A parking facility for motor vehicles having fixed parking places arranged above each other and each having a guide for a pallet that is displaceable along the guide as well as a lift, which is disposed alongside the fixed parking places and which also carries a guide for the pallet is provided. For displacement of the pallet between the respective guides of a parking place and the lift, the lift is stopped alongside a parking place such that the respective guides are aligned with one another. The guide of the lift at its end facing the parking place is supported on a supporting surface connected to the parking place. The guide of the lift after being set down onto the supporting surface is pivoted about a horizontal pivotal axis until the guide of the lift is in a horizontal position.

The invention relates to a method of operating a parking facility for motor vehicles that comprises fixed parking places arranged above each other and each having a guide for a pallet that is displaceable along the guide as well as a lift, which is disposed alongside the fixed parking places and also carries a guide for a pallet displaceable therein, in which method for displacement of a pallet between the guide of a fixed parking place and the guide of the lift the lift is stopped in such a way alongside a fixed parking place that the guides of the fixed parking place and of the lift are aligned with one another, wherein the guide of the lift at its end facing the fixed parking place is supported on a supporting surface connected to the fixed parking place.
In such parking facilities motor vehicles are moved in an entry station onto a pallet, and this pallet together with the motor vehicle positioned thereon is displaced into the lift, which then firstly lifts or lowers and secondly optionally also additionally laterally displaces the pallet with the motor vehicle so that the pallet disposed on the lift may be positioned opposite a fixed parking place, into which the pallet together with the motor vehicle positioned thereon is to be pushed.
In this way each parking place of the rack-like parking place arrangement may be reached so that the pallet carrying the motor vehicle can, after alignment with the parking place, be pushed with the motor vehicle into the parking place.
A problem here is reliable alignment of the guide for the pallet on the lift, on the one hand, and the guide for the pallet in the fixed parking place, on the other hand. Admittedly, this alignment may be improved by placing the end of the guide of the lift facing the parking place onto a supporting surface connected in a fixed manner to the parking place but then problems arise if the lift does not exactly reach the necessary height alongside a parking place to be approached. Such inaccuracies of the positioning of the lift may readily occur, firstly as a result of different loading of the lift with various motor vehicles and secondly also as a result of the high lifting speeds, that are conventionally used to reduce the conveying times, and/or wear phenomena of the lift.
The object of the invention is to develop a method of the described type in such a way that the guide of the lift may easily be aligned precisely with the guide of the parking place to be approached.

Parking facility for motor vehicles and method of operating same

WAP Woehr Automatikparksysteme GmbH & Co KG


Various approaches for improving clock speed for a circuit design. In one embodiment, a graph having nodes and edges that represent the circuit design is generated. The nodes represent flip-flops of the design, the edges represent couplings of data inputs and outputs of the flip-flops, and the edges have associated delay values for respective durations of signal delays of the couplings. A smallest period is determined for which subtracting each delay value from the smallest period and associating the difference with the associated edge does not create a negative cycle in the graph. A path in the graph is selected, the path including selected flip-flops and connecting edges. The circuit design is modified by replacing the selected flip-flops with latches, and the smallest period is output.

Many factors or constraints are considered in preparing a circuit design. Examples include cost, power consumption, circuit area, and clock speed. Often, improving one characteristic of the design will have a corresponding negative impact on another characteristic of the design. Thus, during the design process various compromises are made between competing design constraints. However, once a circuit design has been successfully placed and routed, the resulting placed-and-routed design is expected to satisfy the various design factors.
In some instances, a placed-and-routed circuit may not satisfy all the design constraints. For example, one or more critical paths of the circuit may not satisfy a timing constraint. In this case, the designer may either relax the timing constraint and operate the circuit at a slower clock speed, or analyze and modify the design to bring the critical paths into compliance with the timing constraint. Current computer aided design tools used in stages from the design capture stage to making the placed-and-routed design may provide limited or no support for further improving the design to achieve a greater clock rate after the design has been placed and routed.
The present invention may address one or more of the above issues.


A semiconductor memory device in accordance with the present invention is able to facilitate detecting whether a word line fails or not by floating the word line. The semiconductor memory device includes a word line driver, and a floating controller. The word line driver is configured to control a word line to be enabled/disabled. The floating controller is configured to control the word line driver to float the word line in response to a word line floating signal.

The present invention relates to a word line driving circuit, a semiconductor memory device including the same, and a method for testing the semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method adapted to facilitate detecting whether a word line fails or not in a semiconductor memory device.
As it is well known, a word line controls a gate of a memory cell in a semiconductor memory device. A conventional word line driving circuit will be described below.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of a conventional word line driving circuit.
Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a word line driving circuit for controlling a word line provided with a main word line and a sub word line. Currently, the word line has a hierarchical structure of a main word line MWL and a sub word line SWL, in which the sub word line SWL controls a gate of a memory cell.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional word line driving circuit includes a phi X driver 110 and a sub word line driver 120. The phi X driver 110 outputs a phi X control signal PX_J having address information. The sub word line driver 120 drive a sub word line in response to a main word line signal MWLB_I and the phi X control signal PX_J.
Here, a signal PXB_J, which is generated by decoding row address information, selects a sub word line. The signal MWLB_I refers to a main word line signal. In addition, the signal SWL_K, which is a resultant output of the word line driving circuit, refers to a signal for driving a word line. In this driving scheme, the signal SWL_K refers to a signal for driving the sub word line because the sub word line directly controls a memory cell.
As for the operation of the conventional word line driving circuit, the signals MWLB and PXB are at logic high levels in a state that a word line is not activated, i.e., in a precharge mode. At this time, transistors MP0 and MP1 are turned off and transistors MN0, MN1 and MN2 are turned on, whereby the word line SWL maintains its logic low state.
When an active command is applied from the outside, the signals MWLB and PXB go to logic low levels after a predetermined time in synchronization with an inputted address. The phi X control signal PX goes to a logic high level because it is an inverted signal of the signal PXB. At this state, the transistors MP0 and MP1 are turned on but the transistors MN0, MN1 and MN2 are turned off, thus enabling the word line SWL to a logic high state.
Though FIG. 1 is a simple circuit diagram illustrating the operation of the conventional word line driving circuit, an actual memory device has a more complicated structure for driving a word line. However, this complicated actual structure is not necessary in describing the background of the present invention so that further description for it will be omitted herein.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the arrangement of the word line driving circuit of FIG. 1 in a cell array of a conventional memory device.
FIG. 2 illustrates a main word line MWLB, a plurality of sub word lines SWL branched from the main word line MWL, sub word line drivers SWD for driving the sub word lines SWL, and connections of a plurality of the phi X control signal PXB thereamong. This configuration is a typical one and it can be easily appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, so that further detailed description will be omitted herein.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating how sub word lines are allocated to a main word line in a conventional semiconductor memory device. Referring to FIG. 3, sub word lines SWL0, SWL2, SWL4 and SWL6 are allocated to a main word line MWLB0, and sub word line drivers are also allocated to the sub word lines.
With the increasing demands for high capacity semiconductor memory devices, semiconductor devices have shrunk in size so as to highly integrate more and more memory cells within a small chip area. As the semiconductor devices shrink in size, a bridge fail between interconnections frequently may occur in a highly dense area of a core region of a memory cell.
If the bridge between the interconnections serves as a low-resistance resistor, i.e., in a weak fail, there is no problem in a normal operation but may cause the memory device to be deteriorated with the elapse of a predetermined use time or after a device has undergone a burn-in test. In particular, there may be a number of weak bridge fails between adjacent lines such as word lines which are used as an interconnection as well as gate material for a memory cell.
However, the conventional memory device does not have an apparatus or a device adapted to detect the bridge fail of the word line yet.

Word line driving circuit, semiconductor memory device including the same, and method for testing the semiconductor memory device


Targeted electronic content delivery control systems and methods are disclosed. All communication traffic exchanged with a communication network subscriber over an access communication link that enables the subscriber to access electronic content is monitored, and behavioral information indicative of behavior of the subscriber in using the access communication link is collected from the monitored communication traffic. A behavioral profile of the subscriber is maintained based on the behavioral information. Delivery of targeted electronic content to the subscriber for presentation with electronic content accessed by the subscriber is controlled based on the behavioral profile.

Those familiar with existing advertising distribution techniques will appreciate the advertising spend wastage problem. Much advertising, whether online or through traditional media, is delivered to consumers without regard to their buying intent and/or personal interests. There are three main types of existing online advertisement solutions that attempt to address this problem. These include advertisement delivery with search, advertisement delivery with content, and advertisement delivery using a behavioral network.
In an advertisement delivery with search scheme, advertisements are delivered by a search engine provider along with search results. Typically, the advertisements selected for display are contextually related to a search phrase. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/272,026, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SELECTING DIGITAL ADVERTISEMENTS" and published on Jun. 8, 2006 as Publication No. 2006/0123001, discloses another example of a search-based system, in which digital advertisements to be sent to a user's computer are chosen based on information relating to searches conducted by the user. In this example, advertisements are related to searches, but might not necessarily be returned to the user with search results. However, search context-based advertisement delivery mechanisms do not capture the ongoing buying intent and/or other personal interests of a user.
Advertisement delivery with content involves delivering advertisements with the content of a portal, in a webpage for instance. The advertisements selected for display are normally contextually related to the content of the portal. As noted above for search context, content context analysis does not capture the ongoing buying intent and/or other personal interests of the user.
For some currently available advertisement delivery mechanisms using a behavioral network, the "network" is a limited community of cooperating portals. These portals participate as members of an "ad network". As a user visits the portals, cookies and/or web beacons can be used to track and log the user and the user's behavior within the ad network. Advertisements are selected for delivery with the content of a portal according to the identity of the user and the user's tracked behavior.
An ad network implementation requires a community of cooperating portals to be established. One problem with this type of behavioral ad network lies in the limited extent of such a network, which can lead to difficulties in tracking users. When a user traverses portals that are outside the domain of an ad network, the ad network loses the ability to track the behavior of the user, thus limiting its effectiveness. Advertisers thus cannot be certain of the accuracy of behavioral assessments, since users may have visited many sites that are not within the portal community of an ad network. In addition, further tracking problems can arise when users disable cookies.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/863,593, entitled "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING AND ANALYZING COMMUNICATIONS DATA" and published on Aug. 8, 2002 as Publication No. 2002/0105911, proposes a system in which packets are extracted from data received from a first communication line and statistics corresponding to the packets are then recursively generated. Although this patent application concentrates primarily on communication network management based on these statistics, reference is made to profiling data about users or their traffic on such networks. A network monitor might filter each received packet based on its contents, such as by looking for specific text within packets or for web sites visited by a user. The level of user behavioral analysis in this patent application appears to be limited, since packet content filtering techniques are not disclosed in detail. Content delivery also appears to be independent of current in-process user access activities, as is evident from the disclosed example of targeted email as a content delivery mechanism.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/833,444, entitled "USER PROFILING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM" and published on Nov. 6, 2003 as Publication No. 2003/0207685, also discloses user profiling for a system in which a user has multiple terminals. The terminals cooperate to transfer automatically gathered user profile information, which includes service access information for accessing services. The user profiles are used for a different purpose in this published patent application, for service access rather than advertisement or other content delivery.
Thus, there remains a need for improved targeted electronic content delivery control techniques.


A connector for electrically connecting a conductor to a first printed circuit board (PCB) or for electrically connecting a first and second PCB together. A housing is adapted to be slidably moveable relative to a mounting structure to allow the mounting of the PCB to the surface and moveable over the PCB to contact pads located on the top side of the PCB. In another example, a bridging connector for electrically connecting a first PCB with a second PCB includes a resilient holding element, such as for example a spring clip, engageable with at least one of the PCBs and/or a surface supporting the PCB(s) to releasably retain the housing and the terminals in the correct location.

Connectors, and more particularly, connectors capable of electrically connecting printed circuit boards ("PCBs") to one another are generally known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,036, entitled "Printed Circuit Board Connector for Back Light Unit and Chassis Using the Same," describes a connector for electrically connecting PCBs on which are mounted a plurality of light emitting diodes ("LEDs"). The described connector includes a horizontal supporter, a vertical supporter that divides the horizontal supporter into first and second areas, and at least one connecting terminal formed on the horizontal supporter which is partially exposed in each of the first and second areas of the horizontal supporter. The connecting terminal functions to electrically connect PCBs each having one end placed on the first and second areas, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,022, entitled "Jumper Connector for a Lighting Assembly," also describes a connector for electrically connecting PCBs on which are mounted a plurality of LEDs. The described connector includes a connector body having a mating surface configured to engage more than one PCB. The connector body is configured to be secured to a substrate by a fastener. The connector body additionally includes a conductor and the conductor is configured to be electrically connected to the PCBs during the same step in which the connector body is secured to the substrate. In this manner, the connector body engages the outer surface of the PCBs and simultaneously forces the inner surface of the PCBs into thermal contact with the substrate.
U.S. Published Application No. 2011/0207372, entitled "Electrical Connector With Push-in Termination," describes an edge connector having a first portion adapted to receive an edge of a PCB and a second portion adapted to receive a least one conductor of a stripped end of a wire. The first portion includes at least one terminal assembly and the terminal assembly includes a retention member adapted to engage the conductor via a push-in wire termination. The second portion includes include a terminal portion adapted to releasably engage a contact on a PCB.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,025,507, entitled "Connector," describes a connector for a printed circuit board having a guide hole and a locking hole to receive the connector. The connector includes a housing which is mounted on the printed circuit board and including a guide inserted into the guide hole and a locking unit inserted into the locking hole. Each of the guide and locking unit protrude from the bottom of the housing. In one embodiment, the guide slides into the guide hole and locks into place over the PCB board. In another embodiment, the connector snaps into the PCB board. In either instance, in order to change the PCB board from the support structure underlying the connector, the connector itself must be removed from the PCB and the support structure in order to access the PCB board, thus presenting an oftentimes labor-intensive task.
While the connectors described in each of these publications, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, generally work for their intended purpose, the following describes improved connectors for use with PCBs.

Electrical connectors for use with printed circuit boards


Some embodiments are implemented in a communication system that includes a first communication system comprised of a licensed wireless radio access network and a core network, and a second communication system comprising a plurality of user hosted access points and a network controller. In some embodiments, each access point operates using short range licensed wireless frequencies to establish a service region. In some embodiments, the network controller communicatively couples the core network to the plurality of access points. The method enables an unauthorized user equipment to call from an access point it is not allowed to use for emergency purposes. The method receives at an access point a service request from an unauthorized user equipment with an establishment cause of emergency call. The method sends a registration request to the network controller. The method sends a message to the core network indicating the location of the user equipment.

Licensed wireless systems provide mobile wireless communications to individuals using wireless transceivers. Licensed wireless systems refer to public cellular telephone systems and/or Personal Communication Services (PCS) telephone systems. Wireless transceivers, also referred to as user equipment (UE), include cellular telephones, PCS telephones, wireless-enabled personal digital assistants, wireless modems, and the like.
Licensed wireless systems utilize wireless signal frequencies that are licensed from governments. Large fees are paid for access to these frequencies. Expensive base station (BS) equipment is used to support communications on licensed frequencies. Base stations are typically installed approximately a mile apart from one another (e.g., cellular towers in a cellular network). In a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), these base stations are system provider controlled and include Node-Bs which are high power and long range radio frequency transmitters and receivers used to directly connect with the user equipment. The wireless transport mechanisms and frequencies employed by typical licensed wireless systems limit both data transfer rates and range.
Licensed wireless systems continually upgrade their networks and equipment in an effort to deliver greater data transfer rates and range. However, with each upgrade iteration (e.g., 3 G to 4 G), the licensed wireless system providers incur substantial costs from licensing additional bandwidth spectrum to upgrading the existing radio network equipment or core network equipment. To offset these costs, the licensed wireless system providers pass down the costs to the user through the licensed wireless service fees. Users also incur equipment costs with each iterative upgrade of the licensed wireless network as new user equipment is needed to take advantage of the new services or improved services of the upgraded network.
Landline (wired) connections are extensively deployed and generally perform at a lower cost with higher quality voice and higher speed data services than the licensed wireless systems. The problem with landline connections is that they constrain the mobility of a user. Traditionally, a physical connection to the landline was required.
Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) emerged as one solution to lower costs associated with the licensed wireless systems while maintaining user wireless mobility and taking advantage of the higher quality voice and higher speed data services of the landline connections. UMA allowed users the ability to seamlessly and wirelessly roam in and out of licensed wireless systems and unlicensed wireless systems where the unlicensed wireless systems facilitate mobile access to the landline-based networks. Such unlicensed wireless systems support wireless communication based on the IEEE 802.11a, b or g standards (WiFi), or the Bluetooth® standard. The mobility range associated with such unlicensed wireless systems is typically on the order of 100 meters or less. A typical unlicensed wireless communication system includes a base station comprising a wireless access point (AP) with a physical connection (e.g., coaxial, twisted pair, or optical cable) to a landline-based network. The AP has a RF transceiver to facilitate communication with a wireless handset that is operative within a modest distance of the AP, wherein the data transport rates supported by the WiFi and Bluetooth® standards are much higher than those supported by the aforementioned licensed wireless systems.
UMA allowed users to purchase ordinary off-the-shelf access points in order to deploy a UMA service region that allowed for access to UMA service. In this manner, UMA was able to provide higher quality services at a lower cost than the licensed wireless systems. However, other UMA associated costs remained an obstacle to the large scale adoption of UMA.
With the emergence of UMA and licensed devices equipped with unlicensed radios that bypass the mobile operators' network/service, mobile operators sought to provide an equivalent solution using their licensed spectrum. Home Node Bs (HNBs) are low cost versions of the expensive Base Stations that comprise the mobile network that still use the operator's licensed spectrum for communication with licensed devices. The HNBs employ similar techniques as unlicensed access points such as the support of lower transmission power and range, integrated design, and use of regular landlines to communicate with the mobile operators' network to be cost and performance competitive with UMA. The use of regular landlines required the HNBs to adopt proprietary messaging and signaling standards that were different than those used by the licensed wireless systems for the expensive Base Stations.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to develop a simplified integrated system that leverages the mobility provided by licensed wireless systems while maintaining the quality of service and data transfer rates of landline connections. Such a simplified integrated system needs to reduce adoption costs for both the individual user and the system provider that deploys such a system.

Method and apparatus for routing of emergency services for unauthorized user equipment in a home Node B system


Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs cause a dramatic increase in intracellular ceramide, which induces apoptosis. The ceramide increase is likely mediated by cyclooxygenase inhibition, which elevates arachidonic acid, which stimulates sphingomyelinase, which produces ceramide. Contacting members of this pathway with test compounds and observing their effects provides a method of screening for potential cancer chemopreventative agents.

Because common epithelial cancers have resisted most therapeutic efforts, much hope is currently placed in chemoprevention (1). Chemopreventative measures are especially important in patients who are at elevated risk for neoplasia due to genetic or environmental factors. Though research on such agents is now blossoming, only a few compounds have been shown to be useful in vivo. Among these are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), which are effective in reducing colon tumors in genetically susceptible humans (2) and rodents (3,4). Additionally, epidemiological studies have determined that NSAID administration among the general population is associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer death (5).
Further progress in this area will in part depend on understanding the mechanisms by which such chemopreventative agents exert their protective effects. It is already well known that NSAID can inhibit cyclooxygenases (COX) (reviewed in 6), and some studies have shown that NSAID can induce apoptosis (also called programmed cell death or PCD) (7). Moreover, expression of COX-2 is elevated in colorectal tumors (8) and can protect intestinal epithelial cells from apoptosis (9). However, the biochemical mechanisms by which the NSAID and COX alter colonic cell proliferation have been largely unknown (reviewed in 10).
An understanding of the mechanisms by which known chemopreventative agents protect against tumors may lead to new methods of screening for other agents that are effective in preventing or treating cancers (cancer chemopreventative agents). There is a continuing need in the art for chemopreventative and chemotherapeutic agents.

Screening assays for cancer chemopreventative agents


The present invention makes viewers surely view commercial programs.

In recently years, a television broadcasting has been digitized and programs of extremely many channels are provided for viewers. Thus the viewers can select and view a desired program from these many programs.
On the other hand, a program's provider (broadcasting station) provides the viewers a commercial program to advertise predetermined merchandise and receiving a consideration for it from the sponsor of that merchandise (manufacturer or seller). Thus the viewers can view the program free. And the sponsor can advertise that providing merchandise to the viewers by that commercial program.
Generally, however, since many viewers unfortunately go or switch over the channel as well as the broadcasting of a commercial program is started, a problem that the provider of a commercial program cannot surely advertise the merchandise to the viewers is caused.

Device and method for receiving information and device and method for transmitting information

Abstract: When a commercial program is broadcasted and displayed on a display (7A), a viewer is requested a response. The viewer operates a prescribed key in the ten key (32) of a remote controller (31) for response. If the viewer responds to the response request of the commercial program, points are added to a smart card (10). The viewer can view a pay program using the points recorded in the smart card (10).


A method for determining parameters for controlling N electric generators at an instant t, the method including, for a required power Ptot(t)=Σi=1NPi(t) at an instant t with Pi(t) the electric power supplied by the electric generator i at the instant t and a reserve power Preserve(t)≤Σi=1N(Pimax−Pi(t)×δi(t) at an instant t with Pimax the maximum power that the electric generator i can develop and δi(t) the coefficient of activation of the electric generator i which is equal to 1 when the electric generator is on and 0 when the electric generator is off, a step of determining the optimal power Piopt(t) at the instant t associated with each electric generator i so as to minimise the fuel consumption per unit of electrical energy produced

Generally speaking, when a micro network is supplied by a plurality of electric generators, it is known to control the activation and the deactivation of the electric generators manually as a function of the power required on the network. More specifically, as a function of this required power, an operator is going to decide the number of generators to turn on. In automated methods, the operator sets a threshold above which a given generator is going to be activated, which makes it possible to respond automatically to a modification of the required power. This strategy comprises however several drawbacks. Firstly, it does not take into account the output curve of the electric generator (in other words the fuel consumption per unit of electrical energy produced) which does not make it possible to optimise fuel consumption. In addition, it does not take into account the temperature of the generators, which can lead to heating of the generators that can lead to damage or even fire safety problems. Finally, it does not make it possible to take into account an easily mobilizable reserve power necessary in certain applications.
There thus exists a need for a control method making it possible to take account of the output of each generator and to take into account their temperature while ensuring that reserve power is available.

Methods for determining parameters for controlling N electric generators, method for controlling N generators and system implementing said methods

Abstract: sfc              (      t      )        =            1                        P          tot                                  (          t          )                                        ∑                  i          =          1                N                                                f            i                                          (                                          P                i                                                          (                t                )                                      )                          ×                              P            i                                          (            t            )                              with fi(x) the function giving the fuel consumption of the electric generator i for the electric power x.

COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES


A recreational vehicle comprises a slide-out room. A ceiling of the slide-out room comprises at least one window to allow external light into the slide-out room.

This disclosure relates to recreational vehicles. More particularly, it relates to recreational vehicles having one or more slide-out rooms.
Some recreational vehicles have a slide-out room. A slide-out room may be retracted into the recreational vehicle or extended from the recreational vehicle. The slide-out room may be retracted during, for example, transport of the recreational vehicle or parking of the recreational vehicle in a relatively small space. The slide-out room may be extended to increase the living space in the recreational vehicle.

Recreational vehicle having slide-out atrium room


A reciprocating piston-type internal combustion engine includes a cylinder head that has an inlet valve that can be supplied with combustion air from a cylinder inlet line connected to the inlet valve, comprising a pressure accumulator, out of which an additional medium that promotes the combustion in the cylinder can be supplied to the cylinder in a controlled manner, and an injection nozzle, via which fuel can be injected into the cylinder. The additional medium is a combustion air/fuel mixture according to the invention. The pressure accumulator is connected to the injection nozzle which has a nozzle needle, and the additional medium can be introduced into the cylinder in a controlled manner by means of the injection nozzle.

Reciprocating piston-type internal combustion engines are known in which the combustion air required for combustion is supplied to the cylinder via an intake valve in the cylinder head of a cylinder, wherein the intake valve is arranged at the end of an inlet line via which the entirety of the combustion air, including the scavenging air, can be supplied to the cylinder. In conventional constructions, internal combustion engines have an injection nozzle, which has a nozzle needle in its interior, which controls the fuel supply into the cylinder. It is also known to additionally provide a compressed air reservoir out of which additional combustion air is introduced into the cylinder via the intake valve arranged in the cylinder head, for controlling and/or increasing the torque of the internal combustion engine as well as for controlling and improving the cold start behavior of such internal combustion engines. This additional combustion air is realized either directly via the air intake valve in the cylinder head or via an additional air intake valve.
As such, DE 11 2007 000 944 T5 describes an internal combustion engine in which additionally a compressed air tank is provided at a very high pressure of approximately 200 bar, out of which an injection of additional combustion air during the compression stroke, in particular during the beginning of the compression stroke, is realized. Although it is thus possible to have a positive influence on emissions—and in multi-cylinder engines, especially on the overall performance of the internal combustion engine—for such high pressures in the pressure vessel, however, a significant amount of additional energy is required. This is particularly because accordingly large amounts of air must be retained at such high pressures, and must be conveyed into the cylinders in rapid cycles with speeds corresponding to the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine.
DE 10 2010 033 591 A1 describes an internal combustion engine with improved cold start behavior. Additionally-compressed pressurized air from an air reservoir is supplied to the cylinder immediately before the actual ignition process, after a fuel-air mixture has already been compressed in the cylinder. For this as well, relatively high pressures must be maintained in the compressed air tank. DE 10 2004 047 975 A1 discloses the synchronized supply of additional combustion air to the cylinder in the form of compressed air out of a pressure accumulator during the intake phase. The compressed air tank which is already present as part of a compressed air brake system is used as the pressure vessel. The synchronized injection of additional air can be used, with an appropriate adjustment of quantity and injection duration, to influence the operating parameters of the internal combustion engine in terms of overall performance. In this system as well, the additional air is supplied to the intake passage—specifically, during the intake phase. As a result, a relatively large amount of air from the pressure vessel must be made available for each injection cycle each time.
Further such systems with an additional compressed air tank are known from DE 10 2012 014 204 B4, and from DE 10 2012 014 205 B3. For these internal combustion engines, additional combustion air can be supplied from a pressure vessel to two divided intake manifolds by means of a controllable blocking element. In DE 10 2008 00 326 A1, for a known internal combustion engine, an additional device for blowing additional compressed air is provided between a turbocharger and the intake valve of the internal combustion engine, likewise in the air intake tract. In this case, the compressed air is not permanently introduced into the intake tract—rather, only if this makes sense depending on the current operating situation of the vehicle in terms of safety, ride comfort and wear.
The other known systems according to DE 102 247 19 B4, DE 39 063 12 C1 and DE 2008 000 324 A1 have in common that an additional pressure vessel is recommended at various points of the intake system in turbocharged engines as well as in naturally aspirated engines.
A disadvantage of these known internal combustion engines having a pressure accumulator, which also feeds additional combustion air into the intake passage of the internal combustion engine, is the relatively large complexity of equipment, and, because of the large cross sections in the intake system, also the relatively large amounts of air which must be conveyed so that at least a certain fraction of additional combustion air enters the cylinder.
The invention proceeds from a reciprocating piston-type internal combustion engine as described in DE 691 00 803 T2. This engine has an intake valve arranged in a cylinder head of a cylinder, via which combustion air can be supplied to the cylinder from an intake passage connected to the intake valve, and has a pressure accumulator out of which an additional medium which promotes combustion in the cylinder is supplied in a controlled manner. The fuel in this case is injectable in a controlled manner by means of an injection nozzle in the cylinder, wherein the pressure accumulator is connected to the injection nozzle having a nozzle needle.
Various designs for suitable injection nozzles are described, for example, in the publications DE 39 36 986 A1, DE 10 2013 014 329 A1 and DE 10 2014 002 905 A1.

Internal combustion engine comprising a fuel injection nozzle with an additional supply of a combustion-promoting medium into the combustion chamber


A multiport memory emulator receives first and a second memory commands for concurrent processing of memory commands in one operation clock cycle. Data operands are stored in a memory array of bitcells that is arranged as rows and memory banks. An auxiliary memory bank provides a bitcell for physically storing an additional word for each row. The bank address portion of each of the first and second memory commands is respectively translated into a first and second physical bank address. The second physical bank address is assigned a bank address of a bank that is currently unused in response to a determination that the bank address portions are equal and the bank associated with the first bank address is designated as a currently unused bank for subsequently received memory commands in response to the determination that the bank address portions are equal. Simultaneous read and write operations are possible.

Electronic devices include a wide variety of processors such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processors (DSP), and microprocessors that use memory devices to store and retrieve information, for example. Very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits (e.g., on the scale of billions of transistors) often include multiple processors that each access and process information that is stored in memory devices that are shared by the multiple processors. The shared memory devices often include memory cells (e.g., bitcells) having multiple ports (e.g., multiport memories) so that the memory devices (and the information stored therein) can be accessed more quickly.
However, implementing multiport memories using space and/or time multiplexing typically requires a greater amount a layout space, increased power, decreased bandwidth, and/or combinations thereof. Space-multiplexing multiport memories, for example, are arranged using a multiplexor that is arranged to receive requests for first and second ports and to alternate sending the request to a memory. Time-multiplexing multiport memories, for example, are arranged using first and second memories that are arranged to respectively receive requests for first and second memories and a multiplexor that is arranged to alternate output the output of each of the first and second memories.
The space-multiplexing approach typically entails using a larger bitcell (e.g., using eight or more-transistors). The (layout) area of each multiport bitcell typically increases exponentially with the number of ports in the bitcell, which results in exponentially greater space requirements for greater numbers of ports in a bitcell. Space-multiplexing typically allows the multiport memory to run at frequencies close to that of a single-port memory. Thus, space-multiplexed memories often use twice the area of, offer similar performance to, and consume twice the power of a single-port memory.
The time-multiplexing approach includes using single-port memories that are coupled to arbitration and priority sequencing logic to avoid bank contentions. Individual port requests for a single-port memory are prioritized and are sequentially sent in time to the single-port memories. The serialization of the individual port requests results in lower frequencies of operation and higher cycle latencies since the single-port memories are accessed sequentially in time. Multiport memories using time-multiplexing typically have a layout area that is comparable to the size of the layout area of single port. Thus, time-multiplexed memories often use a similar amount of area as, offer half the performance of, and consume a similar amount of the power of a single-port memory.
A third approach for implementing multiport memories provides using first and second inputs ports as well as using first and second output ports for a single bitcell such as an "8T" (eight-transistor) bitcell. The multiple-input and multiple-output memories often use twice the area of, offer less performance than, and consume more power than a single-port memory.

Multiport memory emulation using single-port memory devices


A sheet conveyer including a sheet support, a pickup roller, a separator roller, a holder, a guide, an urging member, and a contact section is provided. The holder is swingable and supports the pickup roller rotatably. The guide is attached to the holder and movable to swing relatively to the holder along with a swing movement of the holder. Urging force from the urging member acts on the guide to move toward a first position with respect to the holder. The contact section contacts a contacting part in the guide to restrict, the contacting part from being moved along with the swing movement of the holder. The guide is movable relatively to the holder from a position closer to the first position toward a position closer to a second position against the urging force from the urging member and allows the holder to further move toward the uppermost position.

Technical Field
The following disclosure relates to a sheet conveyer and an image reading apparatus.
Related Art
A sheet conveyer having a pickup roller, to pick up sheets from a sheet support section and convey the sheets downstream in a conveying direction, and a separator roller, to separate the sheets conveyed by the pickup roller one by one and convey the sheets further downstream in the conveying direction, is known.
The pickup roller may be rotatably supported by a holder. The holder may be supported to be swingable about an axis which is coincident with a support shaft being a rotation center of the separator roller. The pickup roller may swing together with the holder, and thereby a gap between the pickup roller and the sheet support section may be adjusted.

Sheet conveyer and image reading apparatus


Methods for detecting G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) activity; methods for assaying GPCR activity; and methods for screening for GPCR ligands, G-protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) activity, and compounds that interact with components of the GPCR regulatory process are described. Included are methods for expanding ICAST technologies for assaying GPCR activity with applications for ligand fishing, and agonist or antagonist screening. These methods include: engineering seronine/threonine phosphorylation sites into known or orphan GPCR open reading frames in order to increase the affinity of arrestin for the activated form of the GPCR or to increase the reside time of arrestin on the activated GPCR; engineering mutant arrestin proteins that bind to activated GPCRs in the absence of G-protein coupled receptor kinases which may be limiting; and engineering mutant super arrestin proteins that have an increased affinity for activated GPCRs with or without phosphorylation. These methods are intended to increase the robustness of the GPCR/ICAST technology in situations in which G-protein coupled receptor kinases are absent or limiting, or in which the GPCR is not efficiently down-regulated or is rapidly resensitized (thus having a labile interaction with arrestin). Included are also more specific methods for using ICAST complementary enzyme fragments to monitor GPCR homo- and hetero-dimerization with applications for drug lead discovery and ligand and function discovery for orphan GPCRs.

The actions of many extracellular signals are mediated by the interaction of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G-proteins). G-protein-mediated signaling systems have been identified in many divergent organisms, such as mammals and yeast. The GPCRs represent a large super family of proteins which have divergent amino acid sequences, but share common structural features, in particular, the presence of seven transmembrane helical domains. GPCRs respond to, among other extracellular signals, neurotransmitters, hormones, odorants and light. Individual GPCR types activate a particular signal transduction pathway; at least ten different signal transduction pathways are known to be activated via GPCRs. For example, the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) is a prototype mammalian GPCR. In response to agonist binding, β2AR receptors activate a G-protein (Gs) which in turn stimulates adenylate cyclase activity and results in increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production in the cell.
The signaling pathway and final cellular response that result from GPCR stimulation depends on the specific class of G-protein with which the particular receptor is coupled (Hamm, "The Many Faces of G-Protein Signaling." J. Biol. Chem., 273:669–672 (1998)). For instance, coupling to the Gs class of G-proteins stimulates cAMP production and activation of the Protein Kinase A and C pathways, whereas coupling to the Gi class of G-proteins down regulates cAMP. Other second messenger systems such as calcium, phospholipase C, and phosphatidylinositol 3 may also be utilized. As a consequence, GPCR signaling events have predominantly been measured via quantification of these second messenger products.
The decrease of a response to a persistent stimulus is a widespread biological phenomenon. Signaling by diverse GPCRs is believed to be terminated by a uniform two-step mechanism. Activated receptor is first phosphorylated by a GPCR kinase (GRK). An arrestin protein binds to the activated and phosphorylated receptor, thus blocking G-protein interaction. This process is commonly referred to as desensitization, a general mechanism that has been demonstrated in a variety of functionally diverse GPCRs. Arrestin also plays a part in regulating GPCR internalization and resensitization, processes that are heterogenous among different GPCRs (Oakley, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 274:32248–32257 (1999)). The interaction between an arrestin and GPCR in processes of internalization and resensitization is dictated by the specific sequence motif in the carboxyl terminus of a given GPCR. Only a subset of GPCRs, which possess clusters of three serine or threonine residues at the carboxyl termini, were found to co-traffick with the arrestins into the endocytic vesicles after ligand stimulation. The number of receptor kinases and arrestins involved in desensitization of GPCRs is rather limited.
A common feature of GPCR physiology is desensitization and recycling of the receptor through the processes of receptor phosphorylation, endocytosis and dephosphorylation (Ferguson, et al., "G-protein-coupled receptor regulation: role of G-protein-coupled receptor kinases and arresting." Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol., 74:1095–1110 (1996)). Ligand-occupied GPCRs can be phosphorylated by two families of serine/threonine kinases, the G-protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) and the second messenger-dependent protein kinases such as protein kinase A and protein kinase C. Phosphorylation by either class of kinases serves to down-regulate the receptor by uncoupling it from its corresponding G-protein. GRK-phosphorylation also serves to down-regulate the receptor by recruitment of a class of proteins known as the arrestins that bind the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor and promote clustering of the receptor into endocytic vescicles. Once the receptor is endocytosed, it will either be degraded in lysosomes or dephosphorylated and recycled back to the plasma membrane as a fully-functional receptor.
Binding of an arrestin protein to an activated receptor has been documented as a common phenomenon of a variety of GPCRs ranging from rhodopsin to β2AR to the neurotensin receptor (Barak, et al., "A β-arrestin/Green Fluorescent Fusion Protein Biosensor for Detecting G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation," J. Biol. Chem., 272:27497–500 (1997)). Consequently, monitoring arrestin interaction with a specific GPCR can be utilized as a generic tool for measuring GPCR activation. Similarly, a single G-protein and GRK also partner with a variety of receptors (Hamm, et al. (1998) and Pitcher et al., "G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinases," Annu. Rev. Biochem., 67:653–92 (1998)), such that these protein/protein interactions may also be monitored to determine receptor activity.
Many therapeutic drugs in use today target GPCRs, as they regulate vital physiological responses, including vasodilation, heart rate, bronchodilation, endocrine secretion and gut peristalsis. See, e.g., Lefkowitz et al., Annu. Rev. Biochem., 52:159 (1983). Some of these drugs mimic the ligand for this receptor. Other drugs act to antagonize the receptor in cases when disease arises from spontaneous activity of the receptor.
Efforts such as the Human Genome Project are identifying new GPCRs ("orphan" receptors) whose physiological roles and ligands are unknown. It is estimated that several thousand GPCRs exist in the human genome.
Various approaches have been used to monitor intracellular activity in response to a stimulant, e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); Fluorescense Imaging Plate Reader assay (FLIPR™, Molecular Devices Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif.); EVOscreen™, EVOTEC™, Evotec Biosystems Gmbh, Hamburg, Germany; and techniques developed by CELLOMICS™, Cellomics, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Germino et al., "Screening for in vivo protein-protein interactions." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 90(3):933–937 (1993), discloses an in vivo approach for the isolation of proteins interacting with a protein of interest.
Phizicky et al., "Protein-protein interactions: methods for detection and analysis." Microbiol. Rev., 59(1): 94–123 (1995), discloses a review of biochemical, molecular biological and genetic methods used to study protein-protein interactions.
Offermanns et al., "Gα15 and Gα16 Couple a Wide Variety of Receptors to Phospholipase C." J. Biol. Chem., 270(25):15175–15180 (1995), discloses that Gα15 and Gα16 can be activated by a wide variety of G-protein-coupled receptors. The selective coupling of an activated receptor to a distinct pattern of G-proteins is regarded as an important requirement to achieve accurate signal transduction. Id.
Barak et al., "A β-arrestin/Green Fluorescent Protein Biosensor for Detecting G Protein-coupled Receptor Activation." J. Biol. Chem., 272(44):27497–27500 (1997) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,891,646 and 6,110,693 disclose the use of a β-arrestin/green fluorescent fusion protein (GFP) for imaging protein translocation upon stimulation of GPCR with optical devices.
Each of the references described above has drawbacks. For example,                The prior art methodologies require over-expression of the proteins, which could cause artifact and tip the balance of cellular regulatory machineries.        The prior art visualization or imaging assays are low throughput and lack thorough quantification. Therefore, they are not suitable for high throughput pharmacological and kinetic assays.In addition, many of the prior art assays require isolation of the GPCR rather than observation of the GPCR in a cell. There thus exists a need for improved methods for monitoring GPCR function.

Systems for sensitive detection of G-protein coupled receptor and orphan receptor function using reporter enzyme mutant complementation


A heat exchanger is adapted to be used in a vapor compression system, and includes a shell, a distributing part and a tube bundle. The tube bundle includes a plurality of heat transfer tubes arranged in a plurality of columns extending parallel to each other when viewed along the longitudinal center axis of the shell. The heat transfer tubes has at least one of: an arrangement in which a vertical pitch between adjacent ones of the heat transfer tubes in at least one of the columns is larger in an upper region of the tube bundle than in a lower region of the tube bundle; and an arrangement in which a horizontal pitch between adjacent ones of the columns is larger in an outer region of the tube bundle than in an inner region of the tube bundle.

Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a heat exchanger adapted to be used in a vapor compression system. More specifically, this invention relates to a heat exchanger having a prescribed arrangement of a tube bundle for preventing a vapor flow velocity from exceeding a prescribed level.
Background Information
Vapor compression refrigeration has been the most commonly used method for air-conditioning of large buildings or the like. Conventional vapor compression refrigeration systems are typically provided with an evaporator, which is a heat exchanger that allows the refrigerant to evaporate from liquid to gas while absorbing heat from liquid to be cooled passing through the evaporator. One type of evaporator includes a tube bundle having a plurality of horizontally extending heat transfer tubes through which the liquid to be cooled is circulated, and the tube bundle is housed inside a cylindrical shell. There are several known methods for evaporating the refrigerant in this type of evaporator. In a flooded evaporator, the shell is filled with liquid refrigerant and the heat transfer tubes are immersed in a pool of the liquid refrigerant so that the liquid refrigerant boils and/or evaporates as vapor. In a falling film evaporator, liquid refrigerant is deposited onto exterior surfaces of the heat transfer tubes from above so that a layer or a thin film of the liquid refrigerant is formed along the exterior surfaces of the heat transfer tubes. Heat from walls of the heat transfer tubes is transferred via convection and/or conduction through the liquid film to the vapor-liquid interface where part of the liquid refrigerant evaporates, and thus, heat is removed from the water flowing inside of the heat transfer tubes. The liquid refrigerant that does not evaporate falls vertically from the heat transfer tube at an upper position toward the heat transfer tube at a lower position by force of gravity. There is also a hybrid falling film evaporator, in which the liquid refrigerant is deposited on the exterior surfaces of some of the heat transfer tubes in the tube bundle and the other heat transfer tubes in the tube bundle are immersed in the liquid refrigerant that has been collected at the bottom portion of the shell.
Although the flooded evaporators exhibit high heat transfer performance, the flooded evaporators require a considerable amount of refrigerant because the heat transfer tubes are immersed in a pool of the liquid refrigerant. With recent development of new and high-cost refrigerant having a much lower global warming potential (such as R1234ze or R1234yf), it is desirable to reduce the refrigerant charge in the evaporator. The main advantage of the falling film evaporators is that the refrigerant charge can be reduced while ensuring good heat transfer performance. Therefore, the falling film evaporators have a significant potential to replace the flooded evaporators in large refrigeration systems. However, there are several technical challenges associated with the efficient operation of the falling film evaporator.
One of the challenges is managing vapor flow within the tube bundle of a falling film evaporator. In general, a portion of the liquid refrigerant that vaporized significantly expands in volume in all directions, causing cross flow or travel by the vaporized refrigerant in a transverse direction. This cross flow disrupts the vertical flow of the liquid refrigerant, which increases a risk of the lower tubes receiving insufficient wetting, causing significantly reduced heat transfer performance. Another challenge is preventing entrained liquid droplets from being carried over from the evaporator to the compressor. The compressor can be damaged if the vaporized refrigerant contains entrained liquid droplets.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,112 discloses a falling film evaporator in which the tubes of the tube bundle are arranged to form vapor lanes extending in a transverse direction to control the velocity of cross flow of the refrigerant vapor created interior of the tube bundle.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,849,710 discloses a falling film evaporator that includes a hood disposed over the tube bundle. The hood forces the flow of vapor refrigerant to move downward, thereby preventing cross flow of the vapor refrigerant inside the hood. Also, the abrupt directional change of the vapor refrigerant flow caused by the hood results in removal of a great proportion of entrained liquid droplets from the vapor refrigerant flow.


There is provided an inkjet printing apparatus having a printhead equipped with printing element row that includes printing elements having a plurality of heat-producing resistance elements. The apparatus includes a temperature sensing unit which senses the temperature of the printhead, a temperature distribution storage unit in which a temperature distribution along the printing element row, a temperature gradient calculating unit which calculates the temperature gradient of the printing element row from the temperature of the printhead sensed by the temperature sensing units, a predicting unit which predicts the temperature of each printing element using the temperature gradient and the temperature distribution along the printing element row, and a control unit which applies discharge pulses, which are decided based upon the predicted temperature from the predicting unit, to each of the printing elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method. More particularly, the invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method for suppressing error in amount of ink discharge and suppressing a decline in image quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an inkjet printing apparatus proposed heretofore, a plurality of printheads each having a plurality of printing elements are fixedly arranged in parallel and are caused to scan across a print medium to print on the medium. A characterizing feature of an inkjet printing apparatus having such a construction is a printing speed higher than that of a so-called serial-scanning-type printing apparatus for printing by the scanning of a printhead.
A problem that arises in the attainment of a high printing speed is a decline in image quality ascribable to a fluctuation in amount of ink discharge due to a temperature rise in the printhead. Various types of control for stabilizing the amount of ink discharged from a printhead have been proposed for the purpose of minimizing the occurrence of density unevenness, etc., in printed images and the like (see the specifications of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-31905 and 9-183222).
In an inkjet printing method available in the art, an ink bubbling force is produced by applying electric pulses to a heat-producing resistance element (also referred to as a "heater"), thereby heating the ink rapidly and causing the ink to undergo a change in state from the liquid phase to the gas phase. With this printing method, the amount of ink discharge is substantially decided by the method of introducing energy up to the change in state of the ink from the liquid phase to the gas phase. Consequently, after the ink has undergone the change in state to the gas phase, there is almost no effect upon the amount of ink discharge regardless of how the energy is introduced.
One conventional measure for dealing with a fluctuation in amount of ink discharge ascribable to a temperature rise in an inkjet printing apparatus is to control the method of energy introduction up to the change in state to the gas phase. For example, there is a method of modulating the amount of ink discharge by using divided pulses of the kind shown in FIG. 9 and controlling a preheating pulse, main heating pulse and quiescent time (interval time) between these pulses.
FIG. 9 is a time chart of heating pulses applied to a printhead. The heating pulses used here are divided pulses and the pulse width thereof can be modulated.
Pulse width and driving voltage Vop of the heating pulses for driving the printhead are decided by the area, resistance value and film structure of a heater board and the nozzle structure of the printhead.
In FIG. 9, reference characters P1, P2 and P3 denote a preheating pulse, interval time and a main heating pulse, respectively. The pulse waveform of at least one of P1, P2, and P3 is modulated based upon temperature information from a temperature sensor (a diode sensor, etc.) provided on the printhead. Further, reference characters T1, T2 and T3 represent the rise times of the applied pulses and indicate times for deciding P1, P2 and P3, respectively.
The preheating pulse P1 has a pulse width mainly for controlling ink temperature within a nozzle. This pulse width is controlled in accordance with temperature sensed utilizing the temperature sensor of the printhead. This pulse width is controlled in such a manner that the ink will not be caused to bubble by preheating owing to excessive application of thermal energy to the ink.
The interval time P2 is provided for the purpose of preventing mutual interference between the preheating pulse P1 and main heating pulse P3, and for the purpose of uniformalizing the temperature of the ink within the nozzle by causing the thermal energy applied by the preheating pulse P1 to spread into the ink at the portion above the heater.
The main heating pulse P3 subjects the ink to energy for bubbling the ink and discharging ink droplets from discharge ports.
In a case where a uniform image has been printed on the entire surface of the print medium, the temperature distribution along the row direction of the printing elements is not uniform, is high at the central portion of the row of printing elements and low at both ends thereof. In particular, at the end of printing when the temperature rise is great, this tendency becomes conspicuous, as indicated by the curve "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" in FIG. 2A. It should be noted that FIG. 2A is the temperature distribution of a row of printing elements at the end of printing in a case where a uniform image has been printed on the entire surface of the printing medium.
As a consequence of this non-uniform temperature distribution, the density of the image printed by the printing elements at the central portion of the row of printing elements exceeds the density of the image printed by the printing elements at both ends of the row, despite the fact that the intent was to print an image of uniform density. This invites a decline in image quality.
A conceivable method of controlling the amount of ink discharge in such cases is to hold the amount of ink discharge from each printing element substantially constant by selecting an optimum discharge pulse for each printing element in accordance with the temperature distribution along the row direction of the printing elements.
For example, in FIG. 2A, the amount of ink discharge is controlled using three types of discharge pulses with respect to the curve "TACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION". Discharge pulses from a Pulse Width Table No. 3 in FIG. 13 are used for the printing elements in areas A and E, in FIG. 2A. Since the printing elements in areas B and D have a higher temperature than that of the printing elements in areas A and E, discharge pulses from a Pulse Width Table No. 4 are used to suppress an increase in amount of ink discharge. Since printing elements in area C have an even higher temperature, discharge pulses from a Pulse Width Table No. 5 are used.
If the step-shaped line drawing labeled "DISCHARGE-PULSE SET TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" in FIG. 2A is the temperature distribution along the row direction of the printing elements, the amount of discharge of ink droplets from the entire row of printing elements will be fixed, but the actual temperature distribution is the line drawing "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION". Accordingly, FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the temperature difference between the line drawing "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" and the line drawing "DISCHARGE-PULSE SET TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION". FIG. 2B represents temperature error along the row of printing elements. According to FIG. 2B, the error has a width W2 centered on zero.
This error in amount of ink discharge can be reduced by increasing the types of discharge pulses used and changing the discharge pulses finely in accordance with the change in temperature. Accordingly, it will suffice to decide the number of types of discharge pulses in such a manner that the error in amount of discharge will fall within an allowable range. The allowable range of error in amount of ink discharge is decided depending upon whether a change in image density can be visually discerned, by way of example.
However, since a printed image is not always an image having a uniform density along the direction of the row of printing elements, the temperature distribution also is not necessarily as indicated by the curve "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" in FIG. 2A. For example, in a case where an image is printed using only some printing elements as in FIG. 7B, the temperature distribution of the printing elements in the direction of the row of printing elements becomes as indicated by line drawing A in FIG. 7A. Further, in a case where an image having a smaller width and a density that is lower than that of the image of FIG. 7B is printed as in FIG. 7C, the temperature distribution becomes as indicated by line drawing B in FIG. 7A. Although both curves indicate temperature distributions that are clearly different, the temperatures measured by temperature sensors at both ends are equal. When these two types of images originally having different temperature distributions are printed, how the discharge pulses are applied should differ as a matter of course. However, this cannot be distinguished because the temperatures measured by the temperature sensors are the same.
Thus, although various temperature distributions arise in actuality, it is difficult to predict these temperature distributions. For this reason, it has been contemplated to stabilize temperature by applying heating pulses having pulse widths in ranges that will not cause the discharge of ink to heaters other than heaters currently used in printing, in such a manner that a temperature difference will not arise among printing elements within the row of printing elements (see the specification of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-239655).
FIG. 8 illustrates a heating pulse for performing heating (short-pulse heating) by a pulse within a range that will not produce a discharge of ink. The pulse width of a short pulse P4 is set to be shorter than a discharge pulse for performing ordinary printing.
A pulse within a range that will not produce a discharge of ink signifies a pulse that does not apply enough energy to cause ink to be discharged. A short pulse involves less consumed energy in comparison with a discharge pulse. In the case of a discharge pulse, however, heat is released by the ink droplet discharged. It is understood, therefore, that the energy that contributes to the head temperature rise from a pulse just small enough not to discharge ink is substantially equal to the energy that contributes to the head temperature rise from a discharge pulse.
Accordingly, if during printing the short pulse P4 is applied to heaters other than heaters used in printing (heaters to which a discharge pulse is applied), pulses equal to those of a fully uniform image can be applied for any image whatsoever. As a result, a temperature distribution similar to that of the curve "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" can be obtained at all times.
However, even in a case where the pulse applied is equal to that in a case where a uniform image has been printed over the entire surface of the printing medium, the temperature of the printing elements in the row direction of the printing elements is high for the printing elements at the central portion of the row of printing elements and low for the printing elements at both ends of the row, as mentioned above. In particular, at the end of printing when the temperature rise is great, this tendency becomes conspicuous, as indicated by the curve representing "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" in FIG. 2A.
As a result, even in a case where the same discharge pulse is applied to each printing element in order to perform the printing of an image having a uniform density, the density of the image printed by the printing elements at the central portion of the row of printing elements exceeds the density of the image printed by the printing elements at both ends of the row. Such a difference in density causes a decline in image quality.
In the prior art, as set forth above, there is no disclosure of a technique for preventing a fluctuation in amount of ink discharge satisfactorily, the fluctuation being ascribable to a rise in the temperature of the printing elements of the printhead.
In a case where an image having a uniform density is formed over the entire surface of the print medium, it is believed that the temperature distribution along the direction of the row of printing elements has left-right symmetry, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, and that the temperatures measured at both ends of the row of printing elements by two temperature sensors provided at both ends are equal. The reason for this is that the energy for heating the heaters is applied to each of the printing elements substantially uniformly. In actuality, however, it has been found that owing to uneven thickness, etc., of the bonding agent that bonds a printing element board and support board that construct the printhead, the temperature distribution becomes one that has left-right asymmetry, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, and hence there are instances where the temperatures measured by the two temperature sensors differ.
In this case, in a manner similar to that of FIG. 2A, three types of discharge pulses are decided based upon the average value of the temperatures measured by the two temperature sensors. When this is done, the line drawing labeled "DISCHARGE-PULSE SET TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION"; shifts greatly from the line drawing "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" especially near both ends of the row of printing elements, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. Consequently, the temperature difference between the line drawing "ACTUAL TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" and the line drawing "DISCHARGE-PULSE SET TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION" increases, as illustrated in FIG. 3B. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, a value W3 indicating the width of the error is larger than the value W2 of the width of the error described in conjunction with FIG. 2B. The greater the temperature difference, i.e., the temperature error, the greater the fluctuation in amount of ink discharge. As a result, density unevenness becomes conspicuous and the quality of the image declines.
In particular, it is known that when use is made of a printhead having a plurality of printing element boards and the boards are placed in staggered fashion in such a manner that ends of the rows of printing elements slightly overlap each other, the decline in image quality becomes very noticeable. The reason for this is that owing to a fluctuation in amount of ink discharge at the ends of each row of printing elements, a difference in density at the portions of the image formed by the boundaries between the printing element boards becomes readily visually discernable and conspicuous.

Inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method


A reminder system has a user interface with a microphone, display and at least one manually operable control. A processor that is coupled to the user interface has a memory and an input for receiving image information signifying at least one predetermined image for storage in the memory. The processor can display simultaneously on the display a calendar image and the predetermined image. In another mode the processor can display at least the predetermined image without displaying the calendar image. In yet another mode the screen can display a conventional clock face with minute and hour hands. As an option, the user can upload a number of images that can then replace the hours numerals on the clock face. Using the user interface and the microphone one can store in the memory at least one pair of a spoken message and a scheduled time. The processor can make the spoken message automatically available at the scheduled time. The processor can be coupled to a remote interface that has a sound sensor for producing a remote sound signal. The remote interface can send the remote sound signal to the processor for storage in the memory for later retrieval.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for recording and playing back spoken reminder messages, and in particular to enabling play back on a user designated schedule.
2. Description of Related Art
An alarm can be built into an alarm clock, wrist watch or clock radio, to sound an alarm at a predetermined time. These arrangements are relatively limited in that usually only one alarm can be preprogrammed at a time and no information is given about the reason for the alarm. Furthermore, these arrangements are designed to trigger an alarm every day at the same time. Thus, these arrangements cannot be used to schedule an appointment several days in advance (e.g., schedule a doctor's appointment, luncheon date, business meeting, etc.).
A common way of scheduling an appointment is to mark a calendar. Known calendars have a grid representing each day of the month in a format large enough to allow one to mark an appointment in the grid cell representing the date of the appointment. Although these calendars are made relatively large, inadequate space exists for writing much detail about the appointment, especially when multiple appointments fall on the same date. Even when such a calendar is able to contain sufficient information about an appointment, a user must become disciplined into regularly examining the calendar in order to be reminded of scheduled appointments.
Since these appointment calendars can be relatively large they compete for wall space with other items such as a wall clock or decorative wall hangings.
Such calendars are often provided in a book style and are hung open with the calendar grid on one page and a decorative image on the facing page. These decorative images are chosen by the printer or manufacturer, but are not customized with images that are personally meaningful to the owner of the calendar. While customizing a calendar is always possible, the number of pictures a user can display for each month is limited and the time, trouble, and expense of customization will deter most.
A user can upload personally meaningful images to a computer and display them sequentially using presentation software. For example, a series of photographs of a family vacation can be displayed on a computer screen and the user can select the manner of image succession. Specifically, the user can select the exposure time for each image and how one picture transitions to another. For example, one image can simply abruptly replace another. Alternatively, one image can fade and be replaced by another that grows in size, detail, intensity, or contrast. In some cases, the current picture can "move" off screen, while another moves in to take its place. While a user can upload such personal images with effects for display on a computer, such images are often hidden behind other computer program windows that the user is working on.
The front door of residences are often fitted with a peephole to allow visual identification of visitors. If the visitor arrives when the resident is absent, limited options exist for leaving a message. The visitor may not be prepared to secure a written message to the door. Moreover, the absent resident may want to identify the missed visitor by appearance and voice characteristics.
In existing security systems a closed-circuit television camera can be mounted at a front door to identify a visitor, but are inconvenient for identifying missed visitors. Even if such systems record images of missed visitors, rewinding to the time of visitation can be very difficult, if in fact the occurrence of a visit is even known. Moreover, in residential applications the indoor monitor for the outdoor security camera occupies wall or shelf space and will compete for such space with other items such as the above-mentioned appointment calendar, wall clock, and decorative wall hangings, as well as other items such as home entertainment systems (televisions, etc.).
Conventional telephone answering machines are well adapted to record and conveniently play back the voice messages of missed callers.
See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,228,470; 4,302,752; 4,368,988; 5,555,536; 5,696,496; 5,708,627; 5,742,736; 6,438,221; 6,453,281; 6,678,215; and 6,720,980.


In one embodiment, a first portion (20) of translator circuit (17) is configured to extract a first supply voltage level from a high level of an input signal, an inverter (25) is configured to operate from the first supply-voltage level and a second portion (30) of the translator circuit is configured to operate from a second supply voltage level (V2) that is greater than the first supply voltage level.

The present invention relates, in general, to electronics, and more particularly, to methods of forming semiconductor devices and structures.
In the past, the semiconductor industry utilized various methods and structures to produce level shifter circuits that shifted the logic levels of a digital signal from one set of voltage values to a different set of voltage values. These level shifter circuits had various applications such as in circuits that communicated among one another with a serial communication protocol. In such applications, the communication signal may be transmitted from a circuit that operated between one set of voltage levels and may be received by circuit that operated between a different set of voltage levels. Some of the prior level shifter circuits required dual power supplies in order to translate the incoming signal to the voltage level of the receiving circuit. Using dual power supplies usually increased the cost of the circuits.
Other level shifter circuits sank current from the input signal which could have degraded the input signal and resulted in errors in the received signal. Some other level shifters consumed dc current which caused power dissipation during periods when most of the circuit was not switching, such as during a standby operating mode.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a method of forming a level shifter circuit that minimizes the amount of current sunk from the input signal, that does not require dual power supplies, that minimizes power dissipation, and that reduces the cost of the level shifter circuit.
For simplicity and clarity of the illustration, elements in the figures are not necessarily to scale, and the same reference numbers in different figures denote the same elements. Additionally, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. As used herein current carrying electrode means an element of a device that carries current through the device such as a source or a drain of an MOS transistor or an emitter or a collector of a bipolar transistor or a cathode or anode of a diode, and a control electrode means an element of the device that controls current through the device such as a gate of an MOS transistor or a base of a bipolar transistor. Although the devices are explained herein as certain N-channel or P-Channel devices, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that complementary devices are also possible in accordance with the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during, while, and when as used herein are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay, such as a propagation delay, between the reaction that is initiated by the initial action.

Method of forming a signal level translator and structure therefor

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC


A laser welding material and laser welding method which can satisfactorily weld resin members of different resin materials that have no or little adhesive property is provided and includes a set of resin materials constituting a first resin member, a second resin member and a third resin member in which the first resin member and the second resin member are different materials and the first resin member does not absorb laser light and which is used for laser-welding the three members by overlapping the third resin member with the first and second resin members and irradiating laser light to the three members from the first resin member side, and a layer welding method.

As methods for joining resin members with each other, a method using an adhesive and a welding method such as hot plate welding, vibration welding, ultrasonic welding and spin welding, have been conventionally known. In recent years, an injection welding method such as DRI and DSI, and a laser welding method have also become available.
The joining method using an adhesive is a manual operation by a worker and this is an inefficient operation. Furthermore, this method is disadvantageous in that stable joining strength cannot be obtained and, depending on the kind of the resin member, a sufficiently high adhesive force may not be obtained. Also, environmental contamination is a problem with this method.
Hot plate welding has problems that the cycle is long, a filling material is necessary, or welding cannot be effected in the water-absorbed state. Vibration welding is disadvantageous in that, for example, the welding part shifts 1 to 2 mm due to the vibration, giving rise to unsuitability for precision components, a flash is generated to cause clogging of a filter or the like, or welding can be hardly effected when a warp exists. Ultrasonic welding has the drawbacks that, for example, the weld strength is low, the airtightness is poor, or the welding is applicable only to small members. Spin welding is applicable only to circular members and has the problems that a filling material is necessary or welding cannot be effected in the water-absorbed state.
Also, DRI and DSI, which are injection welding methods recently employed for intake manifolds, have a problem that despite high weld strength, for example, the die is expensive, the molding machine needs to be modified, and these welding methods cannot be used unless the material has particularly good flowability.
On the other hand, the laser welding is a method of welding a resin member non-absorptive of laser light and a resin member absorptive of laser light by abutting these members against each other, where laser light is irradiated on the joining face from the non-absorptive resin member side, and the absorptive resin member forming the joining face is melted by the energy of laser light, thereby effecting joining (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-214931 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 5-42336).
However, there is a problem that a sufficiently high joining strength cannot be obtained in joining resin members which are dissimilar and, particularly, are resin members which are dissimilar materials having no or little adhesive property, for example, members such as nylon 6 and nylon 12.

Material for laser welding and laser welding method


Nasal or sinus site may be treated with a ready-to-use paste having a high concentration of a water-soluble chitosan, an osmolality reducing agent in a phosphate-containing solution. The paste forms at room temperature, has a pH of at least 4 and the osmolality reducing agent does not crosslink with the water-soluble chitosan. The paste provides stenting and adheres to the nasal or sinus site and has a residence time of at least 1 day.

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucosal tissue lining of the sinus walls which may lead to nasal passageway blockage, mucous stagnation and bacterial or fungal sinus cavity infection. Typical treatments begin with antibiotics. However, when antibiotics cannot relieve sinusitis, sinus surgery (which involves opening the sinus cavities and removing mucosal tissue) may be an alternative. Post-operative care for such surgery requires temporary and uncomfortable sinus packing or gauze which supports the reopened sinus passage and absorbs excess fluid while the tissues heal. After several days or at the discretion of the physician, the gauze packing is removed. Doing so is painful.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A piezoelectric element including a vibrating plate, a lower electrode, a piezoelectric film and an upper electrode laminated in this order, wherein the lower electrode, the upper electrode and the piezoelectric film are formed by a perovskite type oxide while the vibrating plate is formed by a metal oxide, and a junction interface is substantially absent between the vibrating plate and the lower electrode, between the lower electrode and the piezoelectric film and between the piezoelectric film and the upper electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric element having a metal oxide ferroelectric film applicable to various dielectric devices by electric and/or optical properties, an ink jet recording head utilizing the same and a producing method for a piezoelectric element.
2. Related Background Art
A piezoelectric element is constituted of a crystalline piezoelectric ceramic material of a ferroelectric or paraelectric property. The piezoelectric ceramic material generally has a two-component composition principally constituted of lead zirconate titanate (hereinafter represented as "PZT"), or a three-component composition in which a third component is added to PZT of the two-component composition. A ferroelectric material utilizing a two-component PZT is described in Applied Physics Letters, 1991, vol. 58, No. 11, pp 1161-1163.
A ferroelectric thin film of such metal oxide type can be prepared, for example, by a sputtering, an MOCVD or a sol-gel method. The sol-gel method is executed by coating a substrate with a solution containing a hydrolysable compound of each raw material metal, a partially hydrolyzed product thereof or a partially polycondensed product thereof, then drying and heating the coated film in the air to form a metal oxide film, and executing a sintering at a crystallizing temperature or higher of the metal oxide to crystallize the film, thereby obtaining a ferroelectric thin film. As the hydrolysable metal compound for the raw material, an organic compound is generally employed, such as a metal alkoxide, a partially hydrolyzed product thereof or a partially polycondensed product thereof. The sol-gel method allows to obtain a ferroelectric film most inexpensively and most simply.
As a method similar to the sol-gel method, there is known a metalorganic decomposition (MOD) method. The MOD method is executed by coating a substrate with a solution containing a hydrolysable metalorganic compound, such as a β-diketone complex or a carboxylate salt of a metal, then heating the coated film in the air or in oxygen to achieve a solvent evaporation of the coated film and a pyrolysis of the metal compound to form a metal oxide film, and executing a sintering at a crystallizing temperature or higher to crystallize the film. In the present invention, the sol-gel method, the MOD method and any combination thereof will be collectively referred to as "sol-gel method".
Also, an ink jet recording head utilizing a piezoelectric element formed by the sol-gel method is disclosed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H09-092897, H10-139594 and H10-290035 disclose a process based on the sol-gel method, of coating a sol containing a piezoelectric material in plural divided portions on a lower electrode and repeating a heating process thereby forming a piezoelectric film of a piezoelectric element usable in an ink jet recording head.
Also various proposals have been made, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H09-092897, H10-139594 and H10-290035, for improving characteristics and operation reliability of the piezoelectric element employed as an actuator, in order to achieve an improvement in the performance and the durability of the ink jet recording head.
A piezoelectric material obtained by the sol-gel method is known to assume a columnar polycrystalline structure. The columnar structure is a structure in which a grain boundary is formed substantially perpendicularly to a direction along the thickness of the film, and has surface irregularities corresponding to the grain size. Such irregularities may cause an interfacial roughness to an upper electrode, thereby resulting in an increased leak current or a deterioration in the piezoelectric characteristics.
Also a prior piezoelectric element employ, as a lower electrode, a precious metal such as Ru or Pt or an oxide thereof, and an interfacial mismatching between the piezoelectric film and the lower electrode may cause a deterioration of electrical characteristics, such as an increased leak current or a loss in the dielectric breakdown resistance. Also in a piezoelectric element of a prior configuration, a perovskite type oxide such as barium titanate, strontium titanate or calcium titanate employed as the lower electrode may result in a deterioration of characteristics, particularly a displacement amount, of the piezoelectric film, because of a higher resistance of the electrode in comparison with the case of the precious metal. Furthermore, in the piezoelectric element of the prior configuration, an in-plane stress may be concentrated on a junction interface of a vibrating plate and a lower electrode, thereby leading to a peeling in a thermal treatment step in the manufacture or when the element is driven.

Piezoelectric element, ink jet recording head and producing method for piezoelectric element


Fluids and associated methods useful in subterranean applications are provided. Compositions are provided that may be useful in subterranean applications for addressing, among other things, drill string sticking problems. More particularly, spotting fluid compositions are provided having a water insoluble external phase fluid; a water soluble internal phase fluid; and an ether carboxylic acid emulsifying agent. Additional optional components may be used, such as viscosifiers, weighting agents, and wetting agents.

The present invention relates to fluids useful in subterranean applications and more particularly, to spotting fluid compositions that may be useful in subterranean applications for addressing, inter alia, drill string sticking problems.
Drill string sticking is a phenomenon in which a drill string or a portion of a drill string cannot be moved within a well bore. That is, a drill string or a portion of a drill string may experience sticking such that it cannot be rotated, reciprocated, or both. Drill string sticking is generally considered the most expensive and greatest lost-time problem in drilling.
Traditionally, the main types of drill string sticking are differential sticking and mechanical sticking. Differential sticking usually occurs when a drill string becomes embedded in, among other things, the filter cake contained within a subterranean formation, e.g., a permeable formation. A drill string can be become stuck in a well bore (e.g., in the filter cake) by a pressure differential between the hydrostatic pressure of the well bore mud and the formation pressure. This difference in pressures is sometimes referred to as "overbalance pressure." The sticking force exerted on a drill string can be considerable when the overbalance pressure is exerted over a large portion of the drill string. Inadequate fluid-loss control, poor filter-cake characteristics, excessive solids content, and high overbalance pressures can exacerbate filter cake thickness and the severity of the problem. Mechanical sticking can be caused by, among other reasons, key seating, inadequate hole cleaning, well bore instability, and/or undergauge hole.
Methods used to alleviate a stuck portion of a drill string have included methods such as lowering the hydrostatic pressure in a well bore, applying a shock force just above the stuck point by mechanical jarring, placing a spotting fluid next to the stuck zone, or some combination of the above. Lowering the hydrostatic pressure of the well bore to free stuck pipe is one alternative, but this solution has drawbacks in that it may compromise well control. In many cases, application of a shock force to the pipe does not suffice to free the stuck pipe. Therefore, quick application of a spotting fluid is usually recommended as a solution for freeing stuck pipe. Indeed, the most common approach is to place a spot of oil, oil-base mud, or special spotting fluid in the stuck zone of drill string. Spotting fluids may act to assist in reducing the differential sticking problem encountered by drill strings by, among other things, acting as a lubricant and/or by dehydrating the filter cake formed around the stuck portion of the drill string.
A variety of spotting fluids have been heretofore used to address the problem of stuck pipe. One of the drawbacks of some of the spotting fluids heretofore used is that certain components of the spotting fluid may not be compatible with higher environmental standards of some regions. As one example of this problem, some spotting fluids use emulsifying agents that are not compatible with stricter environmental regulations of the North Sea region or other regions. Consequently, operators in some regions may have to resort to using less desirable spotting fluids that may be less effective or forego the use of spotting fluids entirely.

Spotting fluid compositions and associated methods