A system for determining the shortest time needed for a driver to switch the foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal in case of emergency and to push on the brake pedal. When the danger-imitating signal lamp is ignited, preferably, at random, the first photo-receiver receives the light signal and sends it to the signal amplifier, wherefrom the amplified signal is sent to the computer via the time counter. The computer begins to register the length of the light signal. As soon as the driver reacts to the light signal of the signal lamp, he or she moves his or her foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal and pushes on the brake pedal, thus igniting the brake lights. Thus, the time interval between the moment of initiation of the first photo-receiver and the initiation of the second photo-receiver corresponds to the time of the driver's response to the light signal that imitates a danger plus time of transfer from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal. The above-described test is repeated several times at different positions of the under-thigh support to find the position most optimal for the shortest braking time.

Car crashes now claim more than 40,000 lives each year in the United States, a number that has slowly declined from about 50,000 per year over the last four decades. Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death among people 1 to 34 years of age, accounting for 3.4 million nonfatal injuries annually and costing an estimated $200 billion. Rates of automobile fatalities and injuries per driver and per mile driven have decreased substantially because of safer cars and roads, laws that discourage drunk driving, and other measures, but the absolute toll of automobile crashes remains high.
By the year 2025 there will be 33 million people 70 years or older in America. This segment of the population will be growing 2.5 times as fast as the total population. These senior citizens will make up the largest percentage of "slow reaction" accidents. Slowly but surely senior citizens have developed a higher accident ratio than teenagers. And also, by 2025, total costs for motor vehicle accidents in the United States will exceed 450 billion dollars. Heretofore many studies have been conducted to improve the ergonomics of a vehicle seat. For example, "Survey of Auto Seat Design Recommendations for Improved Comfort" by M. P. Reed, et al., (University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor), 1994 contains a review of a large body of literature with emphasis on fit parameters related to anthropometric measurements, feel parameters, including pressure distribution and vapor permeability, and support parameters defined with respect to the seat posture. Particular attention is given to appropriate lumbar support.
Other studies aimed at measuring the reaction time of the driver in case of dangerous situations can be found in the following publications and Internet materials: 1) "Reaction-Time Measurement and Real-Time Data Acquisition for Neuroscientific Experiments in Virtual Environments" by J. Valvoda, et al., Aachen University (http://www.rz.rwth-aachen.de/vr/papers/MMVRJan2004.pdf); 2) Reaction Time of Drivers to Road Stimuli, Monash University Human Factors Group—Report HFR-12, Authors: T. Triggs & W. Harris, (http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/Other/hfr12.html); and 3) How the Driver Reaction Meter Works (http://www.sibtec.com/driverhowitworks.html).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,355 issued in 2001 to W. Fay, III discloses an easily adjustable foot-operated pedal assembly, such as a brake pedal for use in heavy equipment that can be placed in multiple positions to accommodate people of differing heights and body shapes.
The necessity for a raised under-thigh support] is mentioned in many advertisements for modern cars. For example, in "Nissan 350Z GT-MotorBar Road Test" it is stated that "a raised bolster in the middle of the seat cushion helps give extra under-thigh support for more precise operation of the pedal". In the pamphlet entitled "Follow-Up Test: 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8" it is stated that "the long-haul comfort is commendable too, with excellent under-thigh support and feeling of the seats wrapping around".
Investigations show that the total stopping distance of a vehicle is made up of four components: human perception time; human reaction time; vehicle reaction time; and vehicle braking capability.
Human perception time is the time it takes a driver to see a hazard and the brain to realize that it is a hazard requiring immediate reaction. This component of stopping distance is human factors and as such can be affected by age, tiredness, alcohol, and concentration levels. Once the brain realizes danger, the human reaction time is the time it takes to move the foot from the accelerator to the break pedal and then to depress the pedal. The movement time from the accelerator to the brake is approximately 500 ms (according to the University of Iowa).
Heretofore many studies have been conducted in order to determine the response time for pressing the brake pedal. For example, an article "Response Time" by Charles C. Roberts, Jr. (http://www.croberts.com/respon.htm) describes a test apparatus that evaluates this reaction time. As soon as the light turns red on the console, the driver releases the accelerator and applies the brake. The reaction time is measured. This form of testing is often called "simple reaction time" because it is a result of a single stimulus, the red light. Reaction times are typically on the order of ¾ of a second. However, response times are more complex and can be as high as 3 to 4 seconds because response time consists of perception/decision time plus reaction time. The perception/decision time is the time it takes to view a hazard and to decide what to do about it. The reaction time is the time it takes to perform a particular function once a decision is made. The response time for removing one's hand from a hot skillet is relatively quick and is on the order of about a half second. In this example, a natural response to excessive heat bypasses visual sensors, allowing for a quicker response time. Driving an automobile requires a high degree of visual processing, which tends to extend response times. What can be gleaned from the discussions in the article is that response time is a distributed quantity because of variability in people as well as in situations that require a response. The accident reconstruction community often assumes a maximum 2.5- to 3.0-second response time. This may apply to most accidents with obvious hazards. Other accidents involving less defined or confusing hazards may result in longer response times. Other factors extending response time are age, time of day, gender, and chemical usage, suggesting that response time is typically characteristic of a particular set of circumstances encountered in an accident.
There are many other studies of response times and their usage, but none of these studies takes into account the effect of finding the most optimal physical position for the driver's leg relative to the accelerator and brake pedal.
When driving a vehicle, the driver's leg that controls the accelerator and brake pedal can be considered a biomechanical system, the model of which is shown in FIG. 1. In the context of the present invention, the part of the leg from the fulcrum point H of the heel on the vehicle floor to the knee joint KN is referred to as "leg" L; the part of the driver's leg from the point H to the point T1 of contact with the accelerator pedal 20 is referred to as "foot" FT; and the part of the driver's leg from the point KN to the pelvic floor joint PF, which is considered the a fulcrum point on the vehicle seat 22, is referred to as "thigh" TH.
FIG. 2 is a view of the driver's right leg in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1. Two planes must be considered for analysis of the movement in which the driver's leg participates. The first plane is a plane I-I that is slightly inclined with respect to the vertical plane V-V and passes through the thigh TH and leg L, i.e., the plane that passes through the joints PF, KN, and H′ (where H′ is a heel joint (FIGS. 1 and 2). The plane I-I corresponds to the unrestrained position of the leg during normal driving with the foot PT on the accelerator pedal 20. The second plane is plane II-II which passes through the same joints when the foot FT is on the brake pedal 24. The position of the leg in plane II-II is shown by broken lines.
Let us consider movements of the driver's leg during when one drives a car with an automatic gear box wherein two pedals, i.e., the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal, are used to control the car. Although in reality, these movements are more complicated, in a simplified form they can be considered as the following two modes.
In the first mode, let us assume that for the initial position of the leg, the foot FT is on the accelerator pedal 20. When braking is needed, the driver with relatively short legs first slightly raises the foot FT from the floor F so that the heel is disconnected from point H and the leg is shifted sidewise to the brake pedal 24. In this movement the entire leg is raised relative to the point PF as a fulcrum. The driver then turns the entire leg relative to the plane I-I to the plane II-II and moves the leg down in order to press on the brake pedal 24.
In the second mode, which is more typical for a driver with relatively long legs, in order to brake from the position on the accelerator pedal 20, the driver merely turns the foot FT relative to the point H.
In reality, the aforementioned movements are more complicated and may comprise a combination of both movements simultaneously. In the context of the present patent application, the movement of the foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal also includes the movement of pushing on the brake pedal until actual initiation of the brakes, i.e., to the moment when the brake lights are ignited.
It is important to consider the aforementioned movements with regard to the time of braking. It has been experimentally proven by the inventor that when a human being accomplishes braking movements on the basis of subconscious reflexes, the aforementioned movements are not at all optional. In other words, there exists a certain unnatural position of the pedal-controlling leg that can provide a more optimal breaking condition, i.e., the condition that allows shortening of the braking time and hence of the braking path.
To provide the most optimal position of a driver's right leg in order to shorten the momentum for movement of the feet from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal and to subsequently press the brake pedal, the inventor herein developed a special under-thigh pillow that can be used for supporting and fixing the driver's right leg in the aforementioned optimal position.
The aforementioned under-thigh pillow is a subject of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/509,376 which was filed by the same applicant on Aug. 24, 2006 and which is incorporated herein by reference.
The use of the aforementioned under-thigh support is justified only if the aforementioned under-thigh support is installed and fixed in a predetermined position that depends on specific anthropometric data of each individual driver. In other words, the most optimal position of the under-thigh support of the aforementioned patent application will be different for people of different builds.

Method and system for shortening brake activation reaction time


The present invention discloses an apparatus of LED flat light signal display, which comprises at least one light emitting diode, a plurality of flat microlens and at least one microlens set. The light emitting diode acts as a light source for discharging light. The flat microlens comprises a plurality of concentric serrated rings for collimating and converging convergence received from the light source. The microlens set comprises at least one microlens unit with a specific geometric shape for receiving light transmitted from the flat microlens to produce a light spot identical to the specific geometric shape, and the micro unit has a lateral side on its external edge to be disposed next to another lateral side of another micro unit to define a geometric plane. The present invention can provide a maximum viewing area with a minimum quantity of LEDs while being applied in dot matrix LED signals or imaging devices, and also make the images produced by the device smoother to enhance the comfort of viewing.

At present, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are commonly used in televisions, PC display devices, digital cameras, mobile phones, lamps, various sized billboards, traffic lights, and automobile warning lamps, etc. In recent years, the LED industry in Taiwan grows rapidly and has become the world's second largest supplier, just second to Japan. Therefore, the LED industry is considered as a blooming industry with a large business opportunity that is going to succeed the flat panel industry.
The Taiwan's LED industry shows a high growth in recent years and is expected to have a total annual output value of 25.3 billion NT dollars and a global market share of 21% (only second to Japan's 47%) by 2004, that Taiwan is the world's second largest LED supplier. The reason for LEDs to have such a fast growing market mainly resides in two driving forces. Firstly, the LED is being employed as the backlight source of display device; and secondly, the LED is being used as the replacement of the traditional incandescent light bulb and fluorescent lamp in the general light source market. In the foregoing two fast-growing markets, the LED has advantages on environmental protection, power saving and outstanding color performance; wherein the ban on mercury usage issued in 2006 by the environmental protection laws and regulations of European Union is the primary factor for driving the growth of these markets.
The conventional LED dot matrix signal display product as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,893 is an LED assembly having a plurality of traditional LED module surrounding an automobile light, such as the headlight, taillight and signal light, etc., so that the LED surrounding a main lamp is enabled while the main lamp is malfunctioned.
Further, an LED warning lamp disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,502 comprises a plurality of LED modules disposed on a reflector, in which the LED module is a combination of LEDs of different colors.
A backlit light source device of TFT-LCD is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,614, that the backlight device employs a waveguide to synthesize and redirect the light emitted from an LED module to an LCD panel so as to achieve the function of a backlit panel.
Further, a backlit module disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,691 is accomplished by installing an LED on the thicker part of a wedge-shaped light guide and adding an optical grating to assist the dispersion of light source. However, such arrangement only gives very little effect and is not suitable for large flat panel display.
Further, an LED assembly of billboard disclosed in the R.O.C. Pat. No. 290159 is accomplished by aligning a plurality of LED boards, each having a plurality of LED modules arranged thereon, to define a display billboard, so that the display billboard can show the required patterns by way of different arranging order of the LED modules.
In view of the foregoing description, most of the LED applications have the following shortcomings:    (1) Since the traditional LED arrays applied in signal devices, such as traffic lights, taillights, large outdoor billboards, etc., cannot be installed closely with each other, therefore it is general for a signal display applying traditional LED arrays to have a plurality of dark area seen on the surface of the signal device that shows an image formed by a plurality of light-dots, and is not a smooth and evenly lighted surface.    (2) The LED array used in signal devices, such as the traffic lights, taillights, large outdoor electronic billboards, etc., cannot achieve the smooth display effect under the prior-art structure. In addition, the LED array is not packaged by flat packaging, which increases the volume of the LED package and thus affects the smoothness of the image and text displayed on the signal device.

Apparatus of LED flat light signal display

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present invention generally relates to a process for the skeletal isomerization of unsaturated linear fatty acids and/or alkyl esters thereof to their branched counterparts. Said skeletal isomerization process comprises contacting said unsaturated linear fatty acids and/or alkyl esters thereof with at least one metal ion exchanged solid material catalyst. The present invention also relates to a process for the preparation of branched fatty acids and/or alkyl esters thereof from their straight chain counterparts. Finally, the invention also relates to various derivatives prepared from the branched fatty acids and/or alkyl esters prepared in accordance with the present invention.

Fatty acids and alkyl esters thereof are the building blocks for various compositions ranging from lubricants, polymers, solvents, cosmetics and the like. Fatty acids are generally obtained by hydrolysis of triglycerides of vegetable or animal origin. Naturally occurring triglycerides are esters of glycerol and generally straight chain, even numbered carboxylic acids, in size ranging from 10–24 carbon atoms. Most common are fatty acids having 12, 14, 16 or 18 carbon atoms. The fatty acids are either saturated or contain one or more unsaturated bonds.
Long, straight chain saturated fatty acids (C10:0 and higher) are solid at room temperature, which makes them difficult to process in a number of applications. Unsaturated long chain fatty acids, however, e.g. oleic acid are liquid at room temperature, so are easy to process, but are unstable because of the existence of double bond(s). Branched fatty acids mimic the properties of the straight chain unsaturated fatty acids in many respects, but do not have the disadvantage of being unstable. "Branched fatty acids" means fatty acids containing one or more alkyl side groups, and/or aryl groups, which are attached to the carbon chain backbone at any position. Therefore, branched fatty acids are for many applications more desirable than straight chain fatty acids. Commercial branched acids are not, however, naturally occurring materials.
Currently, branched fatty acids are obtained by isomerization (branching) of the straight chain, unsaturated fatty acids having a corresponding chain length. For example, branched C18:0 is prepared from straight C18:1 (or also C18:2). Various routes are known for said isomerization or branching of fatty acids in the art.
In one process, for example, clay is used as a catalyst. Clay catalyzed isomerization suffers, however, from two main disadvantages. First, a considerable amount of undesired side products containing oligomers, saturated straight chain fatty acids and intermediate dimers is formed. A second disadvantage is that the clay catalyst cannot be reused.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,856,539 discloses an isomerization process whereby a fatty acid feed comprising unsaturated fatty acids is contacted with a catalyst, characterized in that the catalyst comprises a material having a microporous structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,473 describes a process for preparing branched chain fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof which comprises subjecting unsaturated fatty acids having 10–25 carbon atoms or alkyl esters thereof to a skeletal isomerization reaction in the presence of water or a lower alcohol using a zeolite as a catalyst. The zeolite has a linear pore structure of a size small enough to retard dimerization and large enough to allow diffusion of the branched fatty acids or alkyl esters thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,949 describes a process for the production of branched fatty acids and their esters, which comprises reacting unsaturated fatty acids or esters thereof with aliphatic nonactivated olefins in the presence of layer silicates and active carbon.
However, all of these processes are plagued by low yield and/or a high rate of undesireable byproduct formation. Accordingly, there is a need for a new process that overcomes these disadvantages, i.e. a process for the preparation of branched fatty acids from straight chain unsaturated fatty acid feedstocks with a high conversion rate, an increased selectivity towards branched monomeric isomers and which employs a reusable catalyst.

Metal ion exchanged solid materials as catalysts for the skeletal isomerization of fatty acids and alkyl esters thereof


In a mobile network comprising a plurality of base stations and a gateway, a user equipment may perform a handover from a source base station to a target base station. By control signalling, the handover may be notified from the target base station to a control node of the mobile network and then to the gateway so that the gateway may switch to a data path which connects the target base station and the gateway. The notification of the handover may be delayed at the target base station or at the control node, by starting a timer and sending the control signalling for initiating the path switching after expiry of the timer.

In mobile networks, e.g., as specified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), it is known to perform a handover in the Radio Access Network (RAN) and then inform a core network of the executed handover. For example 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.401 defines that in a mobile network according to the specifications of 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), a handover is executed in the LTE RAN, using signalling between the user equipment (UE), and the involved base stations, referred to as source eNB (evolved Node B) and target eNB. Once the handover is executed and the UE connects to the target eNB, the target eNB notifies the handover to the core network, referred to as EPC (Evolved Packet Core). This is accomplished by signalling to a control node referred to as MME (Mobility Management Entity). The MME then handles switching to a user plane data path which connects the target eNB with a serving gateway (SGW).
The above handover mechanism may result in significant signalling load at the MME and/or the SGW. This is particularly true for deployments where the number of handovers is high due to the small cells and high mobility of UEs, or due to the sensitive handover threshold settings in the RAN which result in handovers even at a slight change in the measured radio link characteristics.
Accordingly, there is a need for solutions which allow for efficient handover signalling in a mobile network.

Delayed handover signalling in a mobile network


A closed-loop Brayton cycle rotating machine is provided with a sealed circuit in which a working fluid flows. This circuit comprises a compressor for compressing the working fluid, a hollow cylindrical recovery heat exchanger for preheating the compressed working fluid, a H.T. boiler for heating the preheated compressed working fluid to a high temperature, a turbine for generating mechanical energy by expanding the compressed H.T. working fluid through the turbine, and downstream of and axially aligned with the turbine, an exhaust pipe for the expanded H.T. working fluid. The circuit is configured so that the expanded H.T. working fluid constitutes a heat source of the recovery heat exchanger. The boiler is in the general shape of a hollow cylinder and is interposed coaxially between the axial turbine/exhaust pipe assembly and the recovery heat exchanger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a compact closed-loop Brayton cycle rotating machine. In addition, the invention is directed to a propulsion system comprising this type of machine, and a vehicle provided with propulsion means of this kind.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The closed-loop Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle in which a gas, a mixture of gases, or working fluid, referred to together hereinafter as "working fluid", flows in a closed circuit through the following stages:
the cold working fluid is compressed, PA1 the compressed cold working fluid is heated, PA1 the compressed heated working fluid is expanded, PA1 the expanded heated working fluid is cooled, and PA1 the cooled working fluid is recycled to the compressor stage, thus completing the cycle.
Various types of heat sources may heat the working fluid, such as a nuclear reactor or a boiler with burners fed with fuel oil or natural gas.
The working fluid is expanded in a turbine, or the like, so as to recover mechanical energy.
Closed-loop Brayton cycle turbines are used in nuclear power plants in which size is not critical. Furthermore, these turbines are constructed individually for a specific power plant and with higher power ratings appropriate to the substantial heat source that the specific nuclear reactor represents.
Closed-loop Brayton cycle turbines have also been developed for use in underwater craft and spacecraft. Once again, they are constructed individually at a cost that is unthinkable in the context of large series production. Furthermore, the proposed turbines always have a high power rating and/or large overall dimensions.
Turbines have been proposed having two structurally separate parts disposed one after the other or one in parallel with the other. The first part constitutes the main working fluid heating stage (boiler) and the second part constitutes the working fluid compression, preheating and expansion stages. However, this separate arrangement has disadvantages, including high head losses in the pipes conveying the working fluid between the two parts of the turbine, and loss of heat dissipated by the structures of the boiler part and along the pipes connecting the various parts. Furthermore, prior art turbines operate with temperatures in the order of 1000.degree. C. As a result the thermal efficiency is not very high.

Compact closed-loop brayton cycle rotating machine, propulsion system comprising a machine of this kind, and vehicle provided with propulsion means of this kind

Alcatel Altshom Compagnie Generale D'Electricite


A communications apparatus includes multiple SIM cards, a RF signal processing module including two or more RF signal processing units which including at least a first RF signal processing unit, and an arbiter configured for dynamically determining which SIM card to use which RF signal processing unit for handling a radio activity of the SIM card according to priority of radio activities of the SIM cards and RF signal processing capability of the RF signal processing units. A number of the SIM cards is equal to or greater than a number of the RF signal processing units included in the RF signal processing module.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods for handling multiple radio activities of multiple SIM cards equipped in a communications apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
The term "wireless" normally refers to an electrical or electronic operation that is accomplished without the use of a hard-wired connection. "Wireless communication" is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or wires. The distances involved may be short (a few meters for television remote controls) or very long (thousands or even millions of kilometers for radio communications). The best-known example of wireless communications is the cellular telephone. Cellular telephones use radio waves to enable an operator to make phone calls to another party from many locations world-wide. They can be used anywhere, as long as there is a cellular telephone site to house equipment that can transmit and receive signals, which are processed to transfer both voice and data to and from the cellular telephones.
There are various well-developed and -defined cellular communications technologies. For example, the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is a well-defined and commonly adopted communications system, which uses time division multiple access (TDMA) technology, which is a multiplex access scheme for digital radio, to send voice, data, and signalling data (such as a dialed telephone number) between mobile phones and cell sites. The CDMA2000 is a hybrid mobile communications 2.5G/3G (generation) technology standard that uses code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. The UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is a 3G mobile communications system, which provides an enhanced range of multimedia services over the 2G GSM system. The Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) is a technology defined by the 802.11b engineering standard and can be used in home networks, mobile phones, and video games to provide a high-frequency wireless local area network.
With the advanced development of wireless communications technologies, it is now possible to provide multiple wireless communications services using different or the same communications technologies in one communications apparatus. In order to provide more efficient and reliable wireless communications services, methods for handling multiple radio activities of multiple SIM cards equipped in a communications apparatus are provided.

Method for handling radio activities of multiple SIM cards equipped in a communications apparatus and communications apparatus utilizing the same


A stack separator and restacker comprises a conveyor, a splitting bar, a multiplicity of lifting bars and hydraulic controls to operate them. The stack separator and restacker splits a stack or package of rigid elongated members, such as lumber, into smaller stacks or packages by first using the splitting bar to raise one end of the top portion of the stack. The lifting bars then raise the entire top portion of the stack. Once the top portion is completely raised, the bottom portion, now of standardized dimensions, is moved along the conveyor. The top portion is then lowered and is either resplit, restacked onto another stack or package, or is moved along the conveyor for further processing.

I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for separating, lifting and reforming stacks or packages of layered objects into stacks of predetermined or standardized dimensions, and more particularly to a new method and apparatus for separating, lifting and restacking packages of lumber into standardized packages.
II. Prior Art and Other Considerations
In modern sawmill and lumber treatment operations, one of the most important manufacturing stages involves the arrangement of elongated timber bodies in stacks suitable for drying or pressurized chemical treating.
Currently lumber treatment mills receive untreated lumber from many different sources. The lumber arrives at the treatment mill in a stack, called a package. No standard size exists for lumber packages resulting in package heights which vary from as few as one layer to more than sixty layers, depending on the dimension of the individual members of the package and the established practice of the particular supply mill furnishing the lumber. To chemically treat the lumber, the treatment mill quite frequently must convert the different sized packages into uniform or standardized packages, the dimensions of which conform to the parameters of the treatment mill's pressurized treatment cylinders and/or market demand.
Prior art methods to date for restacking or repackaging elongated members of a stack of lumber have consisted of either board-by-board manual restacking, which is quite obviously very labor intensive, or the use of conventional lumber stackers wherein the lumber package is broken down into individual boards and then reformed into the desired size package or where the lumber is shifted from its original package one layer at a time and then reformed or restacked into a more desirable sized package.
In a prior art device of this kind, a stacked layer in its full length is shifted perpendicularly off the remainder of the package. The layer is then positioned onto a receiving structure provided near the package, whereupon the layer is taken apart. Such a device requires a very large working area due to the type of mechanical handling necessary for such repackaging technique. In addition, the operation of breaking down the lumber package layer by layer and shifting each layer out of its original package onto a receiving structure is very time consuming.
Another prior art method is to supply individual pieces of lumber to a machine which then forms a package. A device for automatically supplying working machines with individual pieces that are withdrawn from an orderly arranged stack is known from German AS No. 2,323,227. With this device, a package layer is pushed transversely off a package by means of engaging members, and the layer is then taken apart by shifting the individual pieces in their longitudinal direction. A transverse pushing, however, is possible only if the sliding surfaces of the layers in the stack are absolutely smooth. Such a device also requires all the individual pieces of a stack layer to have exactly equal thicknesses and be absolutely even, that is, not warped, bent, or the like. If the lumber in the package is not absolutely smooth, the use of a plurality of regularly spaced elements, called stickers, is required to be provided transversely between every two stack layers. Since such ideal conditions rarely occur, in practice, a transverse shifting of a stack layer is possible only when a stack with spacer elements is used.
Such a device for separating and shifting elongated members of a stack of members is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,836 to Schiepe. This device is designed to separate and laterally shift one layer of a stack of layers for repositioning and, if necessary, for further separation of the members of the layer. Restacking or reforming the layers without lateral shifting is not possible with this device nor can the device shift or reposition more than one layer of members at a time.
Another prior art device relates to an apparatus for breaking up or subdividing stacks of superimposed or overlapping panels, particularly wooden or composition boards or sheets of plywood, for feeding into the range of a rotary saw blade in a power saw or similar tool. In operation, a lifting device carries a stack of overlapping panels and cooperates with a transfer unit to supply a desired number of overlapping panels, or discrete panels, into the range of the subdividing or severing tool.
In a machine tool of the above outlined character, it is necessary to control the extent of upward movement of the lifting device in order to ensure that a requisite number of panels will be placed into the range of the transfer unit, and it is further necessary to regulate the extent of back-and-forth movement of the transfer unit in order to reduce to a minimum the length of strokes of the transfer unit. As a rule such operations are controlled by an attendant who stands or sits adjacent to a control panel with a variety of pushbuttons, knobs, levers or analogous actuating elements for the corresponding prime movers of the machine tool. In other words, it is necessary to monitor the number of panels which have been lifted into the path of movement of the transfer unit so that the latter can thereupon perform a working stroke and transfer the selected number of panels onto the table or other suitable work support of the machine tool.
The above outlined operations must be carried out by a conscientious operator in order to avoid damage to the workpieces and/or to parts of the machine tool, or injury to attendants. Furthermore, the work is time consuming if the operator is not experienced and very familiar with the operation of the controls because he or she is likely to cause the transfer unit to perform strokes of excessive length with resultant lengthening of intervals between successive severing operations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,358 to Jenkner attempts to improve upon the safety features of such a machine tool and to provide for more automation of same. However, while this prior art device has some limited capability for separating stacks of panels, the device is designed for specific use with a power saw or other similar machine tool and does not attempt to address the needs or objects addressed by the present invention.
At the present time, machines which have the capability to form or restack packages of elongated members are very complicated and intricate in their operation and design and typically require the use of several human operators. These prior art machines are also limited in their ability to quickly separate and restack packages of elongated members.
Inasmuch as conventional apparatus of the above type is very expensive to construct and inasmuch as proper operation of these prior art machines require at least two or more individuals, the operating costs for such conventional installations remain undesirably high.
For the above reasons, a considerable effort has been made over a long period of time to develop a method and plant according to which only a single individual would be required to perform all of the operations in connection with separating, lifting and reforming stacks of elongated members, such as lumber, into standardized or conforming packages.

Method and apparatus for stack separator and restacker


Chiral 2,5-disubstituted phospholanes useful as transition metal ligands in asymmetric catalysis and processes for their preparation are disclosed.

The development of novel catalytic systems exhibiting unique reactivity and high enantioselectivity requires the synthesis of chiral ligands for transition metals. Generally, some of the most successful chiral ligands have been chelating phosphines pocessing a C.sub.2 symmetry axis. The synthesis of these phosphines in optically pure form often involves tedious synthetic routes that are limited to only one antipode or require a resolution step.
One synthetic route is through a diol intermediate. S. Masamune et al., Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 54, p. 1755 (1989) teaches use of Baker's yeast for the reduction of 2,5-hexanedione to the corresponding (S,S)-diol, followed by reaction with methanesulfonyl chloride and ring closure with benzylamine to form the optically pure (2R,5R)-2,5-dimethylpyrrolidine. Wilson et al., Synlett, pp. 199-200, April (1990) disclose similar use of a diol intermediate formed via a Baker's yeast reduction of a diketone in the preparation of a 2,5-dimethylphospholane (Compound 10). The phospholane is prepared by reacting the diol with methanesulfonyl chloride followed by phenylphosphine in the presence of potassium hydroxide. However, enzymatic reductions generally provide only one enantiomer of the desired product, and can have limitations such as high substrate specificity, low product yields, or involved isolation procedures.
In addition, many of the chiral phosphines known in the art have at least two aryl substituents on the phosphorus, rendering that center relatively electron poor. The mechanism of asymmetric induction using these phosphines has been linked to the proper conformational relationship between the phenyl groups on the phosphorus centers.
More recently, chiral phosphines having relatively electron-rich phosphorus centers have been reported. Brunner et al., Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol. 328, PP. 71-80 (1987) teach 3,4-disubstituted phospholanes derived from tartaric acid having chloro, methoxy, or dimethylamino substituents. These were complexed with manganese and rhodium and used as catalysts in the hydrogenation of alpha-N-acetamidocinnamic acid. Relatively low optical yields of (S)-N-acetylphenylalanine of from 6.6% enantiomeric excess to 16.8% enantiomeric excess were obtained.
A need exists for transition metal complexes providing high levels of stereochemical control and asymmetric induction in stoichiometric and catalytic transformations. A need also exists for efficient synthetic routes for the preparation of chiral ligands having a high degree of enantiomeric purity for transition metal catalysts.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide novel phospholane compounds as chiral ligands for transition metals.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide transition metal catalysts which provide high levels of stereochemical control of reactions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide transition metal catalysts which result in high levels of asymmetric induction in hydrogenation reactions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide efficient synthetic routes for the preparation of these phospholane compounds.

Chiral phospholane transition metal catalysts


Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that determines a center of rotation for a component in a computer system. During operation, the system measures a first acceleration of a first location on the component and a second acceleration of a second location on the component, wherein the first location and the second location are separated by a predetermined distance. Then, the system determines the center of rotation using the first acceleration, the second acceleration, and the predetermined distance.

1. Field
The present invention generally relates to techniques for improving the reliability of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for determining a center of rotation for a component in a computer system.
2. Related Art
Components in a computer system, such as the chassis, disk drives, disk drive cages, and printed circuit boards (PCBs), can suffer damage through vibrations which can potentially lead to failure of the component or computer system. Therefore, to ensure proper mechanical design of a computer system, it is important to understand the vibration modes of components in the computer system. This allows designers to mitigate the impact of these vibrations at the design stage through design changes, vibration damping, or isolation of components. In particular, in order to design a computer system to reduce potential damage due to the rotational vibration of computer system components, knowledge of the position of the center of rotation of the components is needed.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for determining a center of rotation for a component in a computer system.

Determining a center of rotation for a component in a computer system


A vehicle power distribution circuit board has interconnected electronic components and a connector mounted thereon. The interconnected electronic components include one or more heat generating components. The connector includes a main body formed of an electrically insulating material for supporting a plurality of terminals. The terminals have first ends connected to the circuit board and second ends adapted to be connected to a mating connector of a vehicle wiring harness. The main body of the connector is configured to form an air gap between the main body and the circuit board, and the terminals extend from the main body to the first end through the gap. Also, the connector is positioned on the circuit board with a thermally conductive path from one of the heat generating components to the gap such that the terminals within the air gap function as a heat sink to dissipate heat from the heat generating component.

This invention relates in general to printed circuit boards (PCBs). In particular, this invention relates to an improved heat sink for removing excess heat produced by electronic components on a PCB.
As the use of electronic devices becomes increasingly prevalent, there is a desire to provide an increasing number of electronic components on PCBs. In many applications, electrical connections on PCBs are being made with surface mount technology (SMT). With SMT components, blade terminals are connected to a surface on one side of the PCB, usually by soldering. This leaves the opposite side of the PCB available for constructing a different circuit using SMT components. This allows a greater number of circuits to be installed on a single PCB.
The electronic components mounted on a PCB can generate heat as they operate. This heat will raise the temperature of the PCB and attached components. The PCB can be damaged if the temperature becomes high enough. Therefore, it is desirable to remove excess heat from a PCB. Heat can often be removed from a PCB using a heat sink. A typical heat sink is made of a thermally conductive material and has a base in contact with a hot component. The heat sink has several fins that increase the surface area of the sink and allow it to transfer heat into the surrounding air.
With an increasing number of electronic components being mounted on a PCB, there is the potential for an increasing amount of heat to be created. Also, putting additional components on a PCB reduces the amount of space available for the attachment of heat sinks. It would be desirable to provide an improved mechanism for removing excess heat from a PCB.


A load cell includes a bearing element configured for a hoist that includes a hook, a suspension with an orifice that receives a shaft of the hook, a nut, and housing. The bearing element, preferably a ring, contacts the suspension, and has an orifice that receives the shaft therethrough with the nut secured to the shaft proximate to the bearing element. Strain gauges are mounted on the ring side wall being equally spaced. A second suspension orifice concentric with the first orifice receives the ring with strain gauges therein. For improved accuracy, a thrust roller bearing and two thrust washers are positioned on sides of the ring, all of which are preferably positioned in a cup member that is received in the second orifice. A clearance fit is provided with respect to each of protruding upper and lower overhanging cylindrical ring lips and the cup to protect the gauges.

In general a load cell acts as a transducer, being able to convert a force (i.e., a load) into an electrical signal. There are three basic types of load cells-hydraulic load cells, pneumatic load cells, and strain gauge load cells. A strain gauge load cell in a rigging application measures the force using a spring element and a strain gauge. The strain gauge is typically arranged as one element of a Wheatstone bridge circuit and is usually formed of a cooper-nickel alloy, which has a resistance that generally remains constant over a wide temperature range. Where the force to be measured is very high, the spring element is correspondingly sturdy (i.e., is not very elastic), typically being made of aluminum or steel. The strain gauges are securely mounted to the spring element, often using epoxy or cyanoacrylate adhesive. As the spring element deforms elastically under the load, the small changes to its physical dimensions (e.g., elongation or compression) are similarly experienced by and measured by the strain gauges, by evaluating the change to the electrical resistance of its wiring (i.e., stretching increases electrical resistance, and compressing decreases electrical resistance). Electronic calculations are made to determine the magnitude of the load based on the measured amount of strain.
Strain gauge load cells used for rigging are mechanically connected in line with the force to be measured and transmit data either digitally or as an analog signal. For example, a strain gauge load cell may be positioned in line with the rigging line/wire that supports a sail or the structure of an airship. A strain gauge load cell may also be used in entertainment rigging systems to verify loads imposed on the building structure by lighting equipment, audio equipment, video walls and other types of loads suspended from the overhead truss and lifted by electric chain hoists.
However, hoist users often complain that the arrangement including the length of the load cell device is excessive, and uses up valuable head room.
The subject technology is devised to be more compact and reduce the loss of headroom typically experienced with the use of a load cell, but is without a corresponding loss of accuracy.
Historically, the application of a compression load cell integrated within the hoist body results in inaccurate readings due to off axis loading and the inherent material properties of the hoist suspension. The hoist suspension is malleable to prevent fatigue and failure. However this malleable property does not transfer the forces to the installed load cell properly resulting in inaccurate and non-repeatable data.


Methods and devices for logically segmenting an LSP so that OAM DTUs may be used to determine the performance and/or the status of LSP segments. To segment a previously determined LSP, a dedicated subpath (a logical LSP) within that predetermined LSP is defined between two LSRs that are capable of processing OAM DTUs. The source node (source LSR) establishes a logical LSP between itself and the destination node (destination LSR) using an LDP. In doing this, the logical LSP traverses a specific path and transits through specific nodes in that path. The source node then transmits an OAM DTU or any other specialized DTU to the destination node using a label specifically associated with the logical LSP that was established. The characteristic of the specific path traversed by the logical LSP can thus be determined by when, how, and if the specialized DTU is received by the destination node.

Today's increasing use of and reliance on communications networks has led to the development of new standards and protocol that provide more reliable and efficient network services to consumers.
A standard that is still developing is MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching). This emerging standard allows packets or any data transmission units (DTUs) to be routed in the MPLS network based simply on a label that the DTU is carrying. This process facilitates the complexity of route lookups that are based on a destination IP (Internet Protocol) address. Thus, a DTU (Data Transmission Unit) arriving at a router is forwarded to another router based merely on the a DTU's label. At the next router, the label of the DTU may be replaced or added to for the next "hop" in the DTU's travel towards its ultimate destination. While the MPLS standard promises great benefits, very few methods have been developed for fault detection/management of an MPLS network.
One solution to the above need has been suggested by ITU-T Y.1711. In this document, discussed is the use of a special Operation And Maintenance (OAM) packet that can be used to determine the performance of an MPLS network. An unused reserved MPLS label value is used at the bottom of the label stack of OAM packets to delineate OAM packets for transport between Label Switch Path (LSP) ingress and egress points. This approach, unfortunately, only allows for performance determination between these ingress and egress points. The performance of network segments between these ingress and egress points is not possible nor even considered in the above proposal. Furthermore, the use of a specific MPLS label value for OAM packets leads to increased overhead costs for this proposal.
By way of explanation, it should be noted that an LSP is a specific data traffic path in an MPLS network. Such LSPs are provided for by LDPs (Label Distribution Protocols) that establish these paths and reserves the necessary resources on the nodes in the path to meet predefined service requirements of the data path. An LSP is analogous to the route that a packet or DTU is tasked to follow in being transmitted from an ingress (entry) LSP node to an egress (exit) LSP node. LSPs are established from the egress LSP node to the ingress LSP node. As such, the egress LSP node uses LDP to distribute the relevant labels to the relevant nodes. Once a DTU arrives at the ingress LSP node, the DTU is thus forwarded to the egress LSP node based on the forwarding decisions dictated by the distributed labels.
An LDP is a specification that allows a label switch router (LSR) to distribute labels to its LDP peers. In MPLS, since DTUs are routed based on the labels carried by the DTUs, the routers (LSR) must know where to route the DTUs based on the labels carried by the DTU. Thus, if an LSR assigns a label A to a class of DTUs, that LSR must notify the other LSRs of the meaning of that label A (i.e. what to do or how to process or route a DTU with label A). This is accomplished by using an LDP. Since a set of labels from the ingress LSR (entry router) to the egress LSR (exit router) in an MPLS network defines a Label Switched Path (LSP), LDPs help in establishing an LSP by using a set of procedures to distribute the labels among the LSP peers (i.e. the ingress LSP and the egress LSPs are peers in that they communicate with each other at the same level—they can change what each has done).
From the above discussion, any solution to the above performance determination problem should ideally make use of the existing infrastructure that adheres to the MPLS standard. Such a solution would not require increased logic to be implemented and should allow for segmentation of LSPs in terms of performance and fault isolation.
It should be noted that the term data transmission unit (DTU) will be used in a generic sense throughout this document to mean units through which digital data is transmitted from one point in a network to another. Thus, such units may take the form of packets, cells, frames, or any other unit as long as digital data is encapsulated within the unit. Thus, the term DTU is applicable to any and all packets and frames that implement specific protocols, standards or transmission schemes. It should also be noted that the term digital data will be used throughout this document to encompass all manner of voice, multimedia content, video, binary data or any other form of data or information that has been digitized and that is transmitted from one point in a network to another as a payload of a data transmission unit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention is directed to controlling plant pest infestation, and particularly plant nematode infestation, by inhibiting one or more biological functions in the plant pest. The invention discloses methods and compositions for use in controlling plant pest infestation by providing one or more different recombinant double stranded RNA molecules in the diet of the pest in order to achieve a reduction in pest infestation through suppression of pest gene expression. The invention is also directed to methods for making transgenic plants that express the double stranded RNA molecules, to methods for detecting cells comprising the disclosed sequences, and to methods for detecting the disclosed sequences in biological samples.

Plants and animals are targets of many different pests, including but not limited to nematode and insect pest species. Crops are often the targets of nematode infestations. Chemical nematicides are not effective in eradicating the nematode infestations. Chemical pesticidal agents are not selective and exert their effects on non-target fauna as well, often effectively sterilizing for a period of time a field over which the chemical nematicidal agents have been applied. Some chemical pesticidal agents have been shown to accumulate in food, and to exhibit adverse effects on workers that manufacture and apply such chemical agents. Thus there has been a long felt need for methods for controlling or eradicating nematode pest infestation on or in plants, i.e., methods which are selective, environmentally inert, non-persistent, biodegradable, and that fit well into pest resistance management schemes. Plant biotechnology provides a means to control pest infestations by providing plants that express one or more pest control agents. Recombinant pest control agents have generally been reported to be proteins selectively toxic to a target pest that are expressed by the cells of a recombinant plant. Recently, small RNA molecules provided in the diet of the pest species Meloidogyne incognita have been shown to exhibit effects on the viability of the pest by affecting gene expression in the pest cells (Tobias et al. WO 01/37654 A2). Recombinant approaches to plant pest control can be selective, and are environmentally inert and non-persistent because they are fully biodegradable.
The phenomenon of dsRNA mediated gene silencing has been demonstrated in a number of plant and animal systems (Fire et al. 1998 Nature 391:806-811; Waterhouse et al. 1998 PNAS USA 95:13959-13964; Tabara et al. 1998 Science 282:430-431; Fire et al. WO 99/32619 A1; Trick et al. WO 2004/005485 A2). Methods for delivering dsRNA into the animal systems involved generating transgenic insects that express double stranded RNA molecules or injecting dsRNA solutions into the body of the animal or within the egg sac prior to or during embryonic development. Double stranded RNA mediated gene suppression has been demonstrated in plant parasitic nematodes either by providing dsRNA or miRNA's in the nematodes' diet or by soaking the nematodes in solutions containing such RNA molecules (Atkinson et al., (The University of Leeds) WO 03/052110 A2; Trick et al., (Kansas State University Research Foundation) US 2004-009876A1). Cyst nematodes (Heterodera and Globodera species) are particularly damaging pests of crop plants. Cyst nematodes include but are not limited to Heterodera avenae, H. cruciferae, H. glycines, H. hordecalis, H. latipons, H. oryzae, H. oryzicola, H. rostochinesis, H. zeae, H. schachtii, G. achilleae, G. artemisiae, G. mexicana, G. millefolii, G. pallida, G. rostochiensis, G. tabacum, G. tabacum solanacearum, G. tabacum tabacum, G. tabacum virginiae, Globodera sp. Bouro, Globodera sp. Canha, Globodera sp. Ladeiro, Globodera sp. New Zealand-EK-2004, and Globodera sp. Peru-EK-2004. These species are known to parasitize a wide variety of crops including, but not limited to barley, corn, oats, rice, rye, wheat, cabbage, cauliflower, soybean, sugar beet, spinach, mustards, and potato. Cyst nematodes are particularly problematic. Eggs persist and remain viable in the soil for many years. Genetic resistance by conventional crop breeding has limited success in identifying resistance genes effective against the wide variety of races and biotypes of the cyst nematodes. Of particular concern is the soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, herein referred to as SCN.
Therefore, there exists a need for improved methods and compositions useful to modulate gene expression by repressing, delaying or otherwise reducing gene expression within a particular plant nematode pest for the purpose of controlling the nematode infestation or to introduce novel agronomically valuable phenotypic traits.

Methods for genetic control of plant pest infestation and compositions thereof


The present invention provides for nanostructured fibrin and agarose hydrogels, preferably type VII agarose hydrogels, (NFAH) or non-nanostructured or pre-nanostructured fibrin and agarose hydrogels, preferably type VII agarose hydrogels, (FAH), as hemostatic agents designed for use as an adjunct or primary treatment in moderate intraoperative hemorrhage and in trauma. These hydrogels can be applied topically to the wound either on the skin in a laparotomy or as non-invasive manner in surgical procedures. Its nanostructure technology generates an adhesive stable fibrin clot required for hemostasis. The attachment properties of the hydrogel, as well as the rapid formation of a fibrin clot, ensures that a strong stable fibrin clot is formed shortly after application.

Uncontrolled hemorrhage continues to be an important concern in surgical interventions and is responsible for higher rates of mortality, morbidity and longer hospital stays (Brustia, Granger, & Scatton, 2016). Injury of blood vessels triggers different mechanisms in order to establish a complex process called hemostasis. Hemostasis is an interruption of the escape of blood by either natural or artificial means.
Hepatic resection usually requires a perioperative transfusion due to intraoperative blood loss in patients. There are several surgical techniques used to reduce bleeding (Berrevoet & De Hemptinne, 2007). These methods however have a transitory or incomplete effect. This in turn requires a topical haemostatic agent to prevent postoperative blood loss (Moggia et al., 2016) (Eeson & Karanicolas, 2016).
Different hemostatic agents approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are used in multiple surgical disciplines to reach hemostasis. Among these, fibrin sealant derived from human plasma has become a thriving hemostatic agent due to its capacity to imitate and promote the final step of coagulation cascade to assist hemostasis (MOSESSON, SIEBENLIST, & MEH, 2006) (Mankad & Codispoti, n.d.). It also reduces potential rejection and undesirable effects, and is the only FDA clinical material approved as hemostats, sealants and adhesives (Spotnitz, 2014). Despite advantages in the field, time to hemostasis, applicability and postoperative transfusion can further be improved.
A recent nanostructured fibrin and type VII agarose hydrogel (NFAH) was developed as biomaterial to use in multiple biocompatible models (Carrie) et al., 2017). This tissue-like substitute is mainly composed of human plasma and shows highly flexible and elastic properties as well as mechanical strength (MOSESSON et al., 2006; Scionti et al., 2014).
This invention focuses on the hemostatic effectiveness of agarose hydrogels, preferably type VII agarose hydrogels (NFAH), and illustrates such effectiveness in an in vivo model. To this purpose, NFAH was compared with two commercially available hemostatic products used in multiple surgical disciplines: Hemopatch, a polyethylene glycol-coated collagen pad and Tachosil, a fibrinogen and thrombin-coated collagen pad.

Hemostatic efficacy of a nanostructured fibrin agarose hydrogel

FUNDACIÓN PÚBLICA ANDALUZA PROGRESO Y SALUD


Macromolecular compounds having a core-shell structure are described. Also described is a process for preparing such macromolecular compounds, and their use as semiconductors in electronic structural elements.

The field of molecular electronics has developed rapidly over the past 15 years with the discovery of organic conducting and semiconducting compounds. Over this period, a large number of compounds has been discovered, that have semi-conducting or electro-optic characteristics. It is generally understood, that molecular electronics will not displace conventional, silicon-based semiconductor building blocks. Instead, it is assumed that molecular electronic structural elements will open up new applications in which suitability for coating large areas, structural flexibility, processability at low temperatures and low costs are required. Semiconducting organic compounds are currently used for applications such as organic field effect transistors (OFETs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), sensors and photovoltaic elements. By simple structuring and integration of OFETs into integrated organic semiconductor switches, cost-effective solutions become possible for intelligent cards (smart cards) or price labels, which it has so far been impossible to realise using silicon technology because of the price and the inflexibility of silicon building blocks. Equally, OFETs could be used as switch elements in large-scale flexible matrix displays. A summary of organic semiconductors, integrated semiconductor switches and their use is given for example in Electronics 2002, Volume 15, p. 38.
A field effect transistor is a tri-electrode element, in which the conductivity of a thin conducting channel between two electrodes (called the 'source' and the 'drain') is controlled by a third electrode (called the 'gate'), separated from the conducting channel by a thin insulating layer. The most important characteristic properties of a field effect transistor are the mobility of the charge carrier, which is decisive in determining the switching speed of the transistor and the ratio of the currents when switched on and when switched off, known as the 'on/off ratio'.
Two major classes of compound have been used hitherto in organic field effect transistors. All of the compounds have long conjugated units and are sub-divided into conjugated polymers and conjugated oligomers, depending on their molecular weight and structure.
In general, oligomers have a uniform molecular structure and a molecular weight below 10000 Dalton. Polymers generally consist of chains of uniform repeating units with molecular weight distribution. However, there is a continuous transition between oligomers and polymers.
When distinguishing between oligomers and polymers, it is often said that there is a fundamental distinction in the processing of these compounds. Oligomers are often evaporable and are applied to substrates by vapour deposition processes. Compounds that are no longer evaporable and must thus be applied by a different process are often described as polymers irrespective of their molecular structure. With polymers, the aim is generally to produce compounds that are soluble in a liquid medium, for example organic solvents, and can then be applied by corresponding application processes. A very common application process is e.g. 'spin-coating'. The application of semiconducting compounds by the Ink-Jet process is a particularly elegant method. In this process, a solution of the semiconducting compound is applied to the substrate in the form of very fine droplets and dried. This process allows structuring to be carried out during application. A description of this application process for semiconducting compounds is given for example in Nature, Volume 401, p. 685.
In general, greater potential is attributed to the wet chemical process for obtaining low-cost organic integrated semiconductor switches by simple means.
An important prerequisite for the production of high-quality organic semiconductor circuits is compounds of extremely high purity. Ordering phenomena play an important role in semiconductors. The inhibition of uniform alignment of the compounds and marking of grain boundaries leads to a dramatic fall in semiconductor properties, so that organic semiconductor circuits built using compounds that are not of extremely high purity are generally unusable. Remaining impurities may, for example, inject charges into the semiconducting compounds ('doping') and thus reduce the on/off ratio or act as charge traps and thus drastically reduce mobility. Furthermore, impurities may initiate a reaction of the semiconducting compounds with oxygen and impurities with an oxidising action may oxidise the semiconducting compounds and thus reduce possible storage, processing and operating times.
The purities generally needed are so high, that they generally cannot be achieved by the known processes of polymer chemistry such as washing, reprecipitation and extraction.
Oligomers, on the other hand, which are often volatile compounds of a uniform molecular structure, can be purified relatively simply by sublimation or chromatography.
Some important examples of semiconducting polymers are described below. For polyfluorenes and fluorene copolymers, for example poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bithiophene) (I)
charge mobilities, abbreviated below also to mobilities, up to 0.02 cm2/Vs were achieved (Science, 2000, Volume 290, p. 2123), with regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (II)
even mobilities up to 0.1 cm2/Vs (Science 1998, Volume 280, p. 1741). Like almost all other long-chain polymers, polyfluorene, polyfluorene copolymers and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) form good films after application from solution and are therefore easy to process. However, as high-molecular weight polymers with molecular weight distribution, they cannot be purified by vacuum sublimation and are difficult to purify by chromatography.
Important representatives of oligomeric semiconducting compounds are, for example, oligothiophenes, in particular those with terminal alkyl substituents according to formula (III)
and pentacene (IV)

Typical mobilities for e.g. α,α′-dihexylquarter-, -quinque- and -sexithiophene are 0.05-0.1 cm2/Vs.
Mesophases, in particular liquid crystalline phases, appear to play a particular role in semiconducting organic compounds, which the persons skilled in the art have so far not completely understood. For example, the maximum mobility has so far been reported for crystals of α,α′-dihexylquarterthiophenes (Chem. Mater., 1998, Volume 10, p. 457), which crystallise at a temperature of 80° C. from an enantiotropic liquid crystalline phase (Synth. Met., 1999, Volume 101, p. 544). Particularly high mobilities can be obtained by using individual crystals, e.g. a mobility of 1.1 cm2/Vs was disclosed for individual crystals of α,α′-sexithiophene (Science, 2000, Volume 290, p. 963). If oligomers are applied from solution, there is mostly a sharp drop in mobility.
In general, the drop in semiconducting properties during processing of oligomeric compounds from solution is caused by the moderate solubility and low film-forming tendency of the oligomeric compounds. Thus inhomogeneities are caused for example by precipitation during drying from the solution (Chem. Mater., 1998, Volume 10, p. 633).
Attempts have therefore been made to combine the good processing and film-forming properties of semiconducting polymers with the properties of semiconducting oligomers. Patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,462 discloses conductive polymers with a star structure, which consist of a branched core and a shell of conjugated side groups. However, these have some disadvantages. If the side groups are formed from laterally unsubstituted conjugated structures, the resulting compounds are insoluble, or not readily soluble, and cannot be processed. If the conjugated units are substituted with side groups, although this leads to improved solubility, the steric requirements of the side groups cause internal disorientation and morphological defects, which impair the semiconducting properties of these compounds.
The laid open specification WO 02/26859 A1 discloses polymers of a conjugated reverse wheel to which aromatically conjugated chains are attached. The polymers bear diarylamine side groups, which allow electron conduction. However, as these compounds are based on diarylamine side groups, they are unsuitable as semiconductors.
The laid open specification EP-A 1 398 341 discloses semiconducting dendrimers, which can be processed from solution.
However, further improved compounds are needed, which combine the semiconducting properties of known oligomers with the processability and good film-forming properties of known polymers.

Macromolecular compounds with a core-shell structure


A method for filling a battery cell with electrolyte, comprising:                a) connecting the battery cell and a lower portion of a fill head chamber connected through respective first, second, third and fourth valves to a source of high pressure, the free atmosphere, a source of high vacuum and optionally a source of low vacuum, wherein only one of said valves can be open at any time, while said second valve is open;        b) opening said third valve for a predetermined first period to discharge air from the interior of said battery cell through said chamber;        c) separating the major upper portion of said chamber from the lower portion thereof by a sliding shut-off plunger and opening said second valve;        d) dispensing a prescribed amount of electrolyte into said upper portion of said chamber above said plunger, while keeping said second valve open;        e) raising said plunger to let a major portion of said dispensed liquid be sucked into said battery cell under the effect of the vacuum established therein in step b) and allowing any gas bubble in said battery cell to get removed through the electrolyte;        f) opening said first valve for a second predetermined period to push said electrolyte into said battery cell;        g) opening said second valve for a third predetermined period;        h) repeating steps f) and g) at least once for the more complete removal of gases from the battery cell and filling the prescribed volume of electrolyte; and,        i) disconnecting said battery cell from said fill head.

Batteries have become increasingly popular over the last decade due to the advent of a myriad of portable electronic devices. Especially lithium ion secondary batteries have become the predominant power source for the devices such as cellular phones, notebook or laptop computers, camcorders, digital cameras and more.
Lithium ion secondary batteries contain a spirally wound electrode assembly installed in a suitable battery case that has to be filled with non-aqueous electrolyte. In the battery case with the electrode assembly installed in it, a large number of small voids are formed. Typically, the air in the internal space of the battery is being drawn out by means of applying a vacuum and the electrolyte is filled under vacuum against atmospheric pressure. However, long time is required for completely exhausting the voids. Further, some time is required until the non-aqueous electrolyte has permeated into the electrode assembly, and it is very difficult to inject the electrolyte within a short time.
JP-07099050(A) describes an apparatus, comprising a battery arranged in a chamber and with an electrolyte to be injected into it, and a predetermined amount of electrolyte is filled in an electrolyte reservoir mounted on the injection nozzle. Then, the pressure in the chamber is reduced, and gas such as the air in the electrolyte or the electrode assembly is removed. Then, the pressure is restored to atmospheric pressure, and the electrolyte is injected. In this apparatus, however, a funnel-like member with a reservoir corresponding to the amount of the electrolyte to be injected is mounted while the top portion of the battery base with the battery element is opened, and the space inside the battery case is exhausted. A part of the electrolyte is injected into the battery case before exhausting and is permeated into the battery element. As a result, the exhausting from the voids in the electrode assembly is insufficient because of the presence of the electrolyte. Exhausting is performed while the electrolyte is present in the reservoir, which comprises a funnel-like member on the top portion of the battery case, and the pressure is applied as the atmospheric pressure. As a result, air bubbles are generated when the air passes through the funnel-like unit from inside the battery case, and these air bubbles are sent into the battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,690 teaches a method of filling a battery cell for electric vehicle applications. In this method, a special apparatus arrangement enables vacuum assisted filling of electrolyte against atmospheric pressure. The time required and the achieved electrolyte fill level are not mentioned, but will be limited by the driving force of atmospheric pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,976 describes a method for electrolyte filling of a small size rectangular battery with a small electrolyte injection hole in the battery case. In this method, the battery case is exhausted by vacuum followed by electrolyte injection under pressure of up to 2 kgf/cm2 (196 kPa) to enable quick filling of electrolyte. Filling according to this method can be achieved in 60 seconds, but cannot achieve maximum electrolyte fill levels. A problem in this filling method lies in that the high pressure is maintained till the end of the filling process, wherein the small voids cannot be filled as the air cannot escape.
One result of the presence of voids after filling is the wide deviation range of battery weight which is due to the fact that different individual battery cells can take different amount of electrolyte. The battery performance is negatively influenced by the presence of voids and by the incomplete filling of the available battery space with electrolyte.
Since maximum electrolyte fill level is very important to battery performance, some companies have started to go through 2 or 3 electrolyte fill operations on their existing vacuum fillers, which involves considerable slow down in production speeds and increased parts handing.

Method for filling electrolyte into battery cell and apparatus for carrying out the method


In an electrooptical device including an electrooptical modulating layer between a first substrate 101 and a second substrate 105, all edges 107 to 109 of the first substrate 101 and the second substrate 105, except an edge where IC chips 110 and 111 are attached, are trued up each other between the first substrate 101 and the second substrate 105. By this, it is possible to make the area of the first substrate 101 minimum.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrooptical device comprising thin film transistors formed over an insulating substrate and an IC chip formed over the same substrate, particularly to a structure of an active matrix type liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a technique for forming a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as a TFT) of a semiconductor thin film formed over a glass substrate has been developed. Moreover, an electrooptical device in which a voltage applied to an optical modulating layer held-between a pair of substrates is controlled by a TFT to carry out an ON/OFF operation of light, has been developed.
Particularly, as a display such as a viewfinder of a video camera or a monitor screen of a note-sized personal computer, the demand for a liquid crystal panel using a liquid crystal as an optical modulating layer is rapidly increasing.
At present, the main current of development is a liquid crystal panel constituted by polysilicon TFTs using crystalline silicon films (typically polysilicon films) as semiconductor thin films. Since the operating speed of the polysilicon TFT is faster than an amorphous silicon TFT, it is possible to form a monolithic liquid crystal panel in which a pixel matrix circuit and a driving circuit (shift register and the like) are formed on the same substrate.
Further, it is desired to realize a system-on-panel in which not only a driving circuit such as a shift register but also a logic circuit such as a clock control circuit, a memory circuit, and a signal conversion circuit is formed on the same substrate.
Since such a logic circuit requires an operating speed as high as the GHz order, a polysilicon TFT is also required to have an extremely high operating speed. In order to realize such requirement, it is necessary to make a circuit element minute according to the scaling law.
However, it is very difficult to form a fine pattern with a wiring width of 1 μm or less on a generally used large glass substrate. For example, in the glass substrate, there occurs a problem such as undulation and shrinkage of the surface of the substrate. Moreover, it is very difficult to realize such an optical system as is capable of forming a fine pattern in a wide range, so that the formation of a fine pattern is restricted also by the development of a light exposure technique in an aspect.
Thus, at present, it is the limit to form a driving circuit such as a shift register on the same substrate (nevertheless, the operating speed is insufficient so that divided driving is carried out), and other logic circuit is provided by an external IC.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A keyboard assembly is pivotally connected a terminal having a recess. The keyboard assembly has a slot and is shaped to lie within the recess. A glide assembly is shaped to fit within the slot and is slidable along the slot. The glide assembly pivotally connects the keyboard to the terminal within the recess. A glide surface, across which the keyboard pivots, is disposed within the recess. The glide surface provides a frictive force between the glide surface and the keyboard. The invention may be applied in general to a lottery terminal.

This invention relates to a pivoting adjustable keyboard assembly for a terminal.
A terminal, such as a lottery terminal, typically is located on a table or counter for use during the course of business. An operator interfaces with the terminal through a keyboard located on an upper surface of the terminal. The accessibility of the keyboard to the operator depends on the height of the counter, the height of the operator, the angle of the operator's view, and the angle at which the operator's hand contacts the keyboard.


A switch for selectively interconnecting wires of electric cable provides an enclosure having an input port and an output port and a toggle switch. A cam having cam arms is movable between a first position where the arms electrically connect and close contact points of return bus segments and a second position where the arms electrically connect and close contact points of a power bus segment and a return bus segment. A power bus extends in segments between the input port and the output port and has a main contact point selectively opened and closed by the toggle switch. The power bus has a power bus cam contact point selectively opened and closed by the cam. A return bus extends in segments between the input port and the output port and has return bus cam contact points selectively opened and closed by the cam. A ground bus extends between the input port and the output port. A second power bus and an auxiliary cam can be added for various three way switch wiring configurations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switch for electric cable wiring. More specifically, it relates to a pre-wired switch provided in an enclosure which allows for a simplified installation of various configurations of single pole electrical switches and three-way electrical switches in residential and commercial electrical wiring applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The wiring of three-way electrical cable switches so that one may turn a light on and off from two different locations is an extremely complex and time-consuming process. Even highly skilled electricians who all are familiar with such wiring arrangements must sometimes stop and think before completing this task. The complexity is caused primarily by the fact that there are identical switch light components which must be connected together with different wiring arrangements depending upon the relative location of each of the individual components and where the power feed comes from. Even with the more straightforward single pole switch, there are two different wiring configurations depending on whether the power from the breaker box first enters the switch or first enters the light itself.
Prior to the present invention, it has not been possible to provide a single fully enclosed switch housing or enclosure which would have the versatility for the same switch to be used in a variety of different wiring configurations. Having a fully enclosed switch enclosure is highly desirable as it saves considerable time, energy and expense of having an electrician manually connect wires to appropriate contact points on the switch. Further, and more importantly, the safety factor of utilizing a totally enclosed switch which is inaccessible to the installer is greatly increased over existing products and methods of electrical wiring. With the present invention, there is no possibility that an electrician or installer would be tempted to "test" a wired circuit before properly installing all box covers as there are no removable box covers. Thus, both risks of fire and electrocution are greatly reduced.
The concept of providing a modular system wherein male plugs would simply be inserted into corresponding female ports built into a prewired switch is suggested by Libby, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,551. The Libby '551 patent teaches that it is desirable to reduce and simplify the number of steps required in wiring an electrical power distribution system and to make electrical connections without the need to strip the ends of the individual conductors in an electrical cable. FIGS. 1 through 10 show the typical manner in which the electrical wiring of a receptacle was accomplished in the past. FIGS. 11a–d and 12 of Libby '551 show and describe the use of a box into which male cable plugs are inserted into female connectors 46 provided in the box to simplify the wiring of the box. Applicant hereby incorporates by reference Libby, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,551. The present invention relates to a new and improved box which includes a switch to provide greater flexibility and versatility than envisioned in the Libby '551 application.


Signal converter system embodiments are provided to substantially reduce symmetrical and asymmetrical conversion errors. Signal-processing stages of these embodiments may include a signal sampler in addition to successively-arranged signal converters. In system embodiments, injected analog dither signals are initiated in response to a random digital code. They combine with a system's analog input signal and the combined signal is processed down randomly-selected signal-processing paths of the converter system to thereby realize significant improvements in system linearity. Because these linearity improvements are realized by simultaneous processing of the input signal and the injected dither signal, a combined digital code is realized at the system's output. A first portion of this combined digital code corresponds to the analog input signal and a second portion corresponds to the injected analog dither signal. The final system digital code is realized by subtracting out the second portion with a back-end decoder that responds to the random digital code.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to pipelined signal converters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pipelined analog-to-digital signal converter systems are often used in high-speed, high-resolution conversion applications. These systems generally realize a desired number of conversion bits with a cascade (i.e., a pipeline) of lower-resolution converter stages and thus achieve high resolution at sampling speeds that are difficult to realize with other converter systems. Each stage of a pipelined system quantizes that stage's input signal to a predetermined number of digital bits and forms an analog output signal which is presented to a succeeding stage for further signal processing.
The advantages of sampling speed may, however, be negated if conversion linearity is insufficient. For example, the multistage structure of pipelined converter systems causes certain portions of the converter structure to be used repetitively as an analog input signal is swept over the system's input range and converter nonlinearity in these portions can significantly degrade the conversion of low-level dynamic signals.
Conversion linearity is generally characterized with a variety of linearity parameters such as differential nonlinearity (DNL), integral nonlinearity (INL), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SINAD), and spurious free dynamic range (SFDR). DNL error indicates the difference between an actual step width of a least-significant bit and the ideal value while INL error measures the deviation of an actual transfer function from a straight line. SNR□ is computed by taking the ratio of the rms signal to the rms noise wherein the noise includes all spectral components minus the fundamental, the first four harmonics, and the DC offset. SINAD is the ratio (in dB) of the signal power to the power of all spectral components minus the fundamental and the DC offset. Finally, SFDR is the ratio of the fundamental component to the rms value of the next-largest spurious component (excluding DC offset).
Although a variety of linearizing techniques have been proposed for pipelined converter systems, increasing demands on these systems continue to exert a need for further improvements in linearity.

Pipelined converter systems with enhanced linearity


Floor panels which are provided with a mechanical locking system including an extruded flexible tongue in a sidewardly open groove which during a vertical folding motion is bent horizontally. A tongue adapted for being received in a sidewardly open groove of a floor panel, wherein the tongue, which is an elongated extruded section, when received in the groove is bendable in a plane substantially parallel with a front face of the floor panel, such that the tongue is at least partially resiliently displaceable inside said sidewardly open groove in said plane during locking of the floor panel with another floor panel and wherein a vertical protrusion, serving as a friction connection between the tongue and the groove, is arranged at an upper or lower part of the tongue, wherein the tongue has a length in the longitudinal direction of the tongue and a total width perpendicular to the length, and the total width varies in the longitudinal direction of the tongue.

Laminate flooring usually consists of a core of a 6-12 mm fibre board, a 0.2-0.8 mm thick upper decorative surface layer of laminate and a 0.1-0.6 mm thick lower balancing layer of laminate, plastic, paper or like material. The surface layer provides appearance and durability to the floor panels. The core provides stability, and the balancing layer keeps the panel plane when the relative humidity (RH) varies during the year. The floor panels are laid floating, i.e. without gluing, on an existing sub floor. Laminate flooring and also many other types of flooring are made by the surface layer and the balancing layer being applied to a core material. This application may take place by gluing a previously manufactured decorative layer, for instance when the fibre board is provided with a decorative high pressure laminate which is made in a separate operation where a plurality of impregnated sheets of paper are compressed under high pressure and at a high temperature. The currently most common method when making laminate flooring, however, is direct laminating which is based on a more modern principle where both manufacture of the decorative laminate layer and the bonding to the fibre board take place in one and the same manufacturing step. Impregnated sheets of paper are applied directly to the panel and pressed together under pressure and heat without any gluing.
Traditional hard floor panels in floating flooring of this type are usually joined by means of glued tongue-and-groove joints.
In addition to such traditional floors, which are joined by means of glued tongue-and-groove joints, floor panels have recently been developed which do not require the use of glue and instead are joined mechanically by means of so-called mechanical locking systems. These systems comprise locking means, which lock the panels horizontally and vertically. The mechanical locking systems are usually formed by machining of the core of the panel. Alternatively, parts of the locking system can be formed of a separate material, for instance aluminium or HDF, which is integrated with the floor panel, i.e. joined with the floor panel in connection with the manufacture thereof.
The main advantages of floating floors with mechanical locking systems are that they can easily and quickly be laid by various combinations of inward angling, snapping-in and insertion. They can also easily be taken up again and used once more at a different location. A further advantage of the mechanical locking systems is that the joint edges of the floor panels can be made of materials, which need not to have good gluing properties. The most common core material is fibreboard with high density and good stability usually called HDF—High Density Fibreboard. Sometimes also MDF—Medium Density Fibreboard—is used as core.

Mechanical locking of floor panels with a flexible tongue


A sedimentation centrifuge includes a bowl which is supplied with a feed mixture, i.e., a solid-liquid mixture, from a supply pipe. When the bowl rotates at high speed, heavy solids are displaced radially outwardly toward and sedimented on the inner wall surface of the bowl. The solid particles are then discharged through a discharge hole of the bowl and an outlet passage by a screw conveyor in the bowl. During rotation of the bowl, fins on the screw conveyor assist in separating the liquid into heavy and light liquid phases with increased separation efficiency. The separated heavy and light liquids are separately discharged from the bowl through respective outlet passages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sedimentation centrifuge for separating a mixture of solid particles and liquids into solid and liquid phases, and more particularly to a sedimentation centrifuge for separating a mixture of solid particles and two liquid phases, i.e., heavy and light liquids, into the solid particles, the heavy liquid, and the light liquid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, centrifuges or centrifugal separators are used to separate a mixture of solid particles and liquids into solid and liquid phases, or a mixture of solid particles and heavy and light liquids into the solid particles, the heavy liquid, and the light liquid.
Disk decanters (also called cone-disk decanters) which are in general use for centrifugal sedimentation have a number of spaced conical disks in the form of truncated cones. When a feed slurry of solid-liquid mixture with a large solid content is separated by a disk decanter, however, accumulated solid particles in the mixture tend to clog the gaps between the disks, making the disc decanter fail to operate. To prevent such a problem from happening, it is necessary to reduce the amount of solid particles contained in the mixture with, for example, a screw decanter, and then separate the mixture into solid and liquid phases with a disk decanter. However, this practice requires two expensive decanters connected in series with each other. Furthermore, since the mixture has to be processed under intensive centrifugal force twice, the energy consumed by the decanters is relatively large and wasteful
The inventor has proposed a sedimentation centrifuge for separating a mixture of solid particles and liquids into solid and liquid phases, and also a sedimentation centrifuge for separating a mixture of solid particles and two liquid phases, i.e., heavy and light liquids, into the solid particles, the heavy liquid, and the light liquid, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 1,007,732 (Japanese Patent laid-Open No. 054961/75) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 152556/87. The proposed sedimentation centrifuges, which may be termed doubly-canted screw decanters, have a frustoconical bowl for discharging sedimented solid particles. The bowl has an inner wall surface that is canted with respect to the central axis of the bowl first at a larger angle and then at a smaller angle along the direction in which the accumulated solids are discharged. The doubly-canted inner wall surface of the bowl allows the solids to travel smoothly to the end of the bowl and also allows liquid to be removed smoothly from the solid particles. The bowl structure also serves to increase the amount of feed that stays in the centrifuge for an increased period of time. Therefore, the separation accuracy of the centrifuge and the processing capacity of the centrifuge per unit time are increased.
The inventor has found that much remains to be improved in terms of the processing capacity, the separation accuracy, and the amount of required energy in the practical application of the centrifuges. More specifically, as described above, the disk decanter often fails to operate because sedimented solids tend to clog the gaps between the disks particularly when the feed has a large solid content. This trouble can only be avoided by first reducing the solid content in the slurry with the screw decanter and then processing the slurry with the disk decanter. Therefore, the two expensive decanters or centrifuges need to be connected in series with each other, resulting in a wasteful consumption of energy as intensive centrifugal forces are required to be applied twice in the decanters. While the doubly-canted screw decanters proposed by the inventor can finish the separating process when the slurry passes through the centrifuge only once, the actual use of the proposed decanters has indicated that the proposed decanters are not so advantageous as expected over the series-connected centrifugal separators and need further improvement with respect to the processing capacity and the energy consumption in applications which demand accurate phase separation.

Sedimentation centrifuge with helical fins mounted on the screw conveyor