In data communication utilizing a radio transmission channel, even in a case where the radio channel is disconnected and a data communication blackout occurs, the center side continues data communication processing, by obtaining information on a period where the data communication is interrupted in advance. The system comprises an application server provided in the center, a radio data communication terminal that performs data communication while moving, a mobile gateway provided in the center as a relay device between the application server and the radio data communication terminal, and a period notification device that transmits period information T at predetermined periods. The radio communication channel is disconnected by the period information transmitted from the period notification device, and the mobile gateway performs communication processing during the radio communication disconnection.

The present invention claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 10-374508 filed Dec. 28, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio data communication system in which in data communication utilizing a radio transmission channel, data communication processing on the center side can be continued even if a radio channel is disconnected and data communication is interrupted, by obtaining information on a period where data communication is interrupted, and more particularly, to a radio data communication system in a transportation system such as subway, i.e., a radio data communication system in which a radio communication terminal moves to a radio data communicable section (station or the like) and a radio data incommunicable section (tunnel or the like) alternately, and a period to pass through the radio data incommunicable section can be predicted with a certain level of precision.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional radio data communication method will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, a mobile gateway 202 stores the content of data communication with an application server 201 without changing the communication speed. A network 203 uses an existing radio communication network (e.g. PIAFS: PHS Internet Access Forum Standard). Data communication is performed by using a predetermined communication procedure between the application server 201 and a radio communication terminal 204.
The conventional mobile gateway 202 stores data communication content without consideration of communication speed with the application server 201. The mobile gateway 202 has a function to store the content of data communication when communication with the radio communication terminal 204 is interrupted, and when the communication with the radio communication terminal 204 is restarted, simply transmit the stored content of data communication to the radio communication terminal 204. This prevents duplexing of communication procedure (repeating communication from the start between application server and terminal) due to disconnection of communication with the radio communication terminal 204.
However, the conventional radio data communication system has following problems.
A first problem is that in a case where the radio communication terminal 204 becomes incommunicable in some period, the mobile gateway 202, which is not informed of the incommunicable period, cannot change the speed of communication with the application server 201.
A second problem is that in a case where the radio communication terminal 204 becomes incommunicable in some period, as the mobile gateway 202 stores the content of communication from the application server 201 without changing the communication speed, if a predetermined period for each application program has elapsed, the application server 201 cannot continue the sequence of communication.
In a radio data communication system having the conventional mobile gateway 202 with the first and second problems, the transmission efficiency is degraded and the application server 201 is overloaded in the following case. As shown in FIG. 12, radio data communication may include an incommunicable section when a radio communication terminal 1207 passes through a tunnel. The time for the terminal to pass through the incommunicable section is an incommunicable period. Conventionally, this incommunicable period is not known on the center side, and the application server suspends communication by using a timer unique to the application program, and enters communication non-restorable status. Accordingly, when the radio communication terminal 1207 has passed through the tunnel and become a communicable status, the communication before the suspension cannot be continued, and communication and application program must be started again from the initial status. Such problem frequently occurs when the terminal moves by subway where communicable and incommunicable sections repeatedly come alternately in a short period. However, in movement by subway, the period of movement is stable in comparison with movement by private car and on foot, and a period between entrance and exit of a tunnel can be easily predicted. By utilizing these factors, a period notification device 1205 which transmits period information on a period for a train to pass the tunnel (the period from a point where the train enters the tunnel and a point where the train goes out of the tunnel and enters a communicable status) by a weak radio wave is placed around the entrance of the tunnel. A radio communication terminal 1207 receives the period information and sends the period information to a mobile gateway in a center 1201 in radio data communication. The mobile gateway controls (delays) the communication time with the application server based on the period information, to prevent the application server from entering a communication nonrestorable status as in the case of conventional system.
The present invention has its object to provide a radio data communication system in which a mobile gateway continues communication with an application server in expectation that a radio communication terminal restores connection after elapse of incommunicable period.
According to one aspect of the present invention, in data communication utilizing a radio transmission channel, data communication processing can be continued on the center side even if data communication is interrupted due to disconnection of radio channel, by obtaining a period where data is interrupted in advance. More specifically, in a situation where a radio communication terminal moves through a radio data communicable section (station or the like) and a radio data incommunicable section (tunnel or the like) alternately as in subway transportation and a period to pass the radio data incommunicable section can be predicted with a certain level of precision, a device to transmit information on a period necessary for passing the tunnel or the like is placed in front of the tunnel, then the mobile gateway of the present invention reduces the communication speed, and performs communication with an application server on the center side taking the place of the radio communication terminal (client) in correspondence with the period. Thus the communication between the application server and the client application program can be continuously performed without time-out in the application server on the center side.
That is, provided is a radio data communication system comprising: an application server provided in a center; a plurality of radio communication terminals each performs data communication with the application server by utilizing a radio communication channel while moving; means for providing predicted disconnection period information, on radio channel disconnection caused when the radio communication terminal moves to a specific position; delayed communication means for, when it is predicted that the radio communication terminal moves to the specific position, performing communication processing taking the place of the radio communication terminal for a period indicated by the disconnection period information, responding to the application server, storing processed communication content, and when the period indicated by the disconnection period information has elapsed, transmitting the stored communication content to the radio communication terminal.
It is preferable that the delayed communication means has means for reducing the speed of communication with the application server when the delayed communication means performs the communication processing taking the place of the radio communication terminal and when it transmits the stored communication content to the radio communication terminal. In this case, it is preferable that the delayed communication means has means for determining a period where the speed of communication with the application server is reduced, based on the period indicated by the disconnection period information and a period necessary to transmit all the stored communication content to the radio communication terminal. Otherwise, it may be arranged such that the delayed communication means has means for determining a period where the speed of communication with the application server is reduced by always monitoring the remaining amount of stored communication content.
It is preferable that the delayed communication means has means for monitoring the content of communication between the application server and the radio communication terminal and recognizing the type of application program used in the communication, and means for selecting a communication response in correspondence with the recognized application program.
The delayed communication means is realized as a function of the mobile gateway to connect a network to provide a radio circuit communication channel to the radio communication terminal in the center with the application server.
The means for providing the disconnection period information includes means for transmitting the disconnection period information, by a radio wave receivable for the radio communication terminal, around a position where the radio communication channel is disconnected. The radio communication terminal includes means for notifying the center side of received disconnection period information. Further, the delayed communication means includes means for extracting the disconnection period information from the notification means. In this case, the radio communication terminal includes means for suspending data communication with the application server in accordance with notification of disconnection period information to the center side. Further, the radio communication terminal has a timer for restoring the data communication when a period indicated by the disconnection period information has elapsed, or the radio communication terminal has means for monitoring the intensity of radio wave from a base station and restoring the data communication.
Further, it may be arranged such that the means for providing the disconnection period information has means for detecting an identifier unique to the radio communication terminal, sent by the terminal, around a potion where the radio communication channel is disconnected, and means for notifying the delayed communication means of the detected identifier and the disconnection period information. The identifier may be detected by the means for providing the disconnection period information from a signal used by the radio terminal device for communication, or may be detected as a response to connection period information.
That is, it may be arranged such that the means for providing the disconnection period information includes means for transmitting the disconnection period information by a radio wave receivable for the radio communication terminal, and wherein the radio communication terminal includes means for returning an identifier of the radio communication terminal when the disconnection period information has been received. In this case, it may be arranged such that the radio communication terminal includes means for suspending data communication with the application server in accordance with return of the identifier of the radio communication terminal. It may be arranged such that the radio communication terminal has a timer for restoring the data communication when a period indicated by the disconnection period information has elapsed, or the radio communication terminal has means for monitoring the intensity of radio wave from a base station and restoring the data communication.
It may be arranged such that the radio communication terminal includes means for detecting a position of the radio communication terminal and means for notifying the center side of the detected positional information. Further, the means for providing the disconnection period information includes memory means in which position where radio communication channel disconnection is predicted and its disconnection period information are stored. Further, the delayed communication means includes means for extracting the positional information notified from the radio communication terminal and means for searching the memory means to obtain corresponding disconnection period information based on the extracted positional information.

Radio data communication technique for maintaining a connection between a mobile radio transmission device and a server during a communication interruption


Disclosed is a sintered ceramic body having a composition comprising (i) Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, (ii) a combination of an oxide of an element of the group IIIa of the Periodic Table having an ionic radius smaller than 0.97 .ANG. and an oxide of other element of the group IIIa of the Periodic Table, having an ionic radius larger than 0.97.degree. and (iii) an oxide or nitride of at least one of the following: (1) at least one element of group IIa of the Periodic Table; (2) Al; (3) Ti; (4) Cr; (5) Ga; (6) Zr; and (7) Si. This sintered silicon nitride body shows a high oxidation resistance when it is used for a long time at high temperatures, and the sintered body is excellent in the creep characteristics and flexural strength at high temperatures.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sintered silicon nitride body having a novel composition, which is improved in mechanical properties such as creep resistance and flexural strength at high temperatures and is excellent in the oxidation resistance.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A sintered silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) body is known as a high temperature material or a high abrasion resistance material. However, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 is defective in that the sintering property is bad, and as a material for production of a sintered body having high density and high strength, there has already proposed a silicon nitride composition in which an oxide of an element of the group IIIa of the Periodic Table, such as yttria (Y.sub.2 O.sub.3), is incorporated or Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 is further incorporated (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 21091/74 or No. 3649/77). However, a sintered body obtained from this composition is still insufficient in the flexural strength at room temperature (about 60 kg/mm.sup.2), and it has been found that when this sintered body is used for a long time at a high temperature, especially in a high-temperature oxidative atmosphere, the sintered body readily undergoes oxidation and such characteristics as the creep resistance, flexural strength, dimension precision and shape precision are drastically reduced.


A virtual data center (VDC) resource mapping method and device. The method includes: a) receiving a VDC resource request, where the VDC resource request carries a virtual machine distribution identifier, and the virtual machine distribution identifier is used to indicate a maximum quantity K of virtual machines that can be borne by a single physical server; b) selecting, from an unmapped virtual machine set Q in the VDC resource request, M virtual machines to form a partition P; c) selecting a target physical server that can provide a physical resource required by the partition P, and mapping the partition P to the target physical server; and d) removing, from the set Q, the M virtual machines on which resource mapping has been performed, and repeatedly performing steps b), c), and d) until no virtual machine on which resource mapping has not been performed exists in the set Q.

In the cloud computing era, with increasing computing requirements of the society, a scale of a data center also rapidly expands. However, for a huge data center, average utilization of data center resources is relatively low, and most devices are idle. This causes a heavy energy consumption burden to the data center. How to reduce energy consumption of a data center is a current severe challenge to a data center. Currently, in a data center, a virtualization technology is used, such that energy consumption of the data center can be effectively reduced, and data center resource utilization can be increased. A virtual data center is a service type of a flexible self-service that is formed on the basis of a cloud computing service and that provides rapid deployment, a real-time response, immediate lease, allocation on demand, and dynamic resource extension. Under this new trend, a resource request of each tenant may be abstracted into a virtual data center (Virtual Data Center, VDC for short) constituted by a group of virtual machines (Virtual Machine, VM for short), and each VM is corresponding to specified resources (including a CPU, a memory, a hard disk, and the like). In addition, for transfer of data and an object file, a communications link with guaranteed bandwidth also needs to be established between VMs, so as to satisfy a requirement of communication between the VMs. Because VM arrangement is tightly coupled with a route for VM communication bandwidth, a process of mapping a VDC to a bottom-layer physical network becomes very complex. A VDC mapping problem refers to a problem about how to fully utilize physical network resources when a VDC is mapped to a physical network.
In the VDC mapping process, main factors to be considered include reliability, bandwidth consumption, and energy consumption of physical facilities. Current VDC mapping may be classified into the following two cases: In a first case, all VMs in a VDC are evenly allocated to each physical server, so as to achieve minimum impact between the VMs, and implement load balancing between bottom-layer physical facilities; in a second case, VMs in a VDC are deployed as many as possible in one physical server, so as to minimize link consumption between the VMs. During VDC mapping, from a perspective of energy consumption and bandwidth consumption, all VMs in a VDC need to be integrated to the most extent, to occupy as few physical servers as possible. In this way, bandwidth consumption between servers is reduced, and another unused physical server may be disabled, thereby achieving an objective of energy saving. However, VM integration may cause low reliability of a VDC, and a failure of one physical server may cause a large-scale VDC failure. From a perspective of reliability, VMs in a VDC need to be scattered. Obviously, energy saving and reliability are two contradictory indicators. An existing mapping algorithm cannot well resolve the VDC mapping problem.

Virtual data center resource mapping method and device

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China


The present invention provides a substrate, an optical fiber connecting end member, an optical element-housing member, a light module, and a manufacturing method of the substrate. The substrate has a feature that can be stably realizable and having a simple structure and that a light waveguide formed on the substrate surface or an optical element formed thereon can be connected without core alignment to an optical element provided on the optical fiber of the optical fiber connector to be connected to the optical fiber connecting end member. The substrate of the present invention is characterized in steps 5 for positioning being formed on at least one side of the substrate 1 that provides the optical waveguide 4.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate, optical fiber connecting terminal member, optical element housing member, and method of fabrication of an optical module and the substrate, and in particular to a substrate, an optical fiber connecting end member, and an optical element housing member that can connect without alignment of the cores and at high precision an optical element mounted on an optical waveguide on a substrate or mounted on the substrate to an optical fiber of an optical fiber connector that is connected to an optical fiber connecting end member or an optical element provided on an optical element housing member, and a fabrication method for an optical module and a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In broadband optical communication networks and high-speed data transmission between computers, parallel optical modules and multiple core optical transmission and reception modules and the like are necessary. An increasingly higher quality and decreasing cost are required for these modules, and reducing the number of parts, simplification of the module structure, and decreased energy consumed during the fabrication process and the like are indispensable for the further improvement.
When an optical module is assembled on the device, an ordinary pigtail module entails the problem of processing of the optical fiber's excess length, which means that extra space is necessary in order to accommodate the optical fiber mounted in the optical module. Therefore, using an optical module with an attached optical fiber receptacle that can be detached from the optical fiber is desired.
In order to apply the multiple core optical fiber receptacle structure to this optical module, it is necessary to align with high precision the relative positions of a guide pin or a guide pin insertion hole, which are used to connect to the multiple core optical fiber connector, and the optical axis of the optical module.
Active alignment, for example, can be considered to be such a core alignment method. In this alignment method, positions are adjusted by moving the optical module and the receptacle relative to each other while the optical module is emitting light, so that the light is most strongly incident on the optical fiber. Then this receptacle is attached to the optical module.
However, in this active alignment, because the position adjustment of the optical module and the receptacle must be carried out using a precision manual operation, the optical module becomes a factor that causes a high cost. In order to decrease the cost of the optical module, this kind of alignment by a precision manual operation should be avoided, and an optical module having a structure that can be assembled without core alignment is required.
FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing the optical waveguide part disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 8-248269, which is one example of a multiple core optical module having a structure whose assembly does not require core alignment, and FIG. 16 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the same. In this optical waveguide path, both ends 100a and 100b of an optical waveguide body 100 are respectively inserted into and fixed in separate connecting end members 101 and 101.
The optical waveguide body 100 provides a substrate 102, a cladding 103, and an optical waveguide core 104 comprising a plurality of cores 104a. On the upper surface of the cladding 103, two V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b are formed on respective sides of the optical waveguide core 104.
On the connecting terminal member 101, a through hole 107 and guide pin insertion holes 108a and 108b that pass from the one end surface 106a thereof to the other end surface 106b thereof are formed, and in the through hole 107, V-shaped projections 109a and 109b that engage the V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b are formed.
In this optical waveguide part, the one end 100a of the optical waveguide body 100 is inserted into the through hole 107 of the connecting end member 101 such that the V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b thereof are engaged with the V-shaped projections 109a and 109b. The end surface of each core 104a of the light guiding core 104 and the end surface 106a of the connecting end member 101 are made flush to each other, and while being held in this state, both are attached and fixed, and thereby the optical waveguide body 100 can be fixed to the connecting end member 101 without core alignment.
However, in this optical waveguide part, because the optical waveguide body 100 is inserted into the connecting end member 101 while the V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b are engaged in the V-shaped projections 109a and 109b, there is the problem that the V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b and the V-shaped projections 109a and 109b can be easily broken.
Thus, an optical waveguide that avoids this problem is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 8-248269.
As is shown in FIG. 17, this optical waveguide part is structured so that substantially identically shaped V-shaped grooves 111a and 111b are formed at positions in the through hole 107 of the connecting end member 101 opposite to the V-shaped grooves 105a and 105b of the optical waveguide body 100, and the respective optical fibers 112 and the like are interposed between the V-shaped grooves 105a and 111a and between the V-shaped grooves 105b and 111b.
In addition, the optical waveguide apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 9-105838, is another example that avoids the problem described above.
As is shown in FIG. 18, in this optical waveguide apparatus, the connecting end members 202 and 203, which surround and engage both side surfaces and the upper surface 210 of the waveguide chip 201 by the engaging recess 216, engage and fasten the connecting end surfaces 225a and 225b of the waveguide chip 201 that forms the core 206 and the clad 205 on the substrate 210, to form the optical waveguide apparatus shown in FIG.
In this optical waveguide apparatus, both end sides of the optical fiber 209 are sandwiched between the V-shaped grooves 208a and 208b formed on both sides of the upper surface 210 of the waveguide chip 201 and the inverse V-shaped grooves 214 and 215 formed at positions corresponding to the V-shaped grooves 208a and 208b of the engagement recess 216 of the connecting end members 202 and 203, and thereby the positioning of the waveguide chip 210 and the connecting end members 202 and 203 is carried out.
However, in the conventional optical waveguide part and the optical waveguide apparatus described above, an optical fiber, which is a very small part, must be aligned with and mounted on a V-shaped groove and an inverse V-shaped groove, and there is the problem that obtaining high precision is difficult.
In addition, the problem with the optical waveguide part and optical waveguide apparatus is the precision of the V-shaped grooves. Thus, a method that improves the precision of the V-shaped groove is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 9-105838.
This method includes a method of forming a V-shaped groove using machine processing and a method of forming a rectangular groove by etching processing, but generally, in these methods, achieving sub-micron level precision is difficult, and applying these methods to single mode optical fiber arrays presents problems.

Substrate, optical fiber connection end member, optical element housing member, and method of fabrication of an optical module and the substrate


2,4-Diaminoquinazolines of the formula ##STR1## wherein Y.sup.1 is hydrogen or chloro, Y.sup.2 is OR, Y.sup.3 is hydrogen or OR such that when Y.sup.1 is hydrogen, Y.sup.3 is OR and when Y.sup.1 is chloro, Y.sup.3 is hydrogen or OR, and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; R represents an alkyl group having from one to three carbon atoms;. taken separately, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each hydrogen, alkyl having from one to five carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having from three to eight carbon atoms, alkenyl or alkynyl each having from three to five carbon atoms or hydroxy substituted alkyl having from two to five carbon atoms, when taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 form a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group optionally containing an atom of oxygen, sulfur or a second atom of nitrogen as a ring member; their use as antihypertensive agents, pharmaceutical compositions containing them and intermediates for their production.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to certain 2,4-diaminoquinazolines. Particularly, the invention relates to certain 7-alkoxy-2,4-diaminoquinazolines which are further substituted by a 6-chloro group and/or an 8-alkoxy group, their use as antihypertensive agents, pharmaceutical compositions thereof and intermediates for their production.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,511,836; 3,635,979 and 3,663,706 disclose 6,7-dimethoxy-2,4-diaminoquinazolines of the formula ##STR2## where Z is a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group. One of these compounds, 2-[4-(2-furoyl)piperazin-1-yl]-4-amino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline, is a clinically useful antihypertensive agent and is marketed under the generic name "prazosin," the pharmacology of which is discussed in Constantine et al., "Hypertension: Mechanisms and Management," edited by Onesti, Kin and Moyer, Grune and Stratton, 1973, pp. 429-444.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,669,968 and 3,769,286 disclose 6,7,8-trialkoxy-2,4-diaminoquinazolines in which the 2-amino group is substituted by certain alkyl and hydroxy substituted alkyl groups or is a heterocyclic group such as piperidino or 4-substituted piperazino. One of these compounds is known by the generic name "trimazosin" and has the formula ##STR3## Trimazosin is also an active antihypertensive agent, see e.g., Vlachikis et al., Current Therapeutic Research, 17, 564 (1975). However, it is less potent than prazosin. Althuis et al., J. Med. Chem., 20, 146 (1977) have shown the 6-0-demethyl derivative is a major metabolite of prazosin of considerably lower blood pressure lowering activity. The 7-0-demethyl derivative is a less prevalent metabolite.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,920,636 and 4,044,135 disclose homopiperazinoquinazoline compounds as antihypertensive agents.
Several patents have issued which disclose antihypertensive compounds of the general formula ##STR4## U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,237 claims compounds wherein R.sup.a is an oxazole, isoxazole, thiazole or isothiazole radical.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,238, such compounds are disclosed wherein R.sup.a is of the formula ##STR5##
U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,040 discloses 3,4-dihydroquinazoline analogs of the above formula wherein R.sup.a is 2-thienyl.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,894 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,097, R.sup.a is a 2-tetrahydrofuryl or 2-tetrahydropyranyl moiety. U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,615 claims compounds in which R.sup.a is cycloalkyl having 3 to 8 carbon atoms and cycloalkenyl having 4 to 8 carbon atoms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,548 is concerned with 1,2,3-thiadiazole amides of the above formula wherein R.sup.a is ##STR6## and R.sup.b is hydrogen, lower alkyl, NH.sub.2 or NHCO.sub.2 R.sup.c L in which R.sup.c is lower alkyl.
6,7-Dimethoxy-2-(4-thiomorpholin-1-yl) 4-aminoquinazolines and derivatives in which the 2-substituent is ##STR7## are disclosed as antihypertensive agents in U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,565.
British Pat. No. 1,530,768 discloses prazosin analogs in which the 2-amino group is of the formula ##STR8## where R.sup.e is phenyl, substituted phenyl, furyl, thienyl or 5-alkylthio-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl.
French Pat. No. 2,321,890 discloses analogs of prazosin in which the 2-amino substituent is a piperidino or piperazino group substituted in the 3 or 4 position.
The compounds of the invention are highly potent antihypertensive agents having improved duration of action since they are not susceptible to metabolic demethylation at the 6-position with resultant loss of activity as is the case with prazosin. In addition, the invention compounds have improved water solubility when compared to prazosin. They can therefore be administered intraveneously, particularly for emergency purposes and are uniformly absorbed by all patients.


A heat sink adapted for use with an electrical and/or electronic device, in particular with a semiconductor chip such as an integrated circuits, or with a casing for such a device, is formed from a material including whiskers.

The present invention relates to a heat sink for eliminating heat produced by a device such as an electrical and electronic device, in particular a semiconductor chip such as an integrated circuits, or a casing for such an electric/electronic device.
To date, a conventional cooling apparatus or heat sink is made of metals, metal alloys, metal composites or the like. Concrete examples of materials include aluminum and metal matrix composites. In order to be able to radiate heat produced by the device being cooled as rapidly and completely as possible to the surrounding environment, the heat sink should exhibit a greatest possible contact surface towards the ambient atmosphere. To meet this requirement, conventional heat sinks are formed with a number of contoured areas such as ribs, knobs or like so that the heat sinks receive a relatively large surface at comparable small mass. Still, metallic heat sinks of this type have the drawback of a significant mass and size. Moreover, it should also be taken into consideration that the performance of electronic components steadily increases in modern microelectronics, resulting in an increased production of dissipated heat to be eliminated. At the same time, the mentioned power increase is accompanied by a desire to minimize the size of the components.
In order to reliably and effectively carry away increasing amounts of lost heat by use of a heat sink of the above-stated type, this heat sink must be dimensioned of relatively great size and volume, resulting in greater geometric sizes of the electric and/or electronic devices which incorporate the component to be cooled so that the achievements of the microelectronics, namely the manufacture of particularly small and thus practical devices (e.g. mobile telephones or portable computers) by means of especially small and powerful components are defeated.

Heat sink for electric and/or electronic devices

Electrovac, Fabrikation elektrotechnischer Spezialartikel Gesellschaft m.b.H.


A collapsible and expandable void filler for separating cargo during transit in trucks, railroad cars, airplanes and the like includes an outer tubular housing having a diamond-shaped tubular core. The housing and core are collapsible into a generally flat configuration along score indentations. In one embodiment, the void filler is held in an expanded configuration by a plurality of collapsible wall portions along the outer housing that collapse inwardly from the periphery of the housing and engage the core. In other embodiments, the void filler is held in an expanded configuration by a cord or elastomeric bands which are tightly stretched around the periphery of the housing and is held in a series of aligned notches.

Prior art void fillers, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,897 to Rogers and B1 4,494,897 to Rogers, utilize a void filler which may be expanded for use in filling spaces and collapsed into a generally flat configuration for storage. The void filler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,897 to Rogers and B1 4,494,897 to Rogers includes an outer tubular housing and an inner diamond-shaped core. The housing and the core readily collapse about integrally formed score indentations. To use the void filler, the outer housing is compressed about the score indentations thereby expanding the housing walls and the core. The void filler is placed between pieces of cargo and prevents the cargo from damaging each other due to shifting during transit.
While this type of void filler effectively prevents damage to cargo, the void filler cannot maintain an expanded configuration without cargo being placed along its sides since it readily collapses about the score indentations. Thus, a single operator cannot easily place the void filler between pieces of cargo since it does not maintain an expanded configuration and readily collapses.
The present invention is intended to overcome or minimize all of these problems, as well as to present several other improvements.


An active clamp circuit for avalanching and clamping voltage at a gate terminal of a first transistor connected to a power source. The active clamp circuit includes a second transistor for turning ON the first transistor; a third transistor having EPI breakdown voltage less than that of the first transistor; a resistor coupled between a node and source and gate terminals of the third transistor; and an amplifier for comparing voltage on the resistor to a reference voltage and providing an output signal to control the second transistor, wherein, when the third transistor avalanches and the voltage across the resistor exceeds the reference voltage, the output signal turns ON the second transistor thereby clamping the gate terminal of the first transistor, wherein the active clamp circuit tracks the channel characteristic of the first transistor.

The present invention relates to an active clamp circuit for a semiconductor device and, in particular, to an active clamp circuit which tracks the characteristics of a main power MOSFET to clamp just below the EPI breakdown voltage of the power MOSFET.
FIG. 1 shows an active clamp circuit 10 that includes a main power transistor Q1, i.e., a DMOS MOSFET, having source, drain, and gate terminals; a transistor Q2, e.g., bipolar, having collector, emitter, and base terminals; two series connected Zener diodes Z1 and Z2, with a cathode terminal of the Zener diode Z2 connected to an anode terminal of the Zener diode Z1; and a resistor R. The drain terminal of the main power transistor Q1 is connected to the collector terminal of the transistor Q2, a cathode terminal of the Zener diode Z1, and to a power source. The source terminal of the main power transistor Q1 is connected to a first terminal of the resistor R. The gate terminal of the main power transistor Q1 is connected to a second terminal of the resistor R and the emitter terminal of the transistor Q2. The base terminal of the transistor Q2 is connected to an anode terminal of the Zener diode Z2. The transistor Q1 switches power to a load, not shown.
When the Zener diodes Z1, Z2 avalanche, the active clamp circuit 10 clamps voltage at the gate terminal of the main power transistor Q1. As shown in FIG. 2, the clamp voltage is set at just below the EPI breakdown voltage of the main power transistor Q1. In FIG. 2 the EPI breakdown voltage is shown at approximately 45 volts, thus, the clamp voltage is somewhat below this voltage of 45 volts.
The clamp voltage of the active clamp circuit 10 is given by the following equation:nVz+VBE+Vgon=Vclamp.
The Zener diodes do not track the FET channel.


A weather head electrical connection box enables electrical connection to a home or business without the need for splicing. The box contains three splice blocks which have two sets of orifices equipped with set screws, a first set for the power feed and the second for the service entrance cable from the customer's building. These connector blocks are of conductive material and transmit power from the in feed to the service entrance cable without the need for splicing. The connection box is provided with a removable cover that may be provided with a pivot finger that engages in a slot secured to the bottom of the box and may be closed by a wire to restrict access to the box. The housing may be alternatively attached to the top of a service pipe that extends above the roof or to the side of a house.

One of the prevailing practices in the housing industry for making electrical connection through a weather head is to unjacket two feet of service entrance cable and run it through the weather head connection box. When the workman from the electric company runs the power feed from the road to the house or business, s/he has to splice the three wires (two positive, and one ground) from the power feed to the local service leads at an approximate cost of $12.00.
The weather head connection box of the present invention proposes to eliminate the need for splicing. The three leads from the service entrance cable wire can be inserted into a first set of orifices in three junction blocks and secured by set screws. When service is brought from the street, the three power feeders can be inserted into three sister orifices in the three junction blocks and secured by a second set of set screws. The three junction blocks are conductive metallic L-shaped blocks, preferably compatible with copper and aluminum, isolated from one another and designed to make reliable connection between the power feeders and the service leads. A cover, which has a pivot arm on the lid which can drop into a slotted arm on the box, protects the junction blocks from weather and can be subsequently sealed by the local utility company using a twist tie wire. The weather head connection box can be provided with two adaptors, one of which will enable the box to be attached to the top of a 2" PVC stack and to a 2-2 1/2" galvanized pipe, the two types of stacks prevailing in the industry, and the other adaptor which clamps to a service entrance cable running to the electric meter.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.


A device for unlocking a resilient prestressed catch element which is provided on a side of an insert unit. When the insert unit is inserted into an insert rack, the catch element engages in a catch opening of the insert rack with a sliding motion, as a result of the spring force of the element. A rotatably mounted unlocking lever is arranged on the side of the insert unit and the unlocking lever has a first lever section which will press the catch element out of the catch opening opposite to the spring power as a result of rotation or pivoting of the lever on its mounting. The lever has a second portion or section which will be brought into a position projecting from a front side plane of the insert unit when the unlocking lever is moved from the idle position to the position for disengaging the catch element.

The present invention is directed to a device for unlocking a resilient prestressed catch element on a side of an insert unit. When the insert unit is inserted into a card cage or rack, the catch element is engaged by a sliding motion into a catch opening of the card rack as a result of a spring power.
Catch elements for an insert unit enables, first, a stable fastening of the insert unit into the card rack and, second, a rapid replacement of the insert unit by another. A typical application is in the electrical industry when equipping control boxes or cabinets with insert units that accept different electronic devices, for example disk drives or floppy disk drives. When replacing one such device by another, the insert unit is unlocked, then pulled from the cabinet, and the device held by the insert unit is replaced by another. Subsequently, the insert unit is reintroduced into the switch box or cabinet and is locked therein by the catch element.
In a known device, the user must feel the catch element with his finger and unlock it with finger pressure. What is disadvantageous given such a device is that an opening for the finger must be provided between the card rack and the insert unit and that the unlocking requires considerable dexterity on the part of the user. Consequently, a complicated manipulation with the insert unit or an unfavorable utilization of the available space offered overall by the card rack must be accepted.

Device for unlocking a resiliently prestressed catch element at the side of an insert unit


A display apparatus includes a display panel, a driver, a controller and a first flexible substrate. The display panel includes first and second substrates facing each other. The first substrate includes a switching element connected to a pixel electrode. The driver provides a driving signal to the display panel. The controller provides a control signal to the driver. The controller includes first and second printed circuit boards spaced apart from each other. The first flexible substrate electrically connects the first and second printed circuit boards to each other. The first flexible substrate defines a first contact portion at which the first flexible substrate is connected to the first printed circuit board, a second contact portion at which the first flexible substrate is connected to the second printed circuit board, and an overlap portion overlapping the display panel and at which the first flexible substrate is attached to the display panel.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a display apparatus. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a display apparatus including a driver which outputs a driving signal and a method of manufacturing the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display apparatus includes a display panel, a driver and a controller. The display panel includes an active area and a peripheral area which is disposed adjacent to the active area. In addition, the driver includes a gate driver and a data driver. The driver applies a driving signal to the display panel. The controller includes a plurality of printed circuit boards which are spaced apart from each other. The controller applies a control signal to the driver.
The display apparatus includes a flexible substrate electrically connecting the printed circuit boards to the display panel and a flexible flat cable ("FFC") or a flexible printed circuit ("FPC") electrically connecting the printed circuit boards.

Display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same


A medical personal-services suction handle includes a hand-graspable housing and a primary suction pathway disposed through the hand-graspable housing and having a suction line port at one end and an intake port at an opposing end thereof. An on/off valve disposed at least partially within the primary suction pathway has a user-manipulable interface by which the on/off valve selectively opens the primary suction pathway and occludes the primary suction pathway. A user-engageable pneumatic pathway serves, when selectively engaged, to pneumatically couple the primary suction pathway to a secondary external port in the hand-graspable housing such that suction is applied via the primary suction pathway to both the intake port and the secondary external port. By one approach the secondary external port comprises a thumb-control port.

The use of suction to complement or facilitate any of a variety of medical services and procedures is known in the art. The Yankauer suction tip, for example, is an oral suctioning tool used in medical procedures. The Yankauer suction tip is typically a firm plastic suction tip having a large opening surrounded by a bulbous head and is designed to allow effective suction without damaging surrounding tissue. This tool serves, for example, to suction oropharyngeal secretions in order to prevent aspiration. A Yankauer suction tip can also be used to clear operative sites during surgical procedures.
Suctioning tools often include a hand-graspable handle. So configured, the medical-services technician can firmly grip and manipulate the suctioning tool as desired. In some cases the handle includes an on-off switch to permit the technician to selectively fully open and fully close the suction pathway.
Some prior art suctioning-tool handles are also configured to work with a separate, additional component that can be selectively connected in-line with the pneumatic pathway of the handle. This separate component can have an external opening that pneumatically couples to the primary suctioning pathway. By partially occluding that external opening (for example, with a thumb) the technician can selectively vary the strength of the suction being applied via the suctioning tool. This capability can be useful when the technician seeks to apply only a modest, reduced amount of suction instead of the full suction being provided by the suction system.
Although useful, existing solutions in these regards are not necessarily wholly satisfactory to meet the needs of all application settings and all users. As one example in these regards, many suctioning tool handles are prepackaged with a separate thumb-port suction control component. In many cases, however, that ability to exert control over how much suction is being applied (rather than merely controlling the on-off suction state) is either unnecessary or unwanted by the technician. In those cases, it can represent a waste of material and resources to have included that separate thumb-port suction control component.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Medical personal-services suction handle


In an atomic force microscope capable of permitting the non-destructive testing of a large sample, a fine motion element is provided for three-dimensional scanning of the sample in order to determine the surface topography thereof. The fine motion element has attached thereto one end of a small spring element, and a detecting tip is connected to the opposite end of the spring element for positioning the end portion of the spring element proximate the sample surface. A displacement detector detects displacement of the spring element by detecting laser light obtained by irradiating a laser beam on the rear surface of the spring element and detecting the displacement using a multi-segment photodetector. Since the fine motion element does not support the sample, the three-dimensional relative scanning of the sample surface by the detecting tip is possible even for large-sized samples.

The present invention relates to atomic force microscopes of the systems in which displacements converted from interatomic forces acting between substances by using very small spring elements are detected by a photodetector element as a displacement of reflection light obtained by irradiating laser beams on the spring elements thereby to produce control signals.
An atomic force microscope (Atomic Force Microscope), since it has been invented (Physical Review Letters vol. 56 p930 1986) by G. Binnig et al who are the inventors of STM, has been promoted of researches and studies under expectation as a surface shape observation means for novel insulative substances. The principle thereof is that interatomic forces acting between a detecting tip having a sufficiently sharp point and a sample is measured as a displacement of the spring element attached with the detecting tip, the sample surface are scanned while maintaining the displacement amount of the spring element at constant, so that the shape of the sample surface is measured using, as a shape information, a control signal for maintaining the displacement amount of the spring element constant.
For a displacement detecting means of the spring element, an example referred to as an beam deflection system (Journal of Applied Physics 65(1), 1 p164 January 1989) has been reported wherein the positional displacement of the reflection light obtained by irradiating the laser beam on the spring element is detected by the photodetector element to produce a displacement signal.
FIG. 3 shows an operational principle of the atomic force microscope.
FIG. 4(a) is a conceptual view showing a relationship of interatomic forces versus interatomic distances. When two atoms approximate with each other at a distance of several nanometers or several Angstroms, the so-called Van der Waals force proportional to the minus seventh power of the interatomic distances are generated as an attractive force attracting with each other. When more approximating, then the so-called repulsive force arises suddenly.
FIG. 4(b) is a conceptual view showing a profile where a spring element 3 is being displaced. The conventional atomic force microscope obtains shape data of the sample surface in that the scanning is performed in the inside direction of the sample surface while a sample 1 is being adjusted in the z direction so that displacement amount "x" in the drawing is made constant. For a difference from the so-called tracer type roughness meter which uses a pressure of several milligrams for the sensor during the measurement, the atomic force microscope uses a pressure of as small as equal to or less than a microgram and has a very higher resolution and the like properties in spite of a narrower observation range than that of the roughness meter.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the atomic force microscope of this conventional optical lever type. The spring element 3 is attached with a detecting tip 2 for limiting an interaction with the sample 1 into a minute portion to constitute a detector for detecting a very small force. The sample 1 is supported by a fine motion element 4, and a fine motion mechanism 4 is further supported by a coarse motion element 5. The detecting tip 2 is three dimensionally driven so as to be positioned at an interatomic force measurement region of the surface of the sample 1. The spring element 3 is attached on a frame 30, which fixes a coarse motion mechanism 5, where the example 1 is three dimensionally driven relative to the tip end portion of the detecting tip 2 by the fine motion element 4. That is, the sample 1 is scanned on the flat surface of the example 1 at a high resolution by the fine motion element 4 while adjusting a distance between the tip end portion of the detecting tip 2 and the surface of the example 1. Since a fine motion amount equal to or less than a nanometer is required, a good amount of cases use piezoelectric elements as a fine motion element. The fine motion element 4 is fixed on the coarse motion mechanism 5 for performing the rough positioning of the example 1 and the spring element 3.
The rear surface-side of the spring element 3 is provided thereon with a displacement detecting system for detecting a displacement amount of the spring element 3. First, a light emitted from a semiconductor laser 6 is converged by a lens a8 and adjusted by an optical axis adjusting means 22 so as to be irradiated on the rear surface tip end portion of the spring element 3. The semiconductor laser 6 is driven by a laser driver 18. The spring element 3 is provided with coating for raising a reflection index. The reflected light is converged by a lens b9 on a two or four segmented position sensitive detector (PSD) 11. In case where, as a photodetector element, for example, two segmented photodetector 11a is used, an adjustment is made so that the light is incident uniformly on the previously splitted element, and then a difference signal is taken from between the two-segmented elements. When the spring element 3 is tilted by being pressed by the sample 1, an optical spot on a light receiving surface of the photodetector 11a is moved proportional to a tilt of the spring element 3, thus one-side output of the splitted elements increases, and the other-side decreases. As a result, the differential output comes proportional to the tilt of the spring element 3, i.e., the displacement. This displacement signal, which is taken into a servo system 20 after being amplified by a differential amplifier 19, is converted into a control signal fed to the fine motion element 4 and the coarse motion mechanism 5, and controlled for obtaining a constant distance between the example 1 and the spring element 3. The servo system 20 is coupled to computer 21.
However in the conventional optical lever type of atomic force microscope, because a driving system is employed to drive the sample by the fine motion element 4, an observation comes difficult with the decrease of a resonance frequency of the fine motion element if a larger sample intends to be observed. A small size of the fine motion element itself, for example, a diameter of 30 millimeters at most when a cylindrical type piezoelectric element is used, provides difficulty to physically attach the sample, and this requires cut of the sample, for example, for observing a semiconductor wafer and an optical disk substrate. For this reason, a drawback has been arisen because there can not be taken an advantage of non-destructive observation existing in the atomic force microscope.
Since the system for driving the sample by the fine motion element is used, a load mass of the fine motion element is varied at every time of measurement and a problem is that a control characteristic and a measurement speed are not constant.


An apparatus for separating solids and liquids includes a pair of compaction chambers into each of which is inserted a fifty five gallon drum that receives the liquids and solids before they are separated. A compaction platen has a liquid-retaining wall mounted about its periphery in trailing relation to the platen, and separation of the solids and liquids is accomplished by lowering the platen into a container that has been filled with flotsam including liquids and solids. The platen has a breadth slightly less than the breadth of the container so that liquids may escape around the peripheral border of the platen as it descends into the container. The escaping liquids are collected on the trailing end of the platen by the retention wall and are carried under a vacuum or pumped to a liquid storage facility for further treatment. The platen is telescopically mounted in a housing that reciprocates between the compaction chambers so that the separation process is continuous.

Damage to wildlife and the physical environment can be minimized in the wake of an oil spill in a body of water if containment and recovery operations are started promptly after the spill. Accordingly, a specialized fleet of ships is currently being built in the United States for the sole purpose of responding quickly to oil spills. The ships will be stationed at strategic locations and will be maintained on a twenty four hour alert status so that they can be on the way to a spill in less than half an hour. In this manner, the oil spill problem will be handled along lines developed by the firefighting industry.
The new ships will be fitted, to some extent, with equipment already in use on existing spill-containment vessels. However, some items of existing equipment are inadequate to perform their intended functions. For example, the primary containment method is to vacuum up the spilled oil as it floats on the water. The oil thereby recovered is typically mixed with debris or flotsam; this flotsam includes liquids and solids which must be separated from one another before the recovered oil can be placed in a hold of the recovery ship or in containers for subsequent refining.
More specifically, the flotsam is generally collected on a large, perforated plate that acts as a strainer to separate the oil and solids in the flotsam. However, the solids are usually soaked with water and covered with oil; the oil clinging to the solids is not affected by the straining action of the perforated plate. Present practice is to discard the solids and oil coated thereon in fifty five gallon drums. Thus, the oil coated on the solids is lost. Moreover, the drum must then be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of as such. Obviously, the number of drums that are filled with oil-soaked solids at a major spill is large, and their disposal is a problem almost as troublesome as the spill itself.
There is a need for a flotsam separation device and method that enables a spill to be cleaned up with fewer drums and that salvages more oil from the spill as well, but the prior art, when considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made in accordance with the requirements of law, neither taught nor suggested to those of ordinary skill in this art how such a device and method could be provided. In fact, at the time the present invention was made, the conventional wisdom was that the status quo was satisfactory, and that liberal use of fifty five gallon drums and the loss or large quantities of oil would always be a fact of oil spill experience.

Apparatus and method for separating solids and liquids


Adjusting RAN performance by adapting cell coverage area can help optimize a wireless communications network. RAN topology can be adapted based on analysis of real-time load conditions of RAN base stations. Analysis of the load conditions of RAN base stations can be performed in a core-network of a wireless carrier rather than distributing the analysis to RAN-side elements. Analysis can be based on receiving real-time load information relating to key performance indicators such as X2 load, S1 load, instant outbound handover count, instant inbound handover count, etc. Further, analysis can include the application of predetermined rules relating to preferential performance of the base stations. This can facilitate ranking neighboring base stations, adding new base stations, deleting base stations, black/white listing base stations, etc., in neighbor relations data structures, such as automatic neighbor relations structures for self-organizing networks, e.g., eNodeBs in LTE networks.

By way of brief background, coverage area conditions for a radio area network (RAN) can be predicated on topological and topographical features of the deployed RAN equipment, including base stations, e.g., NodeB or enhanced NodeB (eNodeB). A RAN can be comprised of a number of cells, each associated with a base station, e.g., a NodeB/eNodeB. Mobile devices can traverse the RAN by sequentially establishing communications links with the base stations. Generally speaking, the closer a base station is to a mobile device, the higher quality the communications link will be, all else being equivalent, because the communications signals between the base station and the mobile device have a shorter distance to traverse; however, numerous other factors can impact the performance of elements of a RAN.

Real-time load analysis for modification of neighbor relations


A switch mechanism includes a fixed contact bar on which two or more contacts may be mounted. A movable contact is associated with each of the fixed contacts. Two independent toggle mechanisms are provided, each responsive to a different pressure-responsive displacement actuator for selectively actuating one or more of the movable contacts. In one embodiment having two normally open and one normally closed set of contacts, one toggle mechanism is connected by a sliding yoke to the movable contacts of one normally open set and the normally closed set, and the other toggle mechanism is connected by a second, independent sliding yoke to the movable contacts of the other normally open set and the normally closed set. Hence the normally closed contacts (which may be used to de-energize a compressor motor) are opened if either pressure limit is exceeded, but only the normally open set is disclosed which is associated with the tripped toggle mechanism. This may be used to indicate an alarm. Each toggle mechanism may be automatically resetting or require manual reset.

The present invention relates to a switch mechanism; and more particularly, it relates to a switch mechanism which is responsive to two or more displacement-type actuators. The term "displacement actuator" is intended to cover a broad class of mechanical actuators or transducers which sense pressure or force and convert it to mechanical movement or displacement such that the displacement is proportional to the parameter being sensed or monitored (pressure or force, for example). Mechanical linkage may be used to amplify the displacement which is then coupled to a toggle mechanism of a switch for tripping the switch if the displacement exceeds an amount which represents a predetermined threshold for the parameter being monitored.
Devices of this type find a wide range of application. For example, they are used in refrigeration or cooling systems in which one displacement actuator is responsive to the suction pressure of a compressor and a second displacement actuator is responsive to the output pressure of the compressor. It may be desired to shut the compressor off if the suction pressure falls below a predetermined low threshold (which may indicate loss of refrigerant or oil or a leak in the system), or if the outlet pressure exceeds a predetermined high threshold (which would present too great a load on the compressor motor). In this example, a switch would have a set of main contacts and one or more sets of auxiliary contacts. If either alarm condition sensed by the transducers occurred, it would be desired to open the main contacts and thereby de-energize the compressor motor, and to close the auxiliary contacts to indicate that an alarm condition exists.
A problem exists in conventional switch mechanisms of this type which contain two toggle mechanisms each responsive to a different displacement actuator and mechanically interconnected to open the main contacts when either sensing threshold or "set point" is exceeded in that each toggle mechanism itself typically includes a spring (for establishing bistable conditions in the switch mechanism) and some movement (which may be the output of the displacement actuator) is required to trip the toggle mechanism. If the toggle mechanisms are mechanically interconnected or connected in series, the outputs of each actuator has a tendency to interfere with and thereby change the threshold of the other toggle mechanism.
This is particularly true when the switches are used in refrigeration or cooling systems because the outputs of the displacement actuators change dynamically when the system is in operation. For example, once the compressor motor is energized, the output pressure increases while the suction pressure decreases simultaneously. Hence, if there is any mechanical interference or interrelation, the movement of one displacement actuator may vary the actual trip point of the toggle mechanism associated with the other displacement actuator, and this type of interference or interdependency has been found to exist in some present commercial structures.
Briefly, the present invention overcomes this problem by providing a switch which has two independent toggle mechanisms, each responsive to a different displacement actuator. In the illustrated embodiment, a set of main contacts are normally closed, and two sets of auxiliary contacts are normally open. One toggle mechanism is adapted by means of a first sliding yoke to actuate a movable contact of the main set and a movable contact of a first auxiliary set of contacts. The other toggle mechanism is similarly adapted by means of a second, independent sliding yoke to actuate the movable contact of the second auxiliary set and the movable contact of the main set. Each yoke has a shoulder which engages the movable main contact when the associated toggle mechanism is tripped, but the motion of the movable main contact is not reflected in the other toggle mechanism. Thus, the main contact can be moved without in any way interfering with or varying the spring forces in the other toggle mechanism.
With this structure, the normally closed contacts of the main set are opened if either pressure limit is exceeded, but the only auxiliary set that is closed is that which is associated with the tripped toggle mechanism. This auxiliary set of contacts may be used to indicate a specific alarm identifying which displacement actuator has exceeded its threshold. Either toggle mechanism, or both, may be set to trigger on a pressure rise (or increase above a set point) if a conventional reverse action linkage is used in connection with the associated displacement actuator.
The toggle mechanisms are independent in the sense that a varying pressure sensed by one of the displacement actuators does not change the spring forces of the other toggle mechanism.
Either toggle mechanism may have an automatic reset or it may have a manual reset independent of the other toggle mechanism. This is useful, for example, where it is desired to lock the system out if one threshold is exceeded (for example, the low suction pressure threshold), but simply to de-energize the compressor motor only for so long as the other sensed condition prevails (for example, only for so long as the high pressure threshold is exceeded).
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing wherein identical reference numerals will refer to like parts of the various views.

Switch mechanism with independent toggle actuators


A nematic liquid crystal composition is provided having not only a high clearing point and a low viscosity and capable of exhibiting a desired .DELTA.n value, but also having an improved steepness in the voltage-transmittance characteristic in the SBE mode display. A liquid crystal display element is also provided. The composition is obtained by mixing a first component comprising a compound of the following formula (I) with a second component comprising a compound of the following formula (II), or by additionally mixing the first and second components with a third component comprising a group of compounds of the following formulas (III) and (IV), or further additionally mixing the first, second and third components with a fourth component comprising a compound of the following formula (V): ##STR1##

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid crystal composition for liquid crystal displays. More particularly it relates to a liquid crystal composition used for high multiplex display devices making use of supertwisted birefringence effect mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent rapid development of information devices, particularly growth of portable terminal devices, display devices of small size, thin shape and low power consumption, having a display capacity and a display quality matching those of conventional CRT have been required. In response to the above-mentioned needs for small size, thin shape and lower power consumption, liquid crystal devices capable of multiplex drive by means of TN type liquid crystal cells having a twist angle of 90.degree., have so far been used in the form of display terminals up to about 1/100 duty for watches, electronic calculators, etc. However, an increase of the duty number to more than the above has been regarded as difficult in principle, since it reduces the display quality.
Whereas, there has been known a supertwisted birefringence effect mode making use of the birefringence effect of liquid crystal cells, having set the twist angle to 180.degree.-270.degree., at which the bistability in the electrooptical characteristic of chiral nematic liquid crystals occurs to the utmost. This mode is a supertwisted birefringence effect mode using an organic aligned membrane, and hereinafter abbreviated to SBE mode, including modes called STN mode and HBE mode. According to this SBE mode, the same drive method as in the matrix display of conventional TN mode of 90.degree. twist, that is, the matrix display driven according to the first scan-addressing mode replying to the effective value of impressed voltage is possible, and also a considerably better contrast and a broader viewing angle than those in the case of TN display of 90.degree. twist can be afforded (T. J. Scheffer, J. Nehring; Appl. Phys. Letter, 45, 1021 (1984)).
With reference to liquid crystal materials, in order to make the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve steep in the case of conventional 90.degree. twist TN mode, it is necessary to make the elastic constant ratio K.sub.33 /K.sub.11 of liquid crystal materials as low as possible. This is evident for example from the report of G. Baur {The Physics and Chemistry of Liquid Crystal Devices (edited by G. J. Sprokel), pp 61-78 (1980)}. However, in order to make the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve steep in the case of a SBE mode, it is necessary to make the ratio K.sub.33 /K.sub.11 as large as possible, contrary to the case of 90.degree. twist TN mode. Further, it is preferred that the ratio K.sub.33 /K.sub.22 also be larger. This is evident e.g. from the report of C. M. Waters (Design of Highly Multiplexed Liquid Crystal Dye Displays, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst., 1985, vol. 123, pp 303-319). Here, K.sub.11, K.sub.22 and K.sub.33 represent a splay elastic constant, a twisted one and a bent one, respectively, in the continiuum theory (F. Frank: Dix. Faraday Soc., 25, p 19 (1956)).
Namely, as described above, the physical property value for making the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve steep, i.e. the elastic constant ratio K.sub.33 /K.sub.11 in the case of a 90.degree. twist TN mode is quite contrary to that in the case of SBE mode. Thus, it can be seen that liquid crystal compositions used so far in the 90.degree. twist TN mode are unsuitable for making the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve steep in the SBE mode.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal composition suitable for liquid crystal display elements of SBE mode for making the voltage-transmittance characteristic curve steep, taking into account the above-mentioned theoretical background and the practical needs for a liquid crystal display element.
Characteristics required for liquid crystal compositions used for display elements of the SBE mode are as follows:
(1) steep voltage-transmittance characteristic curve; PA0 (2) high nematic-isotropic liquid phase transition point; PA0 (3) capability of exhibiting a suitable optical anisotropy value (hereinafter abbreviated to .DELTA.n) in accordance with the cell thickness (hereinafter abbreviated to d); PA0 (4) low viscosity (hereinafter abbreviated to .eta.); etc.
The characteristic (1) is indispensable for enhancing the display contrast of liquid crystal display elements of SBE mode.
The characteristic (2) is necessary for inhibiting the display from coloring occurrence due to the temperature-dependency of .DELTA.n in the SBE mode, and a clearing point (hereinafter abbreviated to NI point) is desired to be as high as possible. The .DELTA.n value generally exhibits a curve slowly declining from the lower temperature side toward the higher temperature side, but it begins to rapidly lower in the vicinity of the clearing point, and the display color changes when the light path length of birefringence (.DELTA.n.multidot.d) changes notably. Further, when it reaches the NI point, .DELTA.n=0, that is, an isotropic liquid is formed lose which lacks the function necessary for liquid crystal display elements. A practical NI point for display elements is preferred to be 80.degree. C. or higher.
The characteristic (3) is important for enhancing the degree of freedom of the cell thickness of liquid crystal display elements. The SBE mode uses as its display an interference color due to the birefringence effect based upon the light path length (.DELTA.n.multidot.d=constant) of birefringence, differently from the TN mode. Thus, it is preferred to be able to take various An values corresponding to an optional d.
The characteristic (4) is particularly advantageous for reducing the response time in liquid crystal cells of the SBE mode. It is known that as to the response time in the TN mode, the rise time and decay time are both proportional to .eta..multidot.d.sup.2. This relationship is also applicable to the SBE mode.

Liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display element


A motor assembly for driving a working element of a power tool which is provided includes first and second clamshell housing members connectable to define an interior space for the power tool motor and a longitudinal axis extending through the interior space. An armature includes a core and a rotatable shaft for driving a working element of the tool. The armature is mountable in the interior space with the rotatable shaft aligned along the longitudinal axis. A cylindrical stator yoke is mountable in the interior space about the longitudinal axis to encircle the armature. Top and bottom bearings are mounted on corresponding ends of the armature shaft. Alignment and support members on the first and second housing members are provided with the alignment and support members capturing and fixing the yoke and top and bottom bearings in the interior space in alignment about the longitudinal axis when the clamshell housing members are connected to each other.

Typically, permanent magnet direct current electric motors for power tools have a frame, an armature including the core and associated windings, and commutator and brush assemblies. The frame can be formed from a soft iron or steel yoke or can of open cylindrical shape mounted on a bearing base plate and closed at its top end by a cap plate. A rectifier can be provided for DC motors to convert alternating current into direct current for application to the coils of the armature mounted within the yoke. The rectifier is typically mounted remotely from the motor housing or to the outside of the housing, such as to a cap plate. Such a "can" type DC motor is assembled in a separate operation before being incorporated into the power tool with which it is to be used. Such preassembly or separate assembly operation gives rise to significant motor-related manufacturing costs. A second assembly operation is required to assemble the internal components of the power tool, including the preassembled motor, in the power tool housing. Thus, it is desirable for a power tool to be provided with a DC motor which does not require a separate assembly operation therefor and which can be incorporated into the assembly operation for the power tool itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,785 discloses a motor pre-assembly utilizing a support member onto which the armature is mounted by screwing down a lower roller bearing in a bearing well formed in the support member and through which one of the armature shaft ends is inserted. Additionally, the switch, printed circuit board, power cord and wiring are secured to the support member. With the armature secured to the plate by frictional forces between the shaft end and lower bearing, the motor support is turned upside down so as to be lowered into an upwardly opening bucket-shaped motor housing so that the other end of the armature shaft is aligned with and extends into an upper bearing secured in its bearing well formed in the bucket-shaped housing. The motor preassembly to the motor support member requires an extra manufacturing step and increased costs associated therewith. Incorporation of the motor pre-assembly into the polisher assembly also requires a careful alignment of the motor support carrying the armature during such assembly so that its shaft properly fits into the upper bearing when the armature is stacked in the bucket-shaped housing. In addition, the use of screws to secure the various internal components to the support increases the time, expense and complexity of assembly of the motor.
Besides the manufacturing costs associated with the separate assembly of "can" type DC motors, another problem with these motors is that provision must be made for the output leads on the rectifier such that they can be electrically connected to the brushes to supply direct current power to the armature coils. Generally, the rectifier is mounted near or on the frame as previously mentioned such that the leads must pass through the motor housing, such as through slots or apertures in the cap of the yoke. In another known direct current motor assembly, the top cap mounts a modified rectifier assembly which extends on either side of the cap so as to obviate the need to provide slots or apertures in the cap for the rectifier assembly leads. In both types of motor assemblies, specially dedicated structures, i.e., apertured caps and/or modified rectifier assemblies, must be provided to accept or accommodate the leads extending from the rectifier to the brushes.


In a method for processing a biologically hardly degradable waste water including benzene ring materials, the waste water is oxidized by using ozone to produce oxalic acid. Then, the oxalic acid is reacted using a chemical reaction to produce oxalate. Finally, the oxalate is separated out from the waste water.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing biologically hardly degradable waste water including benzene ring materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, organic waste water is processed by a biological process to remove organic materials from the waste water. In this case, if the organic waste water includes biologically hardly degradable materials such as benzene ring materials, the hardly degradable materials are changed into biologically easily degradable materials before the biological process.
In a first prior art method for processing biologically hardly degradable materials, the materials are oxidized by an oxidizer such as sodium hypochlorite.
In a second prior art method for processing biologically hardly degradable materials (see JP-A-8-192175), the materials are irradiated with ultraviolet rays to produce hydroxyl radical.
In a third prior art method for processing biologically hardly degradable materials (see JP-A-9-103787), the materials with a supporting electrolyte added are electrolyzed by DC.
In a fourth prior art method for processing biologically hardly degradable materials (see JP-A-6-126288), the materials are oxidized by using ozone.
In the above-mentioned prior art methods, the fourth prior art method is most effective for processing a large amount of waste water.
In the fourth prior art method, however, various kinds of oxidation processes may occur simultaneously due to less selectivity of ozone in such oxidation processes, which would consume a large amount of ozone. This will be explained later in detail.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for processing a biologically hardly degradable waste water including benzene ring materials capable of reducing an amount of consumed ozone.
According to the present invention, in a method for processing a biologically hardly degradable waste water including benzene ring materials, the waste water is oxidized by using ozone to produce oxalic acid. Then, the oxalic acid is reacted using a chemical reaction to produce oxalate. Finally, the oxalate is separated out from the waste water.
Also, in an apparatus for processing a biologically hardly degradable waste water including benzene ring materials, an oxidation cell is provided for oxidizing the waste water using ozone to produce oxalic acid. A chemical reaction cell is connected to the oxidation cell to react the oxalic acid using a chemical reaction to produce oxalate. A separation cell is connected to the chemical reaction cell to separate out the oxalate from the waste water.

Method and apparatus for processing biologically hardly degradable waste water capable of reducing ozone


A system for tracking cumulative motor vehicle risk includes a satellite navigation system receiver disposed within a motor vehicle and configured to determine a present location of the motor vehicle. A computer processor receives the determined present location of the motor vehicle from the satellite navigation system receiver and generates a traveled route therefrom. A first computer server receives a plurality of motor vehicle claims records, determines a plurality of motor vehicle accident locations from the plurality of motor vehicle claims records, and generates a motor vehicle accident heat map from the plurality of motor vehicle accident locations. A second computer server determines a cumulative risk exposure of the motor vehicle based on the generated traveled route and the generated motor vehicle accident heat map.

The present invention relates to displaying motor vehicle collision risk and, more specifically, to systems and methods for determining motor vehicle collision risk based on traveled routes and displaying the motor vehicle collision risk, so determined, as a map.
Understanding motor vehicle risk can be useful for saving lives, reducing property damage, and establishing insurance rates. Conventional approaches for understanding motor vehicle collision risk focus mainly on driver demographics and personal driving record. Some modern approaches to understanding motor vehicle collision risk incorporate vehicle usage data, such as vehicle speed, miles driven, etc. Where this data is automatically reported by the vehicle's computer, the term "telematics" is often used. Some approaches for vehicle insurance that make use of telematics are referred to as usage-based insurance (UBI).

System and method for determining motor vehicle collison risk based on traveled route and displaying determined risk as a map

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention relates to fungi of Acremonium spp, wherein said fungi are purified or isolated from plants of the Brachiaria-Urochloa complex and wherein, when said fungi are inoculated into a plant, said plant has improved resistance to diseases and/or pests relative to an uninocualated control plant. The present invention also relates to plants inoculated with such fungi, products produced by the fungi and related genes, proteins and methods.

Microbes represent an invaluable source of novel genes and compounds that have the potential to be utilised in a range of industrial sectors. Scientific literature gives numerous accounts of microbes being the primary source of antibiotics, immunosuppressants, anticancer agents and cholesterol-lowering drugs, in addition to their use in environmental decontamination and in the production of food and cosmetics. A relatively unexplored group of microbes known as endophytes, which reside in the tissues of living plants, offer a particularly diverse source of novel compounds and genes that may provide important benefits to society, and in particular, agriculture.
Endophytes often form mutualistic relationships with their hosts, with the endophyte conferring increased fitness to the host, often through the production of defence compounds. At the same time, the host plant offers the benefits of a protected environment and nutriment to the endophyte.
Members of the Brachiaria-Urochloa species complex belong to the Poaceae family of grasses. Some species of Brachiaria-Urochloa are economically significant tropical forage grasses that have been released as commercial cultivars and include B. brizantha, B. decumbens, B. dictyoneura, B. humidicola, and B. ruziziensis, as well as corresponding interspecific and intraspecific hybrids.
Genetic diversity analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data indicates a strong affinity between Urochloa and Brachiaria, supporting morphological and anatomical studies that show a continuous gradation between these grass genera.
Seed-transmitted endophytic fungi have been observed in B. brizantha. These endophytes may play a role in protecting Brachiaria-Urochloa from fungal pathogens, such as Drechslera spp., which cause leaf spots.
There is a general lack of information and knowledge of the fungal endophytes of the Brachiaria-Urochloa species complex as well as of methods for the identification and characterization of novel endophytes and their deployment in Brachiaria-Urochloa plant improvement programs.
It is an objection of the present application to overcome, or at least alleviate, one or more of the difficulties or deficiencies associates with the prior art.


A golf based game including chipping and putting practice utilizing interlocking mats, unique scoring method and device with provisions for making variable undulations or irregularities on a simulated putting surface.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the general field of games;
The invention is more particularly directed to a golfing type game;
The invention is even more particularly directed to a game which involves the use of chipping and putting portions of a golf game including means and method for causing minor undulations or variations of the surface, such as will usually be found on regular golfing turfs and putting greens.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There have been many games of various types involving golf. Such games have included special putting games and certain long full scale driving games and the like.
The present game involves a combination of short chipping golf shots and putting on simulated golf course and golf green material which may be used either indoors or outdoors. The game involves unique scoring and scoring counters. This game now includes unique and unusual means and methods for imparting undulating or irregular minor variations in the otherwise level putting surfaces thus simulating the variations which naturally exist on even the most meticulously groomed golf greens.
We know of no game combining the features of chipping and putting together with a unique scoring arrangement and surface altering feature as in our present invention, and in that sense we know of no prior art which would be applicable to this invention.


An interactive numerical control apparatus is programmed by inputting data through keys on a control panel, and answering questions displayed on a display screen, to generate a numerical control program. The operator defines a blank shape and a part shape (steps S1, S2), and selects a primary machining operation or a secondary machining operation (step S3). A cutting region for the primary machining operation is defined in the same manner as with an ordinary two-axis lathe. For the secondary machining operation, the blank and part shapes are displayed in reverse (step S6), and a cutting region for the secondary machining operation is defined in the same manner as the cutting region for the primary machining operation is defined (step S7). Based on the necessary data and machining conditions that are defined, the interactive numerical control apparatus outputs numerical control data separately for the respective primary and secondary machining operations (step S8).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of programming an interactive numerical control apparatus, and more particularly to a method of programming an interactive numerical control apparatus for simultaneous generation of numerical control (NC) data for primary and secondary machining operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
When interactive numerical control apparatus are to be programmed, the operator Inputs numerical data in answer to questions as to necessary items according to a procedure, or selects a desired Item from a displayed menu. Such an interactive programming method is widely used to generate machining programs for various numerically controlled machine tools because it allows even novice operators to generate the programs by using data from drawing figures and other sources.
Some interactive numerical control apparatus employ symbolic keys for entering shape elements to input blank and part shapes. Specifically, the shape of a part is inputted using horizontal lines, vertical lines, oblique lines, and arcs to generate a machining program. The use of such symbolic keys allows part shapes to be inputted easily for efficient generation of NC programs.
Computerized, numerically controlled lathes with a plurality of machining heads for higher machining efficiency include a two-spindle, two turret four-axis lathe having two parallel spindles. Usually, a workpiece is machined by the two-spindle, two-turret four-axis lathe such that one end of the workpiece, which is held by one of the heads, is machined in a primary machining operation, and thereafter the workpiece is held by the other head and its opposite end is machined in a secondary machining operation (which may also be referred to as a backward machining operation).
FIG. 11 of the accompanying drawings schematically shows the manner in which a workpiece is machined by a two-spindle, two-turret four-axis lathe. First, a workpiece 42a held by a chuck 41a is machined to a desired shape by a tool 44a mounted on a turret 43a in a primary machining operation. Then, the machined workpiece 42a is released from the chuck 41a and held, as a workpiece 42b, by another chuck 41b. The workpiece 42b held by the chuck 41b is machined to a desired shape by a tool 44b mounted on a turret 43b in a secondary machining operation.
According to the conventional method of programming interactive numerical control apparatus, NC data for a primary machining operation and NC data for a secondary machining operation are generated separately from each other. Therefore, the interactive numerical control apparatus must be programmed separately on the NC data for the primary and secondary machining operations even if one final part shape is to be achieved. Such a programming process has been inefficient to carry out.

Method of programming primary and secondary machining operations using an interactive numerical control apparatus


A method for producing an in-mold coated plastic article having an adherent coating wherein the coating composition has improved surface coverage properties and a fast cure rate. The coating composition contains (a) a first component comprising at least one polyol having at least 4 hydroxyl groups and a viscosity at room temperature of 6000 cps or less; and (b) a second component comprising a solvent-free isocyanate prepolymer. The viscosity of the coating composition is 15000 cps or less at room temperature.

In-mold coating processes have been developed to improve the quality of the surface of a molded article after the curing of the article in a compression mold has been substantially completed. In the compression molding process, two or more shaped mold elements cooperate to define a mold cavity. A molding composition typically comprising a polymerizable thermosetting or thermoplastic resin and fibrous reinforcing material and usually fillers, catalysts, mold release agents, and other reagents is introduced into the mold cavity between the mold surfaces. The shaped mold elements are brought together to spread the molding composition throughout the mold cavity and to confine the molding composition until curing is essentially completed. The molded article is then coated within the mold.
A process for molding and coating a substrate in a mold is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,460, which is incorporated herein by reference. This process typically involves injecting a resin compound into a shaped mold, compressing the mold to form the desired substrate, applying heat to cure the resin, and injecting a coating composition into the mold to coat the substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,460 describes a method of coating the substrate in which the coating composition is injected into the closed, pressurized mold cavity at a high pressure and is forced over the surface of and compresses the substrate.
The ability of the coating to adequately cover the substrate depends in part on the viscosity of the coating composition. For example, application of a coating composition to the surface of a flexible thermoplastic substrate can be improved when the viscosity of the coating is relatively low, i.e., 15000 cps or less at room temperature.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a two-component urethane coating having reduced viscosity and improved surface coverage properties.
Another object of this invention is to provide a cured molded thermoplastic part with an adherent in-mold coating.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention.

Two-component urethane in-mold coating composition