Provided is a fine frequency synchronization method of a WiBro system, and particularly, a fine frequency synchronization method which measures a spread degree of a received signal of an adjacent subcarrier using orthogonality of PN sequences and thereby estimates a frequency offset, in a base station or a wireless repeater without using a GPS receiver. The fine frequency synchronization method includes: (a) performing despreading on received adjacent subcarrier sequences, using a PN sequence transmitted from a transmitting party; (b) obtaining ratios of correlative values obtained by the despreading; and (c) estimating a frequency offset on the basis of the ratio of correlative values. Accordingly, fine frequency offset estimation with relatively low complexity is possible without using a GPS receiver in a WiBro environment where interference signals of other base stations or repeaters exist.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for fine frequency synchronization which are used in a wireless broadband (WiBro) system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for highly precisely estimating a fine frequency offset without using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, in an environment where signals of other base stations or repeaters exist as interference signals in a frame signal which is received through a wireless link.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a next-generation mobile communication system, a subminiature base station and an intelligent wireless repeater have to be necessarily introduced in order to reduce costs required for adding base stations, expand the radius of a service cell, and increase a capacity that is to be assigned to congested regions. In order to allow an apparatus which is newly added to a system to transmit high quality data to a terminal, wireless repeater network synchronization and system clock synchronization become important technical components.
Particularly, in order to allow a subminiature base station and a wireless repeater to transmit high quality data to a terminal that is within a service region, in a wireless broadband (WiBro) system which is being developed as a next-generation mobile communication system, stable time synchronization and frequency synchronization have to be maintained. Here, in order to achieve precise time synchronization and frequency synchronization, it is preferable to receive and use signals of a GPS satellite including an atomic clock. However, when all of a plurality of wireless apparatuses time maintain time synchronization and frequency synchronization using GPS receivers, problems exist in that costs increase greatly and installation of the wireless apparatuses is limited because no GPS signal can be received in most indoor places.
In order to resolve the problems, there can be considered a method of acquiring time and frequency synchronization on the basis of a WiBro frame signal which is received through a wireless channel from a target base station (a base station which is in an optimum signal reception state among adjacent base stations), without using a GPS receiver. For time and frequency synchronization without using a GPS receiver, a general Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) synchronization process can be applied.
Paul H. Moose has proposed a method for high-speed frame signal detection and time and frequency synchronization based on a general OFDM transmission method, in "A Technique for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Frequency Offset Correction," IEEE Trans. Communications, vol. 42, No. 10, October 1994, pp 2908-2914. The Moose's method uses correlative values in a time domain. The technical concept of the Moose's method will be simply described below.
FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a time synchronization method based on the Moose's method.
Referring to FIG. 1, two training symbols (that is, first and second training symbols y(n) and y(n+1)) with the same complex value, each having a length of L, are transmitted as a preamble, and a receiving terminal sets a time window having a length of 2 L for synchronization, and then acquires time synchronization using a timing metric M(d) defined in Equation 1.
                                          M                                      (              d              )                                =                                                                                      P                                                        (                    d                    )                                                                              2                                                      (                                  R                                                        (                    d                    )                                                  )                            2                                      ,                            (        1        )            where d represents a time index for the first training symbol y(n).
Here, P(d) is a correlative value in a time domain, and represented as a sum of products between training symbols that are successively received, according to Equation 2.
                              P                                (            d            )                          =                              ∑                          m              =              0                                      L              -              1                                                      y            *                          (                              d                +                m                            )                                                  y                                            (                                  d                  +                  m                  +                  L                                )                                                                        (        2        )
R(d) is an energy value of the second training symbol y(n+1) which is received, and represented by Equation 3, below.
                              R                                (            d            )                          =                              ∑                          m              =              0                                      L              -              1                                                                                                  y                                                  (                                      d                    +                    m                    +                    L                                    )                                                                    2                                              (        3        )
Meanwhile, after time synchronization is acquired by Equation 1, a frequency offset is estimated, using optimal time synchronization and Equation 2 which represents the correlative value in the time domain. The frequency offset is represented by Equation 4.
                    ε        =                              1                          2                            π                                                                                L                                          angle                                                                          (                          P                                            (                d                )                                      )                                              (        4        )
Now, the time synchronization method based on the Moose's method using the correlative value in the time domain, as described above, is applied to the WiBro system.
In the case of the WiBro system, in order to allow a receiving terminal to acquire time and frequency synchronization, a first OFDM symbol of a frame is transmitted as a preamble. The preamble consists of three types of preamble segments each having 284 subcarriers. As such, since the first OFDM symbol of the frame consists of three identical training symbols in a time domain, the general OFDM synchronization method (that is, the Moose's method) as described above can be applied to two training symbols that are adjacent to each other.
That is, time synchronization can be acquired by applying the timing metric M(d) defined in Equation 1 to two training symbols that are adjacent to each other. Also, by applying Equation 4 of estimating a frequency offset using the acquired optimal time synchronization and the correlative value (Equation 2) in the time domain, frequency synchronization can be acquired.
However, it is difficult to apply the frequency synchronization method based on the Moose's method to an actual WiBro environment in which a variety of interference signals exist. The reason is because a signal which is received through a wireless channel is a sum of a variety of interference signals that are received from other peripheral base stations or repeaters as well as from a target base station, and thus a frequency offset cannot be precisely estimated due to the influence of the interference signals. Particularly, in the case of a repeater which is installed in a hot-spot region of an inner city, the influence of such interference signals increases greatly.
Actual requirements for frequency synchronization of a WiBro wireless repeater are as follows. A requirement for reference frequency accuracy of a base station is about 2 PPM, and inter base station frequency synchronization accuracy which is required for hand-off is about 1% of an OFDM subcarrier interval. That is, inter base station frequency synchronization accuracy corresponding to an offset of about 97 Hz is required.
Accordingly, frequency synchronization accuracy for each base station, which is required to support hand-off, becomes about 48 Hz. As such, in order to allow a wireless repeater to relay signals of a base station and transmit high quality data to a terminal which is within a service region and particularly to support hand-off, precise frequency synchronization which stably satisfies the frequency synchronization requirement (that is, the frequency synchronization accuracy of about 48 Hz) is necessary.
However, when the Moose's method of estimating a frequency offset using correlative values in a time domain, as described above, is applied, a problem exists in that precise frequency offset estimation capable of satisfying frequency synchronization accuracy of about 48 Hz is very difficult, in a WiBro environment where a variety of interference signals exist in a wireless link.

Method and apparatus for fine frequency synchronization in wireless broadband (WiBro) system without using global positioning system (GPS) receiver

ICU Research and Industrial Cooperation Group


A force sensor is used to determine tension forces present in a portion of tissue adjacent a body joint. A support plate is inserted under a tissue portion through two spaced apart incisions. The ends of the support plate are exposed and are mounted to a sensor frame along with a flexure member. A load plate mounted to the flexure member transfers force loads sensed from the tissue portion to the flexure member. A strain gage is mounted to the flexure member to provide an output signal representative of the force on the flexure member and thus forces in the tissue.

The present invention relates to a force sensor for determining forces present in a portion of tissue surrounding a body joint.
The measuring of forces in ligaments for joints is shown in the prior art, such as the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,271. This device measures the ligament forces and then the surgeon repairing a joint adjusts the length and the positioning of the ligaments to achieve the desired forces. This patent discloses measuring the ligament loading forces, whereas the present invention applies to any tissue surrounding the joint.
Another common problem solved by the present invention is that of achieving uniform measurements of forces and comparisons to insure satisfactory operations.


A data communications system which provides multiple logical channels on a passive optical network (PON) using subcarrier multiple access (SCMA). The PON includes multiple optical network units (ONU) which each communicate with a head-end over a logical channel. Collisions among upstream transmissions are thereby avoided and high speed Ethernet service over large distances is made possible.

Ethernet was designed for office environments, where distances between users (and distances between users and networking hubs) are relatively short (˜100 meters). Ethernet relies on a shared-bus architecture which is not particularly suited to applications where distances between users are substantially longer, such as in residential applications. In residential applications, a service provider such as a telephone company or an MSO (CATV service provider) might want to have its active equipment located in a central office or hub, which could be up to 20 km from subscribers.
When considering Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) or Fiber-to-the-Curb (FTTC) systems, one approach has been a type of network called a Passive Optical Network (PON). A general review of PONs can be found in an article by David W. Faulkner, et al. "Optical Networks for Local Loop Applications," J. Lightwave Technol. 7, pp. 1741–1751 (1989) and in an article by Yih-Kang Maurice Lin and Dan R. Spears, "Passive Optical Subscriber Loops with Multiaccess," J. Lightwave Technol. 7, pp. 1769–1777 (1989).
A schematic view of a typical PON is shown in FIG. 1. The PON connects a head-end 10 with a multiplicity of users 30 using passive optical components, such as optical fibers 50, 60 and splitters 40. This avoids having to provide power or maintenance to active components located in the field (often referred to as the "outside plant", or OSP). Generally, one or two feeder optical fibers 50 are run from the head-end 10 out to a passive splitter 40, which distributes the light from the head-end to drop fibers 60 that run to individual users. (For simplicity, FIG. 1 shows one drop fiber 60). At the end of each drop fiber 60, an active component called an Optical Network Unit (ONU) 20 converts the optical signal to an electrical signal for delivery to the customer. At the customer site, various types of Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) 30, such as telephones, computer modems, or televisions, can be attached.
PONs are cost-effective largely because the expensive distribution fiber and head-end equipment is shared over a large number of users. If only a single distribution fiber 50 is used for upstream (ONU to head-end) and downstream (head-end to ONU) transmissions, some means for separating the upstream and downstream signals is required. Similarly, some means is also required for separating the signals of the multiplicity of users. For example, in accordance with the Time Compression Multiplexing (TCM) protocol developed by NTT, time is divided into fairly long periods (˜1 ms) called "frames". In the first half of each frame, the head-end sends information out to the ONUs and in the other half of the frame, the ONUs send information to the head-end. The downstream portion of the frame is further subdivided into time slots in which the head-end sends packets addressed to individual ONUs. In the upstream portion of the frame, each ONU is given a time slot in which it is allowed to transmit.
Another approach is Subcarrier Multiple Access (SCMA). SCMA techniques in PONs are described in T. H. Wood, et al., "Demonstration of a Cost-Effective Broadband PON System," Phot. Technol. Lett. 6, pp. 575–578 (1994).
PONs can be configured to carry telephony, video, and data. See, for example, T. H. Wood et al., "Cost-Effective FTTH System Providing Broadband Data over Cable Modems along with Analog and Digital Video," Proceedings of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference, 1998, paper PD-28; and T. H. Wood et al., "FiberVista: A Cost-Effective Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) System Providing Broad-Band Data Over Cable Modems Along with Analog and Digital Video," IEEE Phot. Ltrs., Vol. 11, No. 4, April 1999. In the systems described therein, analog and digital video are transported downstream on a PON using a format appropriate for direct connection into a cable-ready TV or a digital set-top-box. Data is transmitted in a format ready for connection to a cable modem.
Both Ethernet and PONs are designed to operate on a shared medium—that is, many users share the same physical medium, and thus must avoid interfering with each other. Typical PONs and Ethernet solve this problem in completely different ways. Because the known protocols for carrying data on PONs (e.g., TCM or cable-modem signaling) are designed specifically for the PONs and are not related to native Ethernet signaling, conventional PONs require complicated interfaces between the PON and an Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC).
As described above, a common approach for upstream transmission in a PON is to have the head-end allocate to individual ONUs time slots during which each ONU can talk. This is termed Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA). If each ONU talks only when allowed, no collisions will occur. Ethernet, however, which is designed for shorter distances uses another approach: Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD). The operation of Ethernet is set forth in the IEEE 802.3 specification (which is described in R. Breyer et al., "Switched and Fast Ethernet", 2nd Ed., Ziff-Davis Press, Emeryville, Calif.) In accordance with CSMA/CD, each NIC listens to the bus before talking. If the bus is not in use, a NIC speaks (i.e., transmits a packet). Usually, the transmitted packet will get through to its destination. Nonetheless, there is still the possibility of a collision. This could occur when a first NIC (NIC1) talks, yet the bus appears available to a second NIC (NIC2) for a period of time after NIC1 has begun to talk. This period of time is due to the finite amount of time required for the packet transmitted from NIC1 to reach NIC2.
To solve this collision problem, the NICs continue to listen to the bus while they are talking. If a NIC senses someone else talking, the NIC stops talking and assumes that its packet did not make it through. The NIC then waits a short time and retransmits.
The CSMA/CD scheme works well if the time it takes for information to propagate from one NIC to another is short compared to the time it takes to transmit the shortest packet. If this condition is violated, NIC2 might finish transmitting its packet before the packet from NIC1 arrives, and NIC2 would think its packet got through when in fact it did not. Thus, Ethernet operation becomes problematic as the physical size of the bus (and thus the time it takes for a packet to propagate from one NIC to another) increases. This is one reason why Ethernet links are typically defined for distances of approximately only 100 m and why extending those distances to ranges on the order of 20 km has thus far not been practicable.

System for operating an Ethernet data network over a passive optical network access system


Disclosed is a medicine containing a long-lasting human growth hormone preparation as an active ingredient, which has low prolactin-like activity and shows long half-life in blood as compared with 22K human growth hormone. The long-lasting human growth hormone includes a fusion protein exhibiting growth-promoting activity and having a human serum albumin part and a 20K human growth hormone part, particularly a fusion protein in which the 20K human growth hormone part is linked to C-terminus of the human serum albumin part via a linker sequence.

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a protein whose mature form consists of 585 amino acids. HSA is the most abundant component of plasma proteins and has a long half-life of 14 to 20 days in plasma. HSA has the function of transporting endogenous substances such as fatty acids and exogenous substances such as drugs contained in the blood by combining with them. Low molecular weight substances such as drugs are taken into various organs, and then metabolized or excreted. However, substances bound to HSA are generally not to be well taken into organs and become able to circulate in the blood for a longer period of time.
Human serum albumin (HSA) has been known to have several natural variants. Human serum albumin Redhill is one of them (Non-patent Documents 1 and 2). In comparison with the amino acid sequence of the common human serum albumin consisting of 585 amino acids as mentioned above, human serum albumin Redhill differs in that alanine as the 320th amino acid residue from the N-terminus is replaced with threonine, and that one arginine residue is added to the N-terminus, it thus consists of 586 amino acids. This replacement of alanine with threonine give rise to a sequence Asn-Tyr-Thr within the amino acid sequence of albumin Redhill, and this Asn (asparagine) residue in that sequence receives N-glycosylation. Thus, the molecular weight of albumin Redhill is observed to be greater than that of the above common human serum albumin by approximately 2.5 kDa.
There has been reported a method to increase the stability of a protein, such as an enzyme, in plasma by fusing HSA with the protein (Non-patent document 1, Patent documents 1 and 2). A fusion protein of HSA and an enzyme or the like is to be produced, by incorporating a DNA fragment in which the genes encoding the HSA and a gene encoding the enzyme or the like are fused in frame into an expression vector and culturing transformed cells introduced with this expression vector, as a recombinant protein in the medium or in the cells.
Examples of proteins whose stability in plasma is increased by fusion with human serum albumin (HSA) include a fusion protein of HSA with G-CSF (Patent documents 3), a fusion protein of HSA with interferon (Patent document 4), a fusion protein of HSA with GLP-1 (Patent document 5), a fusion protein of HSA with insulin (Patent document 6), and the like.
Human growth hormone (hGH) is a protein secreted from the anterior pituitary under the control of hypothalamus, and is a single chain polypeptide consisting of 191 amino acids and internally cross-linked by two disulfide bonds. Human GH exhibits growth-promoting activity including acceleration of chondrogenesis, acceleration of protein anabolism, and the like, as well as improvement of body composition and lipids metabolism. Children with low secretion of hGH develop growth hormone deficiency short stature, which is characterized by short stature compared to healthy children.
Pharmaceutical preparations (hGH preparation) containing hGH as the active principle, which is prepared as a recombinant protein utilizing E. coli cells with an introduced hGH gene and has molecular weight of approximately 22 kDa, are clinically used widely as a therapeutic drug for growth hormone deficiency short stature, short stature in Turner syndrome, short stature in SGA (Small-for-Gestational Age), short stature by chronic renal failure, short stature in Prader-Willi syndrome, and short stature in achondroplasia, accompanied by no epiphyseal closure. After subcutaneous or intramuscular administration of an hGH preparation, it circulates in the blood, and its growth-promoting activity promotes growth of the patient. Preparations containing hGH are clinically used widely also as a therapeutic drug for adult growth hormone deficiency. Patients with adult growth hormone deficiency show various abnormalities such as abnormal lipid metabolism, and administration of hGH preparation will bring about improved QOL of the patients through, e.g., normalization of patients' lipid metabolism. Growject™, e.g., is available as an hGH preparation for growth hormone deficiency short stature and adult growth hormone deficiency.
HGH secreted from the anterior pituitary under the control of the hypothalamus includes hGH (22K hGH) having a molecular weight of about 22 kDa, and a variant (20K hGH) having a molecular weight of about 20 kDa, in which 15 amino acids is deleted at positions 32-46 from the N-terminus of the 191 amino acids that forms 22K hGH. The abundance ratio of 20K hGH in total hGH in blood is about 5 to 15%. It is also known that 20K hGH shows a growth-promoting activities equivalent to that of 22K hGH.
The stability of hGH in plasma is also increased by fusing it with human serum albumin (HSA) (Patent Documents 4, 5, and 7 to 10). However, all of these reports relate to a fusion protein of HSA and 22K hGH.
Those attempts to improve stability of hGH in plasma were made in response to clinical needs. The half-life of hGH in plasma is regarded to be less than 20 minutes, and hGH administered to a patient thus quickly disappears from the blood. For hGH to exhibit its pharmacological activity in a patient, therefore, it must be administered to the patient either three times a week intramuscularly or everyday subcutaneously. Such frequent administration imposes a burden on patients. So, reduction of administration frequency, if achieved by increasing the stability of hGH in plasma and thereby elongating its half-life in plasma, would be desirable as leading to reduction of patients' burden.

Serum albumin-20K growth hormone fusion protein


A collaboration agent for facilitating real-time communications on behalf of a user. The collaboration agent includes a conference bridge that anchors calls to the conference bridge. The collaboration agent uses contextual information associated with the user to manage the real-time communications. The collaboration agent can communicate with other collaboration agents associated with other users.

Managing real-time communications, such as telephone calls, text messages, and instant messaging (IM) messages, can be time-consuming and frustrating at times. In a business environment, individuals frequently feel compelled to respond to real-time communications as quickly as possible, but may be unable to do so because the individuals are currently engaged in communicating with someone else. For example, an individual may be using a work phone to participate in a conference call when the individual is alerted that a call is coming in on a second line of the work phone. Other than observe the calling party's phone number, there is little the individual can do. The calling party may then attempt to call the individual's cell phone, and when that is similarly unsuccessful in reaching the individual, attempt to send the individual a text message or an instant message. The individual may be aware of each of these attempts by the calling party to reach the individual, but be unable to communicate with the calling party without disrupting the conference call. When the conference call is over, the individual may have to contact multiple voice messaging systems to determine whether or not the calling party left a message and the purpose of the call. The individual may only later learn that the calling party had an urgent need to contact the individual for a reason that, had the individual been aware of it, would have caused the individual to terminate participation in the conference call to accept the call from the calling party.
Business environments frequently have one or more sources of information that are useful in determining an individual's availability, presence, or location. For example, most business environments enable their employees to use an electronic calendar to schedule and keep track of meetings. For a particular meeting, the electronic calendar may include information such as a time and date of the meeting, the attendees of the meeting, and a physical location or dial-in information associated with the meeting. Business environments may also enable their employees to communicate with each other via instant messaging, which may include features such as presence indicators which can be used to indicate availability and willingness-to-communicate states of the respective employee. While aspects of these information sources may be visible to other users of the same application, they are not typically used in a real-time application that manages voice communications and other real-time communications. However, such information may be very valuable in establishing and facilitating communications between individuals. For example, in the example provided previously, had the calling party reached a service that could access the individual's electronic calendar, the calling party may have been able to determine another time they would be likely to reach the individual. Alternately, had the calling party reached a service that could indicate the individual was present in their office based on presence information associated with the individual, the calling party may have been able to simply walk to the individual's office. In general, it would be extremely helpful in today's business environment if an intelligent agent could help manage an individual's real-time communications based on information maintained about the individual in one or more information sources.


The lens suction jig installing apparatus of the present invention comprises a position adjustable pedestal for holding a spectacle lens where a plurality of indices are formed that are provided with a predetermined space on a surface; a position adjusting device for displacing the pedestal within the position adjustable range; an image capture device for capturing an image of the spectacle lens; an image processing device for image-processing to detect the indices based on the image of the spectacle lens; a display device for displaying an image; a display control device for controlling in order to make the display device display an image of the spectacle lens image-captured by the image capture device and an image of the indices obtained by the image-processing; and a jig installing device for installing a lens sucking lens at a predetermined position of the spectacle lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lens suction jig installing apparatus and a method of determining a lens position using the apparatus thereof, and in particular to an improvement thereof in determining a lens position when installing a lens suction jig to a progressive multi-focal lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
A raw spectacle lens having an approximately spherical surface cutout shape with a predetermined size has been provided these days. The raw spectacle lens is edged to have a shape that fits with a shape of an eyeglass frame.
Edging process for the raw eyeglass lenses is performed by an edging process apparatus. Because the processing by the edging process apparatus is conducted with a processing center of the lens as a reference, the processing center of the lens is obtained beforehand prior to the processing. A lens suction cup (a lens suction jig) is installed at the processing center, which is carried out by a lens suction jig installing apparatus.
By the way, the spectacle lens contains some types such as a single focal lens, a bifocal lens (multi-focal lens), and a progressive multi-focal lens. The processing center of the single focal lens is an optical center thereof. The processing center of the multi-focal lens and progressive multi-focal lens is their respective eye-point positions (EP values).
The optical center of the single focal lens can be obtained relatively easily using a lens meter. On the other hand, the eye-point position for each of the multi-focal lens and the progressive multi-focal lens is specified, with an appropriate index formed beforehand for their respective raw lenses as a reference.
For example, the multi-focal lens has a near portion segment formed, and the eye-point position thereof is set, with a contour of the segment as a reference. On the other hand, since the progressive multi-focal lens does not have a segment formed as the multi-focal lens does, no distinction can be made between a near portion and a far portion of the lens at a first sight. Accordingly, since the progressive multi-focal lens has a line (a second index) for indicating a boundary between the near portion and the far portion and a symbol such as "+", printed on the surface of the lens, for showing the far portion, the eye-point position can be found regarding the line as a reference.
The printed second index is not represented in a step where a raw lens is manufactured by, for example, a cast, but is added after the shape is formed.
That is, more than two indices (first indices) called concave or convex hidden marks are formed on the surface of a raw progressive multi-focal lens during a step of forming a shape, and the second index is printed based on the first indices after forming a shape.
The first indices include, for example, two marks that stipulate a boundary line between the near portion and the distant portion as described above. However, there is a case in which, in addition to the marks, letters and symbols such as figures representing a difference in refracting power between the near portion and the distant portion are added.
The letters additionally formed may be used to distinguish left from right by the fact that the position of the letters for the left eye lens is made different from that for the right eye lens. It is natural that even if letters are not additionally provided, a distinction between left and right can be easily made by making the two marks themselves mutually different.
The conventional lens suction jig installing apparatus holds a spectacle lens having the first index and the second index described above on a position adjustable pedestal. Making an image capture device capture the spectacle lens, an image obtained as the spectacle lens is displayed on the display. At the same time, the image obtained as the spectacle lens is graphically processed to detect the first and second indices. Based on the detected first and second indices, an installing position of the lens suction cup (processing position) is obtained, and the lens suction cup is sucked at the installing position. See, for example, Japanese Patent Publication 2000-19058 and Japanese Patent Publication 2002-26083.
As shown in FIG. 50, paint marks (printed marks) such as a horizontal line HL in progressive multi-focal lens, a cross mark Ma, a distant position display mark Mf, a near position display mark Mn, a hidden mark Hm, and an approximate suction position are different depending on lens manufacturers or types of lens. In addition, manufacturing errors are not precisely in print.
For example, the paint mark (printed mark) such as a mark representing an approximate suction position is marked at predetermined positions such as 0.00 mm, 2.0 mm, and 4,0 mm (in FIG. 50, X2=approximately 4.0 mm). In reality, the paint mark is drawn at a position X1 off he predetermined position X2. It is a well-known fact in the spectacle processing industry that the paint mark is marked at the wrong position X1.
Accordingly, when a suction jig is installed based on these marks, an error is piled up, which prevents correct suction work. If lens cutting process is performed according to the suction position, it is possible that incorrect lens processing is conducted.
If the types of lens can be determined regarding these marks, a manual by a lens manufacturer shows that predetermined values such as 0.0 mm, 2.0 mm and 4.0 mm are indicated, which can specify suction positions. However, reading a manual every time reduces working efficiency, which prevents speedy suction work and lens grinding process.

Lens suction jig installing apparatus and method of determining lens position using apparatus thereof


A ceiling fan blade includes a lower blade and an upper blade combined together. The lower blade is provided with a recess and secured thereon with a plurality of engage fasteners, and the upper blade is formed with a recess and embedded therein with a plurality of engage posts respectively corresponding with the engage fasteners. The engage post is engaged with the engage fastener to form a one-way engagement for reinforcing combination of the upper blade with the lower blade. The ceiling fan blade of this invention can not only conform to environmental protection but also avoid being broken apart when used to insure safety in use. In addition, the ceiling fan blade of this invention is hollow in structure, able to lighten the blade, and no locking member is provided on the surface of the blade, able to keep beautiful external features of the ceiling fan.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ceiling fan blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common ceiling fan includes a motor having a rotating shaft provided thereon with a plurality of blade holders respectively secured with a blade so that the blades of the ceiling fan can be driven to rotate by the motor and, for facilitating the blades to be driven to rotate by the motor, the common ceiling fan blade is hollow in structure in order to lighten the blade. A conventional ceiling fan blade is generally composed of an upper blade and a lower blade stuck and combined together by means of adhesives and having an accommodating space formed between the upper and the lower blades.
However, a great quantity of adhesive must be employed for sticking and combining the upper blade and the lower blade of the conventional ceiling fan together and thus, it is not only unfriendly to the environment but also likely to cause degumming to the blades and render the blades burst apart to endanger users when the conventional ceiling fan blades are used. Although locking members can be used to lock the upper and the lower blades together and reinforce their combination, yet the locking members, after locked, will be exposed to the surface of the blade to spoil the external looks of the conventional ceiling fan. Therefore, having been devoted to research and production of various kinds of ceiling fans and related parts for many years and having much experience in marketing, the inventor of this invention thinks that it is really necessary to ameliorate the conventional ceiling fan blade and devise an ideal ceiling fan blade.


To provide novel low-temperature sinterable copper particles that can be sintered even at a low temperature of, for example, around 100° C. or less, and a method for producing a sintered body by using the same. The low-temperature sinterable copper particles according to the present invention are coated with a carboxylic acid, and a surface of the copper particle is oxidized so as to have a cuprous oxide fraction (Cu2O/(Cu+Cu2O)) in the copper particle of 4% by mass or less or so as to have an average coating thickness of cuprous oxide of 10 nm or less. The low-temperature sinterable copper particles are subjected to low-temperature firing in an atmosphere of 0.01 Pa or less.

In recent years, a technique called "printable electronics", which directly forms micron-class fine wiring by inkjet or a printing method using conductive ink containing metal particles, has been receiving attention as an environmental friendly technique that does not require the exposure and etching used in conventional production of printed boards and does not emit harmful chemical substances.
A film of conductive ink prepared by printing or the like has extremely low electrical conductivity because it is aggregates of independent metal particles in the state as it is. Therefore, the metal particles are subjected to heat treatment to form a sintered body, and as a result of which the electric conductivity is obtained. Conventionally, from the viewpoint of the heat resistance of a substrate and the like, sintering at a low temperature, for example, less than 250 to 350° C. has been required, but recently, in particular, in order to apply a low-melting point material, which is inexpensive and has high supplying ability, to a flexible substrate or the like, it has been desired to form a sintered body by heat treatment at a lower temperature such as 100° C., or in addition to this, to form a sintered body in a short time of around 15 minutes in the application to a die bonding material.
In the present situation, silver, which can be sintered at a low temperature of around 150° C., is frequently used for printable electronics and a die bonding material.
However, since silver is expensive and there is a concern about the effect of a wiring short circuit due to ion migration, copper, which has a function equivalent to that of silver, is inexpensive, and has high ion-migration resistance, has been attracting attention.
But copper has a problem that when formed into fine particles, copper is easily oxidized, and high-density sintering cannot be performed at a low temperature, and thus copper has not yet been put into practical use. The introduction of an organic protective agent for preventing the oxidation makes the low-temperature sintering even more difficult since the organic protective agent itself does not decompose at a low temperature.
In contrast, the present inventors, have developed a technique to achieve low-temperature sintering at 200° C. or lower by a two-step sintering method (Patent Literature 1), and introduction of copper complex ink (Patent Literature 2).
As another approach separately from the above, a vacuum sintering method has been proposed (Non Patent Literature 1). In this method, copper particles coated with an alkylamine-based organic protective agent are preheated in air without pressurization or under a vacuum about 0.1 Pa, and then the preheated copper particles are again heated to 250-400° C. The oxidation states of the surfaces of the copper particles have been analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and it has been reported that the sintering characteristics of the copper particles oxidized by performing the preheating step in the air are deteriorated.
In Patent Literature 3, a coated copper particle coated with an aliphatic carboxylic acid having an aliphatic group with 5 or more carbon atoms and having a size in a specific range, has been proposed. Patent Literature 3 discloses that by using copper formate as a starting material and allowing to proceed the thermal decomposition reduction reaction of a copper formate complex in a liquid phase, the formation of copper oxide is suppressed in the thermal decomposition treatment of the copper formate complex, the physical adsorption of the aliphatic carboxylic acid is promoted, and a copper particle free of cuprous oxide and copper oxide is produced. Patent Literature 3 also discloses that by using the copper particle, sintering is performed at 300° C.

Low-temperature sinterable copper particle and method for producing sintered body by using the same

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY CORPORATION HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY


A method of intelligently selecting a signal source and associated apparatus is provided. The method comprises the following steps. A display is activated. The display detects activities of a plurality of connection ports to determine at least one active video source. The display displays an image according to the at least one active video source and/or a priority. The connection ports can be an HDMI port, a DVI port, an A/V port or a Y/Pb/Pr port.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of intelligently selecting a signal source and an associated apparatus, and more particularly, to a method of intelligently selecting a signal source by intelligently auto-configuring AV inputs and associated apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With speedy advancements in multimedia technology, miscellaneous audio-video apparatuses are used for providing data transmission and sense enjoyment of images and voices. However, as the audio-video technology changes with each passing day, image signals and voice signals with various signal standards come with the tide of fashion. Digital televisions usually support various I/O interfaces, for example, video signals include a composite video broadcast signal (CVBS), an S video signal, a component video signal (Y, Pb, or Pr), etc.
In the market nowadays, three kinds of analog video signals can be found by consumers, which are the composite video broadcast signal, the S video signal, and the component video signal. The composite video broadcast signal transmits its luminance signal mixed up with its chrominance signal together to be compatible to both gray-scale and color television systems in order to save bandwidths.
The S terminal transmits the luminance signal (Y) and the chrominance signal (C) separately. Please note that the component video signals in different television system use different symbol representatives. For example, the chrominance signals of an NTSC system are expressed by I signal and Q signal, and the chrominance signals of PAL system are expressed by U signal and V signal. The component video signals include Y, Cb, and Cr (or Y, Pb, and Pr), where Y represents the luminance signal and Cb and Cr represent the chrominance signal.
Therefore, most multimedia devices and monitors will support the A/V terminals, the S terminal, and the component video signal terminals to satisfy the user's demands. An audio-video connection port may include three A/V terminals and three chrominance terminals. Some monitors are equipped with several audio-video connection ports and connect to several video players. Hence, many connectors having the same appearance are installed adjacently. Wrong connection happens often, especially when the RCA connectors of the multimedia devices, such as televisions, are not easily accessible by the user due to facing to a wall. So, apparatuses cannot operate or display normally.
On the other hand, most of multimedia devices, such as flat panel displays, are equipped with a plurality of connection ports for connecting composite video terminals, S terminals and component video signal terminals. A flat panel display becomes a recreation center of modern life, for watching broadcasting TV programs, cable programs, pay programs, watching DVDs, and playing game machines, including PS3, Wii and XBOX etc. Each video source, along with accompanying audio source, requires a connection port of the display. For different video purposes, whenever the display is turned on, the user needs to select a correct video source to normally display. Therefore, selecting a video source for a multimedia device bothers the user seriously, especially accompanying wrong connection problems described above.

Method of intelligently selecting a signal source and associated apparatus


A caterpillar band chain (1) has an attachment or hinge area (3, 4) including connectors (10) which are situated on the outside. The connectors (10) clamp bolts (20, 21) in a rotationally fixed manner. The bolts (20, 21) are mounted in rubber mountings (18) in tubes (6, 7).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a caterpillar or track-laying band chain for tracked vehicles and snowmobiles, which comprises individual and readily exchangeable band segments.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A rubber block chain is known from U.S. Pat. No. 1,966,450. The length of the rubber block is slightly less than the chain pitch. Screwed connectors are provided on the outside for connecting the rubber blocks. The connectors clamp hollow bolts in a rotationally fixed manner. These hollow bolts are vulcanized in the rubber block.
A caterpillar or track-laying band chain is also known from European Patent Application No. 0 410 216, in which band sections are connected using steel articulating elements. The articulating elements are themselves connected to one another using a steel bolt. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the driving behavior of the vehicle is adversely affected by excessive imbalances on account of the articulated closing points.

Caterpillar band chain for tracked vehicles


A rotatable drum arrangement, wherein the drum is mounted on support rings such that circumferential expansion and contraction of the drum relative to said support rings does not adversely affect the mounting. In a preferred embodiment, drum blocks are mounted to the drum, and corresponding ring blocks are mounted to the support ring. The side surfaces of adjacent drum blocks and ring blocks support the weight of the drum on the ring. In this arrangement, gaps may be maintained between the drum and support ring that allow for expansion and contraction of the drum. In the preferred embodiment, there is also a drive sprocket mounted on the drum with a sprocket mounting arrangement that also accommodates expansion and contraction of the drum.

Hollow, rotatable, cylindrical drums are often used in the asphalt industry and in other industries for heating or mixing bulk materials. These drums are typically supported on a base by a plurality of support rings, which encircle the drum. Usually, there is a mounting arrangement which fixes the support ring to the drum. There are often problems with these mounting arrangements, because the drum is often rapidly heated and cooled, causing it to expand and contract relative to the support ring. Depending upon the mounting arrangement used, the expansion and contraction of the drum relative to the support ring may cause mounting bolts to pull free, may cause welds to fail, and/or may cause the drum to distort.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,031 issued to Kirchoff describes one attempt at ameliorating problems related to expansion and contraction of the drum relative to the support rings. In that reference, wedges are mounted to both the drum and support ring, and the drum is supported on the ring by the inclined surfaces of the wedges. There is a radial gap between the wedges mounted on the drum and the support ring, so that the drum can expand and the drum wedges can shift radially outwardly without pressing against the inside of the support ring. However, there are several problems with this reference that are ameliorated by the present invention.
First, if it is necessary to remove the ring of Kirchoff to repair it, it is difficult to remove and cannot be removed without losing the alignment between the ring and the drum. Second, the Kirchoff design requires substantial labor to cut the metal pieces into wedge shapes, and, because the pieces have to be cut, the final finish would be rough, which does not provide good surface contact. This leads to plastic deformation, which increases the gap between the wedges, causing the drum to be eccentric with the support ring, which adversely affects the drive alignment. Third, the Kirchoff design requires many wedge-shaped pieces to be mounted on the ring and the drum, which involves substantial labor and material expense. Fourth, the Kirchoff design makes it difficult to install the ring on the drum so as to ensure proper alignment of all the wedges.


A backlight module including a light box, a plurality of light source sets, and a heat dissipation device is provided. The light box has a bottom and a light-emitting section. The bottom has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The light source sets are disposed on the first surface, and each of the light source sets includes a substrate disposed on the first surface and a plurality of point light sources disposed on the substrate. The heat dissipation device is disposed on the second surface. The heat dissipation device includes a thermal assembly and at least one fan, and the thermal assembly includes a plurality of covers. Each of the covers is individually disposed on the second surface at a position below one of the light source sets, and an air flow channel is formed between each cover and the bottom.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a plane light source device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a backlight module.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a conventional backlight module, and FIG. 1B is a top view of the backlight module of FIG. 1A. Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a plurality of light source sets 120 is disposed on a bottom 112 of a light box 110 of a conventional backlight module 100. Each of the light source sets 120 includes a substrate 122 and a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 124 disposed on the substrate 122. In the backlight module 100, the heat generated by the LEDs 124 is conducted to the bottom 112 of the light box 110 via the substrate 122. Conventionally, a fan 130 is used to generate a forced convection to reduce the temperature at the bottom 112 of the light box 110, so as to achieve the purpose of heat dissipation.
However, the air flow generated by the conventional fan 130 is capable of effectively reducing the temperature of a portion of the bottom 112 of the light box 110 near the fan 130 only, so the temperature of the rest portion of the bottom 112 of the light box 110 far away from the fan 130 is still quite high. In other words, the air flow generated by the fan 130 cannot effectively dissipate the heat of the entire bottom 112 of the light box 110, and the temperature at the bottom 112 of the light box 110 is not uniform. In addition, as the air flow generated by the fan 130 only reduces the temperature of a portion of the bottom 112 near the fan 130, a portion of the heat generated by the LEDs 124 cannot be effectively conducted to the external environment with the air flow generated by the fan 130 after being conducted to the bottom 112 of the light box 110. Therefore, the heat dissipation efficiency of the backlight module 100 is unsatisfactory, so the luminance of the LEDs 124 declines as the temperature increases, and color shift will occur as well. In another aspect, if the temperature difference of the LEDs in the entire backlight module is over high, the problem of uneven luminance will also occur.

Backlight module with a heat dissipation device


An optical fiber array connector in which the tolerance of the diameter of the mask openings are not factors in the overall positioning of the plurality of fibers. The array includes a mask element with rear and forward surfaces and a plurality of openings that communicate through these surfaces. A plurality of optical fibers include fiber ends having substantially truncated conical side surfaces that extend through the openings and engage the portions of the mask openings nearest the mask rear surface. A method includes preparing the fibers to form a conical surface at their distal ends, preparing the openings in the primary mask each with a diameter less than the diameter of the fiber cladding or second layer, inserting the conical fiber ends until the conical surfaces engage the mask opening walls, applying bonding material to the mask forward surface and exposed tips, grinding and polishing the exposed tips and bonding material surface to truncate the cones and expose the fiber core diameters.

The present invention relates to fiber optic arrays and more particularly to high precision fiber optic arrays and methods of making the same.
Fiberoptics has been the driving force in the communication revolution which has enabled carriers to achieve enormous data throughput. In order to realize the full potential of the technology, fiberoptics will be incorporated into every facet of the integrated electronics, which will then make it possible to fully utilize the enormous bandwidth of the optical fiber with the high speeds of the semiconductor integrated circuitry.
To this end, arrays of optical fibers need to be coupled precisely and reliably to semiconductor laser and detector arrays on a chip. Already, various groups throughout the world have demonstrated feasibility of high speed optoelectronic VLSI switching and two dimensional fiberoptic arrays for an optical crossbar switch. See, for example, High-Speed Optoelectronic VLSI Switching Chip with>4000 Optical I/O Based on Flip-Chip Bonding of MQW Modulators and Detectors to Silicon CMOS, Anthony L. Lentine, et al., IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 77, April 1996, and Fabrication of Two-Dimensional Fiber Optic Arrays for an Optical Crossbar Switch, Geoff M. Proudley, Henry White, Optical Engineering, February 1994, Vol. 33 No.2., pp. 627-635., incorporated herein by reference.
The above publications purport to achieve a fiber array positional accuracy of approximately +/-5 micrometers. However, the fact that the precision achievable with optoelectronic devices such as charge couple devices (CCD's), photodetector and laser using semiconductor technology is almost an order of magnitude (0.5 micrometers) or better indicates a strong need for new switching array designs and manufacturing techniques to attain much better fiber array precision so that these technologies function together.
Fiberguide Industries has already produced 10.times.10 arrays with positional accuracies (center-to-center spacing error) of better than +/-5 micrometers. The process used takes advantage of the positional accuracy provided by the excimer laser machined 0.010" thick polyimide wafers used in the assembly of the arrays.
Notwithstanding the above mentioned process, a need exists for high precision fiber arrays with center-to-center spacing errors not exceeding .+-.2 micrometers.

High precision optical fiber array connector and method


An object of the present invention is to provide a novel monomer compound having a lactone structure which gives polymers having more excellent feature as resist material, etc.

In the field of semiconductors, tendency for a high integration is more and more progressing in recent years and various properties are also required for resist materials used therefor. Examples of the required properties are hydrophobicity, heat resistance, appropriate polarity and appropriate solubility in various organic solvents as well as transparency and stability. With regard to substances having such properties, development for compounds having a lactone structure has been well-carried out in recent years. For example, (meth) acrylate compounds having a tricyclic lactone structure are disclosed in JP-A-2000-26446 and JP-A-2000-159758.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a compound represented by the following formula [1]:

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are an alkyl group; R3 and R4 are each independently hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; R5 is hydrogen atom, acryloyl group or methacryloyl group; and X is a methylene group which may have an alkyl group or an ethylene group which may have an alkyl group.

Abstract: The present invention provides a compound having a lactone structure which gives a polymer having more excellent feature particularly as a resist material and also provides a hydroxy lactone being useful as a material, etc. therefor.


A multilayer piezoelectric element includes first and second internal electrodes laminated alternately, and a piezoelectric layer disposed therebetween. The first internal electrodes are connected to each other, and the second internal electrodes are connected to each other, via through holes that penetrate the piezoelectric layer in the laminated direction. The first internal electrode is formed so that its periphery portion is exposed on the side face of the multilayer piezoelectric element. The second internal electrode is formed so that its periphery portion is positioned inside the side face.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer piezoelectric element.
2. Description of Related Art
Multilayer piezoelectric elements are used as drivers such as fuel injectors of internal combustion engines for their ability to perform minute displacement. Conventionally, multilayer piezoelectric element 501 of which the cross section view is shown in FIG. 9 has been known. Multilayer piezoelectric element 501 is formed by laminating first internal electrodes 505 and second internal electrodes 507 alternately and disposing piezoelectric layer 503 between first internal electrode 505 and second internal electrode 507. In multilayer piezoelectric element 501, first internal electrodes 505 are connected to each other and second internal electrodes 507 are connected to each other via through holes respectively, and each internal electrode is positioned so as not to be exposed on side face 517 in order to prevent migration from occurring through side face 517.
First internal electrodes 505 are connected to each other via through hole 509 which penetrates piezoelectric layer 503 in the laminated direction so that first internal electrodes 505 are electrically connected to terminal 513. Second internal electrodes 507 are connected to each other via through hole 511 so that second internal electrodes 507 are electrically connected to terminal 515. First and second internal electrodes 505, 507 are disposed so that their periphery portions are positioned inside side face 517 (For example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-261055).


A plurality of detachable and foldable shopping bags is further provided with a securing ring. When a bag is completely folded-up it is secured from unfolding via fastening element. The bag can then be fastened onto the securing ring via a spring clip for storage. A desired amount of bags can be removed from the securing ring when needed to retain items. The securing ring also comprises another spring clip utilized to secure the ring with attached bags onto a desired item.

Recreational activities, including shopping, often times necessitate a means to carry recreational accessories, or shopped items as the case may be. It is desirous to have convenient access to a carrying apparatus(es) for such purposes. It is also desirous to be alleviated of the burdens and restrictions associated with maintaining such convenient access to these carrying apparatus(es).
Light-weight shopping and tote bags exist. Currently, convenient access to such bags either requires a user to transport the bags on their person or having the bags marshalled at the recreational/shopping site. Both forms of convenient access impose restrictions on the user. Transporting the bags on their person imposes the burdens of stowing and hauling the bags, which can be unsightly, annoying, and awkward. Having the bags marshalled at the recreational/shopping site limits the user in exercising discretion regarding the type of bag to be used because the user is forced to use a bag that is most conducive to the operator of the recreational/shopping site. Furthermore, shopping establishments are increasingly becoming "bagless", requiring patrons to bring and use their own bags. This effort to become bagless reduces cost for the business and is generally more salutary to environmental sustainability efforts by reducing refuse, especially plastic refuse. Even where shopping establishments have not become bagless, patrons frequently do not obtain a bag until after checking out. Therefore, patrons are forced to hand-carry their shopped items as they continue to peruse the store before finally checking out.
It is desirable to avail oneself of the benefits of both forms of convenient access while reducing the burdens and restrictions associated with either form. In doing so, it would be beneficial to have a device that would conveniently stow a plurality of bags in a compact and easily accessible manner. Additionally, that device would stow the bags in an aesthetically pleasing configuration. Another desirable feature is for the device itself to removably attach by way of a lanyard to purses, key chains, and the like.


A network management system is provided for allowing a user to interface with network management data provided by a network agent via a network. Application level logic obtains and formats the network management data to thereby create a display presented to the user. A library of software processing structures for sharing data with the network agent is provided, and an abstraction layer distinct from the library is configured in communication with the application level logic. The abstraction layer includes a pusher feature configured to facilitate the writing of data from the application level logic to the network agent and a puller feature configured to facilitate the reading of data from the network agent to the application level logic. The abstraction layer uses the library to communicate with the network agent via the network while isolating the application level logic from the library.

Due the size of modern wireless networks, it has become difficult to plan, monitor, manage, and troubleshoot the system as a whole. There has been a dramatic increase in demand for mobile connectivity solutions utilizing various wireless components and wireless local area networks (WLANs). Such WLANs generally include multiple wireless access points that communicate with mobile devices using one or more RF channels (e.g., in accordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards). The number of mobile units and associated access ports, as well as the number of RFID readers and associated antennae, can be very large in an enterprise. As the number of components increases, the management and configuration of those components becomes complicated and time-consuming.
Management software typically includes one or more user interfaces that incorporate management information base (MIB) entries and user interface applets. Currently known systems, however, are limited with respect to their ability to create user interfaces (e.g., Java interfaces) based on these MIBs.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved methods of generating user interface structures. In particular, it is desirable to provide improved techniques and systems for pushing and pulling data between a database (e.g. an SNMP MIB) and a user application. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Methods and systems for pushing and pulling network data in user interface design


The starter for an engine of a vehicle includes a motor generating torque for starting the engine, an output shaft configured to move in an axial direction thereof by being pressed at a pressure-receiving portion thereof, and applied with the torque to rotate, and a lever switch configured to press the pressure-receiving portion of the output shaft at a pressure-applying portion thereof in accordance with an external command so that a pinion rotatably fixed to the output shaft engages with a gear of the engine to thereby start the engine. A protection member rotatable with respect to the pressure-receiving portion is provided between the pressure-receiving portion and the pressure-applying portion. The pressure-applying portion facing the pressure-receiving portion across from the protection member is formed with a groove to be filled by lubricant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starter having a shift lever for pushing out a pinion thereof, so that the pinion engages with a ring gear of a vehicle engine to start the engine.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known to provide such a starter with means for reducing wear of its shift lever as described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-213329, and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 62-82365.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-213329 discloses that a shift lever of a starter is formed with a hole at its end portion pressing an axially movable body, and this hole is filled by grease. The grease filled in the hole eases the friction between the end portion of the shift lever and the axially movable body, to reduce the wear of them. Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 62-82365 discloses that a shift lever of a starter is coated with a heat-resistant and wear-resistant material at its pinion pressing portion. This coating can reduce wear of the pinion pressing portion.
Incidentally, if such a starter enters the so called overrun state where a pinion of the starter is not pushed back by a shift lever after an engine is started, and accordingly the pinion continues to be engaged with a ring gear of the engine, a motor of the starter is caused to rotate at high speed by an engine torque. To avoid occurrence of such an overrun state, it is common that a one-way clutch is disposed between the motor and the pinion.
Here, in a case where the shift lever is configured to press a specific portion between the motor and the one-way clutch to push out the pinion, this specific portion can be prevented from being caused to rotate at a high speed while the starter is in the overrun state, because the one-way clutch blocks torque transmission from the engine to the starter. However, in a different case where the shift lever is configured to press a different specific portion between the one-way clutch and the pinion to push out the pinion, this portion is caused to rotate at high speed by the engine torque while the starter is in the overrun state. In the latter case, the friction between the shift lever and the specific portion becomes very large when there occurs the overrun state, and it cannot be reduced sufficiently by adopting the above described structure in which a hole is made in the end portion of the shift lever, and the hole is filled by grease. Accordingly, there has been a problem that the shift lever, which is generally made of a thermoplastic resin, may be worn and deformed by friction heat at its end portion.
Although the friction between the shift lever and the specific portion when there occurs the overrun state can be effectively suppressed by coating the end portion of the shift lever with a heat-resistant and wear-resistant material, there arises another problem in this case that the production cost of the shift lever becomes considerably high, because resin is very difficult to coat. It may occur that the shift lever is made of metal which is easy to coat. However, the production cost of the shift lever is still high in this case compared to the case of the shift lever being made of resin.


The present invention is related to a network interface device 10 and a network interface module 50 for mounting therein. The network interface device 10 features two covers 12, 32. The first cover 32 restricts access to the service provider section of the device, and the second cover 12 covers both the service provider section 24 and the subscriber section 22. The network interface module 50 is profiled to span between the subscriber section 22 and the service provider section 24 so as to eliminate the need for separate components in each section.

Network interface devices provide limited access by a subscriber or customer for testing by the subscriber of the subscriber premises wiring, at a telephone junction box where the subscriber premises wiring is connected to circuits of the telephone service provider. Such junction boxes are also fully accessible to service personnel of the telephone company after installation. One such network interface device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,209 for a plurality of subscribers, wherein an enclosure includes a primary lid extending over the entire enclosure and securable by service personnel, and a secondary lid over the subscriber-accessible portion of the enclosure securable by the subscribers; such enclosures commonly provide access to the subscriber-accessible portion by service personnel but the subscriber-accessible portion remains secured against any unauthorized person. Individual modules within the subscriber-accessible portion are disclosed to include individual security covers such that each subscriber module is secured against access by the other subscribers.
The individual subscriber module includes a test port or jack electrically connected to both the premises wiring and the subscriber-dedicated circuits of the telephone service provider, such as wires extending to a distribution cable, enabling the subscriber to remove the port cover and insert the plug of a telephone or other test device to discover the location of a fault disrupting the subscriber's service. Successful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the premises wiring and thus is the responsibility of the subscriber, whereas an unsuccessful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the circuits of the telephone service provider. The performance of such testing by the subscriber enables the subscriber to first determine the location of the fault prior to arranging with the telephone company for a service call, thus saving the subscriber the expense of a telephone company service call when the fault lies in the premises wiring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,920 is disclosed a subscriber module having a test port or jack in which pairs of contacts are interconnected by a dedicated plug inserted thereinto to complete circuits between the telephone cable and the premises wiring for regular inservice use. When the dedicated plug is removed during an investigation of a fault, another plug joined to a telephone device is insertable by the subscriber to again complete the circuits to determine the presence or absence of a fault in the telephone company wiring. The dedicated plug of the module is adapted to seal the jack cavity when in position, protecting the contacts exposed in the jack, and is joined to the module by a lanyard when removed from the jack. Conductors of the premise wiring are easily terminable by insulation displacement techniques to terminals using a stuffer cap, with the terminals connected to first contacts of the jack contact pairs by circuit board traces, while second contacts of the pairs are connected by other board traces to conductors connected to the distribution cable.
A problem exists with each of these subscriber modules in that the modules are insertable into the network interface device such that the module resides in a subscriber accessible section of such a network interface device. A pair of wires extends from the subscriber module through a divider or a wall into the service provider section of the network interface device for connection to protection circuits and service cables. The protection circuits are typically provided in a separate device mountable inside the service provider section. Therefore, two devices, a subscriber network interface module and a protection device, are necessary in order to complete the circuit between the service provider section and the subscriber section of the network interface device.


A treadmill includes an external frame, an internal frame connected to the external frame, a belt in the form of a loop supported on the internal frame and a buffering apparatus for buffering the internal frame. The buffering apparatus includes a crossbar and two buffer sets. The crossbar is rotationally provided on the external frame between various positions. Each of the buffer sets includes a plurality of buffering blocks made with different elastic coefficients so that a selected one of the buffering blocks is brought into contact with the internal frame when the crossbar is in a related one of the positions.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a treadmill and, more particularly, to a buffering apparatus for use in a treadmill.
2. Related Prior Art
Many people live a busy and stressed life. Exercise of an adequate quantity and an appropriate intensity is good for the physical and mental health of these people and even for their efficiencies while working.
Treadmills are popular in gyms and homes because they are easily operable and help people of almost all ages enjoy exercise. As treadmills are getting popular, people are paying more attention to their safety on treadmills. That is, people are paying more attention to the strength and reliability of treadmills. To this end, people tend to make bigger treadmills. However, bigger treadmills are heavier and occupy more space. Moreover, bigger treadmills cost more since materials are more and more expensive.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.


The present invention provides a substrate for liquid crystal display devices in which a spacer for holding a thickness of a liquid crystal cell can be selectively located in a non-displaying area by techniques of using an ink-jet system and the like, particularly on a substrate for liquid crystal display devices provided with a projection for alignment regulation of a liquid crystal on its surface, a liquid crystal display panel using the substrate for liquid crystal display devices, a liquid crystal display device, and a method of producing the liquid crystal display panel. The substrate for liquid crystal display devices of the present invention is a substrate for liquid crystal display devices having a light-blocking area and a pixel area, including: a projection structure provided within a light-blocking area in a liquid crystal display device along a part of or all of patterns of the light-blocking area in the liquid crystal display device.

A liquid crystal display device is used in various areas exploiting the advantages of being slim and lightweight, and low power consumption. A liquid crystal display panel (liquid crystal display element), used as a primary member in such a liquid crystal display device, generally has a constitution in which a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between a pair of glass substrates and a distance (cell gap) between two glass substrates is kept by a spacer.
Presently, as a spacer for liquid crystal display panels, spherical spacers mainly composed of plastic or an inorganic material are employed. And, as a method of locating such a spherical spacer on a substrate, a wet-spraying method of spraying a spacer dispersion liquid in the form of a liquid mist or a dry-spraying method of using an inert gas such as nitrogen or the like is generally employed. However, in these spraying methods, since the spacer is located on the substrate irregularly (in a random fashion), the spacer might be located in a displaying area and displaying characteristics might be adversely affect.
And so, various technologies of locating a spacer only in a non-displaying area are being investigated. As one of such technologies, for example, a technology of forming a resin spacer (the so-called photo spacer) by a photolithography process using a photosensitive resin material is proposed. According to this technology, a resin spacer can be selectively located at a desired position (in a non-displaying area) by prescribed exposure using a mask. However, the resin spacer formed by the photolithography process is inferior to a plastic spacer in point of cell thickness control so as to be uniform since it has larger variations in thickness than a plastic spacer. And, the resin spacer causes a production cost to increase significantly compared with the plastic spacer since this spacer uses a photolithography process.
On the other hand, various technologies of selectively locating a spherical spacer only in a non-displaying area are being investigated. For example, a method of removing the spacer located in a displaying area after spraying spacers throughout the surface of a substrate is proposed in Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-05-333346 and a method of printing a spacer in a non-displaying area using a printing method is proposed in Japanese Kokai Publication Hei-05-303102. However, there was a room for contrivance to improve in that in the former method, an additional step of removing the spacer in a displaying area is required. In the latter method, there is a possibility of adversely affecting the alignment of a liquid crystal because a screen for printing makes contact with an aligned displaying area.
Then, as a noncontact method of spraying the spherical spacers only in a non-displaying area, techniques of printing a spacer using an ink-jet (IJ) system are proposed in Japanese Kokai Publication Sho-57-58124, WO 97/36205, and Japanese Kokai Publication 2002-372717. However, it was very difficult to print a spacer evenly only in the non-displaying area in view of the ejection accuracy of an IJ system and widths of a black matrix (BM) and wires, which are non-displaying areas, and this is not described in the patent documents described above. On this problem, a method, in which the degradation of display characteristics resulting from running over of the spacer into a displaying area is inhibited by applying coloring treatment or alignment treatment to the surface of a spacer in advance taking running over of the spacer into a displaying area into account, is also contrived.
And, in recent years, display modes such as a Vertical Alignment (VA) mode and an In-Plane Switching (IPS) mode, which are a kind of liquid crystal display mode with a wide viewing angle, are widely employed other than a Twisted Nematic (TN) mode, generally used, as a liquid crystal display mode. In the VA mode, some rib-shaped projection structures for alignment regulation are provided not only within a pixel area but also in a non-displaying area. If there is such a rib-shaped projection structure and the like, a spacer dispersion droplet ejected by the IJ system and the like has a tendency to be evaporated along the rib-shaped projection structure, and therefore there is a possibility that the spacer is also located in the pixel area. Further, also in a TN mode and an IPS mode, it was difficult to locate all spacers in the non-displaying area due to the relationship between the ejection accuracy of an IJ system and the width of a non-displaying area as described above.
Thus, the difficulty of locating the spacer in the non-displaying area is going on increasing and the solution for this problem has been required.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Kokai Publication No. Hei-05-333346
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Kokai Publication No. Hei-05-303102
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Kokai Publication No. Sho-57-58124
[Patent Document 4]
WO 97/36205
[Patent Document 5]
Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2002-372717

Substrate for liquid crystal display devices


Modular configuration for an aircraft interior floor plan design is provided by an fuselage having starboard and port side attachment rails disposed longitudinally parallel to one another. Each of the starboard and port side attachment rails are comprised of outboard and inboard rails and a center rail positioned therebetween. A plurality of interior fixtures are provided with fixed attachment posts asymmetrically oriented relative to a longitudinal centerline plane of the fixture. Such fixtures can therefore be attached to predetermined pairs of the starboard and port side attachment rails to provide for a desired configuration of the fixtures within the fuselage.

Passenger interior floor plans conventionally allow a limited degree of customization if little structural rework is desired. Usually aircraft interior fixtures can be installed for smaller executive jets on areas defined exclusively for monuments and seat assemblies can be installed on areas defined for seat assemblies. If an area is defined to accommodate a wardrobe, for example, only a wardrobe or a similar monument can be installed in the same area.
Larger executive jets typically allow more customized configurations, but structural rework is required in order to provide the necessary attachment points. Modules, in this case, are not clearly defined as monument and/or seat arrangements designed to be installed in a marked zone of the aircraft. Especially in the Executive Jets market, the possibility of floor plan customization is a very important requirement for the customer. A modular interior configuration greatly improves the possibility of customization since different aircraft interior fixtures can be arranged on the same position inside a defined zone.
Flexible interior fixture placement within an aircraft becomes problematic for aircraft having symmetrically arranged pairs of longitudinal attachment tracks, wherein the tracks are separated by unequal dimensions. This particular arrangement of seat tracks has in the past necessitated dedicated seat assemblies and/or monuments for dedicated rail pairs in order to achieve a desired interior configuration.
It would therefore be desirable if aircraft interior fixture arrangement could be provided having greater universal orientation capabilities which in turn could provide for greater flexibility of fixture placements within the aircraft interior to achieve different configurations. It is towards fulfilling such needs that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide for a modular configuration for the aircraft interior floor plan design. The modular configuration allows a higher level of interior customization for the owner, who can choose between a number of pre-defined aircraft interior fixture arrangements inside a limited zone of the aircraft. These zones have structural provisions that allow the installation of the different interior fixtures on different positions inside the aircraft fuselage.
In especially preferred embodiments of the invention, aircraft are provided comprising a fuselage having starboard and port side attachment rails disposed longitudinally parallel to one another. Each of the starboard and port side attachment rails may be comprised of outboard and inboard rails and a center rail positioned therebetween. A plurality of interior fixtures may be provided with fixed attachment posts asymmetrically oriented relative to a longitudinal centerline plane of the fixture. Such fixtures can therefore be attached to predetermined pairs of the starboard and port side attachment rails to provide for a desired configuration of the fixtures within the fuselage.
The fixtures may include at least one selected from the group consisting of single passenger seat assemblies, dual passenger seat assemblies, table assemblies and sofa assemblies. In some embodiments, the fixtures will include at least one fixture selected from the group consisting of single seat assemblies, dual seat assemblies and sofa assemblies, wherein each of the single seat assemblies, dual seat assemblies and sofa assemblies have fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an outboard direction relative to longitudinal centerline planes thereof.
In other embodiments, the fixtures will include at least one of single and dual seat assemblies and at least one of single and dual seat table assemblies positioned symmetrically in front of a respective one of the single and dual seat assemblies, wherein each of the single and dual seat table assemblies have fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an inboard direction relative to centerline planes thereof to allow symmetrical positioning in front of the single and dual seat assemblies, respectively.
The fixtures may also include a sofa assembly. In those embodiments having a sofa assembly, it will preferably be provided with fixed attachment posts which are asymmetrically off-set in an outboard direction relative to a longitudinal centerline plane thereof.
Each of the outboard and center rails of the starboard and port rails is preferably separated by a dimension Do, and wherein the each of the inboard and center rails of the starboard and port rails is separated by a dimension Di which is greater dimension Do. In addition, it is preferred that each of the inboard rails of the starboard and port rails is separated by a dimension Dc which is greater than Di. Thus in some embodiments, Dc>Di>Do.
These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.

Modular aircraft interior configuration and methods

Embraer—Empresa Brasileira De Aeronautica S.A.


A voltage regulator and a method are presented. The regulator has a pass device coupled to an input node at an input voltage. Furthermore, the voltage regulator has a regulator circuit to control the pass device to provide a regulated output voltage at an output node based on the input voltage. Components of the regulator circuit are arranged and operated between the input node and the output node. The voltage regulator allows a load of the voltage regulator to be arranged between the output node and a reference node at a reference voltage, wherein the reference voltage differs from the output voltage.

Voltage regulators (notably LDO regulators) typically operate between at least two supply rails, such as the supply voltage VDD (e.g. a battery voltage) and a reference voltage GND (e.g. ground). As a result of this, the voltage regulator behaves as a circuit consuming quiescent current (in addition to the load current which is provided to a load of the voltage regulator). Hence, the use of a voltage regulator for providing a regulated voltage (e.g. based on the voltage of a battery) leads to an increased power consumption.

Voltage regulator with virtual zero quiescent current


Methods and arrangements for autonomous handover are provided. In a step, a mobile terminal sends a measurement report to a first network node. In another step, the mobile terminal starts a timer for measuring a wait period. In a further step, the mobile terminal waits until the wait period has expired. In still another step, the mobile terminal measures a signal used for mobility evaluations from the first radio network node. In yet another step, the mobile terminal performs random access to the second radio network node, if appropriate. Furthermore, the first radio network node sends information about random access channel (RACH) characteristics. Moreover, the first radio network node may send the wait period to the mobile terminal. In another step, the first radio network node sends the terminal context to neighbouring radio network nodes.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) system has been designed to offer significantly higher data rates, higher system throughput, and lower latency for delay critical services than existing telecommunication systems. This improved performance has to be provided and guaranteed during various mobility conditions. For example, there is a requirement for mobility support with high performance up to speeds of 120 km/h. A further requirement is the uninterrupted provision of high data rates and services, often referred to as Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) services. Hence, handover (HO) and its performance during such conditions are of high importance.
In US2001055969, there is disclosed a method and apparatus for handoff to a rescue channel without the need to send and receive handoff control messages. The method provides coordination of the rescue procedure at the infrastructure and mobile station. In a step, the mobile transmitter is disabled followed by subsequent detection of signal loss and frame erasures at the serving cells. Further, the mobile transmitter is enabled followed by subsequent detection of signal by a rescue cell. Finally, the rescue cell channel transmitter is enabled followed by subsequent detection and reception of signal and frames by the mobile station. A disadvantage with this solution is that there is a too long delay before the mobile station may respond to bad channel conditions and, hence recover from signal loss.


A processor is to comprise a central processing unit (CPU), an address generation unit (AGU), an index generation unit and a translation look-aside buffer (TLB). The CPU of the processor is to generate signal to retrieve instructions from a memory. The AGU is to generate a final linear address and an initial linear address after receiving at least three input source values. An index generation unit coupled to the AGU is to generate a set-index value using the bits of at least the three input source values or the bits of the initial linear address even before the bits of the initial linear address are adjusted for carry. A TLB is to generate a physical address using the final linear address and an entry indexed by the set-index value.

In a memory subsystem of the computer system, if a physically tagged first level cache is used, the linear address (LA) generated by an address generation unit (AGU) may be translated into a physical address (PA). A translation look-aside buffer (TLB) may translate linear address to physical address. The TLB may comprise a plurality of entries and each entry may comprise a linear address and a corresponding physical address. The linear address generated may be compared with the entries in the TLB to generate a physical address. An increased size of the TLB may decrease the occurrence of TLB misses but, the increase in the size of the TLB may also decrease the speed at which the physical address is generated. It may be required to increase the size of the TLB while maintaining the speed of translation.

Indexing a translation lookaside buffer (TLB)


A communication gateway which includes a short-message-system network element is disclosed. The communication gateway includes a short-message-system network element to transmit short-message data to a plurality of session-initiation-protocol endpoints and a front-end processor coupled with the short-message-system network element to provide session-initiation-protocol services for translating the short-message data transmitted between the plurality of session-initiation-protocol endpoints.

The present disclosure relates generally to a system for messaging content delivery, and more specifically to a system for managing the delivery of short messages using an enhanced communication gateway.
Short message service (SMS), first launched in 1991, also known as text messaging, refers to a protocol for sending and receiving short messages (SMS can also refer to the messages themselves) between mobile devices. SMS is among the many technological contributions included in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). SMS initially enabled bidirectional transmission of short alphanumeric text messages to and from mobile phones and personal data assistants (PDA). Currently almost every mobile phone or PDA includes SMS as a standard feature and, as a result, messaging via SMS is widely used by the users of such devices. An advantage of SMS is that SMS messages can be quickly composed and sent to a desired recipient.
A typical SMS network includes a short message service center (SMSC), SMS gateways, PSTN gateways, and SIP gateways. The SMSC generally operates in a store-and-forward manner, to guarantee delivery of text messages to a Short Message Entity (SME), e.g., a cellular telephone handset, a phone, or a computer-based communication system. The SMSC typically includes a storage subsystem to store messages that are temporarily incapable of being transmitted to a destination device, e.g., when the destination device is inactive or outside of the service area of the SMS network. The SMSC continues its attempts to forward undelivered messages to an appropriate destination address in intervals, until the designated device has become available, e.g., is turned on or has moved into the service area of the SMS network, and message receipt is confirmed. The SMSC generally interacts with various interfaces to enable the receipt of short messages originating from a multitude of platforms supported by various providers which utilize their proprietary protocols.
The SMS gateways provide the network interface between IP networks, SMS requesters, External SME service entities (ESME) and SS7 signaling networks. The SMS gateways are also capable of communicating with external Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways in order to send/transmit/receive messages to and from SIP enabled devices. SIP is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard signaling protocol for teleconferencing, telephony, presence and event notification and instant messaging. It provides a mechanism for setting up and managing connections, but not for transporting the audio or video data. It is arguably the most widely used protocol for managing Internet telephony. A SIP-based VoIP implementation may send the encoded voice data over the network in a number of ways.
In the event an SMS gateway receives a message from an ESME and desires to transmit this message to a SIP enabled device, it sends the message to a SIP/SMS gateway which in turn performs protocol translation, establishes a SIP session with the end-point (e.g. device or network element) and then sends the message. The challenge with using this approach is that SMSC must interface with external SIP gateways in order to reach SIP-enabled devices. Although this does not seem like a significant problem as long as the protocol translation is properly performed, the carriers are left at the mercy of external SIP gateway providers if the SIP enabled device is out of the control of the carrier or out of the reach of the carrier core network. Another challenge with this approach is potential performance degradation as the message is transmitted from the SMSC to an external gateway for delivery. Yet another challenge with traversing SIP enabled gateways is that this architecture potentially dis-intermediates the carrier from end-point SIP enabled subscribers limiting the monetization aspects of SMS message delivery.

Front end processor for short message service centers