An FPGA has an on-chip processor that reads configuration data onto the FPGA and controls the loading of that configuration data into FPGA configuration memory cells. After FPGA power-up, the processor reads a configuration mode code from predetermined terminals of the FPGA. If the configuration mode code has a first value, then the processor executes a first configuration program so that configuration data is received onto the FPGA in accordance with a first configuration mode. If the configuration mode code has a second value, then the processor executes a second configuration program so that configuration data is received onto the FPGA in accordance with a second configuration mode. The configuration programs can be stored in metal-mask ROM on-chip so they can be changed without re-laying out the remainder of the FPGA. Providing multiple configuration programs allows the FPGA to support multiple configuration modes using the same processor hardware. One configuration mode code causes the processor to execute a loader program that in turn loads a configuration program onto the FPGA from a source external to the FPGA. Once the configuration program is loaded, the processor executes the configuration program thereby allowing the FPGA to support a custom configuration mode.

This invention relates to configuring a memory-based programmable logic device. More particularly, this invention relates to configuring a memory-based field programmable gate array (FPGA).
A field programmable gate array (FPGA) is a general purpose programmable device that is customizable by an end user to realize a desired user-specific circuit. The basic device architecture involves an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) embedded in a configurable interconnect structure and surrounded by configurable I/O blocks (IOBs). Each IOB is configurable to be an output buffer, an input buffer, or a bidirectional buffer. An IOB is configurable to register incoming data, to register outgoing data, and/or to provide a tri-state output. A CLB is configurable to perform one of many logic functions. For example, a CLB may be configured to realize combinatorial logic elements, sequential logic elements, lookup tables, and/or control multiplexers. To realize a desired user-specific circuit, the end user configures the configurable interconnect structure to connect the circuitry of multiple configured CLBs and multiple configured IOBs together so that the resulting circuit is the desired user-specific circuit.
In one type of FPGA called a memory-based FPGA, the IOBs, the CLBs and the programmable interconnect structure of the FPGA are configured by loading configuration data into associated configuration memory cells. Each IOB and CLB has associated configuration memory cells, the contents of which determine how the IOB or CLB is configured. Similarly, the programmable interconnect structure includes configuration memory cells. The programmable interconnect structure includes programmable points which control connection of wiring segments in the programmable interconnect structure. Each programmable interconnect point may be a pass transistor controlled by an associated configuration memory cell. Wire segments on each side of the pass transistor are either connected or not connected depending on whether the transistor is turned on by the associated configuration memory cell. Further information about FPGAs appears in xe2x80x9cThe Programmable Logic Data Book 1999xe2x80x9d, copyright 1999 by Xilinx, Inc. and available from Xilinx, Inc., at 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124 (the subject matter of this data book is incorporated herein by reference).
Configuration is the process of loading configuration data into the configuration memory cells which control the programmable interconnect structure, the IOBs, and the CLBs. An FPGA available from Xilinx, Inc. generally supports more than one configuration mode. In a first configuration mode called the xe2x80x9cMaster Serial Modexe2x80x9d, configuration data is typically stored in an external memory such as an external ROM. The FPGA uses an on-chip oscillator to emit a clock signal that causes successive bits of the configuration data to be read out onto a data terminal of the external memory. The data terminal of the external memory is coupled to an input terminal of the FPGA (an IOB that is configured to be an input terminal) such that the successive bits of configuration data are read into the FPGA in serial fashion, one bit at a time. The configuration memory cell that each respective configuration data bit is written to is determined by the location of the configuration data bit in the serial stream of configuration data bits. In one mode, the configuration data is broken up into packets of data called frames. As each frame is received, it is shifted into a frame register until the frame register is filled. The configuration data in the frame register is then loaded in parallel into one row of configuration memory cells. The configuration memory cells in this case are organized for loading purposes as a two-dimensional array. Following the loading of the first frame, a subsequent frame of configuration data is shifted into the FPGA, and another row of configuration memory cells is loaded. In this way, configuration data is loaded into the FPGA in serial fashion, one bit at a time, but the two-dimensional array of configuration memory cells is loaded in parallel, one frame at a time.
The loading of the configuration data into the FPGA in serial fashion can be undesirably time consuming. A Xilinx FPGA therefore typically supports a second configuration mode called the xe2x80x9cMaster Parallel Modelxe2x80x9d. In this second mode, configuration data is loaded into the FPGA from an external memory (for example, a ROM) in parallel fashion, eight bits at a time. The FPGA outputs a twenty-two bit address onto twenty-two address terminals of the FPGA (twenty-two IOBs used as output terminals). These twenty-two address terminals of the FPGA are coupled to a corresponding twenty-two address terminals of the external ROM. The FPGA increments the address to cause successive eight-bit configuration data values to be read out of the external ROM and into the FPGA on eight data input terminals (eight IOBs used as input terminals). Multiple such eight-bit values of configuration data bits are assembled to form a frame of configuration data. The configuration data bits of this frame are then written in parallel into a row of the two-dimensional array of configuration memory cells. A second frame of configuration bits is then read into the FPGA and is written in parallel form into a second row of the two-dimensional array of configuration memory cells. In this way, configuration data bits are loaded into the FPGA as a series of eight-bit values, and the two-dimensional array of configuration memory cells is loaded one frame at a time.
For backward compatibility purposes, it is generally desired that each successive FPGA family support the configuration modes (called xe2x80x9clegacy configuration modesxe2x80x9d) supported by prior families. A new configuration mode may also be added to new FPGA families from time to time. Accordingly, more and more hardware has generally been required to support an ever increasing number of xe2x80x9clegacy configuration modesxe2x80x9d. A solution is desired that reduces the amount of hardware required to support multiple configuration modes.
Rather than using dedicated hardwired logic to support multiple configuration modes, a processor is provided on the FPGA for this purpose. After power-up, the processor reads a configuration mode code present on predetermined terminals of the FPGA. The configuration mode code read from these terminals determines the configuration mode that will be used to load configuration data into the FPGA.
If the configuration mode code has a first value, then the processor executes a first program. Execution of the first program causes the processor to control IOBs and other hardware on the FPGA so as to load configuration data onto the FPGA and into the configuration memory cells in accordance with a first configuration mode. If, on the other hand, the configuration mode code has a second value, then the processor executes a second program. Execution of the second program causes the processor to control IOBs and other hardware on the FPGA so as to load configuration data onto the FPGA and into the configuration memory cells in accordance with a second configuration mode. The first and second programs executed by the processor may be stored in on-chip metal-mask read-only-memory (ROM) such that a program can be changed without having to re-layout the remainder of the FPGA and without having to incur significant cost. Providing multiple configuration programs executable on the same processor allows the FPGA to support multiple configuration modes using the same processor hardware.
In one embodiment, a new user-provided configuration mode is supported. If the configuration mode code read after power-up has a particular value, then the processor executes a loader program. Execution of the loader program causes the processor to control IOBs on the FPGA such that a user-provided configuration program is read onto the FPGA and is loaded into program memory used by the processor. Such a user-provided configuration program may, for example, be read into the FPGA one eight-bit byte at a time. After the user-provided configuration program has been read into the FPGA, the loader program terminates and the processor executes the newly loaded configuration program. Execution of the newly loaded configuration program causes configuration data to be loaded onto the FPGA and to be loaded into the configuration memory cells in accordance with a user-defined configuration mode. In this way, the FPGA is programmed to support a user-defined configuration mode.
Other structures and methods are described in the detailed description below. This summary does not purport to define the invention. The invention is defined by the claims.

Supporting multiple FPGA configuration modes using dedicated on-chip processor


It is an object of the present invention to provide a valve having a function of preventing liquid from stagnating in a branch pipe connected to a main pipe and or in the valve provided for the branch pipe when the valve is closed. The valve is characterized in that a diversion member which can divert the flow of liquid is inserted in a liquid passageway in the valve case connected to an end portion of the branch pipe in such a manner that the end portion of the diversion member extends into the main pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a valve provided for a branch pipe connected to a main pipe, and more particularly to a valve having a function that prevents liquid from stagnating in the branch pipe and the valve when the valve is closed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to collect ultra pure water flowing through a main pipe of a ultra pure water production line used, for example, in the semiconductor industry, a branch pipe is connected to the main pipe and a valve is provided for the branch pipe so that ultra pure water is collected from the main pipe by opening the valve.
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a conventional water collecting or sampling (hereinafter referred to as collecting) valve attached to a main pipe.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a main pipe, 21 denotes a branch pipe connected to the main pipe 20, and 22 denotes a valve attached to an end portion of the branch pipe 21. In a conventional collecting valve, when the valve ball 23 in the valve 22 is opened, ultra pure water flowing in the main pipe 20 is introduced into a passageway 25 in the valve case 24 and into a flow passageway 26 provided in the valve 23 to allow to collect ultra pure water from the end opening 27 of the valve case 24.
In order to collect ultra pure water flowing in the main pipe 20 to the outside as described above, a valve 22 is provided for the branch pipe 21 connected to the main pipe 20, which valve can be opened or closed.
However, in the case of a valve of the conventional structure, when the valve ball 23 is closed, ultra pure water will stagnate in the branch pipe 21 and passageway 25 in the valve case 24, thereby allowing bacteria to proliferate or small particles to be deposited. Upon resuming the water collection, the stagnant water containing these contaminants will flow out first, and accordingly, there is a problem in that ultra pure water collected must first be blown down and discarded.
What is worse, the stagnation of ultra pure water has an adverse effect upon ultra pure water which flows through the main pipe 20.
Therefore, the present invention has been made to eliminate the problems of valves of the conventional type described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve with a function to prevent the stagnation of liquid so as to prevent proliferation of bacteria and deposition of small particles by constructing the valve such that, even when the valve is closed, the liquid does not stagnate in the branch pipe nor in the valve but is allowed to flow continuously therein.

Valve with function to prevent stagnants water


According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided a master unit included in a distributed antenna system of a frequency division duplex scheme, includes: a frequency converting unit converting a frequency of a first signal received from a base station into a predetermined frequency to generate a first frequency conversion signal; a signal combining unit combining the first frequency conversion signal and a second signal received from the base station to generate a transmit signal; and a signal transmitting/receiving unit transmitting the transmit signal to a remote unit connected through a single transmission line.

1. Field
The inventive concept relates to a distributed antenna system for a multiple input multiple output signal, and more particularly, to a transmission of a multiple input multiple output signal in a distributed antenna system of a frequency division duplex (FDD) scheme.
2. Description of Related Art
With the propagation of a smart phone, a wireless multimedia service, a social networking service (SNS), and Internet of things have been widely propagated, wireless data traffic has explosively increased. A big data environment which is not easily processed by the existing data transmission scheme has arrived.
As a result, a distributed antenna system is used, in which one master unit (MU) connected with a base station can control remote units (RUs) which are multiple antenna modules optically connected in order to efficiently manage radio resources. Further, a multiple input multiple output (hereinafter, referred to as 'MIMO') is used, which improves data transmission efficiency by simultaneously transmitting/receiving data by means of multiple antennas.
Korean Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-2013-0124339 (hereinafter, referred to as prior art) discloses a distributed antenna system for MIMO signals. The distributed antenna system in the prior art includes the base station, the master unit, the remote unit, and the like, the base station transmits/receives the MIMO signal to/from the master unit, and the master unit transmits/receives the MIMO signal to/from the remote unit. When the master unit transmits the MIMO signal constituted by a first signal and a second signal to the remote unit, the master unit converts and transmits a frequency of the second signal so that the first signal and the signal do not overlap with each other. In this case, the master unit converts the frequency by considering even a situation of another frequency band so that the signal in another frequency band is not interfered by the second signal of which the frequency is converted. Such an operation is similarly even to a reverse direction (that is, when the MIMO signal is transmitted from the remote unit to the master unit).
That is, the master unit searches a frequency band (hereinafter, referred to as 'unused band') which is not currently used among multiple serviced frequencies to convert the frequency of the second signal to correspond to the unused band and thereafter, transmit the first signal and the second signal to the remote unit.
However, when the distributed antenna system cannot search the unused band, a problem that the MIMO signal cannot be transmitted occurs. The problem can more frequently occur in a multi-band system (that is, a communication system in which signals corresponding to a plurality of frequency bands are serviced) in the multi-band system and in particular, the problem can more frequently occur as the number of frequency bands using the MIMO technology increases. The reason is that as the number of frequency bands which are serviced increases, the number of unused bands decreases.

Distributed antenna system for multiple input multiple output signal


Techniques are directed to managing image generation for desktop and screen sharing systems as well as for large image systems such as mapping. An apparatus may comprise a logic device, a remote sharing module and an image generation module. The remote sharing module is operative on the logic device to share an image with one or more client devices. The image may be divided into a plurality of tiles each corresponding to a portion of the shared image. The image generation module is operative on the logic device to determine a version of each of the plurality of tiles and compares the version of each of the plurality of tiles with a received client version of the same image.

Desktop or screen sharing enables participants to view data and/or applications on a remote device over a network. This allows various geographically disparate participants to view images and communicate information over a network similar to a physical face-to-face meeting. In web based screen sharing applications, the shared image is typically saved on a server. In order to effectively share large images among participants during such screen sharing sessions, these images may be divided into a plurality of tiles and saved on the web server where each tile corresponds to a portion of the image displayed on the screen to be shared. For example, if an image to be shared is displayed on a 1920×1200 pixel monitor, the image may be divided into hundreds of individual chunks or tiles where each tile corresponds to a subset of pixels representing a portion of the shared image. When a portion of the shared image is updated, the tiles corresponding to the updated portion of the image must be sent to each participant involved in the screen sharing session so that each participant is viewing a current version of the shared image.
When large amounts of a shared image are updated, each participant must send individual requests to the web server in order to receive each of the updated tiles corresponding to the updated portions of the shared image. Unfortunately, this results in high latency between image updates among the participants. In addition, existing screen sharing applications require the server to track and maintain the various states of each of the tiles that comprise the shared image on a participant by participant basis. In other words, the server must keep track of which version of the image a participant is viewing in order to determine which portions of the shared image need to be refreshed for each participant. This consumes valuable server processing as well as necessitating multiple requests and responses between each of the participants' devices and the server to track state information of each shared image. Moreover, mapping applications that share large images where streaming video is not available necessitates updates to images and portions of images for multiple participants across various interfaces. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed.


The present invention is a game transport device that includes a securing strap that goes around a stable object, a battery casing that houses an approximate 24 Volt DC, 2 battery pack, a hoist casing that houses a hoist that is used to selectively perform one of pulling and dragging a large killed game animal and a wire pulling rope attached to the hoist. The game transport device also includes a swiveling hook attached to the wire pulling rope, where the swiveling hook is placed around the large killed game animal to releasably secure the large killed game animal, a carrying bag that contains and transports the game transport device and a remote control in communication with the hoist, the remote control includes a neutral button, a forward button, a stop button, an activation switch and a reset switch.

Currently there are limited options for a remote apparatus capable of assisting hunters with transporting their kill. Often, when successful at hunting a large animal, a hunter finds it difficult to return to their vehicle and/or lodge while carrying the killed game animal, especially relatively large killed game animals.
The present invention generally relates to a transport device. More specifically, the invention is a game transport device.
It is an object of the invention to provide a game transport device that is utilized to transport a killed game animal such as a deer, an elk, a moose, a bear or other relatively large killed game animal.
It is an object of the invention to provide a game transport device that is utilized to load a relatively large killed game animal on a truck, a trailer or other suitable vehicle or platform.
It is an object of the invention to provide a game transport device that can lift a relatively large game animal to enable a hunter to cut, clean and skin the relatively large game animal.
What is really needed is a game transport device that is utilized to transport a killed game animal such as a deer, an elk, a moose, a bear or other relatively large killed game animal, that is utilized to load a relatively large killed game animal on a truck, a trailer or other suitable vehicle or platform and that can lift a relatively large game animal to enable a hunter to cut, clean and skin the relatively large game animal.


An overcap assembly for a fluid container (12), such as a baby bottle, protects the nipple (14), or other fluid dispenser, from contamination and from leaking when the overcap (18) is in the protective, covering position. The overcap has an opening (41) in its top through which the nipple extends once a lid (43) has been removed and the overcap has been shifted from a stable protective position surrounding the nipple to a stable enabling position exposing the nipple for use without removing the overcap from the collar (16). The lid is preferably tethered, hinged or otherwise connected to the overcap.

This invention relates to improvements in protective overcaps for fluid containers, such as baby bottles, as well as other fluid containers and, more particularly, to a fluid container having a protective overcap which remains with the container during use.
Baby bottles of the conventional type typically have a protective overcap which is coupled to the container in some manner to cover the nipple on the baby bottle and keep it free of dirt and contamination. An overcap for this purpose is cylindrical in configuration, open at one end and is of a one piece plastic construction. The base or open end of the overcap is generally press fitted on the threaded collar or collar which holds a nipple on the bottle. To use the bottle, the overcap is pulled axially away from the bottle to separate it from the collar, thereby exposing the nipple and allowing the fluid dispenser, namely the baby bottle and nipple, to deliver the liquid contained in the bottle itself.
The disadvantage of conventional overcaps is that they must be removed entirely from the bottle to expose the nipple for use. This separation of the overcap from the bottle causes the overcap to be misplaced, lost, and/or easily broken. At any rate, conventional overcaps present a problem when it is desired to recap a nipple with an overcap. Much time and concern is given as to where the overcap is if it is taken off the bottle. Moreover, even if the whereabouts of the overcap is known, after the bottle has been used, the overcap itself during separation from the bottle may be dirty or contaminated so as to require washing or sterilization before it is placed on the collar/bottle in covering relationship to the nipple once again. The problem is so acute as to give rise to the sale of additional replacement overcaps in packages to users of baby bottles. These overcaps are used as replacements for lost, unclean, or broken overcaps that otherwise are purchased as standard components to a baby bottle assembly.
Because of the foregoing drawbacks, a need exists for improvements in fluid dispensers with overcaps, including but not limited to dispensers, such as baby bottles. The present invention satisfies this need.

Protective overcap assembly for fluid containers


A semiconductor device includes interlayer insulating films spaced apart from each other and stacked over each other, and wherein first ends of the interlayer insulating films form a stepped structure; a slit penetrating the interlayer insulating films and dividing the interlayer insulating films into a plurality of stack structures; line patterns arranged between adjacent interlayer insulating films and separated from each other by the slit; pad patterns connected to the line patterns, formed over the first ends of the interlayer insulating films, and separated from each other by the slit; and at least one punch prevention pattern formed over sidewalls of the pad patterns adjacent to the slit and formed over the first ends of the interlayer insulating films.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same.
Description of Related Art
A semiconductor device capable of increasing a degree of integration is being developed as various structures. As an example, a three-dimensional semiconductor device including a three-dimensional memory device has been proposed.
The three-dimensional memory device may include memory cells that are spaced apart from each other along a channel film, and are stacked. The memory cells are connected to conductive patterns. The conductive patterns may cover the channel film, may be spaced apart from each other along the channel film and may be stacked.
During the process of forming the conductive patterns described above, a seam may be generated in a portion of the conductive patterns. The seam causes structural defects of the three-dimensional semiconductor device, and degrades reliability of an operation.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


A winch (1), a vehicle including the same and a method of operating associated thereto. The winch (1) is used with a strap (15) for fastening a load onto a transportation vehicle, and comprises a tightening assembly (3) and a gear assembly (5). The tightening assembly (3) comprises a support structure having first and second support flanges (7, 9) and a cross member (11) extending between the flanges (7, 9). The cross member (11) is devised for mounting onto a corresponding side track of the vehicle. The tightening assembly (3) also comprises a tightening reel (13) for receiving a portion of the strap (15) to be tightened about said reel (13), the tightening reel (13) being pivotally mounted onto the first and second support flanges (7,9). The gear assembly (5) is operatively connected to the tightening assembly (3), and comprises a gear (17), a worm (19), and a casing (21). The gear (17) is securely mounted about the tightening reel (13) so as to rotate with said reel (13). The worm (19) is positioned adjacent to the gear the worm (17) is threadedly engaged with the gear (19) so that a rotation of the worm (17) drives the tightening reel (13) via the gear (17), along opposite directions of rotation, for either fastening or unfastening the strap (15) onto the tightening reel (13). Excess portion of the strap 15 may be wound about a winding assembly (27) which is removably mountable onto the tightening assembly (3).

It is known in the art that a trailer with platform is a road transportation vehicle which comprises a loading tray. There are various types of loads which may be transported on such a vehicle with platform and these generally consist of heavy objects, objects disposed on pallets, and/or other types of objects whose handling requires the use of hauling mechanisms, such as hoists, which typically have access to the load either by the side(s) of the vehicle or by the top thereof.
It is also known in the art that these types of transportation vehicles are generally equipped with transversal securement devices which are typically arranged along the longitudinal axis of the loading tray, onto corresponding side rails or tracks. The users of these vehicles must conform to the requirements of security standards, in regards to the use of securement devices of adequate capacity, the required number thereof being established according to the payload being transported and to the length of the load to be secured.
Typical securement devices are tie down winches which are very well known in the art. Indeed, these types of winches are generally installed on a trailer, and more particularly are inserted onto rails present on each side of the trailer, and positioned at desired locations. They are used for tightening the fastening belts, also known as straps, etc., as well as the chains and other fastening accessories used to secure different loads carried by the trailer.
Known in the art are several types of rails. On most trailers, winches are inserted onto the rails by means of corresponding grooves provided on the winches. On other trailers, winches are inserted on the rails by means of an optional plate which is typically welded on the top of the winch. On yet other trailers, other suitable mounting means may be used.
A conventional tie down winch generally comprises a slit for receiving an end of a fastening strap, a reel for winding the strap about the same, and a hole or opening for receiving a winding bar so as to be able to wind and tighten the strap about the reel. The installation of belts on conventional winches is generally carried out as follows. Firstly, the belt is inserted through the slit or opening(s) of the winch reel. This step is done only at the first installation of the belt on the winch. Secondly, the belt is then rolled-up onto the winch reel. The winding-up of the belt is generally done manually. The belt is then passed over the load and fixed to the other side of the trailer by means of its hook, and tightened in place about the reel with a winding bar. The conventional tie down winch is typically provided with a ratchet safety mechanism for maintaining a certain tightening of the strap and for preventing unwinding thereof.
A problem associated with this type of tie down winch and method of tightening is that it is impossible to tighten rather securely the winch in position when it is not used. Indeed, this is explained by the fact that during the tightening, the winch moves in the same direction as the force applied which in turn provokes a premature wear of the trailer rails caused by the vibrations which result when the vehicle circulates.
It is also known in the art that the operation of a conventional winch and corresponding belt is typically carried out by means of a winding bar which is generally inserted into a corresponding hole on the right-hand side of the winch. The belt may be loosened by pushing the bar downwards. However, the latch must be raised to allow the reel to turn freely. As can be appreciated, this step is difficult because the use of both hands by an operator is required to manipulate and the bar and the latch at the same time. The belt is then unwound in the desired length simply by pulling it. The belt is then pulled over a load to be fastened, to the opposite side of the trailer. The belt is then fixed to the trailer support (or rail) on the opposite side of the trailer by means of its hook.
The excess of the belt is then rolled-up and aligned manually on the winch reel, as aforementioned. The bar is then inserted into the hole or opening on the right-hand side of the winch. The belt is then tightened by pushing and pulling the bar downwards. It has been found in the art that this method of tightening requires a significant amount of force by the user on the bar and thus has been found to cause wounds, namely stresses and strains on different body parts of an operator of such typical tie down winches. Furthermore, since the tightening force transmitted to the fastening belt is directly proportional to the force applied by the operator with the bar, it has been found that the physical requirements and resulting fatigue of an operator generally have adverse consequences on the tightening tension applied to the different fastening belts (they are not uniform, not constant, etc.).
Furthermore, it has also been found that since the belt is rolled-up on itself several times, there will be a loss of tension in the belt due to the yielding of the wound portion of the belt and as a result thereof, it is necessary that the transportation vehicle be stopped periodically and that the load be retightened several times during the transportation of the cargo.
Also known in the art are other types of securement devices which are typically known as chain benders. A typical chain bender generally comprises a bender and a tightening bar. These chain benders and corresponding chains are often stored at the back of the vehicle when they are not used. Similarly to the fastening straps, a chain is generally pulled over the load and fixed to the trailer support (or rail) on the opposite side of the trailer by means of its hook.
It is known in the art that the bender is then fixed to a link of the chain and to the support of the trailer by means of its hooks. The hook of the chain bender must be moved on the link that will allow a tightening. The tightening bar is then inserted on the handle of the chain bender, and tightening of the chain is carried out with the tightening bar.
It has been found in the art that what often happens is that the link used does not allow an adequate tightening of the chain. As a result thereof, a proper tightening is very difficult to obtain. Moreover, the handle of the chain bender is often reassured by means of an elastic belt provided with hooks, in order to impede the bender from opening itself and from having to retighten it (loss of time).
Known to the Applicant are the following patents and patent applications which describe different winches, as well as the various accessories used therewith: CA 2,230,620; CA 2,354,934; U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,443; U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,506; U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,664; U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,53; U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,030; U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,164; U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,637; and DE 42 26 083 A1.
Also known in the art are the various disadvantages associated with the above-described types of conventional winches. Indeed, in regards to the tightening of straps/chains, the conventional winch uses a principle of lever so as to enable to tightening the straps/chains. Indeed, a bar (typically three feet in length) must be inserted into a corresponding hole in the reel of the winch and pushed downwards to tighten the fastening straps by means of substantial physical requirement to the operator of the winch. The substantial disadvantages of such tightening method is that it is very demanding physically and can cause serious harms and/or injuries to an operator. Furthermore, due to the poor design and components of such typical tie down winch and corresponding straps, the tightening is often uneven on all the different winches of a trailer because the level of fatigue of the operator increases from the tightening of a first winch to the tightening of a subsequent winch. Indeed, it has been found that there are substantial tightening tension discrepancies between the first winch tightened by the operator and the last winch tightened by the operator which in turn causes tightening unbalances along the cargo supported by the vehicle, which is very undesirable for stability reasons, as can be easily understood.
Another substantial disadvantage associated with conventional winches is that the tightening force thereof is not constant and not uniform. As aforementioned, very often there is not enough tightening force present in the fastening straps, and/or there are differences in the tightening forces from one strap to another, and this increases the risk of slipping and shifting of the load during transportation, which is very undesirable.
Another disadvantage associated with conventional winches is that the tension applied to the belt is maintained by means of a latch fixed to the frame of the winch, which blocks the reel. In the advent of a reversal of the trailer, the pressure will thus be distributed by the latch onto the frame of the winch, and in turn this will tend to deform the winch under the impact and release the load, which is very undesirable for obvious reasons known in the art.
Another problem associated with conventional winches is that the belt is squeezed on itself around the reel of the winch during the tightening process which is undesirable because the belt presses on itself during the tightening, thereby resulting in a loss of tightening tension. Moreover, as a result thereof, the tightening is uneven on all the different winches of the trailer which in turn provokes a deformation and a premature wear of the trailer. Moreover, as a result of the aforementioned, there is a loss of tension in the belts due to the vibrations during the transportation which in turn obliges the operator to frequently stop the vehicle and retighten the belt several times during a given trip. Moreover, there is a premature wear of the belt resulting when the tightening in the presence of sand, dust and/or other debris between the windings of the belt.
Another problem associated with conventional winches is that the belt must be manually rolled-up on all its length about the reel of the winch before being tightening in place with the winding bar. This is undesirable because it is a long procedure and very time-consuming; does not allow to fix solidly the winch to the rails of the trailer because the winch moves in the same direction as the tightening force; and causes wear of the trailer rails to which winches are fixed due to the vibrations of the winches when the vehicle circulates. Indeed, in certain cases, rails must be replaced on a yearly basis, which is very costly.
Another problem associated with conventional winches is that the operator must raise the latch to unblock the reel at the same time as he/she is attempting to loosen the belt by means of the winding bar. This is very undesirable because it is difficult to operate the winch since the operator must use both hands to operate both the latch and the winding bar at the same time.
Another problem associated with conventional winches and with the chain benders used therewith is that once again, the principle of lever is required to tighten the chains, which in turn results in the same disadvantages associated with conventional winches and their straps. Indeed, this is very undesirable in that the method is very demanding physically and can cause serious harms and/or injuries to the operator of the winch. Moreover, an operator is often required to go over the load in order to operate the chain benders, which may in turn result in falls from the load and serious injuries to the operator. Furthermore, the load is often unsufficiently or excessively tightened because the step of tightening is based on the length of a given chain link, which in turn causes an improper tightening and damages to the equipment.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved winch which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome some of the aforementioned prior art problems.

Winch, vehicle including the same and method of operating associated thereto


A sponge mop is composed of a handle, a lever, a rotary sleeve, a socket, a mophead seat, a sponge body, and two link rods. The lever and the mophead seat are connected by the two link rods. The lever is fastened pivotally with the handle which is in turn engaged at one end thereof with the rotary sleeve. The rotary sleeve is engaged at another end thereof with the socket which is in turn engaged at another end thereof with the mophead seat. As the rotary sleeve is rotated, the link rods are actuated by the handle to enable the mophead seat to swivel.

The conventional sponge mops are generally made up of a straight handle, and a mop head which is fastened with one end of the straight handle. In order to facilitate the mopping, the handle is held such that the handle and the floor surface from an inclination. As a result, the sponge of the mop head is rather prone to wear. The conventional sponge mops are improved such that they are provided with a curved handle capable of minimizing the wear of the sponge of the mop head. However, the process of making the curved handle of a sponge mop calls for additional capital investment in the molding tool. In addition, the sponge of the mop head of the conventional sponge mops is vulnerable to deformation.

439, Chiu Fen Road, Yung Ching Hsiang, Changhua


The invention provides an image processing device, an image processing method, and an image processing program capable of maintaining estimation accuracy even when an input image of a processing target includes a plurality of shape elements. The image processing device includes: a recognizing unit that recognizes one or more shape elements which are included in the input image from a feature amount included in the input image; a selecting unit that selects a desired shape element out of the recognized one or more shape elements; and an estimating unit that estimates a target shape element from information of a region corresponding to the selected shape element.

Conventionally, in the FA (Factory Automation) field and the like, there have been put into practical application, various kinds of image processing devices that perform the processing of a presence test of a defect and stain on the work as a measurement object, measurement of a size and a shape of the work, and recognition of a character and a shape on the work. As an example of the image processing in the FA field, there has been known the processing of estimating a shape element of a mark and the like that have been printed to the work in advance, and performing positioning based on the estimate result.
In this image processing, mixing of noise into the image due to various kinds of disturbance cannot be avoided. As methods for enhancing measurement precision by removing such noise, there have been known techniques disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-249555 and Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-186338.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-249555 discloses a technique of realizing a high-accurate approximation straight line by efficiently excluding an outlier from coordinates included in the coordinate group. Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-186338 discloses a technique capable of correctly detecting a defect such as flash and chip based on a difference of each edge point from a proper base line that has been set to each of a plurality of edge points, even when an object has a complex shape. That is, these prior art documents disclose a method for determining a straight line element that shows an outer shape of a measurement object from the edge position.

Image processing device, image processing method, and image processing program


An active filtration or harmonic scrubber system for power systems that convert AC power on an AC bus to DC power that cancels or reduces harmonic current injected by nonlinear loads onto the AC bus using high-bandwidth pulse width modulation (PWM) inverters.

Proliferation of nonlinear loads attached to AC power supply systems has been increasing in recent years. Such a nonlinear load is exemplified by a motor controller (MC) for motor driven loads as commonly used in the aerospace industry. Most of this equipment uses a six-pulse rectifier front-end to convert alternating current (AC) power produced by a generator to direct current (DC) power. Such nonlinear loads cause the rectifiers to inject harmonic current due to their nonlinear behaviour. This extraneous harmonic current can cause problems, such as harmonic resonances, increased losses and overheating of the electromagnetic components on the bus, such as transformers and motors.
A MC is used in conjunction with an AC dynamoelectric machine to provide variable and controllable speed for a multiplicity of applications. It converts a DC power source to polyphase AC of suitable power and frequency to drive the AC dynamoelectric machine for such applications.
In aircraft, a MC has uses for both low power and high power applications. One high power application is main engine starting, which may be accomplished with a MC and a dynamoelectric machine that functions as a starter motor and a main electrical power generator. Another such aeronautical high power application is the use of a MC for an electric motor driven hydraulic pump (HP). In aircraft, it is common practice to use the main engine starting MC to serve another function after the engine is started, such as controlling other motor driven loads, also requiring high power ratings.
MCs with a six-pulse rectifier front end tend to generate significant harmonics of their operating frequencies, which may be on the order of 1000 Hz or more in aeronautical applications. The most significant harmonics tend to be the 5th, 7th and 11th. These reflect back from the MC into the AC bus and may adversely affect the operation of other equipment.
Use of tuned passive inductive-capacitive (LC) filters to control extraneous harmonic currents is limited in variable frequency applications commonly used in the aerospace industry. In addition, the presence of LC filters on the AC bus may form series and parallel resonances with the loads, resulting in amplification of harmonic currents. Use of 12-pulse and 18-pulse rectifier front-ends, as well as active front-ends, may be used to alleviate such harmonic currents, but they generally increase weight, size, and cost of the motor drive.


The present invention generally relates to polymers and particles, such as nanoparticles. The particles and polymers generally include one or more buffering components. Additionally, the particles and polymers may include two or more components that impart useful properties (functionalities). The particles and polymers, for example, may include a buffering component and a degradable component. As described herein, the particles and polymers may also include a hydrophilic component and/or a cleavable bond component. The particles and polymers described herein have been found to be particularly effective when used for delivery of one or more agents, such as one or more pharmaceutical agents. Other aspects of the invention are directed to methods of using or administering such particles or polymers, kits involving such particles or polymers, and the like. The present invention also relates to particles containing a cleavable bond component and one or more fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) pairs as well as methods of detecting the cleavage of the cleavable bond component of such particles.

The delivery of a drug to a patient with controlled-release of the active ingredient has been an active area of research for decades and has been fueled by the many recent developments in polymer science and the need to deliver more labile pharmaceutical agents such as nucleic acids, proteins and peptides. Even so, there is an ongoing need for new particles that can provide improved drug delivery.

PH sensitive biodegradable polymeric particles for drug delivery


Optimized indication signals of a completed data frame transfer are generated by a network adapter which reduces host processor interrupt latency. The network adapter comprises network interface logic for transferring the data frame between the network and a buffer memory and host interface logic for transferring the data frame between the buffer memory and the host system. The network adapter further includes threshold logic where a threshold value in an alterable storage location is compared to a data transfer counter in order to generate an early indication signal. The early indication signal may be used to generate an early interrupt signal to a host processor before a transfer of a data frame is completed. The network adapter also posts status information status registers which may be used by the host processor to tune the timing of the generation of the network adapter interrupt signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to architectures of network adapters, and particularly to architectures optimizing network adapter/host processor performance.
2. Description of Related Art
Network adapters involved in the transfer of data frames between a communications network and a host computer system typically notify the host processor of the completion of a data frame transfer. In many circumstances, the host processor must take some action based on a completed transfer of a data frame. For example, if the network adapter has received a data frame, the host processor may need to view the data frame resident in the network adapter buffer memory before allowing transfer of the data frame to host memory or other host devices on the computer system bus. Moreover, if a determination is made that the data frame will be transferred to the host computer system, the host processor may require notification of the completion of the transfer of the data frame from the network adapter buffer memory to the host computer system.
Likewise, with respect to the transmission path, the host processor may require notification on the completion of a data frame transfer. The host processor may require notification of the completion of a download of a data frame from a host system to the network adapter buffer memory. In addition, a notification to the host processor on the completion of the transmission of a data frame from the network adapter buffer memory onto the communications network may be required.
In prior art systems, such as the National Semiconductor DP83932B, a systems-oriented network interface controller (SONIC) and the Intel 82586 local area network co-processor, an interrupt is generated by the network adapter to the host processor on the completion of a data transfer. The host processor then must determine the cause of the interrupt by examining the appropriate network adapter status registers and take the appropriate action. However, before the host processor services the interrupt, the host processor must save its current environment or system parameters. This routine of saving the host processor's current environment may take as long as 30 .mu.s for a OS/2 operating system. The period of time necessary for saving the host processor's environment depends upon the type of host processor used, the host computer system configuration and when the interrupt /ccurred.
As can be seen, there is interrupt latency between when the network adapter has completed a transfer and when the host processor is able to service the interrupt generated by the network adapter. In essence, the host system/network adapter performance is in an idle state even though a transfer has been completed because the host processor is saving its current environment. For example, a data frame may have been received and is resident in the network adapter buffer memory for as long as 30 .mu.s before the host processor is able to determine the cause of the interrupt and view the data frame.
The host system/network adapter performance degradation introduced by interrupt latency is compounded when multiple data frames are transferred. Between each data frame transfer, there will be an embedded delay period when the network adapter is waiting for the host processor to save its current environment and respond to a network adapter interrupt signal.
Performance degradation is further complicated by the dynamic nature of interrupt latency. While interrupt latency is relatively constant given a periodic interrupt, interrupt latency may increase substantially in the form of spikes depending upon when the interrupt occurred. Moreover, the host computer system configuration may be altered by installation of additional software or devices on the system bus which will increase interrupt latency.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a network adapter with an optimized indication signal to the host processor of the completion of the transfer of a data frame which reduces interrupt latency allowing for optimized network adapter/host system performance.

Network adapter with host indication optimization


A method for producing a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid comprises steps of setting an ornamental braid on a lower mold of an injection molding machine, fixing an ornamental braid connection member on the lower mold, setting a glass plate on the lower mold, closing an upper mold, thereby locking the molds, and injecting molten resin into a cavity formed between the lower mold and the upper mold, thereby integrally molding a resin frame, the ornamental braid and the ornamental braid connection member along a periphery of the glass plate.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid and a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid.
A method for producing a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.6-72144. The method comprises steps of setting an ornamental braid, a spacer and a glass plate on a lower mold of an injection molding machine in the order of the ornamental braid, the spacer and the glass plate, closing an upper mold to lock the molds, and injecting molten resin into a cavity formed between the upper mold and the lower mold with the ornamental braid pressed against the lower mold by the spacer, thereby integrally molding a resin frame and the ornamental braid along the periphery of the glass plate.
Methods for producing a molded resin article are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications No.59-57730 and 5-84770. The methods comprise steps of setting an ornamental braid on a lower mold of an injection molding machine, closing an upper mold provided with pins, thereby locking the molds, and injecting molten resin into a cavity formed between the upper mold and the lower mold with the ornamental braid pressed against the lower mold by the pins, thereby integrally molding a molded resin article and the ornamental braid.
When a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid is mounted on a vehicle body, the ornamental braid of the window glass should be aligned with an ornamental braid of an adjacent window glass or an ornamental braid of an adjacent part of the vehicle body. Displacement of the ornamental braid during injection of molten resin into the cavity formed between the lower mold and the upper mold can be prevented by the spacer of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.6-72144 or the pins of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications No.59-57730 and 5-84770. However, a slight displacement of the ornamental braid caused by shrink of the resin frame after mold opening cannot be prevented by the prior art methods. Therefore, the ornamental braid of the window glass mounted on the vehicle body cannot be aligned with the ornamental braid of the adjacent window glass or the ornamental braid of the adjacent part of the vehicle body. Thus, the appearance of the vehicle is degraded.

Method for producing a window glass for a vehicle provided with an ornamental braid


The present invention relates to a disposable absorbent article comprising a chassis defining a front waist region, a rear waist region, and a crotch region disposed between the front waist region and rear waist region. The article includes front and back ear panels that are joined at opposing side seams. The side seam can include an initiation region, which can be bonded or unbonded, and a propagation region. The initiation region and the propagation region have a resistance to user-applied opening forces. The resistance at the initiation region is less than that of the propagation region. The seam can further include additional regions. The article can include a tab member that can be engaged by the user to facilitate opening of the seam.

Infants and other incontinent individuals wear disposable garments such as diapers to receive and contain urine and other body exudates. Disposable pull-on garments, having fixed closed sides, have become popular for use on children who are able to walk and often who are toilet training. These pull-on garments have ear panels with edges that are seamed together, or otherwise pre-fastened, to form two encircled leg openings and an encircled waist opening.
In order to suitably contain body exudates as well as fit a wide variety of body shapes and sizes, pull-on garments need to fit snugly about the waist and legs of the wearer without drooping, sagging, or sliding down from its position on the torso. Examples of such pull-on garments are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,239 issued to Igaue et al. on Dec. 15; 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,681 issued to Strohbeen et al. on Sep. 9, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,464 issued to Van Gompel et al. on Jul. 10, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,433 to issued Hasse et al. on Sep. 21, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,234 issued to Buell et al. on Oct. 29, 1996; and WO 96/31176 (Ashton) published on Oct. 10, 1996.
Proper fit of pull-on garments can be achieved when the garment applies an appropriate force to the lower torso region of the wearer. Such forces can be achieved using, for instance, a stretchable chassis that expands over the wearer's torso region as the garment is applied to the wearer. The shear and/or tensile forces resulting from the stretched chassis are applied to the side seams as the diaper is worn, and are exacerbated by wearer movement during use. As a result, the side seams need to be sufficiently strong so as to withstand these forces. At the same time, the side seams should fail predictably in response to a user-applied opening force when the article is to be removed from the wearer.
Unfortunately, the strength requirements to maintain integrity during use prevents conventional side seams from reliably and predictably failing in response to user-applied opening forces. As a result, when the user attempts to open the side seam open (e.g., for the purposes removing the garment), portions of the diaper surrounding the side seam may instead tear or fail in an unpredictable manner.
Moreover, conventional garments do not provide the user with any useful indication as to how to most easily open the seam. As a result, while the side seam is configured to be opened by the user, many users do not recognize this and instead tear the chassis itself, or an ear panel area that can be attached to the chassis, when removing soiled garments from the wearer.
What is therefore needed is a side seam for an absorbent article that is sufficiently robust to withstand the forces typically experienced during use, yet configured to reliably open in a predictable manner when the garment is to be removed from the wearer. It would be further desirable to provide a visual indicator on the garment that the user can identify as providing intuitive seam opening.


A display device includes a silicon wafer including digital circuits, a micro-light emitting diode (micro-LED) wafer including an array of micro-LEDs, and an indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) layer between the silicon wafer and the micro-LED wafer and including analog circuits. The digital circuits are characterized by a first operating supply voltage and are configured to generate digital control signals based on digital display data of an image frame. The analog circuits are characterized by a second operating supply voltage higher than the first operating supply voltage. The analog circuits includes analog storage devices configured to storing analog signals, and transistors controlled by the digital control signals and the analog signals to generate drive currents for driving the array of micro-LEDs. The digital circuits on the silicon wafer or the analog circuits in the IGZO layer include level-shifting circuits at interfaces between the digital circuits and the analog circuits.

An artificial reality system, such as a head-mounted display (HMD) or heads-up display (HUD) system, generally includes a near-eye display system in the form of a headset or a pair of glasses. The artificial reality system may be configured to present content to a user via an electronic or optic display within, for example, about 10 to 20 mm in front of the user's eyes. The near-eye display system may display virtual objects or combine images of real objects with virtual objects, as in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) applications. For example, in an AR system, a user may view images of virtual objects (e.g., computer-generated images (CGIs)) and the surrounding environment, for example, by seeing through transparent display glasses or lenses or by viewing displayed images of the surrounding environment captured by a camera. The near-eye display system may include one or more light sources that are driven to output light at various luminance levels to display the images.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) convert electrical energy into optical energy, and offer many benefits over other light sources, such as reduced size, improved durability, and increased efficiency. LEDs can be used as light sources in many display systems, such as televisions, computer monitors, laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, projection systems, and wearable electronic devices. Micro-LEDs based on III-V semiconductors, such as alloys of AlN, GaN, InN, AlGaInP, other quaternary phosphide compositions, and the like, have begun to be developed for various display applications due to their small size (e.g., with a linear dimension less than 100 μm, less than 50 μm, less than 10 μm, less than 5 μm, less than 3 μm, or less than 2 μm), high packing density (and hence higher resolution), and high brightness. For example, micro-LEDs that emit light of different colors (e.g., red, green, and blue) can be used to form the sub-pixels of a display system, such as a near-eye display system.


A control unit for an automatic device for preparing a beverage, which control unit is provided with a display panel and an input wherein the control unit is provided furthermore with an operating unit for displaying by the display panel a visually observable reaction to designations provided by the user, and for controlling a preparation unit of the automatic device, wherein the display panel has selection fields for mutually exclusive settings for formulations of the beverage to be prepared, wherein the control unit enables the user to select one of the settings by designation of one of the selection fields, wherein a collecting field with at least one setting field shows the chosen setting of the formulation, and wherein the non-designated selection fields remain visible and selectable.

The invention relates to a control unit for controlling an automatic device for preparing
The invention further relates to an automatic device for preparing beverages provided with such a control unit.
The invention further relates to a method for controlling an automatic device for preparing beverages.
Known are devices for preparing beverages provided with a touch-sensitive image display panel, where the image display panel shows a hierarchical menu structure, whereby the user by touching parts from the presented menu chooses step-by-step the composition of the beverage to be dosed. In the main menu the user can choose from, for example, "coffee", "tea", "soup". After selection of one of these options, a new menu appears, in which the user can give a further specification of the selected beverage. If the user makes the selection of, for example, "coffee", thereupon a menu appears in which a choice can be made from the options "with sugar", "with milk", "with sugar and milk", etc. After a choice has been made from these options, in a menu thereupon appearing a choice can be made from amounts of these additions.
EP1909623 B1 describes an automatic device for preparing hot beverages provided with a control panel with an input element and a display element. When the user movingly touches the input element, this results in a scrolling of the presented menu in the image display element. With this, a choice is made of at least one formulation from a plurality of formulations or a setting from a plurality of settings. In practice, a response time of the user needs to be taken into account. As a consequence, it may happen that the user does not stop the moving touch of the input element until the intended choice has already passed. The user then needs to scroll back again to still select the intended menu element. This takes extra time. Possibly, this could be prevented by keeping the speed at which the menu is scrolled low in proportion to the speed of the moving touch. However, a lower scrolling speed also takes extra time.

Control unit for controlling an automatic device for preparing beverages


Methods and compositions are provided for the identification of stem cells and cancer stem cells. β-catenin is also identified as a target for the development of therapeutic moieties against hematopoietic tumors, i.e. leukemia and lymphoma cells, which may include screening assays directed at β-catenin, or members of the β-catenin signaling pathway. Cellular proliferation in hematopoietic cells can be altered by introducing stabilized β-catenin into a hematopoietic cell that is altered in its ability to undergo apoptosis but which is not fully transformed. The immortalized cells are useful in screening assays, and in the analysis of pathways by which hematopoietic cells undergo transformation.

Basic cancer research has focused on identifying the genetic changes that lead to cancer. This has led to major advances in understanding of the molecular and biochemical pathways that are involved in tumorigenesis and malignant transformation. But understanding of the cellular biology has lagged. While the effect of particular mutations on the proliferation and survival of model cells may be known, it is not known what the effects of such mutations will be on the actual cells involved in particular cancers.
In fact, many observations suggest that analogies between normal stem cells and tumorigenic cells may be appropriate. Both normal stem cells and tumorigenic cells have extensive proliferative potential and the ability to give rise to new (normal or abnormal) tissues. Both tumors and normal tissues are composed of heterogeneous combinations of cells, with different phenotypic characteristics and different proliferative potentials. Because most tumors have a clonal origin, tumorigenic cancer cells must give rise to phenotypically diverse progeny, including cancer cells with indefinite proliferative potential, as well as cancer cells with limited or no proliferative potential. This suggests that tumorigenic cancer cells undergo processes that are analogous to the self-renewal and differentiation of normal stem cells. It is well documented that many types of tumors contain cancer cells with heterogeneous phenotypes reflecting aspects of the differentiation that normally occurs in the tissues from which the tumors arise. The variable expression of normal differentiation markers by cancer cells in a tumor suggests that some of the heterogeneity in tumors arises as a result of the anomalous differentiation of tumor cells. Thus, tumorigenic cells can be thought of as cancer stem cells that undergo an aberrant and poorly regulated process of organogenesis analogous to that of normal stem cells.
Many pathways that are classically associated with cancer may also regulate normal stem cell development. For example, the prevention of apoptosis by enforced expression of the oncogene bcl-2 results in increased numbers of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in vivo, suggesting that cell death has a role in regulating the homeostasis of HSCs. Other signaling pathways associated with oncogenesis, such as the Notch, Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and Wnt signalling pathways, may also regulate stem cell self-renewal. One particularly interesting pathway that has also been shown to regulate both self-renewal and oncogenesis in different organs is the Wnt signalling pathway.
It has been suggested that stem cells themselves the target of transformation in certain types of cancer. Because stem cells have the machinery for self-renewal already activated, maintaining this activation may be simpler than turning it on de novo in a more differentiated cell. Also, by self-renewing, stem cells often persist for long periods of time, instead of dying after short periods of time like many mature cells in highly proliferative tissues. This means that there is a much greater opportunity for mutations to accumulate in individual stem cells than in most mature cell types. Restricted progenitors could potentially be transformed either by acquiring mutations that cause them to self-renew like stem cells, or by inheriting existing mutations from stem cells, such that only a single mutation is required in the progenitors to cause transformation.
Although stem cells are often the target of genetic events that are necessary or sufficient for malignant transformation, in other cases restricted progenitors or even differentiated cells may become transformed. In the case of spontaneously arising human leukemias it is likely that stem cells accumulate the mutations that are necessary for neoplastic proliferation; however, these mutations may accumulate in stem cells even while the effects of the mutations are expressed in restricted progenitors. That is, mutations that accumulate in stem cells may lead to neoplastic proliferation of primitive progenitors downstream of stem cells.
Methods of identifying and isolating stem cells and cancer stem cells are of great interest for the understanding of mechanisms that govern these cells, and for the development of therapeutic modalities that can be appropriately targeted for the treatment of cancers and modulation of stem cell growth and development.

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


An N-bit analog to biphase-encoded analog-to digital converter, which comprises (1) a biphase amplitude modulator responsive to an analog signal and a microwave pump carrier frequency f.sub.c for deriving a biphase-encoded carrier signal having a phase value determined by the current polarity of the analog signal and a peak amplitude determined by the current magnitude of the analog signal, and (2) an ordinally-arranged group of comparators. The modulator and the comparators, in order, derive fixed-amplitude, biphase-encoded output signals, each having a phase value indicative of a separate one of the most significant bit (MSB) to the Nth MSB in response to a biphase-encoded, modulated-carrier signal and the pump carrier frequency f.sub.c applied as inputs to each of the ordinally-arranged comparators. A corresponding ordinally-arranged group of sample and hold circuits, each responsive to an applied periodically-occurring sample clock from a sample clock circuit, are used to sample and then hold for a sample period the then-current phase of each of the MSB to Nth MSB output signals from comparators. Alternatively, a sample latch included in each of the group of comparators can replace the sample and hold circuits. Doubly-balanced mixers, each operating as either a modulator or a demodulator, are used to implement the biphase amplitude modulator, each of the comparators, each of the sample and hold circuits and sample clock circuit.

Incorporated by reference herein is my U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,174, entitled "Devices for Implementing Microwave Phase Logic," which issued Jun. 18, 1996 and is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. This patent is directed to the use of respective microwave devices employing doubly-balanced mixers that implement each of various microwave phase logic (MPL) functions that make use of biphase encoding. Specifically, these MPL functions include those of a phase regenerator, a memory element for a biphase-encoded signal, a sample-and-hold circuit for temporarily storing the binary value represented by a transient biphase-encoded signal, an EXCLUSIVE OR circuit, and a FULL ADDER circuit.
Further, as brought out in this patent, it would be very difficult to design a baseband digital-information handling system that employs prior-art logic devices using D.C. amplitude pulse and RF pulse binary encoding for a signal that starts at or near D.C. and extends to microwave with a multi-gigahertz bandwidth. However, a multi-gigahertz bandwidth (e.g., up to 5 GHz) would be a moderate percentage of a relatively high continuous microwave carrier frequency (e.g., 40 GHz) that employs biphase encoding.

Microwave phase logic implementations of an analog-to-digital converter


A rain tight multi-position conduit junction box kit with improved electrical grounding and sealing including a conduit junction box with a hollow junction box body having a top, a bottom, opposing side walls, a rear wall and an open front, and six apertures in the flat areas around each aperture and adapted for receiving four aperture cover plates and two fittings with an extra fitting which may be substituted for one of the cover plates in each of the top, bottom, rear wall and opposing side walls. The box has aperture cover plates for some of the apertures not used in a particular installation and conduit fittings for the remaining apertures used for the engagement of conduit.

Rain-tight exterior junction boxes for conduit are well known in the art and are generally designed to be used with conduit from about ½ inch trade size to about 4 inches trade size or more in diameter. Because of their use in conjunction with conduit, they are of a relatively large size, very rigid and relatively heavy. Additionally, the present devices have been supplied to accommodate right hand, left hand, top, and bottom directional conduit installations. Given their large size and weight, warehousing and handling of all of the various possible configurations that might be necessary for a variety of installations becomes very expensive due to the space and boxes required to store the number of different configurations necessary to meet any potential installation need.
There thus exists a need for a conduit junction box that can eliminate or reduce the need to store many multiples of configurations of what is essentially the same device to meet a variety of installation needs.

Electrical grounding and sealing of multi-position rain-tight junction box


A starting device for a combustion engine includes a housing relative to which a rope pulley, a spring housing and an entrainer can rotate about a rotation axis. A coupling unit produces a rotationally-fixed connection between the rope pulley and the spring housing in response to a rotational movement of the rope pulley in a starting direction. The spring housing has a spring receiving space for a tension spring and is connected to an entrainer by the spring. The coupling unit has a first coupling element and a second coupling element, which interact at a contact location which is at a spacing (d) to the rotation axis and is at least as large as the maximum spacing (c) of the tension spring to the rotation axis.

US 2002/0121258 has disclosed a starting device for a combustion engine. The starting device has a spring store which has a spiral spring arranged in an inner housing. On the outer circumference of the inner housing, there is arranged a coupling unit which permits a rotation of the inner housing only in one rotational direction. The starting device has a rope reel which is coupled by means of a ratchet return mechanism to the inner housing.

Starting device for starting a combustion engine and handheld work apparatus having said starting device


A wire fixing mechanism in a display is provided, which can be disposed on a frame in the display to fix at least one wire thereof. The wire fixing mechanism comprises a main part and an opening-control part. The main part is connected to the frame, and a fixing space is defined therebetween. The opening-control part is connected to the frame, separating the fixing space into a wire-hold space and a passage. The passage is convergent toward the wire-hold space. The place where the main part defines the passage and where the wire-hold space comes close has a first extending direction. The place where the opening-control part nears the main part has a second extending direction. The angle included by the first and second extending directions is an acute angle. The wire passes the passage and stays fixed in the wire-hold space when pressure is applied on the opening-control part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire fixing mechanism. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wire fixing mechanism in displays and a back light module using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid development in electronic technologies, digital video products or imaging devices have become indispensable electronic gadgets in our daily life. Among various video products and imaging devices, display devices inarguably occupy a central position because a user must extract information from a display device, or in the case of performing a real-time control, receive real-time data from a display device. To fit the lifestyle of modern day people, the size and weight of video and imaging products must be made as light as possible. Although cathode ray tubes (CRT) displays still have some advantages, their bulkiness and volume are the two major setbacks that reduce its popularity in the future. With breakthroughs in photo-electronic and semiconductor fabrication technologies, the flat panel displays have become the mainstream of the display products.
The flat panel displays essentially include: organic electro-luminescence display (OELD), plasma display panel (PDP) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED) display and field emission display (FED). Regardless of cathode ray tubes displays or the flat panel displays, a plurality of wires are used for power supplying or signal transmitting inside the displays. To fix the wires in the displays properly, appropriate wire fixing mechanism are necessary.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional wire fixing mechanism. Please refer to FIG. 1. The conventional wire fixing mechanism 100 and a frame 50 of a display (not shown) are manufactured as an integrative unit. The wire fixing mechanism 100 includes a first fastener 110 and a second fastener 120. A wire-hold space 130 is defined between the first fastener 110 and the second fastener 120 and linked to the outside through an opening 140 kept therebetween.
If the size of the opening 140 is too small, it will be difficult for a wire 60 (only cross-sectional view of the wire 60 is shown in FIG. 1) to pass through the opening 140 into the wire-hold space 130. Besides, if the wire 60 is forced to pass through the opening 140 into the wire-hold space 130, a protective means 62 wrapped around the wire 60 can be easily busted. As a result, the wire 60 will possibly be fractured which will lead to electric leakage. On the other hand, if the size of the opening 140 is too large, the wire 60 can be pulled out easily from the wire-hold space 130 when external force is applied. Meanwhile, the welding connection between the device of the display and the wire 60 can be destroyed easily with the escape of the wire 60 from the wire-hold space 130.
Furthermore, the wires used in the back light module of the liquid crystal display are connected to the cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). While the wires are pulled out of the wire-hold space, the thin and delicate cold cathode fluorescent lamps can be torn out consequently. Therefore, the assembler needs to pay extra attention when fixing the wire to avoid making bad products. In other words, the quality of the wire fixing mechanism in displays has great impact on the time of the manufacturing process and the cost of the displays.

Wire fixing mechanism in displays and back light module using the same


A test circuit for arc fault detectors of the type which respond to step changes in ac current over time generated each time an arc is struck includes a low frequency relaxation oscillator which generates a repetitive signal with step changes like those produced by an arc fault. The relaxation oscillator includes a capacitor charged through a resistor and shunted by a voltage breakdown device, preferably a diac. The capacitor is rapidly discharged when its voltage reaches the breakdown voltage of the voltage breakdown device to generate the step change which is input to the arc fault detector. With a repetition rate of the relaxation oscillator not greater than about 15 repetitions per second (rps), and preferably about 5 rps, a user can manually determine the time to trip to verify arc fault detector operation. With the oscillator operating at such a low frequency, a signaling device such as a light emitting diode (LED) placed in series with the voltage breakdown device, permits the user to manually count the number of step changes required to produce a trip thereby providing further verification of detector operability.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to testing arc fault detectors including those used in circuit breakers. Specifically, it is directed to an arc fault detector test circuit which employs a low frequency relaxation oscillator for simple verification of the operability of the detector.
2. Background Information
Arc faults can occur in electrical systems, for instance, between adjacent bared conductors, between exposed ends of broken conductors, a faulty connection, and in other situations where conducting elements are in close proximity. Arc faults typically have high resistance so the arc current is below the instantaneous or magnetic trip thresholds of conventional circuit breakers. Also, arc faults create an average RMS current value which is below the thermal threshold for such circuit breakers. Even so, the arcs can cause damage or start a fire if they occur near combustible material. It is not practical to simply lower the pick-up currents on conventional circuit breakers, as there are many typical loads which draw similar currents, and would therefor, cause nuisance trips.
Thus, various types of arc fault detectors have been proposed. Some of these detectors respond to the step change in current randomly occurring each time an arc is struck. One such detector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,630. This detector counts the number of step changes in current which occur in a given time interval. U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,630 also discloses a test circuit for testing the arc fault detector. The particular circuit disclosed utilizes one of the coils of the dormant oscillator ground fault circuit also provided in the circuit breaker. A capacitor forms with the sensing coil an oscillator when a test button is closed. Another test circuit suggested by U.S. Patent No. 5,459,630 includes an impedance, such as a resistor, which is connected across the line and neutral conductors to produce a pulse each time a test switch is closed. This test circuit requires repeated manual actuation of the test switch to generate test pulses which are then counted by the arc fault detector.
An improved arc fault detector of the type which responds to the step changes in current produced by the striking of the arc, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,869. An arc fault signal which can be used to trip a circuit breaker is generated when a time attenuated accumulation of the pulses generated each time an arc is struck reaches a selected magnitude. Thus, fewer arcs which produce large step increases in current are required to trip the circuit breaker than smaller amplitude arcs.
While test circuits such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,630 could be applied to the arc fault detectors of U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,869, there is a need for improved arc fault test circuits.
More particularly, there is a need for an improved test circuit for an arc fault detector which automatically generates step increases mimicing the striking of an arc, and therefore, does not require repetitive actuation to generate a series of "simulated" arcs.
There is a more particular need for such an arc fault detector test circuit which provides more information about the operation of the test circuit.
In particular, there is a need for such a test circuit which provides an indication of the number of simulated arc strikes which generated the trip.
There is a further need for such a test circuit which alternatively, or additionally, allows an operator to manually time the time to trip using the test circuit.

Test circuit for verifying operation of an arc fault detector


Methods and systems for cooling an electric motor are provided. An electric motor cooling system, in one example, includes a stator with a first end winding on a first axial side, potting material at least partially enclosing the first end winding, and a plurality of coolant passages adjacent to the stator, where at least a portion of the plurality of coolant passages are adjacent to the potting material. The electric motor cooling system also includes a coolant passage housing including a plurality of fins defining a portion of the boundaries of the plurality of coolant passages and in face sharing contact with an outer surface of the stator.

A motor's thermodynamic framework plays a role in its performance. Some motors utilize cooling jackets (e.g., water or oil cooling jackets) to remove heat from the motor's stator. However, compact packaging goals of certain motors and motor cooling targets may be competing characteristics. Increasing the motor's power density can amplify the tradeoffs made between motor cooling and compactness. As such, previous motor cooling jackets, in some cases, may not achieve desired motor cooling targets when the motor's compactness and power output is increased.
Particular electric motor designs include potted end windings in the stator, enabling heat to be drawn out of the stator via conductance. However, potting conductance may, in certain scenarios, fall short of removing a targeted amount of heat generated in motors with a relatively high power density. These cooling deficits, in some instances, lead to decreased motor efficiency and performance.

Electric motor cooling system and method for operation of said system


A method for manufacturing a metal-oxide-semico nductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) having a drain and a source each of which has a lightly doped area, an enhanced lightly doped area and a heavily doped area is disclosed. The method includes steps of lightly doping the silicon substrate having a gate structure to form the lightly doped areas of the source and the drain; forming a first non-conductive layer covering the silicon substrate and the gate, forming a second non-conductive layer covering the first non-conductive layer, forming a duple-sidewall including a side-wall-spacer of the first non-conductive layer and an inner spacer, heavily doping the silicon substrate to form the heavily doped areas of the source and the drain respectively, removing the side-wall-spacer of the first non-conductive layer, executing an anisotropic etching on the inner spacer to form a cascade-shaped spacer of the gate, and doping the silicon substrate to form the enhanced lightly doped area and thus forming the extension area of the heavily doped area.

When the technology for manufacturing the MOS devices is gradually progressing into the deep sub-micron era, some problems which are not essential in the sub-micron process now become very important. For example, the conventional source/drain extension process meets a problem in the coincidence of lightly doped drain (LDD) and source/drain extension junctions underneath gate edge of a MOSFET. The coincidence of these junctions induces large reverse junction current that forces device become leakage. Furthermore, a high impact ionization rate will worsen the hot carrier effect. A discussion about the related problems can be found in Lisa T. Su (1996).
A conventional method for manufacturing a MOSFET is illustrated in FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e). Referring to FIG. 1(a), when the MOS structure including the gate oxide 13 and the gate 14 on a substrate 10 has been made, an ion implantation is executed to form the lightly doped areas 16 of the source and drain. This step is so called a "lightly doped drain" (LDD) process. To decrease the resistance of the lightly doped areas 16, another ion implantation is executed to form enhanced lightly doped areas 11 having a penetration depth shallower than that of the lightly doped areas 16 of the source and drain. Then a dielectric layer 15 is deposited over the gate 14 and the gate oxide 13. The dielectric layer 15 is etched to form the spacer 15a. After then, a heavily doped process is executed to form the heavily doped areas 12 to form the major portion of the source 17 and drain 18 of the MOS transistor 1. However, since the ion implantations of the lightly doped areas 16 and the enhanced lightly doped areas 11 use the same mask, i.e., the gate 14, most part of the junctions of the lightly doped areas 16 and the gate oxide 13 will overlap with the junctions between the enhanced lightly doped areas 11 and the gate oxide 13. The extensions of the source/drain are formed by portions 16a of the enhanced lightly doped areas 16 which are extended from the heavily doped areas 12. In the conventional process, the formation of the extensions 16a of the source/drain cannot be properly controlled, so the extension junctions of the source/drain are located too close to the channel of the transistor, which will decrease the performance of the MOSFET with LDD structure. The defects of the conventional process can be summarized as follows:
1. The coincidence of the junctions of the lightly doped source/drain and the extensions of the source/drain will cause a large reverse junction current and thus induce a current leakage of the transistor. PA0 2. Such a structure will increase the probability of ion collisions so that the hot carrier effect will be aggravated.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a MOSFET with adjustable source/drain extensions.

Method for manufacturing MOS device with adjustable source/drain extensions


A polishing pad is provided, having its face shaped to produce controlled nonuniform removal of material from a workpiece. Non-uniformity is produced as a function of distance from the pad's rotational axis (the working radius). The pad face is configured with both raised, contact regions and voided, non-contact regions such that arcuate abrasive contact varies nonuniformly as a function of distance from the pad's rotational axis. Void density at any distance may be produced by several techniques such as varying void size as a function of working radius or varying the number of voids per unit area as a function of working radius. Either technique produces variation in voided area per total unit area for rings of pad surface concentric with the rotational axis having infintesimally small width.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the grinding or polishing of a workpiece, in particular the polishing of a surface, such as semiconductor wafer surface to a controlled degree of planarity.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manufacture of integrated circuits, for example, planarity of the underlying semiconductor substrate or wafer is very important. Critical geometries of integrated circuitry are presently in the neighborhood of less than 1 micron. These geometries are by necessity produced by photolithographic means: an image is optically or electromagnetically focused and chemically processed on the wafer. If the wafer surface is not sufficiently planar, some regions will be in focus and clearly defined, and other regions will not be sufficiently well defined, resulting in a nonfunctional or less than optimal circuit. Planarity of semiconductor wafers is therefore necessary.
In some processes, material is deposited nonuniformly across the wafer, often varying in thickness as a function of radial distance from the center of the wafer. While it is often desired to provide uniform abrasion with a polishing pad, there are also circumstances in which a controlled non-uniformity of abrasion is desired. This would occur in cases in which the non-uniformity of deposit is to be eliminated through polishing, in cases in which a surface is to be made nonuniform, and in order to compensate for non-uniformity of the process.
Chemical and mechanical means, and their combination (the combination being known as "mechanically enhanced chemical polishing"), have been employed, to effect planarity of a wafer. In mechanically enhanced chemical polishing, a chemical etch rate on high topographies of the wafer is assisted by mechanical energy.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate the basic principles used in prior art mechanical wafer polishing. A ring-shaped section of a polishing pad rotates at W.sub.p radians per second (R/s) about axis O. A wafer to be polished is rotated at W.sub.w R/s, usually in the same sense. The wafer may also be rotated in the opposite sense and may be moved in directions +X and -X relative to some fixed point, the wafer face is pressed against the rotating pad face to accomplish polishing. The pad face, itself, which is typically characterized by low abrasivity, is generally used in combination with a mechanically abrasive slurry, which may also contain a chemical etchant.
FIG. 2 helps to clarify rotation W.sub.w and the ring shape of the pad in FIG. 1. For a generic circular pad moving at a particular rotational speed, the linear speed of the polishing face at any given radius will vary according to the relationship L=Wp.times.R, where L is in cm/s, W is in radians/second, and radius R is in cm. It can be seen, for example, that linear speed L.sub.2 at large radius R.sub.2 is greater than linear speed L.sub.1 at small radius R.sub.1. Consider now that the pad has a surface contact rate with a workpiece that varies according to radius. Portions of a workpiece, such as a wafer, contacting the pad face at radius R.sub.1 experience a surface contact rate proportional to L.sub.1. Similarly, portions of the wafer contacting the pad face at radius R.sub.2 will experience a surface contact rate proportional to L.sub.2. Since L.sub.2 >L.sub.1, it is apparent that a workpiece at radius R.sub.2 will receive more surface contact than a workpiece at radius R.sub.1. If a wafer is large enough in comparison to the pad to be polished at both R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, the wafer will be polished at an uneven rate which is a function of the 2.pi.R, where R is distance from the rotational axis of the pad. The resulting 2.pi.R non-planarity is not acceptable for high precision polishing required for semiconductor wafers.
While there are instances in which planar abrasion is desired, there are other instances in which a controlled variation in abrasion is desired. This would occur where material buildup is non-planar and polishing is used to generate a planar surface, and in instances where a specified degree of nonplanarity is desired. Non-planar abrasion may also be used in order to compensate for non-uniformity of the process, as for example, when an edge of a semiconductor wafer polishes differently from the center of the wafer.
Referring again to the prior art of FIG. 1, a common approach by which prior art attempts to overcome non-uniform surface contact rate is by using a ring-shaped pad or the outer circumference of a circular pad, to limit the difference between the largest usable radius and smallest usable radius, thus limiting surface contact rate variation across the pad face, and by moving the wafer and positively rotating it, relative to the pad and its rotation. The combination is intended to limit the inherent variableness of the surface contact rate across the wafer, thereby minimizing non-planarity. Such movement of the wafer with respect to the polishing pad's axis of rotation requires special gearing and design tolerances to perform optimally.
According to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 468,348, of which this is a continuation-in-part, the face of a polishing pad is shaped so as to provide substantially constant arcuate contact with a workpiece for circumferential traces of any radius from the center of the pad. This is accomplished by incorporating both raised and voided areas into the face of the pad in a geometric pattern that results in an increase in voided area density as the radius from the rotational axis of the pad increases. Several possible geometric face patterns are disclosed, each of which substantially achieves the goal of providing substantially constant arcuate contact for any given radius. This, in turn, results in more uniform removal of material from workpiece surfaces during mechanical planarization, thus enhancing planarity of the finished surface.
Although surface planarity is often the goal of an abrasive operation, the attainment of a non-planar surface may also be the desired result. The creation of non-planar surfaces is more complicated than the creation of planar surfaces. Using contemporary techniques, this generally requires careful control of the movement of the polishing pad's axis of rotation in relation to the position of the workpiece.
The object of the present invention to provide a polishing pad with which precision non-planar surfaces may be created.

Polishing pad with controlled abrasion rate