A device for ascending or descending using the single rope technique. The device includes a clamping mechanism that has a plurality of clamping segments interconnected by a flexible spine arrangement. A release mechanism is coupled to the clamping mechanism. A reduction mechanism is coupled to the release mechanism. The reduction mechanism includes a body portion having a rope slot configured to accommodate the single rope and a housing portion disposed over the body portion. The housing portion includes a cammed groove configured to accommodate the single rope. The cammed groove is rotatably aligned with the rope slot. The reduction mechanism is movable with at least two degrees of freedom between the clamping position and the released position. The reduction mechanism is configured to frictionally engage the single rope in the released position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a safety device, and particularly to a device for safely raising and lowering a person using the single-rope technique.
2. Technical Background
There are many types of work that require a climbing device to safely perform a given task. In tree care work, for example, pruning, branch cutting and similar tasks must be performed off the ground and in the tree itself. There are construction jobs that also require the user to work in elevated positions. Some users enjoy mountain climbing or rock climbing as a recreational pursuit. Whatever the activity, it is paramount that the persons engaging in activities such as these be able to ascend, work and descend, safely and effectively, without worry or concern.
In reference to FIG. 1, a diagrammatic depiction of the "two-rope technique" is shown. Here, a rope R is disposed over a support structure Sp. One end of the rope is coupled to an attachment point 2-2 of the apparatus 2, is secured by clamp 2-1, and extends toward the ground. The user is attached to the apparatus at the attachment point 2-2. To ascend, the user pulls the rope R downwardly (See arrow A) at point "P" to pull the apparatus 2 upwardly (See arrow B) toward the support structure. At rest, the clamping structure 2-1 secures the user at some position off the ground. When the user wishes to descend, he depresses the release mechanism 2-3; the attachment mechanism works in conjunction with the clamp 2-1 to apply enough friction and control such that the user slides down the rope in safe manner. One drawback to the two-rope technique relates to the 2:1 mechanical advantage provided by the two-rope technique; while it is relatively easy to pull oneself up the rope, one only travels half as far. Some users do not like this technique and prefer the single rope technique instead.
Referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, a diagrammatic depiction of the "single rope technique" is shown. In this case, one end of the rope R is anchored or secured to the ground. The rope R extends over the support structure Sp, and is secured by the clamp 1-1. The attachment point 1-2 connects the user, or the user's harness, to the climbing apparatus 1, but is not connected to the rope. The single rope technique therefore provides no mechanical advantage. There is a 1:1 relationship between the pulling distance and traveling distance because they are one and the same. One of the drawbacks associated with the single rope technique occurs when the user actuates the release mechanism. Briefly stated, once the clamp 1-1 is released, the user has a tendency to rapidly descend down the rope with little control.
Referring to FIG. 2B, the approach commonly employed to overcome the above stated drawback is shown. In order to obviate the above stated drawback, the user wraps the rope around the clamp 1-1 to effect a technique that is appropriately referred to as a "rope wrap" 1-4. In particular, when the user actuates the release 1-3, she is holding the lower portion of the rope R tightly against the clamp portion 1-1 such that the rope wrap 1-4 increases the coefficient of friction as the rope R moves in the direction A over the clamp 1-1. The applied friction slows the user's descent and allows the user to lower herself with greater control.
One drawback associated with the rope wrap technique occurs at the moment the user actuates the release 1-3. There is a momentary drop, or jerk, that occurs when the release takes up some of the slack in the rope or line. This sudden movement is very unsettling to the user. Many users report a sense of panic and feel unsafe when this occurs. Another drawback to this approach occurs when the user descends to a new position to continue work. Once the user is in position, the release mechanism is disengaged and the clamp secures the rope. Next, the user must undo the rope wrap 1-4. However, this step in the process typically causes another sudden drop. Once again, the user momentarily thinks that she is about to fall. Again, this sudden movement is unsettling and annoying.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus adapted to the single rope technique that overcomes the drawbacks described above. In particular an apparatus is needed that avoids the sudden drops associated with the rope wrap and the conventional single rope technique apparatus.


A plurality of valve assemblies are provided to a base, and an air-supply flow path for supplying compressed air to each valve assembly is formed in the base. A main flow path communicating with the air-supply flow path and communicating with a pilot air-supply flow path is formed in an air supply block. When the compressed air is supplied to the air-supply flow path and the pilot air-supply flow path from the main flow path, a manifold solenoid valve becomes an internal pilot type. An external pilot flow path communicating with the pilot air-supply flow path is formed in an external pilot block, and when the external pilot block is provided, communication between the main flow path and the pilot air-supply flow path is shut off, and the manifold solenoid valve becomes an external pilot type in which the pilot pressure is supplied from the external pilot flow path.

When a plurality of solenoid valves are collectively attached to a manifold for use, a manifold solenoid valve is used. The "manifold" is also called a "manifold base" or simply a "base". The base is provided with a common air-supply flow path for supplying compressed air to each solenoid valve, and a common exhaust flow path for exhausting, to the outside, the compressed air that has been exhausted from each solenoid valve. An indirect actuating type solenoid valve activated by pilot pressure has a spool valve shaft for switching the flow path, and a pilot solenoid valve in which pilot pneumatic pressure for driving the spool valve shaft is supplied and controlled to the spool valve shaft. Accordingly, a valve assembly is formed by the spool valve shaft and the pilot solenoid valve. Regarding the manifold solenoid valve in which the valve assembly is collectively connected to the base, formed in the base are a common pilot air-supply flow path for supplying pilot pressure to each pilot solenoid valve, and a common pilot exhaust flow path for exhausting the pilot pressure to the outside. The base of the manifold solenoid valve includes a divided type, and the divided type base is formed by connecting a plurality of base modules to each of which the valve assembly is attached.
The manifold solenoid valve mentioned above includes an internal pilot type and an external pilot type. The internal pilot type has a structure of: being branched from the common air-supply flow path of the base to supply, to the pilot air-supply flow path, part of the compressed air in the air-supply flow path; and supplying the compressed air in the air-supply flow path to the pilot solenoid valve. The external pilot type has a structure of: directly supplying the pilot pressure to the pilot flow path from the outside; and supplying the compressed air to the pilot solenoid valve from the outside. In the external pilot type, pressure different from pressure supplied to the air-supply flow path can be supplied as pilot pressure to move the spool valve shaft.
The manifold solenoid valve, in which an actuating mode of the pilot solenoid valve is switched to any of the internal and external pilot types, is described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 11-141712), Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 2679934), and Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 10-54473).


A monitoring system for motor vehicles has a number of sensors, which are arranged on control and/or actuation devices of the motor vehicle, which have a core and an outer envelope covering the same to some extent. The sensors are embedded between the core and the outer envelope thereof and deliver an output signal when a force is exerted onto the outer envelope. The sensors are formed by a sensor unit, which can be stretched or clamped onto the core, with a first foil with a first conducting trace pattern and with a second foil, arranged thereabove, with a second conducting trace pattern. The conducting trace patterns are arranged on mutually facing surfaces of the two foils and the mutually facing surfaces of the foil are connected to one another via spacer elements in such a manner that the foils are elastically biased away from one another and a contact between the first and second conducting trace patterns can be produced by exerting a force onto at least one of the foils.

The invention relates to a monitoring system for motor vehicles, comprising a number of sensors arranged on control and/or actuation devices of the motor vehicle; evaluation means for evaluating the output signals of the sensors; and signalling means, which deliver control signals to signalling means and/or operating means of the vehicle, wherein the control and/or actuation devices have a core and an outer envelope covering the core at least to some extent, and wherein sensor elements are embedded between the core and the outer envelope thereof and are distributed over a substantial portion of an outer surface of the actuation apparatuses and deliver an output signal when a force is exerted onto the outer envelope,
A monitoring and emergency system of this type is known from DE 10 2010 035 940 B4, wherein flat conductor elements with contact projections are provided on the control and/or actuation means, which projections engage into openings of an elastic layer lying between the conductor elements and, when pressure is exerted, come into electrical contact with one another, in order to generate an output signal, which indicates the contact of at least a few of the contact projections with one another, if a force is exerted onto the control and/or means and/or actuation devices of the motor vehicle, for example in the case of the holding and moving of a steering wheel and/or gear-change lever or the like.


A sealed linear motion apparatus and method are disclosed. The moveable surface of the apparatus is sealed to side members spaced across the moveable surface and adjacent to the opposite sides of the moveable surface. The seal comprises sealing members which make contact with both the side members and the moveable surface. The sealing members are typically made from polyurethane impregnated with polytetrafluorolethylene. In one embodiment, the apparatus is used as a linear position table. A controlled motor precisely positions a plate mounted to the moveable surface. In another embodiment, the apparatus is used as a conveyor in which the moveable surface moves continuously in one direction at a constant rate of speed. Because the apparatus is sealed, it may be used in certain applications such as clean room environments and those requiring wash down of equipment with high pressure, high temperature liquid or environments with abrasive contaminants in the air.

Linear motion systems such as positional tables, linear position slides and conveyor systems have various applications. These include different applications in the manufacturing, medical, and food industries. It is appreciated that within each of these industries, many environments are possible. For instance, in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, clean room environments are very common. In the medical and food handling industries, cleanliness is of paramount importance. Therefore, it is commonly required that all equipment used in these industries be washed down periodically with high pressure, high temperature water. Consequently, the equipment used in these industries must tolerate the wash down.
Typically, linear position slides and conveyors involve high precision mechanical components. These components interact with each other in such a way as to cause friction between them. This friction can cause small particles of component material to be released from the mechanism. These particles may escape from the position system into the atmosphere. In applications such as clean room environments, these particles can adversely effect the processes being carried out by the applications.
The precision components in linear motion systems are typically made of materials which do not tolerate prolonged exposure to moisture (such as in a wash down) or contaminants, such as dirt or particles. Liquids or contaminants which come into contact with the system can cause serious permanent damage, such as shortening the life of the linear bearings, if they are allowed to contact the precision components.
Therefore, it is recognized that there exists a need for a linear motion system, such as a linear position slide or a conveyor, which is sealed to isolate its interior from its external environment. This seal should prevent particles from escaping from the system and should prevent liquids and particles from entering the system.

Sealed linear motion apparatus and method


A multiple-chip package has top and bottom pre-molded leadframes formed prior to the flip-chip attachment of semiconductor die to the leadframes. After die attachment, underfill is used to encase all but one surface of the die, and the top and bottom leadframes are joined together by solder bump balls with the exposed surfaces of the semiconductor dice proximate to each other.

There is a need for low cost, reliable packages with a standard footprint for interconnecting two or more semiconductor chips. Such packages must be able to be modified easily for specialized applications having limited projected sales as well as for mass market sales. Thus the packaging process must be able to interconnect two or more semiconductor chips selected from a wide range of semiconductor chips available now or in the future.
The generally preferred method of making vertically stacked multiple die package uses wire bonds to connect a leadframe to the die. However, as compared to flip chip, wire bonds are not considered to be as good as flip-chip attachment of die to a leadframe in both electrical and thermal performances. In addition, the flip-chip attachment on a pre-molded leadframe is also a economical method to package a semiconductor die.

Embedded die package on package (POP) with pre-molded leadframe


A semiconductor memory device is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes memory strings including drain-side memory cells connected between a bit line and a pipe transistor, and source-side memory cells connected between the pipe transistor and a source line, and a peripheral circuit suitable for applying a pipe gate voltage to a pipe gate of the pipe transistor before applying pass voltages to turn on non-selected memory cells among the drain-side memory cells and the source-side memory cells during a read operation.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional semiconductor memory device.
Description of Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices are being developed in various structures that are capable of increasing integration degree. One example of this is three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices.
Three-dimensional memory devices include memory cells which are stacked on a substrate along a channel film. Integration of a three-dimensional memory device is improved as the stacking of the three-dimensional memory cells increases. A three-dimensional memory device includes a memory block having a structure that is different from that of a two-dimensional memory device. Accordingly, in order to secure operational reliability, various technology developments suitable for the structures of the three-dimensional memory device are required.

Semiconductor memory device having memory strings including drain-side and source-side memory cells connected to pipe transistor and peripheral circuit suitable for applying pipe gate voltage to pipe transistor during read operation


An apparatus and method for measuring the buffering capacity of a liquid which utilizes a pH electrode positioned at the surface of a working electrode. Measured changes in pH of the metal-water interface at known potentials which are applied to the working electrode are used to calculate the liquid buffering capacity.

Theoretical calculations of pH at a cathodically polarized surface have received much attention in the literature. In 1965, Engell and Forchhammer, Corros. Sci., Vol. 5, p. 476 (1965), calculated the pH at the surface of cathodically polarized steel in sea water to be 10.9. In 1981, Wolfson and Hartt, Corrosion, Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 70 (1981), reported calculating the values of pH at the surface of cathodically polarized metals to be in the range of from about 10.0 to 11.25
In 1974, Kobayashi, "Effect of Environmental Factors on Protective Potential of Steel", Proc. 5th Int. Cong. met. Corros. Tokyo, 1972. National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston, Texas, p. 629 (1974), experimentally measured the pH at a distance of 0.1 mm from the surface of an unstirred 3% solution of sodium chloride. In the experiment Kobayashi measured the pH of the bulk as 8.0 and the pH close to the conductive surface as being 11.5.
Theoretical prediction of pH at a cathodically polarized surface is principally based on oxygen consumption and hydroxyl ion production rates. Oxygen consumption and hydroxyl ion production are not, however, the sole factors influencing pH at the metal-water interface. In addition, physical factors such as diffusion and convection as well as temperature, electrolyte flow velocity and electrolyte composition also affect interfacial conditions. The conditions at the metal-water interface are crucial for the effectiveness of cathodic protection systems. Since some physical factors may vary with time, effectiveness of cathodic protection may vary with time as well.

Probe for measuring liquid buffering capacity

The Research and Development Institute, Inc. at Montana State University

by Nancy C. Characklis, legal representative


A touch display screen, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device are disclosed. The touch display screen includes a display panel; a touch layer on the display panel; and an optical film, on a side of the touch layer away from the display panel, the optical film and the display panel are in direct contact with each other.

With the rapid development of touch technology, touch display screens are gradually applied to electronic products. A design direction of the touch display screens is to make the touch display screens become more and more thinner, for example, to reduce the thickness of a flexible touch display screen, which is more conducive to the flexibly folding of the flexible touch display screen.

Touch control display screen and manufacturing method therefor, and display device

Hefei Xinsheng Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A novel fast reroute (FRR) technique is provided for quickly and efficiently rerouting selected types of network traffic in response to a node or link failure at the edge of a computer network. According to the technique, the network includes first and second edge devices that function as “FRR mates,” such that network traffic originally destined for one FRR mate may be quickly rerouted to the other without having to wait for conventional network convergence. When an edge device receives rerouted packets originally destined for its FRR mate, the device responds by forwarding only those rerouted packets matching the selected traffic types; rerouted packets that do not match the selected traffic types are dropped or otherwise discarded. The first and second edge devices may be statically configured as FRR mates, e.g., by a network administrator, or they may be configured to automatically detect their compatibility as FRR mates.

A computer network is a geographically distributed collection of interconnected subnetworks, such as local area networks (LAN) that transport data between network nodes. As used herein, a network node is any device adapted to send and/or receive data in the computer network. Thus, in this context, "node" and "device" may be used interchangeably. The network topology is defined by an arrangement of network nodes that communicate with one another, typically through one or more intermediate nodes, such as routers and switches. In addition to intra-network communications, data also may be exchanged between neighboring (i.e., adjacent) networks. To that end, "edge devices" located at the logical outer-bound of the computer network may be adapted to send and receive inter-network communications. Both inter-network and intra-network communications are typically effected by exchanging discrete packets of data according to predefined protocols. In this context, a protocol consists of a set of rules defining how network nodes interact with each other. The term "network traffic" generally refers to the transmission of one or more data packets between network nodes in the computer network.
Each data packet typically comprises "payload" data prepended ("encapsulated") by at least one network header formatted in accordance with a network communication protocol. The network headers include information that enables network nodes to efficiently route the packet through the computer network. Often, a packet's network headers include a data-link (layer 2) header, an internetwork (layer 3) header and a transport (layer 4) header as defined by the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Reference Model. The TCP/IP Reference Model is generally described in more detail in Section 1.4.2 of the reference book entitled Computer Networks, Fourth Edition, by Andrew Tanenbaum, published 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
A data packet may originate at a source node and subsequently "hop" from node to node along a logical data path until it reaches its addressed destination node. The network addresses defining the logical data path of a data flow are typically stored as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in the packet's internetwork header. IP addresses are typically formatted in accordance with the IP Version 4 (IPv4) protocol, in which network nodes are addressed using 32 bit (four byte) values. Specifically, the IPv4 addresses are denoted by four numbers between 0 and 255, each number usually delineated by a "dot." A subnetwork may be assigned to an IP address space containing a predetermined range of IPv4 addresses. For example, an exemplary subnetwork may be allocated the address space 128.0.10.*, where the asterisk is a wildcard that can differentiate up to 254 individual nodes in the subnetwork (0 and 255 are reserved values). For instance, a first node in the subnetwork may be assigned to the IP address 22.214.171.124, whereas a second node may be assigned to the IP address 220.127.116.11.
A subnetwork is associated with a subnet mask that may be used to select a set of contiguous high-order bits from IP addresses within the subnetwork's allotted address space. A subnet mask length indicates the number of contiguous high-order bits selected by the subnet mask, and a subnet mask length of N bits is hereinafter represented as /N. The subnet mask length for a given subnetwork is typically selected based on the number of bits required to distinctly address nodes in that subnetwork. Subnet masks and their uses are more generally described in Chapter 9 of the reference book entitled Interconnections Second Edition, by Radia Perlman, published January 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
By way of example, assume an exemplary subnetwork is assigned the IP address space 126.96.36.199, and the subnetwork contains two addressable (reachable) network nodes. In this case, 30 address bits are needed to identify the subnetwork 22.214.171.124, and the remaining two address bits are used to distinctly address either of the two nodes in the subnetwork. Thus, the subnetwork may be associated with a subnet mask length of /30 since only the first 30 most-significant bits of an IP address are required to uniquely address this subnetwork. As used herein, an "address prefix" is defined as the result of applying a subnet mask to a network address. For example, consider the address prefix 220.127.116.11/24. In this case, a network portion of the prefix contains the 24 most-significant bits of the IP address 22.214.171.124, i.e., the network is 18.104.22.168, and the last 8 bits are used to identify hosts on that network. An IP address and an address prefix are said to "match" when the prefix's network portion equals the IP address's most-significant bits.
Interior Gateway Protocols
A computer network may contain smaller groups of one or more subnetworks which may be managed as separate routing domains. As used herein, a routing domain is broadly construed as a collection of interconnected network nodes under a common administration. A routing domain is often managed by a single administrative entity, such as a company, an academic institution or a branch of government. Such a centrally-managed routing domain is sometimes referred to as an "autonomous system." In general, a routing domain may operate as an enterprise network, a service provider or any other type of network or subnetwork. Further, the routing domain may contain one or more edge devices having "peer" connections to edge devices in adjacent routing domains.
Network nodes in a routing domain are typically configured to forward data using predetermined paths from "interior gateway" routing protocols, such as conventional link-state protocols and distance-vector protocols. These interior gateway protocols (IGP) define the manner with which routing information and network-topology information are exchanged and processed in the routing domain. For instance, IGP protocols typically provide a mechanism for distributing a set of reachable IP subnetworks among the intermediate nodes in the routing domain. As such, each intermediate node receives a consistent "view" of the domain's topology. Examples of link-state and distance-vectors protocols known in the art, such as the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol and Routing Information Protocol (RIP), are described in Sections 12.1-12.3 of the reference book entitled Interconnections, Second Edition, by Radia Perlman, published January 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is usually employed as an "external gateway" routing protocol for routing data between autonomous systems. The BGP protocol is well known and generally described in Request for Comments (RFC) 1771, entitled A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4), by Y. Rekhter et al., published March 1995, which is publicly available through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A variation of the BGP protocol, known as internal BGP (iBGP), is often used to distribute inter-network reachability information (address prefixes) among BGP-enabled edge devices in a routing domain. To implement iBGP, the edge devices must be "fully meshed," i.e., such that every device is coupled to every other device by way of a TCP connection. In practice, conventional route reflectors are used to logically couple devices into a full mesh. The BGP protocol also may be extended for compatibility with services other than standard Internet connectivity. For instance, Multi-Protocol BGP (MP-BGP) supports various address family identifier (AFI) fields that permit BGP messages to transport multi-protocol information, such as is the case with RFC 2547 services.
A network node in a routing domain may detect a change in the domain's topology. For example, the node may become unable to communicate with one of its neighboring nodes, e.g., due to a link failure between the nodes or the neighboring node failing, such as losing power or going "off line" for repairs. If the detected node or link failure occurred within the routing domain, the detecting node may advertise the intra-domain topology change to other nodes in the domain using an interior gateway protocol, such as OSPF. Similarly, if an edge device detects a node or link failure that prevents communications with a neighboring routing domain, the edge device may disseminate the inter-domain topology change to its other fully-meshed edge devices, e.g., using the iBGP protocol. In either case, there is an inherent latency of propagating the network-topology change within the routing domain and having nodes in the domain converge on a consistent view of the new network topology, i.e., without the failed node or link.
Multi-Protocol Label Switching/Virtual Private Network Architecture
A virtual private network (VPN) is a collection of network nodes that establish private communications over a shared backbone network. Previously, VPNs were implemented by embedding private leased lines in the shared network. The leased lines (i.e., communication links) were reserved only for network traffic among those network nodes participating in the VPN. Today, the above-described VPN implementation has been mostly replaced by private "virtual circuits" deployed in public networks. Specifically, each virtual circuit defines a logical end-to-end data path between a pair of network nodes participating in the VPN. When the pair of nodes is located in different routing domains, edge devices in a plurality of interconnected routing domains may have to co-operate to establish the nodes' virtual circuit.
A virtual circuit may be established using, for example, conventional layer-2 Frame Relay (FR) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks. Alternatively, the virtual circuit may "tunnel" data between its logical end points using known layer-2 and/or layer-3 tunneling protocols, such as the Layer-2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) and the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) protocol. In this case, one or more tunnel headers are prepended to a data packet to appropriately route the packet along the virtual circuit. The Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocol may be used as a tunneling mechanism for establishing layer-2 virtual circuits or layer-3 network-based VPNs through an IP network.
MPLS enables network nodes to forward packets along predetermined "label switched paths" (LSP). Each LSP defines a logical data path, or virtual circuit, between a pair of source and destination nodes; the set of network nodes situated along the LSP may be determined using reachability information provided by conventional interior gateway protocols, such as OSPF. Unlike traditional IP routing, where node-to-node ("next hop") forwarding decisions are performed based on destination IP addresses, MPLS-configured nodes instead forward data packets based on "label" values (or "tag" values) added to the IP packets. As such, a MPLS-configured node can perform a label-lookup operation to determine a packet's next-hop destination. MPLS traffic engineering provides additional advantages over IP-based routing, such as enabling MPLS-configured nodes to reserve network resources, such as bandwidth, to ensure a desired quality of service (QoS).
Each destination represented via a LSP is associated with a locally allocated label value at each hop of the LSP, such that the locally allocated label value is carried by data packets forwarded over its associated hop. The MPLS label values are typically distributed among the LSP's nodes using, e.g., the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP), Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) or MP-BGP protocol. Operationally, when a data packet is received at a MPLS-configured node, the node extracts the packet's transported label value, e.g., stored at a known location in the packet's encapsulating headers. The extracted label value is used to identify the next network node ("next hop") to forward the is packet. Typically, an IGP label identifies the packet's next hop within a routing domain, and a VPN label identifies the packet's next hop across routing domains. More generally, the IGP label may be a MPLS label or any other encapsulation header used to identify the packet's next hop in the routing domain.
The packet may contain a "stack" of labels such that the stack's top-most label determines the packet's next-hop destination. After receiving the packet, the MPLS-configured node "pops" (removes) the packet's top-most label from the label stack and performs a label-lookup operation to determine the packet's next-hop destination. Then, the node "pushes" (inserts) a new label value associated with the packet's next hop onto the top of the stack and forwards the packet to its next destination. This process is repeated for every logical hop along the LSP until the packet reaches its destination node. The above-described MPLS operation is described in more detail in Chapter 7 of the reference book entitled IP Switching and Routing Essentials, by Stephen Thomas, published 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
Layer-3 network-based VPN services that utilize MPLS technology are often deployed by network service providers for one or more customer sites. These networks are typically said to provide "MPLS/VPN" services. As used herein, a customer site is broadly defined as a routing domain containing at least one customer edge (CE) device coupled to a provider edge (PE) device in the service provider's network ("provider network"). The customer site may be multi-homed to the provider network, i.e., wherein one or more of the customer's CE devices is coupled to a plurality of PE devices in the provider network. The PE and CE devices are generally intermediate network nodes, such as routers or switches, located at the edge of their respective networks. The PE-CE data links may be established over various physical mediums, such as conventional wire links, optical links, wireless links, etc., and may communicate data formatted using various network communication protocols including ATM, Frame Relay, Ethernet, Fibre Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), etc. In addition, the PE and CE devices may be configured to exchange routing information over their respective PE-CE links in accordance with various interior and exterior gateway protocols, such as BGP, OSPF, RIP, etc.
In the traditional MPLS/VPN network architecture, each customer site may participate in one or more different VPNs. Most often, each customer site is associated with a single VPN, and hereinafter the illustrative embodiments will assume a one-to-one correspondence between customer sites and VPNs. For example, customer sites owned or managed by a common administrative entity, such as a corporate enterprise, may be statically assigned to the enterprise's VPN. As such, network nodes situated in the enterprise's various customer sites participate in the same VPN and are therefore permitted to securely communicate with one another via the provider network. In other words, the provider network establishes the necessary LSPs to interconnect the customer sites participating in the enterprise's VPN. Likewise, the provider network also may establish LSPs that interconnect customer sites participating in other VPNs. This widely-deployed MPLS/VPN architecture is generally described in more detail in Chapters 8-9 of the reference book entitled MPLS and VPN Architecture, Volume 1, by I. Pepelnjak et al., published 2001 and in the IETF publication RFC 2547, entitled BGP/MPLS VPNs, by E. Rosen et al., published March 1999, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary MPLS/VPN network 100 containing a provider network 110 coupled to neighboring customer sites 120 and 140. The provider network includes a plurality of PE devices 130, including devices PE1 130a, PE2 130b and PE3 130c. The PE devices are fully meshed at the BGP level. That is, each PE device in the provider network can communicate with every other PE device (either directly or by means of BGP route reflectors). The network 110 also contains "core" provider (P) devices 135a and 135b, such as routers, which are respectively labeled P1 and P2. These P devices may be used to establish label switched paths between pairs of PE devices. For example, the provider device P1 may be used to establish a first LSP1 between PE3 and PE1, and the device P2 may be used to establish a second LSP2 between PE3 and PE2.
Each neighboring customer site contains one or more CE devices attached to PE devices in the provider network 110. For instance, the customer site 120 contains CE devices 160 and 165 (labeled CE1 and CE2) which are respectively coupled to PE1 and PE2. Similarly, the customer site 140 includes a CE device 185 (labeled CE3) attached to PE3. For ease of illustration and description, the customer sites 120 and 140 participate in the same VPN (VPN1), and network nodes in these customer sites can communicate with one another through the provider network 110. Specifically, the provider network may create one or more MPLS tunnels, such as LSP1 or LSP2, that provide logical data paths between the customer sites 120 and 140.
Suppose a source node (S) 150 in the customer site 140 addresses a data packet 105 to a destination node (D) 155 in the customer site 120. The source node forwards the packet to its local customer edge device CE3, which in turn transfers the packet across domain boundaries to the provider edge device PE3. PE3 then determines an appropriate LSP over which to forward the packet through the provider network 110 to the customer site 120 containing the packet's addressed destination node 155. The provider edge device PE3 may associate the received packet 105 with a LSP based on the packet's contained destination IP address. For purposes of discussion, assume the packet 105 is routed from PE3 to PE1 via LSP 1, as shown in bold. The packet is received by the provider edge device PE1 at the tail-end of the LSP1 and the packet is then forwarded over the PE1-CE1 link to CE1 in the customer site 120. CE1 receives the packet and forwards it to the destination node 155.
Problems arise in the conventional MPLS/VPN architecture when a node or link failure prevents data communications over a P-PE data link. For example, suppose that the P1-PE1 link fails as denoted by a dotted "X." After identifying the failure within the provider network 110, PE3 may know by way of IGP convergence (or BGP session failure with PE1) that it has lost reachability to the IP addresses previously advertised by CE devices in the customer site 120 via PE1. Eventually, the routing change is distributed throughout the provider network 110 and each PE device updates its local routing information to converge on the new network topology, i.e., without the failed P1-PE1 data link.
The conventional latency required for the PE devices to converge on the new network topology, i.e., without the P1-PE1 link, is often overly time consuming, e.g., on the order of seconds, and causes a number of significant problems. For instance, data packets are often "dropped" (i.e., discarded) at the edge of the provider network while the network is in the process of converging. For example, in response to the P1-PE1 link failing, data packets 105 addressed to the destination node 155 will be dropped by P1 until the network converges on an alternate data path, e.g., LSP2, for those packets. For selected types of network traffic data flows, such as voice-over-IP (VoIP) and multimedia data flows, this temporary loss of data at PE1 may significantly degrade the utility of the overall data transfer or may cause the data flow to time-out and stop completely.
It is therefore generally desirable for MPLS/VPN networks to achieve faster convergence times, e.g., sub-second convergence times, in response to PE node failures or P-PE link failures. The MPLS/VPN networks should quickly converge on the new network topology with minimal data loss at the edge of the network.

System and method for PE-node protection


A method of manufacturing a multilayer wiring board according to the present invention comprises the step of heating and pressurizing a stacked product to be integrated in a state in which a plurality of double-sided wiring boards (10) having a wiring pattern (12) formed on both surfaces of an insulating layer (11) are laminated through a prepreg (1) obtained by impregnating a resin porous film with a thermosetting resin. The present invention is advantageous to mass production because a gap for forming an insulating layer can easily be controlled, and furthermore, can provide thinner layers of the whole board and is also advantageous to the flattening of the surface of the board.

In the steps of forming a core substrate, an insulating layer or the like of a multilayer wiring board to be used in electronic equipment or the like, conventionally, there has been used a prepreg in which a glass fiber fabric or a polymer nonwoven fabric is impregnated with a thermosetting resin and is half cured. The prepreg is thermally pressed together with copper foils provided on both surfaces, for example, so that a double-sided copper foil laminated plate can be obtained, and a wiring pattern is formed on the copper foils and can be thus used as a double-sided wiring board (including a core substrate) for manufacturing a multilayer wiring board.
In recent years, the multilayer wiring board described above has a finer wiring pattern because of the high integration of a wiring, and furthermore, a multilayer structure is achieved and each layer is thinned. As the prepreg described above, therefore, there has been proposed a prepreg using, as a reinforcing phase, a polymer nonwoven fabric in which layers can be thinned and the laser via processing can be carried out more easily.
In a prepreg using a polymeric nonwoven fabric as a reinforcing phase, however, a reduction in the thickness of a layer is limited for reasons of manufacture. Moreover, the irregularities of a fiber are easily generated on a surface and a flat insulating layer is formed with difficulty. For this reason, in a multilayer wiring board in which each layer has a thickness reduced, particularly, there has been employed a method in which a thermosetting resin is applied in place of the lamination of the prepreg or a thermosetting resin sheet is provided to form an insulating layer. In these methods, however, the reinforcing phase is not present. Therefore, it is hard to control a gap for forming the insulating layer. Thus, such a method is not advantageous in respect of mass production.
There has also been known a prepreg using a porous film comprising aromatic polyamide in place of the polymeric nonwoven fabric (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-324060). Such a prepreg is usually used for manufacturing a double-sided copper foil laminated plate having a copper foil laminated and integrated on both surfaces.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a multilayer wiring board which is advantage to mass production because gap control for forming an insulating layer is carried out easily, and furthermore, can provide thinner layers of the whole board and is advantageous to the flattening of the surface of the board, and a multilayer wiring board which can be obtained by the manufacturing method.

Method for manufacturing multilayer wiring board


Alcoholysis of oils and fats containing EPA and DHA is performed by a lipase having substrate specificity for fatty acids having 18 carbons or less and in the presence of a reaction additive such as magnesium oxide; then the glyceride fraction is separated; alcoholysis of the glyceride fraction is performed by a lipase having substrate specificity for fatty acids having 20 carbons or less and in the presence of a reaction additive such as magnesium oxide; and EPA-enriched oil and DHA-enriched oil are simultaneously obtained.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA hereafter) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA hereafter) are n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA hereafter) having a variety of biological effects, and are used as medical products, health food products, food product materials, and the like. EPA ethyl ester is used as a therapeutic agent for arteriosclerosis and hyperlipidemia, and beverages to which fish oil containing EPA and DHA has been added have been approved as a food for specified health uses. Furthermore, the demand for these fatty acids as a supplement is very high in Japan and other countries.
PUFAs have many double bonds and are therefore very unstable to oxidation. Consequently, that an enzyme reaction that proceeds under mild conditions at room temperature is very desirable for the steps involved in producing PUFA-containing oils.
There are lipase products for industrial use that are obtained from primarily microorganisms and that have the property of hardly reacting with PUFAs. PUFA-enriched oils and fats can be produced using lipases having such a property by emphasizing liberation and removal of fatty acids having few carbons. For instance, a method is disclosed whereby DHA-enriched oils and fats are produced by hydrolysis of tuna oil using Candida cylindoracea lipase and then removal of the free fatty acids (Patent Reference 1).
It is known that water has an important effect on enzyme activation for enzyme reactions in an organic solvent (non-Patent Reference 1). It is reported that when a PUFA is concentrated from cod lever oil using alcoholysis, which is a reaction wherein the fatty acids are severed from glycerides by exposure to an alcohol, the addition of water promotes the lipase reaction (Non-Patent Reference 2). On the other hand, it is disclosed that alcoholysis of oils and fats proceeds under virtually anhydrous conditions with certain lipases. Nevertheless, the amount of lipase used must be very high at 10% the amount of oil, and the lipase must be immobilized in order to improve productivity (Patent Reference 2).
A method is cited in Patent Reference 3 wherein an alkali salt is used when oils and fats containing long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids as constituent fatty acids are hydrolyzed by a lipase having positions 1 and 3 specificity.    Patent Reference 1 JP (Publication of Unexamined Patent) 58-165796    Patent Reference 2 JP (National Publication) 9-510091    Patent Reference 3 JP (Publication of Unexamined Patent) 3-108489    Non-Patent Reference 1 J. S. Dordick, "Enzymatic catalysis in monophasic organic solvents," Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1989, 11, Apr., 194-211.    Non-Patent Reference 2 L. Zui and O. P Ward, "Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis to concentrate the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids of cod liver oil," Enzyme Microb. Technol., 1993, 15, Jul., 601-606.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing EPA-enriched oil and DHA-enriched oil


A mechanism which makes it possible to space-efficiently arrange electrical components and a circuit board in a light emitting device. The light emitting device includes a light emission section and a circuit board disposed in a manner extending in a direction intersecting with an emission surface of the light emission section. A first flash circuit including a booster circuit, a second flash circuit including a high voltage circuit for causing the light emission section to emit light, and a third flash circuit including a control circuit for a digital system are mounted on the circuit board, and the third flash circuit is disposed at a location more remote from the light emission section than the first flash circuit and the second flash circuit are.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device for emitting a flash of light, and more particularly to a light emitting device that is attached to an image pickup apparatus, such as a digital camera or a digital video camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent flash devices tend to be increased in circuit scale and hence also increased in space occupied by a circuit board, due to a demand for multifunctionality. On the other hand, it is becoming an important challenge to space-efficiently arrange electrical components and the circuit board, due to a demand for size reduction.
Under such circumstances, there has been proposed a technique which makes it possible to space-efficiently arrange electrical components without producing useless space within the device body of a flash device (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-181552).
As shown in FIG. 13, the flash device has the device body 101 in which cylindrical electrical components 176 and 177 are arranged in a space defined by a circuit board 131, a battery case 132, and a main capacitor 138.
The cylindrical electrical components 176 and 177 are disposed along respective cutouts 131a and 131b formed in the circuit board 131, which makes it possible to space-efficiently arrange the electrical components to thereby reduce the size of the flash device.
By the way, in a flash device, due to a demand for further size reduction and multifunctionality, space for a battery housing part the size of which is difficult to be reduced is relatively increased, but due to an increase in the number of electrical components and components of a circuit board for multifunctionality, space for housing these components becomes very small. For this reason, in accordance with reduction of the size of the flash device, noise from a light emission section is apt to enter the communication line of a control IC, causing a communication error. The communication error is apt to lead to e.g. a malfunction in which an appropriate amount of light cannot be emitted.
Further, according to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-181552, it is possible to reduce the size of a flash device, but the distance between a light emission section for emitting flash light and a circuit board on which a control IC is mounted is reduced. For this reason, the control IC is likely to be affected by noise from the light emission section during flash light emission, which is apt to cause a malfunction in which an appropriate amount of light cannot be emitted.
Furthermore, according to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-181552, when further multifunctionality of a flash device is to be realized, it is required to enlarge the scale of part for having circuits mounted thereon. Further, the number of circuit boards is increased, and accordingly, it is required to newly provide dedicated connection members, such as lead wires, wire harnesses, and relay flexible boards, for connection between the circuit boards. For this reason, in accordance with the further multifunctionality of the flash device, space for housing the circuit boards and the dedicated connection members is increased, which causes an increase in the size of the flash device, and the additional provision of the dedicated connection members causes an increase in the manufacturing costs of the flash device.

Light emitting device attached to image pickup apparatus


Apparatus, systems, architectures, and methods provide interlocked modular lighting array units to operate as a single large light source. The modular lighting array units may be connected by a network, and the modular lighting array units may communicate and send and receive control or status signals. In some embodiments, the signals may correspond to status of light sources or LEDs, lighting functions, effects routines, and various other signals of communication.

Lighting needs depend on the application for which the lighting is being applied. Reduction in complexity of lighting design and time associated in the design and its implementation may enhance the over-all lighting environment and may result in increased savings in cost, power utilizations, and space for a lighting application.


A formable or deformable material is pressed into place and in contact with the leads connected to semiconductor device. A connection is made through a snap or other device to ground or to some other suitable connection. With the deformable material in place, any static electricity appearing on the semiconductor device is dispersed to ground. In this way, static electricity building on a semiconductor device is prevented from being transferred to other connected devices and injury to those devices. The deformable material is electrically conductive and makes contact by being pressed into place around, or on to, exposed contact leads.

Semiconductor elements are subject to static electricity. The presence of a static charge may be transferred through contacts to other semiconductor elements within an assembly or dispersed through the layers of a semiconductor element, adversely affecting the electrical or structural integrity of those semiconductor elements. While semiconductor elements may leave the manufacturing zone free of any static electricity, further assembly or processing may induce such static electricity to the detriment of the semiconductor unit's functioning abilities. This introduction of static electricity may occur in any number of ways.


The technique of the invention joins a preset number of adjacent pixels into a unit and collectively converts input image data of each unit into dot data. Here the image data is expressed by tone values of respective pixels constituting an image, and the dot data represents dot on-off state. The technique stores dot on-off state determined with regard to at least part of pixels included in a processed unit, which has been subjected to the data conversion, in such a manner that a pixel position in the processed unit is identifiable. The procedure of the data conversion by units specifies a target pixel, in which a dot on-off state is to be determined, in a unit, detects a dot creation status with regard to an object pixel that is located at a specific position relative to the target pixel, and determines the dot on-off state in the target pixel based on the detection result. This arrangement effectively prevents the picture quality of a resulting image from being worsened by conversion of the image data into the dot data by units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of converting tone image data into dot data expressed by the dot on-off state. More specifically the invention pertains to a technique of collectively processing a preset number of adjacent pixels as a unit so as to allow for quick conversion of image data, while keeping the picture quality of a resulting image at a sufficiently high level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image display apparatuses that create dots to express an image on a display medium, such as a printing medium or a liquid crystal screen, are widely used as the output device of diverse imaging equipment. The image display apparatus is capable of locally expressing only two states, the dot on state and the dot off state. An image of continuously varying tones is expressible by adequately regulating the dot creation density according to the varying tone of the image.
In order to create dots at adequate densities according to the tone values of an image, the error diffusion technique is generally applied for determination of the dot on-off state in each pixel in the image display apparatus. The error diffusion method diffuses an error of tone expression arising due to creation of a dot or no creation of any dot in a target pixel to peripheral unprocessed pixels in the vicinity of the target pixel, and determines the dot on-off state in each of the unprocessed pixels such as to cancel the tone errors diffused from peripheral processed pixels. Application of the error diffusion method enables the dot on-off state to be determined in each target pixel such as to cancel the error of tone expression arising in peripheral processed pixels, thus attaining creation of dots at adequate densities corresponding to the tone values of the image.
The error diffusion method advantageously allows for dot creation at adequate densities according to the tone values of the image, thus ensuring a high-quality resulting image. This method, however, requires diffusion of the tone error to peripheral unprocessed pixels every time the dot on-off state in each target pixel is determined. In the case of an image consisting of a large number of pixels, such diffusion undesirably extends the total image processing time. In order to solve such drawbacks, the inventors of the present invention have developed and filed a technique of joining a preset number of adjacent pixels into a unit and determining the dot on-off state with diffusion of the tone error by units (JAPANESE PATENT APPLICATION No. 2001-238117).
In the method of determining the dot on-off state by units, an identical series of processing is repeated for the respective units. This may result in creation of a dot at identical pixel positions in multiple units. These dots may be visually recognized as a periodical pattern and worsen the picture quality of the resulting image. The potential appearance of a periodical pattern in the process of determining the dot on-off state by units is not restrictive to the error diffusion method but may be found in other known methods.

Image processing apparatus for converting image data by unit of multiple pixels


A reseal is partially perforated by stretching the reseal membrane, establishing contact between one side of the membrane and an anvil, and by effecting partial penetration of the membrane with at least one cutting edge from the other side of the membrane to a predetermined distance from the anvil. Multiple partial perforations may be made with one or more cutting edges.

Reseal members or reseals are in wide-spread use in the health care industry on liquid containers, and such reseals typically accommodate the insertion of a needle or cannula through which liquid can be added or withdrawn from the container.
Typically, reseals are used on containers such as vials or flexible bag-type containers of liquids such as medicaments or parenteral solutions and the like. Such reseals are also incorporated in Y-sites of tubing sets for infusion. The reseals provide easy access to the solution or other liquid by use of a hypodermic needle or cannula which punctures the reseal and which is inserted therethrough.
Reseals are typically fabricated from natural rubber. This material has the inherent property of retaining its shape after it is punctured. As such, it provides an excellent seal for a container subsequent to initial puncture when the cannula is inserted and even after the cannula is withdrawn.
Some conventional reseals have a completely solid membrane which must be punctured by the cannula. Other conventional reseals are pre-slit to facilitate cannula penetration. The type of reseal with a solid membrane is, of course, preferably used in those applications wherein the likelihood of contaminant ingress must be minimized as much as possible.
In order to minimize the likelihood of punctures in a person's skin resulting from misuse of sharp cannulas in the performance of health care procedures, the use of "blunt," relatively unsharpened cannulas is becoming increasingly prevalent. One of the design criteria which must be accommodated in connection with the use of blunt cannulas relates to the piercing force required to insert the cannula through a reseal. Typically, a substantial force must be applied to the blunt cannula to puncture the reseal, especially, the type that is not pre-slit.
In order assist the user in properly puncturing and penetrating the reseal with a blunt cannula, it has been determined that the central portion or membrane of the reseal may be provided with a partial slit according to the principles of the present invention. In particular, a slit extends from the inner surface of the reseal membrane, but only partially through the thickness of the membrane.
A sufficient thickness of the membrane is left uncut to provide the necessary sealing function and to provide sufficient resistance to penetration for preventing inadvertent puncturing of the reseal. A partial slit will allow the unslit portion of the reseal membrane to function initially as an effective barrier against contaminant ingress. The partial slit permits a thicker membrane to be used so that after puncture by the cannula, there is a sufficient thickness of material to provide adequate or enhanced sealing and resistance to contaminant ingress either with the cannula inserted or with the cannula withdrawn.
The partial slit or cut extending from the inner surface of the reseal membrane weakens the membrane and provides a preferential puncture region as the membrane is deformed inwardly by the tip of the blunt cannula.
More particularly, the penetrating cannula stresses the reseal membrane until the ultimate stress in the uncut thickness of material is reached. At that point, the uncut portion of the reseal membrane ruptures, and the cannula passes through the reseal membrane.
The process by which the blunt cannula penetrates the reseal membrane is dependent upon the reseal membrane thickness, the depth of the partial perforation or slit, the elastic modulus of the material, the lubricity of the material, the size and shape of the cannula, and other factors. For a given set of values for these parameters, it is desirable to provide a reseal design wherein all of the reseals of that design will require substantially the same force to achieve penetration by a blunt cannula. This will permit the reseal manufacturer to be more certain of the integrity of the reseal as manufactured. Also, this will be helpful to the user who can learn to expect that a particular amount of force will be required to puncture a particular type of reseal with the cannula.
One of the factors which significantly affects the puncturing force required is the thickness of the uncut or unslit portion of the reseal membrane above the partial perforation or slit. Because the reseal membrane is an elastic material, typically a natural rubber, the manufacturing of the membrane with a specific membrane thickness and a specific uncut thickness below the initial, partial perforation is difficult from the standpoint of providing a uniform or consistently identical structure in each reseal that is manufactured.
In particular, the partial perforation is formed in the reseal membrane by moving a lance or other cutting edge partially into the reseal membrane. Due to manufacturing tolerances in the molding of the membrane and the resilient nature of the membrane material, the thickness of the uncut material in the membrane above the partial perforation or slit could vary from reseal to reseal. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for more accurately controlling the thickness of the uncut material in the reseal membrane above the partial perforation.
It would also be advantageous to provide the capability for creating different partial perforation configurations in the reseal membrane. For example, it would be desirable to provide improved, larger partial perforations that establish a larger or specially defined target area.
It would also be beneficial if an improved partial perforation configuration could be provided with enhanced sealing capabilities.
The present invention provides an improved reseal, a method for making the reseal, and an apparatus for making the reseal which can accommodate designs having the above-discussed benefits and features.

Reseal with a partial perforation and method and apparatus for creating a partial perforation in a reseal


An ECU for controlling an engine counts the continued period of stopping the engine in a low-temperature environment. The ECU sets the idle rotational speed at a first idle rotational speed when the stopped period is below a predetermined threshold value, and at a second idle rotational speed higher than the first idle rotational speed when the stopped period exceeds the reference value. Accordingly, resonance at the driving force transmission system during idle operation can be prevented even in the case where a mount employed for attaching the engine to the vehicle is hardened as a result of undergoing a low-temperature environment for a long period of time, and the resonant rotational speed of the driving force transmission system including the engine varies.

At the engine constituting an internal combustion engine, the rotational speed of the engine in the so-called idle drive (hereinafter, also referred to as "idle rotational speed") in which a self-sustained operation is conducted in a state where the driving force is not transmitted to the load after the engine has been started is desirably set as low as possible in a range where self-sustained operation is allowed for the purpose of reducing fuel consumption.
During the operation of the engine, vibration will occurs thereby. The idle rotational speed is set higher than the rotational speed at which resonance of the driving force transmission system including the engine occurs (hereinafter, also referred to as "resonant rotational speed") for the purpose of reducing vibration during idle operation.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-152877 (PTL 1) discloses a hybrid vehicle that has the mounted engine started by cranking through a motor, in which the motor is configured to set the engine rotational speed lower than the resonant rotational speed when there is a possibility of matching the resonant rotational speed of the driving force transmission system at the time of cranking due to suppressing the increase of the engine rotational speed.
According to the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-152877 (PTL 1), resonance at the driving force transmission system can be suppressed even in the case where there is a possibility of the engine rotational speed matching the resonant rotational speed due to reduction of the motor output caused by increase of friction torque or lower battery output at the time of cranking during engine starting.

Control device for internal combustion engine and vehicle incorporating control device


Provided is a semiconductor apparatus capable of enhancing the withstand voltage while suppressing the enlargement of the chip area. Provided is semiconductor apparatus including: a first terminal to which a high frequency signal is supplied; a second terminal from which the high frequency signal is output; first, second and third switch elements electrically connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal; a first capacitor provided between the first terminal and a first node between the first switch element and the second switch element; and a second capacitor provided between the first terminal and a second node between the second switch element and the third switch element, in which the capacitance of the first capacitor is greater than the capacitance of the second capacitor.

A high frequency switch for switching high frequency signals is provided at the front end of a portable terminal, such as a portable telephone, used in a mobile communication system. As a switch element of such a high frequency switch, a compound (such as GaAs) based field effect transistor (FET) has been used. Moreover, recently, a silicon based FET, which uses a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate that can be consolidated with peripheral circuits (e.g., a frequency conversion circuit and the like) including silicon based devices, is also beginning to be used as the above-described switch element.
In the high frequency switch, a plurality of the above-mentioned compound based or silicon based FETs is used as the switch elements, and a multistage configuration, in which the plurality of FETs is electrically connected in series, is employed to ensure a desired withstand voltage. One example of the high frequency switch that employs such a multistage configuration is a semiconductor apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation


A doorbell can be configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote computing device. In some cases, components that enable the doorbell to wirelessly communicate with the remote computing device could make the doorbell incompatible with certain types of chimes. In some embodiments, the doorbell is configured to diagnose chime compatibility issues.

1. Field
Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to doorbell systems. Certain embodiments relate to doorbell electrical systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Buildings often have doorbells located at points of entry so visitors can alert occupants of the building of the visitor's arrival. The doorbells typically have chimes inside the building that emit a notification sound in response to a visitor pressing a doorbell button. The chimes can be mechanical chimes or electronic chimes.
Mechanical chimes often include two flat metal bar resonators, which are struck by plungers operated by two solenoids. Mechanical chimes can include an electromagnet that causes a hammer to physically strike a metal surface such as a buzzer. Mechanical chimes typically require electricity for a short duration of time to produce the notable "ding-dong" sound, which is the result of the plungers striking the metal bars.
Electronic chimes often use a speaker and a circuit board containing music data. As such, electronic chimes can be capable of playing a wider variety of sounds than the typical "ding-dong" sound. Electronic chimes may require electricity over a longer period of time than their mechanical predecessors.
However, the notification sound emitted by mechanical chimes and electronic chimes can typically only be heard within a short distance from the chime itself. For example, a homeowner located remotely from her home might not be able to hear the notification sound, and thus, would not be aware that a visitor is ringing her doorbell. Thus, there is a need for devices and methods to alert remotely located individuals that a visitor seeks the attention of the building occupant.


A display device includes a display unit including pixels in an area defined by a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of data lines, a scan driving unit configured to apply a plurality of scan signals to the scan lines, a data driving unit configured to apply a plurality of data signals to the data lines, an inspection circuit unit configured to apply a plurality of inspection signals to the data lines, a plurality of inspection pads configured to transmit a plurality of inspection control signals to the inspection circuit unit, a plurality of first inspection lines electrically connecting the inspection circuit unit to the inspection pads, and a plurality of second inspection lines branching off from the first inspection lines and electrically connecting the inspection circuit unit to the data driving unit.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device capable of being used with a flexible printed circuit board having a reduced width mounted on a display substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a display device includes a display substrate provided with a plurality of pixels in an area defined by a black matrix or a pixel defining layer. Display devices may be categorized into various types, including a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting display (OLED), and the like which may depend on the type of the display substrate.
The display substrate generally has a quadrilateral shape and includes an active area configured to display an image and a non-display area at the edge of the active area. The active area includes a plurality of pixels provided in a pixel area defined by a plurality of scan lines and a plurality of data lines, and each pixel is driven by various signals and driving voltages transmitted over various signal lines and power lines provided in the non-display area.
The non-display area may include a plurality of pads for transmitting various signals and driving voltages supplied from the outside to each pixel, the various signal lines and power lines, and an inspection (or test) circuit unit for applying inspection (or test) signals to the pixels.
The plurality of pads may include driving pads and inspection (or test) pads. The driving pads transmit the various signals and driving voltages for driving the pixels to the active area. The inspection pads transmit inspection control signals to the inspection circuit unit in order to inspect (or test) the pixels.
After a pixel inspection is completed by the inspection circuit unit, a flexible printed circuit board such as a flexible print circuit (FPC), a chip on film (COF), a tape carrier package (TCP), and the like is mounted on the plurality of pads including the inspection pads. The various signals and driving voltages for driving each pixel are transmitted across the flexible printed circuit board, and then an off bias voltage for disabling the inspection circuit unit is supplied to the inspection pads.
Thus, the comparative flexible printed circuit board requires a space for a connecting circuit unit in order to apply the off bias voltage to the inspection circuit unit.


A music organizer and entertainment center provides a center having a microprocessor, sound card functions and high-volume data storage and retrieval units for playing back music according to a variety of predetermined categories. Music can be played back in random form or can be played back according to a particular pre-selected order. The categories are provided by service provider who delivers selected titles and/or songs to the end user. The songs are typically loaded using a custom CD-ROM provided from the service provider. The music is provided in- data-compressed form and is decompressed and processed through a sound card during playback. The categories can include a variety of parameters such as title, artists, date, speed, dance characteristics, subjective energy level and music style, such as easy-listening, upbeat, etc.

The storage of music on digital media has presented a number of opportunities to miniaturize storage devices for music, thus enabling larger amounts of music to be stored in one place, and to radically alter the presentation of this music. In addition to the actual music sound data, new data related to certain characteristics of the music can now be overlaid in the storage media. This enables a listener to organize and playback music in a highly customized manner. It is no longer strictly necessary to store music in one format (e.g., a single disc or record) and playback individual selections from this disc or record according to a strict organization scheme. Likewise, advances in data compression and storage technology have enabled much larger quantities of digital data to be stored on magnetic disc and optical media than previously. The "Red Book" format common to music compact discs is somewhat inefficient due to its slow sample rate, and a much larger amount of data can be compressed on a standard data optical disc (CD-ROM), and decompressed and replayed using any number of readily available playback software routines.
In addition, most computers and data processing devices are now equipped with multimedia programs and advanced high-fidelity sound.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a music organizer and entertainment center that takes advantage of the latest advances in music data compression, storage and data processing capabilities. It is a further object of this invention to provide a user with the ability to fully customize playback of music according to a variety of parameters including categories of music. The graphical presentation of playback and storage controls should be easy to use and learn, and should take advantage of color and other visual aids.

Music organizer and entertainment center


The described systems and methods can be used to estimate the global distributed kernel density without prior information of data using a gossip based method. In the gossip based method, a node in a distributed network periodically selects and exchanges kernels with a random node in the network. After exchanging, both the initiating and the target node use the received kernels to update their local estimates. In addition, a data reduction method can be used to optimize the size of the kernel set at each node.

Advances in network technology, like peer-to-peer networks on the Internet, sensor networks, etc., have highlighted the need for efficient ways to deal with large amounts of data distributed over a set of nodes. For example, in a peer-to-peer system, a user may need to learn about the global distribution of resources for indexing or load balancing. In another example, in a distributed agent system, each agent may need some global information of the environment through collaborative learning for decision making.
Some systems use gossip-based procedures based on parametric models, such as Gaussian mixture models, for data computation and distributed density estimation. In a gossip-based procedure or protocol, each node or node device in a system repeatedly contacts other nodes at random to exchange information. Gossip-based parametric models may not always be suitable for distributed learning, and are highly sensitive to initial parameters.


The present invention makes it easier to connect board modules to each other and to increase reliability in a portable semiconductor apparatus having two board modules within a frame. Upper-row connection pins and lower-row connection pins have electrode leads, each having connection portions divided into two parts that are arranged in respective upper and lower rows. One of the board modules is inserted between one upper-row electrode lead and one lower-row electrode lead and electrically connected. The other board module is inserted between another upper-row electrode lead and another lower-row electrode lead and electrically connected. In this way, the board modules are electrically connected to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable semiconductor apparatus and, more particularly, to a connection between a connector and board modules.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14 is a perspective plan view illustrating a conventional portable semiconductor apparatus. FIG. 15 is a side view of the storage apparatus shown in FIG. 14, seen from the left side thereof. FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI--XVI in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, a connector 1 for making an electrical connection with external devices, and a board module 4 having electronic parts 5a and 5b mounted on both main sides of a circuit board are housed and fixed within a frame 6. The board module 4 is fixed in substantially the center of the frame 6 in a direction parallel to the thickness of the frame 6. The upper and lower sides of the frame 6 are each covered by a lid i.e. metallic panel 7, to protect the electronic parts from electrostatic charge and external noise (see FIG. 16).
Circuit patterns (partially indicated in FIG. 14 by dashed lines) are formed on both main sides of the board module 4. The electronic parts 5a and 5b are mounted so as to be electrically connected to these circuit patterns. Connection pins are provided in two separate rows in such a way that a plurality of upper-row connection pins 2 and a plurality of lower-row connection pins 3 are provided in the connector 1 by which connection with external devices (not shown) is made. These connection pins are female connection pins. As shown in FIG. 16, upper-row electrode leads 2a of the corresponding upper-row connection pins 2 are connected to a circuit pattern (not shown) on one of the main sides of the circuit board, and lower-row electrode leads 3a of the corresponding lower-row connection pins 3 are connected to a circuit pattern on the other main side thereof.
The connection pins 2 and 3 of the connector 1, and the electrode leads 2a and 3a thereof, are each formed from a single piece of metal. When the electrode leads 2a and 3a are soldered to the circuit pattern of the circuit board, the electronic parts 5a and 5b mounted on both main sides thereof are electrically connected to the connection pins 2 and 3 of the connector 1, respectively. As mentioned above, the connector 1 and the board module 4 are housed and fixed within the frame 6, and thereafter the panels 7 are mounted on respective upper and lower sides of the frame 6.
In recent years, the technology for making packages for circuit boards and making electronic parts thinner has been advanced. As a result, the thickness of the board module has been reduced to half that of the conventional one. Mounting two board modules in a frame having the same thickness as that of a frame in which one board module is mounted has been studied. An example of a portable semiconductor apparatus having two board modules 4a and 4b provided within the frame 6 is shown in the sectional view of FIG. 17. The electronic parts 5a and 5b are mounted on both sides of the circuit board of the board module 4a. In a similar manner, electronic parts 5c and 5d are mounted on both sides of the circuit board of the board module 4b. All the upper-row electrode leads 2a of all the corresponding upper-row connection pins 2 are connected to the upper board module 4a, and all the lower-row electrode leads 3a of all the corresponding lower-row connection pins 3 are connected to the lower board module 4b.
In such a construction, upper-lower board connection means 8 must be provided to make an electrical connection between the board modules 4a and 4b. Hitherto, anisotropic electroconductive materials, relay boards formed from connection pads and through holes, and the like have been used as the upper-lower board connection means 8.
Since a conventional portable semiconductor storage apparatus is constructed as described above, upper-lower board connection means formed from anisotropic electroconductive materials, relay boards and the like must be provided to make the electrical connection between these board modules when two separate board modules are provided within a frame. However, in a case where these upper-lower board connection means are used, there are problems. For example, assembly of such a storage apparatus is difficult, the yield is poor, manufacturing costs are high, and so forth.


The reproducing of the MP3 part is started from a first reproducing start position that is positioned prior to a second pointed reproducing start position. In this case, this MP3 part is mute-reproduced in a period that extends from the first reproducing start position to a timing corresponding to the second reproducing start position. Then, the mute is canceled when progress of the MP3 part arrives at a timing corresponding to the second reproducing start position, and at the same time the reproducing of the MIDI part is started.

The present invention relates to the technology to reproduce the musical pieces recorded in different formats such as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface: registered trade mark) and MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-III), for example, from the middle of the musical piece in a synchronized state.
The MIDI standard is well known as the standard to provide the reproducing information, and the MP3 format is often used as one of data compression algorithms to record the music. The former is often utilized in the karaoke system (see Patent Literature 1, for example). In recent years, the proposal that intends to use together the musical piece data in the MIDI format (referred to as "MIDI data" hereinafter) and the music data in the MP3 format (referred to as "MP3 data" hereinafter) in the applications suitable to respective characteristics is announced. For example, because the MP3 data can realize the real quality of sound with reality rather than the MIDI data, such MP3 data are used to reproduce a chorus sound or a guide vocal (a vocal sound of the human voice) which requires such characteristic, or a performance of the musical instrument with a distinctive feature, or the like, whereas the MIDI data are used to reproduce an automatic accompaniment, a guide melody, or the like, and others. Here, the guide vocal and the guide melody are that they are reproduced with the accompaniment to permit the singer to sense the primary vocal and melody and sing the song readily.    Patent Literature 1; JP-A-10-11097
Meanwhile, sometimes the music piece reproducing system such as the karaoke system must reproduce the musical piece from the middle of the musical piece. For example, there is the case where the musical piece is reproduced again from the position in which the fast-forward reproducing or the rewind is ended. However, when the operator tries to reproduce the musical piece composed of both the MIDI data and the MP3 data described above from the middle of the musical piece, there existed the problem described in the following.
FIG. 9 is a view showing such a behavior that the MIDI part and the MP3 part are reproduced on a time-series basis. In the MIDI part, the position in which the reproducing is started in the middle of the musical piece can be decided in unit of 1 (ms). Therefore, if the start of the reproducing is instructed when just 25 minutes lapsed after the musical piece is started, for example, the MIDI part in the hatched area is reproduced from the timing indicated with an arrow in FIG. 9.
In contrast, the MP3 data has a data structure in which a plurality of frames in unit of 36 (ms), for example, are connected in series, and thus the musical piece can be reproduced merely in this frame unit. As a result, if the operator tries to start the reproducing at the timing when just 25 minutes lapsed after the musical piece is started, as described above, the musical piece cannot be reproduced from that timing unless such timing coincides accidentally with the head portion of the frame. In such case, the reproducing system cannot but reproduce the musical piece from the head portion of the frame (indicated with a solid-line arrow in FIG. 9) subsequent to the timing (indicated with a dashed-line arrow) at which the musical piece is essentially reproduced. In other words, since the reproducing of the MP3 part is started somewhat later than the reproducing of the MIDI part, it is possible that the listener hears such reproducing as the artificial performance.


A method for controlling a vehicular electric system having multiple power sources including an engine-driven generator. The power sources for supplying power to charge an onboard battery are determined based on difference between the power generation cost of each power source and that for generating an amount of power charged in the battery. Furthermore, amounts power to be supplied to the battery 103 for charge is determined based on the amount of power currently charged in the battery.

In hybrid vehicles, regenerative braking is commonly used for charging a battery, namely, the battery is charged by the regenerative braking or by an engine. Fuel is consumed when the battery is charged by the engine while fuel is not consumed when the battery is charged by the regenerative braking. Therefore, power generation costs for charging the battery varies according to power sources. The power generation costs mean running costs for generating power. In the case that the power generation is performed by the engine, the power generation costs are determined by increases in fuel consumption for increasing engine power for the power generation or costs for the purchase of the fuel.
The fuel economy of the engine varies according to operating conditions of the vehicle in the case that the battery is charged with power generated by the engine. Namely, the power generation cost for charging the battery varies from time to time. Since the power generation costs vary depending on the power sources, the costs of power generation for supplying power to electrical loads in the vehicle vary at different times.
A method and apparatus for determining the cost of battery energy for a hybrid vehicle, which uses the battery energy at high rates, is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,610B1 (JP-A-2002-118905). In this method, the cost of supplying charge energy to the battery is periodically computed. If the computation is performed in a long cycle, information regarding the previous battery charge greatly affects the computation. As a result, cost information is not properly updated in a timely manner after power generating conditions have changed. Moreover, a large size of memory is required for the computation.
If the computation is performed in a short cycle, the current cost information greatly affects the computation. As a result, the amount of energy previously charged in the battery is not reflected in the cost information. Furthermore, a usage of information on the computed battery energy cost is not proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,610B1.
The power generation cost for charging the battery can be reduced by economically managing the power generation. Effective power generation management however has not been provided in terms of fuel economy.

Method for controlling vehicular electric system


An embodiment generally relates to a device for rotating image tiles using line segment read buffers. The device comprises an image memory configured to store an image and a plurality of buffers, wherein the image comprises a plurality of tiles. The plurality of buffers comprises line segment read buffers configured to interface with the image memory to read line segments of the plurality of tiles from the image memory. A rotator logic module is configured to micro-rotate the line segments, aggregate the line segments as rotated tiles, and macro-rotate the rotated tiles to determine an address of the image memory at which to write the rotated tiles. Write buffers are configured to write the rotated tiles to the image memory at the determined address.

Image processing systems typically include an input device such as a scanner and a computer system that is equipped with document applications for storing and editing scanned electronic documents and an output device such as a printing system for rendering documents. The computer system is operated by a user to edit or to view scanned "softcopy" digital images on a monitor of the computer system. The user can subsequently generate "hardcopy" reproductions of the softcopy images by instructing the computer system to provide the processed electronic image to a selected printing device. Advances in printing technology together with advances in computer system technology are helping image processing systems become more pervasive in desk-top publishing and business applications. Ink jet, thermal-transfer, and xerographic color are examples of printing technologies that are making moderate resolution affordable.
Electronic images or "softcopy" images processed by desk-top publishing applications consist of two dimensional arrays of picture elements (pixels) or image signals. Historically small computer memories require the use of intermediate disk buffers to rotate an electronic image of reasonable size. However, with the availability of larger computer memories, desk-top publishing applications can store entire electronic images in real memory. Even with large real memory allocations, there is not always sufficient memory to store both an original image and a rotated image. In some systems for example, available computer memory is large enough to contain one electronic image but not large enough to contain both an original image and a rotated image. In such instances rotating an electronic image in place, that is, within its own buffer and without the use of significant intermediate memory or auxiliary memory is desirable. To rotate an electronic image in place requires that sequences of replacement operations are performed to an electronic image that is stored in an image buffer. Each replacement operation of a sequence must be performed so that each replacement operation does not erase pixels in the image buffer not already transferred.
Digital copiers are another type of image processing devices that scan an image, store a digital representation of the image in memory, and print the digital representation of the image. In order to print the digitized images at a rate similar to rates produced by conventional analog copiers that never store a digital representation of the image but use optical components such as mirrors and lenses to generate an image on a photoconductive drum or belt, a very large amount of data must be moved at a high rate of speed. The requirement to quickly move such a large amount of data has pushed the capabilities of current data processing and storage devices to their limits.
The use of image tiles to rotate an image can reduce memory consumption. However, to scale up the performance of an image rotation by increasing the size of the tiles can adversely affect on-chip memory resources. Therefore, it may be desirable to have memory-efficient systems and methods of rotating image tiles. In particular, it may be desirable to have systems and methods of rotating line segments of image tiles at a high bandwidth without adversely affecting memory consumption.

Systems, methods and devices for rotating image tiles using line segment read buffers


A hinge member that couples a display unit to a main unit in an openable and closable manner is fixed to the display unit by a hinge fastening section of the hinge member. A panel attachment member having a panel fastening section fastened to the side of a display panel of the display unit is fixed to the display panel independently of the hinge fastening section. A tongue piece of the panel fastening section overlaps and contacts the hinge fastening section from the front surface side of a display screen of the display panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus having a display panel provided with a display screen for displaying information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, personal computers (hereinafter referred to as "PC") have been widely used not only in office but also at home. As one type of PC, the so-called "notebook type personal computer" (hereinafter referred to as "note PC") is widely known. The notebook PC has a main unit having a keyboard on its top surface and a display unit having a display panel and coupled to the main unit in an openable and closable manner. The display unit is opened to be approximately upright on the main unit when it is used and closed to lie on the main unit when it is not used.
Some techniques for attaching the display panel to the housing of the display unit have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-29241 proposes a technique for attaching a hinge member to the housing of a display unit and then attaching a bracket, to which a display panel is fixed, to the hinge member by overlapping it with the hinge member.
As another example, Japanese Patent No. 3725633 proposes a technique for directly attaching, to a hinge member, a bracket for fixing a display panel.
However, the technique proposed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-29241 has such a problem that because the bracket is overlapped with and attached to the hinge member, the thickness of the display unit is large and thus it is difficult to meet the demand for reducing the thickness of an electronic apparatus.
In addition, the technique proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3725633 is to attach the bracket directly to the hinge member and therefore, when the bracket is detached, the attachment state of the hinge member is likely to be affected. Accordingly, when the bracket is attached again, adjustment of the attachment state of the hinge member is required.
Here, for example, when there occurs a failure such as a case where the backlight of a display panel of a display unit cannot be turned on, it is necessary to replace the display panel with a non-defective display panel. Therefore, techniques for readily replacing a display panel are very important.