The invention comprises an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communications system, with an input/output controller board, a multi-drop bus interface to multiple devices, and a parallel interface to an industry standard single board computer. The invention assigns a bus address and virtual identification number to each device and controls communications between the main central processing unit and the devices through a Plug-n-Play protocol.

Conventional methods of integrating a variety of components in a gaming machine currently require re-designing, re-wiring and re-programming the gaming machine as each new component is added. As technology advances, newer state-of-the-art devices are being offered to manufacturers of gaming machines that would greatly enhance the product, but manufacturers are inhibited, as removing and replacing the old devices with new devices, or simply adding the new device requires reprogramming the SBC and could require the re-design and/or replacement of the SBC.
The industry standard SBC board, independent of the microprocessor used, has been designed using discrete components with EPROM memory chips containing software with an individual bus connected to each device. As most of the gaming machines in the market require some sort of regulatory approval, modifying a previously approved product requires a re-submittal to the regulatory agency with the re-submittal emphasising recertification of the programming of the new device in the CPU. With the software for each device residing in the EPROM, this requires reverification of the entire program.
Especially for manufacturers with a significant installed base of gaming machines, retrofitting these machines with a newer device is an expensive proposition and a logistical nightmare. Utilising a 'Plug-N-Play' concept, the Invention, through the Input/Output Controller Board (IOCB), logically interconnects all the devices in the gaming machine to the SBC. The IOCB's communications to and from each device is based on a network-capable communications protocol, such as Philips' Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) two-wire Serial Interface (hereinafter "PHILIPS I2C").
As the IOCB logically interconnects the modules or potential modules to the SBC, the SBC and its EPROM memory chips do not have to be reprogrammed, resigned or replaced. Further, as no device related software resides on the SBC or its EPROMS, no new software needs to be resubmitted to any regulatory agency, as no new software is created. Instead each device in the machine incorporates an intelligent board with microprocessor (the "Device Board") which is programmed specifically to the functions of that device. The Device Board also communicates via the communications protocol, such as PHILIPS I2C, to the IOCB in a multi-drop configuration. Replacing a device or adding a new device is simply a matter of connecting the communications interface (Clock, Data, Logic Power, System Ground) to the multi-drop bus interconnecting all the devices to the IOCB.
The IOCB programming module continuously monitors the communications protocol interface (the PHILIPS I2C line) for device activity and relays these actions to and from the SBC. As new devices are added to the link, a specific registration protocol is followed which will allow the device to register with the IOCB. If the registering device has followed all the secured protocols, the specific parameters of the device (device type, Serial Number, etc.) are relayed to the SBC.
The SBC has several modules programmed for all possible devices that may connect to the machine, such as a Coin In, Coin Out, and Bill Acceptor modules. Even though there may be several types of these devices, the appropriate SBC module simply monitors for coins in, coins out and bills accepted. The specific hardware and protocol of each connected device is level converted and formatted by each Device Board to a generic format required by the SBC module.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which allows devices to be added to, replaced in or changed in a gaming machine without any need to reprogram or redesign the SBC of the gaming machine.
A further object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which allows devices to be added, replaced in, or changed in a gaming machine without a need to replace the SBC of the gaming machine.
An additional object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which allows devices to be added to, changed in, or replaced in a gaming machine without the need to modify the software residing in the CPU or any device so that a resubmittal to an appropriate regulatory body would not be necessary.
Still another object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which cost-effectively allows devices to be changed in a gaming machine.
Furthermore, an object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which allows devices to most efficiently be added to, replaced in or changed in a gaming machine.
An additional object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system with a protocol which supports dynamic assignment of device addresses.
Still a further object of the invention is an electronically secured inter-processor and virtual device communication system which provides reliable and secure communications among interprocessors.

Secured inter-processor and virtual device communications system for use in a gaming system

Aristocrat Leisure Industries Pty Limited


An object of the present invention is to provide an antimony-containing niobium sintered body for a capacitor having a small specific leakage current value, an antimony-containing niobium powder for use in the sintered body, and a capacitor using the sintered body. In the present invention, an antimony-containing niobium powder having an antimony content of preferably about 0.1 to about 10 mol % and an average particle size of preferably about 0.2 to about 5 μm is used. By using this antimony-containing niobium powder, a sintered body and a capacitor are constructed.

There is a demand for capacitors for use in electronic instruments, such as portable telephones and personal computers, to have a small size and a large capacitance. Among these capacitors, a tantalum capacitor is preferred because of its large capacitance for its size and good performance. In the tantalum capacitor, a sintered body of tantalum powder is generally used for the anode moiety. In order to increase the capacitance of the tantalum capacitor, it is necessary to increase the mass of the sintered body or to use a sintered body with an increased the surface area by pulverizing the tantalum powder.
The method of increasing the mass of the sintered body unavoidably causes enlargement of the capacitor shape, and thus, cannot satisfy the requirement for downsizing. On the other hand, in the method of pulverizing tantalum powder to increase the surface area, the pore size of the tantalum sintered body decreases or closed pores increase at the stage of sintering. Therefore, impregnation of a cathode agent in a later process becomes difficult. As means for solving these problems, a capacitor using a sintered body of powder of a material having a dielectric constant larger than that of tantalum is being studied. Materials having a larger dielectric constant include niobium and titanium.
However, the sintered body produced from these materials is not satisfactory because of its large "specific leakage current value". Elemental niobium or titanium has a large dielectric constant, and therefore, a capacitor having a large capacitance may be obtained. However, a small "specific leakage current value" is a key point for obtaining a capacitor having good reliability. By evaluating the leakage current value per capacitance, namely, "specific leakage current value", it can be estimated whether a large capacitance can be obtained in a state where leakage current value is reduced to a practically usable value or less.
The "specific leakage current value" as used herein is defined as a value obtained when a dielectric layer is formed on the surface of a sintered body by electrolytic oxidation, and a leakage current value when a voltage corresponding to 70% of the chemical forming voltage is continuously applied at room temperature for 3 minutes is divided by the product of the chemical forming voltage during electrolytic oxidation and the capacitance. That is,Specific leakage current value=(LC/(C×V))(LC: leakage current value, C: capacitance, and V: forming voltage).
In the case of a sintered body using a tantalum powder, the specific leakage current value obtained from the capacitance and the leakage current value described in the catalogue "CAPACITOR GRADE TANTALUM" of Showa Cabot Super Metal is 1,500 pA/(μF·V) or less. In general, the measured specific leakage current value for guaranteeing this specific leakage current value is said to be from ⅓ to ¼ of the value in the catalogue and is preferably 400 pA/(μF·V) or less.
However, in conventional sintered body capacitors where a niobium powder using elemental niobium or a titanium powder is used, the specific leakage current value is large and exceeds the above-described value. Accordingly, these capacitors are lacking in reliability as a capacitor and are not used in practice.
JP-A-55-157226 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") discloses a method for producing a sintered element for capacitors, where agglomerated powder is molded under pressure into a niobium fine powder having a particle size of 2.0 μm or less, the fine powder is sintered, the molded and sintered body is cut into fine pieces, a lead part is joined thereto, and then these pieces are again sintered. However, this patent publication discloses neither a niobium powder containing antimony nor properties of the capacitor manufactured using this powder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,965 discloses a capacitor manufactured using a niobium powder of 5.1 μm obtained by hydrogenating a niobium ingot and pulverizing it. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,965 discloses neither a niobium powder containing antimony nor properties of the capacitor manufactured using this powder.
JP-A-10-242004 discloses a technique of partially nitriding niobium, thereby improving the leakage current value. However, JP-A-10-242004 discloses neither a niobium powder containing antimony nor properties of the capacitor manufactured using this powder.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Niobium powder for capacitor, sintered body using the powder and capacitor using the same


A transmitter/receiver system is provided wherein a transmitter of such system produces a transmitted signal frequency modulated in accordance with the level of a modulating signal and a receiving antenna has an output thereof coupled to a receiver through a switch means, for coupling or inhibiting signals received by the receiving antenna from passing to the receiver selectively in accordance with the level of the modulating signal.

This invention relates generally to radio frequency energy jamming systems and more particularly to jamming systems which include a receiver to determine the frequency of a signal to be jammed.
As is known in the art, a so-called "spot-jammer" generally includes a radar receiver to determine the frequency of a radar signal to be jammed so that a jamming signal made up of a continuous wave (cw) carrier frequency centered at the frequency of the received radar signal and frequency modulated by a band-width limited noise waveform may be directed toward the source of the radar signal. This type of modulation is used because it generally makes most efficient use of the available power amplifier capabilities.
Since the transmitted jamming signal is generally much stronger than the received signal, the frequency of which must be determined to establish the center carrier frequency of the jamming signal, some provision is generally necessary to suppress or "look through" the jamming signal. One obvious way to do this is to interrupt the jamming signal periodically, and during the periods of interruption determine the frequency of the received radar signal. This technique, however, would degrade, significantly, the jamming effectiveness. It would be more desirable to be able to "look through" the jamming signal without interruption to the jamming signal transmission.
One technique used to "look through" the jamming signal includes separate antennas, one for the jamming transmitter and one for the radar signal receiver. The antennas are arranged so that the level of the jamming signal arriving at the receiving antenna is minimized. Such system includes a dual-channel superheterodyne receiver having a pair of mixers which use a portion of the jamming output as their local oscillator signal. Each one of the pair of mixers has an output coupled to a narrow band filter tuned to a suitable intermediate frequency. The outputs of the narrow band filters are fed to an automatic frequency control circuit (AFC) which produces a control signal to change the center carrier frequency of the jamming signal. After the system is locked to the frequency of the received signal by sweeping the control signal one of such filters produces a control signal when the jamming signal frequency is sufficiently higher than the frequency of the received signal, and the other one of such filters produces a control signal when the received signal frequency is sufficiently higher than the frequency of the jamming signal to track the frequency of the received signal. A source of band-limited noise is used to frequency modulate the carrier frequency of the jammer. Since isolation between the jamming transmitter antenna and the receiving antenna is not perfect, there will occur some leakage of the jamming signal into the receiver. This leakage signal will degrade the sensitivity of the receiver. That is, if at any small increment in time the frequency of the portion of the jamming signal were sufficiently different from that of the leakage jamming signal also fed to such mixers, a difference or beat frequency signal would be produced which would pass through one of the pair of filters and thereby cause the AFC to produce a control signal which would incorrectly change the center carrier frequency of the jamming signal. In order to provide some degree of compensation from leakage between the transmitter antenna and the receiving antenna, the portion of the jamming signal coupled to the pair of mixers passes through a delay line. This delay line is selected to match the delay of the leakage jamming signal and thereby cancel its effect on producing an erroneous control signal.
While the use of such a delay line provides some degree of cancellation of the leakage jamming signal, complete cancellation is not achieved because the external leakage path is diffuse. Consequently, receiver sensitivity is still degraded by any residual, uncancelled, leakage jamming signal.


The invention concerns a new concept for the transportation of injured or stranded people and a new rescue capsule suitable for this purpose. The process involves the following stages. A capsule which can be closed on all sides, and which has an inflatable floor designed to form at least one bearing surface or litter for an injured person, and a roof and walls is first erected. One or more injured persons are placed in the capsule and installed in the litters. The injured person is secured in the capsule and then the capsule is carried away, together with the injured person, using a suspension fixture attached to the capsule.

Injured people are normally transported to a medical facility, usually a hospital, with the assistance of an ambulance or a helicopter, the people being laid on a stretcher and transported with the stretcher in the vehicle in question. This method of transportation, which is tried and tested in many cases, has however considerable disadvantages in some cases. The recovery of an injured person from an inaccessible terrain, for example a person in difficulty while climbing, can often not be effected or can only be effected with difficulty, since the injured person often must first be brought to a location at which a helicopter can land or to which an ambulance can travel. The often-necessary rapid recovery of an injured person with the assistance of a helicopter is, in particular, made impossible in poor weather conditions, since the helicopter cannot land, for example, during thick fog. The known method, furthermore, reaches practical limits in catastrophic events, in which a large number of people must be cared for and transported, so that the removal of the injured requires too much time, since as a rule it is difficult to collect a number of ambulances at a location within a short time, in order to prepare the stretchers required, which are also needed when an evacuation by helicopter is to occur. As a result of a long length of stay at the location of an accident by persons who, in some circumstances, are badly injured, their chance of survival is sometimes decisively reduced.

Process for transporting injured or stranded people, and protective capsule for carrying out the process


A system may use optical character recognition (“OCR”) techniques to identify license plates or other textual information associated with vehicles. Based on this OCR information, the system may determine additional information, such as users associated with the vehicles. The system may further obtain other information, such as history information associated with the vehicles and/or the users (e.g., via an “opt-in” data collection service). Ad content may be selected based on trends associated with the users and/or vehicles, and may be presented via “smart” billboards (e.g., billboards that may dynamically display different content).

Advertisers generally have an interest in presenting advertisement ("ad") content to potential consumers. One effective way of reaching consumers is by placing billboards on roadways, so that drivers and/or passengers of vehicles, traveling on the roadways, may see ad content presented on the billboards. Some billboards make use of technology that shows changing content, such as video ad content, rotating ads (e.g., ads that change on a periodic basis), etc.
Some optical character recognition ("OCR") techniques exist, whereby vehicle information may be automatically obtained. One such example is license plate readers, which may include a camera that captures an image of a license plate of a vehicle, and logic to perform OCR on text in the image, in order to determine a license plate number of the vehicle. An example of an entity that uses such techniques today is a law enforcement agency, which may use such OCR techniques to determine whether particular vehicles have any outstanding violations and/or to obtain records associated with a vehicle.

Presenting smart billboard content based on optical pattern recognition of vehicle information


The invention relates to a clutch device having an actuating device for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, the drivetrain having an internal combustion engine, an electric machine with a stator and a rotor, and a transmission device, wherein the clutch device can be arranged in the drivetrain between the internal combustion engine at one side and the electric machine and the transmission device at the other side, the clutch device and the actuating device are integrated into the rotor of the electric machine, and the actuating device has a rotatable ramp device with first ramps and second ramps, wherein the clutch device has an electric actuator for actively rotating the ramp device, in order to structurally and/or functionally improve the clutch device, and to an electric machine having a stator, a rotor and a clutch device of this type integrated into the rotor.

The invention relates to a clutch device with an actuating device for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, with the drivetrain comprising an internal combustion engine, an electric machine with a stator and a transmission device, with the clutch device in the drivetrain can be arranged between the internal combustion engine on the one side and the electric machine and the transmission device on the other side, the clutch device and the actuating device being integrated in the rotor of the electric machine, and the actuating device comprising a rotational ramp device with first ramps and second ramps. Additionally the invention relates to an electric machine with a stator, a rotor, and a respective clutch device integrated in the rotor.


A self-tapping screw has a thread shaft having a leading end, a wood screw thread provided on the thread shaft and having a plurality of turns, and milling profiles formed on the turns of the wood screw thread and spaced from one another in an axial direction, the milling profiles becoming smaller the further away the milling profiles are from the leading end, some thread turns at a head end of the thread shaft being free of milling profiles.

The invention relates to a self-tapping screw. More particularly, the present invention relates to a self-tapping screw having a tip at the leading end of the thread shaft and a wood screw thread.
Such self-tapping screws are used as mounting screws for light loads for fastening to construction materials wooden laths, metal shaped pieces, perforated strips, battens, hanging wires and the like. Especially for reasons of the statistics, the pre-drilled hole in the construction material should have as small a diameter as possible. The cutting or milling of the female thread by the self-tapping screw is unsatisfactory because all the thread turns have a milling profile, with the result that each thread turn as far as the head end, as it engages, processes the counterthread afresh.


A 3-oxygermylpropionic acid preparation is provided, which activates the action of 3-oxygermylpropionic acid having the general formula:. [(O.sub.1/2).sub.3 GeCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH]n wherein n=an integer of at least 1 and is readily solubilized and disintegrated in vivo. The present preparation is manufactured by compression-molding at high pressure a composition comprising 3-oxygermylpropionic acid and two or more low-molecular substance of high solubility in water. The low-molecular substances are selected from the group consisting of white sugar, sorbitol, fructose, sucrose, glucose, lactose, mannitol and sodium chloride.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a composition containing 3-oxygermylpropionic acid (hereinafter 3-OGP for short) having the following general formula:
[(O.sub.1/2).sub.3 GeCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 COOH]n wherein n=an integer of at least 1 and, more particularly, to a pharmaceutical solid preparation comprising 3-OGP and a low-molecular substance of high solubility in water, which is well solubilized and disintegrated in vivo so that the pharmacological activity of 3-OGP can be much more improved than ever before.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
The pharmacological activity of 3-OGP, because it has complex polymerizability and a variety of applications,.has recently attracted attention, and the antiviral activity of this compound has been known for long as well. In this regard, see JP-P-57-53800, etc.
We have made intensive studies not only of compositions for enabling 3-OGP to maintain its own pharmacological activity stably but of how it acts in vivo as well. We have thus already found that a variety of substances can be effectively used as stabilizers for 3-OGP (see JP-A-61-65819) and that some lactoses can enhance its activity (see JP-A-60-190714).
We have also discovered that some amine salts of 3-OGP are effective (JP-A-1-139587).
Organogermanium compounds have been known for long to have a variety of pharmacological activities not found in other compound systems. However, they are not commercially used as pharmaceutics as yet, because of their disadvantages of differing in action from lot to lot and being unclarified in terms of some specific activities (see JP-P-46-2964 and 58-44677).
In general, when propionic acid drugs are administrated to patients in solid preparation forms, they stimulate the mucosas of the gastrointestinal tracts and are relatively slowly absorbed in the internal organs. In some cases, however, their absorption is delayed or inhibited. For this reason, various forms of drugs such as effervescent ones are now proposed.
However, 3-OGP has some pharmacological problems. For instance, because of its complex polymerizability, 3-OGP is so susceptible to changes in the degree of polymerization due to pressure, moisture, heat, light, etc. that its physico-chemical properties can be likely to vary elusively when manufactured by known drug-making procedures. In addition, the pharmacological activity of 3-OGP is independent on dose and may rather drop at high dose.
So far, we have made studies of how the activity of 3-OGP is stabilized by polymeric compounds, and have now found that when 3-OGP drugs are prepared (in the form of dry tablets) by high-pressure drug-making procedures that are easy to carry out, their activities may often drop, and this is primarily caused by the application of high pressure.
Incidentally, the cytopathogenicity, esp., organopathogenicity and teratogenicity of medicines, toxic substances and radiation appear as side effects in the case of medicines and as social problems such as environmental pollution in the case of toxic substances. However, nothing is done to solve these problems with the exception of some toxicides.
When administrated to those who suffer from organic dysfunctions, esp., patients with hepatitis and nephritis, medicines are likely to produce harmful side effects, causing the patients to suffer from disorders such as anaphylaxy and acute organic dysfunctions and, in the worst case, die.
Drugs having strong cytopathogenicity such as anticancer drugs containing cytotoxins and inhibitors for nucleic acid synthesis have generally strong toxicity to internal organs, and this is the reason why drugs are called a double-edged sword.
A sort of addicts like habitual drinkers and smokers and those who have taken in toxicic substances such as methyl mercury and heavy metal ions suffer from tissular cytopathogenicity and organic disorders, posing social problems. It is considered that all these problems can never be solved without eliminating the causes. Drugs having strong cytopathogenicity or high toxicity to internal organs have similar problems, but they may be eliminated, or at least reduced, by using such drugs in small doses or not using such drugs at all. In some cases, however, these drugs must be urgently administrated to patients with cancer, infectious diseases or other disorders or pregnant women. Thus, there is still a demand for developing how to use such drugs with great safety.
It is an object of this invention to provide a 3-OGP preparation in solid forms which can not only be used with great safety but without degeneration but can also be manufactured simply.
In this connection, it is noted that the 3-OGP used in the present invention is a white acicular crystal having such physicochemical properties as expressed by a specific gravity or density of 2.23, a solubility in water of 1.57 at 20.degree. C. and a melting point of ca. 230.degree. C.

Binder-free orally administrable tablet containing 3-oxygermylpropionic acid


A control system controls a D.C. speed-change motor to change the transmission configurations on a treadmill transmission powered by an A.C. drive motor. The control system may be either microprocessor based or a system of discrete logical pieces. The control system responds to both the current speed of the treadmill belt and the electrical current drawn by the speed-change motor. The control system uses this information to modulate the duty cycle of voltage pulses sent to the D.C. speed-change motor to power the speed-change motor in response to a determination by the control system that the speed-change motor needs to rotate faster or slower to produce a constant rate of speed change for the treadmill belt. The control system also includes a rapid deceleration system. In response to the user's direction or in response to the condition of the treadmill, the control system sends a high voltage to the D.C. speed change motor to cause it to rapidly change the configuration of the transmission to decelerate the belt.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to a system for controlling a D.C. motor which changes the internal configurations of a transmission for a treadmill powered by a constant speed drive motor, which transmission connects the constant speed drive motor to the belt of the treadmill.
2. Description of Related Art
Treadmills require a drive motor to provide power to the treadmill's belt. Most often, these drive motors are AC motors which turn at only one speed which speed depends on the frequency of the AC power supply. In order to provide various speeds for the treadmill belt, these AC drive motors are connected to the treadmill belt through a mechanical transmission which changes its internal configuration to provide the various speeds for the treadmill belt. The internal configurations of the mechanical transmission is typically set by a relatively small speed-change motor. As the speed-change motor turns, the transmission's internal configuration changes so that the treadmill belt speed either increases or decreases depending on the direction that the speed-change motor is turning.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical treadmill transmission, generally labelled 1, is shown. Typically, these transmissions have a pair of adjustable pulleys 4,7 connected by a transmission belt 6. A first pulley 4 is connected to a drive motor 2 through an input shaft 3 so that rotation of the drive motor 2 rotates this first pulley 4. This first pulley 4 has two opposing conical plates 5a,b which form a V-shape for frictionally receiving a correspondingly shaped transmission belt 6.
The transmission 1 also has a second pulley 7. The second pulley 7 has a set of opposed conical plates attached to an output shaft 9. The conical plates 8a,b of the second pulley 7 also form a V-shaped recess for frictionally receiving the transmission belt 6 therebetween. The output shaft 9 is in turn attached to a drive roller 11 through a drive belt 10. Rotation of the drive roller 11 causes the treadmill belt (not shown) to move.
Typically in such a transmission 1, a speed-change motor 12 moves the two plates 5a,b of the first pulley 4 either closer together or further apart. Because of the conical shape of the opposed plates 5a,b, as the plates are moved further apart and tension is placed on the transmission belt 6, the transmission belt 6 situated around the first pulley 4 will move closer to the center of the input shaft 3. As the two plates 5a,b are moved closer together by the speed-change motor 12, the transmission belt 6 is moved more towards the outer edge of the first pulley 4.
The plates 8a,b of the second pulley 7 are biased in a position toward each other by a tension spring 13. However, sufficient pressure by the transmission belt 6 on the conical plates 8a,b of the second pulley 7 will overcome the inherent bias of the plates to be together and force them apart thereby allowing the transmission belt 6, which is under tension, to move from a position more towards the outer edge of the plates 8a,b to a position closer towards the output shaft 9. In this way the mechanical advantage imparted to the drive roller 11, and subsequently to the treadmill belt from the drive motor 2, changes depending on the position of the transmission belt 6 on the first and second pulleys 4,7.
The rate of change of the speed of the treadmill belt is dependent on both the current speed of the treadmill belt, that is, on the current position of the transmission belt 6 on pulleys 4,7, and on how fast the speed-change motor 12 is turning.
Previous transmissions have used AC speed-change motors. However, under normal operating conditions, AC motors turn at only one speed regardless of the current or voltage applied to the motor. Consequently, the speed at which the opposing conical plates 5a,b are moved together or apart as driven by the AC speed change motor is a constant. In a transmission using an AC speed-change motor, the entire change in the speed of the treadmill belt results from the change in position of the transmission belt 6 on pulleys 4,7 and not from any change in the rate that the conical plates 5a,b are moved together or apart. A constant rate of moving the conical plates 5a,b together or apart as a result of the constant speed of the AC speed change motor 12 results in a non-constant rate of change for the speed of the treadmill belt as illustrated in FIG. 2.
This non-constant rate of speed change has two primary sources. First, the belt connecting the pulleys has a constant length. As shown in FIG. 1, as the plates 5a,b of the first pulley 4 move together or apart in response to the rotation of the speed-change motor 12, the location of the transmission belt 6 on plates 5a,b changes. As the conical plates 5a,b move apart, the transmission belt 6 will have less tension on it. As a result of the reduction of tension on the transmission belt 6, the tension spring 13 will push plates 8a,b together thereby moving transmission belt 6 farther away from the output shaft 9. As transmission belt 6 moves away from output shaft 9, tension is placed on transmission belt 6 by tension spring 13 pulling it into snug frictional contact with conical plates 5a,b at a position closer to input shaft 3 than it had been prior to conical plates 5 a,b moving apart in response to the rotation of speed change motor 12. Transmission belt 6 will move out from output shaft 9 until the tension in transmission belt 6 equals the tension applied by tension spring 13. This causes the mechanical ratio of pulley 4 and pulley 7 to change. This relationship is illustrated in FIG. 3.
The exact equation for the transmission belt circumference is found by the sum of the straight portions (1+1) and the two partial circumferences (c.sub.1 +c.sub.2). This leads to the following equation: EQU Circumference=2d.multidot.sin .theta.+2.theta..multidot.r.sub.1 +2(.pi.-.theta..multidot.r.sub.2) 1.
where:
.theta.=cos.sup.-1 ((r.sub.2 -r.sub.1)/d), and .theta. is in radians; PA1 r.sub.1 =the radius of the transmission belt 6 around first pulley 4; PA1 r.sub.2 =the radius of the transmission belt 6 around second pulley 7; PA1 d=the distance between first pulley 4 and second pulley 7; and, PA1 1=d.multidot.sin .theta.=((d.sup.2 -(r.sub.2 -r.sub.1).sup.2).sup.1/2.
This equation is extremely difficult to solve for r.sub.2 in terms of r.sub.1. Equation 1 can be simplified by making the following approximations: EQU c.sub.1 =.pi.r.sub.1 EQU c.sub.2 =.pi.r.sub.2, and EQU 1=((d.sup.2 -(r.sub.2 -r.sub.1).sup.2).sup.1/2 +.pi.(r.sub.2 +r.sub.1)
so that: EQU Circumference=2((d.sup.2 -(r.sub.2 -r.sub.1).sup.2).sup.1/2 +.pi.(r.sub.2 +r.sub.1) 2.
The error created in this approximation is very small and creates an equation which is more easily solved. Since Circumference is the circumference of transmission belt 6 which is a constant "C", and "d", the distance between pulleys 4 and 7, is a constant, the following quadratic equation is derived: EQU (.pi.-4) r.sub.2.sup.2 +((2.pi..sup.2 +8)r.sub.1 -2.pi.C)r.sub.2 +((.pi..sup.2 -4) r.sub.1.sup.2 -2.pi.Cr.sub.1 +C.sup.2 -4d.sup.2)=0. 3.
Solving for r.sub.2 gives: EQU r.sub.2 =(.pi.C-(.pi..sup.2 +4)r.sub.1 .+-.2(4.pi..sup.2 r.sub.1.sup.2 -4.pi.Cr.sub.1 +C.sup.2 +d.sup.2 (.pi..sup.2 -4)).sup.1/2)/(.pi..sup.2 -4) 4.
Realistic values show the ".+-." factor is subtracted, only, in this application.
Although this equation is somewhat cumbersome, it describes the relationship between the position of transmission belt 6 on pulleys 4,7 very well. The treadmill belt speed is a function of the position of transmission belt 6 on pulleys 4,7 and a constant which represents such factors as the gear reduction from the drive motor 2 to the input shaft 3 of first pulley 4. The AC drive motor 2 turns the first pulley 4 with transmission belt 6 positioned on pulley 4 at a radius r.sub.1 at a given RPM after a "constant" gear reduction. The RPM at r.sub.1 translates into an RPM at r.sub.2 as described by equation 4. Rotation of r.sub.2 drives the drive roller 11 and thus the treadmill belt at another gear ratio which provides another constant. Thus, the treadmill belt speed can be described as: EQU Speed=K(r.sub.1 /r.sub.2) 5.
where "K" is a constant which includes all the individual constants described above. The following constant values were used to generate the graph in FIG. 3. All values are relatively close to those actually used in treadmills. EQU 1.12".ltoreq.r.sub.1 .ltoreq.3.60" EQU d=8" EQU C=31.6" EQU K=3.19
As can be seen, the speed change on the output pulley 7 per radial change of position of the belt along the input pulley is non-linear; the speed change when r.sub.1 is large occurring at a faster rate than when r.sub.1 is smaller. Consequently, no easy means exists to compensate for the fact that the rate of change of speed of the treadmill belt depends on the current setting of the transmission. The effect of this is that the treadmill belt changes speeds much more slowly when the transmission is set at slow speeds than it does when the transmission is set at high speeds. For example, using the transmission settings described above which produced the graph of FIG. 2, it takes about 12 seconds to change speed by one mile per hour from one mile per hour to two miles per hour. But, on the same transmission, it takes about 11/4 seconds to make a one mile per hour change from nine miles per hour to ten miles an hour.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a system for changing the speed of the treadmill which changes speed at approximately the same rate regardless of the current setting of the transmission.
Another common problem with treadmills is that if they are shut off with their transmission set at high speed, when they are restarted, they will restart at this same high speed. An unsuspecting user of the treadmill, unaware that the treadmill has been shut off at a high speed, may attempt to restart the treadmill while standing on the belt. When the treadmill starts in this condition, it starts at a high speed. This has been known to cause unsuspecting users to fall as the treadmill belt moves their feet out from under their bodies. This has resulted in injury to the users as a result of the fall. Therefore it is highly desirable to provide a treadmill which always starts at slow speed regardless of the speed of the treadmill when it is shut off.
In the typical treadmill, the normal deceleration rate from full speed to stop may be as long as 40 seconds. This has been found to be too long a time for the user to wait for the belt to stop. Consequently, typical treadmills are stopped at whatever speed their transmission configuration is set at and then allowed to restart at that same speed. In order to protect users from these high speed starts, a warning label is placed on the treadmill stating that the treadmill should not be started while standing on the belt because of the danger that the treadmill could start at a high speed. This type of warning has proved to be ineffective and consequently unacceptable because users either ignore the label or the label is either damaged or removed from the device.

D.C. treadmill speed change motor controller system


A filter pouch cleaner, for cleaning coffee and tea makers, has a top and bottom filter layer made from tea bag paper. The top and bottom filter layers are joined together along and adjacent to their outer edges to form a sealed pouch therebetween. The pouch is filled with a powdered cleaner compound that includes trisodium phosphate, sodium metasillicate and sodium perborate, along with soda ash as a filler. To facilitate the biodegradability and the safety of the cleaner compound, tripolyphosphate and a trace of blue dye powder are included in the cleaner compound. To clean a brewbasket and dispenser of a coffee or tea maker, the filter pouch cleaner is placed in the brewbasket. The brewbasket is then placed above the dispenser and filled with hot water. The hot water soaks through the filter and dissolves the cleaner compound. The hot water and dissolved cleaner flows out of the brewbasket and fills the dispenser.

Millions of cups of coffee and tea are brewed and consumed each and every day. As each pot of coffee or tea is brewed, the brewing cycle releases coffee and tannin oils from the coffee and tea. These oils are deposited as a brown oily residue on the coffee and tea makers' brewing and dispensing equipment. The oily residue tends be acidic and, thus, tends to sour the taste of the coffee or tea, especially when the residue is left to build up over a long period of time. Thus, it is desirable to clean the brewing and dispensing equipment, i.e., the brew basket, pot or server, spouts, sight glass, etc., to avoid brewing harsh or sour tasting coffee or tea.
Currently, cleaning procedures vary from using salt and ice to using bleach. Many liquid commercial cleaners have been developed for glass decanters, airpots, and glass lined thermal servers. Powders such as urn cleaners have also been developed. These powders usually comes in bulk supply, which requires the user to measure an amount to be used, or may come in a measured amount in an envelope.
The user will normally, in the case of a liquid cleaner, squeeze a soft plastic bottle with a tilt top closure into the pot or server and, in the case of a powder, merely place the loose powder into an open filter in the brew basket, and then add hot water or run the brew cycle to activate the concentration of the cleaner. In either case, using these cleaners to clean the coffee or tea makers is less than convenient since it requires a certain amount of manipulation and, in some cases, measurement of the cleaner.
Also, these cleaners commonly include such harsh chemicals as hypochlorite. Hypochlorite has a chlorine bleach smell that may linger after the cleaner is used.
For safety reasons, some of the liquid cleaners include a coloring dye to indicate that the liquid in the pot or dispenser contains a cleaning agent.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a coffee or tea maker cleaner that comes in a convenient, ready-to-use (RTU) configuration, that does not include harsh chemicals that leave a chlorine bleach smell, and that includes a coloring dye for safety reasons.


A method for fabricating wafer-level packages including lateral interconnects. The method includes precutting a cover wafer at the locations where the cover wafer will be completely cut through to separate the wafer-level packages. The cover wafer is bonded to the substrate wafer using bonding rings so as to seal the integrated circuit within a cavity between the cover wafer and the substrate wafer, where the precuts face the substrate wafer. The cover wafer is then cut at the precut locations to remove the unwanted portions of the cover wafer between the packages and expose contacts or probe pads for the lateral interconnects. The substrate wafer is then cut between the wafer-level packages to separate the packages.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for separating wafer-level packages from a wafer and, more particularly, to a method for separating wafer-level packages that use lateral interconnects from a wafer that includes precutting a cover wafer between the wafer-level packages before the cover wafer is mounted to a substrate wafer on which integrated circuits are provided.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is known in the art to provide wafer-level packages for integrated circuits, such as monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMIC), formed on a substrate wafer. In one wafer-level package design, a cover wafer is mounted to the substrate wafer using a bonding ring so as to provide a hermetically sealed cavity in which one or more integrated circuits are provided. Typically, many integrated circuits are formed on a substrate wafer and covered by a single cover wafer as a batch integration, where each integrated circuit is surrounded by a separate bonding ring. The cover wafer and substrate are then diced between the bonding rings to separate the packages for each integrated circuit. The dicing process typically uses a wafer saw that cuts the cover wafer between the packages where a portion of the cover wafer may be removed. The substrate wafer is then cut between the packages.
For these types of wafer-level packages, interconnects to the integrated circuit within the cavity are typically made in two ways. In a first technique, vertical vias are provided through the cover wafer for a connection to electrical signal traces within the cavity. In a second technique, a lateral interconnect is provided where signal and ground traces extend through the bonding ring and are accessible laterally from the integrated circuit outside of the package. Lateral interconnects are traditionally very difficult to implement using wafer-scale assembly and bonding methods because contact pads for the circuits are relatively inaccessible. Further, the cover wafer is very thin. Therefore, when dicing the cover wafer between the packages, the saw blade sometimes cuts through the lateral interconnects severing the connection.
Probe pads are generally provided on the lateral interconnect for testing and probing purposes to allow the integrated circuits to be tested at the wafer level. Thus, the probe pad needs to be exposed to allow access thereto. For lateral interconnects, this requires that a portion of the cover wafer between the packages be removed. In an alternate process, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) or dry etching methods can be employed to etch the substrates so the probe pad is exposed. However, such an etching process is typically complex because etching through the substrates is material dependent, where a different chemistry is required, and the process is typically very slow and costly. Further, proper protection to the etching chemicals or gas may need to be implemented to protect the probe pads and the thin-film layers beneath. Also, depending on the substrate material and thickness, dry etching may be impractical or impossible. For example, quartz substrates cannot be etched easily with a dry etch, and is almost impossible to etch quartz substrates greater than 300 μm with a dry etch.

Method of exposing circuit lateral interconnect contacts by wafer saw

Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp.


A connector fixing structure comprises a housing integrally formed with a tubular resin housing-side insertion opening member protruding inward and a receptacle connector provided in the housing and joined to the housing-side insertion opening member. The receptacle connector has a connector-side insertion opening member having a shape corresponding to that of the housing-side insertion opening member and a welding portion provided to the connector-side insertion opening member and combined with the housing-side insertion opening member. The housing-side insertion opening member and the connector-side insertion opening member are welded together by melting the welding portion over its entire circumference.

Conventionally, as a connector having a waterproof function, there is known a structure in which an insertion opening for inserting a mating connector therethrough is covered with a seal member over its entire circumference.
As such a structure, there is known a structure described in, for example, Japanese Patent (JP-B) No. 5155492 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1").
Specifically, in the structure of Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 18, a housing 2 of a connector has a generally rectangular annular protrusion 24 at its front end and a generally rectangular annular seal member 6 is welded to the housing 2 at its front end including the protrusion 24. By firmly pressing the seal member 6 against a housing-side surface of a bottom case 110 in a sealed manner, it is possible to prevent water from entering between the bottom case 110 and the seal member 6.
More specifically, in the structure of Patent Document 1, the protrusion 24 is caused to slide downward on inclined surfaces of a pair of guide portions 114 of the bottom case 110 to thereby place the protrusion 24 and the seal member 6 in a receiving recess 113 of the bottom case 110 and then a pair of wedge portions 122 of a top case 120 are respectively inserted between a pair of projections 241 of the protrusion 24 and the guide portions 114, thereby pushing the projections 241 of the protrusion 24 toward the housing-side surface of the bottom case 110 so that the seal member 6 is firmly pressed against the housing-side surface of the bottom case 110.

Connector fixing structure and method of manufacturing the same

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


System and method for encapsulating edges of a paper in digital printing systems. A spray applicator can include a set of stationary sprayers with spray nozzles, a set of transfer rollers and an inkjet print head. The stationary sprayers can be positioned at both marginal ends of the paper. The stationary sprayers apply the fluid through the spray nozzles at edges of the moving paper to encapsulate the edges of the paper such that loose paper fibers and debris are bound to the paper. The fluid can be applied when the transfer rollers can pass the moving paper through a printer or printing press. Thus, the system can protect various subsystems of the printer or printing press against contamination due to the loose paper fibers and debris.

In printing industries, papers used in digital printing systems can require adherence to stringent quality standards. Such printing paper can withstand physical extremes such as high heat, pressure and electrical charge without curling or loss of dimensional stability. Also, the image quality of the printing paper should be maintained throughout printing, finishing and binding processes. Such paper is ideally free of paper dust, loose fibers, and other particle debris, which can cause contamination of the imaging process in the printing systems and also cause image quality problems.
The majority of paper-borne debris is generated from cut edges of the paper, which are particularly problematic with higher contaminates due to cutting and slitting of the paper during manufacturing. The cut quality can yield lesser amounts of paper debris, since the quantity of the paper debris is directly proportional to the quality of the cut. Such cut quality can be determined largely by the sharpness of the blade. Paper debris in Xerographic printing can cause problems in the paper path and finishing areas, which lead to a significant noise input affecting printing system reliability. Similarly, the debris in ink jet printing can cause print head jetting failures (such as paper clumping with ink jets), which result in image quality defects such as streaks, drop-out, etc. Paper debris can also adversely affect the development operation in the printing systems and subsequently the image quality of the paper.
In some prior art inkjet printing, vacuum devices are utilized in the printing systems to prevent inkjet failures due to paper dust, loose fibers and debris in inkjet printers, especially in and around inkjet print heads. In addition, larger xerographic printing systems can also utilize vacuum devices for cleaning web-fed paper paths and a residual toner from the surface of a photoreceptor drum in order to avoid image quality defects due to paper dust particles. Furthermore, a vacuum pump, fan and other air movement device can also be provided within the printing machine to remove the paper debris and dust. Such vacuum abatement systems can prevent contaminants from reaching critical printer components, but the drawback is the creation of additional resistance to abatement airflow by connecting ducts. The connecting ducts can add complexity and cost for degrading the airflow in the abatement system, since the connecting ducts consist of several components and connections.
In the majority of prior art, several types of paper debris abatement systems can be utilized to provide an effective means for removing unwanted debris from paper in its path. But, such abatement systems can exhibit substantial limitations for removing contaminating particles, especially for high volume printing. The abatement system also increases the production expenses of the printing systems. In addition, these abatement systems can exhibit a rotating brush and bristles can contact the paper to brush the surface of the web, which affects the physical property of the printing paper. For large printing applications, it is usually not cost effective to solve the paper debris problem by lightly scrubbing the paper and vacuuming away the loose debris. Then, it is highly desirable to reduce the paper debris for successful optimization of the printing paper for digital printing systems and processes without increasing the production cost.
A need therefore exists for an improved system and method for encapsulating edges of a printing paper, which avoids contamination of various subsystems of the printer or printing press due to paper debris. Such an improved method is described in greater detail herein.

System and method for encapsulating edges of paper in printers


An information processing apparatus includes: a storage including storage areas individually allocated to processing operations, and is configured to store therein association information in which a content of a failure occurring in one processing operation of the processing operations and at least one storage area of the storage areas are associated with each other wherein history information indicating histories of the individual processing operations is stored in the individual storage areas in response to the execution of the processing operations; and a processor coupled to the storage and configured to duplicate, in a storage area different from the storage areas, history information stored in a storage area where a failure having occurred and a matching content of a failure are associated with each other in the association information when the failure has occurred in one processing operation of the processing operations.

An information processing apparatus sequentially executes a plurality of processing operations, and outputs history information (hereinafter, arbitrarily described as a log) indicating a history of an executed processing operation with respect to each processing operation. In addition, the information processing apparatus stores each log output with respect to each processing operation, in a log file of the processing operation.
When a failure has occurred in the execution of a processing operation, the administrator of the information processing apparatus analyzes the above-mentioned log of the processing operation, and performs the analysis of a failure cause (also referred to as the analysis of a failure occurrence cause). Therefore, various types of technique have been proposed that contribute to the analysis of a failure cause. For example, a device has been proposed that is capable of generating a detection rule capable of detecting an event in which a failure has occurred, in a system including a plurality of components executing information processing operations.
However, if not having understood a dependency relationship between components in advance, it may be difficult for a device capable of creating such a detection rule to create such a detection rule. Therefore, when not having understood the dependency relationship between components, it may be difficult for such a device to create such a detection rule, and as a result, it may be difficult for such a device to provide information useful for the analysis of a failure cause.
In addition, when the size of a log file has exceeded a predetermined size, the information processing apparatus deletes the oldest stored log from logs in the log file, and causes the size of the log file to be less than or equal to a predetermined size (also called log storage of a cyclic method). Accordingly, in a case where a time from when a failure occurs till when the administrator analyzes a failure cause is long, in some cases a log desired for the analysis of the failure cause is deleted from logs in the log file before the administrator performs the analysis, in the information processing apparatus. As a result, it may be difficult for the administrator to analyze the failure cause.
In addition, in some cases, the administrator analyzes a failure cause by analyzing a plurality of log files. When a large number of log files serving as analysis targets exist, the administrator is desired to analyze a large number of log files, and it takes the administrator a long time to analyze the failure cause.
As the related art, there have been Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-18131, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-198123, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-110318, and International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 2010-024133.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and recording medium


The present application provides a multi-frame quality enhancement method and device for a lossily compressed video. The method comprises: performing quality enhancement on the i-th frame of a decompressed video stream using m frames correlated with the i-th frame to play the i-th frame with enhanced quality. The m frames are frames in the video stream. The number of the same pixels or corresponding pixels of each of the m frames and the i-th frame is greater than a preset threshold. m is a natural number greater than 1. In an implementation, a non-peak-quality frame positioned between two peak quality frames may be enhanced using the peak quality frames. The method may mitigate the quality fluctuation across a plurality of frames for providing playback of the video stream and may improve the quality of all frames in the video after the lossy compression.

In the past few decades, video has become significantly popular on the Internet. According to the Cisco Data Traffic Forecasts, video traffic accounted for 60% of the Internet traffic in 2016, and this number will be expected to reach 78% by 2020. When transmitting video over the bandwidth-limited Internet, video compression must be applied to save the coding bit-rate. However, the compressed video inevitably suffers from compression artifacts, such as, blocking effects, ringing effects, and blurring, which may severely degrade the Quality of Experience (QoE). Therefore, it is necessary to research on quality enhancement for compressed video.
Recently, methods for improving the visual quality of compressed images or videos have been continuously proposed. For example, Dong et al. designed a four-layer convolutional neural network (CNN) called AR-CNN, which greatly improved the quality of JPEG images. Later, Yang et al. designed a decoder-side hierarchical convolutional neural network (DS-CNN) to improve the video quality. The DS-CNN consists of two subnets, designed to reduce intra-frame and inter-frame coding distortions.
However, when performing quality enhancement on a current frame, existing quality enhancement approaches do not use any information of the current frame's neighboring frames, and their performance is thus largely limited.

Multi-frame quality enhancement for compressed video


A method of combining at least one captured generated digital image and a prestored digital image. The method includes providing a customer generated image in digital form; automatically determining the aspect ratio of the selected customer generated image; providing a plurality of prestored digital images, each having a predetermined location wherein the customer generated digital image may be placed, the location of each of the plurality of prestored digital images having a different predetermined size aspect ratio; and automatically selecting one of the prestored digital images wherein the location has an aspect ratio closest to the aspect ratio of the selected customer generated image.

It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,819 to combine a customer generated digital image with a prestored digital image having a predetermined location for receiving the customer generated image so as to form a single merged digital image. A customer generated image may have a variety of different aspect ratios which may be due to the original format of the image, or due to the manner in which the image was obtained, for example, segregating a particular portion of an image from a larger image. Thus, the aspect ratio of the customer generated image may not be suitable or complement the artistic effect of the prestored digital image it is to be combined with. While manual adjustment to the customer generated image or to the prestored image can be made, this results in adding significant operator time for modifying the image and further cost to the purchaser.
Thus, there is a problem in merging images in a quick and cost-effective manner without substantially affecting the desired aesthetic effect of the merged image when the aspect ratio of the customer generated image does not properly match the location in which it is desired to be placed.
Applicants have solved this problem by providing a system wherein a plurality of substantially identical prestored images are provided, each having a location of a different aspect ratio for receiving the customer generated digital image. The system includes a computer which automatically selects the appropriate prestored image and makes any appropriate modifications to the prestored image without affecting overall artistic effect of the selected prestored image.

Method of combining two digitally generated images


Methods of performing cycloadditions are described that include (a) combining a first reactant and a second reactant in a hydrogen bonding solvent to form a reaction mixture; and (b) reacting the first reactant and the second reactant to form a cycloadduct. Methods of performing asymmetric catalytic reactions are also described that include (a) combining a first reactant, a second reactant, and a catalytic amount of a chiral hydrogen-bond donor in a solvent to form a reaction mixture; and (b) reacting the first reactant and the second reactant to form an enantiomeric excess of a reaction product. Reaction mixtures corresponding to these methods are also described.

The [4+2] cycloaddition reaction between dienes and compounds containing a carbonyl group provides one of the most direct methods available for the synthesis of six-membered oxygen-containing heterocycles.
The hetero Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction has been studied extensively as a potential route for the preparation of oxygen-containing heterocycles, a class of biologically important molecules. Notwithstanding, the scope of the HDA reaction remains extremely limited. Nearly all such known cycloadditions have been reported using aldehydes and, even then, require highly specialized reaction conditions, such as high temperatures, high pressures, or Lewis acid catalysis.
For steric and electronic reasons, the ketone group is a substantially less reactive heterodienophile as compared to the aldehyde group. As a result, there have been extremely few reports of successful HDA reactions using simple ketones. Moreover, the use of ketones in these types of reactions is far from having general applicability. Accordingly, the development of a HDA reaction that is suitable for use with heterodienophiles such as ketones would be extremely advantageous.
Conventional methods for catalyzing asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions typically use metals and Lewis acids, which are often undesirable from the point of view of cost as well as safety (e.g., the presence of trace amounts of residual metals in the Diels-Alder cycloadduct may limit the pharmaceutical use of that compound due to strict federal regulations). Accordingly, the development of metal-free asymmetric variants of the Diels-Alder and HDA reaction would be highly desirable.

Methods of performing cycloadditions, reaction mixtures, and methods of performing asymmetric catalytic reactions


The present invention relates to the technical field of communications, and provides an app icon processing method and a communication terminal. The processing method comprises the steps of: determining whether or not an existing application is supported by the current operating environment, the current operating environment comprising the current network environment and/or the current terminal environment, etc.; then, inactivating the app icon corresponding to the existing application not supported by the current operating environment, or, downloading and displaying an application supported by the current operating environment. Preferably, the inactivated app icon is removed or displayed in an inactive state. In this way, in the present invention, the app icons of a plurality of inactive applications can be hidden on the communication terminal so that app icons are cleared automatically, thus aiding the user to find quickly the needed and active app icons.

At present, there are more and more applications applicable to communication terminals. Once an application is installed on a communication terminal, it becomes an existing application and an app icon corresponding to the existing application is displayed on the communication terminal. Whether the existing application will or will not be active in the future, the app icon will continue being displayed on the desktop. A lot of desktop space will be taken up therefore and a user, when searching the needed app icon, will be troubled by information clutter, which directly affects the user's efficiency and experience of searching an app icon.
For example, a communication terminal customized according to an operator is usually embedded with various applications customized for the operator, such as eStore for China Telecom, Fetion for China Mobile, and WO 3G for China Unicom, etc. Regardless of whether a user identification card chosen by the user supports the applications customized for the operator or not, all the app icons of the customized applications are displayed on the desktop and thus inactive app icons occupy a lot of positions on the desktop. Wherein:
As for a dual-mode communication terminal working with, for example, a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)/GSM (Global System of Mobile communication) network, if the communication terminal is customized for a CDMA network of China Mobile and is embedded with customized applications such as "eStore" and "E-Surfing Payment" while the user is actually using a user identification card for the GSM network, then the app icons customized for China Mobile that are displayed on the desktop of the communication terminal will be useless, thus leaving the desktop cluttered.
As for a dual-mode communication terminal working with, for example, a CDMA/GSM network, if the user has downloaded and installed the "Unicom Mobile" of China Unicom using a user identification card for a GSM network of China Unicom, but later chooses to use a user identification card for a CDMA network of China Telecom, the inactive app icon—"Unicom Mobile"—still will be displayed on the desktop and will take up a portion of the desktop space.
As for a single-mode communication terminal working with, for example, a GSM network, suppose the user has downloaded and installed the "Fetion" app using a user identification card for a GSM network of China Mobile. Once the user chooses to use a user identification card for a GSM network of China Unicom, no doubt the user will waste time finding an active app icon as the inactive app icons e.g. "Fetion" that do not belong to the operator, China Unicom, are still displayed on the desktop.
In view of the foregoing, the existing methods for processing app icons on a communication terminal are obviously inconvenient and defective in actual practice, so it is necessary to make an improvement to them.

App icon processing method and communication terminal

Yulong Computer Telecommunication Technologies (Shenzhen) Co.


A method and apparatus for modulating an input signal comprised of an ordered series of samples separated by a substantially constant period T comprising the steps of providing a carrier signal, the carrier signal comprised of a series of samples separated by a substantially constant period T, wherein one of the carrier samples corresponds to each of the input signal samples, selecting a plurality of N successive samples from the series of input signal samples, the series of samples having an input order, for each of the N selected samples in parallel, multiplying the selected sample by the corresponding carrier sample and recombining the N multiplied samples while maintaining the input order.

In order to deliver value added services such as video on demand and internet access as well as to provide more efficient use of the available RF spectrum, modern cable TV networks have moved from a primarily analog system to one which is largely digital, at least for large portions of the available RF spectrum. Of course, at the delivery end traditional cable TV networks are comprised of a distribution network based on 75 ohm coaxial cable. Such networks support a bandwidth of up to about 1 GHz. However, in order to take advantage of this bandwidth, both analog TV broadcasts and digital signals are modulated prior to transmission to particular predefined frequency bands, thereby ensuring that mutual interference is kept to a minimum.
The above prior art systems suffer from many drawbacks. For example, interconnections between sources of analog and digital signals are typically hardwired to the modulators meaning that reconfiguration is difficult, typically requiring a technician to manually reconfigure the system. For conventional broadcast TV this is generally not a problem as the channel line up is predefined. On the other hand, for Video on Demand (VOD) systems, where the stream of video data flows between the delivery system and set top box in a manner which is largely transparent to the user such hardwired systems are unable to allow for efficient use of the available bandwidth, in particular as the potential for switching video streams from one frequency band to another is limited if not impossible.

System and method for delivery of video, content on demand and IP packets


A snowmobile having an improved power transmission system that is comprised of a split engine having two cylinder blocks each containing at least a pair of cylinders with their output shafts connected to each other. A belt drive shaft is journaled by the engine assembly and is driven off the output shafts at the point where they are joined together. The belt drive shaft drives the drive belt of the snowmobile through a variable pulley transmission.

This invention relates to a power transmission system for a snowmobile and more particularly to an improved arrangement for driving the driving belt of a snowmobile.
It is conventional in snowmobile construction to mount the driving internal combustion engine so that its output shaft rotates about an axis that extends transversely to the longitudinal center line of the snowmobile. The engine output shaft is then coupled through a variable transmission, which may include a centrifugal clutch, to the drive belt. Due to the substantial width of the drive belts of the snowmobile, it has heretofore, been the practice to drive the variable transmission off one end of the engine output shaft. However, this has several disadvantages.
In the first instance, if the engine output shaft also drives the variable transmission, side loadings on the engine output shaft will be generated due to the inherent operation of the variable transmission. This can place undue wear on the engine output shaft.
In addition, when the variable transmission and a centrifugal clutch is placed on the end of the engine output shaft, then the overall drive package becomes quite large. This is a particular problem when a multiple cylinder engine is employed since the engine itself may be quite long. In addition, driving the transmission off one end of the engine output shaft, even if the transmission is driven through an intermediate shaft, can put substantial torsional loading on the output shaft of the engine.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved power transmission system for a snowmobile.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a power transmission system for a snowmobile wherein the engine and transmission package may be kept quite compact even when multiple cylinder engines are employed.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved arrangement for driving an intermediate shaft which drives a variable transmission for a snowmobile drive from an engine without placing large torsional stresses on the engine output shaft.

Power transmission system for snowmobile


A process for conformally coating passive surface mount components soldered to a printed circuit substrate of a lidless flip-chip ball grid array package includes affixing a stiffener ring to the substrate before forming a conformal coating on the passive surface mount components. The stiffener ring is affixed to the substrate so that the plurality of passive surface mount components and the integrated circuit die are contained within an opening formed by the stiffener ring. After affixing the stiffener ring to the substrate, the conformal coating is formed on the passive surface mount components. The conformal coating extends over each of the passive surface mount components, around a periphery of each of the passive surface mount components, and under each of the passive surface mount components. A product made according to the process is also disclosed.

Electronic devices including integrated circuits are used in computing devices such as, but not limited to, laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, game consoles, televisions, set top boxes, wearables, internet servers, printers, and other devices. The electronic devices can include integrated circuit die and passive surface mount components, such as chip capacitors, packaged together on the same printed circuit substrate. The chip capacitors can be used for decoupling the integrated circuit from the voltage fluctuations in the power supply, for example. The integrated circuit die can have very dense circuitry and can operate at very high frequencies to provide ever-improving levels of performance. Some integrated circuit die may have multiple processor cores and/or very large memory arrays on relatively small die. In operation, such devices can produce heat in excess of 100 watts. If the heat is allowed to build up on the die, the performance of the integrated circuit may be degraded and/or the life of the integrated circuit may be significantly shortened.
In some electronic devices, the integrated circuit is mounted on the printed circuit substrate of the package in an upside-down, or flip-chip, configuration, so that the bond pads of the integrated circuit die can be directly soldered to the electrical connections of the printed circuit substrate. In such a flip-chip package ball grid array (BGA) package, a package lid is affixed to the printed circuit substrate to protect the die and to provide structural support to the substrate. Before the lid is affixed, a thermally conductive material, also called a thermal interface material (TIM), is applied to the back side of the die to provide a thermally conductive heat path between the die and the package lid. A high-surface area heat sink can be coupled to the package lid so that a convective flow of air can remove heat from the package lid.
In some other electronic devices, a package lid is not used, so that the TIM contacts the heat sink directly. Removing the lid from the heat path can improve the efficiency of heat removal from the integrated circuit die. In such a lidless BGA package, a stiffener ring around the integrated circuit die and the passive surface mount components is affixed to the substrate instead of the lid to provide structural support to the substrate.

Process for conformal coating of multi-row surface-mount components in a lidless BGA package and product made thereby


A floor panel for forming a floor covering includes coupling parts on at least one pair of opposite arranged to allow that two of such floor panels can be joined by means of a downward movement (M) of one floor panel in respect to the other floor panel. The coupling parts allow a locking in a first direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor panels as well as in a second direction perpendicular to the respective edge and in the plane of the floor panels. A longitudinal recess located on at least one of the edges is present underneath the upper surface with a locking element. The shape and/or the position of the recess and/or the configuration of the coupling parts is such that deformations are avoided.

1. Field of the Art
In the first place, this invention relates to a floor panel for forming a floor covering, as well as to a floor covering formed of such floor panels, as well as to a method for manufacturing such floor panels. More generally, it can also be applied with other panels than floor panels, thus, for forming other coverings than floor coverings.
More particularly, the invention relates to a panel, more particularly a floor panel, wherein the floor panel, on at least one pair of opposite edges, comprises coupling parts allowing that two of such floor panels can be joined by means of a downward movement of one floor panel in respect to the other floor panel, wherein these coupling parts allow a locking in a first direction perpendicular to the plane of the floor panels as well as in a second direction perpendicular to the respective edge and in the plane of the floor panels. Such downward movement must be seen according to a cross-section of the edges to be coupled. It can be, for example, the result of the application of the so-called "fold-down" installation technique for floor panels, or can also be the result of the application of other installation techniques, for example, the technique according to which the two panels are pressed together at the respective edges by means of a mutual plane-parallel displacement of the edges. It is noted that such downward movement, seen in cross-section in respect to the edges, does not have to be a purely downward movement, but that it possibly can also be combined with, for example, minor sideward displacements, for example, for letting certain locking parts pass along each other.
2. Related Art
An example of such type of floor panels is known, amongst others, from the international patent application WO 2009/066153.

Floor panel for forming a floor covering, floor covering formed of such floor panels, and method for manufacturing such floor panels


A personal check includes a substrate defined to be written on and to be transferable from a first person to a second person. The personal check also includes: check characterizing indicia printed on the substrate, and at least three different types of identification indicia printed on the substrate such that the identification indicia are not removed from the substrate when the substrate is transferred from the first person to the second person. These identification indicia include a picture of at least the face of the first person, an alphanumeric physical parameter identifying an at least approximately visually discernable physical characteristic of the first person, and a predetermined signature of the first person. In one implementation, the check characterizing indicia and the identification indicia are interposed on the substrate. A plurality of these personal checks are comprised in a checkbook. A method for discouraging personal check fraud comprises providing to a computer system at least the aforementioned three different types of identification indicia about a personal checking account holder. The method further comprises printing with the computer system a plurality of personal checks for the account holder. This includes printing the at least three different types of identification indicia to permanently remain on each personal check.

This invention relates to personal checks which can inhibit fraud by someone who tries to negotiate such a check without authority from the holder of the account upon which the check is drawn. The invention also pertains to a related method of discouraging personal check fraud.
Personal checks are not new and have long been used in the banking industry as a means of transferring funds from one person or account to another person or account. As society has become more mobile, and more populated, some unlawful people now prey upon the trustful nature of some merchants by cashing stolen or otherwise worthless personal checks. Usually, the worthless checks are passed during rush hours and the dishonest person tries to take advantage of the honest merchants' inability to remember the physical characteristics of the person cashing the check. After several days have passed, and a bad check is returned from the bank, it may be difficult for the merchant to remember or accurately describe or identify the unlawful check writer.
One method of trying to prevent such fraud has included requiring photographic identification when the check is cashed or otherwise negotiated. Usually the photographs are incorporated with a driver's license, a credit card, or a passport. With this type of pictorial identification, however, the photograph bearing the identity of the person cashing the check is returned to the person that has been identified. This leaves the merchant with no tangible evidence to help recall the physical characteristics of the person that has been pictorially identified.
It has been proposed that identifying photographs be attached to personal checks for the identification of the check writer. This method, however, poses the risk of check and photograph becoming separated. Once the check and the photograph are separated, then the advantages of the combined check and photograph are lost. Also, multilayered checks (check+an attached photograph) may damage or jam the automated check processing machines that are now used by many banks. Printing a photograph of the account holder on each of the checks to be cashed was mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,059 to Zeller (column 1, lines 17-25), but dismissed as too costly, impractical, and undesirable.
Comparing the signature of the check writer with a signature displayed on a separate document is another technique that has been used to try to prevent fraudulent use of personal checks. For many years, merchants have compared the check writer's signature on the check being cashed with the check writer's signature displayed on a driver's license, credit card, or some other identifying document. The identifying document may also include a photograph along with a signature of the check writer. After the identification process is completed, however, the identifying documents are returned to the check casher. This procedure, therefore, also fails to leave tangible memory aids with the merchant to assist him or her in recalling the physical characteristics of the check writer.
The comparative signature technique is also used to identify the proper owner of a traveler's check. When using this procedure, a traveler will prepay and purchase one or more traveler's checks. The traveler will then sign his or her signature on the face of the newly issued checks. Later, when the traveler is ready to cash a check, the check owner will again sign his or her name in order to provide comparative signatures that will help verify the check casher's proof of ownership. This procedure discourages fraudulent use of traveler's checks. Unfortunately, the traveler's check technique lacks convenience and flexibility. The traveler must first anticipate the need to acquire the traveler's checks. Next, the traveler must pre-purchase the traveler's checks. Also, the checks are issued in fixed denominations, and do not lend themselves well to many personal uses. Also, the traveler's checks do not leave a paper trail that is returned to the traveler. The paper trail is desirable because it can be used to help document personal, company, or tax deductible expenses.
Physical descriptions, such as height, weight, complexion, and the color of eyes, are often included on drivers licenses, passports and other non-transferable documents. These descriptions help identify the proper owner of the document.
Although the foregoing procedures are beneficial, they have shortcomings as mentioned above with regard to their use in conjunction with the use of personal checks. These procedures also typically require one to not only find and fill out the check, but also locate, display and return the identification material to a purse or wallet, which can be cumbersome and time consuming, especially at a busy checkout counter.
Although each of the foregoing can be useful, there is still the need for an improved personal check and method for discouraging fraudulent use of personal checks.

Fraud inhibiting personal check and method


An output from a left half light-receiving portion C1, C4 of a main-beam photodiode 5 of an optical pickup and an output from a right half light-receiving portion C2, C3 of a main-beam photodiode 5 of an optical pickup are normalized, and the difference between the normalized outputs is calculated. EQU (C1+C4)/.alpha.*(C1+C4)-(C2+C3)/.alpha.*(C2+C3). in which .alpha. is a constant.. Accordingly, even in the case where the objective lens 1 is shifted to the inside or outside of a track, a wobble signal can be extracted securely because the DC offset components of the difference signals in the on-track main laser beam MB are cancelled out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for generating a wobble signal in a CD-R drive and particularly to a method for generating a wobble signal in a CD-R drive in which the influence of the displacement of a main axis of an objective lens of an optical pickup is eliminated.
2. Related Art
A conventional method for generating a wobble signal in a CD-R drive will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 through 5. As shown in FIG. 3, wobble pits WP displaced left and right from the center of a track are dug in a surface of a CD-R disk so that disk rotation speed control and data write timing control are carried out on the basis of information which is obtained when a three-spot type optical pickup emits a main laser beam MB and sub laser beams SB in the left and right of the main laser beam MB and the main laser beam MB passes through a wobble pit WP.
FIG. 4(a) shows a light-receiving system of an optical pickup in a CD-R drive. The reference numeral 1 designates an objective lens; 2, a polarizing beam splitter; 3, a condensing lens; and 4, a photosensor. As shown in FIG. 4(b), a main-beam photodiode 5 is disposed in the center of the photosensor 4. As shown in FIG. 5, there is extracted a wobble signal which is a push-pull signal of an output from an inner light-receiving portion C1, C4 (upper in the drawing) of the main-beam photodiode 5 and an output from an outer light-receiving portion C2, C3 (lower in the drawing) of the main-beam photodiode 5. EQU wobble signal=(C1+C4)-(C2+C3)
When the objective lens 1 is shifted to the inner or outer side of the disk by an objective lens actuator, however, the main axis of the objective lens 1 is displaced left or right (upper or lower in the drawing) from the center position of the main-beam photodiode 5 shown in FIG. 5(b). Accordingly, the balance between the output from the inner light-receiving portion C1, C4 and the output from the outer light-receiving portion C2, C3 is lost as shown in FIG. 5(a) or 5(c). As a result, a DC offset occurs in the push-pull signal so that it may be difficult to extract the wobble signal.
There arises a technical problem to be solved so that the wobble signal can be extracted securely regardless of the relative positional deviations of the objective lens and the photosensor to thereby improve stability.

Method for generating a wobble signal in a CD-R drive


A kit for providing a contrast enhancer in a mammal for contrasting during imaging of the mammal comprises functionalized gold nanoparticles configured to be directed to one or more of a target organ, tissue and lesion of the mammal.

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is the most widely used imaging modality for the diagnosis of various disease and disorders in animal and human population. Iodinated agents are routinely used as contrast enhancers to produce clinically intelligent images via X-ray CT. However, iodinated agents suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback is that the resolution of CT to detect cancer and other disorders within the body using iodinated agents at early stages of cancer development is limited by the inadequate contrast between the healthy and cancerous tissues. Another issue is that some patients develop allergic reactions as a result of administration of iodinated agents. Also, iodinated agents rapidly wash off clear from tissues, which impedes continuous monitoring of patients images through CT. Iodinated agents are also non specific, which prevents highly targeted imaging of specific tissue regions.
CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body and a computer to join them together in cross-sectional views of the area being studied. The images can then be examined on a computer monitor or printed. CT scans of internal organs, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels provide greater clarity than conventional x-ray exams. Because of its great sensitivity and specificity, CT scanning is often the preferred method for diagnosing many different cancers, including lung, liver and pancreatic cancer, since the image allows a physician to confirm the presence of a tumor and measure its size, precise location and the extent of the tumor's involvement with other nearby tissue. CT scans have also become pivotal medical diagnostic modality in examination that play a significant role in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases that can lead to stroke, kidney failure, and death.
Iodinated agents sometimes referred to as "dye", which are liquids, are used as CT contrast enhancers to produce images of specific organs, blood vessels and/or tissue types "stand out" with more image contrast to better show the presence of disease or injury. Thus, CT contrast highlights specific areas of the resultant CT image. While iodinated agents have become 'work horses' of medical CT imaging modality, they suffer from the major disadvantages discussed above. In addition, the application of iodinated contrast agents is restricted in certain patients because of the impact of these agents on the renal function. With iodinated agents, some imaging studies are limited by the injected dose and the rate of dose injection.
Certain types of diseases including, cancers should be monitored via imaging for a long period of time. For example, over 25% of patients with colorectal cancer develop metastasis in liver within 2-4 months post surgery. However, there are no tumor markers for continuous staging of the metastasis in liver in patients after they have been operated for removal of colorectal tumors. Currently available iodinated agents for CT imaging are unsuitable as the contrast agent is not retained in the liver for a sufficient length of time. For these and other reasons, there is a considerable need for new contrast agents.

Stabilized gold nanoparticle and contrast agent

The Curators of the University of Missouri


A ball screw apparatus having a revolving position detector for detecting revolutions of a ball screw nut and a ball spline nut and a number-of-revolutions altering means for issuing a command to decrement or increment the number of revolutions of the ball screw nut so that a difference between sets of revolution numbers becomes zero. In the ball screw apparatus, a driving motor is disposed in parallel with a driving shaft. An output of the driving motor is transmitted via a belt to each nut. When driving the motor in a clutch-off/brake-on state, only the ball screw nut is driven to revolve, and the driving shaft is slid in the axial direction. When driving the motor in a clutch-on/brake-off state, the two nuts revolve together, and the driving shaft is rotationally driven. A reduction ratio on the side of the ball screw nut is set equal to that on the side of the ball spline nut, whereby the two nuts synchronously revolve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball screw apparatus utilizable suitably for a machine tool, a scalar type robot and other industrial machineries, particular to adjustment of rotational phase shift between a ball screw nut and a ball spline nut.
2. Related Background Art
One of a large variety of known ball screw apparatuses is constructed to move and rotate a single shaft (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 61-38892). To be specific, a motor having a hollowed motor shaft is fixed to the inner surface of a housing. A single driving shaft is loosely inserted into the hollowed motor shaft. The driving shaft includes a ball screw groove formed in the rear part of the outer peripheral surface thereof and ball spline grooves formed in the front part thereof, respectively. A ball screw nut is engaged with the ball screw groove in the rear part. A ball spline nut is engaged with the ball spline groove in the front part. At the same time, each nut is revolvably supported through support bearings in the same housing. The ball screw nut is so connected to the rear end of the hollowed motor shaft as to be integrally revolvable. On the other hand, the ball spline nut is disposed opposite to the ball screw nut, with the motor being middled therebetween. A drive converting device consisting of an electromagnetic clutch and a brake is interposed between the motor and the ball spline nut. A rotor of the clutch is fixed to the front end of the hollowed motor shaft. The brake is fixed to the ball spline nut.
Electromagnetic coils of the clutch and the brake are controlled so that when one electromagnetic coil is switched on, the other is switched off. When rotating the motor in a clutch-on/brake-off state, the rotations of the hollowed motor shaft are transmitted to the ball spline nut with rotations of the rotor of the clutch. The ball spline nut revolves because of being in a brake-off state at this moment, whereby the driving shaft rotates. Contrastingly, when rotating the motor in a clutch-off/brake-on state, the rotations of the hollowed motor shaft are not transmitted to the rotor of the clutch. The revolutions of the ball spline nut are hindered by the brake. Hence, the rotations of the hollowed shaft are transmitted to only the ball screw nut, with the result that the driving shaft rectilinearly moves in the axial direction.
The driving shaft can be operated with two degrees of freedom in terms of sliding and rotating by controlling the revolutions of the ball screw nut and the ball spline nut in that manner.
The conventional actuator described above is, however, structured so that the ball screw nut, the motor, the clutch, the brake and the ball spline nut are arranged in line along the single driving shaft in the housing. A whole length of the actuator is therefore too large, and consequently there arises a problem in which the actuator is hard to handle. Additionally, it is required that the motor be demounted if the motor breaks down or when changing the specification. In this case, the following problems are caused. All the parts arranged in series have to be taken out of the housing. The respective nuts attached to the driving shaft through a multiplicity of balls also have to be detached from the driving shaft. It is not easy to replace or change the motor.
Further, in the drive converting device including the electromagnetic clutch and the brake, a slip is easy to cause due to an impact load given from outside. Subtle differences are cumulated because of the repetitive on/off operations. There exists a high possibility to produce a revolving phase shift between the ball screw nut and the ball spline nut. If these conditions are left as they are, there is also caused a problem wherein a positional precision of the driving shaft declines.