According to some embodiments, a method is provided including receiving, from a front-end portion of a business information system, a data request at a back-end portion of the business information system, identifying an information provider associated with the data request, passing the data request to the information provider via a consumer services interface using a selection object and a query view object, and receiving a result set from the information provider.

A business information system can improve an organization's ability to monitor and manage data in a complex business environment. A business information system, such as the SAP Business Intelligence ("BI") systems offered by SAP AG of Walldorf Germany, provides components and tools that allow users to retrieve, view and manipulate data from a number of different sources. Some items of data may be from internal sources (e.g., such as a company's internal database), while others may be from external or third party sources. As used herein, a company's "internal data" is data that is stored and maintained as part of the company's overall business intelligence solution. Some of the data, for example, may be associated with a "data warehouse" (generally referred to herein as a "business warehouse" or "BW"). The BW may be a combination of business information stored in a variety of ways, including in relational database, in memory databases, in data storage areas remote from the enterprise application systems and in virtual data sources (such as ad hoc data generated from business coding in the BW). As used herein, "external data" is data that is not processed or maintained by the analytical engine of the business information system.
A BW may include preconfigured data formats and conventions. As a result, it is relatively straightforward to query, view and manipulate "internal data" (or data from the BW). It can be more difficult, however, for a business information enterprise system to process requests, queries, or other interactions with external data or data from external data sources or other applications. For example, external data is typically formatted or configured differently from the internal data. One example of a type of transaction which is made more difficult by the need to access both internal and external data is the execution of a query to retrieve specified data. Business information enterprise systems typically provide some capability for users of the system to submit a query to retrieve and view data.
A "query view" is a definition of desired data, including a definition of what data to look for and how to arrange and format the data. The query view represents all of the settings an end user client application requires to provide the data to the end user. For example, a query view typically includes restrictions (or filters) that are applied to the data to be accessed. Specific illustrative examples are: product lines, company names, customer groups, fiscal year, distribution regions, product costs, product quantities, revenues, dates, etc. Data filters may be applied to further limit the result data. For example, result data can be filtered to identify illustrative features such as: the customers having revenue greater than 1 million dollars, the top 10 customers according to revenue, the customers having actual derivation to plan of greater 5%, etc. Query views may further include visualization settings to more efficiently display and format retrieved data. For example, visualization settings may include traffic light reporting or calculations based on the retrieved data (like ranking calculations) or the like. By providing such settings, the retrieval of data becomes more efficient and focused to a user's particular needs.
In existing systems, a query is generally executed by a query application (the "called application") which is called by another application (the "calling application") that will analyze the retrieved query data and add client applications on top of the retrieved query data. The query view is generally defined in a format native to the calling application rather than to the called application. As such, the calling application must include a translator to convert the query view into a format native to the called application. However, such an approach can become cumbersome, particularly when there are several different applications in a business information system that include query views, since each application has to have its own translator. In this case, a developer must know how to translate query views from each application's format to the format of the called application and then create all the translators. This is costly and time-consuming.
Some systems use Microsoft® XMLA for data retrieval. However XMLA/MDX only describes the data retrieval part in a structured query language (SQL)-like manner. Therefore calling applications typically have their own model on top of it and generate XMLA/MDX for data access based on their model. The generation of XMLA/MDX is quite complicated, because XMLA/MDX is generic and geared toward academia and many business questions result in very complex MDX code (where MDX is the query language of XMLA/ODBO). Concepts like traffic light reporting, currency translation, complex currency and unit handling or inactive parts of the definition are missing completely. These features have to be enhanced (if possible) by the calling application.
Other systems use JOlap, a Java based online analytical processing (OLAP) API that provides an OLAP model that is powerful and complex. Again, the API only treats the data retrival itself and it is difficult and time-consuming to translate the query views from an application's format to the API.
Other existing APIs do not provide concepts such as traffic light reporting (exception calculation) and list calculation, and therefore put this load on the calling applications, reducing the accuracy and effectiveness of the API in a business information system.
It would be desirable to provide improved methods and systems for executing query views and for otherwise allowing interaction between calling applications and called applications, including situations where the called applications are external applications or include external data, without putting the translation and enrichment efforts on the calling application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Business intelligence OLAP consumer model and API


A crawler belt link includes a center portion, one end portion located on one end side of the center portion, and the other end portion located on the other end side of the center portion. In a second surface, the center portion has a first portion of a rail surface, the one end portion has a second portion of the rail surface, and the other end portion has a third portion of the rail surface. A first outer circumferential portion reaching the second portion of the rail surface is located closer to a second side portion with respect to a bushing hole surrounding portion. Accordingly, a crawler belt link and a crawler belt apparatus can be implemented, by which wear of the rail surface above a bushing hole can be suppressed while maintaining the width of the crawler belt link to be relatively small.

A track-type work vehicle such as a hydraulic excavator includes a lower traveling unit, an upper revolving unit, and a work implement coupled to this upper revolving unit. The above-described lower traveling unit has a sprocket wheel, an idler tumbler, a roller, a crawler belt apparatus, and the like.
Generally, the crawler belt apparatus is configured by coupling a plurality of crawler belt links by a pin and a bushing in an endless manner (in an oval shape) and attaching a track shoe plate to the plurality of crawler belt links. The crawler belt apparatus is wound around the idler tumbler and the sprocket wheel, and configured such that it can be driven to rotate by engaging sprocket teeth with the above-mentioned bushing to rotate the sprocket wheel.
The above-described crawler belt link has a rail surface opposite to the surface having the track shoe plate mounted thereon. On this rail surface, the rollers and the idler tumbler roll. Such a crawler belt link is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-89023 (see PTD 1), WO2009/101836 (see PTD 2), and the like.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-89023 discloses that the hardness of the rail surface of the crawler belt link is partially changed in order to reduce occurrence of level differences on the rail surface that are caused by wear due to rolling of the rollers. Furthermore, WO2009/101836 discloses that a roller is divided in the axial direction in order to reduce uneven wear of the rail surface of the crawler belt link.

Crawler belt link and crawler belt apparatus


The present invention provides an organic light emitting device including: a substrate; and two or more stacked light emitting elements, which comprise a first electrode, at least one intermediate electrode, a second electrode, and an organic material layer disposed between the electrodes, the stacked organic light emitting elements including a first group of electrodes electrically connected to each other such that among the electrodes, at least two electrodes, which are not adjacent to each other, become a common electric potential, and a second group of electrodes which include one electrode among electrodes which are not electrically connected to the first group of electrodes, or at least two electrodes which are not electrically connected to the first group of electrodes and are electrically connected to each other so as to be a common electric potential without being adjacent to each other, in which the stacked organic light emitting elements are disposed at an interval apart from each other on the substrate and driven by an alternating current power source such that a form, in which a first group of electrodes of one stacked organic light emitting element among the stacked organic light emitting elements are directly connected to a second group of electrodes of another stacked organic light element, is continuously repeated.

An organic light emitting element using the organic light emission phenomenon is actively applied to various illumination devices due to an advantage in that high luminance may be implemented at a low voltage, and is actively applied to display devices due to advantages such as low-voltage driving, light weight and slim style, wide viewing angle, high speed response and the like.
The organic light emission phenomenon refers to a phenomenon that electric energy is converted into light energy by using an organic material. That is, when an organic material layer is disposed between an anode and a cathode, if voltage is applied between the two electrodes, holes from the anode and electrons from the cathode are injected into the organic material layer. When the injected holes and electrons meet each other, an exciton is formed, and when the exciton again falls down to a ground state, light is emitted.


The instant disclosure describes methods for treating diseases and conditions of the central and peripheral nervous system by stimulating or increasing neurogenesis. The disclosure includes compositions and methods based on muscarinic receptor modulation, such as via inhibition of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity, alone or in combination with another neurogenic agent to stimulate or activate the formation of new nerve cells.

Neurogenesis is a vital process in the brains of animals and humans, whereby new nerve cells are continuously generated throughout the life span of the organism. The newly born cells are able to differentiate into functional cells of the central nervous system and integrate into existing neural circuits in the brain. Neurogenesis is known to persist throughout adulthood in two regions of the mammalian brain: the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. In these regions, multipotent neural progenitor cells (NPCs) continue to divide and give rise to new functional neurons and glial cells (for review Gage 2000). It has been shown that a variety of factors can stimulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis, e.g., adrenalectomy, voluntary exercise, enriched environment, hippocampus dependent learning and anti-depressants (Yehuda 1989, van Praag 1999, Brown J 2003, Gould 1999, Malberg 2000, Santarelli 2003). Other factors, such as adrenal hormones, stress, age and drugs of abuse negatively influence neurogenesis (Cameron 1994, McEwen 1999, Kuhn 1996, Eisch 2004).
Muscarinic cholinergic receptors mediate the effects of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In the CNS, muscarinic receptors play a central role in mediating cognitive function and are abundant in the forebrain, including the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex. In the PNS, muscarinic receptors mediate parasympathetic activity. Muscarinic receptors are also involved in mediating the actions of acetylcholine on certain organs that are responsive to parasympathetic cholinergic stimulation; for example, they affect the contractibility of smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract, the secretion of gastric acid, the force and rate of heart muscle contraction, the secretory activity of exocrine glands that receive parasympathetic innervation, such as the salivary glands, and the constriction of bronchial tissue.
Five sub-types of muscarinic receptors have been characterized, and are designated m1, m2, m3, m4, and m5. m1 receptors are found in the CNS and peripheral ganglia, m2 receptors are found on cardiac cells and in the brainstem, m3 receptors are found in smooth muscle, endocrine (e.g., the pancreas) and exocrine glands (e.g., the lacrimal glands), and the cerebral cortex, m4 receptors are found primarily in the neostriatum, and m5 receptors are found primarily in the substantia nigra. Muscarinic receptors are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), with the activity of the m1, m3 and m5 receptors mediated by the phosphoinositide second-messenger system, and the m2 and m4 receptors linked to the adenylate cyclase second messenger system.
Compounds with activity against muscarinic receptors have been studied for the treatment of conditions linked to cholinergic dysfunction, such as Alzheimer's Disease, which is associated with the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the forebrain. Clinical testing has revealed a high degree of debilitating, dose-limiting side effects associated with compounds active against the m2 and m3 receptor subtypes, including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal side effects. In contrast, compounds that are selective for m1 receptors, or m1 and m4 receptors have generally been found to have better clinical profiles, with enhanced efficacy and decreased side effects. To date, there is has been little research regarding the use of muscarinic compounds to treat diseases not characterized by or substantially resulting from cholinergic dysfunction.
Acetylcholinesterase, or AChE, is also known as erythrocyte (or RBC) cholinesterase and acetylcholine acetylhydrolase. It is classified at EC 184.108.40.206 and is found in various locations, including the blood and neural synapses. AChE catalyzes hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid where acetylcholine is a pan-muscarinic and pan-nicotinic receptor ligand. The hydrolysis reaction reaction permits an activated cholinergic neuron to return to a resting state.
Citation of the above documents is not intended as an admission that any of the foregoing is pertinent prior art. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents is based on the information available to the applicant and does not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents.

Methods of treating psychiatric conditions comprising administration of muscarinic agents in combination with SSRIs


Techniques are described for providing an ad hoc mesh network of nodes that employ a light-based transmission protocol, such as a version of light fidelity (LiFi). The mesh network includes multiple nodes that each includes transceiver(s) for sending and receiving light-based communications. A node in the mesh network can receive a message signal sent by another node, by detecting the light modulations emitted by the sending node to transmit the message signal. The receiving node can forward the message signal to other node(s) that are proximal to the receiving node (e.g., that are in line-of-sight with the receiving node), by emitting the appropriate light modulations to send the message signal. In this way, a message signal can be conveyed from one node to another, from one endpoint of the mesh network to another endpoint of the mesh network.

Wired or wireless networks are commonly used in a variety of environments to provide network communications between computing devices and/or access to other networks. In many instances, the use of a wired network or a wireless network that employs radio frequency signals is not viable, cost prohibitive, or otherwise not practical. For example, a wireless network that employs radio frequency signals (e.g., WiFi) may not be practical in an environment that includes obstructions that are opaque to radio-frequency signals. As another example, a wireless network that employs radio frequency signals may not be desirable in an environment with devices whose function would be impaired in the presence of radio frequency signals.


A powder dispensing device including an inlet, a flow portion for providing a tortuous path and powder anti-back flow, wherein the powder dispensing device does not require restrictive filters, a powder container having concentric ribs and vortex generating vanes to provide vortex generation or agitation for the powder, a cap, and an outlet.

Current pesticide powder applicators do not efficiently discharge powder from the powder container due to poor agitation and circulation of the powder. Additionally, current devices are easily clogged due to the restrictive filters used to prevent powder from falling ("backwards") from the container towards the pressure source.
Specifically, current devices direct the motive force (pneumatic pressure) through a small annular opening that then directly interacts with the powder in the container. This current process, however, does not properly agitate the powder and only enables a small amount of powder to be carried out of the container via the discharge tube, thereby resulting in inefficient powder application.
Current devices also utilize restrictive filters to prevent the powder in the container from backflowing from the container towards the pressure source under the effects of gravity. These filters, however, also restrict the airflow into the container, thereby making the powder application even more inefficient. These filters also often clog, rendering the devices unusable.
In short, current devices do not dispense powder efficiently, resulting in a longer application process. These devices also use restrictive filters which tend to clog, resulting in inoperable devices.
As can be seen, there is a need for a powder dispensing apparatus with vortex agitation for increased powder dispensing. The present invention increases powder application efficiency by, first, providing thorough agitation throughout the contained powder via vortex swirling action, and second, by eliminating the restrictive filter and its associated clogging issues.
The present invention embodies a device, system, and method for providing a novel means of agitating the powder inside the container through a static vane geometry configured to generate a vortex throughout the base of the container. The device also eliminates the need for restrictive filters and their attendant disadvantages mentioned above. Specifically, the device prevents powder from flowing towards the pressure source by a concentric rib geometry incorporated into the vortex generating vanes as well as through the use of a novel complex geometry below the vortex vanes, defining a torturous path preventing powder from flowing towards the pressure source under the effects of gravity.
The vortex generating vanes provide more throughput—through greater agitation of the powder in the container—resulting in more efficient discharge of powder from the container. No prior art achieves this. The ability of the device to prevent the backflow of powder from the container towards the pressure source without the need for an easily clogged filter is also unique when compared to the prior art.

Powder dispensing apparatus with vortex agitation


The present invention is directed to window treatments such as vertical blinds manufactured from a knitted textile material. Each of a plurality of louvers is knitted into a single panel and attached together by a frangible hinge which permits the louvers to pivot relative to each other, or may be torn to separate the louvers from each other without damage to the louvers. In installations requiring multiple panels to be attached together, a terminus may be provided to permit attachment of one panel directly to the other. Alternately, a connection strip may be employed between two panels. In the event that the knitted textile louvers are not sufficiently opaque, auxiliary louvers may be provided and attached in alignment over the louvers.

When knitting a large fabric panel, it is often the case that the finished fabric will be cut into smaller pieces for use in a finished product, such as a window treatment. The cutting of fabric, however, introduces a number of problems which may present themselves during manufacture, most notably that extra steps are required to cut the fabric accurately. Likewise, by its very nature, cutting interrupts the fabric matrix, leaving a frayed edge which can undermine the strength or appearance of the fabric in the finished product.
In many window or see-through door applications, it is desirable to control the amount of light admitted through the window or see-through door. For instance on sunny days in warm climates, the sun is too strong (and too hot) for the comfort of the occupants, as well as being damaging to interior furnishings that may fade or become brittle. Typically, blinds are fitted, consisting of multiple slats of opaque material that can be individually rotated, in a coordinated manner, to block all or part of the light. When such slats are arrayed horizontally, the assembly is commonly called a "venetian blind".
In large windows or doors, venetian blinds are impractical because they can become difficult to raise completely when needed for unobstructed viewing, or to clean the glass behind. So, often a variant called a "vertical blind" is fitted, in which rotatable slats are hung vertically from their ends on a traverse mechanism with individual, coordinated rotating hangers. Vertical blinds have been most often used in settings where large windows are more common, such as in commercial buildings or for residential patio doors or picture windows.
Vertical blinds are well known and commonly comprise elongated strips or slats of opaque material suspended vertically from an overhead traverse mechanism provided with individual rotatable hangers. Conventional louvers, also called slats or vanes, of a vertical blind are adapted for lateral movement between a drawn blind position, in which the blind is opened to one or opposite ends of a traverse or channel adjacent their tops and an extended blind position wherein the louvers are positioned in generally equal spaced relation to one another along the length of the traverse or channel.
The louvers themselves are also adapted for selective rotation about their longitudinal axes between open and closed positions. The spacing between the louvers when the blind is extended is approximately equal to their width. Thus, when the traverse mechanism is positioned, for example, above and along the horizontal length of a window, the rotation of the louvers selectively blocks the passage of light through the window.
The vertical louvers may be made of vinyl or other suitable material, colored to add an accent color to the room or colored to blend with the primary color of the room. These louvers are generally limited to solid colors, or simple vertical patterns, because they are manufactured separately. If a continuous horizontal pattern effect is attempted using this method, it is prohibitively difficult accurately to align sequential louvers horizontally. Each louver in a horizontal pattern represents an individual pattern segment even slight misalignment of which would be unattractively obvious and would destroy the aesthetic appeal of the blind.
The louvers may also be made or covered with a fabric material to achieve a specific design effect. Louvers formed entirely of fabric may lack the rigidity of solid louvers, and thus may be provided with a hanger reinforcement at the top and a weight on the bottom to permit the louvers to hang uniformly.
Currently, fabric blind louvers are manufactured from continuous rolls of louver-width fabric that have been slit from wider fabric rolls. These are individually cut to length and sewn to form a louver. This production method makes the incorporation of a horizontal pattern prohibitively difficult because there is no way to assure that pattern elements will align horizontally. Even if the louvers were cut transversely from rolls of patterned fabric having a width equal to the length of the louver, further processing such as the attachment of mounting hardware to each of the louvers would introduce sufficient vertical error into each louver to destroy the horizontal alignment of the pattern.
Fabric louvers manufactured from a single roll of fabric have an additional drawback in the tendency of the louvers to fray along their longitudinal edges, particularly as a result of machine washing. Because the material from which the louvers are cut necessarily has an existing continuous structure, the cutting of which necessarily presents edges where the structure has been interrupted, resulting in a series of loose threads. Untreated, these threads tend to unravel, weakening the fabric and creating an unattractive frayed edge over time and as laundered. Preventing this result requires additional costly manufacturing steps.
It is also known to combine a vertical blind with a sheer fabric wherein the opaque vertical slats of the blind cooperate with the sheer fabric to provide diffusion of the light entering between the opaque slats when the blind has been extended and is in the open position. This provides an aesthetically pleasing effect, as well as adding privacy as a result of reduction in the clarity of view from the exterior into the interior of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,880 to Colson et al. discloses such a combination vertical blind wherein rigid opaque vanes having the arrangement of a conventional vertical blind are attached at one of their longitudinal edges a sheet of sheer fabric such that light passing between the slats of the blind passes through the sheer fabric when the blind is open. Such a blind can be expensive to manufacture, as the sheer fabric must be attached to the vanes during an additional manufacturing step because the vanes are made of a different material from the fabric. Furthermore, although the width of a conventional vertical blind can be adjusted by adding or removing a number of discreet vanes, this is not possible in a combination blind because the vanes are essentially connected together into a single structure by the sheer fabric, requiring these blinds to be custom made to a specific width, also adding to their expense.
Another example of a combination blind is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,669 to Shapiro. Shapiro is directed to a drape adapted to be supported in the manner of a vertical blind and having alternate opaque and sheer vertical sections. The opaque sections are generally rigid and may be selectively rotated to permit the transmission of light through the sheer sections or to block the transmission of light by folding the sheer sections over the opaque sections. One obvious drawback, in addition to the drawbacks discussed with respect to Colson et al. above, is that the rigid vanes overlap the fabric requiring excessive fabric in order to fabricate the entire window covering. Further, the vanes or louvers are only attached to the fabric material along a top and bottom edge thereof, thereby inhibiting the control over the fabric material during operation of the window covering.
Another embodiment disclosed by Shapiro is a blind having alternating opaque and sheer sections in which the generally rigid vertically extending louvers are eliminated and substituted by a fabric panel having alternate vertical sections of fine and coarse mesh. The fine mesh sections may be provided with stiffening members at a top hem thereof and are connected to a vertical blind traverse from which the fine mesh sections may be rotated as louvers. When in the open position, the coarse mesh sections are disposed so as to admit a maximum of light therethrough. When in the closed position, the fine mesh sections are rotated so that the edges thereof overlap adjacent fine mesh sections to impede the transmission of light. Although this embodiment overcomes some of the limitations of the first Shapiro embodiment, a disadvantage of such a blind would be due to the lack of stiffness of the fine mesh "louver" sections. Any attempt to rotate the louvers of the second Shapiro embodiment would be resisted progressively along the length of the louver, resulting in an unattractive, non-uniform twisting which would render the blind nonfunctional.
Therefore a need exists for a vertical blind which can display a pattern horizontally across its louvers such that the alignment of the pattern from one louver to the next occurs without noticeable misalignment.
A further need exists for a vertical blind having louvers formed entirely of fabric, said louvers having an independent knitted structure wherein the major seams are substantially uninterrupted and free of loose thread ends, and wherein said louvers can be machine washed without developing frayed seams.
A still further need exists for a vertical blind having a plurality of louvers formed in a single roll of fabric, wherein the roll can be cut into panels of various lengths as needed during installation.
A still further need exists for a knitted blind panel having an open top and bottom dimension to allow for adjustment of height and alignment during installation.
A still further need exists for panels which can be attached together for applications which are wider than the maximum width of a single panel.
A still further need exists for a combination blind comprising a panel of fabric combining sheer and light-blocking sections, said blinds having sections of sufficient rigidity to function as louvers and a structure which allows the louvers to uniformly adjust to vary the amount of light which passes through the sheer sections of the blind, without the need for stiff louver panels.
A still further need exists for a combination blind wherein the light-blocking sections are provided with a rigid opaque auxiliary louver which increases the amount of light blocked by the louvers in the closed position.
A still further need exists for a fabric combination blind which can be produced in a standard width which can be adjusted easily as needed during installation over non-standard windows.

Frayless frangible connection for fabric and vertical blind system incorporating same


A doctoring apparatus includes a doctor blade defining a width and thickness. A support beam supports the doctor blade. A blade mounting includes at least one clamping part for clamping the doctor blade. The clamping part provides flexible mounting of the doctor blade in a transverse direction to the doctor blade and generally rigid mounting of the doctor blade in a direction corresponding to the doctor blade width.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a doctoring apparatus, and, more particularly, to a doctoring apparatus having an adjustably mounted doctor blade.
2. Description of the Related Art
Doctoring apparatus for Coating systems for paper or cardboard are known, e.g., from U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,214. Doctor blade adjustment systems, typically in the form of traction-thrust screws, may be used to provide a cross profile adjustment of the applied coating on the paper. With known blade adjustment apparatus, the blade is rigidly clamped in its foot area, and the flexibility occurs in the area where the adjustment device for the local adjustment, or the base load of the blade, is active.
What is needed in the art is a doctor blade adjustment apparatus providing relatively free deformation of the doctor blade in a direction transverse to the doctor blade.

Doctoring apparatus with flexible blade mounting


A safety device for a rifle, or other elongate firearm, includes a first part for removably attaching the stock to the chest of a user and a cord for supporting the butt portion below the user's chest. The firearm can, thus, be supported in a safe, substantially vertical orientation to allow the user's hands to be free. The stock portion is easily released to allow the rifle to be operated with the cord remaining attached and providing additional safety.

My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,797, discloses a safety device for use with a firearm, such as a rifle, to restrict the movement of the firearm. That device permits a range of motions such that normal use of the firearm is permitted, but movement of the firearm into an orientation where it can be aimed at the user's head or torso is prevented. The device shown in that patent, however, requires the user to use at least one of his hands to carry the rifle.
There are many times when a user would like to carry a rifle safely without the use of his hands and yet to have the rifle available for immediate use. Devices that permit a user to carry a rifle without the use of the hands are known, but these devices are not safe. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,185 (Moomaw) shows a gun sling that can hold a rifle on the front of a user when the sling is in a particular position. That position is not fixed, however, and the rifle can be easily moved to an unsafe position when the user bumps the rifle, as during a fall. U.S. Pat. No. 2,423,531 (Theis) shows a hook attached to the jacket of a user near the shoulder for supporting one end of a rifle. The other end of the rifle must be supported by a hand of the user, and the rifle would certainly be dislodged from the hook were the user to fall. U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,746 (Stumpf) shows a support for a rifle, but the rifle is held in a position that endangers those around the user.


A process is described for forming a heavily doped buried element below an active device region of a silicon wafer without the use of costly epitaxial layers and without incurring ion implantation damage within active device regions. The method is particularly applicable to active device regions which have small lateral dimensions. Thus, the technological trend towards shrinking devices favors the incorporation of the process of the invention. The process utilizes a silicon nitride hardmask to define a narrow band around the perimeter of the device active area. A deep implant is performed through this mask, placing a ring of dopant below and outside the active area. The silicon nitride hardmask is then patterned a second time to define the conventional field oxide isolation regions. The LOCOS field oxidation is then performed whereby the implanted dopant diffuses vertically, engaging the field oxide around the perimeter of the device region and laterally filling in the region under the device active area. The novel process is used to the form buried collectors for high performance bipolar transistors including BiCMOS applications.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the formation of bipolar junction transistors and more particularly to deep sub-micron in BiCMOS integrated circuits.
(2) Description of prior art
Recent trends in integrated circuit design have seen the re-emergence of the bipolar junction transistor(BJT) as a useful companion to the metal oxide silicon field effect transistor(MOSFET) which has dominated the technology for more than a decade. The BJT, although superior in speed and current driving capability to the MOSFET, was by-passed because of its somewhat greater cost and difficulty of manufacture, and its current and space requirements, by the MOSFET. However, in recent years, the processing advancements developed for use by complementary MOSFET (CMOS) technology, have provided a favorable environment for the incorporation of the BJTs into CMOS integrated circuits. CMOS technology makes combined use of n-channel MOSFETS (NMOS devices) and p-channel MOSFETs (PMOS devices).
The obvious utilization of BJTs is for input/output(I/O) functions while relegating the logic functions to the CMOS devices. More recently, however, bipolar devices are finding their way into the logic functions themselves in the form of BICMOS logic gates, interface drivers, and even into SRAMs(static-random-access-memories). FIG. 1, taken from Wolf, S.,"Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era", Vol.2, Lattice Press, Sunset Beach, Calif., (1995), p586, illustrates the reduction in access time of SRAMs offered by bipolar and BiCMOS technology.
The great strides made in recent years towards sub-micron definition of device components, along with the advancement of polysilicon technology have removed many of the competitive obstacles of the BJT. The technology which is now emerging from CMOS is a BiCMOS technology and involves the integration of BJTs into the CMOS environment.
Newer processing techniques developed for CMOS technology have made some of the critical features of the thin film bipolar transistor easier to control, in particular the base width and the emitter area. p- and n-wells, developed for CMOS technology, have been used to provide buried collectors for BJTs within the framework of CMOS technology without the need for epitaxial layers. Examples of BiCMOS structures formed in may be found in Wolf, S.,"Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era", Vol.2, Lattice Press, Sunset Beach, Calif., (1995), p531ff. Although such bipolar structures are easily assimilated into the CMOS process, they suffers from a high collector resistance(R.sub.c) as well as high collector-base and emitter-base capacitances which compromise device performance.
Generally, high performance bipolar transistors require collectors with significantly higher doping levels than can be provided by conventional, ion implanted n- and p-wells. Unfortunately the use of a heavier implant to provide the highly doped buried collector also causes a significant increase in implant damage in the region above the collector wherein the emitter and the intrinsic base regions are subsequently formed. Damage in these regions results in serious device degradation in the form of intolerable current leakage and shorts between these elements and the collector. This shortcoming of conventional ion implantation has forced many practitioners to resort to earlier and more established methods for forming high performance BJTs--that of incorporating the buried collector by the use of an epitaxial layer.
These traditional methods involve local implantation of dopant into the region of the wafer where the collector is to be formed. An epitaxial layer is then grown over the wafer. During the epitaxial growth, the implanted material diffuses into the epitaxial layer and further into the substrate silicon. When arsenic is used as the collector dopant for an npn BJT, lateral auto-doping takes place during the epitaxial growth, requiring the use of p+ junction isolation. Although antimony is less prone to lateral auto-doping, it's solid solubility in silicon is only about one-tenth that of arsenic, making it unsuitable for high dopant concentrations. The impact of problems resulting from auto-doping become more severe as device geometries become smaller. These shortcomings in addition to the increased cost of epitaxial growth itself, are major disadvantages of the use of epitaxy to form high performance sub-micron BJTs,
Ford, U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,639 forms an npn BJT with a buried collector by first forming the heavily doped regions in the substrate and then growing an epitaxial layer. n- and p- wells are then formed for the CMOS devices and over the buried collector region. a heavily doped reach-through provides a low resistance contact to the buried collector element. The base and emitter regions are then formed along side the collector reach-through. Fabricius, et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,757 describes a method for reducing birds beak during the formation of isolation for a BJT having a collector buried in an epitaxial layer.
Joyce, U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,710 forms a lateral pnp BJT for a BiCMOS integrated circuit, using an epitaxial BiCMOS process which includes conventional npn BJTs wherein the heavily doped buried layer is used to provide retrograde dopant profiles for the lateral pnp BJT.
Grubisich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,798 uses two epitaxial layers to fabricate a BJT with a guard ring. The second epitaxial layer is used to develop the heavily doped buried collector.
The current invention takes advantage of the present day trend which reduces lateral device geometries to sub-micron levels, by performing a heavy ion implant of the collector dopant in a perimeter region of the active area of the BJT. Thus the emitter and base regions do not suffer damage from the implantation process. Subsequent lateral diffusion of the dopant during field oxide growth, forms the buried collector below the active area. Because of the small lateral geometries, complete filling of the active area is possible.

Method for forming pseudo buried layer for sub-micron bipolar or BiCMOS device

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Described are electromagnetic shields comprising a substrate, a conductive additive, and a binder incorporated with the conductive additive and deposited on the substrate, and methods of making thereof.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a signal received from a natural or man-made external source that is unwanted. Such EMI can and negatively affect the performance of electrical component through electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or conduction provided thereby. These electronic disturbances can degrade the performance of computing and communication components by increasing the error rates in data transfer and storage. EMI shielding, however, can protect electrical devices from external signal interference, from leaking EMI signals, and to prevent electrical components within an electrical device from interfering with each other. Shielding from EMI is also important to ensure accurate testing and calibration of electronic components.
EMI shields are typically composed of metals or metal composites, due to their high conductivity. However, such metallic components can be difficult to manufacture and are susceptible to chemical corrosions and oxidations, which reduce the shielding effectiveness over time.

Electromagnetic interference shielding materials, devices, and methods of manufacture thereof


Embodiments of the present application relate to a method for resource allocation, a network device, and a terminal device. The method includes allocating, by the network device, multiple receiving resource pools corresponding to different synchronization references to the terminal device, where the multiple receiving resource pools are used by the terminal device to receive data transmitted by a further terminal device; determining, by the network device, at least one receiving resource pool in the multiple receiving resources; transmitting, by the network device, a system information block (SIB) to the terminal device, where the SIB is used to indicate the at least one receiving resource pool.

In a vehicle to X (V2X) scenario, a network device may indicate, through a system information block (SIB), a receiving resource pool to the terminal, where the receiving resource pool is used by a terminal device to communicate with a further terminal device.
Specifically, when the network device configures a receiving resource pool for the terminal device, the network device may indicate the receiving resource pool through an SIB, where a synchronization reference (sync reference) corresponding to the receiving resource pool may be determined by the terminal device according to a synchronization reference signal transmitted by the network device. However, when the network device configures multiple receiving resource pools for the terminal device, for example, the multiple receiving resource pools correspond to different synchronization references, and the different synchronization references may be determined by the terminal according to reference signals of the different network devices, due to a size limitation of the SIB, it is not possible to indicate all receiving resource pools through the SIB.
In addition, the network device may also transmit parameter information to the terminal device through the SIB. Specifically, the SIB may include multiple parameters used by at least one terminal device in side-link communications, but it is not possible to transmit multiple parameters of all terminal devices through the SIB due to the size limitation of the SIB. Moreover, when the terminal device supports multiple working modes, for example, when a terminal device of a higher release is compatible with a working mode of a lower release, the network device also needs to determine the working mode of the terminal device, and then transmit information including a corresponding parameter to the terminal device, thus the terminal device lacks flexibility in selecting a working mode in side-link communications.

Method for resource allocation, network device and terminal device

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


In this invention, in an optical disk on which data is to be recorded in units of one ECC block constructed by 16 sectors, data is recorded at the time other than the initial time, then the data is reproduced to determine an ECC block having a sector with secondary defect, and data for the ECC block which is determined to have the sector with secondary defect is recorded into an ECC block which is separately prepared.

This invention relates to a recording and reproducing device for recording data on an optical disk and reproducing data recorded on the optical disk, a recording device exclusively used for recording data on an optical disk, a reproducing device exclusively used for reproducing data recorded on the optical disk, and a replacement processing method for effecting the replacement process for a defect area or defect areas in the optical disk device.
Conventionally, an optical disk device for recording data on an optical disk having recording tracks or reproducing data recorded on the optical disk using laser light emitted from a semiconductor laser oscillator mounted on an optical head has been put into practical use.
With the above optical disk device, data is recorded on the optical disk in units of one ECC block, each block being constructed by a plurality of sectors.
In this case, there is provided a process for determining whether or not data is correctly recorded in units of one sector at the time after the manufacturing time or the initial time, such as the application starting time. If a sector with a defect is detected by the above determination process, the process includes treating the sector as an unusable block, and recording data into a sector in a different area for replacement.
In this case, if data recorded on the different area sector is not simultaneously reproduced when one ECC block is reproduced, reproduction of the whole ECC block cannot be effected. That is, originally, the sectors of one ECC block can be successively reproduced, but in this case, it becomes necessary to reproduce the sector for replacement in the course of reproduction of the ECC block and then successively reproduce the sectors of the original ECC block. Therefore, the reproduction speed is lowered.

Optical disk device and replacement processing method


In a multifunction printer having a scanner section and a printer section in one piece, upon reception of a printer section reset command, an interface control task forcibly writes NULL into an input buffer and a job control task sets a reset flag RSF. Various nested loop processes are executed in a main task. Since NULL is stored in the input buffer, the process is terminated in due time and since the reset flag RSF is set, control gradually returns to the main loop process. Thus, if the scanner section and the printer section operate concurrently, the main task can be initialized and only the printer section can be reset.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multifunction printer having a scanner section and a printer section and in particular to a multifunction printer having a scanner section and a printer section that can operate independently of each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multifunction printer having a scanner section and a printer section which are integral and are stored in one cabinet becomes widespread. Such a multifunction can act as a scanner, a printer, and a copier. In this case, to make it possible to execute color print and a color copy, often a color ink jet printer is used as the printer section.
With such a multifunction, the user might want to cancel a print job being executed in the printer section for some reason. To do this, the user transmits a reset command from a computer connected to the multifunction printer thereto and the multifunction printer cancels the print job being executed based on the reset command.
However, in the multifunction printer in the related art, to cancel the print job being executed, reboot processing is executed to restore various tasks operating to execute the print to the initial state. That is, the various tasks in the multifunction printer operate in a real-time operating system (OS) and thus the real-time OS itself is rebooted, whereby the multifunction printer is initialized and the print job being executed is canceled.
However, a multifunction printer comprising a scanner section that can operate independently of a printer section is also available. In such a multifunction printer, while the printer section prints print data received from the computer connected to the multifunction printer, the scanner section can perform the scan operation over an original, etc., concurrently. If the real-time OS itself is rebooted while the concurrent operation is thus performed, the scanner section is also reset although the user does not intend to reset the scanner section.
Moreover, if the user makes a retry of scanning and transmits a command from the computer to the multifunction printer, a communication error may be caused to occur because the real-time OS is already rebooted. In this case, the user must again start up the scanner driver of the computer and remove the communication error.


Hydraulic pressure control apparatus wherein a pressure difference across a seating valve disposed in a fluid passage acts on a valve member for placing the seating valve in an open state, while an elastic member biases the valve member for placing the seating valve in a closed state, and a valve driving device operated with an electric current applied thereto generates a drive force acting on the valve member so as to open the seating valve. A control device for controlling the electric current includes a stepping controller for incrementing the amount of the electric current when the seating valve is operated from the closed state into the open state, such that an increment of the electric current decreases with an increase in the pressure difference. The hydraulic pressure control apparatus may be suitably used in a vehicle braking system, for controlling fluid pressure in wheel brake cylinder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a hydraulic pressure control apparatus and a hydraulically operated braking system for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a hydraulic pressure control apparatus including a seating valve and a valve driving device operated with an electric current applied thereto to move a valve member of the seating valve, and a hydraulically operated braking system wherein the pressure of a working fluid in a wheel brake cylinder for braking a wheel of the motor vehicle is regulated by such a hydraulic pressure control apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The assignee of the present application proposed a hydraulic pressure control apparatus including a seating valve and a valve driving device as described above, and as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-17988 which had not been laid open at the time the above-identified Japanese Patent Application No. 9-88349 was filed. This hydraulic pressure control apparatus includes (1) a seating valve having a valve member and a valve seat and disposed in a fluid passage such that the fluid passage is separated by the seating valve into a high-pressure portion and a low-pressure portion when the seating valve is placed in a closed state thereof with the valve member being seated on the valve seat, and such that a difference between pressures of a working fluid in the high-pressure and low-pressure portions of the fluid passage acts on the valve member in a first direction for moving the valve member away from the valve seat so as to place the seating device in an open state thereof, (2) an elastic member for biasing the valve member in a second direction for moving the valve member to be seated on the valve seat, (3), a valve driving device operated with an electric current applied thereto, to generate a drive force acting on the valve member in the above-indicated first direction, and (4) a control device for controlling the electric current to be applied to the valve driving device, to thereby control the valve driving device.
In the hydraulic pressure control apparatus of the type described above, a biasing force based on an elastic force of the elastic member acts on the valve member in the direction for moving the valve member to be seated on the valve seat, while a biasing force based on the fluid pressure difference and the drive force or biasing force generated by the valve driving device act on the valve member in the direction for moving the valve member away from the valve seat. When the biasing force based on the elastic member is larger than a sum of the other two biasing forces, the seating valve is closed with the valve member being seated on the valve seat. When the former is smaller than the latter, the seating valve is open with the valve member being spaced apart from the valve seat. The biasing force generated by the valve driving device and acting on the valve member changes with the amount of the electric current to be applied to the valve driving device. Accordingly, it is possible to control the fluid pressure difference, namely, at least one of the fluid pressures on the high-pressure and low-pressure sides of the seating valve, by controlling the amount of the electric current to be applied to the valve driving device.
In a hydraulically operated braking system for a motor vehicle, for example, the seating valve of the hydraulic pressure control apparatus may be disposed in a fluid passage connecting a master cylinder and a wheel brake cylinder for braking a wheel of the vehicle. The master cylinder is adapted to pressurize the working fluid according to an operation of a brake operating member. The fluid pressure generated by the master cylinder can be reduced by a desired amount by the hydraulic pressure control apparatus, so that the reduced fluid pressure is applied to the wheel brake cylinder. Described more specifically, the fluid pressure in the wheel brake cylinder, which is lower than the master cylinder pressure, can be controlled by controlling the amount of the electric current to be applied to the valve driving device. Further, the seating valve of the hydraulic pressure control apparatus may also be disposed in a fluid passage connecting the wheel brake cylinder and a reservoir which is provided to accommodate the working fluid under the atmospheric pressure. In this case, the wheel brake cylinder pressure which is higher than the fluid pressure in the reservoir can be controlled by the hydraulic pressure control apparatus.
However, the hydraulic pressure control apparatus discussed above suffers from a problem that the operating response of the hydraulic pressure control apparatus is not sufficiently high upon initiation of its pressure control operation. That is, the control device of the hydraulic pressure control apparatus is arranged to initiate a gradual increase (from the zero value) of the electric current applied to the valve driving device, upon satisfaction of a predetermined condition for opening the seating valve, so that the seating valve is opened when the biasing force generated by the valve driving device based on the applied electric current has exceeded a difference of the elastic force of the elastic member from the biasing force based on the fluid pressure difference across the seating valve. This arrangement causes a time delay between the moment when the predetermined condition for opening the seating valve is satisfied, and the moment at which the seating valve is actually opened with the amount of the electric current exceeding a given critical point corresponding to the above-indicated difference between the elastic force and the biasing force based on the fluid pressure difference. Thus, the operating response of the hydraulic pressure control apparatus is not satisfactory upon initiation of its pressure control operation.

Pressure control apparatus including seating valve controlled by electric current incremented upon valve opening depending upon pressure difference across the valve


In a tensioner lever assembly for a chain transmission, an auxiliary lever, arranged to pivot relative to a main tensioner lever, engages a free span of the chain approaching the main lever from a driving sprocket. The auxiliary lever can be pivoted coaxially with the main lever, and can extend either toward the center of the main lever, or toward the driving sprocket. Alternatively, the auxiliary lever can be pivoted on the main lever at a location remote from the pivot axis of the main lever, and engaged with a free span of the chain moving away from the main tensioner lever and approaching a driven sprocket.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an timing transmission for an internal combustion engine, in which a tensioner lever is used to prevent both excess tension and excess slack in a silent chain. The tensioner lever 500 comprises an arm 510, pivotable on a pivot shaft P adjacent one end of the lever, and a shoe member 520, which extends from one end of the arm 510 toward the other end. The shoe is in contact with a portion of chain C on the slack side, i.e., the side at which the chain travels from a driving sprocket S1 toward a driven sprocket S2. The lever is provided with a pad 511, which is engageable with the plunger of a tensioner (not shown), which exerts a force against the lever, urging it against the chain. The slack side of the chain has two free span regions, designated FS, where the chain C is not in contact with the lever, a sprocket, or any other parts, one such region extending from the point at which the chain begins to disengage from sprocket S1 to the point at which the chain first contacts the shoe 520, and the other extending from the point at which the chain disengages from shoe 520 to the point at which the chain is fully engaged with sprocket S2. These free span regions FS ensure a degree of freedom in the path of the transmission chain C. The tensioner lever 500 is described in Japanese patent publication No. 3448122 (page 1, FIGS. 1 to 4)
Chord vibration can occur in the free span regions FS, where the chain is not in contact with other parts. Such vibration produces vibration noise, and can also result in backlash. Backlash, when intensified, causes the chain to impact against the tensioner lever itself, resulting not only in the production of impact noise, but also in increased wear of the shoe of the tensioner lever.
Backlash in the transmission chain can be reduced by increasing the pressing force applied by the tensioner to the chain. However, although such a measure can reduce backlash, it leads to excessive wear of the transmission chain and the shoe of the tensioner lever.
The main object of this invention is to provide a tensioner lever, which can prevent impact noise, vibration noise, and wear damage to the tensioner shoe, by suppressing backlash in the free span regions of the transmission medium.

Power transmission incorporating tensioner lever


Various apparatuses, methods and systems for a multi-mode DAC with selectable output range, granularity and offset and controlled slew rate are disclosed herein. For example, some embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus for supplying a reference signal, including a digital-to-analog converter, a counter and a clock. The digital-to-analog converter has a digital input and an analog output that supplies a reference signal based on the digital input. The counter has a digital control word input, a clock input, a clock enable output and a count output connected to the digital input of the digital-to-analog converter. The counter is adapted to assert the clock enable output when the digital control word input requests an output count that is different from an actual count at the count output of the counter. The clock has an enable input connected to the clock enable output of the counter and a clock output connected to the clock input of the counter. The clock is adapted to produce clock pulses on the clock output while the enable input is asserted.

The present invention is related to a multi-mode digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and more particularly to a multi-mode DAC with selectable output range, granularity (or resolution) and offset and controlled slew rate.
Digital-to-analog converters are used in many electronic circuits to provide adjustable analog reference signals (voltage and current). The analog output signal may be set to different levels by changing the value of a digital control word at the control input to the DAC. For example, many power supply circuits rely on an analog reference signal to set the output voltage or current from the power supply. Adjustable power supplies may therefore need a DAC to generate an adjustable reference signal. As the digital control word at the input of the DAC is changed, the analog reference signal to the power supply is changed and the output voltage or current from the power supply follows the changes in the analog reference signal from the DAC.
Digital-to-analog converters are typically designed with a fixed granularity (resolution or step-size), output range and bias value or offset. Each sequential step in the digital control word increases or decreases the analog output by a fixed amount, which is also known as step-size of least-significant bit (LSB). For example, given a DAC with a fixed output range of 5 volts and a 3-bit digital control word with a range of 0-7 where an input of 0 selects an output of 0V and an input of 5 selects an output of 5V, the analog output may be changed in increments of 1/7 of the 5 volt maximum, or about 0.7 volts. Based on the requirements of the power supply, the granularity and output range may fixed at different values, and is not necessarily limited to an even division of the fixed output range by the number of possible input values according to the width or number of bits in the digital control word. For example, an application may specify that the output granularity is to be in steps of 0.1V with a range of 5V, which would leave a number of unused values in a 6-bit digital control word. The DAC may also be designed to provide a fixed offset or bias in the analog output. For example, given a digital input of 0, the DAC may be configured to generate a non-zero analog output such as 2.5 volts as the fixed lower limit.
For complex electronic systems requiring multiple different reference signals, such as a notebook computer requiring power supplies with several different individually adjustable voltage levels to power various subsystems, multiple conventional DACs are needed to provide the different reference signals. This is particularly true when the various subsystems or operational modes have different requirements for the granularity, output range and offset of the DAC.
The use of a conventional DAC to provide an analog reference signal can also cause noise or other problems due to the rapid slew rate, particularly if large changes are made to the digital control word causing the analog output to respond to the rapid and drastic changes its reference signal goes through. This problem is typically addressed using a buffer amplifier at the output of the DAC to drive a capacitor. This slows changes in the analog reference signal due to the time constant of the system, including the capacitor value. If the DAC and buffer amplifier are embodied in an integrated circuit, the capacitor is typically an external capacitor, requiring a dedicated pin on the integrated circuit to connect the capacitor. The capacitor must be changed from application to application based on the desired slew rate. Furthermore, even with an external capacitor, the slew rate cannot be precisely controlled because the current of the buffer amplifier that charges and discharges the capacitor is process, supply voltage and temperature dependent. Furthermore, if multiple DACs of such type are embodied in one integrated circuit, multiple external pins are needed to connect external capacitances resulting in a higher pin-count and thereby higher cost, not to mention the additional capacitances themselves increasing the overall component count of the electronic system.
Thus, for at least the aforementioned reason, there exists a need in the art for a DAC with selectable output range, granularity and offset and controlled slew rate of its output voltage during transition. Additionally, slew-rate for multiple DACs in one IC should be controlled by the user with one external pin.


Disclosed is a modular earring assembly including two or more separate earring components that may be connected together in a variety of different ways to provide different earring presentations to the user or be separately used. The modular earring assembly allows a user to pick and match two or more earring components in the assembly to a desired presentation or to use any one component of the modular earring assembly alone. The modular earring assembly provides a way to manage the demand for multiple earring presentations. This disclosure allows woman and men to have more earring choices anywhere anytime.

An earring is a piece of jewelry that may be attached to the ear. Earrings are worn by both sexes and have been used by different civilizations over the course of history.
Earrings may come in different types.
A stud earring is typically an earring that creates the appearance of floating on the ear or earlobe since the friction back or clutch typically holding the post of the stud to the ear is located behind the earlobe and so is not visible from the front. The stud earrings typically have a stud affixed to one end of a post which may be threaded through a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear. The post may be held in place by a removable friction back or clutch. If the post is threaded, a screw back may be used to hold the earring in place securely. A screw back may be useful in preventing the loss of expensive earrings such as one containing precious stones or precious metals.
A hoop earring is typically an earring that may be circular or semi-circular in design and look very similar to a ring. Hoop earrings typically come in the form of a hoop of a material such as metal. The hoop may be formed in the shape of a closed letter "C" with the ends of the letter "C" adjoining each other to create the appearance of a ring. The adjoining ends of the ring may be opened up with each end being insertable into opposing sides of the ear piercing. In an alternative construction, a small piece of material or wire such as made from metal may be provided at either or both ends of the adjoining ends of the earring for insertion deeper into or through the ear piercing to provide a firmer attachment of the earring to the ear.
A dangle earring is typically an earring with a dangler or chain that when attached to the ear lobe appears to flow downward from the ear lobe. The length of the dangler or chain may typically be a centimeter or two or extend the full length to brush the shoulders. Dangle earrings may be provided with a hook at one end for passing through the piercing in the ear lobe to hold the dangle earring in place. In other examples, the dangle earring may be connected to an attachment hoop formed in the shape of a closed letter "C" with the ends of the letter "C" adjoining each other to create the appearance of a ring. Attachment may be by opening of the adjoining ends for inserting the ends into opposing sides of the ear piercing. The adjoining ends may be provided with a fastener mechanism that allows an earring to be easily put on and taken off without causing any damage. The fastener mechanism may be a small piece of material or wire moveably affixed at one end to one adjoining end of the ring and moveable at another end to allow the fastener mechanism to open so that the material or wire may be inserted deeper into or through the ear piercing and afterwards closed to provide for a firmer attachment. The fastener mechanism may include a small piece of material or wire moveably affixed on each of the adjoining ends of the ring, one or both being moveable to open and close so that the earring may be attached into or through the ear piercing and previously explained. The dangling earring may also be provided with a post for threading through a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear; the post being held in place by a removable friction back or clutch or screw back as previously explained.
These and other conventional earrings are typically designed to be a one earring design for one particular use, For example, the stud earring is configured on one end with a post for attachment to the ear lobe and on the other end with a stud. While it may be possible for the post to be configured with a thread hole or other mechanism for attachment of a variety of different studs, the composite stud earring remains just that, a stud earring—to wit, a post with a stud. Simply put, the stud earring is one earring of one design.
Similarly, the hoop earring may be configured in the shape of an open letter "C" to allow adjoining ends to be used for attachment to the ear lobe while creating the appearance of a ring. As with a stud earring, the hoop earring is one earring of one design.
Similar too is the dangle earring. Where, for example, the dangler or chain of the dangle earring is attached to the ear lobe using a hook or post, as with a stud earring, the dangle earring is one earring of one design. Where, for example, the dangler or chain of the dangle earring is attached to the ear lobe using an attachment hoop, the dangler or chain may be removed from the attachment hoop. This allows the dangles or chains to be changed out to different designs for use with the attachment hoop. Still, the dangler earring on attachment hoop arrangement remains one earring of one design.
The conventional earrings that are based upon a one earing one design approach have stood the test of time over the course of history. In simpler times, where a woman or man had one event to attend during the day like going to work and another event to attend in the evening like a dinner engagement, it was easy for the woman or man to use one earring like a stud earring for work and another earring like a dangler for the dinner engagement. But today's world is not so simple. Women and men alike may find their days more and more filled with more events that may call for different attire and with different attire may come the need to use different earrings. Even where the daily routine involve few events, things may be different when there is travel involved since the collective travel days may call for more events which may call for different attire and with different attire may come the need to use different earrings.
With the conventional one earing one design approach to earrings, a woman or man may need to have an array of one earing one design earrings on hand in order to get through the events of a day or the events of several days if there is travel involved. This creates a demand to have more earring choices anywhere anytime. With this demand come additional problems like the need for women and men to expend considerable time and energy in making choices in advance on which earrings to take to work or bring on a trip and how to carry the earrings one may need to use with different apparel for different events during the day or for travel. Further, fast fashion continues to make a considerable, negative impact on the environment because more earrings are required per user. The implementation of modular earring styles according to this disclosure provide customization of user earring choices with a more environmentally sustainable footprint to addresses these problems.


A method, using a public-key cryptosystem, for enabling a predetermined entity to monitor communications of users suspected of unlawful activities while protecting the privacy of law-abiding users, wherein each user is assigned a pair of matching secret and public keys. According to the method, each user's secret key is broken into shares. Then, each user provides a plurality of "trustees" pieces of information. The pieces of information provided to each trustee enable that trustee to verify that such information includes a "share" of a secret key of some given public key. Each trustee can verify that the pieces of information provided include a share of the secret key without interaction with any other trustee or by sending messages to the user. Upon a predetermined request or condition, e.g., a court order authorizing the entity to monitor the communications of a user suspected of unlawful activity, the trustees reveal to the entity the shares of the secret key of such user. This enables the entity to reconstruct the secret key and monitor the suspect user's communications.

In a single-key cryptosystem a common secret key is used both to encrypt and decrypt messages. Thus only two parties who have safely exchanged such a key beforehand can use these systems for private communication. This severely limits the applicability of single-key systems.
In a double-key cryptosystem, the process of encrypting and decrypting is instead governed by different keys. In essence, one comes up with a pair of matching encryption and decryption keys. What is encrypted using a given encryption key can only be decrypted using the corresponding decryption key. Moreover, the encryption key does not "betray" its matching decryption key. That is, knowledge of the encryption key does not help to find out the value of the decryption key. The advantage of double-key systems is that they can allow two parties who have never safely exchanged any key to privately communicate over an insecure communication line (i.e., one that may be tapped by an adversary). They do this by executing an on-line, private communication protocol.
In particular, Party A alerts Party B that he wants to talk to him privately. Party B then computes a pair of matching encryption and decryption keys (E.sub.B, D.sub.B). B then sends A key E.sub.B. Party A now encrypts his message m, obtaining the ciphertext c=E.sub.B (m), and sends c to B over the insecure channel. B decrypts the ciphertext by computing m=D.sub.B (c). If an adversary eavesdrops all communication between A and B, will then hear both B's encryption key, E.sub.B, and A's ciphertext, c. However, since the adversary does not know B's decryption key, D.sub.B, he cannot compute m from c.
The utility of the above protocol is still quite limited since it suffers from two drawbacks. First, for A to send a private message to B it is necessary also that B send a message to A, at least the first time. In some situations this is a real disadvantage. Moreover, A has no guarantee (since the line is insecure anyway) that the received string D.sub.B really is B's encryption key. Indeed, it may be a key sent by an adversary, who will then understand the subsequent, encrypted transmission.
An ordinary public-key cryptosystem ("PKC") solves both difficulties and greatly facilitates communication. Such a system essentially consists of using a double-key system in conjunction with a proper key management center. Each user X comes up with a pair of matching encryption an decryption keys (E.sub.X, D.sub.X) of a double-key system. He keeps D.sub.X for himself and gives E.sub.X to the key management center. The center is responsible for updating and publicizing a directory of correct public keys for each user, that is, a correct list of entries of the type (X, E.sub.X). For instance, upon receiving the request from X to have E.sub.X as his public key, the center properly checks X's identity, and (digitally) signs the pair (X, E.sub.X), together with the current date if every encryption key has a limited validity. The center publicizes E.sub.X by distributing the signed information to all users in the system. This way, without any interaction, users can send each other private messages via their public, encryption key that they can look up in the directory published by the center. The identity problem is also solved, since the center's signature of the pair (X, E.sub.X) guarantees that the pair has been distributed by the center, which has already checked X's identity.
The convenience of a PKC depends on the key management center. Because setting up such a center on a grand scale requires a great deal of effort, the precise protocols to be followed must be properly chosen. Moreover, public-key cryptography has certain disadvantages. A main disadvantage is that any such system can be abused, for example, by terrorists and criminal organizations who can use their own PKC (without knowledge of the authorities) and thus conduct their illegal business with great secrecy and yet with extreme convenience.
It would therefore be desirable to prevent any abuse of a public key cryptosystem while maintaining all of its lawful advantages.


A method provides content decisions for a personalized channel that is to be deliverable to a prescribed set of client devices as a linear channel streaming adaptive bit rate (ABR) video. In the method, a request is received for a resolution to a decision point in an ABR manifest of a linear video stream for a content asset to be inserted in the linear video stream at a specified time. The linear video stream is to be presented on the personalized channel. Responsive to the request, a network location is provided for accessing a specified content asset to be inserted in the linear video stream at the specified time.

Subscription based video content service providers employ networks such as direct broadcast satellite (DBS), over-the-air, cable or telecommunication distribution systems to distribute video content as linear video or video-on-demand (VOD) streams. Recently, these video content providers have overlaid adaptive bitrate (ABR) systems to satisfy their subscribers' demands for IP-based over-the-top services as well as linear video or video-on-demand (VOD) streams.
Consumers of linear and VOD content have an ever-growing number of content sources available to them, and they want to receive that content easily on a wide variety of devices. For instance, service providers often provide hundreds of different channels for viewers to choose from. Additionally, a vast array of Internet-based sources of content are also available to consumers, including video, still images and graphics. To assist consumers in selecting and receiving the video content that they are most interested in, subscription-based video content service providers would like to offer personalized channels targeted or personalized for individual consumers or groups of consumers that have one or more attributes or characteristics in common. For instance, personalized channels may be targeted to groups of consumers who are physically located in common regional markets.

Controller for establishing personalized video channels


An arrangement for heating a sample by microwave radiation is provided. The arrangement includes a container having an inner space for accommodating the sample and having a bottom container wall, a wave guide arranged to guide a microwave having an electric field direction, a waveguide adapter being adapted to couple the microwave from the wave guide into the inner space of the container via the bottom container wall being oriented to be different from perpendicular to, in particular substantially parallel to, the electric field vector direction.

DE 20 2011 105 285 U1 discloses a pressure container for accompanying a sample to be heated, wherein the pressure container comprises a microwave transmissible region via which microwaves may be coupled into the reaction chamber. Thereby, a light guide pipe extends from the microwave transmissible region to an infrared sensor disposed external to the pressure room. A magnetron generates a microwave which is transmitted via a wave guide and which is coupled into the reaction chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,835 discloses a device for initiating and/or promoting chemical or physical processes in a material which is heatable by a microwave heating means and thereby subjected to pressure. A magnetron emits a microwave via an antenna and a reduction element carries the microwave to a base part of a container in which the sample is placed.
EP 2 740 494 A1 discloses a microwave sterilizer for liquids, wherein two magnetrons are arranged below a resonance chamber and below a sample to be heated.
US 2010/0270291 A1 discloses a device for heating a sample by microwave radiation comprising a source of microwave radiation, a first wave guide for guiding said microwave radiation to an applicator space adapted to receive said sample to be heated, wherein said applicator space is defined by a terminal portion of said first wave guide and an initial portion of a second wave guide extending from said terminal portion of said first wave guide and being arranged at an angle with respect to said first wave guide. The first wave guide is adapted to transmit a single mode of the microwave radiation and the second wave guide is adapted to block or dampen the propagation of microwave radiation from the first wave guide into the second wave guide, if no sample is present in the portion of the applicator space. The second wave guide is adapted to improve propagation of microwave radiation from said first wave guide into said second wave guide if a sample is present in the portion of the applicator space. An antenna of the magnetron extends into the rectangular wave guide.
The conventional systems and methods for subjecting a sample to microwave radiation have disadvantages regarding possibilities to monitor a property or the state of the sample and/or to influence the sample, such as to stir the sample.


Fall detection method and systems with its unique designed sensors are disclosed. The capacitive sensing based systems use the abrupt changes of the capacitance value to detect whether a real fall event happens, while the reed sensor/or reed switch based systems work in power saving passive mode to detect the real fall event by analyzing the binary “on/off” signal available from the reed sensor/or reed switch. Both rely on the orientation change of the host body respects to local gravity direction during the falling process. The system can present either as a standalone system or a built-in component with supporting software installed on other devices.

Fall detection is very important and has widely applications in older care, patient care, child care, disable care as well as safety for outdoor sports, such as ski, mount bike, hiking, cycling. To develop a reliable fall detection system has huge market potential and great society impact.
Conventional fall detection system is designed to detect whether a real fall event happens by matching falling acceleration data with pre-set models or thresholds using enormous different kinds of algorithm. However, a random fall event depends on actual situation and prior falling movement of the host. It is so complicated that it is almost impossible to have a precise model to mimic the real events for each particular case. Despite of great efforts, there is no a successful product existing on the market with great impact. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/469,035 and Ser. No. 14/161,695, a universal fall detection system and different falling sensor designs are disclosed to resolve this dilemma by directly measuring/sensing the relative position/orientation between the host body and direction of gravity at the spot where a falling event happens.
In this disclosure, our unique detection methodology and detection system design as well as more alternative falling sensor designs are disclosed.
As used herein, the term "or" may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Similarly, the term "exemplary" is construed merely to mean an example of something or an exemplar and not necessarily a preferred or ideal means of accomplishing a goal. Additionally, although various exemplary embodiments discussed below focus on quality control of professionals, the embodiments are given merely for clarity and disclosure. Alternative embodiments may employ other systems and methods and are considered as being within the scope of the present invention.


A power tool having a tool portion, a chuck and a lock. The tool portion has a housing, a motor, and a spindle driven by the motor. The chuck has a body coupled to the spindle for rotation therewith, and a sleeve rotatably disposed about the body. The lock has a first lock structure pivotally coupled to the housing about a pivot axis, and a second lock structure. The first lock structure has a first locking feature. The second lock structure has a second locking feature and is coupled to the sleeve for rotation therewith. Pivoting the first lock structure into a first pivot position positions the first locking feature in a rotational path of the second locking feature. Engagement of the first and second locking features inhibits rotation of the sleeve so that rotation of the spindle will cause corresponding rotation of the body relative to the sleeve.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Chucks for holding a drill bit or a screwdriver bit have been known for many years. Chucks often times comprise an inner cylindrical hollow core to which a plurality of jaws are held at an angle. The jaws may move into and out of the hollow core thereby clamping a bit there within. In order to advance or retract the jaws, the jaws have a threaded portion that cooperates with a threaded collet member that is generally held circumferentially around the jaws in a rotatable, but axially immovable manner. Thus, on rotation of the collet member, the threads cooperate to advance or retract the jaws.
Whilst the above mode of advancing or retracting the jaws is generally acceptable, it does suffer from some short-coming. In order for the chuck to accommodate bits of significantly different diameters, the amount by which the collet member must be rotated to advance or retract the jaws can be considerable. In situations where a user must frequently change between larger and smaller diameter bits, the operation of a chuck in the usual manner can be very inconvenient. Moreover, because conventional chucks are hand-tightened, the amount of force that secures a bit within a chuck is dependent upon the strength of the person using the tool.


A connector has a mating surface on which the connector is mated with a mating connector in a first direction. The connector includes a power supply contact and a housing. The housing is formed with a power supply contact holder and a protrusion. The power supply contact holder holds the power supply contact. The protrusion extends along the first direction to a location closer to the mating surface than an edge of the power supply contact. The protrusion extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction more than the power supply contact within the power supply contact holder.

The present invention relates to a connector including a power supply contact having a relatively large size.
Some connectors have power supply contacts for supplying electric power in addition to signal contacts and ground contacts. Generally, power supply contacts have a size larger than signal contacts and the like in order to prevent an extreme voltage drop in the power supply contacts.
Various precautions have been taken to prevent an operator using a connector from receiving an electric shock or getting burnt by touching a power supply contact due to its large size. For example, JP A 08-078079 discloses an example of a connector having a cylindrical power supply contact with an insulator covering a tip of the power supply contact and an insulating pin provided inside of the power supply contact to prevent a finger from entering an internal space of the cylindrical power supply contact and touching the power supply contact although the illustrated connector does not have signal contacts.
However, a finger may touch a power supply contact by accident even if the power supply contact is not so large that the finger enters an internal space of the cylindrical power supply contact. The technology disclosed in JP A 08-078079 cannot cope with such a case.
Furthermore, if the insulator covering the tip of the power supply contact disclosed in JP A 08-078079 is made thinner, it may be broken when the connector is detached from a mating connector. On the other hand, if the insulator is made thicker, the size of the connector problematically increases. Additionally, it is not easy to cover a contact with an insulator, and the workability of the covering process is not so good.

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A capillary, interface and holder for a capillary electrophoresis system are provided herein. The capillary is disposed in a substantially planar housing having side surfaces. The capillary includes at least two, substantially coplanar capillary openings which extend through an interface surface located on one of the side surfaces. The interface includes at least two spaced apart receptacles for receiving an ionic fluid. Each receptacle includes a liquid permeable medium having a capillary area and a conductor area. Each capillary area is in fluid communication with one of the capillary openings and each conductor area is in contact with at least one electrical conductor. At least two of the capillary areas are substantially coplanar. The ionic fluid is disposed in each receptacle to create an electrical path between the capillary area and conductor area of each receptacle. The holder selectively retains the housing and the interface so that the capillary areas contact the capillary openings and the conductor areas contact the electrical conductors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a capillary, an interface and a holder for a capillary electrophoresis ("CE") system. In particular, the capillary, interface and holder are useful for planar capillary electrophoresis ("PCE") and related techniques.
2. Description of Related Art
A detailed description of PCE is provided in the article Glass Chips for High Speed Capillary Electrophoresis Separations With Submicrometer Plate Heights by Carlo S. Effenhauser, Andreas Manz and H. Michael Widmer, which was published in Analytical Chemistry, Volume 65, Oct. 1, 1993, pages 2637-2642, ("Glass Chips Article"), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
CE and PCE are used in analytical and biomedical research for the rapid separation and analysis of charged species including synthetic polynucleotides, DNA sequencing fragments, DNA restriction fragments, amino acids, ions and the separation of proteins, viruses and bacteria.
CE and PCE typically utilize an electric potential difference to separate and transport components of a sample inside a capillary. A variety of detectors are available for detecting the sample components including uv-visible detection, electrochemical detection and more recently, laser induced fluorescence detection which involves labeling sample components with a fluorescent tag, such as e.g. fluorescein.
Laser induced fluorescence utilizes one or more lasers to illuminate a window section of the capillary. This illumination results in the laser excitation of the fluorescent material within the window section and causes the fluorescent material to emit radiation. These emissions are collected by a collection device and sent to a detector which converts the emission energy to a usable signal for analysis.
PCE utilizes a capillary defined by a network of interconnected, tiny, short channels formed in a planar housing. The network is useful for separating a sample into a small sample plug for testing or for combining or separating various reactants.
PCE has great potential since the small sample plug, used in combination with a short capillary and a high electrical potential allows for fast and efficient separation of the sample constituents with excellent resolution. Further, with PCE, multiple capillaries, each having multiple networks can be manufactured relatively inexpensively into the housing.
However, existing PCE systems are not entirely satisfactory since there is difficulty interfacing or connecting the network of tiny channels to electrical conductors and to samples, reactants or other fluids.
As provided in the Glass Chips Article, one way of interfacing each channel with an electrical conductor and reactant liquids includes drilling a port at the end of each channel. Next, a pipette tip is glued into the port and the pipette tip is filled with an ionic fluid. The electrical conductor is disposed in the ionic fluid.
This method of interfacing has numerous drawbacks. First, individually drilling each port in alignment with a channel and gluing each pipette tip into the port is relatively expensive. Second, a difference in hydrostatic pressure occurs if the height of the ionic fluid is not consistent in each of the pipette tips or the orientation of the housing is changed. The difference in hydrostatic pressure causes unwanted fluid flow in the channels. Thus, the level of fluid in each of the pipette tips must be carefully measured and maintained throughout the experiment to prevent unwanted fluid flow in the channels and the capillary housing must be maintained at the same orientation throughout the experiment.
Third, the test sample and reactants are in fluid communication with each other through the network of channels. Thus, the components can diffuse together and mix causing unwanted reactions or contamination between testing. This can be prevented by the inclusion of valves within the ports. However, this also increases the cost and complexity of the system.
Fourth, dead volumes can exist between the intersection of the pipette tip and the port which are difficult to clean. Thus, there is a risk of contamination and/or erroneous results if existing capillaries are reused.
Accordingly, there is a need for a capillary, an interface and a holder which (i) are relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, (ii) are relatively easy to use and clean, and (iii) reduce the potential for diffusion of the components between experiments.

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