the prior art. As shown in the figure, a power package module 100 according to the prior art is configured to include a base substrate 110, a high power chip 120, a low power chip 130, a housing 140, and a molding part 150.
The base substrate 110 is configured to include a metal layer 111, an anodizing layer 112, and a circuit layer 113. More specifically, the anodizing layer 112 is formed on the surface of the metal layer 111 by anodizing the metal layer 111 and then the circuit layer 113 is formed on the anodizing layer 112, thereby fabricating the base substrate 110. In addition, the circuit layer 113, a solder layer 180, and a high power chip 120 and a lower power chip 130 electrically connected through wires 143 and 144 are formed on the base substrate 110.
The housing 140 is formed to surround side surfaces of the base substrate 110, and a lead 141 connected to the circuit layer 113 of the base substrate 110 through a wire 142 is formed in the housing 140. In addition, a molding part 150 for fixing and protecting the base substrate 110 is formed in the housing 140 and a cover 160 is formed on the upper portion of the molding part 150.
However, in the power package module 100 according to the prior art, thermal stress generated from the high power chip 120 and the low power chip 130 is transferred to the base substrate 110 in a vertical direction through the solder layer 180, such that warpage of the base substrate 110 is caused by thermal conductivity. As a result, a problem arises in that the anodizing layer 112 as well as the base substrate 110 are bent or distorted.
In addition, when fabricating the high power package module 100, at least two to ten or more wires should be connected for each chip, such that a long period of process operation is required.

Power package module with low and high power chips and method for fabricating the same


Disclosed is a ladder silicone oligomer composition which comprises [A] 100 weight parts of a ladder silicone oligomer containing 1 to 10 weight % of hydroxyl groups and 1 to 10 weight % of ethoxy groups, [B] 1 to 200 weight parts of at least one silicon-containing compound selected from (a) silicone oligomers and polymers having a number average molecular weight of 500 to 100,000, which are obtained by reacting a compound of the following formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is lower alkyl or phenyl, and R.sub.2 is lower alkyl, with a compound of the following formula (II): ##STR2## wherein R.sub.3 is lower alkyl, or phenyl, and R.sub.4 is lower alkyl, the molar ratio of the compound (I) to the compound (II) being from 1/0.3 to 1/9, and (b) ethyl silicates having a silica content of 28.8 to 45 weight % and hydrolysis products thereof, and [C] an organic solvent. The ladder silicone oligomer composition is useful as a coating material and an adhesive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ladder silicone oligomer composition.
The composition of the present invention has an excellent hygroscopic resistance, heat resistance, insulating property, crack resistance, adhesiveness, peel resistance, solvent resistance and water resistance, and is valuable as a coating material and adhesive for metals, ceramics, glass, plastics and electronic materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ladder silicone oligomer has an excellent in heat resistance, insulating property, hardness and water resistance, and therefore, this oligomer is used as a heat-resistant paint and an insulating coating for a semiconductor. However, the film made from the ladder silicone oligomer has a problem, in that cracks are readily formed, the film is brittle and the adhesiveness is poor. Accordingly, incorporation of various additives into the ladder silicone oligomer has been attempted. However, some of these additives have a poor compatibility with the ladder silicone oligomer, or other additives are volatilized when the temperature is elevated, for example, to 200 to 250.degree.C C. None of presently available additives are found satisfactory.
A liquid prepared by hydrolyzing ethyl silicate provides a transparent coating film, but as is well-known, if the film thickness exceeds about 0.5 .mu.m, cracks are readily formed. Accordingly, curable surface coating materials prepared by combining this liquid with various organic resins have been examined (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (No.53-134033 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-66936). From these compositions, thick coating films having a crack resistance can be produced, but heat resistance, weatherability and hardness are degraded.


A sewing machine includes a needle bar, a sewing machine motor, an acquisition portion that acquires a reference length, an image capture portion that generates image data by image capture of one of the sewing object and at least one marker, a computation portion that computes an amount of movement of one of the sewing object and the at least one marker, a speed control portion that sets a revolution speed of the sewing machine motor to not greater than a specified value in a case where it is determined that sewing is being performed in a specified range, and a sewing control portion that terminates the sewing of the stitch portion in a case where it is determined that a length that has been sewn in the reference direction of the stitch portion is not less than the reference length.

The present disclosure relates to a sewing machine includes an image capture portion and to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a sewing machine control program.
A sewing machine is known that can automatically sew a buttonhole stitch in a sewing object (for example, a work cloth). There are various types of buttonhole stitches, such as a double bar tack buttonhole, a round ended buttonhole, and an eyelet buttonhole. A buttonhole stitch includes a pair of whipstitch portions that extend in the direction of the length of the buttonhole and another stitch portion according to the type of the buttonhole. The other stitch portions may be a bar tack stitch portion, a loop stitch portion, or the like, for example. The sewing machine may form the buttonhole stitch by varying a feed amount and a swing width as the sewing machine performs the sewing. The feed amount is the amount that the sewing object is moved in one of a forward direction and a rearward direction by a feed dog. The swing width is the amount that the needle bar is moved in the left-right direction. The sewing machine may vary the length of the pair of whipstitch portions as necessary according to the size (diameter) of the button. Specifically, a length of a portion that forms the buttonhole stitch may be adjusted in accordance with the length of the pair of whipstitch portions. Accordingly, a sewing machine has been proposed in which the revolution speed of the sewing machine motor is decelerated before the stitching direction (the feed direction) for the whipstitch portions of the buttonhole stitch is switched.

Sewing machine and non-transitory computer-readable medium storing sewing machine control program