The present invention is directed to an athletic shoe including a heel strap for securing the foot in the shoe. The shoe includes an upper and a sole. The upper includes a quarter and a relatively stiff counter disposed at the periphery of the shoe. The quarter includes a lacing eyestay having a plurality of lacing eyelets. The counter has an opening formed through each side thereof and located such that when the shoe is worn on a foot, the openings are disposed below the malleolus. The upper also includes a relatively thin, flexible inner sleeve disposed interiorly of the quarter and counter. The shoe includes a heel strap having a heel tab fixed to the rear of the inner sleeve, and side straps extending laterally forwardly on both sides of the shoe. Side tabs including one or more eyelets are disposed on the forward end of each of the side straps. The side straps are disposed through the openings formed in the counter and are bent upwardly exterior of the counter, with the side tabs disposed adjacent the uppermost lacing eyelet. In securing the shoe, the shoe lace may be disposed through both the eyelets of the side tabs, and the corresponding eyelet of the upper on each side so as to adjustably secure the heel strap against the foot.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to an athletic shoe, and in particular, an athletic shoe including an adjustable heel strap for securing the foot in the shoe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Athletic shoes including heel strap systems are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,668,120 to McLaren discloses a shoe including a strip or strap disposed between the quarter and lining of a shoe. The generally thin strap is fixed at the back, and extends forwardly about the upper perimeter or collar of the quarter, at the location of the foot opening. The forward end of the strap includes an eyelet through which the shoe lace may be disposed. U.S. Pat. No. 1,683,465 to Hill discloses a similar shoe in which the strap is disposed exteriorly of the shoe upper, and is laced through a plurality of slots formed in the exterior surface of the upper.
In both Hill and McLaren, the overall effect provided by the strap is to pull the posterior aspect of the collar forwardly, and thereby secure the top of the upper about the foot. The posterior aspect of the collar is not pulled substantially downwardly towards the midsole. Further, in Hill the strap acts on the foot through a relatively thick upper. Thus, the effectiveness of the strap is diminished due to the fact that the strap cannot effectively conform to the shape of an individual foot, and must act on the foot through an intermediary element which is relatively thick or stiff. A similar drawback is present in McLaren, in which the strap acts through a lining, and the ability of the strap to conform to the foot is diminished due to the fact that any inward movement of the strap is limited by the stiffness of the quarter.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,245,408 and 4,366,631 to Larsen et al. disclose a shoe having a second lace which is distinct from the main lace of the shoe. The second lace is disposed about the rear of the shoe and tied at the top of the lacebox, above the location where the main shoe lace is tied. The second lace is disposed externally of the shoe upper, through eyelets fixed to the rear and sides of the upper. As with McLaren and Hill, the lace does not conform substantially to the shape of the foot, and must act through relatively thick and rigid intermediary components.


The invention provides methods for determining the ability of compounds to regulate lipogenesis and lipolysis by acting as a sulfonylurea-1 (SUR 1) potassium channel activator, an adipocyte potassium channel activator, an SUR 1 antagonist, and an adipocyte specific SUR 1 antagonist. The present invention recognizes the presence of the sulfonylurea receptor in adipocytes and its utility in identifying compounds and in regulating lipogenesis and lipolysis.

This invention relates to methods of identification of the sulfonylurea receptor in human adipocytes and other adipocyte-selective calcium channels and calcium mobilization antagonists and use of these factors for treatment of obesity, diabetes, and insulin-resistance related syndromes.
Mice with dominant mutations at the agouti locus, including lethal yellow (Ay) and viable yellow (Avy) are characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, and yellow coat color. The mouse agouti gene normally regulates differential pigment production in hair-bulb melanocytes. Each melanocyte in the hair bulb switches between the production of eumelanin (black) and phaeomelanin (yellow), producing the wild-type mouse coat color of a black hair with a subapical band of yellow. Agouti mutations disrupt this switching process and form a dominance hierarchy in which the dominant alleles produce a yellow coat and the recessive alleles produce a black coat.
Although agouti is normally expressed in neonatal skin, dominant agouti mutations are characterized by ectopic overexpression of agouti throughout life. This is due to mutations in the promoter/regulatory region rather than in protein-coding domain. Transgenic mice designed to express the agouti coding portion in a ubiquitous manner also develop a syndrome of obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia and yellow coat color, similar to Avy mutation, demonstrating that ectopic overexpression of the agouti gene is directly responsible for pleiotropic effects associated with dominant agouti mutations. However, the mechanism linking this pigmentation gene to obesity has not yet been identified.
There is needed methods for the identification of compositions and compounds for the treatment and control of insulin resistance-related disorders.
The invention provides methods for identifying compounds and compositions useful in the regulation of weight, the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other insulin resistance-related disorders hypertension, cardiovascular disease and the like. The methods comprise the use of adipocytes and predipocytes in assays and screens for compounds or compositions of interest. The present invention recognizes the presence of the sulfonylurea receptor in adipocytes and its utility in identifying compounds and in treating obesity and other insulin resistance-related disorders.
In addition to assaying for agonists and antagonists of the sulfonylurea receptor, the methods of the invention also provide for identifying novel calcium channels or other calcium regulatory channels that are selectively expressed in human adipocytes as compared to human preadipocytes and for screening adipocytes for compounds that selectively antagonize calcium. These compounds may be used in the treatment of obesity and diabetes and other insulin resistance-related disorders.
Once identified, the compounds of the invention can be used in pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of insulin resistance-related disorders and to regulate lipogenesis and lipolysis.

Modulation of the sulfonylurea receptor and calcium in adipocytes for treatment of obesity/diabetes


At high temperature, namely, when the temperature of intake air is higher than a predetermined normal temperature range, an ECU (25) controls a variable valve timing mechanism (24) such that the timing for closing an exhaust valve (9) is adjusted to a retard side, thereby reducing the amount of high-temperature internal EGR gas to avoid the occurrence of pre-ignition. At intermediate load and high load, the ECU (25) makes the retard amount of the timing for closing the exhaust valve (9) larger than that at low load, thereby reducing the amount of internal EGR gas. At intermediate load and in an intermediate-revolution range or a high-revolution range, the rotating speed of an electric motor (16) is increased to raise a supercharging pressure exerted by a supercharger (17). At high load and in the high-revolution range, the electric motor (16) for the supercharger (17) and an EGR control valve (22) are controlled such that the supercharging pressure rises and the amount of external EGR gas increases as the temperature of intake air detected by a temperature sensor (26) rises.

In recent years, internal combustion engines employing a premixed compression self-ignition combustion method, in which an air-fuel mixture is compressed to cause self-ignition thereof, have been drawing attention. The internal combustion engines employing the premixed compression self-ignition combustion method are known to exhibit better performances in points of improved fuel consumption, NOx reduction, and the like than that of the conventional internal combustion engines employing a diffusion combustion method or a flame propagation combustion method.
The conventional internal combustion engine employing the premixed compression self-ignition combustion method is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. In the internal combustion engine described in Patent Document 1, as illustrated by a map indicating a relation between a load and a revolution number, the premixed compression self-ignition combustion is selected to be performed on a low-revolution/low-load side, and jump spark ignition combustion is selected to be performed on a high-revolution/high-load side. During the premixed compression self-ignition combustion, a sealing period in which both an intake valve and an exhaust valve are closed is set around an exhaust top dead center to perform internal EGR for causing burnt gas to remain in a combustion chamber, and the timings for opening/closing the intake valve and the exhaust valve are adjusted according to changes in the external environment to ensure stable self-ignition combustion. For example, the sealing period is prolonged as the temperature of intake air drops so that the temperature in the combustion chamber is prevented from dropping in the neighborhood of the exhaust top dead center. It has also been proposed to inject fuel into the combustion chamber during the sealing period to generate a modified substance exhibiting high ignitability.
Patent Document 1: JP 2002-129991 A

Control apparatus for combustion engine of premixed compression self-ignition type


According to an example embodiment, an erase discharge method may include drawing charges accumulated in a floating gate of a floating gate type field effect transistor into a semiconductor substrate to perform an erase operation by applying a first voltage to a word line, a second voltage to an N-well and a P-well, and/or opening a bit line and a ground line. The word line may be grounded, and a discharge transistor connected to the bit line may be turned on. The N-well and the P-well may be grounded to discharge charges accumulated in the N-well and P-well.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, conventional NOR flash memory device. As shown, a memory cell array MA may be configured with a plurality of word lines WL, a plurality of bit lines BL, and a plurality of transistors Tr (for example, floating gate field effect transistors) forming memory cells. The plurality of transistors Tr may be disposed at intersections of the word lines WL and the bit lines BL. Each of the transistors Tr may include a control gate, a drain, and a source connected to the word line WL, the bit line BL, and a ground line SL, respectively.
A source 106 and a drain 108 of the transistor Tr may be formed in a P-well 104 provided in an N-well 102 of a semiconductor substrate 100, as illustrated in FIG. 5.
A NOR flash memory may be structured such that the memory cells of MOS transistors having a stack gate structure are connected in parallel in a NOR type configuration.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, a row decoder RD may be provided for selecting word lines WL0 through WL1023 of the memory cell array MA, and a column decoder CD may be provided for selecting bit lines BL0 through BL511. Addresses may be transmitted to the row decoder RD and the column decoder CD as internal row address signals and internal column address signals, respectively, through an address control circuit (not shown). Based on a command decoded by a controller (not shown), sequence control including programming and erasing of data may be performed.
A negative voltage boosting circuit 20 may be connected to the row decoder RD through a negative voltage switch 10. The negative voltage boosting circuit 20 may generate a boosted voltage used in programming or erasing data. For example, the boosted voltage may be obtained by boosting a power supply voltage Vcc. A positive voltage boosting circuit 70 may be further provided in the flash memory because a boosted positive voltage may also be used in programming or erasing data. The boosted positive voltage may be supplied to the ground line SL or the P and N-wells 104 and 102 through a source-well voltage control circuit 60.
In addition, a source switch 30 may control connection/disconnection between the source-well voltage control circuit 60 and the ground line SL. Furthermore, a well switching unit 80 having a P-well switch 40 and an N-well switch 50 may control connection/disconnection between the P and N-wells 104 and 102 and the source-well voltage control circuit 60.
FIG. 6 is a plane view illustrating a cell array structure of an example NOR flash memory. FIG. 7 is a sectional view illustrating the structure of the example NOR flash memory of FIG. 6 taken along line X-X′.
As transistors in memory cells progressively shrink in size, capacitances between respective nodes of the memory cells may be changed. For example, the capacitance between a word line connected to a control gate and a bit line connected to a drain may become significantly higher than capacitances of other nodes because the space between a bit line contact and the word line may be reduced.
FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating voltages applied during an erase operation performed in the flash memory device of FIG. 4. An example erase operation will be described below.
The power supply voltage Vcc may be applied to a word line of a cell in a neutral state. At this point, the bit line BL, the ground line SL, the P-well and the N-well may each be grounded. The word line voltage may be set equal to the ground voltage so that a sector including cells to be erased may be unselected. This state may be denoted as ERS set in FIG. 8. A voltage boosted to a level in the range of approximately 5V to approximately 9.5V by the positive voltage boosting circuit 70 of FIG. 5 may be applied to the P-well 104 and the N-well 102 for well charge.
It may take a given amount of time for the voltage to be boosted to reach the voltage level in the range of approximately 5V to approximately 9.5V, and the boosting operation may be performed so that the voltage may gradually increase from the ground voltage level Gnd to reach the voltage level in the range of approximately 5 to approximately 9.5V.
At this point, the ground line SL and the bit line BL, which may be connected to the source and the drain of the memory cell, may be opened, and the PN junction between the substrate and the source and drain regions may be forward biased. Therefore, a current may flow from the substrate to the source and the drain, and a voltage, which may be reduced from the above boosted voltage by a forward bias voltage Vf of the PN junction, may be applied to the bit line BL and the ground line SL.
Subsequently, the negative voltage boosting circuit 20 may operate so that a negative voltage of approximately −9V may be applied to the word line though the row decoder RD. Thus, an erase operation may be performed such that charges accumulated in a floating gate FG of the cell transistor Tr may be put into the semiconductor substrate.
After erasing, a word line discharge and a well discharge may be performed for discharging the negative and positive voltages applied during the erase operation to the ground voltage level. For a word line discharge, the word line may be grounded so that the charges accumulated in the word line are discharged. After the word line discharge, the bit line, the ground line, the P-well and the N-well may be grounded for performing the well discharge. Therefore, charges in the bit line, the ground line, P-well and the N-well may be discharged to ground.
Thereafter, the unselected state of the word line may be terminated, and the word line voltage may return to the neutral state. For example, the word line voltage may return to the power supply voltage Vcc, whereby the erase operation may be completed.
In such an erase operation, because the coupling capacitance between the word line and the bit line may be higher as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bit line voltage may become higher due to the overshoot of the bit line voltage when discharging the word line voltage. Consequently, this higher bit line voltage may exceed a breakdown voltage of a component connected to the bit line and cause the component to fail.

Erase discharge control method of nonvolatile semiconductor memory device


There is provided a process management system which, when a crash occurs in execution of a processing process, can immediately restart a processing process while holding data used in occurrence of the crash as much as possible. When a determination unit determines that a detected crash is not a crash caused by data used in a processing process, a processing unit reexecutes the processing process in which the crash occurs. When the determination unit determines that the detected crash is a crash caused by the data used in the processing process, an initialization unit initializes the data used in the processing process.

When software is not created to correctly operate, a processing process may crash at a faulty part. In complicated and large-scale software, it is difficult to completely eliminate such faulty parts. The faulty parts which cause a crash in the processing process are frequently included in specific data. When such data has a problem, or when the specific data cannot be correctly processed due to faulty software for the processing process, the processing process cannot be continued unless the data is eliminated. In addition, an access timing or the like may cause a crash in the processing process. In this case, the processing process is reexecuted to make it possible to solve the problem.
When execution of the processing process is stopped, loss of data and stop of service must be minimized. For this purpose, the problem may be solved by providing multi-equipment system. However, in such a case, additional capital investment is required. This is not a preferable method of solving the problem.
Therefore, a large number of techniques for solving problems caused by a crash in a processing process are disclosed.
For example, before a fault such as a crash occurs, rebooting of a system in which a fault probably occurs is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 2000-122971. Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 11-265361 discloses a multi computer system including a communication processing device which does not open a terminal path to avoid an electronic document discarding, the transaction of which is not executed, in a shared file in rebooting of a computer, even though a fault occurs in a transaction processing system, and a transaction processing system which does not initialize the shared file in rebooting.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 2000-122971
[Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 11-265361


The use of neutral aqueous solutions of glyoxal (pH approximately 6 to 8.5) scavenges H2S that is present in natural gas and in oil better than glyoxal alone or base alone. The resulting scavenger combination significantly increases the reaction rate and the overall scavenging efficiency, i.e. capacity over glyoxal used alone. A buffer may be optionally used. In another embodiment, the combination of non-nitrogen-containing surfactants and glyoxal results in a significant increase in the reaction rate and the overall scavenging efficiency, i.e. capacity as compared to glyoxal used alone.

In the drilling, downhole completion, production, transport, storage, and processing of crude oil and natural gas, including waste water associated with crude oil and gas production, and in the storage of residual fuel oil, H2S and/or mercaptans are often encountered. The presence of H2S and mercaptans is objectionable because they often react with other hydrocarbons or fuel system components. Another reason that the H2S and mercaptans are objectionable is that they are often highly corrosive. Still another reason that H2S and mercaptans are undesirable is that they have highly noxious odors. The odors resulting from H2S and mercaptans are detectable by the human nose at comparatively low concentrations and are well known. For example, mercaptans are used to odorize natural gas and used as a repellant by skunks and other animals.
The predominant H2S and mercaptan scavengers for natural gas and crude oil are monoethanolamine (MEA) triazines and monomethylamine (MMA) triazines. These compounds contain nitrogen and when used in sufficient concentration can cause problems for certain refineries. There have been instances where operators have required the use of a non-nitrogen containing H2S scavenger. Glyoxal (C2H2O2) or acrolein (C3H4O) has been used as H2S scavengers in these instances. Glyoxal is a slow acting scavenger and may be corrosive to mild steel. Acrolein is effective scavenger but an extremely toxic substance which operators do not like to use.
It would be desirable if a new non-nitrogen-containing H2S and mercaptan scavenger could be discovered which is very effective, but which overcomes the deficiencies of prior scavengers.

Synergistic H2S/mercaptan scavengers using glyoxal


A dispensing device package including a protective enclosure containing a dispensing device, e.g. an inhaler. The protective enclosure includes at least one rigid enclosure member, which in some implementations defines a recess to house a section of the dispensing device.

pMDIs are well known in the art of inhalation devices. It is therefore not necessary to describe the construction and operation of a pMDI other than in bare essentials.
A pMDI includes a canister unit and a housing. The housing is generally tubular and formed of a plastic material, for instance by molding. The canister unit includes a canister having one open end, typically made from a metal such as aluminum. The open end of the canister is sealingly capped by a metering valve assembly. The valve assembly includes a hollow dispensing member, usually in the form of a valve stem, which projects from the open end of the canister. Actuation of the metering valve assembly results in a metered dose of the aerosol formulation being dispensed from the canister through the valve stem.
In use, the sealed canister contains a pressurized medicinal aerosol formulation. The formulation includes the medicament and a fluid propellant, and optionally one or more excipients and/or adjuvants. The medicament is typically in solution or suspension in the formulation.
The housing includes an internal passageway having an open end. A nozzle block, is arranged to receive the valve stem from the canister unit, and to direct the dispensed metered dose to a mouth piece (or nasal piece). In use, a patient in need of a metered dose of the medicinal aerosol formulation concurrently inhales on the mouthpiece and actuates the canister unit. The inspiratory airflow produced by the patient entrains the metered dose of the medicinal aerosol formulation into the patient's respiratory tract.
Dispensing devices are commonly stored in a sealed protection pouch inside a package housing such as a cardboard box or the like. Depending on the type of dispensing device and requirements related thereto, the protection pouch may be arranged to keep the dispensing device protected from moisture, contamination, and/or dust. The protection pouch is commonly made from a thin flexible material such as plastic film, coated paper, metal foil, laminates thereof or the like. Mechanical protection of the dispensing device is mainly provided by the package housing. Moreover, the dispensing device and the protection pouch are normally free to move about inside the package housing.
It has been concluded that current protection pouch designs may be susceptible to punctures due to fatigue failure in the materials and due to impacts from sharp edges on the inhaler. Fatigue failure frequently occurs at crease points in the pouch, where the material is worn and work hardened during vibration. The pouch material punctures in the lower portion of the pouch, generally close to the sides and at evident fold points in the foil. This failure is caused by the vertical movement of the pouch and contents within the product carton during handling, transport, etc, whereby the foil pouch e.g. flexes at natural folds.
WO 2006/003386 discloses a package for a dispenser in the form of an inhaler, comprising a support said to be arranged to suspend the dispenser in order to avoid unintentional actuation. Several types of suspension arrangements are proposed, all said to be arranged to allow a controlled suspended movement of the inhaler inside the package. However, there are no specific provisions for avoiding punctures of the sealed pouch.


This invention is directed to a mattress assembly. The mattress assembly has a first mattress that has an inner-spring construction. Disposed above the first mattress is a second mattress that has an air bladder construction. The air bladder of the second mattress has a valve, which is located adjacent the head end of the mattress. The valve is adapted to selectively allow air into and out of the air bladder. The mattress assembly thus provides the combination of an innerspring mattress with an air mattress. The location of the valve allows the air mattress portion to be deflated properly and allows convenient access to the valve for inflation or air pressure adjustment purposes.

This invention relates generally to a mattress system, and, more particularly, to a mattress system that combines the benefits of a traditional coil mattress with the additional comfort of an air mattress for use in a sofa sleeper.
It is well known that the mattresses provided within a sofa sleeper can be uncomfortable to those sleeping thereon. This uncomfortability is, in part, a result of the space constraints existing within a sofa sleeper. In other words, the available space within a sofa sleeper for the mattress when the mattress is in a stowed condition necessitates a mattress that is relatively thin. A typical sofa sleeper mattress is used that has an inner spring coil construction. Typically, these mattresses are approximately four inches thick. When a mattress is used that is of this thickness, the person sleeping on the mattress can often feel the support structure for the mattress, such as the steel frame for the sofa sleeper. It would, therefore, be desirable to manufacture a mattress for a sofa sleeper that increased the comfort of the individual sleeping thereon. However, because it is used within a sofa sleeper, the mattress must fit within a typically dimensioned sofa sleeper unit.
Traditional sofa sleepers are designed with a folding frame mechanism that operates to stow the mattress when the unit is used as a sofa, and that is used to deploy and support the mattress when the unit is used as a sleeping surface. When the user of the bed wishes to stow the mattress, the foot portion of the bed is folded upwardly over the mattress. In this position the foot portion of the mattress is folded over the middle portion of the mattress. The end of the mattress assembly is then lifted upwardly, so that the folded-over portion of the foot as well as the middle part of the mattress is lifted. In the lifted position, the mattress assembly is moved towards the back of the sofa sleeper. The back of the mattress assembly is received within the back of the sofa frame, and the foot portion and middle portion of the mattress form the support surface for the cushions of the sofa.
In a sofa sleeper having an air mattress, it is important to properly deflate the air bladder prior to stowing the mattress within the sofa sleeper. Failure to properly deflate the air bladder will cause problems in stowage, such as a failure to completely stow the mattress assembly. In addition, the improper deflation of the air bladder can place additional and unwanted stress upon the support frame.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sofa sleeper of increased comfort through the use of a combination mattress assembly that can be easily and efficiently stored when not in use.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A tension adjustment hoop (1) for tensioning a resonant skin (13) on a musical instrument (6, 25), the tension adjustment hoop (1) being formed by a ring (2) with a center axis (3) and with retention means (4) arranged to interact with coupling means (5) on the musical instrument (6, 25) for retention of the tension adjustment hoop (1), the tension adjustment hoop (1) having an opposing top side (7) and bottom side (8), where the tension adjustment hoop (1) comprises an inner fluid channel (17), provided with a pressure adjustment connection (26) in hydraulic connection with the fluid channel (17), and a plurality of pistons (10), each in hydraulic connection with the fluid channel (17), each with a free end (11) opposite the fluid channel (17), and each, under the influence of the pressure in the fluid channel (17), being displaceable in a direction parallel to the center axis (3) of the tension adjustment hoop (1) between a first extreme position, where the free end (11) is within or level with the bottom side (8), and a second extreme position, where the free end (11) is outside the bottom side (8).

Various musical instruments exist which use a resonant skin to produce sound waves characteristic to the individual instrument. Examples of such instruments are various percussion instruments and banjos.
A resonant skin comprises a skin which may be organic or synthetic. The skin is attached to a ring, which may be e.g. a metal ring.
The musical instruments comprise a shell with an end edge. The resonant skin is placed on the shell with the skin abutting the end edge. The ring is configured with a size to enclose the shell. The pitch produced by the resonant skin is dependent on how tightly the skin is tensioned. The tensioning of the skin can be adjusted by displacing the ring parallel to a centre axis through the shell, so that the skin is pressed with more or less force against the end edge, tensioning the skin to a larger or smaller degree. The tighter the tensioning, the higher the pitch.
The degree to which the skin must be tensioned to achieve a given pitch is dependent on several different parameters, for instance room temperature, air pressure and air humidity. Therefore, the distance of ring displacement relative to the shell to achieve a given pitch may vary.
For tensioning the skin, a tension adjustment hoop is used, which is placed on top of the resonant skin, so that the resonant skin is between the shell and the tension adjustment hoop. The tension adjustment hoop is connected to tensioning means, which may be attached to the shell, and which may be adjustable, so that the tension adjustment hoop is displaceable relative to the shell for tensioning the resonant skin. On a drum or a banjo, the tensioning means will be evenly distributed around the periphery of the shell to ensure even tensioning.
A musician tunes the instrument by adjusting the pitch before the musician starts playing. During play, it may be necessary to make several minor adjustments. The time consumption for tuning the instrument is largely dependent on the number of tensioning means, whereas the number of tensioning means in turn influences the sound quality produced by the instrument. A compromise is consequently made between the amount of time available to the musician for tuning the instrument during e.g. a concert and the desired sound quality.
Commonly known resonant skins consist of a synthetic skin provided with a welded-on ring, forming a dolly when tensioning the skin. The ring is designed to be flexible relative to its planeness to enable fine-tuning of the resonant skin. When tensioning and commencing use of a new resonant skin, the ring of the skin may be deformed relative to its original shape. During this process, crunching sounds will typically be emitted from the welding. When using the commonly known tuning method, the planeness or deformation of the ring is of minor importance, as the tensioning means are adjusted individually by hand until the desired note is achieved. However, this tuning method is cumbersome and time-consuming. Therefore, previous attempts have been made to invent mechanically and hydraulically acting systems to alleviate this process.
The problems relating to the prior systems are, to a large extent, caused by the fact that their power transfer means, which abuts the ring of the resonant skin, is provided as a coherent circular ring 30 (FIG. 8A), embodied as a tension adjustment hoop, ring or tube. This embodiment of the pressure means would not be able to transfer a sufficient, evenly distributed torque to the ring of the resonant skin 15 (FIG. 8A).
For instance, WO 95/28698 A1 (Martin) 1995-10-26 describes a circular tube located under a tension adjustment hoop. For instance, WO 2007/144706 A2 (CASTAGNA), describes a frame in which a rigid circular ring is pressed against the resonant skin from the inner side. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,054,009 Feb. 25, 1913 (William F. Ludwig) describes different variations of examples 1 and 2.
These examples have the problematic common feature that the power transfer to the ring of the resonant skin is a coherent circular force F (see FIG. 8A).

Tension adjustment hoop for a membrane of a musical instrument


A Method for processing an audio signal to use a beamforming technique in a three-dimensional (3D) space is disclosed. The method may include generating a beamforming signal on a horizontal plane related to a sound source in a three-dimensional (3D) space and modulating the beamforming signal to head for a listener in the 3D space from the sound source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for processing an audio signal, and more particularly, to a method for processing an audio signal to use a beamforming technique in a three-dimensional (3D) space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beamforming is a technique that is widely used in various fields to enable a wavelength of a sound to be reproduced in a desired direction. In this technique, a user may selectively record sounds from a desired direction using a beamforming technique, and a loudspeaker array including a plurality of loudspeakers is used to control a reproduced sound or to output a sound to a particular position.
The user modulates sound output by each loudspeaker included in the loudspeaker array, thereby achieving a directivity of an audio signal. More particularly, the directivity of the audio signal may be realized by overlapping a plurality of audio signals to increase an intensity of the plurality of audio signals in a particular direction using phase differences between the plurality of audio signals.
Conventional technology for reproducing a sound source using beamforming is performed on a two-dimensional (2D) plane. Thus, the conventional beam forming technique may not be adopted as in a case of a loudspeaker array disposed in a three-dimensional (3D) space.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a new method for processing an audio signal to output a beam forming signal through a loudspeaker array disposed in the 3D space.

Method and apparatus for processing audio signal and audio playback system

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Methods and systems including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving, for a multi-tenant dwelling unit (MDU), a map of the MDU, where the map includes locations corresponding to multiple sensors at the MDU and defines multiple sub-areas of the MDU, receiving sensor data from one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors, where the sensor data is indicative of a fire event at the MDU, determining, from the sensor data, one or more sub-areas of the multiple sub-areas included in the fire event, generating, based on the sensor data, a targeted fire event response for the one or more sub-areas of the multiple sub-areas of the MDU, and providing, to the one or more sub-areas of the multiple sub-areas, the targeted fire event response.

Multi-tenant dwelling units (MDUs) pose challenges for emergency responders in case of fire or another hazardous situation due to unknowns of location and intensity of the hazards. Emergency response systems can be installed in MDUs to respond to fires or other hazardous situations that affect the MDU, but a response from the emergency response system may cause extensive damage, e.g., water damage from a sprinkler system, beyond what is needed to put out the fire.

Intelligent emergency response for multi-tenant dwelling units


The invention relates to nanoemulsions useful for analytical techniques and delivery of cargoes such as pharmaceutically active agents. In particular, the invention relates to nanoemulsions comprising an oil phase dispersed in an aqueous phase and at least two peptide surfactants adsorbed at the liquid-liquid interface, one peptide surfactant comprising a short peptide sequence having α-helical propensity and at least one second polypeptide surfactant comprising at least two peptide sequences having α-helical propensity linked by a linking sequence of 3 to 11 amino acid residues. Optionally the at least one second polypeptide surfactant comprises at least one pharmacokinetic modifying agent and/or a targeting agent. Furthermore, the nanoemulsion may further comprise a cargo such as a pharmaceutically active agent.

Almost 40% of new therapeutic agents and over 30% of pipeline pharmaceuticals exhibit poor water solubility which provides challenges in delivery, such as the delivery of therapeutic levels of pharmaceuticals to achieve a desired therapeutic outcome. Furthermore, many drugs have side effect profiles that make it advantageous to be able to deliver directly to the site of action thereby minimizing the amount of drug required for a given therapeutic effect.
While liposomes, nanoemulsions and dendrimers have been used to package pharmaceuticals for delivery, they often require complex preparation procedures, use solvents not suitable for pharmaceutical use and/or result in polydisperse structures that are difficult to define and characterize to a level that allows pharmaceutical registration. Complex polymer architectures, such as dendrimers, also lack a safe history of in vivo use. Addition of pharmacokinetic modifying agents and/or targeting agents to liposomes, nanoemulsions and dendrimers adds complexity and polydispersity to these structures.
There is a need for pharmaceutical delivery carriers that are easy to prepare in the absence of non-pharmaceutical solvents, can carry a variety of pharmaceuticals, have appropriate pharmacokinetic properties including stability under biological conditions and/or deliver a pharmaceutical to a particular tissue or receptor. Additionally these pharmaceutical delivery vehicles should encapsulate or shield the pharmaceutical and deliver it in a concentrated fashion to the site of desired action, meanwhile masking it from immune clearance. There is a further need for pharmaceutical delivery carriers to deliver low amounts of pharmaceutical (e.g. antigenic protein) to specific cell types (e.g. dendritic cells) in a targeted fashion, in order to induce a sub-immunogenic activation of T cells. Alternatively, a concentrated bolus of pharmaceutical, for example a chemotherapeutic agent, should be delivered to cells again in a targeted fashion, so as to kill the target cell(s).


A method of limiting the bit rate going to a network service having a target bit rate, data packet traffic to the service coming from at least one contributor, and a bit rate being associated with the portion of the traffic coming from said contributor. The method includes sending the packet from the contributor to the service if the bit rate of the traffic of the contributor is below a threshold that is a function of the target bit rate and a current data packet traffic to said service, the bit rate of the traffic from the contributor being measured on the current data packet traffic.

The invention finds one particularly beneficial application in protecting network services experiencing excessively high bit rates caused by traffic peaks or denial of service attacks.
Providing services and specifying a certain quality of service in a packet network, for example an IP network, is known in the art. The quality of service is expressed by a maximum authorized bit rate or bandwidth, for example.
Various mechanisms are used to monitor the volume of incoming traffic and to manage and adapt the bandwidth. These techniques include the rate limiting technique that monitors the volume of traffic going to a service and the bit rate at which it is transmitted in order to comply with the limit on traffic going to the service. Existing rate limiting algorithms are based on using packet queues.
A first known rate limiting algorithm is the leaky bucket algorithm for regulating traffic arriving at a queue in order to output a fixed flow to the network. The algorithm monitors the transmission time intervals of the packets so that the effective bit rate of packets sent to the service over the network complies with the specified target bit rate. Thus if the packets sent to the service are large, the time intervals between packets are increased, to comply with an average bit rate compatible with the target bit rate. The average bit rate is calculated as a weighted average of the bit rates obtained while sending the last N packets and while waiting between two transmissions. This algorithm is very suitable for sending fixed bit rates over the network, but it does not enable more resources to be used when the network is relatively lightly loaded.
A second known rate limiting algorithm is the token bucket algorithm that uses tokens corresponding to authorizations to send a certain volume of data to a service over the network. The algorithm regularly fills a token queue. If the target bit rate is 1 Mbyte/s and a token corresponds to a right to transmit over the network at 1 kbyte/s, the queue is filled with tokens at the rate of 1000 tokens per second. In parallel with this, the algorithm uses a second queue for packets to be sent. A packet of size S is sent over the network if there are sufficient tokens of size J in the token queue to transmit S bytes over the network. For the packet to be sent it is therefore necessary for there to be at least N tokens in the token queue, where N=S/J. This mechanism enables traffic to be sent so long as there are tokens in the queue, which may have accumulated when the network was relatively lightly loaded. That mechanism is therefore suitable for managing traffic peaks.
The above algorithms process a flow or a type of flow to the service. If the queues reach saturation point, packets are discarded, wherever they originate. Thus those algorithms do not offer a sufficiently refined level of processing to discriminate different types of contributors, namely small contributors using the bandwidth within acceptable limits and large contributors exceeding the acceptable limits.
The published US application 2006/0036720 discloses a rate limiting method applied to instances of events of certain types. One example of an event type is a DNS (domain name service) protocol message, and one example of an instance of that type of event is the identifier of the source that sent a message of that type. Rate limiting then consists in taking action (for example discarding the message) if the number of instances of events exceeds a predefined threshold. The method can therefore limit traffic coming from a contributor. However, the threshold that triggers rate limiting is fixed a priori. Thus the method cannot adapt rate limitation as a function of the actual use of the bandwidth. In fact, with the method described, if a contributor sends traffic to the service with a bit rate above the set threshold, the contributor's traffic will be rejected even though the bit rate of the traffic may comply with the target bit rate for the service, especially if no other contributor is sending traffic to the service at the same time.
There is therefore a requirement for a mechanism to limit traffic going to a network service in compliance with the target bit rate for the service, the mechanism giving small contributors to the service preference over large contributors by defining and applying a threshold between small contributors, whose traffic is authorized and forwarded to the service, and large contributors, whose traffic is rejected, which threshold can evolve according to the current actual traffic to the service.

Method of limiting bit rate in a telecommunications network


The invention is directed to methods of screening for HLA antibodies comprising detecting antibodies specific for native HLA antigens and denatured HLA antigens. The invention also provides for methods of removing antibodies specific for denatured HLA antigens or antibodies specific for native HLA antigens from a serum sample. In addition, the invention also provides for method of predicting whether a transplant recipient has an increased risk for rejecting the transplanted organ.

Transplant rejection occurs when the immune system of the recipient of a transplant, particularly antibodies produced by the recipient, attacks the transplanted organ or tissue. The recipient's immune system recognizes the transplanted organ as foreign tissue and attempts to destroy it. Rejection also occurs when the transplanted organ comprises the donor's lymphocytes or progenitor stem cells, which may generate an immune response to the recipient tissues such as graft vs. host disease. Chronic rejection is a term used to describe all long term loss of function in organ transplants associated with chronic alloreactive immune response. Long term chronic rejection usually leads to a need for a new transplanted organ about a decade after the initial transplant. Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are one type of molecules within a transplanted organ in which the recipient's immune system attacks that causes a transplant rejection.
An HLA class I molecule consists of a 45-kDa glycoprotein (heavy chain) non-covalently associated with a 12-kDa polypeptide, β2-microglobulin (β2m). Association of β2m with newly synthesized class I heavy chains is required in order for the HLA molecule to transport and present the peptide (Krangel et al., Cell 18: 979, 1979). However, β2m free class I heavy chains were identified on activated T lymphocytes (Schnabl et al., J. Exp. Med. 171:1431, 1990) and other cell surfaces (Bix & Raulet, J. Exp. Med. 176(3) 829-34, 1992). Properly conformed β2m free class I heavy chains were identified on the cells and were believed to have functional importance. β2m can be dissociated from a HLA class I complex on a cell surface by acid treatment (Sugawara et al., J. Immunol. Methods, 100(1-2):83-90, 1987). β2m can also be dissociated from HLA Class I complex coated on microbeads using the similar method of low pH treatment. (Pei et al. Visuals Clinical Histocompatability Workshop 2000, 9-10). Those β2m-free HLA heavy chains are referred to as "denatured antigens." Antibodies against denatured class I HLA antigens have been detected in human sera from non-sensitized donors, however, they have not been well studied and currently the clinical significance of these antibodies is unclear.
HLA class II molecules are heterodimers formed by noncovalent linkage of two glycosylated polypeptide chains referred to as alpha and beta chains. The α subunit is 33 kDa and the β subunit is 28 kDa, and both chains are transmembrane polypeptides that have the same overall structure. The invariable a chain is encoded by the DRA HLA gene and this chain binds various β chains encoded by the DRB HLA genes. In addition, the DP and Dq HLA gene families each have one gene that encodes an α chain and a β chain. (Reviewed in Choo, Yonsei Med. J. 48: 11-23, 2007).
Cell-based assays are the most widely accepted assay for cross-matching HLA antigens, and these assays are used to determine if a recipient has antibodies in their serum that are cytotoxic to the lymphocytes of a prospective donor. The donor cells for the cross-match assay are collected from either blood or spleen and must be alive, while the recipient serum can be frozen prior to the assay. Exemplary standard procedures for cross-matching include complement-dependent cytotoxicity test (CDC), CDC with antiglobulin augmentation (AHG) and flow Cytometry Cross-match (FC) (Noreen, The American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory Manual, 3rd Ed, I.C.1.1-I.C.I.13).
As the number of identified HLA antigens is continuously increasing, a cell panel must be extremely large to screen for all known HLA antigens in a single assay. In addition, the cell-based assays may be neglecting clinically important antigens as about 50% of transplanted organs will be chronically rejected over a long period of time (known as "long tem chronic organ rejection"). Cell-based assays are also limited by the fact that the target cells isolated under the normal condition bear only HLA antigens in their native conformation such as β2m-associated class I antigens (Sugawara et al., J. Immunol. Methods, 100(1-2):83-90, 1987) and hetero-dimeric class II antigens. Thus, the cell-based assays will not detect antibodies specific for denatured HLA antigens.
The development of solid-phase HLA antibody detection assays, such as bead-based assays, allow for screening of many HLA antigens in one assay. Therefore, many laboratories are using solid-phase HLA antibody detection assays and virtual cross-matching assays in addition to cell-based assays. "Virtual cross-matching" is a procedure that predicts the result of a cell-based cross-match assay. Virtual cross-matching is carried out by comparing the donor antigen profile (donor tissue typing) and the recipient HLA antibody profile as determined by solid-phase assays described herein. For example, some laboratories first screen the recipient sera using a solid-phase assay to determine potential donors matches and subsequently use a cell-based assay for the cross match analysis of the donor cells and recipient sera. With the current screening procedures, sera that is positive for antibodies specific for donor HLA antigens in both the solid-phase assay and the cell-based assay is certain not to be an appropriate match for transplant. However, if the recipient sera is positive for antibodies specific for the donor HLA antibodies in the solid-phase assay but negative in the cell-based assay, there is uncertainty whether this sera is false-positive for HLA-antibodies and whether the tissue can be used for transplant.
One of the advantages of determining the HLA antibody profile using solid-phase assays is that this information can be stored for the transplant recipients. Therefore, biological samples do not need to be acquired at the same time or need to be in the same location for analysis. The HLA antibody profiles will allow for analysis before an organ is shipped for transplant. In addition, solid-phase HLA antigen analysis can screen many more donors and recipient pairs and may screen many more antigens at one time or in fewer assays. In addition, these assays may decrease the incidence in which a positive cross-match organ is shipped for transplant before the determination.
As increasing numbers of sera samples were tested for HLA antibodies, there was a significant increase in the number of samples that were positive using the solid-phase assay but negative using cell-based cross-match assays. In addition, antibodies to denatured class I HLA antigens are known to be present in the human sera and particularly some untransfused males have been shown to have HLA antibodies in their sera.
It is known that acid treated cells, which dissociated βm2 from the surface of HLA class I molecule, can be used to detect antibodies specific for denatured HLA antigens. In addition, panels of microbeads that present denatured class I HLA antigens have been generated and used to detect antibodies specific for these denatured antigens (See Pei et al. Visuals Clinical Histocompatability Workshop 2000, 9-10).
Currently, those of skill in the art do not consider antibodies specific for denatured HLA antigens to induce transplant or transfusion rejections. Generally, the presence of denatured HLA antigens is considered an artifact of sample preparation and detection of antibodies specific for these denatured antigens is not considered a clinically significant step of HLA tissue-typing analysis. One reason for this view is that cell-based assays are the current standard assay for cross-matching, and there are no current assays available for detecting antibodies specific for denatured antigens alone. As virtual cross-matching and solid-phase assays become standard practices in tissue-typing laboratories, there is a need to develop assays that screen for antibodies specific for HLA antigens while determining whether the antibodies are specific for native or denatured antigens. In addition, there is a need to decrease the number of false positive and false negative results of both solid-phase and cell-based tissue typing assays.

Methods of detecting antibodies specific for denatured HLA antigens


Radio frequency identification tags are spaced apart from one another in or around a work area for the vehicle. Each of the tags has a corresponding unique identifier. A path planning module establishes a path comprising a path segment between at least two of the radio frequency identification tags. The path segment comprises at least one of a distance between the tags, an angular heading between the tags, and unique identifiers corresponding to the tags. A data processor determines an estimated position of the vehicle based on at least one of odometer data and accelerometer data. A vehicle controller navigates between at least two of the radio frequency identification tags based on the estimated position, the distance and the angular heading. A reader reads the tag identifiers of each tag to track the progress of the vehicle to facilitate execution of or retrieval of any next path segment of the vehicle along the established path.

In the prior art, a boundary of a work area may be defined by a buried wire, a cable, or conductor associated with an applied current (e.g., an alternating current). A vehicle for operation in the work area is equipped with a magnetic field detector or an electric field detector for detecting the magnetic or electric field generated by the boundary wire, cable, or conductor. If a magnetic or electric field is detected, a vehicle controller may instruct the vehicle to change its course to some random path within the work area. However, if the vehicle is a mower, sprayer, or other device that is designed to cover all or a substantial portion of the work area, the execution of such random paths tends to be slow and energy inefficient. Thus, there is a need for an alternative method and system for determining the position of the vehicle.

Method and system for determining a position of a vehicle


A router table fence having three nesting aluminum extrusions or spars, two of which lie under a longer third spar. By positioning the inner ends of the two lower spars adjacent to a router cutter protruding through a router table, it is possible to provide a fence, particularly when the lower spars are used with wood facings or sub-fences, that can be adjusted to closely surround the cutter. Lateral movement of the fence assembly adjusts the amount of cutter that contacts a workpiece manipulated past the cutter while contacting the fence. The cross sectional shapes of the spars are identical and are generally square, with structure that permits the upper, longer spar to rest on top of, and be attached in a manner permitting it to slide against, the lower two spars. T-shaped slots in each face of the spars accept fasteners that connect the spars together and also accept fasteners for a variety of accessories, such as hold-down devices and shields. Fence locks attach the fence to a variety of router table tops without the need for fence-receiving structures separately attached to the router table or table top. A micro-adjust stop can be used in cooperation with the fence locks to make very accurate and predictable adjustments in the position of the fence on a router table top. By using a shim behind one of the sub-fences in order to position it parallel to, but slightly offset from, the other sub-fence, it is possible to joint a surface of a board using a "straight" cutter.

This invention relates to router tables and fences for use with router tables.
Because of their versatility, electric routers are very widely used in woodworking, particularly in home and small commercial shops. Such routers use a powerful electric motor in a housing to which handles are attached for holding and manipulating the tool. The motor shaft terminates in a collet adapted to receive the shank of a router bit or cutter, and a base attaches to the housing and surrounds the cutter so that a portion of the cutter may protrude beyond the base, which bears against a workpiece during use of the router. The position of the base is adjustable up and down parallel to the rotating axis of the collet and cutter, and in plunge routers the relative position of the base and router cutter can change during use of the tool in order to "plunge" the cutter into the workpiece. Electric routers are generally intended to be used by moving the router relative to a stationary workpiece, with a portion of the router base bearing against the workpiece.
Substantial additional versatility can be achieved by mounting a router in an inverted position with the router cutter protruding up through an opening in a relatively large, flat work surface to provide, in effect, a shaper. With this arrangement, a workpiece lying on top of the work surface can be manipulated relative to the stationary router and a rotating router cutter, the position of which does not move relative to the workpiece. Such router tables are commercially available in a variety of configurations, and numerous plans for homemade router tables are also available.
Many commercially available router tables are provided with fences, and fences for both commercial and homemade router tables are frequently made by users by clamping or otherwise fixing a length of wood to the router table top. Because most router table operations using a fence require that only a portion of the router cutter protrude beyond the face of the fence, provision typically needs to be made for locating the fence at least partly around the cutter. This is sometimes accomplished by machining a slot or recess in the fence within which a portion of the cutter is positioned.
Such shop-made fences, and many of the commercially manufactured fences, suffer from a variety of deficiencies. For instance, many are difficulty to position, reposition or adjust accurately. Some have insufficient strength to resist deformation during use, and many do not easily accommodate chip and dust removal accessories. It is very typically desirable to use work hold-down and safety shield accessories with router table fences, and many fences accept attachment of such accessories only with difficulty, if at all.
It is thus among the objects of the present invention to provide a router table fence that is straight, rigid, easily adjusted and which accommodates good chip escape.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a router table fence that can be easily used in jointing a work surface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a router table fence that will easily accommodate a wide variety of additional shop-made and commercially available accessories.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, the accompanying drawings and the claims.


A method for forming a field effect transistor which includes providing a substrate having thin film source and drain regions formed thereon; forming a thin film channel region intermediate the thin film source and drain regions, the thin film channel region comprising a first layer of semiconductor material, an etch stop layer formed over the first layer semiconductor material, and a second layer of material formed over the etch stop layer; forming a masking layer over the source and drain regions while leaving the thin film channel region effectively exposed; and removing a portion of the second layer of material selectively relative to the etch stop layer in the exposed thin film channel region.

As circuit density continues to increase, there is a corresponding drive to produce smaller and smaller field effect transistors. Field effect transistors have typically been formed by providing active areas within a bulk substrate material or within a complementary conductivity type well formed within a bulk substrate. One additional technique finding greater application in achieving higher circuit density is to form field effect transistors with thin films, which are stacked and integrated on top of a substrate containing conventional field effect transistors. This is commonly referred to as "thin film transistor" (TFT) technology. These transistors are formed using thin layers which constitute all or a part of the resultant source and drain regions.
Specifically, typical prior art TFT's are formed from a thin film of semiconductive material (typically polysilicon). A central channel region of the thin film is masked by a separate layer, while opposing adjacent source/drain regions are formed with an appropriate p or n type conductivity enhancing impurity. A gate insulator and gate are provided either above or below the thin film channel region, thus providing a field effect transistor having active and channel regions formed within a thin film as opposed to a bulk substrate.
One common material utilized as the thin source, channel and drain film in a TFT is polysilicon. Such is comprised of multiple forms of individual single crystal silicon grains. The locations where two individual crystalline grains abut one another is commonly referred to as a grain boundary. Grain boundaries are inherent in polycrystalline materials, such as polysilicon. The crystalline structure breaks down at the grain boundaries, giving rise to a high concentration of broken or "dangling" Si bonds. These dangling bonds "trap" carriers and give rise to potential barriers at the grain boundaries. These potential barriers impede the flow of carriers in polysilicon, thus reducing conductivity. The grain boundary potential barrier height is proportional to the square of the dangling bond density, or "trap density". Therefore, the smaller the grain size, the higher the trap density and thus the lower the conductance. Conversely, a larger grain size results in a higher conductance.
In a TFT, the grain boundary potential barrier height is modulated by the gate voltage, and hence the conductivity is a function of the gate voltage, as opposed to a resistor, where the barrier height is not modulated. Also, in terms of transistor switching characteristics a larger trap concentration makes it harder for the gate to form a channel resulting in a higher threshold voltage and a lower drive current as compared to bulk transistors. The grain boundary trap concentration also affects the leakage current in TFTs. In polysilicon or other polycrystalline TFTs, the grain boundary traps at the drain end can dramatically increase the leakage current in the presence of a "gate-to-drain" electric field. The increase in leakage results from either "thermionic field emission" and/or "Poole-Frenkel" emission through the grain boundary traps. Accordingly, the greater the number of grain boundaries (i.e., the smaller the grain size), the greater the current leakage through the material. Greater current leakage means that more power is required to replace the leaking current to maintain an SRAM cell transistor or a pixel in a flat panel display in its desired state. Such leakage is particularly adverse in laptop computers, where desired power consumption when a cell's state is not being changed would be desired to be very low to extend battery life.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a thin film field effect transistor which is operable to obtain the individual benefits to be derived from related prior art manufacturing processes and practices while avoiding the detriments individually associated therewith.

Method for forming a thin film transistor


In order to provide a small size antenna where excellent antenna properties can be stably gained, a frequency adjustment is easy and a simple measurement is possible, according to the present invention, a small size antenna formed of a conductor of at least two adjoining surfaces of a base in rectangular parallelepiped form made of dielectric ceramics is characterized in that: a step is made of a flat portion parallel to one surface of the two adjoining surfaces and an inclining portion located between the one surface and the flat portion, in a corner portion of the two surfaces on which the conductor is formed; the width of the flat portion is 0.08 mm or less; and a border portion between the flat portion and the other surface of the two adjoining surfaces is a curve having a curvature radius R of 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface mounting type small size antenna that is used in the communication field, particularly used by being incorporated in mobile communication equipment such as cellular phones and, in particular, relates to a small size surface mounting antenna and an antenna device which deal with double channels as well as a radio communication device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, miniaturization of mobile communication equipment such as cellular phones has made rapid progress. Together with the miniaturization of such communication equipment, antennas which are incorporated in communication equipment are also required to be miniaturized and a small size antenna where a conductor is formed on the surface of a base in rectangular parallelepiped form so that the antenna is mounted on the surface of an internal board of communication equipment has been put into practical use.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a small size antenna according to the prior art and FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view in the longitudinal direction of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, in a small size antenna 15 which is mounted on surfaces of a board 4 within communication equipment by means of solders 3 according to the prior art, conductors 2 are formed on the surface of a base 13 in rectangular parallelepiped form and are electrically connected to wires (not shown) on the board 4. In general, the conductors 2 are formed over two or more surfaces of the base 13 and, for example, the conductors 2 are sequentially formed over four surfaces that include surfaces 8 and 11 as shown in FIG. 5. The conductors 2 are formed by screen printing a conductor paste on each surface in a sequential manner.
As for the method for electrically connecting the conductors 2 on the adjoining two surfaces to each other as described above, in general, a screen having a pattern greater than the pattern of a conductor 2 is utilized, thereby, generating a sag on the next surface so that such a sag is utilized for an electrical connection. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing a small size antenna according to the prior art where a screen printing has been carried out by using a screen having a pattern greater than the pattern of the conductor 2 on the surface 8. As shown in FIG. 6, the conductor 2 printed on the surface 8 causes the sag 18 on the surface 11. This sag 18 makes contact with the conductor 2 on the surface 11 to form an electric connection when the conductor 2 is screen printed on the surface 11.
In the case where such a small size antenna is mounted on the surface of a board in a cellular phone or the like, this small size antenna is secured to the board 4 by means of the solders 3 as shown in FIG. 4. It becomes necessary to scrap the board 4 together with the antenna, though this is economically disadvantageous, in the case where the properties of the antenna are found to be defective as a result of quality management where the frequency properties are measured after the antenna has been secured to the board 4 by means of the solders 3. Here, in general, the frequency is measured by using a network analyzer in order to inspect the antenna to see if it functions properly.
Therefore, the small size antenna 15 is installed on the board 4 without being secured by means of the solders 3 so that the frequency is measured in this condition or the small size antenna 15 is secured onto the board 4 by applying pressure to the small size antenna 15 from above or by sucking the antenna from beneath so that the frequency is measured.
However, in a small size antenna according to the prior, as shown in FIG. 6, the conductor 2 is printed by using a screen having a pattern greater than that of the conductor 2 and, thereby, a protrusion 23 is also formed simultaneously as the sag 18 is formed. This is considered to occur because some conductor paste stays in the portions of the screen as a result of the usage of the screen having a pattern greater than that of the conductor 2.
Here, in the case where the frequency of the small size antenna 15 on which the protrusion 23 has been formed is attempted to be measured, no problem with the measurement arises when the antenna is secured onto the board 4 by using the solder 3 as shown in FIG. 8A because the solder 3 fills in the space between the conductor 2 and the board 4 in spite of the existence of the protrusion 23. However, in the case where measurement is carried out without utilizing the solder 3, as shown in FIG. 8B, a gap occurs between the board 4 and the conductor 2 due to the protrusion 23 and a problem arises where the frequency becomes different from that of the case where measurement is carried out when the antenna is secured to the board by using the solder 3.
It is considered that this is because air, which is a dielectric body, exists in the space between the board 4 and the conductor 2, which occurs due to the protrusion 23, and, thereby, a difference is made in the electrical properties leading to a difference in the frequency.
In addition, in the case where the base 13 in rectangular parallelepiped is utilized, a problem arises where chipping occurs when bases 13 collide into each other during the manufacturing process for bases 13 in rectangular parallelepiped form or during the process for forming conductors 2 or base 13 collides into a jig or the like that is utilized during the manufacturing process. In the case where chipping has occurred, the product might become defective judging from the appearance and at the same time, in the case where chipping has occurred to a portion of the conductor 2, the product loses the function as an antenna due to the occurrence of disconnection.
In order to avoid this problem, there is a method for preventing chipping of ceramic where a C surface or a step is provided on an outer periphery portion. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view schematically showing a small size antenna according to the prior art in the case where a step 21 has been created in a corner portion of the base 13 when the antenna is formed using dies for powder press formation.
As shown in FIG. 7, a step 21 made of an inclining portion 19 and a flat portion 20 is provided in a corner portion of base 13 and, thereby, the occurrence of chipping of the base 13 is prevented. In the case of a small size antenna, however, an electrical connection between the conductors 2 on the surface 8 and on the surface 11 is necessary while it becomes necessary for length g of the flat portion 20 to be 0.08 mm or greater taking the strength of dies for an extended period of time into consideration in the case where the step 21 is created in the corner portion of the base 13 by means of the dies. A problem arises where some products lack the properties required for an antenna as a result of the occurrence of an electrically insufficient connection when the connection is made using a sag of the conductor 2 in the above described space of 0.08 mm or longer.
In addition, in recent years a surface mounting type antenna that deals with double channels and an antenna device using the same has been introduced to the market and dynamic development thereof has progressed. In the following, an antenna that deals with two frequencies according to the prior art is described in reference to the perspective view of FIG. 13.
In FIG. 13, a surface mounting type antenna, which is denoted as 81, is mounted on a mounting substrate 92 so as to form an antenna device. In the surface mounting type antenna 81, shown in FIG. 13, a base in rectangular parallelepiped form is denoted as 86, a feeding terminal is denoted as 85 and radiation electrodes are denoted as 82 and 83. In addition, in the mounting substrate 92, a feeding electrode is denoted as 94 and a grounding conductive layer is denoted as 93.
In the surface mounting type antenna 81 of this FIG. 13, two frequencies can be dealt with by changing the pitches of the radiation electrodes 82 and 83. That is to say, the pitch of the radiation electrode 83 in spiral form that is connected to the feeding terminal 85 on a side of the base 86 is expanded while the pitch of radiation electrode 82 in spiral form that is connected to the radiation electrode 83 is condensed and, thereby, the antenna is formed so as to be able to deal with two different frequencies.
Thus, the surface mounting type antenna 81 that has been formed as described above is mounted on the surface of the mounting substrate 92 and the feeding terminal 85 is connected to the feeding electrode 94, thereby forming the antenna device 91 that deals with two frequencies.
In addition, an antenna for a mobile communication terminal is disclosed as another type of antenna that deals with two frequencies in a manner wherein a ground capacitance of an antenna element is connected to an antenna element for a predetermined frequency band so as to change this value and, thereby, the antenna can be utilized in a plurality of frequency bands that includes another frequency band different from the predetermined frequency band (see for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-204120). This antenna makes it unnecessary to insert a switch in series in a transmission path of signals that are transmitted and are received and, therefore, it can be said that it is possible to form an antenna which can cope with a plurality of frequencies without causing a problem of signal transmission loss.
In addition, an antenna device is also disclosed wherein a dielectric base, a plurality of power supply radiation elements each of which has a feeding electrode and a radiation electrode formed on the surface of this base, and a substrate for securing the base are provided where one power supply point for supplying power to all of the power supply radiation elements is provided on this substrate, and at the same time, stubs are provided on the surface of the substrate or on the surfaces of the base and the substrate so as to be sequentially deployed starting from the power supply point so that the feeding electrode of a power supply radiation element is connected to the matching point of a stub that is determined based on the effective line length of the radiation electrode (see for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-314330). This antenna device allows each power supply radiation element to be excited by the resonant frequency that is determined by the effective line length of a radiation electrode and at this time, the feeding electrode of each power supply radiation element is connected to the matching point of the stub having the optimal stub length for each power supply radiation element and, therefore, each power supply radiation element can gain a resonance properties which are appropriate in each of the resonant frequencies. It can be said that such an antenna device allows a necessary band width of the frequency band to which each of the resonant frequencies belongs to be secured.
In the surface mounting type antenna 81 according to the prior art as shown in FIG. 13, however, it is necessary to adjust the lengths and the pitches (intervals) of the radiation electrodes 82 and 83 in spiral form in order to tune the operation frequency of the surface mounting type antenna 81 to each of low frequency f1 and high frequency f2 of the radio signals utilized in the communication system and a problem arises where a large amount of time and effort is required for such adjustments.
In addition, when the surface mounting type antenna 81 is attempted to be miniaturized by increasing the dielectric constant of the base 86, an unnecessary resonance mode unexpectedly occurs between the long radiation electrodes 82, 83 in spiral forms and the grounding conductor 93 preventing stable antenna properties that deal with two frequencies from being gained and, thus, a problem arises where the miniaturization of the antenna is difficult.
In addition, there is a problem in the antenna for a mobile communication terminal that is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-204120 where it is difficult to mount the antenna on the surface of a mounting substrate.
Furthermore, there is a problem in the antenna device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-314330 where it is difficult to miniaturize the antenna because the radiation electrodes have two-dimensional patterns increasing the size of the antenna

Small size antenna, surface mounting type antenna and antenna device as well as radio communication device


An object of the present invention is to provide a method of positioning ICs and an IC handler utilizing the method in which a vertical mechanism is not provided in a positioning mechanism. In the IC handler, a positioning wall piece encloses a table, it has two pairs of inner faces, each pair of which are facing each other, lower portions S of each pair are formed into vertical faces and mutually separated with a distance corresponding to outermost edges of the IC, upper portions T of each pair are formed into slope faces whose distance is gradually made longer in an upward direction. An elastic member elastically supports the positioning wall piece, which is capable of moving vertically. The vertical mechanism is located above the positioning mechanism and pushes the positioning wall piece downwardly so as to correspond the upper face of the table to the upper portions T when the IC is mounted on the table, and allows movement of the positioning wall piece upwardly so as to correct a horizontal deviation of the IC by the slope faces and to position the same by the vertical faces after the IC is mounted on the table.

Firstly, a basic structure of a conventional IC handler will be explained. As shown in FIG. 12, in the IC handler 50, an IC, which has been stocked in a container 52 for supplying ICs, is supplied into a socket 56 of an IC checker 54 to execute tests at a normal temperature and at a high temperature. The IC handler 50 automatically sorts and accommodates the ICs checked into containers 58 for sorting ICs. The ICs are conveyed from the container 52 to the socket 56, and from the socket 56 to the containers 58 by conveying means 60 and 62.
By the way, these days ICs are higher integrated to have higher function, so they have many leads. Thus, lead pitch of ICs become finer and finer. By having fine pitch leads, the IC in the socket 56 must be supplied with high positioning accuracy.
To precisely supplying ICs into the socket 56, a method utilizing an image processing technology, which includes the steps of catching images of the conveying means and an IC, which is held by the conveying means, by a camera and processing image data thereof to supply the IC into the socket, is known. But an image processing equipment is expensive, and it takes a long time to process image data so time length for checking an IC must be long.
Then, a conventional IC handler, which has been widely used, will be explained.
A positioning mechanism 64 is provided between the supply container 52 and the socket 56. When an IC is conveyed from the container 52 to the socket 56, the IC is once positioned to supply into he socket 56. Then the IC, which has been positioned, is conveyed to and mounted onto the socket 56 by transferring means 66.
The positioning mechanism 64 of the IC handler 50, which once positions the IC before supplying the same to the socket 56, will be explained with reference to FIGS. 13-16.
The positioning mechanism 64 has following structure. The IC 70 is mounted on an upper face of a rectangular table 68.
A positioning wall piece 72 is provided to enclose the rectangular table 68, and lower portions S of two pairs of inner faces 74, 76 and 78, 80 thereof are formed into vertical faces 82, each pair of which are mutually faced and separated with a distance corresponding to outermost edges of the IC 70. On the other hand, upper portions T of each pair of the inner faces are mutually faced and formed into slope faces 84 whose distance is gradually made longer upward. Note that, there are designed clearance, whose size is designed within predetermined allowable error, between the outermost edges of the IC 70 and the vertical faces 82 of the lower portions S.
A vertical mechanism 86 includes an actuator, e.g., an air cylinder. The vertical mechanism 86 moves the table 68 in the vertical direction with respect to the positioning wall piece 72.
A conveying means 60 is capable of three-dimensionally conveying the IC 70. The conveying means 60 is capable of horizontally conveying the IC 70 to a position above the table 68. Further, the conveying means 60 is capable of moving downward to mount the IC 70 onto the upper face of the table 68. The conveying means 60 has a sucking pad 88. The IC 70 is held by the sucking pad 88.
A transferring means 66 is capable of conveying the IC 70, which has been positioned on the table 68, to a socket 56 for tests. The transferring means 66 is capable of three-dimensionally moving, and it has a sucking pad 88 for holding the IC 70 as well as the conveying means 60. Note that, the conveying means 60 may act as the transferring means 66.
Next, action of the IC handler 50 will be explained. Note that, the conveying means 60 and 62, the transferring means 66, the vertical mechanism 86 and the checker 54 are controlled by a controller, not shown, on the basis of a predetermined program.
Firstly, the table 68 is moved upward, by the vertical mechanism 86, until the upper face corresponds to the upper portions T of the inner faces 74-80 of the positioning wall piece 72.
In this state, the IC 70 is conveyed to and mounted onto the upper face of the table 68 by the conveying means 60 as shown in FIG. 13. Then the vertical mechanism 86 moves the table 68 downward until the upper face corresponds to the lower portions S of the inner faces 74-80 of the positioning wall piece 72 as shown in FIG. 14.
For example, the IC 70 is deviated distance A, leftward, with respect to the vertical face 82 of the positioning wall piece 72, as shown in FIG. 13, when the IC 70 is mounted onto the upper face of the table 68. In this case, leads 90, which constitute the outermost edge of the IC 70, come into contact with the slope face 84 of the positioning wall piece 72 with the downward movement of the table 68, so that IC 70 is horizontally moved rightward, in FIG. 13, and finally positioned between the vertical faces 82 of the positioning wall piece 72 as shown in FIG. 14.
Upon completing the positioning of the IC 70, the vertical mechanism 86 moves the table 68 upward until reaching the initial position, as shown in FIG. 15, and stops the same there. In this state, the conveying means 60 is capable of sucking the IC 70, which has been positioned on the table 68.

Method of positioning an I.C. and IC handler utilizing said method


A fault tolerant platform is provided that comprises two systems running pairs of processes in the active and standby state, one process from each pair running on each system. Each system comprises a fault-tolerance controlling process, first communication channels provided between the fault-tolerance controlling process and the processes in the active or standby state running on its system, and second communication channels provided between the fault-tolerance controlling processes. Management of fault tolerance (that is, promoting a process in a standby state to the active state, and making a process in an active state exit from the active state) is handled by the fault-tolerance controlling processes. A generic management of fault tolerant processes is thus provided in which fault detection and switchover is carried out independently of the applications. The invention thus ensures efficient and coherent switchover between active and standby processes.

There are many software applications, notably in the field of telecommunications, that require fault tolerance (referenced "FT" in the rest of this specification) in order to ensure continuity of operation.
To provide fault tolerance, it is known to duplicate a process running on a platform, so as to obtain an active process and an standby process. If the active process goes down, the standby process is promoted to the active state, and all communications with the formerly active process are switched to the new active process.
It was also suggested to have a standby process for several active ones, and to promote similarly the standby process to an active state when one of the active processes goes down.
Another known solution is to provide several active processes, without any standby process: when one of these active processes goes down, its functions and activity are switched to one or several other active processes.
In the prior art, all these solutions are provided on an application basis. In other words, each application running on a platform will manage its own active and/or standby processes, independently of any other application that may also have fault tolerant capabilities. This is resource-consuming, and also involves providing fault-tolerance separately in each application.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to reduce the need for resources in fault tolerant platforms, and also to reduce the need for providing fault tolerance in every application.
Another problem in such fault tolerant systems is the so-called split-brain syndrome. This problem occurs in fault tolerant systems, if at least one process has a faulty view of reality. For instance, this may occur if there is a communication problem between nodes or processes; the communication problem may have any origin, such as a physical breakdown of the communication link, a bug in one or several processes, a time-out affecting one or several process, or traffic congestion.
In this case, several process may come into conflict for resources. In the example of a communication problem between a standby and an active process, the standby process may consider the active process dead and try to grab resources, while the active process with continue using the same resources. This usually leads to catastrophic or unstable situations.
A quorum solution to split-brain syndrome has been proposed, in a system with more than two nodes or processes in communication. Where a communication problem creates two groups of nodes or processes, thus leading to a possible split brain syndrome, a decision rule determining that it is the group with the majority of nodes which should remain active is applied by all the nodes or processes.
This quorum method will not work for systems in which there is an even number of nodes, where the communication failure creates two groups comprising of the same number of nodes or processes. The quorum method is also inefficient for multiple communication failures that may create several groups of nodes, none of which has the quorum majority. Finally, the quorum method will not work where only two processes are in communication.
Accordingly, it is further object of the invention to provide a simple solution to the split-brain syndrome, that will prove efficient in the above configuration, and especially in the case of a communication between an active and a standby process in a fault tolerant system.