In a network, a control node is connected to a plurality of network subscribers via a closed ring-shaped data path, wherein the network subscribers form a chain, starting from the control node, with a head subscriber as a termination for the chain. The ring-shaped data path transits through the network subscribers on an outbound route and an inbound route, wherein the network subscribers are designed to perform data interchange both on the outbound route and on the inbound route with data messages circulating on the ring-shaped data path. The control node is additionally designed such that it outputs data messages with an identifier on the data path, wherein the head subscriber has a filter function to use a prescribed identifier to block the further transport of data messages with the corresponding identifier on the inbound route following transit of data messages through the head subscriber on the outbound route.

In industrial automation, serial bus systems are used for communication between the sensor/actuator level and the control level. Serial bus systems of this kind, also called field buses in industrial automation, are subject to high communication requirements in relation to transmission speed and freedom from error. The sensor/actuator level and the control level have process states, i.e. sensor data and actuator commands, transmitted between them in real time. This data interchange normally takes place cyclically. Besides cyclic data interchange of this kind, acyclic data are also transmitted between the sensor/actuator level and the control level, however, for example in order to transfer parameters to the devices of the sensor/actuator level or to query status data.
The data interchange on a field bus is normally executed on the basis of the master/slave principle. The active bus subscribers, generally the control nodes of the control level, are in possession of bus access authorization and determine the data transfer. By contrast, the sensors and actuators are usually the passive bus subscribers. They are not provided with bus access authorization, i.e. they can only acknowledge received information signals or transmit information signals to a control node upon a request from the latter.
The information signals are sent by the control nodes generally in the form of data messages that are made up of control data and useful data, the data messages preferably being designed on the basis of the Ethernet standard. The sensors and actuators connected to the bus process the useful data intended for the respective device that are in the data messages fed onto the bus by the control node.
Field bus systems having a master/slave structure are normally, in order to avoid complex wiring, designed using ring topology, with all network subscribers being connected to a ring-shaped data path. A data message produced by a control node is fed into the data path by the control node and successively transits through the further network subscribers serially connected to the data path so as then to be received by the control node again.
In order to allow high data transmission rates in the network, a full-duplex mode is preferably executed. In this case, the ring-shaped data path is made up of an outbound route and an inbound route that connects the network subscribers and thus permits simultaneous sending and receiving by the network subscribers. The network is designed such that starting from the control node the network subscribers form a chain with a head subscriber as a termination, with the ring-shaped data path transiting through the network subscribers on both the outbound route and the inbound route. The network subscribers can then perform data interchange with data messages that are fed onto the data path by the control node both on the outbound route and on the inbound route.
Owing to the increasing data transmission rates—in Ethernet networks, a data transmission rate of 1 Gbit/s is increasingly being used instead of the usual data transmission rate of 100 Mbit/s—the delay time for the data messages through the network subscribers is gaining ever greater significance for data interchange speed between the sensor/actuator level and the control level.
In industrial automation, the control using data interchange via networks is normally effected such that the control node cyclically performs control processes in order to ascertain output data for the sensor/actuator level on the basis of input data of the sensor/actuator level. Following termination of a control process cycle, the control node sends the output data in the form of data messages, wherein the network subscribers read the output data associated with the respective network subscriber and then use these output data to execute a local network subscriber process. The data ascertained with these local network subscriber processes are then returned to the control node by the network subscribers and subsequently used as input data for the next control process cycle by the control node.
In this case, the output data from the data messages that are output by the control node are read in by the network subscribers on the outbound route of the data path. The input data provided by the network subscribers are read into this or a further data message sent by the control node on the inbound path and fed back to the control node. Since the transit time through the network subscribers, during which the data are read out and in, cannot be shortened to the same extent as the data transmission rate in the network is increased, the shortest cycle time for a control process by the control node is increasingly determined by the circulation time for the data messages on the ring-shaped data path, which circulation time is obtained on the basis of the transit time through the network subscribers.

Network, head subscriber and data transmission method


On a compactor wheel having outer and inner cylindrical drums, the inner drum being mounted on the vehicle axle, there is provided an axially extending shroud. The shroud is equipped with a cover plate which together serves to define a cavity enclosing the axle seals and bearings preventing trash from intruding into those components of the compactor vehicle.

This invention concerns generally compaction machinery which operates in sanitary landfills and particularly refers to improvements in protecting the axle shafts, bearing seals and wheel bearings of compaction equipment from the destructive effects of wire wrap and the like.
The compaction equipment used on sanitary landfill operations represent a substantial capital investment and must operate over thousands of hours, ideally with very little downtime beyond that which is necessary for refueling. The equipment is generally of the four wheel tractor type with a dozer blade on the front. Compaction wheels with cleats are mounted so that the tractor may grind and crush the solid waste material thereby reduce the material in volume for compaction into the landfill. The compaction wheels have high destructive characteristics but, nevertheless, encounter problems with wire, bedsprings, tarpaulins and plastic trash bags normally found at a solid waste landfill. The and other materials frequently become entwined about the axle shafts which drive the compaction wheels. Over time the entwined material penetrates into the wheel bearing and seals and may disable one or more of the compaction wheels causing substantial downtime.
In the trade the term "wire-wrap" is used to designate the trash materials including wire, plastic elements which become twisted up and which are found entrained upon the wheel axles. Dislodging the wire wrap on the vehicle is a compelling operation. First, the vehicle must be shut down for a period on the order of a day and half. Each of the four compaction wheels impeded by the wire wrap must be inspected and usually must be dismounted. This operation occupies 2 or 3 workmen using heavy duty lifting equipment to handle the steel compaction wheels. Workmen then apply various tools available to tear-down and remove the wire wrap from the vehicle. Over time wire wrap takes on some of the characteristics of concrete and is stubborn to dislodge. It can seriously damage the inner wheel spider cone. After the wire wrap has been removed, the bearings and bearing seals must be examined and replaced if there has been damage to these components. Then the compaction wheels are fitted onto the landfill compactor. The entire operation is costly. In the field of sanitary landfill operations there has been a long sought need for apparatus which would reliably exclude wire wrap from the wheel axle and its seals and bearings for tractors working at the landfill.

Protecting compactor axles, seals and wheel bearings from wire wrap intrusion


A system and method is provided that enables the transfer of policy resource tokens (PRT) in the process of a handover of a mobile node in a wireless network. The system includes a granting agent that grants the PRT to a first access router to enable the mobile node to access network resources. In one embodiment, in the process of handing over the mobile node, the first access router provides the PRT to the second access router, thereby reducing data latency, and a disruption for an application executing on the mobile node. In another embodiment, the mobile node provides the PRT to the second access router after connectivity is established. A PRT data structure also is provided that includes a data field of profile types. A profile type describes context authorization information for granting access to a network resource.

The mobile IP protocol enables a mobile node to move freely from one point of connection to another in various networks it visits along its route. When the mobile node attaches to a visited network, it may need to perform protocol operations to obtain authenticated network access. Once the mobile node is authorized to access the visited network, it may then engage in communications that might require support for features such as Quality of Service (QoS), header compression, buffering, and security. Typically, a mobile node would communicate a request for such features at its point of connection to the visited network. However, the visited point of connection may need to ensure that the mobile node is appropriately authorized by a trusted agent, such as a domain Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server or the like, prior to actually enabling the requested features.
When a mobile node leaves the current visited point of connection and attaches to a new point of connection for another visited network, the mobile node must often repeat the operations to obtain authenticated network access. Furthermore, the new visited point of connection may also need to determine if the mobile node is appropriately authorized to access the requested features. However, during the movement of the mobile node from one connection point to another there should be minimal disruption to an application running on the mobile node. Unfortunately, a disruption may arise due to response latency, packet loss, and the like, during a handover of the mobile node from one point of connection to another point of connection. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.

System and method for resource authorizations during handovers


A current sensor includes a folded-shaped current path including a pair of arm portions extending in parallel with each other, and a pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements provided so as to sandwich therebetween a symmetric axis passing between the pair of arm portions, the pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements being used for detecting magnetism caused by a current passing through the pair of arm portions, wherein a half-bridge circuit in which the pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements is series-connected and a signal is able to be extracted from a connection point between the pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements is formed, and sensitivity axes of the pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements are oriented in a same direction and sensitivity-influencing axes of the pair of magnetoelectric conversion elements are oriented in a same direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a current sensor that detects a current flowing through a current path, and in particular, relates to a current sensor that detects magnetism generated when a current flows through a current path having a U-like shape.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been well known current sensors that are each subsequently attached to an existing current path so as to control or monitor various types of device. It has been well known that, as the current sensor of this type, a magnetic sensor utilizing a magnetoelectric conversion element such as a magnetic resistance element or a Hall element, which senses a magnetic field generated from a current flowing through a current path is used.
There has been generally known a current sensor of a type out of the above-mentioned current sensors, in which a conductor (current path) having a U-like shape and a magnetic sensor are combined and fitted between current paths intended to be measured. As the current sensor of this type, such a current sensor 901 as illustrated in FIGS. 18A and 18B and FIGS. 19A and 19B has been proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-298761. FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams explaining the current sensor 901 of the related art, FIG. 18A is the perspective view thereof, and FIG. 18B is the cross-sectional view thereof. FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams explaining the current sensor 901 of the related art, FIG. 19A is a plan view illustrating a current sensing device portion 906, and FIG. 19B is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the bridge circuit of the current sensing device portion 906.
The current sensor 901 illustrated in FIGS. 18A and 18B includes a primary conductor 903 having a U-like shape, a case 904 with a structure of being integrated with the primary conductor 903, and the current sensing device portion 906 arranged in a sensor substrate 902 provided within the case 904. In addition, if a current to be measured is applied to the primary conductor 903, induction magnetic fields M1 whose rotations are left-handed and right-handed are generated symmetrically with respect to a center line CL as illustrated in FIG. 18B, the induction magnetic fields M1 are sensed by the current sensing device portion 906, and a current flowing through the primary conductor (current path) 903 is detected.
In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 19A, in the current sensing device portion 906, four magnetoresistance effect elements (magnetic resistance elements) 911 (911a, 911b, 911c, and 911d), a connecting current line 912 for establishing connection between the magnetoresistance effect elements 911, and four terminal portions 913 (913a, 913b, 913c, and 913d) for inputting and outputting are included and provided on an installation board 914, and the magnetoresistance effect element 911a and magnetoresistance effect element 911b and the magnetoresistance effect element 911c and magnetoresistance effect element 911d are equally arranged in a line symmetrical manner in two respective regions into which the installation board 914 is divided by the center line CL.
In addition, the four magnetoresistance effect elements 911 are mutually arranged in directions parallel to the center line CL of the installation board 914, the magnetoresistance effect element 911a and the magnetoresistance effect element 911d are arranged in such orientations (DA and DD illustrated in FIG. 19A) of having magnetoresistance effect characteristics in which the resistance values thereof increase with increases in the induction magnetic fields M1, and the magnetoresistance effect element 911b and the magnetoresistance effect element 911c are arranged in such orientations (DB and DC illustrated in FIG. 19A) of having magnetoresistance effect characteristics in which the resistance values thereof decrease with increases in the induction magnetic fields M1. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 19B, by establishing connection between the four magnetoresistance effect elements 911 (911a, 911b, 911c, and 911d) using the connecting current line 912, a bridge circuit 915 including a parallel connection of a first half-bridge circuit 916a and a second half-bridge circuit 916b is configured, the first half-bridge circuit 916a including a series connection of the magnetoresistance effect element 911a and the magnetoresistance effect element 911b, the second half-bridge circuit 916b including a series connection of the magnetoresistance effect element 911c and the magnetoresistance effect element 911d. In addition, while not illustrated, the terminal portion 913a is connected to an input terminal, the terminal portion 913b is connected to a ground terminal, and the terminal portion 913c and the terminal portion 913d are connected to signal (output) terminals.
In the current sensor 901 configured in such a way as described above, when such induction magnetic fields M1 as illustrated in FIG. 18B are generated, the directions of the induction magnetic fields M1 are opposite to each other in the first half-bridge circuit 916a and the second half-bridge circuit 916b. Therefore, the resistance values of the magnetoresistance effect element 911a and the magnetoresistance effect element 911d increase, and the resistance values of the magnetoresistance effect element 911b and the magnetoresistance effect element 911c decrease. From this, changes (increases or decreases) in respective electric potentials of an output voltage V1 from the terminal portion 913c and an output voltage V2 from the terminal portion 913d are opposite to each other. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a larger output signal by performing differential processing. In addition, in a case where external magnetic fields of the same amplitude are incident upon the four magnetoresistance effect elements 911 in the same direction, changes in the electric potentials of the output voltage V1 and the output voltage V2 are equal to each other. Therefore, it is assumed that it is possible to cancel the influences of the external magnetic fields by performing the differential processing.
By the way, as a magnetoelectric conversion element such as the above-mentioned magnetoresistance effect element 911, there is a magnetoelectric conversion element that has a sensitivity-influencing axis direction in which an output signal is influenced by reception of a magnetic field in a direction other than the sensitivity axis directions (DA, DB, DC, and DD illustrated in FIG. 19A). FIG. 20 is a diagram explaining a comparative example, and is a schematic configuration diagram compared based on the bridge circuit of the current sensing device portion illustrated in FIG. 19B. In addition, all magnetic resistance elements 93 (93A, 93B, 93C, and 93D) in the drawing illustrate a case where sensitivity-influencing axis directions (DAs, DBs, DCs, and DDs illustrated in FIG. 20) lie in directions rotated 90 degrees to the right with respect to the sensitivity axis directions (DA, DB, DC, and DD illustrated in FIG. 20).
In such a case, as illustrated in FIG. 20, if an external magnetic field MY in a Y-axis direction is incident, it is difficult to cancel the influence of the external magnetic field MY by even performing differential processing on the output voltage V1 and the output voltage V2. In other words, even if the constant induction magnetic fields M1 are generated by the current to be measured flowing through the conductor 92, the induction magnetic fields are sensed as if being further changed, owing to the external magnetic field MY in the Y-axis direction, and the value of a current flowing through the conductor 92 is detected as a different value. In this way, in a case where the magnetic resistance elements 93 having the sensitivity-influencing axis directions are used, it is difficult for the configuration of the related art to cancel the influence of the external magnetic field MY, and there has been a problem that it is difficult to obtain a current sensor having good accuracy.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, and provides a current sensor in which the influence of an external magnetic field is reduced to obtain good detection accuracy.


Techniques of the present invention impede power consumption measurements of an encryption engine on a logic device by running the encryption engine with an independent clock. This clock produces a signal that is decoupled from and asynchronous to clock signals feeding other circuits on the device. The clock feeding the encryption engine is not accessible externally to the device. Circuits may be employed to intentionally slow down or add jitter to one or more of the clock signals.

Power consumption may reveal clues about values such as encryption keys held in digital circuits. Fluctuations in current draw on the power rails feeding such circuits are measured as the circuit performs cryptographic operations. Power draw can correlate with the values of the key in unprotected systems. In one example, a single bit may determine whether or not a complex multiplication step is performed, affecting the power draw of the circuit. These fluctuations can be analyzed to recover the key. Existing approaches to protecting circuits from power analysis attacks include evening out the power draw, performing unnecessary operations, or adding random noise. However, these approaches are expensive in terms of power consumption and/or circuitry, sometimes tripling the size of the encryption circuits.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Programmable logic device with improved security


A switching mode power supply (SMPS) circuit includes: a rectifying unit that rectifies an AC voltage applied from an AC input terminal; a power factor correction (PFC) and standby voltage output unit that is connected to the rectifying unit and has a PFC part and a standby voltage output part integrated therein; a PFC and standby voltage control unit that is connected to the PFC and standby voltage output unit and controlling the PFC and standby voltage output unit; and a DC/DC conversion unit that is connected to the PFC and standby voltage output unit and outputting a main voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switching mode power supply (SMPS) circuit, and more particularly, to an SMPS circuit in which a power factor correction (PFC) part and a standby voltage output part are integrated.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display is a medium that provides information by visually displaying various data on a screen. Due to the advance of digitalization and information, various kinds of displays are introduced and used in various fields. In the past several ten years, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) has been a main stream of a display market. However, with the development of data communication and Internet, a customer's demand for displays having high performance and high picture quality is increasing and hence the CRT is rapidly replaced with a Flat Panel Display (FPD). A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma Display Panel (PDP), which is under rapid technical development, quickly replaces monitors and TVs, which have been dominated by the CRT. At the same time, the LCD or PDP exploits new application fields, such as notebook computers, mobile phones and vehicle parts, and is used in most applications ranging from small-size products to large-sized products.
Such an LCD or PDP uses an SMPS circuit, as its power supply circuit, which generates various voltages in order to supply a plurality of low voltages.
In a conventional SMPS circuit, a standby voltage output unit is separately provided in order to reduce power consumption in a standby mode. Only the standby voltage output unit is operated, while a Power Factor Correction (PFC) unit and the other output units of a system are not operated.


The invention relates to a PMC memory circuit comprising a PMC memory cell having a PMC component, the PMC component having a solid electrolyte with permanently introduced defects, so that the PMC component has a hysteresis with regard to its I-V characteristic curve with an upper and a lower current value branch, and a data retention unit, which, for storing a state to be stored, applies to the PMC component a center voltage or storage voltage at which the PMC component is operated, either in the upper current value branch of the hysteresis for the purpose of storing a first state or in the lower current value branch of said hysteresis for the purpose of storing a second state.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a PMC memory circuit having a PMC component, and to a method for storing a datum in a PMC memory circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memory circuits having memory cells based on a solid electrolyte material are generally known as PMC (programmable metallization cell) or CBRAM (Conductive Bridging Random Access Memory). A PMC component used therefore has a solid electrolyte into which, depending on an electric field to be applied during writing, a low-resistance conductive path is formed or cancelled. As a result, a state of the PMC component can be set by setting a high-resistance or low-resistance state. The two resistance values can respectively be assigned a logic state, and a PMC memory circuit can thus be formed.
A PMC memory cell formed with a PMC component is written to by means of bipolar voltage pulses, a positive voltage at the anode effecting writing (formation of a conductive path) and a negative voltage at the anode effecting erasure (cancellation of the conductive path).

PMC memory circuit and method for storing a datum in a PMC memory circuit


A proteinaceous material has been found to show similar activity and treatment response to that of disease causing prions, such as CJD. A prion model which incorporates the proteinaceous material has a variety of applications. The model has an ability to be cultured either in vivo or in vitro, allowing rapid screening of potential drugs for treating animals or humans, or methods of treating food products or items which may come into contact with prions, such as medical or dental devices. Several treatment methods and materials have been developed using the model.

The present invention relates to the field of infectious diseases. It finds particular application as a method of evaluating the response of Prions (Proteinaceous Infectious Agents) to various treatments, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to other studies of prion activity.
The term "Prion" is used to describe proteinaceous-infectious agents that cause relatively similar brain diseases in humans and/or in animals, which are invariably fatal. These diseases are generally referred to as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and variant CJD (vCJD) in humans, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle, also know as "Mad Cow Disease," Scrapie in sheep, and Wasting Disease in elk. All of these diseases attack the neurological organs of the animal or animals which are susceptible to the particular disease. They are characterized by initially long incubation times followed by a short period of neurological symptoms, including dementia and loss of coordination, and eventually death.
The infectious agent responsible for these diseases is thought to be a simple protein, with no associated nucleic acids. The pathogenic mechanism for such prion diseases is proposed to involve an initially normal host encoded protein. The protein undergoes a conformational change to an abnormal form (a prion), which has the ability of self-propagation. The exact cause of this change is, at present, unknown. The abnormal form of the protein is not broken down effectively in the body and its accumulation in certain tissues (in particular neural tissue) eventually causes tissue damage, such as cell death. Once significant neural tissue damage has occurred, the clinical signs are observed.
Prion diseases may thus be classified as protein aggregation diseases, which also include several other fatal diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and amyloidosis. In the case of CJD, the most prevalent prion disease in humans (occurring in roughly 1:1,000,000 of the population), about 85% of cases are thought to arise sporadically, about 10% are thought to be inherited, and about 5% arise iatrogenically.
There are currently no known effective treatments for prion diseases in animals or humans, and death thus follows the onset of neurological symptoms. Progress in the identification of target treatment drugs has been slow, due to the inability to perform testing in vitro. To date, no methods for culturing prions in media in the laboratory have been developed. In vivo studies involve inoculating a test animal with prions and examining the animal's response to a proposed treatment regime. Because progress of the disease is slow, these in vivo studies are inevitably lengthy and are thus not readily amenable to the screening of large numbers of potential drugs. In vivo mouse or hamster models have been engineered to be more susceptible to prions and are generally used for evaluations. In addition, because these diseases tend to be animal specific, it is not known whether tests done on animals can be readily applied to humans.
Some research groups have suggested using a yeast prion model for drug evaluation and there has been some reports of an in vitro model to study prion folding. However, there have been no studies which have established correlations between the behavior of these proposed models and prion activity.
In the early 1980's, a novel replicating agent was isolated from the human intestinal tract. (Burdon, J. Med. Micro., 29: 145–157 (1989)). This agent was isolated from the ileostomy fluid (filtered through a 0.2μ filter) of two patients with Crohn's disease, and could be cultured in vitro. It was given the name Ileal Fluid Dependent Organism (IFDO), although it has been subsequently found to survive in other media, such as in the presence of pancreatin. Discrete brown colonies were observed on a specific, select growth media. On examination of this agent, it did not appear to be viral, bacterial, or fungal in nature, but did appear to grow logarithmically and have unusual resistance to a variety of antibiotics, and physical and chemical agents. The agent was also found to have a high resistance to moist heat. This agent has not previously been directly linked to prions or used in prion research.
Although prion diseases have not generally been considered to be highly contagious, they can be transmitted within a species and, under certain conditions, from one species to another. It has recently been shown that prion diseases may be transmitted via high risk tissues, including the brain, spinal cord, and eye. Iatrogenic transmission has also been reported, including transmission via dura mater grafting, corneal transplants, pericardial homografts, human gonadotropin, and human growth hormone contamination. Transmission via medical devices has also been reported, including through reuse of neurosurgical instruments, depth electrodes, and other devices used during surgeries in close proximity to the central nervous system.
There is currently much speculation about the efficacy of conventional decontamination and sterilization methods for destruction of prions. Prions are notoriously very hardy and demonstrate resistance to routine methods of decontamination and sterilization. Some recommended methods include incineration, prolonged steam autoclaving, sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite treatments at high concentrations (e.g., 1M NaOH or NaHClO3 at 2% available Cl for 1 hr.). These aggressive treatments are often incompatible with medical devices, particularly flexible endoscopes and other devices with plastic, brass, or aluminum parts. Many devices are damaged by exposure to high temperatures. Chemical treatments, such as strong alkali, are damaging to medical device materials or surfaces in general. Glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, most phenolics, alcohols, and processes such as dry heat, boiling, freezing, UV, ionizing, and microwave radiation have generally been reported to be ineffective. There is a clear need for products and processes that are effective against prions yet compatible with surfaces.
One less aggressive treatment which has been investigated and shown to be effective against prions is a peracetic acid formulation formulated by STERIS Corporation, Mentor, Ohio, under the tradename STERIS 20™. The formulation contains peracetic acid in a blend of buffers, anticorrosives, surfactants, and chelators, prepared in a use dilution for sterile processing at above room temperature.
However, there is currently no ready means of evaluating anti-prion ("priocidal") treatments. Culturing prion-treated devices after proposed priocidal treatments involves inoculating animals with washings from the devices and observing the development of the disease if the priocidal treatment is ineffective. This is a lengthy process and prone to errors, since the numbers of prions remaining on the devices may be relatively small. Additionally, there is a risk that prions which are not destroyed by the priocidal treatment may pose hazards to workers.
There are thus increased concerns among medical personnel regarding the proper care of patients identified as having prion diseases. There are also concerns that the diseases may be transmitted, through reuse of instruments and the like, due to a failure to detect the disease state prior to death of the infected patient. Additionally, the risks associated with high, medium, and low risk tissues have not yet been established. For example, tonsillectomy and dental procedures have been considered to be low risk procedures for potential prion infection. However, recent evidence suggests the risks may higher, due to the finding that prion infected tissues are being found outside the brain. It has also been suggested that there may be a link between prion-related diseases and similar disease states, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
The present invention provides a new and improved method for evaluation of priocidal activity, which overcomes the above-referenced problems, and others.


According to a first aspect of the invention, a memory device has a main memory array and a sub memory array. In a single burst, data are read from a series of columns in the main memory array, transferred from one column in the main memory array to one column in the sub memory array, read from a series of columns in the sub memory array, and written into the above-mentioned one column in the main memory array. According to a second aspect of the invention, a memory device has a memory array and separate external data input terminals and output terminals. In a single burst, data are read from a series of columns in the memory array, and written to one of the columns, preferably the last column in the series. Input of the written data is preferably simultaneous with the output of the data read from the column to which the input data are written.

The present invention relates to a memory device with features useful in, for example, the digital processing of moving pictures.
This type of processing is becoming increasingly necessary: television sets are making use of digital image-processing techniques; personal computers and workstations are being used to display video images; and moving pictures are being transferred between these different media, with attendant conversion between different formats.
Much digital image processing is performed on rectangular blocks of picture elements or pixels. Spatial and temporal filtering for noise rejection, effect processing, and format conversion are typical examples. Motion estimation for image compression is another example. When moving pictures are processed in real time, there is accordingly a need for very fast retrieval of blocks of pixels. For example, as each new pixel in a moving picture is received and stored, it may be necessary to read a block of pixels in which the new pixel occurs, and corresponding blocks of pixels from several preceding image frames or fields, all in the space of time before the next pixel is received.
Conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is far too slow for this task, because every read or write access must be preceded by the time-consuming input of a new address.
Conventional dual-ported dynamic random-access memory, also known as video random-access memory (VRAM), can provide high-speed serial read access to an entire row of pixels, e.g. to all of the pixels in a horizontal scanning line on a screen, but this feature is not useful for access to rectangular blocks of pixels.
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) and synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) permit burst access to smaller groups of pixels, but require separate address input for read access and write access, which is inconvenient when the arrival of each new pixel requires both types of access. SDRAM and SGRAM also fail to support some of the burst lengths most often required in digital filtering.
Moreover, none of these memories can be easily cascaded to provide access to pixel blocks in several frames or fields.
The inadequacies of existing types of random-access memory have often forced system designers to use first-in-first-out (FIFO) memory for storing fields and frames, and provide an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with line memories for use in accessing rectangular blocks of pixels. An ASIC with twenty-one line memories, each a static random-access memory (SRAM) storing one thousand twenty-four eight-bit words, has been used in digital television receivers, for example. SRAM memory cells are large, however, so the line memories take up much space in the ASIC, limiting the amount of actual image-processing circuitry that can be accommodated. The SRAM line memories also consume much current, because they are operated as shift registers, and their presence increases the cost of the ASIC.
Further details will be given below.

Memory device providing burst read access and write access from a single address input


To improve the lifespan of a rubber crawler by reducing as much as possible cracks due to bending at the time of wraparound. Bending deformation no longer becomes concentrated at a specific place because bending rigidities at the time of wraparound are not so different from each other overall. For that reason, the occurrence of cracks can be reduced. As a result, the lifespan of the rubber crawler is improved.

In a coreless rubber crawler, steel cords are embedded in an endless rubber elastic body in the longitudinal direction thereof, and rubber projections used for driving are formed at a constant pitch on an inner peripheral side thereof and rubber lugs are also formed at a pitch on an outer peripheral side thereof. Additionally, the steel cords serve as a center surface of pulling of the rubber crawler, and when the rubber crawler is wrapped around a sprocket or idler, the rubber on the inside repeatedly receives strain of the compression side and the rubber on the outside repeatedly receives strain of the pulling side.
Additionally, when the rubber projections formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rubber crawler are mainly considered, bending deformation is produced between the rubber projections at the time of wraparound because bending rigidity is low between the rubber projections.
On the other hand, when the rubber lugs are mainly considered, bending deformation is produced between the rubber lugs at the time of wraparound because bending rigidity is low between the rubber lugs.
In this case, when the bending deformation portions at the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side (ground side) match, those portions experience bending deformation particularly locally, the strain of the rubber of the ground side surface where the rubber is the pulling side becomes larger, and sometimes cracks occur due to cumulative repeated bending use.

Abstract: A coreless rubber crawler having steel cords embedded in an endless rubber elastic body and in which rubber projections 3 used for driving are formed on an inner peripheral side thereof and rubber lugs 4 are formed on an outer peripheral side thereof, wherein the rubber lugs 4 are divided into right and left rubber lugs from the width-direction center of the rubber crawler, each of the right and left rubber lugs is configured by an inside end area 4a, an outside end area 4b, and a center area 4c that joins these end areas to each other, the inside end areas 4a and the outside end areas 4b extend in the width direction of the crawler, the center areas 4c are diagonally disposed, the inside end areas 4a of the rubber lugs correspond to interspaces between the rubber projections, and the outside end areas 4b of the rubber lugs are disposed in interspaces between the rubber projections.


Example embodiments relate to document alteration based on native text analysis and optical character recognition (OCR). In example embodiments, a system analyzes native text obtained from a native document to identify a text entity in the native document. At this stage, the system may use a native application interface to convert the native document to a document image and perform OCR on the document image to identify a text location of the text entity. The system may then generate an alteration box (e.g., redaction box, highlight box) at the text location in the document image to alter a presentation of the text entity.

Often it is desirable to modify a document in some way before reproducing it for distribution to others. For example, a user may wish to alter (e.g., redact, highlight, etc.) portions of text or images in a document before distributing it in order to maintain confidentiality. Typically, the user manually reviews the document and designates portions of the document for alteration prior to production.

Document alteration based on native text analysis and OCR


An integrated semiconductor memory device includes a first input amplifier which, compared with a second input amplifier, has a lower sensitivity with regard to level fluctuations of its respective input signal. A control circuit drives a controllable switch in such a way that when a noisy clock signal is applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device, the less sensitive input amplifier is used for generating an internal clock signal. If, by contrast, a lower-noise clock signal is applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device, the control circuit drives the controllable switch in such a way that the more sensitive input amplifier is used for generating the internal clock signal. The changeover of the controllable switch is effected after evaluation of a bit sequence applied to a further input terminal of the integrated semiconductor memory device.

FIG. 1 shows an integrated semiconductor memory device 100 designed, for example as a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) semiconductor memory. The integrated semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array 10, in which DRAM memory cells SZ are arranged in matrix-type fashion along word lines WL and bit lines BL. A DRAM memory cell includes a selection transistor AT and a storage capacitor SC. In the event of a read or write access to the memory cell SZ, a corresponding control potential that switches the selection transistor AT into the on state is fed in onto the word line connected to the memory cell. As a result, the storage capacitor is connected to the bit line BL in low-resistance fashion via the turned-on path of the selection transistor.
In a write access operation, a datum D present at a data terminal DQ is stored in the memory cell SZ by a high or low voltage potential being fed in onto the bit line BL connected to the memory cell from a sense amplifier (not illustrated in FIG. 1). Consequently, a high or low charge level is stored on the storage capacitor SC in a manner dependent on the datum present at the data terminal DQ.
In the event of a read access, the storage capacitor is discharged via the turned-on selection transistor, so that a potential increase or potential decrease arises on the bit line BL. The potential shift on the bit line is assessed by the sense amplifier connected to the bit line and the datum D is correspondingly output with a high or low voltage level to the data terminal DQ.
For the selection of a memory cell within a memory cell array constructed in rows and columns, an address ADS is applied to an address terminal A30. The address is buffer-stored in an address register 30, which includes an address part X for selecting a word line of the memory cell array and an address part Y for selecting a bit line of the memory cell array. The memory cell connected to the crossover point of the addressed word line and the addressed bit line can thereby be selected for the read or write access.
A control unit 20 serves for controlling read and write accesses. The control unit 20 includes a supply terminal V1 for application of a supply voltage VDD and a reference terminal V2 for application of a reference voltage VSS. For controlling the read and write accesses, it has an input terminal E25 for application of a chip select signal bCS, a control terminal S20a for application of a row select signal bRAS, a control terminal S20b for application of a column select signal bCAS and a control terminal S20c for application of a write signal bWE. Read and write accesses to memory cells of the memory cell array are effected synchronously with the profile of a clock signal.
FIG. 2 shows a write and read access to a selected memory cell, the write and read access proceeding synchronously with the profile of external clock signals CLK2 and bCLK2. In order to activate a write access, an activation signal ACT is applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device in the clock period 1. The activation signal being formed from a state change of the chip select signal bCS and of the row select signal bRAS. As a result of the activation signal ACT, a word line WL of the memory cell array 10 that is selected via an address component X is driven by the control unit 20 with a control voltage in such a way that the selection transistors of the memory cells which are arranged along the selected word line are turned on. In the subsequent clock period 2, the write command WRITE is applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device, the write command including a state change of the chip select signal bCS, of the column select signal bCAS and of the write signal bWE. As a result, a bit line is selected from the selected memory cells along the selected word line, the bit line being connected to a sense amplifier (not illustrated in FIG. 1).
Via the data terminal DQ which is likewise connected to the sense amplifier, the datum D can thus be written with a high or low voltage level to the selected memory cell. FIG. 2 shows the application of a data signal to the data terminal DQ in the clock period 3.
After the write access, a precharge command PRE is applied to the control unit 20 in the clock period 6. The precharge command PRE includes a state change of the chip select signal bCS, of the row select signal bRAS and of the write signal bWE. The precharge command brings about a precharging of all the bit lines of the memory cell array to a common equalized voltage, so that a uniform potential state prevails on all the bit lines of the memory cell array. A subsequent read and write access thus cannot be corrupted by a residual voltage that is possibly present on the bit lines.
For the read access to the memory cell SZ, the activation signal ACT is once again applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device, the activation signal turning on the selection transistors of the memory cells which are arranged along the selected word line. In order to select one of the memory cells along the selected word line, the read command READ is applied to the integrated semiconductor memory device in the clock period 8. The read command READ is formed from a state change of the chip select signal bCS and of the column select signal bCAS. The bit line connected to the selected memory cell is thereupon connected to the connected sense amplifier. The sense amplifier amplifies a potential change established on the bit line connected to the selected memory cell as a result of the discharging of the storage capacitor SC, and generates the datum D with a high or low logic level at the data output DQ according to the charge state of the storage capacitor.
The circuit components of the integrated semiconductor memory device that are provided for the read and write accesses, such as row and column decoders, for example, are generally not driven directly by the external clock signal. Instead, the control unit 20 generates an internal clock signal Cint2 at an internal terminal A20a from the clock signal component CLK2 applied to an input terminal E22a and the complementary clock signal component bCLK2 applied to an input terminal E22b. In the case of an integrated semiconductor memory device with clock-synchronous access control, all the circuit components of the integrated semiconductor memory device are then operated synchronously with the profile of the internal clock signal Cint2.
The generation of the internal clock signal Cint2 is explained below with reference to FIG. 3. Within an input amplifier of the control unit 20, a level of the external clock signal CLK2 is compared with a level of the clock signal bCLK2 complementary thereto. The input amplifier is formed as a differential amplifier and generates at points of intersection between the clock signal CLK2 and the complementary clock signal bCLK2, alternately a falling or rising signal edge of the internal clock signal Cint2. FIG. 3 shows the profile of the internal clock signal Cint2 in the ideal case where the control unit 20 is driven with noise-free external clock signals CLK2 and bCLK2.
In comparison with FIG. 3, FIG. 4 shows the real signal profile of an external clock signal CLK 1 provided, for example, by a tester during a functional test of the integrated semiconductor memory device. In contrast to the ideal clock signal CLK2, an interference amplitude is superposed on the real clock signal CLK1, so that fluctuating voltage levels of the real clock signal occur. During a functional test of the integrated semiconductor memory device, the clock signal CLK1 is applied to the input terminal E22a and a clock signal bCLK 1 with a constant level is applied to the input terminal E22b. Since the input amplifier connected to the input terminals E22a and E22b is generally formed as a fast input amplifier having a high limiting frequency, voltage peaks lying above or below the constant level of the clock signal bCLK1 arise particularly during the transition of the clock signal CLK1 from a low to a high level or from a high level to a low level. As a consequence of this, the input amplifier, which is designed for high-frequency level fluctuations of the input signals, as shown in FIG. 4, generates high-frequency level fluctuations of the internal clock signal Cint1. Due to the fast input amplifiers, it can thus happen, particularly when the integrated semiconductor memory device is driven with the clock signals of a tester on which interference signals are superimposed, that an interference signal on a clock line is assessed as a clock pulse and the chip can therefore no longer operate correctly. The risk increases all the more, the higher the limiting frequency of the input amplifier is or the faster and more sensitively the input amplifier reacts to the level fluctuations of its input signal.
One of the functional tests of an integrated semiconductor memory device is the so-called bum-in test, during which the chip is operated at elevated temperature for several hours. In this case, the chip has already been fully incorporated in a housing. The burn-in test is intended to sort out early failures in the life cycle of integrated semiconductor memories. Since the test runs for a long time, many chips are operated in parallel with testers that are as cost-effective as possible. In contrast to a normal operating mode of the integrated semiconductor memory device, in which a graphics DRAM on a motherboard of a computer is driven, for example, with operating frequencies of 800 MHz, the testers used have only an operating frequency of 5 to 10 MHz and slow signal edges of up to 50 ns. Furthermore, the dense placement of the semiconductor memories on a test board during the functional test often gives rise to increased reverse voltages of up to 100 mvolts on the signal lines.

Integrated semiconductor memory with clock-synchronous access control


A system and method in a fibre channel environment supporting serial ATA devices. In one embodiment, the system and method includes a network having a plurality of servers and a plurality of fiber-channel devices connected to each other through the network. In another embodiment, a command arbitrator answers at least one non-media access command received from a transmitting server. Furthermore, a buffer may store a first consecutive write command for a first time interval and a second consecutive write command for a second time interval if the first time interval has not expired in one embodiment. In addition, a reset command may be generated if at least a first and a nth retry request for a failed command is unsuccessful, in one embodiment.

Fibre channel is a high performance serial link supporting its own, as well as higher-level protocols such as the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), and Internet Policy Institute (IPI) protocols. Fibre channel is often used as a transport mechanism in storage area networks (SANs) in which personal computers and servers are connected to storage devices and other peripherals through a fibre channel transport. By moving storage to a SAN, administrators have the means and the bandwidth to share and allocate storage to a much larger audience on a network. The fibre channel transport mechanism is used because it allows for fast transfers of large amounts of information to and from nodes of a SAN.
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (serial ATA) devices (e.g., SATA hard drives) are typically used as storage devices in personal computers. Consequently, serial ATA devices are manufactured in very high volumes. Fibre channel devices (e.g., specialized fibre channel hard drives based on the SCSI standard) are manufactured in low volumes, because they are primarily used in SAN environments. As a result, serial ATA devices tend to be less costly than fibre channel devices because of reasons including the economies of scale achieved through higher volume production of serial ATA devices. For example, component costs for serial ATA devices typically cost 3-5 times less than the cost of components for fibre channel devices. Furthermore, serial ATA is a serial link that includes a single cable with a minimum of four wires to create a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for serial ATA begin at 150 MBps. One of the main design advantages of serial ATA is a thinner serial cable that facilitates more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allows for smaller chassis designs.
Serial ATA devices cannot work in environments where fibre channel is used as a transport mechanism, because the fibre channel standard does not support serial ATA protocols. As such, administrators are forced to learn and maintain support for both fibre channel devices and serial ATA devices. Since SAN and fibre channel devices form a "network behind the server", different from a typical Ethernet network, training and management costs are not leveraged off the resources required for maintaining the typical Ethernet network. Furthermore, administrators are unable to use more cost effective serial ATA devices in a fibre channel environment. As such, administrators are unable to realize cost savings of serial ATA devices in a fibre channel environment.

Fibre channel environment supporting serial ATA devices


A modification of PbTiO3 perovskite wherein at least part of Pb is replaced by a smaller atom with a similar ionic charge.

Lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT)-based ceramics have been the primary material used in piezoelectric devices over the past several decades, especially in piezoelectric devices such as ultrasound medical probes, hydrophones and sonar for underwater imaging and communications, multi-layer actuators for fuel injection, piezoelectric printers etc. To enhance the piezoelectric properties of PZT ceramics, compositions near a phase transition are chosen.
In this regard, single crystals of solid solutions of lead-zinc-niobate and lead-titanate (PZN-PT) and of lead magnesium-niobate and lead-titanate (PMN-PT) are promising new materials. Compared to the conventional state-of-the-art PZT ceramics, PZN-PT and PMN-PT single crystals have significantly large electromechanical coupling (conversion of energy from electrical to mechanical and vice-versa) due to the much higher values of piezoelectric coefficients (about 4-5 times that of PZT), to offer advantages over the older standards.
Notwithstanding the advantages offered by newer piezoelectric materials such as PZN-PT and PMN-PT, there remains a desire to have further new piezoelectric materials with unique and advantageous characteristics, e.g. materials with piezoelectric coefficients which are significantly higher than those obtained with currently available materials.


A shock-absorbing device includes a saddle support which is to be mounted to a bottom side of a saddle of a bicycle seat. The saddle support is made of metal and has a substantially U-shaped horizontal portion with left and right arms. Each of the left and right arms has a distal upwardly curving end. The saddle support further has a pair of extensions which extend respectively from the upwardly curving end of the left and right arms. The extensions are disposed above and are parallel to a respective one of the left and right arms. Each of the extensions has a distal outwardly bent hook end. The shock-absorbing device further includes an adjustment unit with a pair of cylindrical portions, which are clamped tightly between a respective one of the left and right arms and a respective one of the extensions, and a retaining unit which extends across the left and right arms so as to retain the adjustment unit on the saddle support.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shock-absorbing device for a bicycle seat, more particularly to a shock-absorbing device in which the damping force offered thereby can be adjusted so as to suit the user's requirements.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional bicycle seat basically comprises a saddle and a shock-absorbing device. There are two types of shock-absorbing devices which are commonly installed. Referring to FIG. 1, the first type of shock-absorbing device comprises a saddle support (12), which has a front end secured to a bottom side of the saddle (10), and a compression spring (11) which has a lower end secured on the rear end of the saddle support (12) and an upper end secured to the bottom side of the saddle (10). The compression spring (11) serves to damp the vibrations felt when the bicycle is in use.
Referring to FIG. 2, the second type of shock-absorbing device comprises a saddle support (21) secured to the bottom side of the saddle (20). The saddle support (21) has resilient properties, thereby enabling the same to damp the vibrations felt when the bicycle is in use.
Note that in the above-mentioned shock absorbing devices, the damping force offered by the compression spring (11) or by the saddle support (21) cannot be adjusted in order to suit the user's requirements. For example, if the user is relatively light, the force applied on the shock-absorbing device is relatively small. The shock-absorbing device moves within a relatively large range, thereby resulting in a very pronounced movement of the saddle. If the user is relatively heavy, the force applied on the shock-absorbing device is relatively large and may cause deformation of the shock-absorbing device. The shock-absorbing device moves within a very small range, and thus, the shock-absorbing device cannot damp effectively the vibrations felt when the bicycle is in use.

Shock-absorbing device for a bicycle seat


The object of this invention is to attain accurate control by correcting any deviation of a cam locus due to manufacturing errors and the like upon controlling a zoom lens and focus lens along a theoretical cam locus. To attain this object, a differential locus between the theoretical cam locus (stored cam locus) and a true cam locus due to an error obtained by a measurement is obtained, and is stored as cam correction data. The lens control is made while correcting the theoretical cam locus by the correction data.

The present invention relates to an optical equipment and, more particularly, to an optical equipment such as a video camera, silver halide camera, electronic still camera, or the like, which comprises an optical system (photographing optical system) having a movable lens group that moves along the optical axis upon focusing or zooming, e.g., an optical system such as a photographing lens of a single focal length, zoom lens, or the like, its control method, and a storage medium.
Conventionally, in case of a rear-focus zoom type lens, the stop positions of a variator used in zooming and a focus lens used in focus adjustment on the optical axis change in units of object distances, as shown in FIG. 1 (these curves will be referred to as "cam loci" hereinafter). Referring to FIG. 1, for example, when the object distance is infinity (or 2 m), the focus lens (RR lens) moves on the optical axis along convex locus Y∞ (or Y2) toward the object side upon movement of the variator from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end on the optical axis.
That is, conventionally, upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end or vice versa, when driving of the variator and focus lens is controlled to trace the cam locus in correspondence with the object distance, a good image free from any blur is obtained. That is, conventional cam trace is to merely track the stored cam locus.
However, an optical system and mechanical system normally suffer manufacturing errors, and it is difficult to match their movements with the theoretically obtained stored cam locus. It is also impractical to require of commercial products higher precision in the optical system and mechanical system to attain matching. In addition, with the conventional technique and camera precision, a given blur range cannot be visually recognized. However, as the image quality and magnification become higher in recent years or in the future, such blur range may be easily recognized.
Furthermore, it is important to attain high-precision cam trace with less labor and lower cost.
Also, in an exchangeable lens system that uses an exchangeable lens, an attachment having a zoom effect is normally interposed between lens and camera apparatuses (the attachment will be referred to as an extender hereinafter). However, upon mounting the extender, the cam locus becomes considerably different from that without the extender.
Upon zooming, since the cam loci in units of object distances become denser toward the wide-angle position, as shown in FIG. 1, a cam locus corresponding to a given object distance cannot be accurately selected upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, and the initially selected cam locus may slightly deviate from that corresponding to the object distance.
In such case, blurring takes place upon zooming. For example, upon zooming from the wide-angle end to the telephoto end, when a cam locus corresponding to a non-in-focus object distance (e.g., 1 m) is selected and traced for an object at an object distance (e.g., 2 m) which does not correspond to the original in-focus locus, no blur (deterioration of the in-focus level) is not formed near the wide-angle end, but blur is produced from the middle focal length to the telephoto end. Also, when the object distance changes upon, e.g., movement of an object, an in-focus state cannot be attained by the cam locus traced so far, thus producing a blur.
In order to solve this problem, the following processing is done. That is, the in-focus level is checked by sampling an auto-focus signal (to be referred to as an AF signal hereinafter) at predetermined periods from a video signal obtained from a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD during zooming. The in-focus level obtained by the previous sampling is compared with that obtained by the current sampling to find a cam locus with higher in-focus level, and the cam locus is traced while changing the cam locus to that with higher in-focus level.
In this case, the AF signal is detected in synchronism with the vertical scanning frequency of the television format used in a video camera in case of the video camera. That is, the AF signal is sampled at a frequency of 50 Hz when the PAL format is used or at 60 Hz when the NTSC format is used. Note that one period will be expressed by 1V or V hereinafter.
As the image quality and magnification become higher, addition of a function that allows the photographer to take a broad range of pictures is required. Especially, demands for ultra-low-speed zooming, i.e., so-called "artistic zooming", and ultra-high-speed zooming for changing the field angle from the telephoto end to the wide-angle end or vice versa as quick as possible are very large.
However, when the zooming speed is varied over a broad range from ultra high speed to ultra low speed, in case of ultra-low-speed zooming, blur is produced in practice, but the in-focus level obtained by the current sampling remains the same as the previous value in relation to the sampling period of an AF signal, and the cam loci cannot be changed. As a result, the control halts in a blur state. This problem occurs conspicuously when a stepping motor is used to drive the variator or focus lens, since such motor has a drive halt period.
Also, when the zooming speed is varied over a broad range from ultra high speed to ultra low speed, if the focus lens moving amount is corrected in consideration of the in-focus level alone without taking the zooming speed into consideration like in the conventional system, the focus lens moving amount remains the same irrespective of the zooming speed when the in-focus level remains the same, thus posing the following problem. For example, upon ultra-high-speed zooming, the focus lens moves too much and overshoots the in-focus cam locus to be selected, and blur stands out. By contrast, upon ultra-low-speed zooming, a long time is required until the in-focus cam locus is reached.

Optical equipment and its control method, and computer-readable storage medium


A driver IC (60) for a printhead includes a first set of data side input/output pads (62) and a second set of data side input/output pads (63). The driver IC further includes circuitry (100) that can select that data is to be input at the first set of pads and output at the second set of pads.

Many electronic digital printers apply print characters to paper via multiple exposure elements of an exposure device. In some printers, such as the NexPress 2100 from NexPress Solutions LLC, the exposure elements are light emitting diodes ("LEDs") and the exposure device is an LED printhead.
The LEDs are typically controlled by a printhead driver integrated circuit ("IC"). Each driver IC may control many LEDs, and a printer may include multiple driver ICs.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art printhead driver IC board 10 that is used to control LEDs in a digital printer. Board 10 includes driver ICs 20 and 22 mounted on a substrate 12. Input/output pads 13 are placed along one of the long sides of the rectangular shaped driver ICs 20, 22 and are coupled to the LEDs (not shown). Pads 14 are placed along the other long side or "front" side of driver ICs 20, 22 and are coupled to a data bus. In order to connect pads 14 to the data bus, long parallel gold data traces 16 are required on substrate 12 to reach all driver ICs, and a very high number of wire bonds 15 are required to connect all the driver ICs to data traces 16. Host board connection pads 17 are also formed on substrate 12 to connect driver ICs 20, 22 to a host device that is the source of the data.
From the viewpoint of the host data board driver, the number of loads being driven by each data line on board 10 to the driver ICs is very high, since many driver ICs connect to the data traces in parallel and each data line has different signal path lengths. A transmission line analysis of printing systems that include board 10 shows complicated waveform reflections as a result of the uneven paths and unmatched lengths. This causes data speed limitations as well as excessive electromagnetic interference ("EMI") emissions.
The large number of wire bonds, as well as the long and unmatched in length signal paths on board 10 limit the speed of operation for high-speed data transmission. The parallel traces and the high number of wire bonds also add significant cost to the manufacturing materials and processes.
As the demand for higher speed operation of exposure devices such as LED printheads continues to rise, the need for higher speed transmission of data to the drivers also rises. Further, as the speed of transmission rises, EMI emissions also rise.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an improved printhead driver IC and data transfer method that allows for higher data transmission speed, with reduced EMI emissions.

Dual input bi-directional printhead driver integrated circuit


A yard hydrant includes a head section with a nozzle, a standpipe and valve housing in traditional hydrant relationship that is constructed and assembled into an integral unit which cannot be disassembled. An operating rod with valve means reciprocates in the standpipe and a valve housing in a well known manner. The rod extends through an enlarged opening formed in the head section for which there is provided a novel two piece gland unit with one piece being a packing gland nut for seal engagement with the operating rod in a well known manner and the other piece being a concentrically larger nut that is removably mounted in said opening in a watertight relationship thereto and in pressing engagement with the packing gland nut. Removal of the gland unit permits the operating rod and any attached components to be quickly and easily withdrawn from the integral unit through the opening in the head section for servicing or repairs.

This invention relates to improvements in yard hydrants and more particularly to an innovative form of construction and assembly not heretofore used.
Yard hydrants have long been used in water distribution systems and while they vary in details of construction for the common purpose of delivering a flow of water from a source of supply to a point of use, they all, in one form or another, include the common and traditional components of a head section, a valve housing for connection to a source of water supply under pressure, a standpipe connected to such section and housing and an operating rod with valve means reciprocating in the standpipe and valve housing to control water flow in a well known manner. Since it is necessary with the yard hydrant from time to time to remove the operating rod and attached valve parts for servicing and repairs, the traditional and currently used method by which past and present hydrant devices provide for such removal is to assemble the standpipe to the head section by threadable connections so that they can be disassembled for removal of internal parts. Since this form of assembly and disassembly has been effective for its intended purpose, it has been and is traditionally used although other changes and developments in the hydrant art have been made as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 353,739, 1,265,479, 2,649,111, 3,158,170 and 3,943,963.
In the highly competitive hydrant industry that exists today where there is a constant search for lower cost alternatives in hydrant construction and where minor reductions in cost of the finished product can become a formidable and valuable asset when mass production operatings are involved as they are in this field, I have found that the standpipe is one of the main components affecting the cost and selling price of the finished product because of a relatively high fixed cost component required in the cost of pipe having the necessary wall thickness required to accept threading and the necessary cost of threading not only both ends of the pipe but also the threading of the head section and the valve housing. Accordingly, it is one of the principal object of this invention to provide innovations in the construction and assembly of the yard hydrant that make it more simple, facile, economical and practical as compared with other past and present like devices.
More particularly, it is object herein to provide a yard hydrant in which the traditional separable components of a head section with a nozzle, a standpipe and valve housing are formed as an integral unit that cannot be disassembled and in which an opening in the head section portion receives a removable novel two piece packing gland unit that when removed, permits the quick and easy removal of internal parts for servicing and repairs.


A automatic ignition gas lantern includes baffle positioned near the outside of a mantle, so that gas flowing out of the mantle will be disturbed by the baffle. This sets up a region with a fuel/air mixture that can be easily and reliably ignited. A spark is then generated in this region, which ignites the gas and causes the mantle to glow brightly.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of lanterns that use compressed-gas fuel. More specifically, it relates to lanterns that include a gas-flow baffle to create, in the vicinity of the baffle and a mantle used with the lantern, a region having a fuel/air mixture that can be easily ignited. Once this region is established, it is ignited with a spark.
2. Description of Related Art
Lanterns that use compressed-gas fuel have been available for some time. To operate this type of lantern, the user connects the lantern to a source of compressed gas, such as a tank of propane. For ease of discussion, the invention is explained below using propane gas as an example. It is to be understood, however, that other suitable gases (including butane and mixtures of gases) may be used instead. The user then opens a valve, which allows the fuel to flow through a burner assembly and into a mantle, which is porous.
Traditionally, these lanterns are lit manually by holding a lit match near the outside of the mantle. When the gas escapes through the mantle and reaches the flame from the match, the gas starts to burn, which causes the mantle to glow brightly.
Lighting match-lit lanterns, however, can be cumbersome and inconvenient, particularly when it is dark outside. This type of lantern also suffers from a number of other disadvantages, including the inability to light the lantern if the user forgets to bring along matches, or if the matches get wet. In addition, because the mantle is extremely fragile, there is a significant risk that the mantle will be accidentally broken by the match.
To alleviate some of the problems associated with match-lit lanterns, various mechanisms have been proposed and implemented. For example, the Coleman Company Inc. makes a propane lantern, Model 5154B700T, with an electronic ignition system.
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the major components of that lantern. To operate that lantern, the user turns control knob 18 which opens a fuel valve 19 and releases gas into the burner 11. The gas mixes with air in the burner 11 and the fuel/air mixture flows out of the gas outlet 13 and into the mantle 14, and begins to escape through the porous mantle. In addition to opening the valve 19, turning the control knob 18 also actuates a piezoelectric spark generator 17. This spark generator 17 causes a spark to jump from a first electrode 15 to a second electrode 16. The first electrode is shaped like a blade and is about 3 cm long, 5 mm high, and 1 mm thick. Because these electrodes are positioned close to the outside of the mantle 14, the spark will ignite the gas escaping from the mantle 14, which causes the mantle. to glow.
Lanterns with electronic ignitions are significantly more convenient than the match-lit lanterns described above. With existing electronic ignition lanterns, however, sometimes the spark fails to light the lantern, particularly when the lantern is cold. Although the inventor has not performed any experiments to verify the reason, it may be because the gas in the vicinity of the mantle is moving relatively fast and has very little turbulence, which makes it difficult to ignite with a spark.
When the lantern does not light, the user can adjust the position of the electrodes and try to light the lantern again. Alternatively, the user can light the lantern using a match. But using these backup procedures is inconvenient, and therefore defeats the main advantage of the automatic ignition lanterns.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,311 describes some of the difficulties of lighting a lantern by providing a spark outside of the mantle. It also describes a system which claims to improve the lighting operation by generating a spark inside the mantle. It is, however, relatively difficult to manufacture lanterns that create sparks inside the mantle.


A heat exchanger may include a heat radiating portion provided with first, second, and third connecting lines formed in a predetermined sequence by stacking a plurality of plates, and receiving first, second, and third operating fluids respectively into the first, second, and third connecting lines, the first, second, and third operating fluids exchanging heat with each other while passing through the first, second, and third connecting lines and the first, second, and not being mixed with each other while being circulated, and a bifurcating portion connecting an inflow hole for flowing one operating fluid of the first, second, and third operating fluids with an exhaust hole for exhausting the one operating fluid, adapted for the one operating fluid to bypass the heat radiating portion according to a temperature of the one operating fluid, and mounted at an exterior of the heat radiating portion.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a heat exchanger for a vehicle which can control temperatures of operating fluids which flows in the heat exchanger.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a heat exchanger transfers heat from high-temperature fluid to low-temperature fluid through a heat transfer surface, and is used in a heater, a cooler, an evaporator, and a condenser.
Such a heat exchanger reuses heat energy or controls a temperature of an operating fluid flowing therein for demanded performance. The heat exchanger is applied to an air conditioning system or a transmission oil cooler of a vehicle, and is mounted at an engine compartment.
Since the heat exchanger is hard to be mounted at the engine compartment with restricted space, studies for the heat exchanger with smaller size, lighter weight, and higher efficiency have been developed.
A conventional heat exchanger controls the temperatures of the operating fluids according to a condition of a vehicle and supplies the operating fluids to an engine, a transmission, or an air conditioning system. For this purpose, bifurcation circuits and valves are mounted on each hydraulic line through which the operating fluids operated as heating medium or cooling medium passes. Therefore, constituent elements and assembling processes increase and layout is complicated.
If additional bifurcation circuits and valves are not used, heat exchanging efficiency cannot be controlled according to flow amount of the operating fluid. Therefore, the temperature of the operating fluid cannot be controlled efficiently.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


A method and apparatus for providing telephone call hand offs between a local cordless service and a different wireless cellular service such as a macro-cellular service. The local cordless service may be configured such that a mobile telephone equipped subscriber may place or receive calls for a fixed rate, for example, per month without having to pay radio frequency air time charges any time they are located within their selected subscribed-to zones. If the subscribed-to zones are adjacent to one another and the mobile subscriber roams from one zone to another, the subscriber may continue their free call uninterrupted and without paying air time charges. However, when the subscriber roams outside their subscribed-to zones they may be switched from the present local cordless services to conventional personal communications services and pay air time charges. However for an active call, no air-time charges are incurred as the user transitions between the cellular/DPCS environment and the local cordless service environment. Associated apparatus comprises an IBS for automatically changing radio frequency channels as the subscriber roams within a subscribed-to neighborhood zone, roams to another subscribed-to zone or roams outside a subscribed-to zone. Subscribers may choose to use their mobile identification number, their current directory telephone number for wired public switched telephone service or obtain a new directory number.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of providing call handoff in a wireless environment such as a neighborhood cordless service that provides service at a flat rate wherein there is no air time charge for calls made within a home neighborhood zone or subscribed-to visiting neighborhood zone(s).
2. Description of the Related Arts
It is known to provide wireless services for a fixed fee and to charge additional air time fees for each period of time that a subscriber to the wireless services is using the radio frequency spectrum. Such services were initiated in the 1970's as analog wireless services and have become digital over time, for example, the relatively new digital personal communications services (DPCS).
It has been known up until recently to permit users to have cordless telephone apparatus comprising a base station and a mobile unit such that the mobile unit may communicate with the base station over limited distances of several hundred feet. Recently, in the United States, however, a band of frequencies has been made available in the 900 MHZ range for providing cordless telephone service where the mobile station can be as far removed from the base station portion of the station apparatus by as much as one mile under optimal conditions. Consequently, a user would not have to pay for air time charges as in wireless services such as personal communications services if a mobile station is confined within one mile radius of the typically home-located base station.
Fixed wireless subscriber loop services are also known. Equipment for providing such services is available from suppliers such as Diva Communications and OptoPhone Systems. The fixed wireless subscriber loop concept has been used successfully to provide telephone services to remote, for example, mountainous regions. To provide a copper wire subscriber loop to such customers can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per subscriber. Subscribers to a fixed wireless subscriber loop system have an antenna mounted to their home or business and receive an equivalent of wired services over a wireless link to an antenna site, for example, on the top of the mountain. Service can be provided for a fixed rate, the copper subscriber wired loop eliminated and no air time charges are charged.
There is still a need in the art for a wireless service that would permit a mobile subscriber to roam within a zone close to their home in the same way as a 900 MHZ cordless customer is free to carry their cordless phone from room to room. A mobile subscriber should be able to roam and also move from one zone to another or make calls from non-contiguous zones without having to pay for air time charges. In today's cellular environment, airtime is charged. The current fee structure thus has very little incentive for customers to continue use their cellular phones when they have access to a home-based landline phone. In order to achieve the objectives of one phone, one number anytime and anywhere communications, it is imperative that a neighborhood or local 'cordless type' of services be provided to all the public cellular/PCS subscribers and with incentive to use the same PCS phone in the home/office and around the neighborhood area without air time charges. A subscriber should not lose a call in progress as they move from one subscribed-to zone to another adjacent subscribed zone, and should have the opportunity to switch automatically to known DPCS services and pay air time charges should they so choose.
There is further a need for providing call hand-off in such a proposed wireless service. For example, there is a need to provide call hand-off between cells in such a proposed network and between such a proposed network and an existing conventional network such as a conventional macro-cellular wireless network.

Neighborhood cordless service call handoff


According to an embodiment, there is provided a thin film transistor substrate divided into a display area displaying the image and a non-display besides the display area, the thin film transistor substrate comprising: a common voltage line for MPS (mass production system) test and a grounding line for MPS (mass production system) test formed at the edge of the non-display area in parallel; an insulating layer covering the common voltage line for MPS (mass production system) test and the grounding line for MPS (mass production system) test; and an electrode layer formed on the insulating layer corresponded to the common voltage line for MPS (mass production system) test and the grounding line for MPS (mass production system) test. Thus, the present invention provides a thin film transistor substrate and a fabricating method thereof for minimizing defects due to static electricity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor substrate applied to a liquid crystal display device and a fabricating method thereof, and more particularly, to the thin film transistor substrate and a fabricating method thereof minimizing defects due to static electricity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display panel, an organic light emitting diode, and an electrophoretic indication display has been developed to substitute for a CRT (cathode ray tube).
Generally, the flat panel display device comprises a display panel, and the display panel comprises the thin film transistor substrate 5 a thin film transistor formed on. As shown in FIG. 1, the thin film transistor substrate 5 is fabricated by steps of dividing a mother substrate 1 into a substrate area (a) and a peripheral area (b), forming a lot of layers on the substrate area (a) and patterning each layer into a specific shape, and cutting the mother substrate 1 in each substrate area (a).
A test process is carried out to test whether a defect occurs or not on the wire or layer of the substrate area (a) before dividing the mother substrate 1 into each substrate area (a). Among the test process, testing whether defects occur or not when a voltage applied to the wire or layer and the thin film transistor driven may be an MPS (mass production system) test. Electric defects are checked through the MPS (mass production system) test.
The following is an illustration of the MPS (mass production system) test referring to FIG. 1.
A lot of testing wires 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 are provided on the peripheral area (b) for the MPS (mass production system) test. A lot of testing wires 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 comprise a first test line 15 connected to an odd number gate wire (not shown), a second test line 25 connected to an even number gate wire (not shown), a fifth test line 55 connected to an odd number data wire (not shown), a sixth test line 65 connected to an even number data wire (not shown), a third test line 35 for testing whether a voltage is applied to the common voltage line (not shown) or not, and a fourth test line 45 for testing a short between substrate areas (a). The third test line 35 is connected to the common voltage line (not shown) and the fourth test line 45 is connecting between substrate areas (a). The thin film transistor substrate 5 shown in FIG. 1 is a dual gate type that a gate pad is provided on both sides of the substrate.
Each testing wire 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 is connected to each pad 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60. The thin film transistor substrate 5 is tested whether electric defects occurs or not on the thin film transistor substrate 5 by applying a voltage to each pad 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60. After finishing the MPS (mass production system) test, the mother substrate 1 divided into each substrate area (a).
As described above, a lot of testing wires 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 are provided on the thin film transistor substrate 5 complicatedly before dividing the mother substrate 1 into each substrate area (a). Thus, Static electricity occurred on the thin film transistor substrate 5 may go to each passage such as testing wires 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, thereby minimizing defects due to static electricity.
However, there is no passage for static electricity that have occurred on the thin film transistor substrate 5 go to because testing wires 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 are cut when the mother substrate 1 is divided into each substrate areas (a). Thus, defects such as a short among the gate wire (not shown), the data wire (not shown), and the common voltage line (not shown) may occur. Even though static electricity prevention circuit is provided so as to prevent defects due to static electricity on the thin film transistor 5, static electricity prevention circuit is not enough for preventing defects due to static electricity because there is a lot of ways static electricity may be introduced. For example, while moving the thin film transistor film 5, the static electricity may be introduced into the thin film transistor film 5.

Thin film transistor substrate having electrode layers that are formed on insulating layer to cover common voltage line and grounding line