The disclosed basketball net has enhanced sound making ability due to a series of strips attached to a rung of the net. These strips are made from a flexible material and make sound when contacted by a basketball passing through the net. The strips can have an air pocket which collapses due to the force of the basketball moving along it, creating a loud sound as the surfaces of the strip collide against each other. Embodiments of the present invention having strips with no air pockets as well as noise making materials on the inner surfaces of the strips are shown.

Basketball nets serve many purposes. The primary one is to catch and slow down the basketball after a goal is made. This saves the players and officials a great deal of effort and time that would otherwise be expended in chasing the ball and allows the game to play at a faster pace.
A very important secondary purpose of a basketball net, particularly in situations involving competitive play without the benefit of formal officiating, is to signify that a goal has actually been made. Indeed, the sound of a basketball passing through the net is one of the most satisfying in sports, described with such phrases as "nothing but the bottom of the net", "nothing but nylon", and "swish."
However, the basketball nets currently in use leave much to be desired. For one thing, the sound of a basketball hitting against the outside of the net can be very close, if not indistinguishable, from that of a basketball going through the net. For another, as the nylon cord that comprises the net ages, it becomes weaker, thereby diminishing the sound emitted when a basketball passes through. This wear and tear is particularly apparent at the bottom of the net, where the basketballs exert the most contact force as they pass through the net. To ensure that the net continues to make a sound as the ball passes through it, it is necessary to purchase additional nets and spend the time installing them, which is both costly and time consuming. The alternative, to not use a net at all, is even less appealing for most basketball players.
There are examples in the prior art which teach basketball nets with enhanced sound making abilities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,928 to Hsieh shows a net with a sensing body which triggers an audio-photo element, producing an audio-photo effect when the ball passes through the net. While such nets do provide enhanced sound making abilities, they rely on electronics, thus making the cost of the nets more expensive and raising issues of damage to the electronics from the impact of the ball, for example.
Thus, there exists a need for an economical basketball net with enhanced sound making ability which does not rely on electronic sensors or devices.


A system and method provides an electronic poker game to a plurality of players on an electronic poker table. A game computer administers the electronic poker game by dealing one or more hands using electronic cards and electronic chips. Each hand includes one or more betting rounds. The game computer allows the players to make wagers into a pot with the electronic chips during the one or more betting rounds. The game computer dynamically determines a rake amount of a pot and retains the rake amount from the pot.

Gaming is an increasingly popular form of entertainment. Games, particularly, games of chance and skill in which one or more players play and place wagers on the outcome thereof may be played in a variety of ways, including at a casino or other venue or on the Internet. Of the various forms of games which are available for play, many are played with playing cards. Of these, poker is arguably the most popular.
Traditionally, poker is played at a table with several players wagering paper, coin money or chips on a series of playing cards dealt from a deck of fifty-two cards. This deck is comprised of four suits at thirteen cards per suit. This form of poker requires a human dealer to coordinate the game, including dealing, wagering, folding, etc. One of the problems with traditional poker is that it suffers from the possibility of human/dealer error. In "social" card games, especially poker, the players take turns acting as the dealer, but in licensed commercial gaming establishments, such as casinos, the dealer is typically a non-playing employee. Thus, another problem associated with traditional poker games in this context is the training and retention of dealers.
One alternative form of gaming, with particular reference to poker, has flourished on the Internet. Internet gaming has become quite successful in that it provides many choices for the players. In particular, Internet gaming is fast and convenient, with registration, betting and payouts available from almost any computer with Internet access and with payments typically arranged via a pay service, such as PayPal.
Video poker or other card games may also be provided by stand-alone machines similar to slot machines.
One major drawback of Internet and stand-alone type games is the lack of the human element. Many people prefer to play poker against other players, due in part to the drama associated with "live" gaming. Undoubtedly, an elevated level of competition exists when humans compete directly against one another. In gaming establishments, experienced players are trying to hone strategy and read other players' intentions through their movements and style of play to be more competitive.
The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems set forth above.

Electronic card table and method with variable rake


A memory device includes an array of memory modules, a global controller, and a local controller for each memory module in the array of memory modules being configured to deliver to the global controller an activity signal reflecting an activity of the respective memory module. The memory device includes a circuit configured to implement a NAND logic function based upon the activity signals and to output a control signal to the global controller based upon the NAND logic function.

Typically, such memory arrays comprise memory modules arranged in a repetitive manner. For example, for a 4-Mbit embedded DRAM-type memory, thirty-two 128-Kbit modules are associated. Each memory module generally includes a local controller, which communicates with an overall activity controller. The overall activity controller is used to monitor the activity of each module based on information supplied by each local controller, in order to launch an operation for any one of the modules only when all the modules are inactive.
In other words, when one or more of the memory modules has begun an operation, the overall activity controller waits for completion of the operation before beginning an operation for one of the other modules. The memory may therefore wait for the last module activated, or the slowest, to have completed its operation before activating another module. To implement this control, each local controller is connected to a common bus, to which the overall activity controller is also connected to.
Typically, each local controller includes a 3-state buffer circuit receiving, as input, an activity signal obtained from the memory module and delivering to the control bus a control signal, the level of which reflects the activity of the module being monitored. When the memory module is inactive, the control bus is set to high impedance. A new activity is ready to be launched when all the memory modules are inactive. At the start of activity, the control signal is set to "0", whereas at the end of activity, the control signal is set to "1".
This type of control is largely dependent on the size of the memory array, such that, when the size of the memory increases, the performance falls. In practice, when the size of the memory increases, the buffer circuits may be dimensioned accordingly, which means a consecutive dimensioning of the control bus so that it is difficult to reach the target speed.
Moreover, when a memory module is situated at a great distance from the overall activity controller, the resistive effect in the control bus further reduces the speed of the memory so that, before activating a module of the memory array, the overall activity controller may often wait for the module situated furthest away, which is not necessarily the slowest, to indicate an end of its activity. It has also been observed that the complexity of the controller increases exponentially with gains in performance.

Device for controlling the activity of modules of an array of memory modules


The present invention describes an apparatus and method for controlling the temperature in a plurality of comfort zones within a house or building. The invention contemplates a series of zone control devices which are selectively opened or closed to allow heating and/or cooling to individual zones. The temperature in each zone is sensed and compared to a preferred setpoint temperature to determine a temperature error for each zone. The respective temperature error signals for each zone are used to determine the zone of greatest thermal error. The zone of greatest thermal error is used to turn the heating/cooling plant on and off. The remaining zone or zones of lesser thermal error have their zone control devices closed or opened, depending upon the temperature error signal for their respective zones. In this manner, all zones are synchronized to the zone of greatest thermal error and to the cycle of the heating/cooling plant.

Typically, homes with conventional heating and cooling equipment are controlled with a single thermostat which controls the air temperature correctly only in it's own vicinity. Many of these homes will experience temperature variations during both the heating and cooling seasons. In large part, this is due to solar gains, internal loads, outdoor wind, open stairways and many other more subtle factors.
In forced air heating and cooling systems, continuous fan operation can alleviate non-uniform heating and cooling somewhat, but tends to be expensive. Further, in the cooling season, continuous fan operation may cause higher than desirable humidity due to evaporation from a wet evaporator coil while the compressor is off.
In response to these problems and a desire for greater comfort and flexibility, zoned systems have been developed. In these zoned systems, dampers are placed in the ductwork and a thermostat is placed in each zone. Thus, warm or cool air is distributed only where it is needed.
However, control strategies for these zoned systems using a conventional single-firing rate furnace with a single-speed blower and single-speed air conditioner are not necessarily simple. Present day control of zoned systems allow each individual thermostat to turn on the heating/cooling plant and simultaneously open the corresponding zone damper, while closing the dampers to other zones not requiring heating/cooling. With several individual thermostats independently turning the heating/cooling plant on and off, it will cycle significantly more than normal. This has a potential of shortening the life of the equipment. It is, therefore, important to coordinate the thermostat calls and to take advantage of the plant while it is on.
Additionally, when only one zone calls for heat, the entire output of the heating plant (which is capable of heating the entire house) will be supplied to that zone causing larger than normal temperature fluctuations in that zone's air temperature. At the same time, air flow through the furnace is reduced and causes an increase in stack losses and, as a result, the average plenum temperature is increased and the overall furnace efficiency is decreased If the plenum temperature becomes too high because of reduced flow, the furnace burner safety switch will function (high limit operation) and shut off the burner until it has cooled to a preset level. If only one zone continues to call for heat over an extended period of time, the burner may cycle off and on repeatedly from the burner safety switch (called high limit operation). Similarly, in the cooling season, reduced air flow over the evaporator coil decreases the air temperature in the ductwork, possibly leading to ice formation on the cooling coil.
One solution to these problems has been proposed in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 07/451,705, filed on Dec. 18, 1989, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patent application, a thermostat in the zone of greatest thermal demand is used to control both a duct damper for that zone and the heating/cooling plant. The remaining thermostats in the zones of lesser thermal demand have their cycle rate and, hence, their duty cycles modified so that they control their respective duct dampers in synchronization with the "on" period of the thermostat of the zone of greatest demand.
Although this approach has been successful, the present invention discloses another more sophisticated and improved solution to this problem.


An interface circuit and method for use in interconnected hazardous condition detectors is provided. This circuit and method prioritizes the various hazardous condition alarms to ensure that only the highest priority or greatest threat alarm is sounded when such a condition is detected. In this way a lower priority alarm that may be sounding will be switched to a higher priority alarm so that all interconnected detectors that have the capability will sound the higher priority alarm. This will reduce occupant confusion during a hazardous condition. The circuit and method also provides the ability to silence all interconnected detectors except for those sensing the hazardous condition to allow the occupant to locate the triggering alarm, and there for the location of the sensed hazardous condition.

As the life-saving benefits of hazardous condition detectors are recognized, their usage continues to expand. Such hazardous condition detectors include smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, flammable vapor detectors, combination units, etc. Indeed, the installation of such detectors is mandated in many states by building code for all new construction of single and multi-family dwellings, office buildings, schools, etc. Further, many areas also require that such detectors be installed in existing homes before they may be sold.
Because many such structures include multiple floors, rooms, or areas on or in which a remotely located hazardous condition detector may not be heard, it is recommended that multiple hazardous condition detectors be located throughout the structure or dwelling to increase the likelihood of early detection of a hazardous condition. Such early detection is a direct factor in the survivability of the occupants within the dwelling or structure.
In a typical single family dwelling having a basement and two stories, at least one hazardous condition detector should be placed on each floor of the dwelling. That is, at least one detector should be placed in the basement, on the first floor, and on the second floor. In this way, a hazardous condition that originates in the basement may be detected sooner than if the only hazardous detector were located on the second floor. Indeed, even in single floor plan dwellings or structures, it is recommended to include multiple detectors at various locations. For example, a hazardous condition detector may be located in the utility room housing the furnace, water heater, etc., one in the kitchen and one in each of the bedrooms or in the hallway by the bedrooms. Regardless of the configuration, however, the use of multiple hazardous condition detectors provides the advantage of detecting the hazardous condition early to allow the occupants as much time as possible to avoid danger.
While the use of multiple hazardous condition detectors at different locations throughout a dwelling or structure increases the likelihood of detecting a hazardous condition early, the layout of the dwelling or structure may well prevent an occupant from hearing the alarm of the hazardous condition detector located in proximity to the hazardous condition when it sounds. For example, if the hazardous condition detector in the basement of a two-story single family dwelling were to detect a hazardous condition and sound its alarm, the occupants who may be asleep on the second story may not be able to hear the alarm sounding in the basement. Indeed, many dwellings are constructed with insulation between the stories for the very purpose of stopping the transmission of noise therebetween. However, such sound insulation may well detract from the advantage of installing multiple hazardous condition detectors throughout the dwelling. If the hazardous condition continues to expand, the other detectors in the dwelling or structure will eventually detect this hazardous condition and hopefully alert the occupant of the existence of such a condition in time for the occupant to escape the danger.
To overcome this problem, the hazardous condition detectors may be interconnected or networked together utilizing a wired connection. In such installations the hazardous condition detectors communicate among themselves via a single wire in a three wire interconnect, the other two wires providing electric power to the units. In such an installation the detecting hazardous condition detector sounds its alarm and transmits a hazardous condition detected signal to the other interconnected hazardous condition detectors. These detectors then sound their alarm to notify the occupant of the detected hazardous condition within the dwelling.
While the sounding of the alarm of each of the interconnected hazardous condition detectors will increase the likelihood that the occupants will be advised of the hazardous condition, it is imperative that the wrong alarm is not sounded. That is, it is common for many dwellings or structures to include multiples types of hazardous condition detectors, each having a distinctive alarm pattern to alert the user to the different types of detected hazardous conditions. For example, a typical single family dwelling may include both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. In such an installation, the detection of smoke must result in only smoke alarms being sounded throughout the dwelling. That is, no carbon monoxide alarm signal should be sounded by a carbon monoxide detector because smoke is detected by one of the other hazardous condition detectors. The converse is also true.
If each different type of detector were to sound its alarm, the occupant would most likely become confused, and may well take the wrong action. For example, if both smoke and CO alarms are sounding when a fire is detected, the occupant may well believe that CO has been sensed and take time to open windows to let in fresh air instead of fleeing the structure. In view of this requirement, only the hazardous condition detectors that are capable of sounding the alarm corresponding to the detected hazardous condition should sound such an alarm. The other hazardous condition detectors that are not capable of sounding an alarm that corresponds to the detected hazardous condition must remain silent to avoid confusing the occupants as to the detected hazard.
As indicated above, the typical hazardous detector system interconnect utilizes a three wire system. Two of the wires are used to provide AC power to the detectors, while the third is used to transmit the remote alarm signal. This interconnect system was developed originally for the interconnection of smoke detectors. For simplicity, the interconnected smoke detectors simply apply a DC signal on the interconnect of at least about 3.0 Vdc. When the other smoke detectors sense this DC level on the interconnect, they sound their alarm. To prevent high frequency transients and 50 and 60 Hz modulation signals (associated with input AC power) from triggering the local alarm, the smoke detectors typically include an interconnect filter such as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Briefly described, the interconnect filter of FIG. 1 includes a resistor and capacitor that serve as a low-pass filter, i.e., to generally allow only low frequency signals to reach the smoke alarm sensing circuit portion from the interconnect line. A constant (DC) voltage signal present on the interconnect line charges the capacitor through the resistor. When the voltage at the capacitor reaches the predetermined threshold value (for example, at least about 3.0 volts at the interconnect port) an alarm indicator is triggered. The Zener diode clamps any inappropriate voltage spikes across the capacitor to a sufficiently low level to help prevent damage to alarm circuit portion.
With the relatively recent addition of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in the home, a system was needed to allow such detectors also to be interconnected while ensuring that the smoke detectors would not erroneously sound their alarm when CO was sensed. While a separate interconnect could have been used only for the CO detectors, such an approach greatly increases the cost and complexity of the interconnect wiring needed in the dwelling. Further, the recent advent of combination detectors, providing both CO and smoke detection in a single package, further makes such an approach unworkable.
One system of providing communication between hazardous condition detectors that allows communication of both smoke and CO alarm signals on the single signal wire of the interconnect, and that ensures that erroneous alarms are not triggered is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,204, entitled "Hazard Alarm, System, and Communication Therefore", the teachings and disclosure of which are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference thereto. This system provides a digital signal on the interconnect wiring signal line when a carbon monoxide hazard has been detected. Since the typical smoke detector filters high frequency signals, the digital signal indicative of CO is not seen by such smoke detectors as a command to sound their alarm. Similarly, the presence of a DC voltage signal on the interconnect signal wire is not read by the CO detectors as a command to sound their alarm.
While such a system provides a significant advancement in the art, it is still possible for both smoke and CO alarms to sound at the same time. This condition may result when both smoke and CO are detected by the detectors, a condition that may be present during a real fire. Since the sounding of both types of alarms may be confusing to the occupants, potentially causing them to take the wrong or inappropriate action, this is to be avoided.
Further, once a hazardous condition has been detected and all interconnected alarms are sounded, the occupant may be unaware of the actual location of the hazardous condition that originated the alarming. Without such information, the occupants may well place themselves in danger by going toward the hazard or by taking an escape route that would increase their risk of injury. Unfortunately, with all of the interconnected hazardous condition detectors sounding their alarm, the occupants may not be able to make an informed decision of which escape route to take.
In view of the above, there exists the need in the art for a system and method of communication between hazardous condition detectors that distinguish different detected hazardous conditions and that prioritizes the different hazardous condition alarms while communicating on the existing interconnect system. This is needed so that the occupants may be quickly and properly advised of the most serious threat to their safety and well being. There also exists a need in the art for a system and method of communication between hazardous condition detectors that allows an occupant to hush all of the interconnected detectors' alarms except for the detecting detector so that the location of the hazardous condition may more easily and safely be determined.

Circuit and method for prioritization of hazardous condition messages for interconnected hazardous condition detectors


To assure that a plain paper or an exclusively usable paper is selected as a recording medium depending on requested image such as a full color image or a monochromatic image, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium, a plain paper feeding unit, an exclusively usable paper feeding unit, a selecting unit for selecting a recording medium corresponding to a quality of image to be recorded, and a selected paper feeding unit as essential components. An image forming method to be practiced by operating the image forming apparatus includes the steps of selecting a recording medium to be used corresponding to a quality of an image to be printed, feeding the selected paper, and forming the image on the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming a monochromatic image or a full color image by employing, for example, an ink jet recording process, a thermal transferring process or an electronic photographing process. Further, the present invention relates to an image forming method to be practiced by the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, many kinds of image forming apparatuses which form an image on a recording medium by employing an ink jet recording process, a thermal transferring process or an electronic photographing process have been developed.
Among the above-mentioned recording processes, the ink jet recording process is a so-called non-impact type recording process which makes it possible to form an image on various kinds of recording medium such as plain paper or the like by ejecting ink onto the recording medium so as to allow the ejected ink to adhere to the recording medium. However, in the case that a full color image is formed on the recording medium using plural inks of different colors, a large quantity of inks are unavoidably shot onto the recording medium. For this reason, there arise malfunctions that extra ink flows between adjacent dots on the surface of the recording medium depending on properties of the recording medium. Moreover, ink oozing appears on the recording medium resulting in degraded image.
Also in the case that a monochromatic image is formed on a recording medium, if a large area of the recording medium is fully coated with ink or if a photographic image is formed on the recording medium, a large quantity of ink is shot onto the recording medium compared with the case that characters or line-shaped figures are formed on the recording medium. This results in the same or similar malfunctions.
To form excellent images on a recording medium by an ink jet recording apparatus, it is desirable to employ exclusively usable papers (hereinafter referred to as EU papers) which are coated with an ink absorbing layer and a color appearance layer. Incidentally, EU paper is usually prepared in the form of a coated paper. Also in the case that a halftone image such as a photograph assuring a high quality of image is to be formed on a recording medium by the thermal transferring process, it is desirable to employ an EU paper having excellent surface flatness to improve a property of color appearance.
To form a halftone image having a high quality on a recording medium by the electronic photographing process, it is also desirable to employ an EU paper having an excellent surface flatness.
In practice, however, a user selects the recording medium to be used at his discretion. After the selection, image is formed on the recording mediums selected by the user.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method, which select the appropriate recording medium corresponding to the image to print on it


An ECU estimates a variation amount of fuel which is actually suctioned by a fuel pump based on a fuel pressure in a common rail. Even though the fuel pressure in the common rail deviates from a target fuel pressure, when the estimated variation amount of fuel is substantially zero, an energization quantity to a solenoid of a flow control valve is compulsorily reduced.

Such a fuel pressure controller is applied to a common-rail type diesel engine. The fuel pressure controller adjusts a position of a spool of a fuel pump so that a discharge quantity of the fuel pump is controlled. Thereby, a fuel pressure in a common rail is controlled. The common rail is an accumulator common to each cylinder.
An inner periphery of the flow control valve and/or an outer periphery of the spool are worn away with age. The inventor of the present invention finds that a sliding friction which the spool receives increases when the spool slides on the inner periphery of the flow control valve. An increase in the sliding friction of the spool deteriorates an operationality of the spool, which deteriorates a controllability of the fuel pressure in the common rail.
JP-2008-75452A shows that electric current applied to the flow control valve is compulsorily decreased when the detected fuel pressure in the common rail has been significantly deviated from the target pressure for a predetermined period or more. This control is based on a fact that the detected fuel pressure deviates from the target pressure when the sliding friction of the spool increases. According to such a process, the spool is compulsorily displaced when the sliding friction of the spool increases, whereby the flow control valve can be appropriately operated.
There are various kinds of factors which deviate the detected fuel pressure in the common rail from the target pressure. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the deviation of the detected fuel pressure from the target pressure for a specified time period in order to correctly detect the sliding friction of the spool. It may take a long time period to detect an increase in the sliding friction of the spool.

Fuel pressure controller and fuel pressure control system


The invention includes a composition for an optical fiber coating. An inventive composition includes a non-thiol functional adhesion promoter and less than about 0.5 pph of a strength additive containing a thiol functional group. The invention further includes an optical fiber coated with the inventive composition. A second inventive composition includes a photo-polymerizable composition which contains an adhesion promoter and a non-silicon containing strength additive containing at least about one thiol functional group. A third inventive composition includes a photo-polymerizable composition which has a silane containing adhesion promoter and a strength additive containing at least about one halide functional group. The invention also includes an optical fiber coated with the inventive coating and methods of making an optical fiber including the inventive coating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical fibers (hereinafter fiber), and particularly to fiber coatings.
2. Technical Background
Fiber has acquired an increasingly important role in the field of telecommunications, frequently replacing existing copper wires. This trend has had a significant impact in all areas of telecommunications, which has seen a vast increase in the usage of fiber. Further increases in the use of fiber is at least foreseen in local loop telephone and cable TV service, as local fiber networks are established to deliver ever greater volumes of information in the form of data, audio, and video signals to residential and commercial users. In addition, use of fiber in home and commercial business environments for internal data, voice, and video communications has begun and is expected to increase. Fibers typically contain a glass core and at least two coatings, e.g. a primary (inner) coating and a secondary (outer) coating. The primary coating is applied directly to the glass fiber and, when cured, forms a soft, elastic, and compliant material which encapsulates the glass fiber. The primary coating serves as a buffer to cushion and protect the glass fiber core when the fiber is bent, cabled, or spooled. The secondary coating is applied over the primary coating and functions as a tough, protective outer layer that prevents damage to the glass fiber during processing and use.
Corrosion of the glass surface of the optical fiber will lead to degradation of the optical fiber strength and may even cause the optical fiber to break. A known cause of the corrosion is a base compound (compounds having a pH of greater than about 7.0 e.g. a hydroxide ion) reacting with the glass surface. The base may be generated from the environment which the optical fiber is employed, however, the potential source of the base is not limited to the environment. A need exists to improve fiber strength and also to prevent the base from causing the glass surface of the optical fiber to corrode.


An example device for the fixation and support of bone bodies includes a base member for implantation into a patient at a location between two bone bodies. The base member of the device includes an enclosed chamber for receiving fusion material and apertures for receiving bone fasteners that can be embedded into the adjacent bone bodies. The device further includes protrusions extending from the base member, wherein the protrusions are configured for engagement with one or more bone bodes upon implantation and for progressive penetration into at least one bone body over a period of time subsequent to the implantation.

The spinal column of vertebrates provides support to bear weight and protection to the delicate spinal cord and spinal nerves. The spinal column includes a series of vertebrae stacked on top of each other. There are typically seven cervical (neck), twelve thoracic (chest), and five lumbar (low back) segments. Each vertebra has a cylindrical shaped vertebral body in the anterior portion of the spine with an arch of bone to the posterior, which covers the neural structures. Between each vertebral body is an intervertebral disc, a cartilaginous cushion to help absorb impact and dampen compressive forces on the spine. To the posterior the laminar arch covers the neural structures of the spinal cord and nerves for protection. At the junction of the arch and posterior vertebral body are articulations to allow movement of the spine.
Various types of problems can affect the structure and function of the spinal column. These can be based on degenerative conditions of the intervertebral disc or the articulating joints, traumatic disruption of the disc, bone or ligaments supporting the spine, tumor or infection. In addition congenital or acquired deformities can cause abnormal angulation or slippage of the spine. Slippage (spondylolisthesis) anterior of one vertebral body on another can cause compression of the spinal cord or nerves. Patients who suffer from one of more of these conditions often experience extreme and debilitating pain, and can sustain permanent neurological damage if the conditions are not treated appropriately.
One technique of treating these disorders is known as surgical arthrodesis of the spine. This can be accomplished by removing the intervertebral disc and replacing it with bone and immobilizing the spine to allow the eventual fusion or growth of the bone material across the disc space to connect the adjoining vertebral bodies together. The stabilization of the vertebra to allow fusion is often assisted by a surgically implanted device to hold the vertebral bodies in proper alignment and allow the bone to heal, much like placing a cast on a fractured bone. Such techniques have been effectively used to treat the above-described conditions and in most cases are effective at reducing the patient's pain and preventing neurological loss of function. However, there are disadvantages to the present stabilization devices.
Several types of anterior spinal fixation devices are in use currently. One technique involves placement of screws all the way through the vertebral body, called bicortical purchase. The screws are placed through a titanium plate but are not attached to the plate. This device is difficult to place, and over penetration of the screws can result in damage to the spinal cord. The screws can back out of the plate into the surrounding tissues, as they do not fix to the plate. Several newer generation devices have used a unicortical purchase of the bone, and in some fashion locking the screw to the plate to provide stability and secure the screw from back out. Problems have resulted from over rigid fixation and stress shielding, resulting in nonunion of the bony fusion, chronic micro-motion during healing resulting in stress fracture of the fixation device at either the screw or the plate, insecure locking of the screw to the plate resulting in screw back out, or inadequate fixation strength and resultant collapse of the graft and angulation of the spine.
These devices are often designed to support and bridge across a group of vertebrae, for example a group of three. Because these devices are typically bridged across the bone, for example in the cervical region, they occasionally aggravate the esophagus, making it difficult for one to swallow food. In addition, the screws are installed into the bone normal, i.e., 90° to the plate's surface. Local angularity in the vertebral column often causes high shearing stresses to be applied to the screws. These stresses may fatigue the screws or cause deformation of the screw holes.


A boat hull protector for protecting the surface of the hull and keel of a boat from nicks and scratches in a beaching situation. The boat hull protector incorporates a single positioning and securing means for properly positioning the invention under the boat's hull, and additionally for securing the invention to the boat once positioned. The improvement abolishes the need to incorporate additional positioning components such as floats and drags, separate from the securing components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a marine craft accessory, and more particularly relates to a boating accessory of the type having primary utility as hull protector, also called a beaching apron.
2. Description of Related Art
Many situations exist where boat owners must beach their boats on a gravel, sand, mud, or rocky shoreline. This is particularly common, for instance, where docks are not readily available, as when the boat is beached in an uninhabited area of a river or lake for picnicking, camping, and trailering, as well as in many fishing environments and the like. When beached, the keel or hull of a boat, particularly in the commonly V-shaped bow area, can easily be damaged from abrasion or impact with the shoreline surface.
Additionally, the hull can be damaged after beaching while the boat is parked. This is so because boats are typically moored by tying off the bow of the boat by using an eyebolt and rope to secure the bow to a permanent object such as a tree, and by securing the stern of the boat by means of an anchor. This method of mooring prevents the stern from swinging around onto the shoreline. However, currents and waves may still cause rocking of the boat relative to the shoreline. Without protection, this back-and-forth rocking movement of the bow relative to a muddy, sandy, or rocky shore causes scratching of the hull's surface, regardless of whether the hull is formed of fiberglass, metal or wood. This type of damage reduces performance of the boat, is costly to repair, and greatly reduces the value of the boat. In view of the foregoing, a significant need exists to be able to protect the keel or hull of a boat in a beaching circumstance.
Various inventions for protecting boat hulls are currently known. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,022 issued to Vallquist (Boat Beaching Apron); U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,412 issued to Cassaro (Boat Bow Protector); and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,890 issued to Mason (Boat Beaching Apron). These inventions all use ropes to secure the hull protector to the hull. However, these inventions all use additional, special components or features to position the hull protector relative to the hull. Particularly, the Vallquist and Cassaro inventions use floats to keep the hull protector properly positioned. The Vallquist invention additionally utilizes drags. The Mason invention does not use floats or drags to position the hull protector but instead uses a body member which is provided with a generally V-shaped groove along its central portion.
The use of additional components or features to position the hull protector relative to the hull is not desirable for various reasons. First, storage space on a boat is extremely limited. Additional components, such as floats and the additional associated ropes for securing the floats to the hull protector take up valuable storage space. Second, additional parts or features make the hull protectors more cumbersome to use. The Mason invention, being formed from solid rubber, cannot be easily manipulated, folded or stowed. The additional ropes and floats associated with the Cassaro device can get tangled and knotted. Third, additional components increase the possibility that one or more of these components will become lost or damaged, thereby making the whole invention useless. Finally, additional positioning components and features increase the cost of the boat hull protectors.
In view of the foregoing, there is a significant need for a boat hull protector which does not need additional positioning components or features. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


An LCD device includes a common line such as power source line in addition to data lines and scanning lines in the display area. The common line is connected to a plurality of peripheral leads in the peripheral area, the peripheral leads including first-type leads and second-type leads. The first-type lead is made of an ITO film for achieving a long-term reliability whereas the second-type lead has a two-layer structure including a metallic film and an ITO film for achieving a lower line resistance.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device having a plurality of leads connected to a single common line, and more particularly, to a display device having a display area and a peripheral area, wherein drive ICs for driving signal lines and power supply lines disposed in the display area are coupled to the leads in the peripheral area.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The LCD device generally includes a pair of glass substrates opposing each other to sandwich therebetween a liquid crystal (LC) layer, the LC layer being applied with drive voltages for representing thereon desired images. FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of a typical LCD device connected to drive ICs (not shown) mounted on tape carrier packages (TCPs). The LCD device 200 includes first and second substrates 201 and 202 sandwiching therebetween an LC layer 205, wherein the first substrate 201 is larger than the second substrate 202. For example, the first substrate 201 mounts thereon active elements, power source lines, data lines and scanning lines, whereas the second substrate 202 mounts thereon color filters. The TCPs 203 mounting thereon drive ICs are coupled to the first substrate 201 via terminals (peripheral terminals) 204 disposed in the peripheral area 206, at which the first substrate 201 protrudes from the second substrate 202. The second substrate 202 opposes the display area 207 of the first substrate 201.
FIGS. 8A and 8B show details of alternative configurations in the vicinity of the peripheral terminals 204 in the peripheral area 206 shown in FIG. 7. The leads of data lines, scanning lines and power supply lines extending in the display area 207 of the first substrate 201 are configured by ITO (indium-tin oxide) lines 211 shown in FIG. 8A or metallic lines 214 shown in FIG. 8B, and extend from the display area 207 to the peripheral area 206.
These ITO lines 211 or metallic lines 214 are protected by an insulating film 212 and exposed from openings of the insulating film 212, at which ITO pads 213 are formed for connecting the ITO lines 211 or metallic lines 214 to the TCPs 203. The ITO pads 213 are connected to electrodes 210 of the TCPs 203 via anisotropic conductive film wherein conductive particles are dispersed in a resin, and are covered by a resin film (not shown). A portion of the peripheral area 206 receiving therein the peripheral terminals 204 including the ITO pads 213 is referred to as a driver mounting area 208.
In the structure shown in FIG. 8A, since the ITO line 211 has a higher line resistance compared to the metallic line 214 shown in FIG. 8B, there is the problem of a lower speed operation of the display device having the ITO line 211. On the other hand, in the structure shown in FIG. 8B, the metallic line 214 is susceptible to erosion caused by ingress of water or disconnection caused by electro-migration. In short, there is a trade-off between the structures shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B as to a lower line resistance for achieving a higher operational speed and a higher erosion resistance for achieving a higher long-term reliability of the display device.
Patent Publication JP-A-2003-98543 describes a technique for solving the above trade-off by using the structure shown in FIG. 9, which shows the vicinity of the peripheral terminals 204 similarly to FIGS. 8A and 8B. The drive IC in the publication is mounted on the first substrate by using a COG (chip on glass) technique, wherein each lead is configured by a first-layer line 221 made of tantalum, a second-layer line 222 made of chrome and a third-layer line 223 made of ITO. Although the second-layer line 222 made of chrome has a lower erosion resistance compared to the tantalum and ITO, the second-layer line 222 has a lower electric resistance and provided only in the driver mounting area 208. The second-layer line 222 reduces the line resistance of the display device while being protected against the erosion due to the structure sandwiched between the first-layer line 211 and the third-layer line 213.
It is noted in the structure of the LCD device that the peripheral terminals include one or more common terminal sets in addition to data terminals and scanning terminals connected to data lines and scanning lines corresponding to respective rows and columns. The common terminal set includes a plurality of common terminals connected in common in the display area 207 and generally connected to all the rows or columns, and thus is requested to have a lower electric resistance and a higher current capacity. In this respect, a plurality of common lines connected in common in the display area 207 are generally connected via respective leads to respective common terminals of a common terminal set, and connected to the drive IC via respective leads.
FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of the typical LCD device. The LCD device includes a LCD panel configured by the substrates 201 and 202 and defining a plurality of pixels 209 therein, two TCPs each configuring a Y-driver 203 for driving scanning lines of the pixels 209, and three TCPs each configuring an X-driver 203 for driving data lines of the pixels 209. In the exemplified configuration, each Y-driver or each X-driver 203 is connected to a pair of common line sets 215 each including three leads connected in common in the display area 207.
The peripheral area 206 of the LCD device 200 shown in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the structure shown in FIG. 9 having a three-layer lead. However, if the LCD device operates for a long term, the structure shown in FIG. 9 is also susceptible to erosion of the second-layer line 222 due to the ingress of a small amount of water through the driver mounting area 208. Thus, the structure shown in FIG. 9 may eventually have a larger line resistance in the common leads, to degrade the image quality or cause a malfunction in the image display. This problem is common to another type of display device using a drive IC directly connected to the substrate.

Display device having a plurality of leads connected to a single common line


A system for receiving Joint Task Action Group (JTAG) data bits from a device under test includes a deserializer that receives serial messages from the device under test and forms data frames based on the serial messages. A frame sync module communicates with the deserializer and forms JTAG data bits based on the data frames. N virtual JTAG test access ports (VTAPs), each having an input and an output. The N VTAPs are connected in a daisy chain and the input of a first VTAP receives the JTAG data bits from the frame sync module.

One disadvantage of shrinking microelectronics is that the testing of integrated circuits becomes exponentially more complex. A convenient and efficient means of testing increasingly complex integrated circuits is to design them with testing hardware already built-in. In 1985, a consortium of European electronics companies formed the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) in order to create an industry standard which would define an architecture and software protocol for built-in testing hardware. The resulting standard, sometimes referred to as JTAG, was adopted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as IEEE Standard 1149.1.
The JTAG standard uses a boundary-scan architecture, so called because the JTAG circuitry is connected to a dedicated path around the integrated circuit's boundary (where the I/O pins are located). JTAG uses this boundary path to directly input to, and download data and instructions from, the I/O pins of the integrated circuit. The JTAG capability of an integrated circuit is accessed through a multi-pin JTAG test access port (TAP), through which instructions and data from external testing software are input and instructions and data from the integrated circuit are output.
The JTAG interface and circuitry can be used to implement debugging and emulation functions. In debugging embodiments, the JTAG interface is used to download code, execute it, and examine register and memory values. In system-on-a-chip (SOC) embodiments which perform emulation, an in-circuit emulator (ICE) is often embedded in the SOC. The embedded ICE is an actual processor, or a specially modified version of the standard processor, combined with special purpose instrumentation logic to perform the debugging and emulation functions. With emulation, one can test the embedded processor software with techniques such as code trace, benchmarking, trapping, evaluating breakpoints, profiling, etc. However, such extra functions usually require extra pins (besides the JTAG TAP) to output the resulting data.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional SOC 100 with an embedded ICE 105 located within the embedded processor 110 of the SOC 100. An external debugging and emulation program, located in personal computer (PC) 120, uses the JTAG interface logic 125 (by means of JTAG TAP, not shown here) to access and control ICE 105. When running, ICE 105 takes over the embedded processor 110 which controls most of the functions of the SOC 100. As such, ICE 105 can access, control, upload, and download from any of the memory 130 or peripheral modules 135 which control other SOC components 137.
The output of the debugging and emulation is forwarded to trace logic 140 and, more particularly, to trace FIFO (First-In, First-Out) buffer 145, where the trace output is collected for download, through trace port and status analyzer 150, to the external debugging and emulation program on PC 120, where the trace output is analyzed.
One problem with the prior art design is that the trace port and status analyzer 150 uses multiple pins of the SOC for the parallel output of the trace data. The amount of data is thus limited by the number of pins which can be designated as trace output pins in the SOC design. As SOCs become more complex and faster, not only does the total number of I/O pins needed for critical functions increase—thus reducing the number of available pins which can be designated as trace output pins—but also the amount of trace data increases, thus requiring more trace output pins for transferring the increased trace data. Furthermore, bandwidth limitations may limit data rates between the trace port and status analyzer 150 and the on chip trace logic 140.
Usually, it is the number of trace output pins that are sacrificed for other uses in integrated circuit design, thereby causing difficulties as well as a bottleneck at the trace port output of the integrated circuit. One solution to this problem is to create a larger trace FIFO buffer 145 so that more data may be stored while the parallel output is downloading as much data as it can. However, area on an integrated circuit is in short supply, and using up more area for a trace FIFO buffer is expensive and wasteful.

Apparatus and method for testing and debugging an integrated circuit


In a static memory cell including two load resistors connected to a power supply line, two cross-coupled drive transistors connected between the load resistors and two ground lines and two transfer transistors connected between the load resistors and two data lines, the data lines are in parallel with and do not cross over the power supply line and the ground lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to the improvement of a static memory cell of a static random access memory (SRAM) device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art SRAM cell is constructed by a flip-flop formed by cross-coupled first and second inverters and transfer transistors connected between first and second nodes of the flip-flop and data lines. That is, the first inverter is formed by a first load resistor between a power supply line and the first node and a drive MOS transistor between the first node and a ground line. Similarly, the second inverter is formed by a second load resistor element between the power supply line and the second node and a second drive MOS transistor between the second node and the ground line.
In the above-described prior art SRAM cell, however, since the data lines cross over at least one of the power supply line and the ground line, the parasitic capacitances of the data lines are increased, which decreases the access speed of the SRAM cell. This will be explained later in detail.

Static semiconductor memory device having data lines in parallel with power supply lines


The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a compressor, to a method for controlling a compressor and to a refrigerator comprising same. According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a compressor operates selectively in a TRIAC driving mode or in a mode in which commercial power is directly used in accordance with the quality of the electricity of the commercial power. According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the commercial power is directly applied to the compressor within the range of a predetermined voltage or frequency so as to reduce or remove losses caused by the TRIAC driving, and power consumption is reduced to improve energy efficiency.

In general, a refrigerator is equipment used for keeping stuffs such as foods, beverages and the like in a fresh state for a long term of time, and stores the stuffs in a refrigerated or frozen state according to a type of the stuff.
A refrigerator is driven by an operation of a compressor disposed therein. Cold air supplied into the refrigerator is generated by heat exchange of a refrigerant. The refrigerant is continuously supplied into the refrigerator by a repetitive performance of a cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. The refrigerant supplied into the refrigerator is evenly transferred into the refrigerator by convection, such that foods within the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.
Meanwhile, the refrigerator or an air conditioner is equipped with a compressor, and generally uses a brushless direct current (BLDC) compressor or a reciprocating compressor.
Especially, a reciprocating compressor is a compressor in which a piston linearly reciprocates within a cylinder so as to suck, compress and discharge a refrigerant gas. The reciprocating compressors are classified into a recipro type and a linear type according to a method of driving a piston.
The recipro type is employing a method of converting a rotational force of a rotary motor into a linear reciprocating motion by coupling a crankshaft to the rotary motor and a piston to the crankshaft. On the other hand, the linear type is employing a method of reciprocating a piston in response to a linear motion of a linear motor by directly connecting the piston to a mover of the linear motor. The linear type reciprocating compressor exhibits a less frictional loss due to non-use of a crankshaft, which is used to convert the rotating motion into the linear motion. Therefore, the linear type reciprocating compressor has higher compression efficiency than typical compressors.
A refrigerator having a compressor includes a compressor controller for controlling an operation of the compressor and a refrigerator controller for controlling an operation of the refrigerator. Here, the compressor controller detects current and voltage flowing in the compressor and controls stroke or speed using the detected current and voltage. The refrigerator controller controls power of the compressor by outputting a control signal for turning on or off the compressor to the compressor controller according to a refrigerator load, for example, an inner temperature of the refrigerator, and drives the refrigerator accordingly.
In a refrigerator having a linear compressor or a BLDC reciprocating compressor, the compressor receives commercial power and operate via a drive (or driving unit) implemented as a power source such as a TRIAC and the like. The compressor carries out operations, such as power on/off, freezing (cooling) capacity variation, speed control, frequency control, stroke control and the like, according to a command required in the refrigerator. The refrigerator maintains the inner temperature within an appropriate level through the operations of the compressor.
However, in an apparatus and method for controlling a compressor and a refrigerator having the same according to the related art, since the compressor is always driven via a drive implemented as a TRIAC, there is a problem in a loss due to the drive.

Apparatus and method for controlling a compressor, and refrigerator comprising same


A container apparatus for the packaging, storage and transportation of articles, in which the apparatus may be articulated from a substantially enclosed container configuration to a stackable point-of-purchase display configuration. When in the display configuration the cover of the apparatus acts to present the articles within the container at repeatedly stackable, acute angle--respective to a level surface, for the viewing of the articles. Additionally, when in the display configuration, the container apparatus may be vertically or horizontally stacked on another similarly configured container apparatus with stability and without entirely obscuring the presentation of the articles contained therein.

The present invention relates in general, to a point of purchase container apparatus and, in particular, to a shelf-top point of purchase container apparatus that can be used for not only displaying articles on retail outlet shelves but also for the packaging, storage and transportation of the same articles during shipment to such retail outlets.
Containers convertible from storage and transporting articles towards acting as point of purchase display units have been used for many years. Such early containers were nothing more than a box with a removable and detachable lid, such as a conventional shoe box. If the articles in the container were to be displayed, the lid would be removed and then either attached to the bottom of the container or discarded.
While functional, such arrangements did not present the articles being displayed in the most effective "merchandising" fashion. These prior art display containers would normally lie flat, horizontally on the counter or shelf. One could not vertically stack the display containers or the articles contained in the lower display container would be hidden from view. Moreover, very often the covers for the containers would become lost or misplaced.
Other display containers have been developed in which the covers or lids are attached. During the transformation from storage and transportation to point of purchase display, the cover of such prior art container rolls back and underlies the lower displaying portion of the container. This arrangement allowed the lower displaying portion to be placed on an angle for a more pleasing presentation of the articles within the container. While providing a better display of the articles, these type of container apparatus could still not be restrainably stacked, either vertically or horizontally unless the view of the articles within the lower container was obscured. Likewise, attempts to stack often resulted in toppling, breakage or separation or displayed goods and the like.
It is thus an object of the present invention to create an inexpensive, easy to assemble point of purchase container apparatus that can be utilized not only for the display of articles but that can also be utilized in the packaging, storage and transportation of such articles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a point of purchase container apparatus that may be stacked on a shelf, from the floor up or some other level surface--not only horizontally but also vertically in a substantially stable manner while permitting a substantially unobscured view of at least a portion of the articles within not only the top container but the lower stacked upon containers as well.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of present specification and drawings.


A propulsion system for an aircraft includes: (1) an engine configured to generate a mass flow, (2) a nozzle having a pathway having a throat and a trailing edge, the throat or the trailing edge being configured to enlarge and contract, (3) a deployable obstructer disposed in the nozzle, (4) a first pressure sensor to sense the static pressure of the mass flow at the nozzle exit, (5) a second pressure sensor to sense the ambient pressure proximate the aircraft, and a (6) controller. The controller is coupled with the first and second pressure sensors, the deployable obstructer, and the throat or the trailing edge (whichever is configured to enlarge and contract). The controller receives the static and ambient pressures and when there is a disparity, the controller controls at least one of the deployable obstructer, the throat, and the trailing edge in a manner that reduces the disparity.

An aircraft's sonic boom signature is sensitive to many features of the design, one of which is the shape of the jet plume leaving the engine. The more smoothly a jet plume's contour transitions from the nozzle exit (i.e., the exit plane), the less disruption the plume causes to the local flow field surrounding the nozzle and the less the plume contributes to the loudness of the sonic boom.
Creating a continuously smooth jet plume contour is difficult, and maintaining the smoothness of the contour across a range of aircraft flight conditions or engine power settings is even more challenging. A method for creating a continuously smooth jet plume at the design condition is addressed by U.S. Pat. No. 9,121,369 issued to Conners, Henne, and Howe. Maintaining the smoothness of the contour at off-design conditions is among the problems addressed herein.
At off-design conditions such as supersonic speeds above or below the design supersonic speed, the exhaust plume can be in one of two states—it can either be over expanded or under expanded. An over expanded condition of the exhaust plume is one where the ambient pressure of the free stream outside of the propulsion system exceeds the static pressure of the exhaust plume. In cases where the exhaust plume is over expanded, when the exhaust plume exits the propulsion system and encounters the freestream, the free stream will pinch down into the exhaust plume which will lead to an expansion of the freestream followed downstream by a recompression of the freestream to match ambient conditions. This expansion and recompression of the free stream gives rise to shocks which will increase the magnitude of the sonic boom on the ground.
An under expanded condition of the exhaust plume is the opposite. It is one where the static pressure of the exhaust plume exceeds the ambient pressure of the freestream. In cases where the exhaust plume is under expanded, when the exhaust plume exits the propulsion system and encounters the freestream, the exhaust plume will balloon (enlarge) in an outward direction into the path of the freestream. When the freestream encounters the sheer surface of the enlarged exhaust plume, the freestream will behave as if it had encountered a solid surface and instantly change direction. When the supersonic freestream changes direction, it will give rise to shocks which lead to an increased magnitude of the sonic boom as perceived on the ground.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a propulsion system that resolves off-design conditions such as the under expanded and/or the over expanded condition of the exhaust plume before the exhaust plume encounters the freestream. It is also desirable to provide a method of manufacturing such a propulsion system. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Propulsion system for an aircraft, a nozzle for use with the propulsion system, and a method of manufacturing a propulsion system for an aircraft


There are provided an intermolecular compound of (a) di-saturated medium chain fatty acids mono-saturated long chain fatty acid triglyceride and (b) 1,3-di-saturated long chain fatty acids 2-mono-unsaturated long chain fatty acid triglyceride, of which a long spacing value by X-ray diffraction is 65 Å or more, and foods containing the intermolecular compound. The intermolecular compound can be used as a part of fats and oils that constitute foods. Due to formation of the intermolecular compound, the fats and oils containing large amounts of symmetric triglycerides such as cocoa butter and those containing medium chain fatty acids do not form separate crystals and, therefore, can keep smooth texture and prevent blooming.

Conventionally, by utilizing the feature that two kinds of fatty acid triglycerides having different molecular structures form intermolecular compounds and the feature of thus formed intermolecular compounds, the procedures have been often taken that such triglycerides are used by being contained in foods such as chocolates, margarine, and shortening (Non-Patent Literatures 1 and 2, Patent Literatures 1 to 15). However, all of these procedures were regarding the intermolecular compounds that are formed by combination of St-U-St type triglyceride (St: saturated fatty acids, U: unsaturated fatty acids) and U-St-U type triglyceride.
On the other hand, it has been known that combination of St-U-St type triglyceride (St: saturated fatty acids, U: unsaturated fatty acids) and St-St-St type triglyceride such as POP type triglyceride (1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerin) and PPP type triglyceride (tripalmitin) (Non-Patent Literature 2); and cocoa butter and cocoa butter substitute (CBS, hardened lauric fat and fatty oil) can neither form intermolecular compounds nor have compatibility and, therefore, each triglyceride independently crystallizes to form eutectic crystals.
Namely, until now, combination of St-U-St type triglyceride (St: saturated fatty acids, U: unsaturated fatty acids) and St-St-St type triglyceride has not been able to form intermolecular compounds and, therefore, foods have not been able to be obtained such as those containing the intermolecular compounds of these two kinds of fatty acid triglycerides having different molecular structures and utilizing the feature thereof.
Further, recent years, it has been frequently practiced that a kind(s) of fatty acids constituting triglyceride or the binding position thereof is changed in order to reform the property of fats and oils, that is, triglycerides. For example, it has been disclosed in Patent Literature 16 that 1,3-di(S)-2-mono(X) type triglyceride (SXS) wherein a saturated fatty acid(s) (X) having 12 or less carbon atoms is bound to the second position and a saturated fatty acid(s) (S) having 16 or more carbon atoms is bound to the first and third positions is used as an agent for preventing fat blooming and such triglyceride is produced by conducting the ester exchange reaction using 1,3-specific lipase. Besides, Patent Literature 17 discloses that triglycerides wherein one of the constituent fatty acids is a saturated fatty acid having 12 or less carbon atoms and the rest two fatty acids are saturated fatty acids having 16 or more carbon atoms are produced by ester exchange of natural fats and oils; and they are used as graining inhibitors of cocoa butter, palm oil, and the like.
In addition to it, Patent Literature 18 discloses that triglyceride compositions containing: 1,3-di(S)-2-mono(X) type triglyceride (SXS) wherein a caprylic acid (X) is bound to the second position and palmitic acids or stearic acids (S) are bound to the first and third positions; and 1-mono(X) di(S) type triglyceride (SSX) wherein a caprylic acid (X) is bound to the first or third position and palmitic acids or stearic acids (S) are bound to the second and third positions or the first and second positions are used as agents for preventing fat blooming and they are dispensed to chocolates.
Further, Patent Literature 19 discloses the method for producing symmetric triglycerides of which first and third positions are medium chain fatty acids and the sn-second position is a long chain fatty acid, and availability of thus produced symmetric triglycerides of which sn-first and -third positions are octanoic acids and the sn-second position is a stearic acid as butter substitutes for chocolates.
However, even the above disclosures failed to form intermolecular compounds and utilize the features thereof.
[Non-Patent Literature 1]Journal of Oleo Science, Vol. 42, No. 3, P184(1993)[Non-Patent Literature 2]Journal of the Japanese Society for SynchrotronRadiation Research (hosyako), Vol. 11, No. 3,P208 (1998)[Patent Literature 1]Japanese Patent No. 3464646[Patent Literature 2]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2002-69484[Patent Literature 3]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-213291[Patent Literature 4]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2002-121584[Patent Literature 5]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2004-285193[Patent Literature 6]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-304807[Patent Literature 7]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-213289[Patent Literature 8]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2004-89006[Patent Literature 9]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2004-305048[Patent Literature 10]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-213287[Patent Literature 11]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-210107[Patent Literature 12]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-169601[Patent Literature 13]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-169600[Patent Literature 14]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.2003-284491[Patent Literature 15]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.Hei 4-135453[Patent Literature 16]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.Hei 4-75593[Patent Literature 17]Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No.Hei 5-311190[Patent Literature 18]Japanese Patent No. 3146589[Patent Literature 19]W02005/5586

Intermolecular compounds of fatty acid triglycerides


When a seat belt 14 is unfastened, reactive force against treading pressure on the accelerator pedal is enhanced by a pedal reactive force enhancer 10 even if a driver tries to drive a vehicle by turning on an ignition switch 18 and pressing on the accelerator pedal. Thus, it is possible to prompt the driver to fasten the seat belt. When the seat belt is unfastened in an emergency, although the reactive force against treading pressure on the accelerator pedal is enhanced, the driver can drive the vehicle by pressing the accelerator pedal harder. In this way, the driver can deal with such emergency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accelerator pedal device for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a technology in which a fuel injection control corresponding to a pressing amount on an accelerator pedal is inhibited in the event that car speed detected by a speed sensor exceeds a given value while a belt fastening sensor detects an unfastened seat belt (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11(1999)-294214, p. 2, FIG. 1, for example).
However, according to the conventional device, an engine stalls when a seat belt is unfastened even if a driver wishes to drive a vehicle in an emergency. Accordingly, the driver may not deal with such an emergency.


A Josephson junction (JJ) device includes a buffered substrate comprising a first buffer layer formed on a substrate. A second buffer layer is formed on the first buffer layer. The second buffer layer includes a hexagonal compound structure. A trilayer structure is formed on the buffered substrate comprising at least two layers of a superconducting material. A thin tunnel barrier layer is positioned between the at least two layers. The buffered substrate is used to minimize lattice mismatch and interdiffusion in the trilayer structure so as to allow the JJ device to operate above 20 K.

The invention relates to the field of Josephson junction (JJ) devices, and in particular to a superconducting MgB2 Josephson junction (JJ) device having a buffered Si substrate comprising of MgO and AlB2 structure compounds.
Magnesium diboride (MgB2) has attracted extensive studies to fabricate Josephson junctions and circuits that can function between 20-25K using cryocoolers. The goal was to replace the Nb junction technology which requires cooling at liquid helium temperatures. MgB2 Josephson junctions have been fabricated by point contact, ramp type, and various planar structures.
Trilayer Josephson tunnel junctions using AlOx or AlN as a thin tunnel barrier layer have also been reported. However, the properties of the barrier layer and the MgB2/barrier interface in many of these junctions are not ideal because they are not well understood or difficult to control.

Josephson junction device for superconductive electronics with a magnesium diboride


A virtual tape system and method for mapping variable sized data blocks from a host to a fixed sized data block structure of a direct access storage device (DASD) utilizes a buffer between the cache and the host. The control logic operates to access the storage device by transferring data between the cache and the buffer in fixed chunk sizes, and in parallel, transferring data between the host and the buffer in data-chained blocks.

The present invention relates to the mapping of variable size data blocks into a fixed block structure for emulating a tape device with a direct access storage device.
Emulation of a tape device necessitates the handling of large blocks of data differently than that required for a direct access storage device (DASD) control unit. In a DASD environment, a data-record never exceeds a total data count greater than some finite amount of bytes such as, for example, 64 kilobytes. Tape blocks, on the other hand, may have lengths longer than the finite length that is allowed in a DASD environment, and as such, may exceed the capabilities of the DASD front-end data path counters. For example, for a finite block length of 64 kilobytes, a 16 bit counter may be used. As such, tape blocks, which may be up to, for example 256 kilobytes in length, exceed the capabilities of the 16 bit counter.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a virtual tape system and method for mapping variable size data blocks into a fixed block structure.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a virtual tape system and method for mapping variable sized data blocks from a host into a fixed sized data block structure of a direct access storage device that utilizes a buffer between the cache and the host.
In carrying out the above object, a virtual tape system is provided. The system comprises a cache, a buffer, and control logic. The cache for the direct access storage device is configured to send and receive data in a group of associated (spanned) chunks having a fixed size. The buffer is for transferring data between the cache and the host. The buffer has a size that is greater than the fixed chunk size. The control logic is operative to access the storage device by transferring data between the cache and the buffer in fixed size chunks, and in parallel, transferring data between the host and the buffer in data-chained blocks having a variable size.
In one embodiment, the fixed chunk size is not greater than 64 kilobytes, and the variable block size is not greater than 256 kilobytes. A 16 bit counter is used for counting data transfers between the cache and the buffer. Further, it is preferred that the buffer size is twice the sum of the fixed chunk size and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bytes.
In a preferred embodiment, each fixed size chunk has a count, and the control logic is further operative to read from the direct access storage device by initiating a transfer of a series of fixed size chunks from the cache to the buffer. Thereafter, the control logic initiates a transfer of a series of variable size blocks from the buffer to the host while, in parallel, continuing to transfer the series of fixed size chunks from the cache to the buffer. The last chunk in the series of fixed size chunks may have a count less than the fixed chunk size, with the other chunks all having a count equal to the fixed chunk size.
Further, in a preferred embodiment, the control logic is further operative to write to the direct access storage device by initiating a transfer of a series of variable size blocks from the host to the buffer. Thereafter, the control logic initiates a transfer of a series of fixed size chunks from the buffer to the cache while, in parallel, continuing to transfer the series of variable size blocks from the host to the buffer. The last chunk in the series of fixed size chunks may have a count less than the fixed chunk size, with the other chunks having a count equal to the fixed chunk size. Preferably, the buffer size is at least twice the fixed chunk size including room for CRC bytes. Having the buffer at least twice the chunk size (plus room for CRC bytes) allows the buffer to be primed with one full chunk of information before any information is removed from the buffer. This size buffer advantageously allows simultaneous (parallel) transfers into and out of the buffer in either direction (read or write).
Further, in carrying out the present invention, a virtual tape method for mapping variable size data blocks from a host into a fixed data block structure of a direct access storage device is provided. The direct access storage device has a cache configured to send and receive data in a group of associated (spanned) chunks having a fixed size. The method comprises establishing a buffer between the cache and the host for transferring data between the cache and host. The buffer has a size that is greater than the fixed chunk size. The method further comprises accessing the storage device by transferring data between the cache and the buffer in fixed size chunks, and in parallel, transferring data between the host and the buffer in data-chained blocks having a variable size. In one embodiment, the fixed chunk size is not greater than 64 kilobytes and the variable chunk size is not greater than 256 kilobytes.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises reading from the direct access storage device by initiating a transfer of a series of fixed size chunks from the cache to the buffer. Thereafter, a transfer of a series of variable size blocks from the buffer to the host is initiated while, in parallel, the transferring of the series of fixed size chunks from the cache to the buffer continues. The last chunk in the series of fixed size chunks may have a count less than the fixed chunk size, with the other chunks all having a count equal to the fixed chunk size. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises writing to the direct access storage device by initiating a transfer of a series of variable sized blocks from the host to the buffer. Thereafter, a transfer of a series of fixed sized chunks from the buffer to the cache is initiated while, in parallel, the transferring of the series of variable size blocks from the host to the buffer continues.
The advantages associated with embodiments of the present invention are numerous. For example, embodiments of the present invention employ a chunking algorithm to map arbitrarily large data blocks of variable size into a fixed block structure. Two data transfer modes, fixed chunk size and variable block size (data-chained), are used in parallel to reconcile the count mismatch between the fixed size chunks and the variable size blocks. For write transfers, commands with the data chaining bit set and any write command with a count greater than the defined chunk size is processed by the chunking algorithm. Read transfers are processed as chunks when instructed to do so by the control unit processor via messaging.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Mapping variable size data blocks into a fixed block structure


A method for making toothbrushes includes the steps of, providing a toothbrush, and providing an end-rounder secured to a support. The support is substantially fixed against movement. The toothbrush is moved towards the end-rounder such that free ends of bristles secured to a head of the toothbrush are rounded by the end-rounder.

FIG. 1 discloses a preexisting apparatus for making (finishing) toothbrushes. Pairs of toothbrushes 10 are secured to blocks 12. The toothbrushes are in nearly their final state of manufacture at this point with bristles secured to the heads of the toothbrushes. A chain 14 periodically advances blocks 12 in the direction of an arrow 16.
A group of five cutters 18 are each used to trim or cut a subgroup of bristles on each brush to their specified length. A group of seven end-rounders 20 are used to round off the cut free ends of various subgroups of the bristles. Chain 14 advances all of toothbrushes 10 until they are properly positioned over a respective cutter or end-rounder.
A plow or fork (not shown) is then inserted into the bristles of some, but not all, of the toothbrushes which are adjacent to a cutter or end-rounder. The plow bends some of the bristles on a brush out of the way so that other bristles on the brush can be trimmed or end-rounded as the case may be. A platform (support) 22 is then raised to bring the cutters and end-rounders into contact with the bristles which are to be trimmed or end-rounded. It takes about 0.75 seconds to raise all the cutters and end-rounders.
After the bristles are trimmed or end-rounded, platform 22 is lowered to distance the cutters and end-rounders from the bristles. Chain 14 then advances to move the toothbrushes to the next cutter or end-rounder in the finishing process. Although not shown, after the toothbrushes receive a final-end-rounding at the right-most end-rounder in FIG. 1, they are removed from chain 14 and packaged. These toothbrushes are replaced in blocks 12 by new unfinished toothbrushes which have yet to be trimmed and end-rounded.
A problem with this arrangement is that during the time platform 22 is being raised and lowered, no end-rounding is being done on the bristles. Further, while chain 14 is advancing the toothbrushes into and out of a certain end-rounding station, no end-rounding is being done on the bristles. As a result, more aggressive end-rounding must be done during the limited time available to end-round the bristles. This requires plows (forks) to be inserted into the bristles at five of the seven end-rounding stations.

Method and apparatus for making toothbrushes


This relates to the provision of a vacuum actuated button type closure with a tamper indicating arrangement which will visually indicate when a container has been opened or more particularly when the vacuum within a vacuum packed container has been lost. The deflectable button of the closure is utilized to squeeze a dye from a sponge like member into a layer of absorbent material so as to color the absorbent material. The absorbent material, in turn, is provided with non-absorbent areas which define indicia to indicate that an associated container has been opened. The layer of absorbent material is carried by an arched cross sectional cover and in several forms of the cover, a central portion of the cover is downwardly deformable under pressure to move the layer of absorbent material from an inoperative position to a lowered position for cooperation with the sponge like member when the button returns to its up position to effect the flow of the dye from the sponge like member into the layer of absorbent material.

It is well known to provide vacuum closures which are constructed such that the end panel of each closure is provided with a centrally located button surrounded by an annular hinge portion. The button is normally in an up position and when applied to a hot pack container or other type of container in which a vacuum is formed, will be drawn downwardly by the vacuum to indicate that the container is properly closed. The end panel is provided with stored energy which, when the vacuum is relieved, will cause the button to snap back up to its original position giving off a noise indicating such movement. However, while there may be a sound and visual indication that a container has been opened, if the container has a vacuum again formed therein, such as by reheating, and the closure is replaced, the closure will have the same appearance as a like closure and container wherein the container has never been opened.

Tamper indicating means for vacuum closures


Health considerations mandate continuous and thorough cleaning of modular conveyor belts used in the food processing industry. A modular belt cleaning system is provided having a sleeve bearing slidable over a supply pipe, and having apertures for engaging nozzles in the supply pipe. A sprocket is mountable over the sleeve bearing. Depressible retainers are disclosed to permit installation and removal of a sprocket over the sleeve bearing.

In the meat and meat packing industries, conveyor belts and conveyor systems are commonly utilized to transport meat in processing plants.
The most frequently employed conveyor systems comprise a number of interlocking conveyor modules linked together to form a continuous conveyor belt, which is driven by a sprocket. Some examples of these types of conveyor systems are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,016, 6,425,479, 3,602,364, 4,072,062, 4,080,842, 4,213,527, and 4,556,142. Some systems both drive the belt and track the belt with the sprockets.
In the meat and meat packing industries, cleanliness is paramount to the entire operation. Meat and meat byproducts, by their very nature, carry bacteria. These bacteria can be harmful to humans and/or animals that eventually consume the meat or meat products. It is very difficult to eliminate all of the bacteria during processing, so measures are taken to control bacterial populations within the meat and meat products.
One method of controlling bacterial growth is frequent cleaning of the machines and apparatuses in contact with meat. By frequently cleaning the machines and apparatuses, the size and development of bacterial colonies can be reduced and managed.
In meat processing operations, the conveyor belts are constantly in contact with meat and meat byproducts. Because of the regularity of use, it is essential to frequently clean the conveyor belts. Conventional conveyor belt systems in the meat industry are not uniform elastic belts with continuous contact surface. Instead, the belts are commonly formed of interlocking modules that are propelled and tracked by sprockets.
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 generally designates a conventional conveyor system. Conveyor system 10 comprises a conveyor belt 20 and a sprocket 30. Conveyor belt 20 is comprised of a plurality of interlocking modules 40. Because conveyor belt 20 lacks a continuous surface, it is very easy for meat and meat byproducts to become wedged between interlocked modules 40 and decay. In addition, meat and meat byproducts can become wedged between sprocket 30 and the undersides of conveyor modules 40. Absent continuous cleaning efforts, hazardous biological colonies would grow unabated and present an unacceptable health risk.
To effectively provide continuous cleaning, an automated cleaning system must be incorporated into conveyor system 10. Specifically, an apparatus is required that can spray a cleaning/disinfecting solution on belt 20 to wash away or kill bacteria caused by meat particles lodged between modules 40 and between modules 40 and sprocket 30 of conveyor system 10.
To clean conveyor system 10, it is known to place a cleaning system underneath belt 20 and utilize spray nozzles to clean the system. Examples of such cleaning systems are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,740,172 and 3,016,235. There are a number of positions underneath belt 20 whereby a cleaning system can be positioned. However, it is more likely to have the greatest effect where the interlocking modules 40 pivot apart from each other. Pivoting of the interlocking modules 40 occurs at the locations where belt 20 is propelled by and/or tracked by sprocket 30.
One problem associated with positioning a cleaning system beneath or at the center of a rotating sprocket is that the sprocket will wear against the cleaning system and they are not easily repaired. Another problem is that frictional rotation of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) materials against stainless steel results in a leaching action that stains the surface of the stainless steel and causes the build-up of a black tarry substance. Therefore, there is a need for a method and/or apparatus for cleaning a conveyor system that is wear resistant, resists leaching and is easily repaired.

Conveyor belt cleaning apparatus and system