Disclosed is a system for producing a beverage, in particular a cold beverage, comprising a cartridge that has a reservoir filled with a beverage substance, a beverage preparation unit with a cartridge receptacle into which the cartridge can be reversibly inserted, and a cartridge discharge device which causes at least partial transfer of the beverage substance from the reservoir into a mixing chamber; furthermore, the beverage preparation unit comprises a fluid supply which opens into the mixing chamber, or the system includes a movable plunger which is placed inside the reservoir and can be transferred from a starting position into a final position by means of the cartridge discharge device.

The present invention proceeds from a system for producing a beverage, more particularly a cold beverage, comprising a cartridge which has a reservoir filled with a beverage substance, and a beverage preparation unit with a cartridge receptacle into which the cartridge can be reversibly inserted, and with a cartridge discharge device which causes at least partial transfer of the beverage substance from the reservoir into a mixing chamber.
Systems of this kind are fundamentally known from the prior art, by way of example from WO 2013/036564 A2 and WO 2005/079361 A2, and are used for the preparation of beverages from pre-portioned cartridges. The preparation of beverages with such systems is extremely convenient for the user since he has only to insert a cartridge and press a start button. The beverage preparation unit then produces the beverage fully automatically, that is, more particularly the beverage substance is mixed with a predetermined amount of liquid, more particularly cold carbonated water and directed into a drinking vessel. It is then particularly easy for the user to rapidly produce mixed drinks in this way with little effort. The user can then make a selection from a plurality of different cartridges so that he can produce different beverages according to his preferred choice.
A great challenge in the case of such systems is that of safely and completely preventing recontamination of the beverage preparation unit during production of the beverage since otherwise there is the risk of contamination or even mold forming inside the beverage preparation unit. This particularly applies for cartridges containing fruit juice, alcoholic or milky beverage substances.
With the systems known from the prior art the cartridge is normally inserted into the cartridge receptacle and the cartridge is opened on both sides, i.e. on an inlet side and an outlet side. Then water is introduced into the cartridge on the inlet side by means of a liquid supply so that the beverage is formed by mixing the beverage substance with the water already inside the reservoir in the cartridge. The beverage leaves the cartridge on the outlet side and is directed to a drinking vessel. The water flows completely through the reservoir here and thus causes the beverage substance to flow out from the reservoir. It has been seen that when introducing water directly into the reservoir filled with the beverage substance a recontamination of the supply cannot be entirely prevented because the reservoir is normally completely filled with the beverage substance and a rise in pressure takes place as a result in the reservoir when water is introduced. Both this rise in pressure in the reservoir and also the flushing through of the reservoir ensures that during and/or shortly after the beverage production very small drops, particles and/or suspended solids of the beverage substance pass into the liquid supply and lead to a continuous contamination thereof.

System, cartridge, beverage preparation unit and method for producing a beverage


A module for a packaged circuit. In one embodiment, the module includes at least one ground terminal and at least one signal terminal; a circuit board configured to hold the packaged circuit where the circuit board has an interface terminal and one or more traces electrically connecting the at least one signal terminal of the packaged circuit to the interface terminal; and a conductive bracket having a first side, the first side configured to support the circuit board and having at least one clip, the clip configured to hold at least a portion of the circuit board and to contact the at least one ground terminal of the packaged circuit, the conductive bracket configured to provide at least some electromagnetic shielding for the packaged circuit from sources of electromagnetic energy located opposite the first side of the bracket.

Packaged circuits including integrated circuits (which are sometimes called "chips") are used in a variety of applications. Packaged circuits may be used in environments subjected to a variety of phenomena that can affect the operation of the circuit. For example, packaged circuits used in automobiles may be susceptible to vibrations from the vehicle, electromagnetic interference ("EMI") from electric motors used in power accessories, and large temperature changes.
Maintaining packaged circuits may also be difficult. Repairing or replacing a packaged circuit may include removing old soldered connections and/or wires and soldering new connections between the packaged circuit and one or more interfacing components and may be costly in both time and materials. Packaged circuits may also be located in small, tight positions further increasing the difficulty of repairing or replacing them and providing the connections needed for proper functioning.

Packaged circuit module for improved installation and operation


Disclosed in the present invention are a heterocyclic compound, an application thereof and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the same. Provided by the present invention are a heterocyclic compound represented by formula I or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The compound has a novel structure and a good inhibitory activity against autotaxin (ATX).

Autotaxin (ATX, also known as ENPP2 [ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 2] or lysophospholipase D) is a secreted lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD) that converts lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) into bioactive phospholipid derivative lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). LPA exhibits its biological activity by signaling through a specific G protein-coupled receptor (LPA1-6). The ATX/LPA axis has triggered considerable interest in the pharmaceutical industry due to its involvement in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. LPA and LPA receptors are involved in a variety of diseases such as fibrotic diseases (e.g. idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, IPF), proliferative diseases, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, dermatological diseases, and diseases associated with abnormal angiogenesis.

According to Galapagos Publication No. GLPG1690, they have an inhibitory effect on ATX and are useful for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Therefore, there is an urgent need in the art for compounds with novel structures and good ATX inhibitory activities.

Heterocyclic compound, application thereof and pharmaceutical composition comprising same

SUZHOU SINOVENT PHARMACEUTICALS CO., LTD.


There is provided a fixed type electrode tip take-out device capable of solving the problem of irregularities of positions of upper and lower electrode tips by urging a tip magazine to be movable, and fixing the locations of the electrode tips of each group at the portions to be fixed to a welder, thereby taking out the electrode tips from the tip magazine with accuracy. The tip magazine is urged to be movable relative to a base plate by a driving unit, boundary portions of respective through holes are partitioned by elastic boundary walls in which wedges are inserted in the same direction as an axis of each through hole, and lowest end portions of electrode tips of each group housed in the tip magazine are brought into contact with a slide plate fixed to the base plate, and the upper and lower electrode tips of each group located at portions to be fixed to a welder are positioned by stoppers fixed to the base plate.

There is a fixed type electrode tip take-out device for taking out welding electrode tips taper-engaged in shanks from a tip magazine, which is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid Open Publication No. 5-28575, wherein a plurality of semi-cylindrical through holes are opened at one end and positioned adjacent to each other around the tip magazine, and two electrode tips are grouped and housed up and down oppositely in each through hole. This prior art has the problem in that the electrode tips of each group which are housed in the tip magazine are held down by adding an elastic body which is separately provided so that extra components are needed and positions of the upper and lower electrode tips of each group becomes irregular. Further, this prior art does not disclose moving means of the tip magazine and stoppers, and hence there occurs a problem that it is indefinite as to whether positional control of the electrode tips of each group located at portions to be fixed to a welder is reliably effected.

Fixed type electrode tip take-out device


A powered actuator system for moving a lumbar support bar of a furniture piece is disclosed and comprises a single dual-directional powered actuator mounted upon a foundation base with respect to which the lumbar support bar is to be moved between fully extended and fully retracted positions, as well as a multiplicity of intermediate positions. The single dual-directional powered actuator is operatively connected to a first end portion of the lumbar support bar by means of a first main lifting link, while a synchronization bar operatively interconnects the first main lifting link with a second main lifting link operatively connected to a second end portion of the lumbar support bar. In this manner, the lumbar support bar is moved between its extended and retracted positions in a rectilinear and balanced mode.

The prior art is replete with powered mechanisms which are often utilized in conjunction with powered chairs or powered beds, or other similar furniture pieces, so as to activate a particular section or segment of the chair or bed. For example, in connection with powered chairs, powered actuators are conventionally employed to incline the seatback of the chair, or to extend the footrest of the chair. In order to actuate elongated structural members of the furniture piece, such as, for example, a lumbar support bar, a plurality of actuators are usually attached to spaced sections or segments of the lumbar support bar and, of course, they need to be actuated simultaneously, and to the same degree, in order to ensure that the lumbar support bar is moved in a particular direction, and more importantly, in a structurally balanced manner such that, for example, one end of the lumbar support bar is not extended or retracted to a greater degree than the opposite end of the lumbar support bar. The use of multiple actuators, however, significantly increases the cost of the furniture piece. In addition, as can be seen in FIG. 1, one known type of powered actuator system, as generally indicated by the reference character 10, actually causes the link element 12, connecting the powered actuator 14 to the lumbar support bar 16, to move in a substantially arcuate manner, as illustrated schematically at different positions along an arcuate path of movement, whereby the lumbar support bar 16 does not always act directly upon the lumbar region of the human spine but, in fact, during its arcuate movement, acts upon other regions of the spine adjacent to the lumbar region of the spine. These impact forces upon the other regions of the spine adjacent to the lumbar region of the spine can actually cause discomfort problems as opposed to the desired objective of properly supporting the lumbar region of the spine when, for example, the person is lying in a supine position upon a bed.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved single powered actuator system which can be utilized in connection with various furniture pieces such as, for example, powered chairs, powered beds, and the like. Another need exists in the art for a new and improved single powered actuator system which can be utilized in connection with a lumbar support bar. An additional need exists in the art for a new and improved single powered actuator system which can be utilized in connection with a lumbar support bar which may be incorporated within a furniture piece such as, for example, a lounger chair or a bed. A further need exists in the art for a new and improved single powered actuator system which can be utilized in connection with a lumbar support bar which may be incorporated within a furniture piece such as, for example, a lounger chair or a bed, and wherein the actuator system will move the lumbar support bar structure in a rectilinear and balanced manner. A still further need exists in the art for a new and improved single powered actuator system which can be utilized in connection with a lumbar support bar which may be incorporated within a furniture piece such as, for example, a lounger chair or a bed, and wherein the actuator system will move the lumbar support bar structure in a rectilinear and balanced manner such that the lumbar support bar only impacts, and thereby properly supports, the lumbar region of the human spine.

Single power dual-directional actuator system for movement of a furniture piece structure in a rectilinear and balanced manner


A battery module includes a plurality of battery cells arranged in a first direction, a pair of end plates adjacent to outermost battery cells of the plurality of battery cells, the pair of end plates extending along the plurality of battery cells in a second direction and being spaced apart along the first direction, and at least one bush member coupled to each of the end plates.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a battery module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a high-power battery module using a non-aqueous electrolyte with high energy density has been developed. The high-power battery module is configured as a large-capacity battery module manufactured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series so as to be used for driving devices, e.g., motors of electric vehicles and the like, which require high power.
Typically, when the battery module is fixed to a base portion of an apparatus where the battery module is being mounted to, a hole for bolting is provided through expansion of an end plate adjacent to an outermost battery cell. However, the above method may induce an over design of a basic material of an end plate in order to secure hardness according to a weight of the battery module and an environment specification. In addition, a risk of concentration of stress due to a localized module fixed structure may increase.


An improved nozzle vane for a gas turbine engine, comprising a vane wall having inner and outer wall surfaces, the wall surfaces being spaced from one another to define a plurality of fluid passageways for a cooling medium; discreet cavities formed by interior wall members disposed between the inner and outer wall surfaces and within the fluid passageway for the cooling medium; a plurality of impingement cooling sleeves disposed in the discreet cavities defined by the inner and outer wall surfaces and by interior wall members; and a plurality of non-round, e.g., serrated, openings in each of the impingement cooling sleeves, with the openings being sufficient in size and number to accommodate the flow of a cooling media.

Over the years, various cooling mechanisms have been employed to protect hot gas path components of gas turbine engines during extended operation, particularly stage one nozzles which often encounter the highest temperature exhaust gases. Most closed circuit cooling systems include a plurality of nozzle vane segments extending between inner and outer side walls of the nozzle. Typically, the vanes include cavities in fluid communication with compartments in the outer and inner side walls to accommodate the flow of cooling media within a closed circuit for cooling the outer and inner walls. The cooling media feeds into a plenum in the outer wall for distribution to the different chambers and flow passages defined by impingement openings allowing for the flow of coolant onto the outer wall surface of the vane. The spent impingement cooling media then flows into the leading edge and aft cavities extending radially through the vane.
In the past, steam has been used as a cooling medium for certain types of nozzle vanes. Even though steam has a higher heat capacity than air at nominal operating temperatures, steam cooling designs for turbine vanes and other engine components exhibit certain thermodynamic inefficiencies. For example, the steam must be maintained inside a closed circuit in order to avoid mixing with the hot gas stream. As a result, some components in the hot gas path cannot be cooled as efficiently with steam inside a closed circuit because, for example, the relatively thin structure of the trailing edges of the nozzle vanes precludes effective steam cooling of certain portions of the vanes.
Another known approach for cooling gas turbine engine blades and nozzles involves the use of a partial feed of high pressure cooling air, normally provided by an internal source such as an intermediate or final stage of a gas turbine compressor. Typically, a series of internal flow passages in and around the nozzle provide the desired supplemental cooling of the vanes using air film cooling and external piping supplies the compressed air to the nozzles which is eventually discharged into the hot gas stream of the gas turbine.
Most current gas turbines also rely on some form of impingement heat transfer to cool the nozzle vanes by placing a bank of round holes against the vane surface and introducing a relatively high velocity jet of fluid (steam or air) directly against the solid surface. The higher the velocity of the cooling fluid, the longer the molecules tend to remain in contact with the surface and exchange heat. For that reason, impingement cooling fluid jets normally introduce air perpendicular to the metal surface to maximize the incident velocity against the surface. In some recent designs, impingement air cooling has been used in combination with steam to lower the operating temperature of specific portions of the nozzle vanes that would not otherwise be effectively cooled by steam alone. However, virtually all impingement cooling systems for gas turbines using air alone rely on a prescribed number and arrangement of round holes in the vanes to accommodate the fluid flow.
Although relatively high levels of heat transfer can be achieved in a first stage nozzle using impingement cooling with round openings, once the impingement contact occurs, the fluid molecules tend to move parallel to the solid vane surface and the fluid velocity becomes significantly reduced with fewer molecules contacting the solid surface, ultimately resulting in reduced heat transfer. The cooling fluid velocity also becomes much lower due to fluid entering from neighboring round impingement holes which can collide, mix and eventually reduce the coolant throughput. Similarly, localized pressure sinks tend to redirect fluid flow, reducing the fluid velocity even further. This heat transfer degradation in nozzle vanes (called "cross flow effect") decreases the level of heat transfer due to the phenomena invariably associated with round impingement openings.
Thus, it has been found that the use of compressed air and/or steam using round impingement holes for cooling purposes comes at a price of somewhat reduced thermodynamic efficiency due to the resulting air flow characteristics. The amount of heat transfer between coolant and the vane surface is directly proportional to the coolant velocity as it impinges and then turns parallel to the surface being cooled. Thus, a discrete set of varying heat transfer coefficients exist over the hot surface to be cooled. The highest heat transfer is achieved directly opposite the impinging hole but becomes lower as the coolant velocity decreases away from the hole. The cooling effect is also reduced by the cross flow interactions from adjacent round holes because the coolant from neighboring holes mixes with coolant from the round impingement hole, lowering its velocity and reducing the heat transfer potential.
A significant need therefore still exists to identify methods of maximizing the heat transfer potential of compressed air or steam used for vane cooling and thereby maintain component temperatures within strict operational requirements. A need also exists to increase the coolant velocity while making the flow more uniform over the largest area of the vane surface being cooled, thereby providing superior overall heat transfer efficiency.
As noted above, the current state of the art addressing impingement cooling issues relies almost exclusively on round impingement holes to produce a desired cooling effect. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,031 (describing a nozzle using round impingement holes to increase the heat transfer on the internal face of the airfoil). Similarly, EP1247940A1 describes the use of round impingement holes having variable diameters to prevent clogging without reducing heat transfer between the coolant and nozzle surfaces.

Use of multi-faceted impingement openings for increasing heat transfer characteristics on gas turbine components


A computing device having a human/machine interface is disclosed. An input device (10) has a plurality of keys (T, 1, 2, 3, 4) each corresponding to a separate digit of the human hand. The keys (T, 1, 2, 3, 4) are arranged to match the relative sequential relation of the digits. The input device (10) is coupled to a processor device (3) in turn coupled to a visual display device (5). The processor device (30) receives instructions or data from the input device (10) and output information to be displayed to the display device (5). The processor device (30) is programmed to cause the visual display of indicia (60-70) wherein each indicium represents a user initiated instruction of data input and is displayed in one-to-one correspondence with the sequential relation of one or more of the keys (T, 1, 2, 3, 4).

A particular type of human/machine interface is termed a graphical user interface, and basically is constituted by software resident in a computing device that translates instructions or data to visual information to be displayed on a visual display device.
One simple form of graphical user interface is text-based and utilises cursor control to enable navigation about a screen, however the predominant trend in known graphical user interfaces is the use of "windowing" systems that operate by `point and click` actions by the user. Examples of windowing software systems are Apple QUICKDRAW, Microsoft WINDOWS and XWINDOWS created by MIT. Often windowing interfaces also incorporate the earlier form of cursor control, giving the user some form of flexibility in operation of the computing device, particularly with respect to data input. The icons and windowing structures presented to the user do not, however, provide access to the galaxy of commands and operations, so it is always necessary for the user to resort to operation of the keys of a conventional qwerty keyboard. There thus is the need for the user to learn and remember the qwerty keyboard layout.
Other examples of human/machine interfaces can be obtained from the text "Cognitive Aspects of Visual Languages & Visual Interfaces", edited by M. J. Tauber et al, published by North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1994.
Conventional user input devices such as keyboards, mouses and track balls require a benign and stable environment since the user must exhibit fine nervous system motor control in the use of the fingers. Mobile environments do not lend themselves to such fine movements, and can make operation of computing devices impracticable or even impossible.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least ameliorating one or more of the disadvantages noted above. Alternatively, or additionally, it can also be said to provide a useful alternative to known human/machine interfaces.
The present invention is directed to a human/machine interface that operates on the principle of `what you see is what you press`, and therefore removes the need for the user to be familiar with operational commands or the qwerty keyboard layout, rather maps input keystrokes directly from the display to the input device.
The human/machine interface of the present invention is particularly suited to use: (a) underwater, where there is a restricted range of human movement; (b) in a terrestrial mobile environment, (i.e. particularly `wearable computers` and in vehicle-borne situations) where high levels of motion make it difficult for the user to operate a computing device via an input device; and (c) in airborne environments, where there are again high levels of motion acting on the user of the computing device.
It is convenient now to define some of the terminology that is used throughout the specification.
The fingers and thumb of the human hand are referred to as "digits". The term "digits" also embraces toes.
A "key" is to be understood as an input transducer operated by a single digit, and can include a pushbutton, switch, force transducer or the like. An "input device" typically can have four keys, one for each of the fingers, and one or more "keys" for the thumb, given that the thumb has greater dexterity than the fingers. Even so, there can be any number of keys in the range 1 to 5. The activation/operation of one or a combination of the keys at the same time is referred to as a "chord". A "couplet" is two consecutive chords, or two simultaneous chords performed by the left and right hand.
A "display device" is to be understood a hardware element such as a video monitor or liquid crystal display. The display device thus presents the viewer with an image that, for convenience, will be termed a "display".
A display visually presents "indicia". An indicium is presented in a manner that represents one or more keys. A number of indicia in close spatial or sequential arrangement is termed a "panel". Each panel overlays a number of notional non-overlapping sequential regions. In that sense the regions can also be thought of as partitioning a portion of the display. An indicium can span over one or more regions in the sense that it is oriented substantially orthogonally to the regions. An indicium itself can be either contiguous or discontiguous. An indicium also is referred to as a "button".

Human/machine interface for computing devices


An apparatus and method of assigning a public long code mask (PLCM) to a mobile terminal in a mobile communications network is provided. The invention comprises assigning a first PLCM type, when the PLCM for the mobile terminal is based on an international mobile station identification number that is based on a mobile identification number (MIN) associated with the mobile terminal and assigning a second PLCM type, when the PLCM for the mobile terminal is provided by a service provider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating a public long code mask (PLCM) in a mobile communications system.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, in the cdma2000 communication system, a long code in forward channel is used in ciphering the forward channel and determining the location of a power control bit. Moreover, the long code in a reverse channel is used as an element for identifying each terminal. It also plays a role in reducing interference between subscriber terminals.
A long code is typically constructed with 42 bits. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general process of generating a long code and transmitting a signal. The long code, as shown in FIG. 1, is generated according to a 42-bit long code mask. The generated long code undergoes modulo-2 inner product by a transmission signal. The long code mask is separately generated per each channel.
The PLCM format used in the traffic channel is shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a PLCM format for a reverse fundamental channel of which radio configuration (RC) is 1 or 2 and a reverse supplemental code channel.
FIG. 3 is a diagram representing a PLCM format for a reverse fundamental channel, a reverse supplemental channel, a reverse dedicated control channel, a forward fundamental channel, a forward supplemental code channel, a forward supplemental channel, a forward dedicated control channel, or a forward packet data channel.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the PLCM format includes PLCM—37 (M36˜M0) constructed with least significant 37 bits of the PLCM. The PLCM—37 can be divided into first least significant bits (M36˜M32) and second least significant bits (M31˜M0).
A base station can inform a terminal of how to generate the second least significant bits M31˜M0 via an extended channel assignment message (ECAM). That is, if a PLCM type PLCM_TYPE in the ECAM is '0000', the mobile station sets the first least significant bits M36˜M32 as '11000' and generates the second least significant bits PLCM—32 by performing the following permutation of electronic serial number (ESN).
If ESN={E31, E30, E29, . . . , E2, E1, E0}, the second least significant bits PLCM—32 are {E0, E31, E22, E13, E4, E26, E17, E8, E30, E21, E12, E3, E25, E16, E7, E29, E20, E11, E2, E24, E15, E6, E28, E19, E10, E1, E23, E14, E5, E27, E18, E9}.
If the PLCM_TYPE is '0001', the first least significant bits M36˜M32 is set to '11011' and the second least significant bits PLCM—32 is set to PLCM—32r which is a 32-bit value received through the extended channel assignment message (ECAM). The ESN is the only identifier allocated to a terminal in the cdma2000 system and is used for call processing.
The structure of an ESN is shown in FIG. 4. The ESN is constructed with 32 bits. A manufacturer's code (MFC) is allocated to the most significant 8 bits and a serial number (SN) of the terminal, manufactured by a corresponding manufacturer, is allocated to the least significant 24 bits. A manufacturer's code is allocated to each manufacturer and is generically set up. If the number of terminals of the corresponding manufacturer exceeds the allocated SNs, a new MFC is allocated.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the 32-bits ESN will be exhausted as a result of product overflow. Hence, a new identifier for identifying a terminal is provided to replace the ESN. The new identifier is a mobile equipment identifier (MEID).
FIG. 5 is a diagram of a structure of a MEID. A MEID is constructed with 56 bits. A manufacturer's code (MFC) is allocated to most significant 32 bits and a serial number (SN) of a terminal manufactured by the corresponding manufacturer is allocated to least significant 24 bits.
In a related art method, a process for permutating the 32-bit ESN over a 42-bit PLCM is used. When using a 56-bit MEID, it is impossible to insert the MEID in the PLCM because the MEID is longer than the PLCM.
As such, when the MEID is used as the identifier for identifying a terminal instead of the ESN, the new method of generating a PLCM is needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and method for determining public long code mask in a mobile communications system


The present invention provides: a composition for forming a liquid crystal alignment film capable of forming a liquid crystal alignment film excellent in evenness; and a liquid crystal display device. The present invention provides a composition for forming a liquid crystal alignment film, wherein the composition comprises: a material for forming a liquid crystal alignment film; diethylene glycol diethyl ether; diisobutyl ketone; and at least one of γ-butyrolactone and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone as solvents.

A liquid crystal display device is now being widely used attributed to its characteristics such as slim profile, light weight, and low electrical power consumption. The liquid crystal display device includes a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. Further, the liquid crystal device provides display by controlling an alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules contained in the liquid crystal layer by appropriately applying a voltage to electrodes arranged on liquid crystal layer side-surfaces of the substrates. The liquid crystal display device usually includes a liquid crystal alignment film (hereinafter, simply referred to as "alignment film") for controlling the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules, and the alignment film is arranged on the liquid crystal layer side-surface of the substrate.
As a material for such an alignment film constituting the liquid crystal display device, resins such as polyamic acids, polyimides, polyamides, and polyesters are conventionally used. Among them, polyimides have been much used for liquid crystal display devices attributed to its excellent physical properties such as heat resistance, affinity with liquid crystals, and mechanical strength compared with other organic resins.
Methods for printing an alignment film include spin coat method, roll coat method, flexographic printing, and inkjet printing. Flexographic printing has been suitably used for pattern printing. In this method, ink is put on an APR plate uniformly and is transferred to a substrate. This method is less likely to cause film thickness irregularity. However, from the standpoint of achieving high throughput, inkjet printing is suitable for printing the film on a large substrate of the sixth or higher generation.
The technical art about formation of an alignment film by inkjet printing is disclosed against this background. More specifically, a composition for forming a liquid crystal alignment film is disclosed which comprises: a solvent containing 10% by weight or more of an amide compound; and a material for forming a liquid crystal alignment film dissolved in the solvent (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). Moreover, a vacuum freeze-drying method is disclosed which comprises the steps of applying a polyimide alignment film on a substrate by inkjet application, and cooling the substrate to freeze the medium, instead of heating the substrate to dry the medium, so that the medium sublimes in vacuo (for example, refer to Patent Document 2). Furthermore, a thin-film forming apparatus is disclosed which comprises: a vacuum chamber as a room for forming a film by spraying application, which includes at least a substrate transfer table, an inkjet head, and a head supporting member therein; and decompressing means for decompressing the vacuum chamber in order to perform film formation by spraying application in vacuo (for example, refer to Patent Document 3).
Moreover, a protective and alignment film for liquid crystals is disclosed which has excellent physical properties including heat resistance, chemical resistance, adhesion with a glass substrate and color filter, transparency, and printability, and is excellent in alignment property and planarizing performance. Specifically, a protective and alignment film for liquid crystals is disclosed which comprises a polyimide film formed by heating to dry a liquid film comprising a resin composition containing a polyamide acid that has the weight average molecular weight of 1000 to 20000, the liquid film being formed on the surface of a liquid crystal holding substrate by a printing method, and the surface having an electrode formed thereon (for example, refer to Patent Document 4).
Furthermore, a substrate with an alignment film for liquid crystal elements is disclosed as a technical art related to a photo-alignment film. Specifically, the substrate with an alignment film for liquid crystal elements is disclosed which comprises a polyimide coating formed on the substrate, the polyimide coating being prepared by polymerizing a layer comprising a composition for forming an alignment film which contains polyimide or a polyimide precursor. The polymerization includes sequential polymerization in a direction corresponding to the direction of a polarization axis of the irradiated light and polymerization by linear polarized light (for example, refer to Patent Documents 5).
In addition, a composition for photo-aligned liquid crystal alignment film is disclosed which comprises a recurring unit represented by a general formula (I):
(in the formula (I), X representing a tetravalent organic group and Y representing a divalent organic group). Further, the composition comprises polyimide or a precursor thereof which has a divalent organic group represented by a general formula (II):
(in the formula (II), R2, R3, and R4 being each independently selected from —H, —CH3, and —CH2CH3) as at least a part of Y (for example, refer to Patent Document 6).    [Patent Document 1]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-53380    [Patent Document 2]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-281189    [Patent Document 3]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2006-289355    [Patent Document 4]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. Hei-11-95227    [Patent Document 5]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. Hei-07-72483    [Patent Document 6]    Japanese Kokai Publication No. 2001-40209

Composition for forming a liquid crystal alignment film, and liquid crystal display device


An integrated circuit includes a pull-up compensation path unit configured to adjust a pull-up driving power of an input signal; a pull-down compensation path unit configured to adjust a pull-down driving power of the input signal; and a path control unit configured to route the input signal to one of the pull-up compensation unit and the pull-down compensation unit in response to a conditional signal.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to an integrated circuit for compensating for abnormal pull-up and pull-down operations based on external environment and process variations. The present invention may be applied to circuits using an inverter delay having a large skew variation.
In general, when a circuit having Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) transistors is designed, a skew may occur in a change of a threshold voltage, an oxide thickness, a gate and an active resistance. However, it is difficult to verify the external environment and process variations.
Simulation conditions including 'FF, FT, FS, TF, TT, TS, SF, ST and SS' are used to test the external environment and process. 'FF' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a fast condition and a PMOS of a fast condition, 'FT' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a fast condition and a PMOS of a typical condition, 'FS' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a fast condition and a PMOS of a slow condition, 'TF' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a typical condition and a PMOS of a fast condition, 'TT' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a typical condition and a PMOS of a typical condition, 'TS' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a typical condition and a PMOS of a slow condition, 'SF' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a slow condition and a PMOS of a fast condition, 'ST' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a slow condition and a PMOS of a typical condition, and 'SS' denotes a skew simulation under an NMOS of a slow condition and a PMOS of a slow condition,
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional pulse generator and FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram illustrating abnormal pulse signals. The conventional pulse generator includes a delay unit 10, a NAND gate NA1 and first and second inverters INV1 and INV2. The conventional pulse generator generates an output signal OUT through the delay unit 10, the NAND gate NA1 and inverters INV1 and INV2.
The delay unit 10 delays a first input signal IN1 for a predetermined time and outputs a delayed input signal IN1_DLY. The first inverter INV1 inverts a second input signal IN2 and outputs an inverted input signal IN2B. The NAND gate NA1 performs a logical NAND operation of the delayed input signal IN1_DLY and the inverted input signal IN2B. The second inverter INV2 inverts an output signal of the NAND gate NA1 and generates the output signal OUT.
However, when pull-up and pull-down operations are performed in accordance with simulation conditions described above, abnormal operation may occur in the conventional pulse generator as shown in FIG. 1.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, if the simulation is performed under the typical condition, the rising and falling edges of an output pulse are outputted to have a normal skew as designated by SIGNAL1. However, if the simulation is performed under a slow condition, first and second abnormal signals SIGNAL2 and SIGNAL3 are generated because of a short timing margin between the inverted input signal IN2B and the delayed input signal IN1_DLY delayed by a change of a threshold voltage, an oxide thickness, a gate and an active resistance of NMOS or PMOS transistors included in the delay unit 10.
The first abnormal signal SIGNAL2 is generated when the pull-up MOS transistor is abnormal and the skew of the rising edge of the pulse is abnormal. The second abnormal signal SIGNAL3 is generated when the pull-down MOS transistor of the delay unit is abnormal and the skew of the falling edge of the pulse is abnormal.
Because it is difficult to predict external environment and process variables for circuit malfunctions caused by the pull-up or pull-down variation, it has a problem that the revision is difficult.
Under identical conditions, the pull-up transistor of the delay unit may perform abnormal operations, and the pull-down transistor may perform normal operations.
Moreover, if the change of the pull-up and pull-down is large, a revision process for compensating the operation of pull-up and pull-down elements should be added. This may cause time and cost waste.


A system and method for protecting a merchandise item is presented. An alarm system for protecting the merchandise item includes: an alarm logic, a cable, and a switch. The cable has first and second ends with the first end adapted to be plugged into the alarm system. The switch is located at the second end of the cable and indicates when the second end of the cable is attached to the merchandise item and when the second end of the cable is not connected to the merchandise item. The second end of the cable can be connected to a standard port located on the merchandise item. The alarm system generates an alarm when the second end of the cable is not connected to the merchandise item.

1. Field of Invention
The current invention relates generally to apparatus, systems and methods for protecting merchandise items from theft. More particularly, the apparatus, systems and methods relate to attaching a cable to merchandise items that are on a display stand to allow the items to be handled and generate an alarm if the cable is removed. Specifically, the apparatus, systems and methods provide for attaching a cable with a standard connector with a switch within the standard connector that activates and alarms if the switch detects that the cable is removed from a merchandise item.
2. Description of Related Art
Merchants use a variety of methods to protect their merchandise from theft. A common approach to solving this problem is to attach electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags to merchandise in a variety of ways. Foil and/or paper EAS tags can be attached to merchandise items with adhesive so that they are not easy to remove. When these merchandise items are brought near a surveillance gate near an entrance to a store selling these items, they cause the security gate to sound alarms indicating a possible theft. However, for more expensive items such as laptop computers, cellular phones and other electronic equipment, thieves will take the time to find and carefully remove EAS tags before stealing the merchandise.
Another way merchants try to protect merchandise is to tether the merchandise to a display stand. For example, a mechanical tether that is difficult to cut can be locked onto a laptop computer or other electronic device. The laptop computer is then displayed so that it can be handled and viewed by a potential buyer. However, this tether must be mechanically strong to ensure that it cannot be removed or cut from the merchandise item with special tools, thus deterring thieves. However, using a heavy duty tether that is difficult to remove adds cost to the display. What is needed is a better way to display merchandise.


A level on a wheelchair allows the cambered rear wheels to be easily adjusted to eliminate toe-in/toe-out. The level comprises a ball encased in a curved track. The curve track is formed in a clear housing that mounts to the underside of a wheelchair camber tube or wheel axle. The camber tube or wheel axle is rotated until the ball aligns with an indicator mark indicating that toe-in/out has been eliminated from the cambered wheels.

This invention relates in general to land vehicles and more particularly, to personal mobility vehicles. Most particularly, the invention relates to wheelchairs having camber tubes for supporting manually driven wheels.
Manual, or non-powered, wheelchairs typically comprise a seating surface, a backrest, and a wheelchair frame that is supported by rear wheels, and front casters. Wheelchairs often incorporate a number of adjustments that allow the wheelchair to be customized to fit a particular user size. Typically, manual wheelchairs provide a height adjustment in the rear wheels and/or the front casters. The rear wheels of the wheelchair may be cambered, or angled, with respect to a vertical plane. A wheelchair with a large camber angle has more responsive turning, which is beneficial in sports applications. A wheelchair with little to no camber angle has a smaller overall width and thus greater maneuverability in tight confines.
When an adjustment is made to the rear wheel height or front caster height on a wheelchair with cambered wheels, the rear wheels will toe-in or toe-out. That is to say, the rear wheels become misaligned with respect to horizontal. This misalignment is undesirable because it increases rolling friction. If the rear wheels are raised or the front casters are lowered, the rear wheels will toe-in. Conversely, if the rear wheels are lowered or the front casters are raised, the rear wheels will toe-out. This occurs because the axis of the camber is no longer aligned horizontally. To correct this misalignment the camber tube must be rotated about its axis in order to re-align the camber angle with respect to horizontal. Typically, a horizontal or vertical reference plane is provided on the camber tube to indicate when the camber angle is aligned horizontally. When a horizontal reference plane is provided, a user would hold a bubble level on this surface and rotate the camber tube until the plane is level. When a vertical reference plane is provided, a user would hold a 90-degree angle between the reference plane and the ground and rotate the camber tube until the plane is vertical. Such an adjustment is difficult because it requires additional tools and several hands to perform the operation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,899 discloses the use of a spirit or bubble level that is permanently mounted to the top of a camber tube. This invention facilitates toe-in and toe-out adjustment, wherein the user rotates the camber tube until the bubble level is centered. However, because the bubble level is on top of the camber tube, the seating surface blocks the user's view of the bubble level. This makes the invention awkward to use, particularly when the camber tube is situated very close to the seating surface.
What is needed is a camber tube level indicator that can be viewed easily from the side of the wheelchair or from below.


A method of measuring wear rate in an actual rubber tire. A section of rubber is cut out of an actual tire below the surface of the tire. The cut out section is attached to the surface of a first wheel. An abrasive substance is attached to the surface of a second wheel. The two wheels are rotated for a predetermined time, in opposite directions, in contact with each other, at uneven rates resulting in some slippage between the surfaces of the two wheels. The wear rate of the rubber tire is measured based on the changes in the cut section over time, in much less time and using less resources than required by conventional wear measurement methods.

In order to continually improve the properties of tires, it is necessary to measure their performance. An obvious way to measure the performance of a tire is to observe the wear data after normal operation and use. However, since tires now perform for tens of thousands of miles, the length of time required to observe this performance can be very long. As a result, alternatives to accelerate this time frame, while controlling the resource costs, are continually being sought after.
Driving a vehicle continually around a track for an extended period of time (for example, four weeks or more) can produce time-accelerated wear data much faster than the normal running of a vehicle. While this does represent a significant reduction over measuring wear during normal vehicle operation, it still represents an extended period of time, and does require significant resources, e.g., vehicles and drivers.
Similarly, indoor simulations of the outdoor tests, for example, running a mounted tire against a belt or drum for a set period of time, has also been used. This can not only reduce the time required to obtain useful wear data down to a week or less, but clearly reduces the costs associated with driving around a track.
On a laboratory scale, another indoor test which has been used in the past is the use of Lambourn-type machinery. This test requires molding a tire rubber composition into a small wheel or disk, which is then run against a larger, abrasive wheel. While this method similarly reduces the time required to generate wear data, the data must be analyzed closely, since it is not rubber from an actual tire.
Accordingly, there is a continuous search for ways to generate wear data which reduces both testing time, materials and resources, while at the same time improving the correlation of test data with normal vehicle-tire operation and use.

Method of measuring wear rate in rubber tires


A multi-domain LCD device and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed in which the process steps can be simplified and picture quality can be improved. The multi-domain LCD device includes first and second substrates, data and gate lines on the first substrate in first and second directions to define a plurality of pixel regions, a pixel electrode in each pixel region, having at least one slit pattern, a dielectric frame within the pixel regions on the second substrate to define a plurality of domains, and a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates. The method for manufacturing a multi-domain LCD device includes forming gate and data lines on a first substrate, the data line being formed to cross the gate line, forming a passivation film on the first substrate, forming a transparent conductive film on the passivation film, patterning the transparent conductive film to form a pixel electrode having at least one slit in a pixel region defined by the gate and data lines, forming a dielectric frame within the pixel region to define a plurality of domains on a second substrate opposite to the first substrate, and forming a liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to a multi-domain LCD device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Ultra thin flat panel displays having a display screen with a thickness of several centimeters, especially LCD devices, are widely used in monitors for notebook computers, spacecraft, and aircraft.
Such an LCD device has low power consumption and is easy to carry. In this respect, the LCD device is receiving much attention as an advanced display device that can replace a cathode ray tube (CRT).
The LCD device includes a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sealed between the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate. The LCD is a non-light-emitting device that can obtain image effect based on electro-optical characteristic of the liquid crystal layer.
In other words, a TFT array and a pixel electrode are formed on the TFT substrate, while a black matrix pattern, a color filter layer, and a common electrode are formed on the color filter substrate. The TFT substrate and the color filter substrate are bonded to each other by a sealant such as epoxy resin.
A driving circuit is connected with the TFT substrate using a tape carrier package (TCP) as a medium. The driving circuit generates various control signals and signal voltages to display images.
Development of TFT-LCD applications have accelerated in accordance with increase of the dimensions and increase of the resolution. To increase the productivity and ensure the low cost, many efforts have continued in view of simplified process steps and improvement of yield. However, in spite of the trend toward large area, a problem arises in that contrast ratio depends on viewing angle. To solve this problem, various LCDs, such as a twist nematic LCD provided with a retardation film and a multi-domain LCD, have been proposed.
Recently, a liquid crystal display device which drives a liquid crystal by an auxiliary electrode electrically insulated from a pixel electrode without aligning the liquid crystal has been suggested. Such a related art liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the related art liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a plurality of data lines and gate lines, a TFT, a passivation film 37, a pixel electrode 13, and an auxiliary electrode 21. The data lines and gate lines are formed on the first substrate in first and second directions to divide the first substrate into a plurality of pixel regions. The TFT is formed in each pixel region on the first substrate and includes a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, a semiconductor layer, an ohmic contact layer, and source/drain electrodes. The passivation film 37 is formed on the first substrate. The pixel electrode 13 is formed on the passivation film 37 to be connected with the drain electrode. The auxiliary electrode 21 is formed on the gate insulating film to partially overlap the pixel electrode 13.
The related art liquid crystal display device further includes a light-shielding layer 25, a color filter layer 23 formed on the light-shielding layer 25, a common electrode 17 formed on the color filter layer 23, and a liquid crystal layer formed between the first substrate and the second substrate. The light-shielding layer 25 is formed on the second substrate to shield light leaked from the gate lines, the data lines, and the TFT.
The auxiliary electrode 21 formed around the pixel electrode 13 and an open region 27 of the common electrode 17 distort electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer so that liquid crystal molecules are variously driven within a unit pixel. This means that a dielectric energy of a distorted electric field places a liquid crystal director at a desired position when a voltage is applied to the LCD device.
However, the related art LCD device has several problems.
First, the open region should be formed in the common electrode to obtain multi-domain effect. To this end, the process for forming the open region in the common electrode is additionally required.
Furthermore, if the open region is not formed or has a small width, distortion range of the electric field required to define a plurality of domains is weak. Accordingly, there is a problem that the time when the liquid crystal director reaches a stable state is relatively longer. Such domains defined by the open region cause unstable texture for each domain, thereby deteriorating picture quality. Also, since high electric field is applied between the pixel electrode and the auxiliary electrode, luminance decreases and response time increases.

Multi-domain liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing the same


Various embodiments include apparatuses enabling a single color-tuning device to select both a correlated color temperature (LED) and a coordinate distance (Duv) to a black body line (BBL) in a color-tuning application. In one embodiment, a color-tuning device is to divide an applied voltage to provide a signal related to parameters selected from at least one of LED and Duv from the BBL. A finite-state machine (LED) is coupled to the color-tuning device to receive the signals therefrom and determine an action to take based on both a current position and a previous position of the color-tuning device. The LED is to be coupled to a light-emitting diode (LED) array. Other apparatuses and devices are disclosed.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are commonly used in various lighting operations. The color appearance of an object is determined, in part, by the spectral power density (SPD) of light illuminating the object. For humans viewing an object, the SPD is the relative intensity for various wavelengths within the visible light spectrum. However, other factors also affect color appearance. Also, both a correlated color temperature (CCT) of the LED, and a distance of the temperature of the LED on the CCT from a black-body line (BBL, also known as a black-body locus or a Planckian locus), can affect a human's perception of an object. In particular applications of LEDs, such as in retail and hospitality lighting applications, it may be desirable to control the distance of the color point of the LEDs to the black body line (BBL) on top of the correlated color temperature (CCT).
The information described in this section is provided to offer the skilled artisan a context for the following disclosed subject matter and should not be considered as admitted prior art.

Selecting parameters in a color-tuning application


A method for forming wells of a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of field insulating layers on a field region of a semiconductor substrate; forming first impurity regions of a first conductive type at a first depth beneath a surface of the semiconductor substrate; forming first impurity regions of a second conductive type beneath the surface of the semiconductor substrate at a second depth between the field insulating layers; selectively forming second impurity regions of the second conductive type in the first impurity regions of the first conductive type between adjacent field insulating layers; forming second impurity regions of the first conductive type in the first impurity regions of the second conductive type at both sides of the second impurity regions of the second conductive type; and diffusing the first and second impurity regions of the first conductive type and the first and second impurity regions of the second conductive type by a drive-in process to form a first conductive type shield region, a first conductive type well, and first and second wells of a second conductive type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a method for forming wells of a semiconductor device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In order to improve performance of a semiconductor device, impurity ions of an opposite conductive type to that of a semiconductor substrate are first implanted into the semiconductor substrate to form wells. Then, unit devices are formed on the semiconductor substrate.
Different kinds of wells are formed by using different methods. For diffused wells, e.g., a single well, twin wells, triple wells, ions are entirely or partially implanted into the semiconductor substrate and then diffused prior to performing a device-isolating process. For retrograde wells, ions are implanted by adjusting the ion-implantation energy to form wells of different types after performing a device-isolating process. Also, some retrograde wells have a buried implanted layer for lateral isolation (BILLI) structure.
A diffusion process can be performed to a desired depth from surface of the substrate to form a single well and twin wells. In this case, diffusion proceeds both vertically and horizontally. As a result, it is difficult to form a desired profile and the process tolerance becomes smaller. For this reason, triple wells are preferred to twin and single wells. However, the process of forming triple wells is very complicated and thus leads to low productivity. Therefore, research and development efforts are currently directed to simplifying the fabrication process for triple wells.
A conventional method for forming wells of a semiconductor device will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1G. As shown in FIG. 1A, a first oxide layer 2 and a first nitride layer 3 are successively formed on a semiconductor substrate by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a photoresist film 4 is coated on the first nitride layer 3 and then patterned by an exposure and development process. With the photoresist pattern 4 serving as a mask, the first nitride layer 3 is partially removed. Next, phosphorus ions are implanted into the semiconductor substrate 1 with a high energy of 500 KeV to form an n-shield region 5 in a predetermined depth. In this case, the photoresist film 4 has a thickness of 4 .mu.m to prevent the high energy phosphorus ions from implanting to the semiconductor substrate 1 under the photoresist pattern 4.
Referring to FIG. 1C, the remaining photoresist film 4 is removed. Then, a thermal oxidation process is performed over the semiconductor substrate 1 to form a second oxide layer 6, which functions as an align key to discern a cell region from a periphery region.
Referring to FIG. 1D, the first nitride layer 3, the first oxide layer 2, and the second oxide layer 6 are all removed. A third oxide layer 7 and a second nitride layer 8 are deposited on the semiconductor substrate 1 with a CVD process. As shown in FIG. 1D, a step coverage is generated on the portion of the semiconductor substrate 1 where the second oxide layer 6 is removed.
Referring to FIG. 1E, another photoresist film 9 is coated on the semiconductor substrate 1 and then selectively patterned by an exposure and development process to be removed over a periphery portion of the n-shield region 5 and over a portion separated by a predetermined distance from the periphery portion of the n-shield region 5. With the photoresist pattern 9 serving as a mask, the second nitride layer 8 and the third oxide layer 7 are partially removed. Thereafter, phosphorus ions are implanted into the exposed semiconductor substrate 1 with a low implantation energy to form first and second n-wells 10a and 10b. The first and second n-wells 10a and 10b are formed at a shallower depth than the n-shield region 5. Here, the first n-well 10a is placed above the n-shield region 5 and the second n-well 10b is formed a distance away from the n-shield region 5.
Referring to FIG. 1F, with the photoresist pattern 9 serving as a mask, a fourth oxide layer 11 is formed on the exposed semiconductor substrate 1. After the second nitride layer 8 and the remaining photoresist film 9 are removed, either p-type B ions or BF.sub.2 ions are implanted to form first and second p-wells 12a and 12b by an self-alignment process. At this time, the first and second p-wells 12a and 12b are formed at the same depth as the first and second n-wells 10a and 10b. The first p-well 12a is placed above the n-shield region 5 and next to the first n-well 10a. The second p-well 12b is placed between the first and second n-wells 10a and 10b.
Referring to FIG. 1G, the fourth oxide layer 11 is removed. The first and second n-wells 10a and 10b and the first and second p-wells 12a and 12b are diffused by a driven-in process. At this time, the first p-well 12a is diffused down to the boundary of the n-shield region 5 and the first n-well 10a is diffused to the n-shield region 5. And the second n-well 10b is diffused to the same depth as the first n-well 10a. The second p-well 12b is diffused between the first n-well 10a and the second n-well 10b. Therefore, the first p-well 12a in the cell region is isolated from the second p-well 12b in the periphery region.
The conventional method for forming wells of a semiconductor device has the following problems. First, since several diffusion processes and CVD processes are required, the overall process is complicated and thus leads to inferior productivity. Further, when a cell region and a periphery region are isolated from each other through CVD processes, a step coverage is created between a first n-well in the cell region and a second p-well in the periphery region.

Method for forming wells of semiconductor device


The invention relates to a power generation system with a continuously operating fuel reformer. Preferably, the fuel reformer is either off, warming up, or operating with an essentially constant fueling rate. Some of the reformed fuel is intermittently used to regenerate a NOx trap that treats the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. Any reformed fuel not used for other purposes is supplied to a fuel cell. The fuel reformer does not shut down between NOx trap regeneration cycles except when the engine is also shut down. The invention substantially eliminates issues of reformer response time as they relate to NOx trap regeneration.

NOx emissions from vehicles with internal combustion engines are an environmental problem recognized worldwide. Several countries, including the United States, have long had regulations pending that will limit NOx emissions from vehicles. Manufacturers and researchers have put considerable effort toward meeting those regulations. NOx emissions can be controlled in conventional gasoline powered vehicles, which use stoichiometric fuel-air mixtures, by three-way catalysts. In the absence of oxygen, three-way catalysts reduce NOx by reaction with CO and unburned hydrocarbons. In diesel powered vehicles and lean-burn gasoline engines, however, the exhaust is too oxygen-rich for three-way catalysts to be effective.
Several solutions have been proposed for controlling NOx emissions in diesel-powered vehicles. One set of approaches focuses on the engine. NOx is generated primarily at high temperatures. By limiting the adiabatic flame temperature, through exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for example, NOx production can be reduced. Lowering the adiabatic flame temperature to eliminate NOx production, however, causes engine efficiency to decrease and smoke to appear in the exhaust.
Another set of approaches remove NOx from the vehicle exhaust. These include the use of lean-burn NOx catalysts, NOx adsorber-catalysts, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Lean-burn NOx catalysts promote the reduction of NOx under oxygen-rich conditions. Reduction of NOx in an oxidizing atmosphere is difficult. It has proved challenging to find a lean-burn NOx catalyst that has the required activity, durability, and operating temperature range. Lean-burn NOx catalysts also tend to be hydrothermally unstable. A noticeable loss of activity occurs after relatively little use. Lean burn NOx catalysts typically employ a zeolite wash coat, which is thought to provide a reducing microenvironment. The introduction of a reductant, such as diesel fuel, into the exhaust is generally required and introduces a fuel economy penalty of 3% or more. Currently, peak NOx conversion efficiency with lean-burn catalysts is unacceptably low.
NOx adsorber-catalysts alternately adsorb NOx and catalytically reduce it. The adsorber can be taken offline during regeneration and a reducing atmosphere provided. The adsorbant is typically an alkaline earth oxide, such as BaCO3 and the catalyst can be a precious metal, such as Ru.
SCR involves using ammonia as the reductant. The NOx can be temporarily stored in an adsorbant or ammonia can be fed continuously into the exhaust. SCR can achieve NOx reductions in excess of 90%, however, there is concern over the lack of infrastructure for distributing ammonia or a suitable precursor. SCR also raises concerns relating to the possible release of ammonia into the environment.
An alternative approach to reducing emissions is to convert the chemical energy of the fuel into electrical energy using a fuel cell. Fuel cells are not very effective at extracting power from long chain hydrocarbons, but fuel reformers can be used to break long chain hydrocarbons into smaller more reactive molecules such as short chain hydrocarbons, oxygenated hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, which are suitable fuels for a fuel cell. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,647 suggests powering a fuel cell for a vehicle drive system using a conventional fuel processed through a reformer. The reformer and the fuel cell must be heated before they are operative to produce useful power.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,473 describes a hybrid power generation system comprising an engine, a fuel reformer, and a fuel cell. The engine is used to provide cold start-power and the engine's exhaust is used to heat the fuel reformer and the fuel cell. When the reformer and fuel cell reach their operating temperatures, the reformer/fuel cell system begins to produce power. The engine can continue to operate after warm-up or be turned off.
U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2003/0143445 describes a power generation system comprising an engine, a fuel reformer, a fuel cell, and a NOx trap. The fuel cell can supply reformed fuel to the NOx trap when the engine is operating and to the fuel cell when the engine is not operating.
In spite of progress, there remains a long felt need for environmentally friendly, efficient, and reliable power generation systems for vehicles.

Mechanism and method of combined fuel reformer and dosing system for exhaust aftertreatment and anti-idle SOFC APU


A vehicle door latch assembly is disclosed herein, having: a fork bolt movably secured to the latch assembly; a detent lever movably secured to the latch assembly, the detent lever being capable of movement between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the detent lever retains the fork bolt in a latched position when the detent lever is in the engaged position and an engagement surface of the detent lever contacts an engagement surface of the fork bolt; an inertia block out assembly for preventing the detent lever from moving into the disengaged position when the inertia block out assembly is in a blocking position; and a manual override mechanism for the inertia block out assembly, wherein the manual override mechanism requires at least three independent actions to be performed to move the inertia block out assembly from the blocking position to an unblocking position.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to door and movable panel latches and, more particularly, to door and movable panel latches for vehicles.
A vehicle frequently includes displaceable panels such as doors, hood, trunk lid, hatch and the like which are affixed for hinged or sliding engagement with a host vehicle body. Cooperating systems of latches and strikers are typically provided to ensure that such panels remain secured in their fully closed position when the panel is closed.
A door latch typically includes a fork bolt that is pivoted between an unlatched position and a primary latched position when the door is closed to latch the door in the closed position. The fork bolt is typically held in the primary latched position by a detent lever that pivots between an engaged position and a disengaged position. The detent lever is spring biased into the engaged position and thus, holds the fork bolt in the primary latched position when in the engaged position and releases the fork bolt when it is moved to the disengaged position so that the door can be opened.
The fork bolt is pivoted to the primary latched position by a striker attached to, for example, an associated door jamb when the door is closed. Once in the primary latched position, the detent lever engages the fork bolt to ensure the assembly remains latched.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a latch assembly wherein the detent lever is prevented from inadvertently being moved into a disengaged position.


A display module includes a plurality of source drivers; a plurality of memory sections respectively provided for the plurality of source drivers, each of the plurality of memory sections being for storage of at least data of a video signal to be displayed on that one of a plurality of divided regions for which that one of the plurality of source drivers is provided, for which the memory section is provided; and a timing controller serving as a sync controller configured to synchronize the plurality of source drivers to synchronously output video signals that the plurality of source drivers output based on data respectively supplied from the plurality of memory sections, so that the synchronized video signals are supplied to corresponding ones of the plurality of divided regions.

There is known a display module including: a display panel divided into a plurality of regions; and a plurality of source drivers for the plurality of regions, respectively (Patent Literature 1). The display module also includes a timing controller. The timing controller receives an input video signal from outside, and converts the input video signal into video signals with such timings and/or in such image formats that the respective source drivers can easily transmit the signal to the display region to which the source driver belongs. The converted video signals are supplied to individual source drivers.
A description is provided below as to this configuration with reference to FIG. 17. A display module 101 illustrated in FIG. 17 includes a display panel 108, a gate driver GD, a plurality of source drivers SD, and a timing controller 102.
The display panel 108 (display region) is divided into a plurality of regions, and a plurality of source drivers SD are provided for the regions 108a to 108e, respectively.
The timing controller 102 includes a frame memory 200. Image data included in an input video signal supplied to the timing controller 102 from outside is stored in the frame memory 200.
Furthermore, the timing controller 102 generates a sync control signal etc. The timing controller 102 transmits the video signals and the sync control signal to individual source drivers SD. Thus, the display panel 108 can display an image satisfactory without difference in image quality between the plurality of source drivers.
Furthermore, since the timing controller 102 includes the frame memory 200, it is possible to stop input to the timing controller 102 from outside. However, it is necessary to continue to transfer signals from the timing controller 102 to the source drivers.

Display module, display device comprising same, and electronic device


A method for treating circulatory disorders by exposing the sufferer to acoustic waves from a transducer immersed in liquid. The person is preferably placed between one and twenty feet from the wave source, and is preferably exposed to waves at a frequency of about 600 Hertz for approximately twenty five minutes.

This invention relates generally to methods for treating circulatory disorders and, more specifically, to a method for treating circulatory disorders through the use of acoustic waves.
There are numerous disorders that effect the circulatory system of human and animal bodies. These include the following: atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, angina pectoris, and certain forms of impotence. The effective treatment of these disorders, and the pain, discomfort and other effects they cause, is obviously a matter for concern.
Some background information regarding these disorders, their causes, their effects on the body, and their treatments, illustrate the foregoing:
Atherosclerosis is a thickening or hardening of the arteries caused by a build-up of plaque in the inner lining of an artery. The plaque is made up of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and fibrin. The plaque can partially or totally block the flow of blood through an artery, and can cause bleeding/hemorrhaging into the plaque or the formation of a blood clot on the surface of the plaque. When the hemorrhaging or clot blocks an entire artery, a heart attack or stroke may result.
The name coronary artery disease describes the condition where the coronary arteries have become sufficiently narrowed that the flow of blood to the heart is reduced. (One of the possible causes of such narrowing is atherosclerosis.) Ischemia is another name for reduced blood flow. A reduced flow of blood to the heart results in coronary heart disease, in which the heart muscle is damaged as a result of receiving an inadequate amount of blood due to an obstruction of its blood supply. Symptoms of coronary artery disease range from mild angina, discussed below, to a full-scale heart attack. These symptoms generally begin when there is about a 75% narrowing of a coronary artery. Approximately 13,900,000 Americans suffer from coronary heart disease, and it is the leading cause of death in the United States.
One symptom of coronary heart disease is angina pectoris, a recurring chest pain or discomfort that occurs when the heart does not receive as much blood as it needs for a particular level of work. The symptoms of angina are usually triggered by physical exertion, although they may also be triggered by emotional stress, extreme cold or heat, a heavy meal, alcohol, or smoking. The pain of angina may usually be relieved by resting or with angina medication, such as nitroglycerin, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Preferably, the underlying coronary disease causing the angina should be treated as well.
Coronary disease may be treated by the control of risk factors, such as high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, high blood cholesterol levels, and excess weight. Drug therapy is also available, including beta blockers and clot-dissolving agents. Where these are insufficient, invasive procedures such as cardiac catheterization, cardiac angiography, coronary artery bypass grafting, and angioplasty may be utilized.
Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, refers to the consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. It affects between 10 and 15 million American men. Impotence usually has a physical cause, and any disorder that impairs blood flow in the penis may cause impotence. One of the most common causes of impotence is damage to arteries. Diseases relating to circulation, including atherosclerosis and vascular disease, also account for a significant percentage of the cases of impotence.
Treatments for impotence, following the elimination of potential harmful drugs and behavior modifications, include vacuum devices, oral drugs (such as Viagra(copyright)), locally injected drugs, and surgically implanted devices.
It should be clear then that each of these disorders presents a problem to those who are afflicted, and that safe and effective treatments are desirable. With respect to treatment methods, non-invasive, non-surgical techniques are generally preferred to surgery. Moreover, safe non-chemical treatments are generally preferred to the use of medications, which can have foreseen or unforeseen side-effects on the body. While the individual disorders listed here have different causes, the fact that they all relate to the circulatory system raises the possibility that a single treatment could potentially work for each of these disorders. The present invention is directed to a treatment for each of these disordersxe2x80x94a treatment that is non-invasive, non-surgical, and non-chemical.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,942, issued to applicant herein, a low frequency electroacoustic transducer (the xe2x80x9cCassone Transducerxe2x80x9d) is disclosed. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,942, the Cassone Transducer could be used to efficiently disperse emulsions, chemical and other wastes, and the like for recycling and environmental enhancement. The Patent does not disclose the use of the Cassone Transducer for medical purposes. It is to that use that the current invention is directed.
It is an object of this invention to provide a non-invasive method for treating circulatory disorders.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a non-surgical method for treating circulatory disorders.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a non-chemical method for treating circulatory disorders.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method for treating circulatory disorders through the use of acoustic waves.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for treating circulatory disorders is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing a low frequency sonic transducer; immersing the low frequency sonic transducer in a liquid-containing container; positioning a person having a circulatory disorder a therapeutically beneficial distance from the low frequency sonic transducer; and exposing the person for a therapeutically beneficial period of time to acoustic waves from the low frequency sonic transducer at a therapeutically beneficial frequency method for treating inflammatory musculoskeletal connective tissue disorders is disclosed.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for treating circulatory disorders is disclosed. The method comprises he steps of: providing a low. frequency sonic transducer; immersing the low frequency sonic transducer in a liquid-containing container; positioning a person having a circulatory disorder between approximately one foot and approximately twenty feet from the low frequency sonic transducer from the low frequency sonic transducer; and exposing the person for between approximately fifteen minutes and forty-five minutes to acoustic waves from the low frequency sonic transducer at approximately six hundred Hertz.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, a method for treating circulatory disorders is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: Providing a low frequency sonic transducer; immersing the low frequency sonic transducer in a liquid-containing container; positioning at least a portion of a body a person having a circulatory disorder in the liquid-containing container; and exposing the person for between approximately fifteen minutes and forty-five minutes to acoustic waves from the low frequency sonic transducer at approximately six hundred Hertz.

Method for treating circulatory disorders with acoustic waves


An assembly of serially coupled XOR gates and an assembly of serially coupled shift register-XOR gate pairs are provided to a digital video system. The two assemblies are serially coupled to each other. The assembly of XOR gates generates a shift-in bit for the assembly of shift register-XOR gate pairs based on a cooperatively selected bit of a video control counter and a number of cooperatively selected feedback bits from the XOR gates of the assembly of shift register-XOR gate pairs it received as inputs. The assembly of shift register-XOR gate pairs in turn generates a pseudo-random number based on the shift-in bit and additional cooperatively selected bits of the video control counter. The XOR gate outputs of the assembly of shift register-XOR gate pairs are cooperatively mapped to the various bits of generated pseudo-random number. The pseudo-random number sequence is repeated when the video control counter is reinitialized to a predetermined value and the shift registers are cleared to a predefined state. The sequence length is sufficiently long to outlast a run of the video control counter before it is reinitialized for a new instance of the specified area controlled by the video control counter.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to the field of pseudo-random number generation and digital video systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to the generation of replicable pseudo-random numbers in a digital video system.
2. Background
A pseudo-random number generator generates a sequence of random numbers starting from a first random number by means of an initial value of zero and a predetermined algorithm. The predetermined algorithm is first applied to the initial value of zero to generate the first random number. The predetermined algorithm is then applied again to the first random number to generate the second random number. Each successive random number is generated in this manner, applying the predetermined algorithm to the previously generated random number. Although the pseudo-random numbers are predetermined by the initial value and the chosen algorithm, they provide a good approximation for random numbers that are mutually independent and uniformly distributed in a given interval.
Various digital apparatus for generating pseudo-random sequence are known. Included among these apparatus are those that use what's known as the generalized feedback shift register (GFSR) process. Typically, in these GFSR process based pseudo-random number generators, an n-bit pseudo-random number is obtained by serially shifting out n bits from a shift register or a shift register chain. Inputs are serially loaded in the shift register or shift register chain.
The focus of successive generations of pseudo-random number generators has been primarily on improving the length of the pseudo-random number sequence before the generated pseudo-random numbers would start to repeat themselves. However, for many digital video applications, including controllable dynamic companding the sequence length requirement is not very long. An equally important requirement is the requirement for the pseudo-random number generation to be controllable and repeatable. In other words, it is important for the pseudo-random number sequence to be repeatable within a specified area of the video image, such as a field, a line or a frame. As will be disclosed, the method and apparatus of the present invention for generating pseudo-random numbers based on a video control counter achieves the above described desirable results.

Pseudo-random number generator based on a video control counter


A coiling assembly for coiling webs of differing characteristics into a roll comprising first and second coiling station different from each other and a guide mechanism for guiding a moving web to one of the first and second coiling station.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for the coiling of a moving a band web or strips which are cut from the band.
2. The Prior Art
Mechanical assemblies for the coiling of bands, or strips cut from the bands, are known, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 817,025. In this patent, band-like material is first pulled off a roll in order to be fed to a longitudinal cutter. The original full width of the band on the uncoiling roll is cut in this longitudinal cutter by longitudinal cutting, that is, by cutting in the moving direction of the band, into individual, narrower strips. These strips run alternately to one of two coiling positions, whereby each coiling position is formed by two so-called idlers, that is, rollers on which at least one roll forming due to the coiling process can be supported by its own weight, for example. Since two coiling positions with two carrying rolls each are utilized, it is possible to feed one strip, to one coiling position with one pair of carrying rolls and the other, for example adjacent strip to the other pair of carrying rolls of the other coiling position. In this way, at least two relatively narrow rolls are coiled at the same time at the two coiling positions, whereby the sum of the widths of the rolls coiled in each case is identical to the width of the originally uncoiled band.
Another construction of idlers is shown for example in German Patent 25 06 235. Also in this case, an originally wide band is cut in a longitudinal cutter into narrower so-called strips, whereby each of the strips obtained is fed alternately to one of two coiling positions. In this case as well, the coiling positions are produced by two idlers, in particular by one pair of idlers in each case. The strips obtained from the wide band by longitudinal cutting are each coiled into a roll, whereby devices are provided to press each roll forming during the coiling process against the two idlers of each pair of idlers. In this way, the quality of the coiled rolls can be influenced.
Another type of mechanical device to coil strips obtained by longitudinal cutting from an originally wide band into rolls is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,085. In this case, a so-called supporting roller coiler is shown that has only one coiling position, however, whereby two groups of rolls forming can be supported on a common pressure roller during the coiling process. But other supporting roller coilers are also known that comprise several supporting rollers, preferably one supporting roller per group of rolls forming. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,575 shows such a device in which the originally wide band at least partially wraps around a central cylinder or roller in such a way that the individual narrow strips obtained by longitudinal cutting from the wide band can each run to one side to one group of rolls forming. In so doing, each group of rolls forming or each individual roll is assigned to a separate pressure roller, in such a way that at least two pressure rollers parallel to each other are present in the machine. However, this machine is basically nothing more than a machine with essentially one coiling position, that is, the originally wide band runs to this coiling position is divided only here into narrower strips in such a way that each strip can be individually rolled into a roll on its own.
A mixed form of supporting roller coiler and idler coiler is shown in European Patent Application 0 616965, wherein the individual rolls forming by coiling of strips are each supported by a pair of relatively small idlers against a common support cylinder. This mixed form of supporting roller coiler and idler coiler also only forms one coiling position however, because in this case as well, the originally wide band is cut only at this coiling position into individual strips in such a way that the strips obtained by the cutting process can be coiled alternately in the one idler bed or in the other idler bed.
Another mixed form of supporting roller coiler and idler coiler is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,283. Also in this case as the strips obtained by longitudinal cutting of a band are alternately fed to one or the other side of a common support cylinder, whereby the cutter is arranged immediately at or in the vicinity of the support cylinder, however. This known device also forms essentially only one coiling position. All of these known coiling machines have in common that rolls of different widths are to be coiled on them alternately. Based on customer wishes, wider or narrower strips are to be coiled into rolls in such a way that wider or narrower rolls are produced. Since the customer's wishes change frequently, however, it is typical to cut either relatively narrow or relatively wide strips and coil them into one roll, depending on what the customer wishes. But to design the respective machine so that it can be utilized for general purpose, however, the cutters and holders for the respective strips or rolls must be placed and attached differently within the machine, as the customer wishes. For this, conversion work is necessary, which means a corresponding loss of production for the machine. It is therefore necessary to keep this loss of production. as short as possible, which means avoiding it altogether as far as possible. For this reason, a device is needed that makes it possible to feed the band not yet cut into strips by longitudinal cutting to one or another coiling position at any given time, in such a way that the mechanical device of the one or the other coiling position is free for corresponding conversion works, and during conversion or adjusting of the one coiling position, the production of the mechanical device can continue at the other coiling position without interrupting production as far as possible, and to thereby further increase the mechanical device's availability as much as possible.

Coiling assembly having coiling stations of differing construction for coiling webs of differing characteristics


Techniques described herein enhance information security in contexts that utilize key management systems and other providers of cryptographic services. A user of a key, management system is able to use a secret that is outside the control of the key management system combined with a secret that is cryptographically protected by the key management system (e.g., by encryption using a key managed by the key management system) to generate a message encryption key, thereby rendering the secrets individually insufficient for access to data encrypted using the message encryption key.

In various contexts, managing the security of computing resources, as well as the security of stored data, is of utmost importance in many organizations. Organizations, for example, often comprise networks of computing devices that communicate to provide a set of services. These networks often connect with other networks, and often span multiple geographic regions. The operations of the organization may depend on networks of computing devices from other organizations to reduce infrastructure costs and achieve various other advantages. As the size and complexities of such organizations grow, ensuring proper authentication and secure access to the resources and data they contain can be increasingly difficult.
The reliance of many organizations on the computing resources of other organizations (e.g., using cloud computing services) may result in the transfer and storage of data being controlled by third parties, outside of the organization in which the data may have originated. This may entail a lack of trust; justified or not; that may stem from concerns of the safety and integrity of the data managed by third parties. Additionally, an organization may desire to enhance the security of their own data, so access to data by rogue employees or unauthorized others can be controlled and contained. The secure movement of an organization's data along various entities is generally complicated, complex, and requires significant amounts of resources to ensure proper authentication.

Secure data storage using multiple factors