A neck exercise apparatus for developing strength, endurance, and flexibility in the neck. The apparatus comprises a leaf spring that is held by a support at each end. The leaf spring and its supports are mounted on a base. The distance between the supports can be adjusted to vary the force necessary to deflect the leaf spring. A gauge block may be placed beneath the center of the spring to measure and to limit the range of motion of the exercise. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a single semielliptical leaf spring replaces the leaf spring and two supports of the preferred embodiment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a muscle exercise apparatus and more particularly to an exercise apparatus designed to allow a person to safely perform isokinetic strengthening of the neck muscles. Such apparatus are used to perform exercises for strengthening both the anterior (front) and posterior (rear) muscles of the neck, the two areas most important for preventing and treating neck pain. Strengthening the neck muscles has been shown to prevent injury to the cervical spine, including injury from contact sports such as football and wrestling. Isokinetic neck exercises are also recommended therapy for treating neck complaints related to neck muscle strength.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of apparatus and aids for exercise of the neck are found in the prior art. However, none of these apparatus or aids offer the advantages of the present invention, namely, none are as compact, portable, safe to use and as easy to operate as the present invention while at the same time providing for adjustable resistance and range of motion in the performance of isokinetic neck exercise.
A simple type of prior art apparatus utilizes a weight held to the head by the user. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,833 discloses a weight attached to the head by a weighted headband. The user performs exercise by moving his head through a range of motion against the gravitational pull of the weight. The weight may be simply suspended from the head, mounted on the head, or may be guided by a pulley attached to a fixed support. Such an apparatus offers the advantage of simplicity, but has at least two disadvantages. The first is that when the neck becomes more conditioned, additional weight is used until performance of the exercise becomes awkward with a risk of injury from the heavy weight falling to the ground. The second disadvantage is that these apparatus are not portable because they require the use of heavy weights. In particular, apparatus requiring a fixed pulley support are not conveniently portable. Portability is desired to allow the exercise apparatus to carried between and used at the users' convenience in their homes or offices, facilitating the desired frequency of use.
Another type of apparatus includes weight or resistance machines that include a means to move the head through a defined range of motion against an adjustable resistance while the user is constrained in a chair or on a bench. The prior art contains many variations on these types of machines. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,893,808; 5,116,359; 5,273,504 and 5,336,138. However, all of these machines are intended to be permanently mounted to a chair or bench, and all are relatively complex, heavy, and expensive in comparison to the present invention. None are lightweight and easily portable as is the present invention.
A third type of apparatus includes those which are intended to be mounted on the body and provide for resistance and range of motion by pushing against other parts or other muscles of the body, with or without an intermediary tension or compression device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,154 discloses an exercise device comprised of a U-shaped bar which the user places over the head and exerts force on the head by pulling or pushing on the bar with the user's arms. Another example is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,646, disclosing a device intended to be mounted under the chin of the user to provide an elastic resistance against the user's own chest. In contrast, the present invention allows for adjustable resistance against a fixed surface without a need to push against other parts of the body, thereby avoiding pressure on other parts of the body and providing for a more repeatable and measurable force of exercise. The repeatability and measurability of the present device facilitates use as a therapeutic or training device under the supervision of a physician or therapist. The body-mounted devices also are not capable of providing the same range of motion and force of exercise as is the present invention. The present invention offers a range of exercise more desirable for strengthening the neck, and is more easily adapted for a variety of exercises in different positions.


The present invention provides a solid phosphoric acid catalyst which attains high activity and dimer selectivity in olefin dimerization reaction and an efficient method for dimerization of olefin using the same. The solid phosphoric acid catalyst comprises phosphoric acid supported on a siliceous carrier, the proportion of orthophosphoric acid in the phosphoric acid supported being 60 mol % or more in terms of phosphorus atom amount. The solid phosphoric acid catalyst is prepared by bringing a phosphoric acid aqueous solution into contact with the siliceous carrier followed by drying, the preparation step being carried out at a temperature lower than 100° C. Also provided is a method for bringing an olefin-containing raw material into contact with the catalyst. In this method, the olefin-containing raw material contains water in an amount of 10 to 1000 mass ppm, the olefin-containing raw material is brought into contact with the solid phosphoric acid catalyst in a liquid phase, and the olefin is a monoolefin having 3 to 7 carbon atoms.

Oligomers of olefin are used for various purposes and, particularly, dimers of low-molecular-weight olefin (e.g., propylene, n-butene, isobutene, pentene, etc.) are important as high-octane number base materials for gasoline production, or important as chemical intermediate raw materials. Oligomerization including olefin dimerization is carried out using acid catalysts, and many studies have been made therefor. Conventional examples of the acid catalyst include sulfuric acid, hydrogen fluoride, phosphoric acid, aluminum chloride, boron fluoride, amorphous or crystalline aluminosilicate, clay, ion-exchange resin, mixed oxide, and solid acid such as an acid supported on solid carrier, and various examinations have been made also for the solid phosphoric acid catalyst which provide inexpensive and simplified chemical manufacturing processes.
There are disclosed to oligomerize propylene using a solid phosphoric acid prepared in a calcination condition of 100° C. or higher (Patent Literature 1) and to oligomerize propylene using a catalyst prepared by crystallizing an amorphous mixture of phosphoric acid and a siliceous raw material in conditions of 250-450° C. and water vapor concentration of 3-50 mol % (a catalyst consisting of silicon orthophosphate and silicon pyrophosphate) (Patent Literature 2).
It is hitherto known that the condensation degree of phosphoric acid in the solid phosphoric acid catalyst affects the activity of oligomerization reaction of olefin, and there also are disclosed examples of oligomerization of olefins of C3, C4 and the like using a catalyst in which the mass ratio of a free phosphoric acid component which is eluted when the solid phosphoric acid catalyst is dipped in water (non-condensed or low-condensed phosphoric acid such as orthophosphoric acid or pyrophosphoric acid) to the catalyst is small (the proportion of orthophosphoric acid in the phosphoric acid supported is about 46 mol % at most in terms of phosphorus atom amount) (Patent Literature 3 and Non-Patent Literature 1).
However, not only the oligomerization of olefin using the above-mentioned conventional phosphoric acid catalysts is not mainly intended for dimerization of olefin, but also the use of the conventional solid phosphoric acid catalysts unavoidably involves by-production of high polymerized products of olefin, and it was thus difficult to selectively provide dimers of olefin.
In a phosphoric acid aqueous solution supporting operation, though affected by operating condition such as operating time or temperature, condensation of the supported orthophosphoric acid in drying process is easy to proceed. Even after once supported, the condensation easily proceeds in the same manner. As described later, particularly, a low orthophosphoric acid concentration in the total phosphoric acid facilitates the proceed of the condensation. As described in Patent Literature 3, also, a highly-condensed phosphoric acid which is once condensed is dissolved only very slowly to water (Patent Literature 3, the latter part of Paragraph 0036). Namely, the progress of hydrolysis of the highly-condensed phosphoric acid is virtually slow.
In other words, in the conventional phosphoric acid aqueous solution supporting operation, the condensation is consequently easy to proceed due to the low orthophosphoric acid concentration in the total phosphoric acid or the like, and the supported amount of highly-condensed phosphoric acid must be increased. Therefore, in the above-mentioned case (the proportion of orthophosphoric acid in the phosphoric acid supported being about 46 mol % at most in terms of phosphorus atom amount), the actual proportion of orthophosphoric acid is predicted to be far less than the maximum value as a theoretic value (about 46 mol %) because the condensation progresses even if the orthophosphoric acid is produced. It is not easy for the highly-condensed phosphoric acid which is once condensed and supported in the drying process to return to orthophosphoric acid even if it is thereafter hydrolyzed by contact with liquefied or gaseous water in a reaction system. Further, in the supported orthophosphoric acid, the condensation of orthophosphoric acid can proceed depending on the reaction condition even if the orthophosphoric acid concentration in the total phosphoric acid is high, as well as being low.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 8-29251    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 7-59301    Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2001-199907    Non-Patent Literature 1: "Applied Catalysis A: General", 1993, 97, p. 177-196

Solid phosphoric acid catalyst and method for dimerization of olefin using the same


A sound suppressor for a firearm with a high rate of fire, such as a machine gun, conceals the location of the firearm during heavy use by rapidly dissipating heat through a foamed carbon core. A sound suppressing baffle core is coaxially located within a tubular housing, having flared ends extending beyond the core. An inlet nozzle and exit place close the ends of the suppressor and are held in place with threaded collars. The terminal portions of the collars are beveled, as are the corresponding terminal portions of the nozzle and end plate, and are used to capture the flared portions of the ends of the tubular housing. Diagonally opposing recesses in the collars enable their removal with a spanner wrench, along with the other components for maintenance and replacement. The suppressor lasts longer and has a less visible heat signature used in sustained fire on a machine gun.

A sound suppressor is intended to conceal the location of a gun when fired. When undergoing sustained fire, however, a gun, such as a machine gun, and its suppressor become hot, hot enough to glow a dull red, and therefore visible on a dark night. In addition, suppressors are subject to internal damage when a fired bullet does not pass cleanly through it. Slight impacts of the bullet damage the suppressor and firing residue deposits bits of metal inside it. In time, incremental build-up of these deposits, damage from bullet impacts, and heat deformation make frequent repair or replacement of suppressors inevitable. Perhaps more importantly, the ability of the suppressor to shed heat during sustained fire degrades its ability to conceal the location of a machine gun.


A panel for a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes a substrate having a plurality of pixel areas defined thereon. A first alignment layer is formed on the substrate, the first alignment layer providing a first pretilt angle for a liquid crystal material. A plurality of spaced apart second alignment regions is formed on the first alignment layer, the second alignment regions providing a second pretilt angle for the liquid crystal material, respective second alignment regions being separated by a portion of the first alignment layer such that a respective pixel area is covered by the first alignment region and partially covered by a second alignment region. Portions of the first alignment layer and the second alignment regions covering respective adjacent pixel areas have grooves formed therein which are substantially aligned along respective first and second directions. The first and second directions preferably are perpendicular. The pixel areas may be rectangular, and the portion of a respective pixel area covered by a second alignment region may include approximately one-half of the pixel area. The approximately one-half of the pixel area may include a rectangular portion of the pixel area. Preferably, the second pretilt angle is greater than the first pretilt angle.

Generally, a twisted nematic (TN) LCD display has a viewing angle which is dependent upon orientations of molecules of the liquid crystal material sandwiched between the panels of the display. To provide wider viewing angles, a domain divided twisted nematic (DDTN) display has been proposed in which a single rubbing process may be used to form a panel of the display which when combined with a similar panel provides alternating twists for liquid crystal molecules of adjacent pixel areas.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional LCD includes a thin-film transistor (TFT) substrate 10 opposed by a color filter substrate 20. Each pixel area defined on the substrate is divided into two regions, a first region covered by a first alignment layer 30a, 30b which provides a first pretilt angle for the liquid crystal material and a second region covered by a second alignment layer 32a, 32b which provides a second pretilt angle for the liquid crystal material, the second pretilt angle typically being greater than the first pretilt angle. The first and second alignment layers 30a, 32a of the TFT substrate 10 typically are rubbed in a first direction (indicated by the dotted arrows of FIGS. 1 and 2) to produce fine grooves in the first and second alignment layers 30a, 32a which are disposed along the first direction. The first and second alignment layers 30b, 32b of the color filter substrate 20 typically are rubbed in a second direction (indicated by the solid arrows of FIGS. 1 and 2) perpendicular to the first direction to produce fine grooves in the first and second alignment layers 30b, 32b of the color filter substrate 20 which are disposed along the second direction. To assemble the display, the TFT substrate 20 and the color filter substrate 20 are mounted in opposing relationship and aligned such that a portion of the TFT substrate 10 which is covered by the first alignment layer 30a is opposite a portion of the color filter substrate 20 which is covered by the second alignment layer 32b. Assuming the top of the page represents the top of the display, if the first and second directions are as indicated in FIG. 1, an "up-down" DDTN structure is provided which can produce a wider vertical viewing angle for the display. In contrast, if the first and second directions are as indicated in FIG. 2, a "left-right" DDTN structure is provided which can produce a wider horizontal viewing angle for the display.
The conventional DDTN structures described above can provide improved viewing angles over non-domain divided displays. However, the viewing angle improvement achieved is typically unbalanced, providing an increase viewing angle in only one direction.

Domain divided liquid crystal display panels having alternately rubbed pixel areas and methods of fabrication therefor


An optical scanning apparatus includes an optical box having a top surface that is constituted by a single lid. A first surface of the top surface is disposed closer to a rotary polygon mirror than a second surface and is disposed closer to a bottom surface of the optical box than an edge portion of a light deflector positioned farthest from the bottom surface. A third surface of a convex portion of the top surface is positioned farther from the bottom surface than the first surface. A lower edge portion of the convex portion is disposed outside a circumscribed circle of the rotary polygon mirror.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical scanning apparatus that includes a light deflector.
Description of the Related Art
As discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No 2013-114100, an image forming apparatus (e.g., a laser beam printer, a digital copying machine, or a digital FAX) can be configured to include an optical scanning apparatus that can perform optical writing with a laser beam. Many of the optical scanning apparatuses include an optical box that supports a plurality of optical components, including a light deflector. The optical box includes an aperture through which the laser beam can pass.
According to the configuration discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-114100, there will be a possibility that toner particles, paper powder, and aerial dust may enter the optical box via a through-hole of the optical box or a clearance between the optical box and a lid. If a polygon mirror serving as the light deflector rotates at a higher speed in this case, fine particles will adhere to an edge portion of each reflection surface in a main scanning direction. FIG. 8 illustrates a polygon mirror to which fine particles have adhered. When the polygon mirror 4 rotates in a clockwise (CW) direction (seen from the above) indicated by an arrow A, a negative pressure is generated on the left side of each reflection surface 12 and therefore fine particles are dragged toward the left side. As a result, the fine particles adhere to a range Y1. Further, a positive pressure is generated on the right side of each reflection surface 12 and fine particles are struck onto the reflection surface 12. As a result, the fine particles adhere to a range Y2. In FIGS. 8, H1 and H2 indicate deflection positions of a laser beam concentrated on the reflection surface of the polygon mirror toward a sub scanning direction. The deflection position shifts from the position H1 to the position H2 when the polygon mirror rotates. The light beam deflected in the vicinity of the position H1 forms an image in the vicinity of a writing start point of an image region. The light beam deflected in the vicinity of the position H2 forms an image in the vicinity of a writing finish point of the image region. Therefore, the fine particles having adhered to the range Y1 undesirably reduces the quantity of light in the vicinity of the writing start point of the image region. The fine particles having adhered to the range Y2 reduces the quantity of light in the vicinity of the writing finish point of the image region. The reduction in reflection rate at both edge portions of each reflection surface 12 causes a significant amount of unevenness in the image density.


In an approach for processing a circuit design by a programmed processor, a placed circuit design that has been placed on programmable resources of a programmable integrated circuit (IC) is input. A critical path is determined from a first sequential element to a second sequential element assigned to the placed circuit design. A first clock buffer that provides a clock signal to the first and second sequential elements is determined, and an unused clock buffer is selected based on proximity to the first sequential element. The circuit design is modified to include the unused clock buffer as a second clock buffer coupled to receive a clock signal in parallel with the first clock buffer and to provide a clock signal to the first sequential element.

Creating circuit designs targeted to programmable integrated circuits can be challenging because of aggressive timing requirements imposed by applications. A designer may use certain software tools early in the design process, such as before a design has been mapped, placed, or placed and routed, to identify and remedy potential timing problems. Timing problems may be easier to fix if identified early rather than late in the design implementation flow. If timing issues persist after a design has been mapped, placed, or placed and routed, changing the design to achieve timing goals becomes much more difficult.

Selective addition of clock buffers to a circuit design


A bait fish-holding type fishing lure having a lure body in the form of a turbine member mounted rotatably on a longitudinally-extending axle member is arranged for securement at its front end to a fishing line, the lure body turbine member formed as a substantially hollow headcap member which mounts a rearwardly-projecting bait fish body support rod arranged to support and secure a bait fish during operation of the fishing lure, the lure body turbine member including at least one peripheral, outwardly projecting, longitudinally curved turbine fin member arranged to cause rotation of the lure body and supported bait fish on a substantially consistent and steady axis of rotation on the supporting axle member upon relative movement of the lure and surrounding water during fishing operations.

This invention relates generally to fishing lures and more particularly to fishing lures arranged to hold a dead bait fish during fishing operations for attracting fish to be caught.
As is well understood by those involved in the sport fishing art, a key to success in catching fish, irrespective of the type of fishing being conducted, is the ability to attract a target fish to the proximity of the fishhook and induce the fish into biting and impaling itself on the fishhook attached to the line of the fishing pole. The fishing lure art in this regard is voluminous and replete with lures of every description arranged for the purpose of attracting the attention of fish to be caught. In most cases, lures are designed to attract the attention of fish through distinctive shapes and bright coloration, etc. usually in combination with the provision of natural and artificial bait materials, etc. placed on a fishing hook.
In this, as is also well known in the art, since many if not most types of game fish are instinctively predatory in nature and feed on smaller fish that they come across, a variety of bait fish-holding type lures have been provided heretofore that are specifically arranged to secure a substantially whole bait fish to the end of a fishing line for the impaling of a larger, target fish on a fishhook associated with the lure when the target fish strikes at the bait fish. Such lures are used in trolling, plunking, casting, stream and river current fishing, and other types of fishing in which there is a constant relative movement of the lure and surrounding water, either by the dragging of the lure through the water by trolling from a boat or through the use of the reel mechanism associated with a fishing pole, or by current movement of the water passing the lure as in stream and river current situations. It is these types of bait fish-holding lures and types of fishing to which the present invention relates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,232 to Horton, et al. discloses a bait fish-holding fishing lure believed to illustrate the closest prior art bearing upon the present invention. In this, Horton provides a fishing lure having a hollow head cap end arranged to receive the head portion of a selected bait fish, the lure including a downwardly angled impaling rod fixedly secured to and projecting rearwardly from the hollow head cap. A tie line eyelet and hook line eyelet is fixedly embedded in the head cap for connection to a fish line and hook line respectively. A spoonbill type foil member is secured on the forward end portion of the head cap in order to specifically induce a wobbling movement of the lure through the water while retaining the lure and bait fish in an upright condition as is typical as spoonbill or foil-type lures in operation. This arrangement is disclosed to provide a substantially upright, wobbling movement of the bait fish lure during operation.
Another bait fish lure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,552 to Hawkins which utilizes a specially-configured spoonbill foil structure protruding forwardly of the lure body arranged to replicate a natural swimming motion in operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,785 to Faulkner, et al. provides a bait fish-holding lure construction having side fin members arranged to create a stable and upright orientation of the bait fish with a lateral, side-to-side motion through the water during fishing operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,023 to Ryder, et al. also teaches a bait fish-holding type lure arranged to orient the bait fish in upright condition and deflect water during operation to create a lateral motion of the lure through the water, by provision of a bill structure protruding forwardly of the head cap member of the lure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,971 to Frair also teaches a bait fish-holding type lure having a body arranged to substantially encase and hold a fish so as to leave only the tail portion exposed, the body of the lure utilizing a pivotally mounted fin member arranged to oscillate back and forth in a swimming motion and cause the body of the lure to oscillate as it is drawn through the water and thereby tend to simulate a swimming motion to attract predator fish during operation.
From the foregoing it can therefore be seen that many various different constructions and structural arrangements have been provided heretofore to produce bait fish-holding type lures that provide different, selected intended movements when drawn through the water in order to attract predator target fish to strike.


Provided is a liquid-crystal display device including a display panel, a backlight module, and a fingerprint identification module. The display panel includes a display region. The display region includes a first display region and a second display region. The second display region also serves as a light sensing element region. The backlight module is configured to provide a backlight for the display panel and is provided with a via penetrating through the backlight module. The fingerprint identification module is disposed inside the via and includes a fingerprint identification sensor, a light plate, and a quantum dot film. The light plate is disposed between the fingerprint identification sensor and the quantum dot film. The quantum dot film is disposed between the light plate and the display panel. The quantum dot film includes at least one quantum dot set. The at least one quantum dot set includes infrared quantum dots.

A fingerprint of anybody is inherent and unique. With the development of science and technology, various display devices having the function of fingerprint identification appear on the market. Such devices include mobile phones, tablet computers, and smart wearable equipment. In this case, a user can undergo permission validation by using a finger to simply touch a fingerprint identification unit of a display device having a fingerprint recognition function before operating this device. This simplifies the process of permission validation.
The fingerprint is composed of a series of ridges and valleys on the skin surface of a fingertip. The intensity of the light reflected by the ridges and received by the fingerprint identification unit is different from the intensity of the light reflected by the valleys and received by the fingerprint identification unit. Accordingly, the magnitude of the current/voltage signal converted from the reflected light formed at the ridges is different from the magnitude of the current/voltage signal converted from the reflected light formed at the valleys. Thus, fingerprint identification may be performed according to the magnitudes of the current/voltage signals.
To perform fingerprint identification, an infrared emitter is disposed in a liquid-crystal display device. The infrared light emitted from the infrared emitter is projected into a fingerprint identification region. After reflected by a finger, the infrared light is reflected to an infrared receiver for fingerprint identification. In this case, with an aim of matching the transmission of infrared light, a new material that enables the infrared light to pass through is required for forming elements in a backlight module, for example, a brightness enhancement, a diffusion sheet, and a reflection sheet. On one hand, the cost is increased. On the other hand, the new material that enables the infrared light to pass through reduces the light-emitting luminance of the backlight module.

WUHAN TIANMA MICRO-ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A method of deleting a plurality of records in a log-structured merge (LSM) tree based storage system during a merge operation that writes data from a memory storage to an extent, includes receiving a command to delete a plurality of records, inserting a range tombstone into the memory storage component of the storage system, the range tombstone indicating the plurality of records to be deleted, selecting one or more delayed deletion processes based at least in part on whether the plurality of records is contiguous beyond a predetermined threshold amount, modifying a manifest of the storage system based on the selected delayed deletion process, and performing the merge operation, wherein the plurality of records is not written to the extent during the flush operation based at least in part on the delayed deletion process.

Data structures are organizations of data that provide a variety of ways to interact with the data stored therein. Data structures can be designed for various purposes, for example, to facilitate efficient searches of the data, such as in a binary search tree, to permit efficient storage of sparse data, such as with a linked list, or to provide efficient storage of searchable data such as with a B-tree.
Data structures that utilize a key-value paradigm accept a key-value pair and are configured to respond to queries for the key. Key-value data structures may include such structures as dictionaries (e.g., maps, hash maps, etc.) in which the key is stored in a list that links (or contains) the respective value. While these structures are useful in-memory (e.g., in main or system state memory as opposed to storage), storage representations of these structures in persistent storage (e.g., on-disk) may be inefficient. Accordingly, a class of log-based storage structures have been introduced. One example is the log structured merge tree (LSM tree).
An LSM tree database may consist of one or more disk-resident immutable layers ("extents") in addition to a mutable memory-resident memory layer. When reading from an LSM tree, a reader may read and merge results from all layers. Corresponding index entries are added to the mutable memory-resident layer when a new record is indexed.
Transactions in an LSM tree database are stored as immutable versions of given records. Immutable versions of contents of records already stored on the system may remain unchanged until the contents are deleted (if ever) from the system. That is, a received transaction may create a new version of the contents of the record to be stored in the system, instead of altering the contents of the record. Thus, it may be possible for multiple versions of a record (e.g., records having different contents) to have identical keys except for transaction identifiers (e.g., which may include transaction numbers).

System and method for bulk removal of records in a database


A delay locked loop circuit for compensating for a phase skew of a memory device includes a first delay locking unit configured to delay an external clock of the memory device by a first amount of delay to output a first internal clock, a second locking unit configured to delay the external clock by a second amount of delay to output a second internal clock, the second amount of delay being greater than the first amount of delay, and a selecting unit configured to select one of the first internal clock and the second internal clock as an internal clock of the memory device.

The present invention relates to a delay locked loop (DLL) circuit.
A DLL circuit is a circuit to control a timing of data output from a synchronous memory device by using an external clock signal.
In order to transfer output data of the memory device to a chipset without error, the memory device and the chipset should operate in synchronization with a clock signal. However, a phase difference occurs between an external clock and an internal clock because the external clock input to the memory device is delayed by internal circuits. A DLL circuit eliminates a phase difference between output data of the memory device and the external clock by compensating for clock skew occurring due to internal circuits.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional DLL circuit.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional DLL circuit includes a phase comparator 103, a delay line 105, a delay controller 107, and a replica model 109.
The phase comparator 103 compares the phase of an external clock EXT_CLK with the phase of a feedback clock FB, which is fed back from the replica model 109, to detect the phase difference between the two clocks. The phase comparator 103 generates a control signal according to the detected phase difference. The delay controller 107 is implemented with a shift register, and determines amount of delay, that is, a shift direction and a shift amount of the external clock EXT_CLK, based on the detected phase difference, to control the delay line 105 according to the determined amount of delay. The external clock EXT_CLK input to the delay line 105 is delayed according to the amount of delay determined by the delay controller 107. The replica model 109 includes modeled clock delay components of the internal paths of the memory device. The replica model 109 delays the external clock EXT_CLK delayed by the delay line 105 according to the modeling of the replica model 109, and outputs the feedback clock FB to the phase comparator 103.
Through the above procedures, the external clock EXT_CLK is delayed by the delay line 105 and output as the feedback clock FB by the replica model 109. A phase of the feedback clock FB coincides with that of the external clock EXT_CLK. This is called a delay locking.
The amount of delay of the delay line 105, which is determined by the delay controller 107, is expressed as the following Equation 1.DD=N×TEXT−DFB   Eq. 1where DD is the amount of delay of the delay line 105, that is, the amount of delay of the external clock EXT_CLK, TEXT is the period of the external clock EXT_CLK, DFB is the amount of delay of the feedback clock FB output from the replica model 109, and N is an integer determined according to design.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating the amount of delay DD determined by a delay controller 107 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, when the period TEXT of the external clock EXT_CLK is 5; N is 1; and the amount of delay DFB of the feedback clock FB output from the replica model 109 is 3, the amount of delay DD of the delay line 105 is 2. That is, the external clock EXT_CLK delayed by the amount of delay DD of the delay line 105 is output as the feedback clock FB through the replica model 109, and the phase of the feedback clock FB coincides with the phase of the external clock EXT_CLK. At this point, the amount of delay DD is locked.
According to the related art, the amount of delay DFB of the feedback clock FB output from the replica model 109 is influenced by a variety of factors, for example, a variation of a power source. If the amount of delay DFB of the feedback clock FB output from the replica model 109 increases, it becomes greater than the fixed value "N×TEXT" of Equation 1 and thus the locking may not be achieved.
To solve the above problem, the value of N should be increased. However, if the value of N is increased, the amount of delay DD of the delay line 105 also increases. Thus, a locking time increases and jitters are generated.


A method for producing hemostasis of an artery of a patient having a puncture following arterial catheterization including introducing a hemostasis device including at least one electrode into the vicinity of the puncture, supplying an electric current to the at least one electrode, thereby heating blood in the vicinity of the puncture and causing coagulation of the blood and subsequently removing the hemostasis device from the patient.

Various techniques are known for arterial catheterization. Following arterial catheterization, it is necessary to promote hemostasis quickly and without undue hardship for the patient.
Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,728,134 and 6,048,358, and Published PCT Patent Applications WO 98/11830 and WO 00/02488 describe methods and apparatus for hemostasis that greatly simplifies hemostasis and thus greatly reduces patient discomfort following arterial catheterization. These patent documents, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference, and the prior art referenced therein are considered to represent the state of the art.

Methods and apparatus for hemostasis following arterial catheterization


A method or data processing system readable medium can be used for communications between a user and a network site. The method or medium may allow a user to determine what, if any, personal information should be transmitted to the network site. In one embodiment, the user may request personalization information including personalization rule(s) from the network site. The user can generate personalization logic based on the personalization information. In this manner, the user has better control over his or her personal information. The server computer at the network site may benefit because it does not have to generate the personalization logic for the user. Accordingly, the server computer at the network site may be able to accommodate more users or can respond to them faster.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to methods and data processing system readable media, and more particularly, to methods of communicating between a user and a network site and data processing system readable media for carrying out those methods.
2. Description of the Related Art
When using the internet to access information, a user may, knowingly or unknowingly, be sending personal data regarding himself or herself to a website. This information may be in the form of cookies, preferences, or profile data files. The server may extract the personal data from the cookies, preferences, or profile data files to be used with personalization rules that are part of the personalization logic used at a website. That personal information may be used in constructing a page to be sent to the user. Server resources are consumed in preparing the personalization logic to be executed. This may limit the number of users that can access the website, slow response times of the website, or require more computer-related resources to maintain service levels compared to a system where personalization was not used.
The user may have concerns with the transmission or use of his or her personal information. Cookies may be placed on the user's computer by the website during a prior visit.
However, the user may not wish to have the information within that cookie used during a subsequent visit to the website because a user profile may be generated by the website over a period of visits.
Preferences may be set by the user for the computer's operation, for a browser application, or a combination thereof. Some of the preference information may be sensitive to some users. Other information within the preferences may not be sensitive when examined in isolation (one preference by itself). However, when taken in aggregate (all preferences), the likelihood of identifying a user may be more likely due to a "unique" combination of a large number of preferences that a user may specify. Profile data file(s) may be generated by the user or by a third party. The profile data file(s) may be transmitted when using the browser.
As an alternative, the user may use third-party anonymizing services so that the server computer for a website would be less likely to identify the user. These services are not a guarantee that personal information of the user will not be sent to another party. More particularly, the anonymizing service may accidentally send information that it is not to be disclosed to others. Additionally, some third-party services may consider selling customer information in an effort to raise funds or may be required to sell the confidential customer information by a trustee in bankruptcy. Therefore, the user relies on another party outside its control to manage personal information of the user.
A need exists for allowing personalization without using any more server resources than is needed. A need also exists for a user to determine what personal information is being sent to a network site in order to obtain information from that network site.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A first command is received from a virtual or physical host associated with a storage system which includes two or more hosts. The first command comprises one or more physical request page (PRP) entries associated with the non-volatile memory express (NVMe) standard. The one or more PRP entries are modified with an indication of the virtual or physical host. A second command is sent with the modified one or more PRP entries to a solid state drive (SSD). A memory request is received from the SSD, where the memory request comprises the modified one or more PRP entries. The memory request is routed to the virtual or physical host based on the indication of the virtual or physical host in the modified one or more PRP entries.

PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe or PCI Express, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard. PCI Express operates as a motherboard-level interconnect between a host and peripheral components such as attached solid state drives (SSD). Non-Volatile Memory Express, also known as NVMe or NVM Express, is used to manage data stored on the SSDs by providing a command set for SSD access. The host sends NVMe commands to the SSDs to store and retrieve data from the SSDs. The commands utilize Physical Region Pages (PRP) entries to denote buffer locations in host memory. A PRP entry takes the form of a data pointer to data or a list pointer to a list of data pointers similar to a linked list. The SSD, while executing the command, may request data movement associated with a PRP entry such as a PCIe memory read request. When a single host is associated with the SSDs, routing of the PCIe memory read request is straightforward. The PCIe memory read request is sent to the single host. When two or more hosts such as physical hosts and/or virtual hosts are associated with the SSDs, routing the PCIe memory read request becomes more complex. The PRP entry provides no indication of which host of the two or more hosts is associated with PRP entry which would otherwise facilitate routing to that host.

Modifying NVMe physical region page list pointers and data pointers to facilitate routing of PCIe memory requests


The embodiments of the application relate to a resource scheduling method, a terminal device and a network device. The method includes that: a first terminal device receives indication information and resource grant information from a network device, the resource grant information being to indicate a granted resource allocated to the first terminal device by the network device and the indication information being to indicate that the granted resource is configured to transmit data born on a target logical channel; and the first terminal device transmits the data born on the target logical channel to a second terminal device through the granted resource according to the indication information and the resource grant information. According to the resource scheduling method, terminal device and network device of the embodiments of the application, flexible configuration of a transmission resource for a terminal device in a special application scenario may be implemented.

Internet of vehicles system is a Sidelink (SL) transmission technology based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) Device to Device (D2D). Unlike a conventional LTE system which receives or sends communication data through a base station, an Internet of vehicles system adopts D2D communication and thus is higher in spectrum efficiency and lower in transmission delay.
In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 14 (Rel-14), a Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) technology is standardized, and two transmission modes are defined: mode 3 and mode 4. In the mode 3, a transmission resource of Vehicle User Equipment (VUE) is allocated by a base station, and the VUE performs data transmission with other VUE on an SL according to the resource allocated by the base station. Moreover, a resource for single transmission may be allocated by the base station to the VUE and a resource for semi-persistent transmission may be also allocated to the VUE.
For a Carrier Aggregation (CA) scenario, a terminal device supports data duplication. A duplicated Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is transmitted through a data duplication function of PDCP to two Radio Link Control (RLC) entities, namely corresponding to two different logical channels, and it is finally ensured that the duplicated PDCP PDU may be transmitted on different physical aggregated carriers, thereby achieving a frequency diversity gain to improve reliability of data transmission.
In addition, a terminal device may transmit some specific services through short Transmission Time Intervals (sTTIs). For example, the sTTI may be 0.5 ms, which indicates that the terminal device adopts a 0.5 ms resource for transmission. Compared with a conventional 1 ms resource, the granularity of 0.5 ms resource improves delay performance.
However, for the CA scenario or a scenario where service data is transmitted through an sTTI, a process that a base station configures a transmission resource is not defined in a conventional art.

Resource scheduling method, terminal device, and network device

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


A method of controlling a plasma in a nuclear fusion reactor. The nuclear fusion reactor comprises sensors and plasma control inputs. An initial control model is provided, relating readings of at least a subset of the sensors to control of the plasma control inputs. A control loop is performed, comprising: operating the plasma control inputs in dependence upon the sensors according to the control model; determining correlations between readings of each of the sensors, and/or between readings of the sensors and states of the plasma control inputs; and adjusting the control model based on the determined correlations.

The design and operation of magnetic confinement devices for plasma (e.g. tokamaks) is a well understood field. However, when the plasma vessels are to be used as part of a fusion reactor, several additional complexities are introduced.
Firstly, in order to obtain the high plasma temperatures, densities, and confinement required for fusion, many complex systems and processes must be integrated. These processes and systems often have conflicting requirements (e.g. the desire to have the poloidal field coils used for plasma startup close to the plasma to increase the field achieved vs the desire to move components away from the plasma to reduce damage and contamination). This means that there is no universally optimal solution, but some solutions can still be better or worse than others, so design is often a matter of finding the "local maxima" which correspond to the desired outcome. The effort required to design a fusion reactor means that a skilled team of designers can only explore a small subset of the possible solutions.
Secondly, a fusion reactor is a much more hostile environment than an experimental non-fusion plasma chamber. The neutrons emitted by the fusing plasma will gradually degrade components such as sensors and cause them to fail and become inaccurate. Even working sensors will experience significant noise due to the neutron flux. In particular, the sensors used for plasma control tend to be sensitive, close to the plasma, and fragile in comparison to other sensors used to monitor the reactor (e.g. structural sensors to monitor stresses, or temperature sensors in the superconducting magnets). Some sensors (e.g. magnetic probes) record the time derivative of the desired signal, so their output must be integrated. This means that the errors in such sensors build up significantly over the pulse times which are relevant for fusion reactor operation.


A therapeutic gait harness worn by a patient includes a padded thoracic harness that substantially encircles the patient's waist and which includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced hand holds and clamp-engageable rings that facilitate lifting, holding, manipulation and guidance of a patient who requires help in sitting, standing, or walking. An adjustable belt spans the gap between the opposing ends of the thoracic harness and is used to comfortably tighten the thoracic harness about the wearer's waist. A pelvic support harness depends from the thoracic harness and is detachably secured to the thoracic harness by an elongate zipper. A pair of flat leg straps depend from the pelvic support harness and terminate in thigh straps. Hook and loop fasteners are employed to comfortably secure the thigh straps to the wearer's thighs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to mechanical prosthetic and therapeutic aids employed by physical and occupational therapists when administering standing and walking therapies to disabled, infirm, or geriatric patients. More particularly, it relates to an assistive device used by care-givers to lift, transport, and support individuals in their care.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a number of harnesses worn by patients that are of general assistance to care-givers. However, there are no known all-in-one harnesses that help a patient sit up from a reclining position, help a patient stand from a sitting position, help a patient walk, help a patient sit down from a standing position, and help a patient lie down from a sitting position. Moreover, there are no known harnesses that enable a care giver to hold the harness in such a way as to guide and stabilize the patient in a way that is comfortable to the patient and the care giver, nor are there any known harneses that can be releasably engaged by mechanical clamps or the like to further assist the care giver. Nor was it known heretofore how to provide a padded thoracic harness and an unpadded pelvic support harness including thigh straps all in one harness, and how to make the two harnesses separable from one another.
In view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the needed therapeutic gait harness and pelvic support system could be provided.

Therapeutic gait harness and pelvic support system


Optical systems for use with reflective LCDs (8,9,32,34,36) are provided. The systems include a polarization beam splitter (5) which can be composed of polarization beam splitting cubes (26) having sheet polarizers (30) and/or half wave plates (28) at their mating surfaces. By orienting the half wave plates (28) so that they convert S polarization to P polarization and P polarization to S polarization, the polarization beam splitter (5) can provide a high contrast ratio at a viewing screen between light from the xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d pixels of the reflective LCDs (8,9,32,34,36).

This invention relates to projection optical devices which employ reflective LCD""s.
FIG. 1 is an on-axis layout of a prior art projection system employing three reflective LCD panels, i.e., LCD 10 for red light, LCD 12 for green light, and LCD 14 for blue light. Light form a source 16 is polarized by a conventional polarization beam splitting cube 18 and the S-component of the light (shown by a continuous line in this and all other figures) is reflected towards color cube 20 and the LCD""s. The color cube separates light into the red, green, and blue primary colors.
Light reflected from the xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d pixels of the LCDs has P-polarization (shown by a broken line in this and all other figures) and thus passes through the diagonal of the polarization beam splitting cube (PBS cube) to projection lens 22 to create an image on a screen (not shown). Light reflected from xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d pixels has S-polarization, which reflects from the diagonal of the PBS cube and thus does not pass into the screen space.
Although the design of FIG. 1 has a compact architecture, it suffers from a number of fundamental drawbacks, including: (1) P-polarization from the source is completely lost; (2) the contrast of the system is limited by the polarization properties of the diagonal of the PBS cube, which properties tend to be poor for the f-numbers typically required for commercial projectors; and (3) the color cube needs to work with both S and P polarization for all three colors, which leads to low efficiency of color separation/recombination.
In particular, the slope of a dichroic cut-off filter is always less than 100% so that to avoid undesired color mixing, some light on the borders between blue and green and between green and red must be intentionally cut off and thus lost. Moreover, the amount of light cut off must take account of the fact that the slope and cut-off wavelength of a dichroic filter depend on polarization and angle of incidence. As a result of these effects, substantial light loss can occur when all three LCDs are located in the same polarization channel and a single color cube is used to split and recombine the three primary light colors.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-253922 illustrates a variation of the system of FIG. 1 which uses two dichroic prisms instead of a single color cube. Although better than the basic system, the approach of this patent publication is mechanically complex and can exhibit reduced contrast through its reliance on a single polarization beam splitting cube having only one polarizing diagonal.
Another known configuration is that developed by S-VISION Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. See Bone et al., xe2x80x9cNovel Optical System Design for Reflective CMOS Technology,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of SPIE, Volume 3634, pages 80-86, 1999. This approach uses off-axis optics, two color cubes, and two film polarizers (one as a polarizer and the other as an analyzer) to enhance contrast. Each color cube works with one polarization, which increases the efficiency of color separation/recombination. The problems here include: (1) the cost of two color cubes; (2) loss of the second polarization from the light source; and (3) the complexity and expense of off-axis optics.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide improved optical systems for use with reflective LCD""s. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide optical systems which have some and preferably all of the following properties: (1) the system is mechanically simple and compact, (2) the system minimizes the use of expensive optical components, (3) the system uses at least some of the light of each polarization, and (4) the system achieves a high level of contrast.
To achieve these and other objects, the invention in accordance with certain of its aspects provides a unitary polarization beam splitter having first, second, third, and fourth sides and two polarizing diagonals, said diagonals intersecting at right angles, said splitter being symmetric about each diagonal (i.e., the splitter has mirror symmetry about each diagonal), wherein light having S polarization primarily reflects from each diagonal and light having P polarization primarily transmits through each diagonal.
In certain preferred embodiments, the unitary splitter comprises four polarization beam splitting cubes, each cube adjoining two other cubes along two faces to form the overall polarization beam splitter. In some embodiments, the cubes are all of the same size, while in other embodiments, two of the cubes have a first size and two of the cubes have a second size.
Half wave plates and/or sheet polarizers can be located between adjoining faces of the polarization beam splitting cubes. Zero, two or four half wave plates and zero, two, or four sheet polarizers can be used in any combination as desired. The sheet polarizers improve contrast. The half wave plates can be used to compensate for skew ray polarization leakage or can be used to improve contrast in which case each half wave plate is oriented so as to convert S polarized light to P polarized light and P polarized light to S polarized light.
In accordance with others of its aspects, the invention provides an optical system which comprises a polarization beam splitter of the type described above, a light source for providing light to a portion of the first side of the splitter, a projection lens for receiving light passing out of a portion of the second side of the splitter, said second side being opposite to the first side, and at least a first reflective, polarization converting, pixelized panel and a second reflective, polarization converting, pixelized panel, each panel serving to modulate light passing from the light source to the projection lens. In certain preferred embodiments, one or both of the pixelized panels are associated with sides of the splitter different from the sides of the splitter with which the light source and the projection lens are associated.
In accordance with further of its aspects, the invention provides a method for improving the contrast of a projection system employing at least one reflective, polarization converting, pixelized panel comprising passing light from a light source to the pixelized panel, modulating the light at the pixelized panel, and passing the modulated light to a projection lens, wherein:
(a) between the light source and the projection lens, at least some of the light passes through two half wave plates oriented so as to transform S polarized light to P polarized light and P polarized light to S polarized light;
(b) between the light source and the pixelized panel, the light interacts with two polarization diagonals, the light having S polarization for one of said interactions and having P polarization for the other of said interactions; and
(c) between the pixelized panel and the projection lens, the light interacts with two polarization diagonals, the light having S polarization for one of said interactions and having P polarization for the other of said interactions;
where an interaction with a polarization diagonal involves:
(i) primarily transmission through the diagonal if the light has P polarization; and
(ii) primarily reflection from the diagonal if the light has S polarization.
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of these aspects, the invention provides a method for improving the contrast of a projection system employing at least two reflective, polarization converting, pixelized panels comprising passing light from a light source to the two pixelized panels, modulating the light at the two pixelized panels, and passing the modulated light to a projection lens, wherein:
(a) between the light source and the projection lens, a first portion of the light passes through first and second half wave plates and a second portion of the light passes through third and fourth half wave plates, each half wave plate being oriented so as to transform S polarized light to P polarized light and P polarized light to S polarized light;
(b) between the light source and each of the two pixelized panels, the light interacts with two polarization diagonals, the light having S polarization for one of said interactions and having P polarization for the other of said interactions; and
(c) between each of the two pixelized panels and the projection lens, the light interacts with two polarization diagonals, the light having S polarization for one of said interactions and having P polarization for the other of said interactions;
where an interaction with a polarization diagonal involves:
(i) primarily transmission through the diagonal if the light has P polarization; and
(ii) primarily reflection from the diagonal if the light has S polarization.
In accordance with still further of its aspects, the invention provides an optical system comprising:
(a) a polarization beam splitter for producing two beams of polarized light;
(b) a dichroic prism which receives one of said beams;
(c) an optical path length compensator which receives the other of said beams; and
(d) at least one light filter associated with the optical path length compensator.
In certain embodiments, the at least one light filter comprises two light filters on opposite sides of the compensator, one being a short pass filter, i.e., a filter which passes shorter wavelengths, and the other being a long pass filter, i.e., a filter which passes longer wavelengths.
As discussed below in detail, the invention achieves various benefits including cost reduction through the use of lower cost dichroics and/or filters for color separation, brightness enhancement through at least partial and, in some embodiments, complete polarization recovery, and high contrast between xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d pixels in the light transmitted to the viewing screen.


Systems, methods, and computer readable media for implementing reentrant compositing window manager applications are described. In general, techniques are disclosed for using a second application to composite portions of hierarchically structured objects and the window manager to composite certain other portions of the same object. More particularly, a window manager application may be used to composite objects of a first type (e.g., application backing store bitmaps) and then call or invoke a second application to composite objects of a second type (e.g., hierarchically structured objects). The second type of object includes information (e.g., a reference) of the composite window manager's output buffer at the time the second application was invoked. This knowledge may be used by the second application to call back into the window manager in a manner that permits the generation of unique visual effects without violating modern memory management scriptures regarding the separation of application memory spaces.

This disclosure relates generally to the field of computer graphics. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this disclosure describes reentrant window server software.
A compositing window manager is software that draws a graphical user interface on a computer display—it positions windows, draws additional elements on windows (e.g., borders and title bars), and controls how windows interact with each other and with the rest of the desktop environment. In operation, a compositing window manager provides each application off-screen memory for window memory and composites these windows/buffers into designated memory (e.g., an assembly buffer), the contents of which represent the screen or desktop environment. Because compositing window mangers have access to all application window memory, they may also perform additional processing such as, applying two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) animated effects such as blending, fading, scaling, rotation, duplication, bending and contortion, shuffling, blurring, redirecting applications, and translating windows into one of a number of displays and virtual desktops.
Referring to FIG. 1, prior art composite window manager 100 uses window server application 105 to composite application window buffer memory 110, 115, and 120 into assembly buffer 125 in a back-to-front order (i.e., 110→115→120) such that later drawn windows (e.g., window 120) may wholly or partially occlude, such as through transparency, prior composited windows (e.g., windows 110 and 115). The centralized nature of composite window manager 100 and modern system design in which each application is allocated its own distinct and non-shared memory space, inhibits run-time applications from generating visual effects based on prior composited window memory. While window server 105 can account for prior composited content when generating a graphic effect (e.g., a blur or reflection), applications themselves cannot. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism by which individual applications can take into account the effect of prior composited window memory without disturbing (or violating) modern memory management schemes.


A portable, roll-able or fold-able mat for supporting one or more individuals includes a non-inflatable, buoyant core. The core includes buoyancy sufficient to support the one or more individuals on a surface of the mat. The core includes at least one layer of foam and a non-foam layer connected with at least one surface of the layer of foam.

Every year there are numerous occurrences of people or animals trying to cross a frozen river or pond and falling through the ice into the water below. Because hypothermia develops very quickly, there is a need to rescue individuals without delay. Additionally, there are numerous occurrences of people or animals getting stuck in swamps, mud created by flooding, and other similar situations. In each of these situations, rescuers have limited time to bring the people or animals to safety and they often imperil their own safety in an attempt to rescue the distressed victim.


An alarm system is disclosed for detecting and signaling that a human or an animal is in an enclosed space such as a motor vehicle which includes a monitoring device for monitoring temperature in an enclosed space. The monitoring device may specify a minimum and/or maximum temperature, or a range of temperatures in the enclosed space. A detection device detects the presence of a human or animal in the enclosed space when an unacceptable temperature is reached. In the system disclosed, the human or animal is unable to exit the enclosed space, and a signaling device is used to communicate a signal to a receiver outside the enclosed space indicating the presence of the human or the animal in the enclosed space.

A person or animal can be seriously injured or die when left in an enclosed space, such as a vehicle, for a prolonged period of time. The person may be unable to exit the vehicle due to a physical constraint, for example, a handicap. The person may also be a child or infant still strapped into a car seat or merely remaining in a closed or locked vehicle. Injury or death may occur, for example, from exposure to extreme temperatures that develop in a closed motor vehicle. A high temperature can cause a person or animal in the closed motor vehicle to suffer dehydration or heat exhaustion and ultimately death. Similarly, extreme cold temperatures for a prolonged period of time can cause injury to a person or animal left unattended in a motor vehicle.
Typical automobile alarm systems protect an automobile from vandalism and burglary by sounding an alarm when a locked automobile door is opened without a key, a window is broken, or the car is moved, e.g., motion detection. These types of alarm systems do not detect the presence of a person or animal in the automobile in which they are unable to exit the automobile and the driver of the vehicle has left. Other safety devices for children and infants such as car seats are designed to reduce injury in an accident, but are not directed to a child being inadvertently left in a closed or locked automobile.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method and apparatus for detecting the presence of a person or animal within a confined space such as an automobile.


An evenly elastically deformable damper for speaker is disclosed to include a damper body of a plain weave fabric having elastic warp wires and weft wires intercrossed in X and Y directions and a center through hole cut through the top and bottom surfaces and bonded to a voice coil, a plurality of reinforcing patches stitched to the damper body in a crossed manner around the center through hole of the damper body to secure lead wires to the damper body and formed of a plain weave fabric having elastic warp wires and weft wires intercrossed in direction A and direction B at about 45° relative to X and Y directions to keep the damper body in balance and to prevent damage of the lead wires when vibrated with the voice coil.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speaker and more particularly, to an evenly elastically deformable damper for speaker, which keeps in balance when vibrated with the voice coil, preventing damage of the lead wires.
2. Description of the Related Art
Speaker, or loudspeaker is an electromechanical device that converts an electrical signal into sound. The term loudspeaker is used for both individual devices (and for complete systems) consisting of one or more drivers in an enclosure, often with a crossover circuit. Technically, speaker is a well developed product. Under severe market competition, diversified speakers are available in the market to attract consumers. Sound quality is an important factor that must be taken into account in speaker design In a speaker, cone paper, damper, voice coil and bonding glue may affect sound quality.
A regular damper for speaker is an elastic fabric member made of cotton, linen cambric or nylon. In a spaker, the damper is provided between the speaker body and the voice coil. Further, the signal terminals at the speaker body are electrically connected to the voice coil through lead wires so that an external electrical signal can be applied to the voice coil through the signal terminals. The lead wires extend over the damper. During operation of the speaker, the sound waves thus produced cause a resonant action of the lead wires. This resonance problem may cause the lead wires to break, or the lead wires may be broken easily during dismounting of the speaker. If the lead wires are broken, an external electrical signal cannot be applied to the voice coil.
To avoid the aforesaid problem, the lead wires may be directly stitched to the surface of the damper, as shown in FIGS. 6˜8. As illustrated, the damper A is a plain weave fabric of elastic warp wires A1 and weft wires A2 shaped like a corrugated disk. During installation, each lead wire B is alternatively extending over the top and bottom surfaces of the damper A, and then the voice coil C is fastened to the center through hole A3 of the damper A and tightly secured thereto, and then the lead wires B are soldered to the respective copper foils (not shown) at the voice coil C. When an electrical signal is applied from a signal source (for example, DVD player) through an amplifier (which amplified the voltage) to the voice coil C, a magnetic field is created by the electric current in the voice coil C which thus becomes an electromagnet. The voice coil C and the driver's magnetic system D interact, generating a mechanical force which causes the voice coil C and the cone (not shown) to move back and forth and so reproduce sound under the control of the applied electrical signal coming from the amplifier. During operation of the voice coil C, the damper A is moved back and forth with the voice coil C. Because the damper A is a plain weave fabric of elastic warp wires A1 and weft wires A2, the elastic deformation of the damper A in X direction is equal to the elastic deformation of the damper A in Y direction, i.e., the damper is forced leftward and rightward in X-direction at the ratio of 1:1 and also forced upward and downward in Y-direction at the ratio of 1:1. Therefore, the stretching force applied to the damper A by the voice C in X-direction is equal to that in Y-direction. However, the damper A receives a different stretching force at 45° (direction A or direction B). As stated, the damper A is a plain weave fabric of elastic warp wires A1 and weft wires A2. If the stretching force applied to the elastic warp wires A1 and the weft wires A2 in X-direction and Y-direction is 1:1, the stretching force in direction A and direction B (about 45°) will be √2≈1.414, i.e., the stretching force applied to the damper A in directions X and Y and in directions A and B will be 1:1.414, resulting in an unbalanced deformation of the damper A (see FIGS. 6A and 6B). Unbalanced deformation of the damper A may cause the damper A to break, or result in an eccentric motion of the voice coil C (see FIGS. 7 and 8). The voice coil C may strike the driver's magnetic system D directly upon an eccentric motion, resulting in an abnormal vibration or damage, and lowering the sound quality of the speaker or shortening its service life.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a damper for speaker that eliminates the aforesaid problems.

Evenly elastically deformable damper for speaker


The present invention is related with a dual-band LC voltage controlled oscillator, which utilizes a substantial amount of feedback loop paths in the circuit. The circuit is a core of a substantial amount of communication ICs. The voltage controlled oscillator can provide wide-band or dual-band radio frequency generation, and it utilizes a switch controlled circuit to select one of the feedback loops in order to choose the assigned frequency band output. Generic wide-band or dual-band LC voltage controlled oscillations are obtained by switching parallel-connected capacitors or switching inductor array, in contrast, the present invention is used for switching several parallel connected feedback loops, each of which associated with an LC tank forms an oscillation frequency output. Utilizing the switch to control the feedback loop and integrating different band oscillator circuit is capable of saving chip's size and power consumption.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a dual-band voltage controlled oscillator and, in particular, to a dual-band voltage controlled oscillator utilizing the switched feedback loop technology.
2. Related Art
Due to rapid development in wireless communication systems, there is an increasing need for integrating multiple bands in communication system chips. Therefore, it is important in radio-frequency transceiving circuits to provide a dual-band oscillating source or an oscillator circuit with wide-band oscillating sources.
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of Colpitts voltage controlled oscillators in a dual-band circuit: one is the capacitor switched Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator, and the other is the inductor switched Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator.
FIG. 1 shows a capacitor switched Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator 100. It includes a first switch device 120, a second switch device 130, an inductor 170, a capacitor 160, a current source 190, a first N-type transistor 102, a second N-type transistor 103, a third N-type transistor 104, two capacitors 140, 150, and a variable capacitor 180.
When we change the capacitances of the capacitors 140, 150 in the resonance cavity, the oscillating frequency of the oscillator also changes accordingly. As we switch between the switch devices 120, 130 in the switching circuit 110, we obtain different equivalent capacitances, thereby obtaining different oscillating frequency bands. This enables the oscillator to work in the desired bands.
However, such a circuit design has a big flaw. That is, it is impossible to obtain optimized inductance and capacitance in the bands. For example, if the inductance and capacitance in the resonance circuit are designed for the resonance frequency in a higher band, the equivalent capacitance has to be increased in order to obtain a lower frequency. Therefore, a lot of parasite capacitors with fixed values have to used, resulting in the decrease in the tunable high-frequency band. This also increases the power consumption and lowers the quality factor Q (Q factor) of the resonance cavity at the same time.
FIG. 2 depicts an inductor switched Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator 200 with mainly the equivalent inductance inside the resonance cavity thereof. The inductor switched Colpitts voltage controlled oscillator 200 includes a switch device 220, another switch device 230, a first N-type transistor 201, a second N-type transistor 202, a third N-type transistor 203, two inductors 250, 240, a capacitor 260, a variable capacitor 280, and a current source 290. The basic design idea of this oscillator is to change the equivalent inductance using the switch devices. By switching between the switch device 220 and the switch device 230 of the switching circuit 210, different equivalent inductances can be obtained, thereby rendering different oscillating bands. This enables the oscillator to work in the desired bands.
However, the drawback of this circuit is that the inductor in the resonance cavity is the passive device with the worst Q factor. By connecting a switch device in series to the inductor will result in a parasite resistance in the switch device, affecting the overall Q factor. This seriously decreases the Q factor of the resonance cavity. The extra resistance and capacitance also increase the power consumption.
It is thus highly desirable to provide a wide-band voltage controlled oscillator that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

Dual-band voltage controlled oscillator utilizing switched feedback technology

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology


A sports device with runners, in particular an ice skate, includes an exchangeable adapter with which the composite sliding blade is equipped. The running sole has a profiled slide strip made of a resilient material and side faces are provided with a negative cutting angle. The adapter is connected releasably to the holder of the sports device. The contour profile, namely the curvature of the sliding face of the profiled slide strip, is defined by the geometry of the exchangeable adapter. The sliding blade is clipped onto the adapter using tongues provided on the free end of the sliding blade and the locking lugs or locking slits provided on the adapter. The sliding blade has a perforation, such that the lower part of the sliding blade can be torn off without tools when changing the sliding blade, and a new sliding blade can be clipped on.

Ice-skates of this type generally have a sliding blade which is connected to the shoe via a holder. A disadvantage with said conventional runner technology is that, in order to change the sliding blade profile, the sliding blades, which are generally composed of steel, have to be ground in a highly complex manner.
The runner technology which is known from EP 663 843 B1 and DE 10 2005 004 515 B3 and in which an interchangeable sliding blade, which is composed of plastic, is provided with a steel profiled sliding strip which is integrated therein, does not have this disadvantage per se. For perfect coordination of the sports device with runners to respective user conditions in terms of movement dynamics, this technology requires a multiplicity of different types of sliding blades which have to be produced in cost-intensive production processes and kept in stock. In addition, these sliding blades are in each case suitable only for ice-skates of a certain manufacturer.
A further disadvantage is that, in this technology, a special injection molding die is required for each shape of sliding blade. This results in high tool, production and user costs. In addition, extremely high plastics material and disposal costs arise, since sliding blades of this type have a large plastics mass.
Efficient and cost-effective mass production and favorable marketing of sports devices with runners designed in such a manner are therefore impossible. Not least, the production and selling of sports devices with runners of this type require a considerable outlay on logistics.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a sports device with runners, in particular an ice-skate, which does not have these disadvantages. As well as the advantages in terms of movement dynamics being maintained, the intention is especially to reduce the diversity of types in order to drastically reduce the production and therefore the labor costs without losing quality.


Soluble salt-free, contaminant-free antioxidant pigments which are cyanamide derivatives of metals, are provided in combination with organic resin polymers, as protective mirror backing coatings.

Mirrors are made by the successive application of various metals, preferably silver and copper films of between 800 angstroms and 1,500 angstroms in thickness on suitable substrates of glass or plastics such as polycarbonates, by wet chemical plating processes or vacuum metallizing, followed by a paint coating application, usually known as a mirror backing.
It is known that reflective silver layers on mirrors, even when protected by "backing" coatings are extremely sensitive to corrosive decomposition when exposed to moisture, contaminants in the atmosphere, salt, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and chlorides, which are present in domestic environments. It is also known that zinc phosphate or zinc salts of dicarboxylic acids, commonly applied as corrosion inhibitors in protective primers on steel or aluminum, contrary to expectations, do not work well in mirror backing coatings and actually exhibit corrosive action on the silver layer.
It can be stated that in the presence of moisture, numerous contaminants of airborne origin or ionic species generated "in situ" by pigments of inadequate quality (more specifically by soluble salt-contaminants, which usually accompany pigments of inadequate quality), which are functional components of the protective coating system, promote corrosion processes on mirrors Ag (silver) layer. Consequently, it can be concluded that due to the above mentioned extreme sensitivity to the corrosive action of ionic species, a mirror Ag (silver) layer is quite intolerant to quality variations of raw materials, more specifically of pigment components employed in "Mirror Backing" protective coatings.
Such quality variations of pigment grade products, typically those obtained by wet processes, are generally caused by the presence of trace amounts of soluble inorganic contaminants, usually water soluble by-products of the manufacturing procedures. A reduced specific surface area (reduced porosity) of solids, usually grades produced by various calcination procedures, is generally accountable for the reduced level of reactivity. Such reduced reactivity of pigment grade products (notably grades of basic mono-zinc cyanamide produced by calcination procedures) should also be considered quality variations intolerable in mirror backing applications designed for long term corrosion preventive protection. It is reasonable to suppose that the above mentioned intolerance of coating protected Ag (silver) mirrors, to the quality variations (specifically to the presence of the above mentioned soluble salt contaminants) of commercially available pigment grade products, is the reason why certain pigment grade zinc cyanamides have not gained acceptance in particular applications as in mirror backings as lead free alternatives to widely employed lead based pigments, and more specifically of lead cyanamide.
Various mirror backing coatings have been proposed by the prior art, including coatings which comprise mixtures of an organic resin and pigment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,405 to Evans et al, discloses a mirror backing coating which comprises an organic film forming resin and a cyanamide salt of a non-lead metal. The cyanamide salt is said to be a salt of group IIA or group IIB metal such as calcium, zinc or magnesium, with the preferred salt being calcium cyanamide. It is believed that the calcium and magnesium cyanamides have not been successful because both are water soluble, highly alkaline "non-pigment" products which interfere in detrimental fashion with curing processes of coating systems organic material. In addition, they exhibit only marginal corrosion preventive activity on silver, which is expected considering that typical technical grade calcium cyanamides contain considerable amounts (e.g., 1% CaS.sub.2) of soluble sulfide species as impurities. The zinc cyanamide mentioned above proved to be a basic mono cyanamide containing contaminants and inclusions of ZnO, ZnCO.sub.3 and SO which have prevented such cyanamides from performing satisfactorily under commercial conditions in mirror backings.
The present invention provides improved paint and coating formulations for mirror backings which provide excellent long term corrosion preventive protection of mirror reflective silver layer.

Soluble salt-free contaminant-free pigmented mirror coatings


An electronic device includes dynamic frequency system components. The dynamic frequency system components are set to non-interfering operation frequencies for a selected wireless communication channel and a scan is performed to establish a wireless connection on the selected wireless communication channel.

Wireless communication has revolutionized communication and computer connectivity. Millions of electronic devices with wireless communication capability are sold each year, and these devices are not limited to mobile devices. Electronic devices with wireless communication capability include everything from kitchen appliances to printers. In many instances, the wireless communication capability of these electronic devices enables the electronic devices to connect to a wireless network and the Internet. This allows other devices to communicate with the electronic devices over the wireless network and over the Internet.

Wireless connection for electronic device

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A syringe has a piston member which slides in a piston bore. The piston member is driven into the bore using a plunger so as to discharge a substance in the syringe through a needle. The plunger is connected to the piston member by a one use connection which breaks when the syringe has been completely discharged or if an attempt is made to reuse the syringe. The plunger also provides a receptacle for receiving and containing the syringe needle when this has been detached from the syringe end, after use.

Syringes typically comprise a tubular body within which a piston head is moved axially by means of a plunger so as to dispense the contents of the space within the body ahead of the piston via a needle which is inserted into or under the skin of a person. Many forms of syringe are known, but they all have these general features and the term syringe will be used hereinafter to denote a dispensing device of this type.
Once a syringe has been used to draw blood from a patient or to administer a medicament or other material to a patient, problems arise in the disposal of the used syringe. Whilst the syringe can be constructed so that it can be disassembled and the individual components cleaned and sterilised for subsequent re-use, this is time consuming and costly. It is therefore the common practice to dispose of the used syringe to waste, for example into a strong plastic container which is disposed of by incineration or burial. However, in handling the used syringe there is the risk that the handler may accidentally jab himself with the exposed end of the needle prior to or during insertion into the disposal container. Furthermore, the syringe is disposed of in an operative condition so that it can be retrieved from the disposal container for unauthorised use, for example to inject drugs or the like.
In order to reduce the risk of accidental jabbing with the used needle, it has been proposed to apply a sheath to the needle. However, this retains the axial length of the syringe and needle, which gives problems in the space the syringe occupies in the disposal container. It has therefore been proposed to break the needle off the syringe, for example using a cutter or the like. However, this leaves a sharp needle stump projecting from the end of the syringe which can snag or stab the skin of a user. In British Specification No 2 314 082 it has been proposed that the needle sheath should be used to break the needle away from the end of the syringe at its mounting so as to render the syringe inoperative by removal of the needle. However, in applying the sheath axially over the exposed needle, the user still runs the risk that he will jab himself with the needle. Furthermore, the syringe is still operative and the needle can be replaced.
It has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,443 to form the plunger with a one use construction so that the plunger can be rendered inoperative once the syringe has been used. Although the syringe is now inoperative, the problems of accidental jabbing with the needle and possible re-use of the needle remain.
The need continues for a simple and effective means for rendering a syringe inoperative and for reducing the risk of accidental damage from the needle.
I have now devised a means by which a syringe can be rendered inoperative at the same time as providing a simple means for disposing of the needle which overcomes the problem of handling and disposing of a sharp object.


Disclosed is a semiconductor device. For instance, the semiconductor device includes a main via formed on a dielectric and a ground via formed in a circular arc shape and spaced apart from the main via. The semiconductor device is superior in electric characteristics such as insertion loss or reflection loss and allows efficient use of space.

Increasing integration density of various electronic devices is used as a mechanism to improve performance and/or reduce size. Integration density be enhanced by reducing a minimum device size or a stacking a plurality of dies.
Recently, a method of forming a penetration silicon via has been widely used to improve integration density. In general, a penetration silicon via is formed by forming a vertical via through a substrate and filling the via with a conductive material such as Cu.
Such a via is formed using a laser or an etching process, and the via is used to connect patterns of different layers. A ground via is formed around such a via, and the impedance of a pattern varies according to the position and shape of the ground via.
Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements.


Paper towel dispensing apparatus comprising at least one device for braking (12) the material take-off reel (B), this device being associated with an operating cycle of the apparatus involving rotation of the drum (4) of one revolution so as to dispense a length of material, said braking device being arranged laterally on one side of the drum and hinged relative to the housing (2), directly linked to rotation or non-rotation of the drum and ensuring, depending whether or not the apparatus is operating, braking-action contact on at least one of the lateral sides (B1) of the reel (B) or release of the latter so that it can rotate one cycle, the operation or release of the braking device being controlled by the action performed by the user on the strip of material emerging from the apparatus.

The Applicant has developed several apparatus for dispensing paper towels that are the subject of several patent applications in France and abroad which allow operation and dispensing of paper in folded or unfolded form.
Briefly, such apparatus generally comprises a reel of material, enclosed in a support housing, the reel capable of being unwound and routed towards a drum that includes a cutting device capable of dispensing strips of material cut to predetermined lengths.
In a first embodiment, the strip of paper can be unwound flat over the entire length of the drum or, in the context of an alternative embodiment, by using a special frame support such as that described in French Patent applications 94.04399 and 94.05698, the paper being dispensed in folded form.
Such apparatus are extremely reliable in operation but, in some cases, there may be a problem, caused by a high tensile force, of the strip of paper being unwound from the reel in a manner which creates, between the drum and the reel, a loose strip which eliminates any tension between the reel and the drum. It is then necessary to reduce or eliminate this loose strip by an additional action to dispense a strip of paper. This situation results from the fact that the reel of material placed between the flanges of the housing is rotatably mounted and must allow the unimpeded dispensing of the paper.

Folded/unfolded paper towel dispensing apparatus


An arrangement for handling packaging units, such as bottles, crates and the like with the aid of a robot, wherein the arrangement includes a mounting part (10) which is adapted for fixation to a robot arm, a tool carrier (20) which is adapted to carry one or more handling tools (30) such as a number of bottle grippers or the like, and a number of couplings each comprising a first engagement member (13) affixed to the mounting part, and a second engagement member (24) affixed to the tool carrier, wherein the second engagement member is restrictively displaceable axially relative to the first engagement member, so that the second engagement member will take a latching position relative to the first engagement member under the effect of gravity on the tool carrier in engagement with the first engagement member, wherein the working state of the tool carrier relative to the mounting part is defined when all second engagement members are in their respective latching positions.

A very large number of bottles, crates, pans, boxes, and corresponding packaging units are handled daily in breweries for instance. Such handling may include the simultaneous lifting of a large number of bottles from a supply table and then lowering the bottles into a plurality of crates positioned in a matrix formation. This transfer of bottles from the table to the crates into which they are placed relative to one another may also require the configuration of the bottles to be changed during the lifting process. The handling process may also include lifting empty returnable bottles from crates and also moving and stacking crates.
Because the production capacity and bottle-filling capacity of breweries has increased considerably in recent times, greater demands have also been placed on the capacity and reliability of the equipment responsible for handling empty and full bottles, crates and other packaging units.
Consequently, robots have begun to be used for handling purposes to an ever increasing extent. Stationary multiple-axle industrial robots have found wide use in handling processes. The robot, or manipulator, is normally placed in a so-called robot cell in which it is able to carry out several different lifting, positioning and configuring operations. In order to enable the robot to handle different types of bottles, crates and the like it is provided with different tools, such as grippers, it being necessary to change these tools when the work to be carried out by the robot changes. A tool will normally include a large number of package engaging members with which a corresponding number of packaging units can be moved simultaneously by movement of the robot arm.
In the case of modern robot-assisted handling of packaging units very high demands are placed on the number of packaging units that can be handled at any one time and also on the speed at which each batch can be moved. High demands are also placed on the precision with which the packaging units can be moved and positioned.
In order to enable a high continuous production rate to be maintained, it is also highly essential that the handling equipment functions reliably and that any interruptions in operation that may occur, for instance as a result of defective packaging units, can be kept as short as possible.