A preamplifier converting an input current signal into an output voltage signal and outputting the voltage signal includes a voltage amplifier, a feedback resistor connected in parallel with the voltage amplifier, and a plurality of diodes connected in series to each other and in parallel with the feedback resistor. In this circuit, the voltage drop of the feedback resistor for turning on the diodes increases in proportion to the number of diodes, thereby changing the input signal level at which the feedback resistance switches. A fuse may be connected in parallel with each of the diodes, a bonding pad may be connected to each of them, or an FET may be connected in parallel with each them to enable short-circuiting of each of the diodes. Thereby, an increased dynamic input range is obtained while giving consideration to the sensitivity and the amplification factor of the amplifier.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an optical receiver employing a prior art transimpedance type preamplifier. In the FIG., a receiver 10 comprises a transimpedance type preamplifier 1 and a photodiode 5. A p-side electrode of the photodiode 5 is connected to an input of the transimpedance type preamplifier 1. The transimpedance type preamplifier 1 comprises a voltage amplifier 2 and a feedback resistor 3 which is attached to the voltage amplifier 2. That is, the feedback resistor 3 is connected in parallel between an input and output of the voltage amplifier 2 so as to feedback a part of the output signal of the voltage amplifier 2 to the input side. Reference numeral 4 designates an input terminal and numeral 6 designates an output terminal. Reference character P.sub.out shows light, reference character I.sub.in shows a current signal from the photodiode 5 and reference character V.sub.out shows a voltage signal output from the preamplifier 1.
A description is given of the operations.
Light P.sub.out entering the photodiode 5 is converted into a current signal I.sub.in through the photodiode 5 and enters into the preamplifier 1 from the input terminal 4. The current signal I.sub.in flows into the feedback resistor 3 if the input impedance of the voltage amplifier 2 is sufficiently high. In this case, when a gain of the voltage amplifier 2 is sufficiently high, suppose that the resistance value of the feedback resistor 3 is Rf[.OMEGA.] and the current signal amplitude is .DELTA.I.sub.in, then the output voltage amplitude .DELTA.V.sub.out is represented as follows: EQU .DELTA.V.sub.out =.DELTA.I.sub.in .multidot.Rf .multidot. (1)
In addition, the noise of the optical receiver 10 comprising the photodiode 5 and the preamplifier 1 is represented by the noise converted into input noise current density (unit:[A/ .sqroot.Hz]). This noise is controlled by a thermal noise due to the feedback resistor 3 and the channel noise of a source grounded field effect transistor (hereinafter referred to as an FET) in the voltage amplifier 2. The thermal noise <i.sub.Rf 2> (unit:[A/.sqroot.Hz]) due to the feedback resistor 3 is represented as follows: ##EQU1## where T is absolute temperature, K is Boltzmann's constant, and .DELTA. f is the operational bandwidth.
On the other hand, the 3dB bandwidth of the optical receiver 10 (f.sub.3dB) is, supposing that the capacitance of the photodiode 5 is C.sub.pd, the input capacitance of the preamplifier 1 is C.sub.in and the voltage gain of the voltage amplifier 2 is A, represented as follows: ##EQU2##
According to these formulae, in order to improve the sensitivity of the optical receiver 10 comprising the photodiode 5 and the preamplifier 1, it is effective to increase the feedback resistance value Rf of the feedback resistor 3 in the preamplifier 1 while maintaining the necessary bandwidth.
FIG. 12 shows the characteristic of the output voltage amplitude against the input current amplitude of the preamplifier 1. In the FIG., a curve obtained by connecting black dot .cndot. points shows the output voltage amplitude versus the input current amplitude when the feedback resistance value Rf is 2.2k1/3 at a transmission speed of 622 Mb/s and a curve obtained by connecting crossed marks.times.shows the output voltage amplitude against the input current amplitude when the feedback resistance value Rf is 2001/3 at a transmission speed of 622 Mb/s. FIGS. 13 to 16 are diagrams showing output voltage waveform versus input current amplitude when the feedback resistance value Rf is 2.2k1/3 and the input current amplitude is 0.2 mAp-p, 0.5 mAp-p, 1 mAp-p or 2 mAp-p, respectively. From these FIGS., it is apparent that, although it is, as described above, effective to increase the feedback resistance value Rf of the feedback resistor 3 in the preamplifier 1 to increase the sensitivity of the preamplifier 1, the dynamic input range is reduced due to an increase in the input impedance and the duty ratio of the output voltage signal unfavorably changes. More particularly, the output voltage signal is unfavorably distorted when a large signal, namely an input current having a large amplitude, is input as particularly shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.
Disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 3-54905 is a preamplifier in which the substantive feedback resistance value is changed between a value for inputting a large signal and a valve for inputting a small signal so as to enlarge the input dynamic range, thereby obtaining an output voltage signal without distortion when a large signal is input. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an optical receiver in which a diode is connected in parallel with a feedback resistor constituting the preamplifier similar to the optical receiver disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 3-54905. In the FIG., the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 11 designate the same or corresponding parts. A receiver 20 comprises a preamplifier 1a and the photodiode 5. In the preamplifier la, a diode 7 is connected in parallel with the feedback resistor 3 so that an anode of the diode 7 is connected to an input terminal 4 and a cathode thereof to an output terminal 6.
Next, a description is given of the operation.
Almost all of the current signal I.sub.in from the photodiode 5 flows into the feedback resistor 3 similarly as the optical receiver 10 shown in FIG. 11, and when the voltage drop of the feedback resistor 3 is less than the thresh-old voltage of a forward direction current flow of the diode 7 connected in parallel, a current almost flows into the feedback resistor 3 and the operation is the same as in the case with no diode 7. When the voltage drop of the feedback resistor 3 exceeds the threshold voltage of the forward direction current, a current also begins to flow through the diode 7 suppose that a resistance value when the diode 7 is "on" state is Rdf, the actual feedback resistance value is represented as follows: ##EQU3## Particularly, when Rf>>Rdf, the feedback resistance value Rfs is reduced to a value represented by the following formula (5) and the dynamic range is enlarged by that degree. EQU Rfs=Rdf (5)
FIG. 18 shows a characteristic of the output voltage amplitude versus the input current amplitude of the preamplifier la when the feedback resistance value Rf of the feedback resistor 3 is 2.2k1/3 and an internal resistance Rdf of the diode 7 in the "on" state is fixed at 1801/3 at a transmission speed of 622 Mb/s. The threshold voltage of the forward direction current (Schottky barrier voltage) of the diode 7 is dependent on a material of the diode 7. Here, a Schottky diode formed on a GaAs substrate is employed and the threshold up voltage of the forward direction current (Schottky barrier voltage) is approximately 0.6 V.
As is apparent from the FIG., when the input current amplitude to the preamplifier 1a is within 0.0 to 0.3 mAp-p, since the voltage drop in the feedback resistor 3 is equal to or less than 0.6 V., little current flows through the diode and the gain at transformation between an input current and an output voltage, namely, a transimpedance gain is almost determined by the feedback resistance value (2.2 k.OMEGA.) of the feedback resistor 3 and the noise characteristic is almost the same as that of a case without the diode 7. However, when the input current amplitude is over 0.3 mAp-p, the voltage drop in the feedback resistor 3 is larger than 0.6 V and the diode 7 is "on" state. At this time, the feedback resistance value Rf of the feedback resistor 3 is significantly larger than the internal resistance value Rdf of the diode and the transimpedance gain becomes almost equal to the internal resistance value Rdf of the diode (180 .OMEGA.) and the input dynamic range is enlarged to 5 mAp-p compared to about 1 mAp-p without the diode 7 (refer to FIG. 12).
FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) are diagrams showing an input current waveform and an output voltage waveform in the preamplifier la in the above-described operation. FIG. 19(a) shows an input current waveform and an output voltage waveform when the input current amplitude is 0.2 mAp-p and FIG. 19(b) shows an input current waveform and an output voltage waveform when the input current amplitude is 2.0 mAp-p. As shown in the FIGS., while in the preamplifier 1 shown in FIG. 11 the duty cycle of the output voltage waveform varies when the input current amplitude increases to 2 mAp-p, the duty cycle does not vary even when the input current amplitude increases to 2 mAp-p in this preamplifier 1a, resulting in an output signal with no distortion.
In the prior art preamplifier a described above, a diode is connected in parallel with the feedback resistor so as to prevent a reduction in the output voltage when a large signal, namely, an input current having a large amplitude, is input, thereby enlarging the input dynamic range.
In the construction where a single diode 7 is connected in parallel with the feedback resistor 3, however, because the threshold voltage of the forward direction current of the diode connected in parallel with the feedback resistor is dependent on the material of the diode as described above, while it is possible to enlarge the dynamic range, the input signal level by which the diode is turned on, that is, an input signal level where a substantive feedback resistance value is switched, is fixed. Therefore, even if it is desirable to obtain a voltage amplitude above a certain level as the sensitivity of the amplifier when a small signal is input (for example, when a signal in a range from 0.5 to 1.0 mAp-p is input), the desired voltage value cannot be obtained when the switching point of the substantive feedback resistance value is at a signal level smaller than this input signal.
In addition, since as a characteristic of a diode, little current flows through the diode when the voltage does not exceed the Schottky barrier voltage and a current suddenly flows when the forward direction voltage exceeds the Schottky barrier voltage, that is, when the diode is turned on, the substantive feedback resistance value also varies suddenly before and after the diode is turned on. As a result, there is a problem that the linearity of the amplification is poor and a device which is connected to the amplifier at a latter stage thereof may malfunction.


Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) platforms include data bases populated with information pertaining to all phone numbers within a communications network. A large number of telephone numbers may concurrently be prespecified in a data base by a subscriber, together with alternate telephone number destinations corresponding to different locations, for redirection. Redirection set up for all of the subscriber's lines is accomplished by a single data entry operation into the data base in accordance with a template or table of designations customized by the subscriber. Redirection information may be transmitted to the AIN data base via a telecommunication line and an adjunct processing device associated with the AIN data base, using a terminal interface or dialed digit inputs; or the redirection information may be entered by interaction with a network switching office which sends the information to the data base via the network's signalling channels. Such information may specifically identify a portion, if not all, of the subscriber's lines. Each specified line may be associated with one or more redirected destinations.

Telecommunication services have expanded remarkably in recent years. Subscribers have gained increasing flexibility in the selection and implementation of the various features that are available. A popular option provides the subscriber with the ability to determine in advance alternate destinations for an incoming call that is intended by a dialer for connection to the subscriber's telephone line. Several prior art call forwarding arrangements have been developed.
Boratgis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,628, discloses an automatic call forwarding device which is connected to a forwarding phone having a three-way conference service by a single phone line to central exchange telephone equipment. The device operates to cause a calling phone to be put on hold while a message transmitting and storage device transmits telephone dialing pulses corresponding to the number of a third phone to which the call is to be forwarded. The device is adapted to be reprogrammed by encoder signals provided by tone pulses of a standard touch tone telephone.
Rais et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,009, discloses a system for remotely controlling call forwarding for a given telephone line. The call forwarding is initiated by sequentially applying a call forwarding initiate code and thereafter a desired call forwarding telephone number stored by input means connected to a given telephone line. The given telephone line is seized when an incoming call to the line is placed, and the call is forwarded to the stored telephone number.
Morganstein, U.S. Pa. No. 4,809,321, 5,027,384 and 5,029,196, describe user programmable telecommunications systems, which allow a called party to preprogram alternate destinations for incoming calls in response to a busy or no-answer status of the called party. A calling party can be apprised by a verbal prompt of an alternate destination at which the called party then may be available. The system provides an initial greeting to all incoming calls which may identify the called party and may issue a statement as to the nonaccessible condition of the intended telephone set. The incoming calls can be routed to a voice store and forward facility so that a verbal message can be deposited by the calling party.
Suzuki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,194, discloses a switching system for effecting call forwarding between subscribers. Discrimination information is added to the data for respective subscriber terminals. Each subscriber terminal may be registered in a storage unit as a single alternative destination for forwarding a call by another subscriber terminal. The inhibition of a subscriber terminal from being registered as more than one alternative destination avoids an endless loop at the stage of the call forward registration.
Davidson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,868, discloses an automated call handling apparatus for use with one or more ISDN switches connected to telephone stations. A computer connected to the switching system responds to an associated message indicating an incoming call to one of the stations by selecting an alternate destination station and transmitting digital messages to cause the switching system to forward the incoming call to the selected alternate destination. Incoming calls are forwarded in accordance with predefined criteria. The computer can answer an incoming call with a recorded message which may prompt a caller to leave a message.
Hanle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,511, describes conventional call forwarding schemes, including the enablement by a subscriber of the call forwarding feature by remote access. In the Hanle et al. arrangement, remote programming of a switch for call forwarding may be made by a subscriber on a high speed basis.
Conventional call forwarding service, as exemplified by the above described patents, generally permits the subscriber to effect reprogramming of the switch, or a computer associated with the switch, to control processing of calls directed to an individual subscriber line. The service is a switch feature wherein an incoming call will terminate on the line side of the switch and be forwarded to a programmed alternate destination. While the programming need not necessarily be undertaken from the telephone set associated with the subscriber line, each programming operation is performed for a single line or at most for a few lines or numbers.
The set up of the call forwarding service for a single line or number at one time is burdensome for subscribers having a large number of subscriber lines or numbers or, for example, subscribers having a PBX serving many extension sets. In the event of a Central Office failure, PBX failure, cable cut, fire, flood or other disaster, the subscriber would have to undertake a call forwarding set up procedure for each of the multitude of lines.
The ability to designate substitute call destinations for a large plurality of lines is desirable in many situations other than disaster conditions. A large business subscriber may require incoming calls to some or all lines of one department to be redirected to lines of one or more other departments. Such a subscriber may want to break the large organization into smaller sectors. A sector might be a floor, a department, a building or some breakdown less than the whole organization.
The organization may be dispersed over a wide geographical area. If sectors operate during different business hour schedules, it would be beneficial to redirect all incoming calls for sectors that are closed at a given time to other sectors that are open for business. A smaller business, on the other hand, may need to redirect calls to all of its lines to a single substitute location.
Conventional call forwarding severely limits the subscriber's ability to redirect incoming calls on such organizational bases. The need exists for redirecting with ease a large quantity of telephone numbers in groupings selected by the subscriber. For example, if calls are received in greater quantity than the incoming lines can handle at peak business hours, it would be desirable to have overflow calls redirected to a second location during such period. Similarly, if a redirected location is not capable of handling a full load of redirected calls, it would be desirable to have the ability to redirect such calls either on an apportioned basis to more than a single location, or on a selectable basis to multiple locations. Thus the party making an incoming call could be greeted with a recording such as: "We are experiencing a communication failure. If you press `1,` we will redirect you to our New Jersey office; press `2,` and we will redirect you to voice mail; press `3,` and we will redirect you to the Company operator." Another desirable feature would be to redirect calls on a selective basis depending on the identity of the calling party or number. Conventional call forwarding systems, however, fail to meet any of these needs.
The above discussed needs of a subscriber to service incoming calls to telephone lines which are not able to receive those calls exist even if the subscriber does not have operable secondary locations. In those instances, it would be desirable to be able to advise the caller that the dialed destination is not available for telephone conversation and to provide the caller an opportunity to leave an appropriate message. Conventional call forwarding devices do not permit redirection of a large number of telephone line destinations to a voice messaging service with, for example, messages for particular subscriber departments individually grouped.
Additional disadvantages of conventional call forwarding stem from the fact that the programming of the alternate location resides in the central office switch or a processor associated closely therewith. Voice or data calls are transmitted to and terminated at the switch and then forwarded. Lines that need not be used in the final voice or transmission connection are unnecessarily tied up. The time necessary to make the final connection over the diverted route is longer than would occur if the ultimate voice or data connection were made directly.

Method for concurrently establishing switch redirection for multiple lines of the public telephone network


The chroma key system discriminates background and non-background by color difference. Further, the chroma key system changes background color by illuminating the background via background illumination equipment, discriminates the changing background color as background, and thereby discriminates background from non-background. The chroma key system comprises a lighted control circuit operable to control the background illumination equipment so as to provide a color changeable illumination to the background, and a background discriminating and swapping circuit operable to discriminate the subject from the background using information within an image signal based on the color changeable illumination of the background.

This application is based on application No.10-251995 filed in Japan on Aug. 22, 1998, the content of which incorporated hereinto by reference.
This invention relates to a chroma key system which replaces background with a separately input image. A chroma key system is shown in FIG. 1. A chroma key system discriminates non-background, such as a human, from the background region of a picture input from a television camera 30. The detected background is replaced by a replacement image separately input from a video tape recorder, a laser disk, or another television camera. Since background is replaced with a different image when a chroma key system is used, it finds use in various applications. For example, a superimposed image of a commentator in front of a country""s weather map is possible, or the commentator""s background can be made into an entirely different scenery.
Prior art chroma key systems discriminate background from non-background by establishing a specific color for the background. In these systems, regions of specified color are taken as background, and regions of color different from the background color are taken as non-background. This discriminates non-background from background. Almost without exception, prior art systems specify blue as the background color, and discriminate blue regions as background and regions that are not blue as non-background.
As described above, prior art chroma key systems which discriminate background from non-background, have the drawback that non-background regions with the same color as the background are mistakenly taken to be in the background. For example, if a non-background commentator wears a necktie with the same color as the background, the necktie will be mistakenly determined to be background. This has the drawback that the region of the commentator""s necktie will be changed into the replacement image. To avoid this problem, prior art requires care that every part of the non-background is not the same color as the background. This has the drawback of putting restrictions on the color of the non-background. In actuality, it is difficult to always make every part of the non-background a different color than the background. This is because the type of subject captured by the camera as non-background is not predetermined.
Therefore, prior art chroma key systems have drawbacks such as mistaken detection of one part of non-background as background and input of another image into that part.
The present invention was developed with the object of solving these types of problems with prior art chroma key systems. Thus a primary object of the present invention is to provide a chroma key system which eliminates non-background color restrictions, and which can accurately discriminate background with the data necessary for image synthesis in the background region screen even, for example, if a map, etc. is displayed or the studio set is used in place of a screen.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.
The chroma key system of the present invention discriminates background from non-background by color differences. Further, the chroma key system of the present invention does not use a background which always has the same color, but rather is characterized by changing the background color. The changing background color is determined to discriminate background from non-background. The chroma key system of the present invention does not discriminate unchanging color as background. Background is discriminated by changing color under specified conditions. Therefore, the probability of a region of non-background changing color according to the same specified conditions as the changing background color is, in actual practice, approximately equal to zero. Even in the hypothetical case where a non-background region changed color according to the same conditions as the background, background and non-background regions could be correctly discriminated by controlling color changing conditions to be different than that of the non-background.
This type of chroma key system has the characteristic that non-background color restrictions are eliminated and background can be reliably and accurately discriminated. Further, since background and non-background can be discriminated by varying or flashing light in the background region, the system is characterized by allowing information necessary for image synthesis to be displayed on a background screen. In addition, since background can be discriminated when it is varied or flashed according to specified conditions, the background region is not restricted to a screen. Therefore, the system has the characteristic that even the studio set can be used as background. This is because the chroma key system of the present invention does not specify a background color, but rather changes background color and discriminates change in color as background.
The chroma key system of the present invention changes background color by illuminating the background via background illumination equipment. The chroma key system of the present invention uses devices such as light emitting diodes (LED""s), projection television, etc. either alone or in combination as background illumination equipment. Further, in the chroma key system of the present invention, the background may be a television monitor wherein background color is changed by the television monitor. An image display cathode ray tube monitor or an array of many LED""s for full color image display can be used.
The chroma key system of the present invention is provided with background illumination equipment to provide light on the background, a television camera to capture non-background and background, and a background discrimination and swapping circuit to discriminate background from television camera output and replace background regions with a different replacement image. The background discrimination and swapping circuit controls the background illumination equipment to change background color, and discriminates the changing background color to distinguish background regions.
The background discrimination and swapping circuit of the chroma key system of the present invention is configured with a lighting/image control signal generation circuit, a lighting control circuit which changes background color by controlling background illumination equipment via a light control signal output from the lighting/image control signal generation circuit, and a key signal generation and image signal swapping circuit which discriminates background from a discrimination signal output from the lighting/image control signal generation circuit and from the image signal output from the television camera and replaces the background with a replacement image.
In the chroma key system of the present invention, the background illumination equipment may be a projection television. The lighting/image control signal generation circuit outputs a background image signal to the projection television as the light control signal. The key signal generation and image signal swapping circuit discriminates background from the background image signal and from the image signal output from the television camera and replaces the background with a replacement image.

Chroma key system for discriminating between a subject and a background of the subject based on a changing background color


A method and apparatus for providing the user of a computing device displaying information to control the navigational aspects of the displaying while retaining ease of use and other desireable characteristics. Specifically, the user is provided with an opaque box having a dot located in the center which can be dragged and dropped. The dragging and dropping of the dot controlling the distance and direction with which the information is moved.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses which provide means for moving information that is displayed within a window.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of personal computers and their counterparts (e.g. personal digital assistants) has created a new found love by the consumer for ever increased speed, functionality, and of course decreased size.
Anyone who has ever operated these miniature, sometimes fully functional, computers has first hand knowledge that while they provide increased portability, they unfortunately also provide a corresponding miniature display. The smaller display, of course, limits the amount of screen real estate available for presenting information.
The problems associated with presenting information to the user for these type of devices have been recognized, and attempts have been made to alleviate them. In fact, various improvements have been provided over the years that allow the user better and easier access (e.g. windows, scroll bars etc.) to the displayed information. Although these improvements have increased the ability of the user to access the displayed information, they still lack the required navigational functionality while retaining speed and ease of use by the user.
It would, therefore, be a distinct advantage to have a method and apparatus which would provide improved navigational functionality for window type environments. The present invention provides such a method and system.

Method and apparatus for moving information displayed in a window

International Business Machines Corporation


A multi-purpose pneumatic tool combining the functions of an air blow gun, an air regulator, a tire chuck and a swivel connector includes a casing, a control body and a bolt assembly. The control body is provided with respective holes and connectors for screwably locking an air blow gun, a control body, a tire chuck and a control button. A bolt assembly couples the casing to the control body such that the control body and the casing may rotate freely with the bolt assembly as a pivotal center. The air blow gun may also perform free rotation along another axis. The multi-purpose pneumatic tool may also assembly to other tool to widen its applications.

(a) Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates generally to a pneumatic tool, and more particularly to a multi-purpose pneumatic tool.
(b) Description of the Prior Art:
There are numerous kinds of pneumatic tools using compressed air as power, such as air blow guns, tire chucks, stapling guns, etc. But, as is well known, these pneumatic tools generally have only a single function. One such pneumatic tool is shown in FIG. 1. A pneumatic stapling gun 99 is connected to an air hose 90 by means of a connector 91, and compressed air is conducted into the interior of the stapling gun 99 for use. However, there have been known at least the following drawbacks with such prior art:
1. As use of the connector 91 to associate the stapling gun 99 with the air hose 90 is to fixedly secure them both. Therefore, in use, the air hose 90 cannot revolve to match the jobs, and the connector 91 is also immovable. As a result, the air hose 90 may easily get entangled, causing inconvenience to the operator.
2. The connector 91 itself does not have other functions than as a means of connection. It often has to be replaced when serving for other purposes. Even in the case of air blow guns, it has to be mounted anew, which is very inconvenient indeed.
3. As the connector 91 has to be removed from or coupled to pneumatic tools in different jobs, the connector 91 will wear fast, which may result in air leakage and reduce the life of the connector 91.
4. Different pneumatic tools require different amount of air flow. As the air flow from the air hose 90 cannot be controlled, the components of the pneumatic tools may be easily damaged, affecting the life thereof.


A contact assembly includes a bifurcated contact and a mating contact. The bifurcated contact is elongated along a longitudinal axis with contact tips protruding from a common end of the bifurcated contact. The mating contact has an outer end and a body elongated along a major axis. The body includes a mating surface along a front face of the body. The outer end includes angled lead-in ramps that form transitions from the outer end to the mating surface. The lead-in ramps extend away from one another toward opposite sides of the mating contact. The bifurcated contact and the mating contact engage one another such that the contact tips of the bifurcated contact are directed along corresponding different lead-in ramps of the mating contact.

The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to contacts in connectors that engage one another to electrically couple the connectors.
Electrical connectors include contacts shaped to mate with contacts of one or more other connectors to electrically couple the connectors. Some known connectors include housings that hold the contacts. The connector housings may include alignment features such as protruding polarization features. The alignment features of one connector engage corresponding alignment features of another connector to align the connectors with one another. The alignment of the connector housings helps to align the contacts in each connector with one another. When the contacts are aligned with one another, the contacts may electrically couple the connectors.
Relying on alignment between contacts and alignment features of a connector and alignment between the alignment features of the connector and a mating connector to mate the connectors adds to the complexity of manufacturing the connectors. The tolerances involved in placing the contacts in the housing relative to the alignment features may be relatively small. Moreover, due to manufacturing error, plastic deformation of connectors and/or contacts, and the like, contacts in the connectors may not properly align with one another when the connectors mate. For example, the contacts in a first connector may not be aligned with respect to the alignment features of the first connector. As a result, while the housing of first connector may properly align with a second connector, the contacts in the first connector may not be aligned with the contacts in the second connector. The misalignment of the contacts can degrade performance of the connectors. The integrity of signals communicated using the contacts may be damaged or the contact may fail to electrically couple the connectors, for example.
A need exists for connectors having contacts that align with contacts in mating connectors. Relying on the contacts in a connector to align with contacts in another connector may permit for relaxed manufacturing tolerances involved in placing the contacts in the connectors. Additionally, such self-aligning contacts may provide for more reliable and repeatable electrical connections between mated connectors.


A thoracic stent graft (20) has a tubular bio-compatible graft material body (22) with a lumen therethrough with a proximal end (26) and a distal end (27). There is a sealing stent (28) at the proximal end of the tubular body with an anchoring device which may be a barb (30) affixed to the sealing stent. A distal attachment stent (34) with barbs (36) can be affixed to and extend from the distal end (27) of the graft material body. Intermediate stents (24) are provided along the length of the body. The thoracic stent graft can be in one or two portions.

Throughout this specification the term distal with respect to a portion of the aorta, a deployment device or a prosthesis is intended to refer to the end of the aorta, deployment device or prosthesis further away in the direction of blood flow away from the heart and the term proximal is intended to refer to the portion of the aorta, deployment device or end of the prosthesis nearer to the heart. When applied to other vessels corresponding terms such as caudal and cranial should be understood.
In recent years, endovascular implantable devices have been developed for treatment of aortic aneurysms, wherein the devices are delivered to the treatment site through the vascular system of the patient rather than by open surgery. Such devices generally include a tubular or cylindrical frame work or scaffolding of one or more stents to which is secured a tubular shape of graft material such as woven DACRON polyester (trade mark of E I Dupont de Nemours and Co.), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and the like. These devices are initially reduced to a small diameter and placed into the leading or proximal end of a catheter delivery system. The delivery system is inserted into the vascular system of the patient such as through a femoral incision. The leading end of the delivery system is maneuvered to the treatment site over a previously positioned guide wire. Through manipulation of control systems that extends to the proximal end of the catheter from the distal end of the system outside the patient, the device is then deployed by holding the device at its location and withdrawing the surrounding sheath, whereafter the stent graft self expands or is expanded through use of a balloon therewith that is expanded. The stent graft becomes anchored in position to healthy vessel wall tissue in the aorta such as by barbs, whereafter the delivery system is then removed leaving the device in position traversing the aneurysm in a manner that channels all blood flow through the stent graft so that no blood flow enters the aneurysm thereafter, such that not only does the aneurysm no longer continue to grow and possibly rupture but the aneurysm actually beings to shrink and commonly disappears entirely.
For treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms in particular, bifurcated stent grafts are known wherein a pair of leg sections extend from the end of the stent graft and are disposed in the iliac arteries in the bifurcation of the aorta and iliac arteries, while the opposite end of the stent graft is anchored to the aorta wall adjacent to the renal arteries, usually by means of an attachment stent having barbs that penetrate harmlessly into the vessel wall so that blood flow does not displace the stent graft from its precise location. One such bifurcation stent graft is the ZENITH AAA stent graft sold by William A. Cook Australia Pty Ltd., Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Another example of such a stent graft is disclosed in PCT Publication No. WO 98/53761 in which the stent graft includes a sleeve or tube of biocompatible graft material defining a lumen, and further includes several stents secured therealong, with the stent graft spanning the aneurysm extending along the aorta proximally (ie towards the heart) from the two iliac arteries. The reference also discloses the manner of deploying the stent graft in the patient utilizing an introducer assembly. The graft material-covered portion of the single-lumen proximal end of the stent graft bears against the wall of the aorta above the aneurysm to seal the aneurysm at a location that is spaced distally (ie away from the heart) of the entrances to the renal arteries. Thin wire struts of a proximal stent extension traverse the renal artery entrances without occluding them, since no graft material is utilized along that portion of the proximal stent, while securing the stent graft in position within the aorta when the stent graft self-expands. An extension is affixed to one of the legs of the stent graft to extend along a respective iliac artery and, optionally, extensions may be affixed to both legs.
However, for an aneurysm that develops in the thoracic arch of the aorta, stent grafts are needed that are deployable to extend along the substantial curvature of the arch without occluding the main branch vessels joined to the aorta along the arch's curve, all of which may be involved in and compromised by the aneurysm.


A nickel and/or cobalt deposition process which can be run at a nearly neutral pH and which rapidly deposits nickel and/or cobalt in quantities large enough to improve the paint adhesion and post coating corrosion resistance, and which has a good solution stability, is achieved by treating zinc coated sheet steel with an aqueous solution that has a pH between 5 and 10 inclusive and comprises (A) a total of at least 0.01 g/L of metal ions selected from the group consisting of Ni.sup.2+ and Co.sup.2+ ions and (B) a sufficient amount to fully complex the metal ions recited in part (A) of complexing agents selected from the group consisting of ammonia and organic compounds having at least one amino group in the neutral region.. The substitution precipitation reaction of nickel and cobalt is substantially accelerated by the presence, as a third component in addition to the metal ion and complexing agent, of at least one ionic species or compound selected from the nitrite ion, nitrate ion, thiocyanate ion, thiosulfate ion, thiourea, phosphite ion, hypophosphite ion, and perchlorate ion.

It has long been known that the paint adhesion and post-coating corrosion resistance can be improved through chemical treatments in which a heavy metal and/or compound thereof is deposited on the surface of zinc coated steel sheet. Examples from the art in this regard are (1) Japanese Patent Publication Number 52-22618 (22,618/77] and (2) Japanese Patent Publication Number 43-12974 [12,974/68]. Both of these concern the deposition of a heavy metal, such as nickel, cobalt, iron, or the like, onto galvanized steel sheet. Heavy metal or oxide thereof is deposited onto zinc coated steel sheet by treatment in the acidic range at pH 2 according to the invention of reference (1) and by treatment in the alkaline range at a pH of at least 11 according to the invention of reference (2). A disadvantage accruing to each of these prior art references is the occurrence of excessive etching of the zinc (an amphoteric metal) by the H.sup.+ ion or OH.sup.- ion. This results in a degradation in the performance of the end product, for example, a decline in corrosion resistance.
Thus, methods are already known for improving the adhesion of coatings (e. g., paints, laminates, ceramic coatings, etc.) to the substrate through the substitution precipitation of cobalt or nickel onto zinc coated steel sheet, but in each case the prior treatment solution, being acidic or alkaline, etches the zinc substrate too much, with a resulting decline in performance, for example, in corrosion resistance. On the other hand, while excessive etching does not occur in the neutral pH region, the corresponding rate of metal substitution precipitation is so slow as to be useless for practical applications.

Surface treatment method and composition for zinc coated steel sheet


The liquid crystal display device comprising a pair of substrates with alignment layers formed thereon, and a liquid crystal filled between the substrates. Each pixel has pixel display portions CA, CB and non-display portions DA, EA, DB, EB. The pixel display portions are treated for realizing alignment in a different manner from the non-display portions and the alignment of the pixel display portions is controlled by the alignment of the non-display portions. Moreover, the alignment treatment is executed by the irradiation with ultraviolet rays in an inclined direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technology for alignment-treating the alignment layers of a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device includes a pair of spaced and opposed substrates, an electrode and an alignment layer formed on one substrate, an electrode and an alignment layer formed on the other substrate, and a liquid crystal held between the pair of substrates. The electrode of one substrate is formed as a common electrode, and the electrode of the other substrate is formed as pixel electrodes. The pixel electrodes can be formed together with an active matrix. Either one of the substrates is provided with a black matrix and a color filter.
When the liquid crystal display device is viewed, the portions of pixel electrodes become bright and dark depending upon the presence and absence of a voltage. That is, the pixel electrodes define the pixel display portions. The openings of the black matrix are arranged to overlap the pixel electrodes, and have areas smaller than the areas of the pixel electrodes. When the black matrix is provided, therefore, the pixel display portions are defined by the openings of the black matrix. In either case, the portions around the pixel display portions are non-display portions.
The alignment layers can be grouped into horizontal alignment layers and vertical alignment layers. When the horizontal alignment layers are used, the liquid crystal molecules are oriented nearly parallel to the surface of the substrate. Upon applying a voltage, therefore, the liquid crystal molecules are tilted with respect to the surface of the substrate. When the vertical alignment layers are used, the liquid crystal molecules are oriented nearly perpendicularly to the surface of the substrate. Upon applying a voltage, therefore, the liquid crystal molecules are tilted obliquely to the surface of the substrate. In either case, the alignment layers are alignment-treated by a process such as being rubbed. In the case of a TN-type liquid crystal display device, the liquid crystal twists from one alignment layer toward the other alignment layer. Upon effecting the rubbing, furthermore, the liquid crystal molecules are in a pretilt position with a pretilt angle with respect to the alignment layer.
In the TN-type liquid crystal display device, as viewed in its assembled state, the two alignment layers are rubbed in directions forming a predetermined angle (90 degrees) relative to each other, so that the liquid crystal twists from one alignment layer toward the other alignment layer. Here, when it is regarded that the liquid crystal molecules are oriented in a plane, by neglecting the twist, the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near one alignment layer is the same as the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near the other alignment layer, whereby the liquid crystal molecules positioned between the alignment layers are oriented according to the pretilt directions of liquid crystal molecules positioned near the two alignment layers.
If the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near one alignment layer is opposite to the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near the other alignment layer, the intermediately positioned liquid crystal molecules may not be tilted in a predetermined direction because it is not certain that the liquid crystal molecules depend on any of the pretilt directions of liquid crystal molecules positioned near these alignment layers. The state of alignment becomes a spray-alignment when the pretilt angle of the alignment layer is close to the horizontal alignment, and becomes a bend-alignment when the pretilt angle of the alignment layer is higher than, for example, 30° or is close to the vertical alignment.
However, the assignee as for the present case has proposed the fact that even when the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near one alignment layer is opposite to the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules positioned near the other alignment layer, if there is a difference between the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules near one alignment layer and the pretilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules near the other alignment layer, the intermediate liquid crystal molecules are oriented depending on the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules having a larger pretilt angle (or a smaller pretilt angle). The assignee has utilized this fact in the alignment division that will be described below. When the horizontal alignment layers are used, the intermediate liquid crystal molecules are oriented depending on the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules having a larger pretilt angle. When the vertical alignment layers are used, the intermediately positioned liquid crystal molecules are oriented depending on the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules having a smaller pretilt angle.
The liquid crystal display device involves a problem of a so-called visual angle characteristic in which the display device appears whitish or blackish depending upon the direction from which the display surface is viewed. Technology for dividing alignment has been proposed for improving the problem of the visual angle characteristic. The alignment division consists of dividing a pixel into two domains, so that the liquid crystal molecules positioned between the two alignment layers in one domain are tilted in one direction and the liquid crystal molecules positioned between the two alignment layers in the other domain are tilted in the other direction. A whitish appearance and a blackish appearance are averaged by the alignment division, and a favorable display is obtained irrespective of the direction from which the display surface is viewed. To effect the alignment division, however, the alignment layer must be rubbed for each domain, and the alignment layers must be rubbed twice using a mask.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,455, assigned to the assignee of the present case, discloses various technologies for the alignment division. A particularly advantageous technology consists of effecting the alignment division by rubbing each alignment layer once. According to this technology for the alignment division, each alignment layer is rubbed and irradiated with ultraviolet rays via a mask. In the portions that are not irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the liquid crystal molecules are oriented at a first pretilt angle due to the effect of rubbing. In the portions irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the liquid crystal molecules are oriented at a second pretilt angle which is greater (or smaller) thus the first pretilt angle. A portion of one alignment layer having the first pretilt angle is arranged to be opposed to a portion of the other alignment layer having the second pretilt angle. The rubbing of the two alignment layers forms a bend-alignment or a spray-alignment. However, the intermediately positioned liquid crystal molecules are oriented according to the pretilt direction of the liquid crystal molecules having a particular pretilt angle since there exists a difference between the pretilt angles of the liquid crystal molecules near the two alignment layers. The solid portion of the mask and the opening appear alternatingly, and the directions of alignment of the liquid crystal alternate correspondingly.
The liquid crystal display device has pixel display portions and non-display portions. Here, the pixel display portions and the non-display portions are rubbed simultaneously. However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-152638 proposes an alignment treatment in which the anchoring energy for the non-display portions is larger than the anchoring energy for the pixel display portions. According to this publication, in a state where a predetermined voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules are easily erected in the pixel display portions but the liquid crystal molecules are less easily erected in the non-display portions and are not affected by a voltage of a bus line applied to the non-display portions.
There exists a further problem in rubbing. The rubbing consists of rubbing the alignment layer with a cloth made of, for example, rayon, but dirt is produced as the cloth is brought into a clean room. Besides, the rubbing generates static electricity which may destroy TFTs (thin-film transistors) in the active matrix. It has therefore been desired to execute the alignment treatment by, for example, irradiation with ultraviolet rays instead of rubbing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,941 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 6-289374 and No. 8-015681, for example, disclose an alignment treatment using polarized ultraviolet rays. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,941, a homogeneously oriented liquid crystal cell is partly irradiated with polarized ultraviolet rays so that the direction of alignment of the irradiated portion becomes different from the initial direction of homogeneous alignment. According to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 6-289374 and No. 8-015681, a mesh-like polymer tissue (PPN) that can be optically oriented is irradiated with perpendicularly polarized ultraviolet rays in order to realize the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. With this method, however, a problem exists in that polarized ultraviolet rays must be used. A polarizer of the Glen-Taylor type is available for obtaining the polarized ultraviolet rays. However, the Glen-Taylor type polarizer is obtained by cutting a natural calcite and is not suited for practical use. It has therefore been desired to effect the alignment treatment by using non-polarized ultraviolet rays.
When the pixel display portions of the opposing alignment layers are differently oriented, the electric charge remains in large amounts near one alignment layer when a voltage is applied to a given pixel, while the liquid crystal display device is being used, and is then no longer applied. Even in a state where the voltage is no longer applied, the image that was previously displayed remains slightly visible due to the residual electric charge. When the alignment is divided by using ultraviolet rays, in particular, the one alignment layer includes a portion irradiated with ultraviolet rays and the other opposing alignment layer includes a portion that is not irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Therefore, a difference develops in the alignment treatment between the opposing portions of the two alignment layers, and the electric charge tends to remain in large amounts near one of the alignment layers.

Alignment treatment of liquid crystal display device


Provided are systems and methods enabling enrollment in promotions via a tokenization platform. In one example, the method may include establishing a network communication channel between a tokenization platform and a digital wallet of a user device, transmitting a promotion from the tokenization platform to the digital wallet on the user device via the established network communication channel, receiving authorization to accept the promotion at the tokenization platform from the digital wallet on the user device, and identifying tokenized payment account information of the digital wallet stored at the tokenization platform and automatically transmitting information about the tokenized payment account information of the digital wallet information from the tokenization platform to a promotion enrollment system associated with the promotion. The example embodiments use existing payment network infrastructure to provide seamless promotional enrollment through a tokenization platform instead of a standalone website.

Digital wallets are emerging as a more beneficial way to transact payments in comparison to traditional plastic cards. Digital wallet applications may be installed on a mobile device such as a smartphone, a tablet, a smart wearable, and the like, and can interact with a secure element or trusted execution environment on the mobile device to store payment-related data. Some of the benefits provided by a digital wallet include that card details do not need to be revealed during a transaction with unknown merchants, multiple payment cards can be stored and available in one place, strong marketing campaigns can be provided to wallet users from wallet providers and card issuers, ease of doing transactions without a PIN, a convenient ability to track spending on the mobile device, and ease of enrolling, setting up, and collecting payments on behalf of merchants.
To assist consumers in migrating from traditional plastic cards to digital wallets, promotions and other opportunities may be attached to digital wallets/cards by issuers, wallet providers, etc. An example of a promotion is a cashback reward which is provided to a cardholder after a certain amount of transactions or spending amount has been reached. However, to enroll in a promotion, a digital wallet user must visit a standalone website (outside of the digital wallet) which is associated with the promotion and enroll their digital wallet and payment card by entering sensitive information such as card data, personal information, and the like. Furthermore, in order for promotions to be monitored, a promotion monitoring server must scan a transaction repository and identify transactions associated with each user. The scanning is performed after-the-fact and subsequently credits the promotional benefit to the user's account days or even weeks later. Accordingly, what is needed is a better way for enabling promotions through a digital wallet.
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated or adjusted for clarity, illustration, and/or convenience.

Digital wallet promotions through tokenization platform


A disclosed method may include (1) generating a test packet that includes an inner packet encapsulated within an outer packet, (2) adding, to the test packet, an amount of padding data that increases a total size of the test packet to a certain threshold, (3) forwarding, via a transport layer protocol, the test packet along a network path that leads from a source node to a destination node by way of a tunnel, (4) receiving the inner packet from the destination node after the destination node extracts the inner packet from the test packet, and (5) determining, based at least in part on receiving the inner packet from the destination node, that a maximum transmission unit of the network path is greater than or equal to the total size of the test packet as increased by the amount of padding data. Various other apparatuses, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Network devices may include various interfaces that have different Maximum Transmission Units (MTUs). In this context, the MTU may represent and/or refer to the size of the largest packet capable of being transmitted via a certain interface. In some network paths, interfaces of one or more devices along the path may have different MTUs. For example, a source device at the beginning of a network path may have an MTU of 2000 bytes, while an intermediary device in the middle of the network path may have an MTU of 1400 bytes. Accordingly, the intermediary device may need to fragment packets of over 1400 bytes into segments of 1400 bytes or less before being able to forward the packets to the next downstream device in the path. When each fragmented segment of a packet reaches the destination device of the network path, the destination device may reassemble the segments to produce the original packet.
Unfortunately, the process of fragmenting and reassembling packets may be costly and/or time-intensive. For example, transmitting multiple packet segments may be less efficient than transmitting a single, larger packet. Moreover, some packets may be formatted or configured to prohibit and/or prevent fragmentation. For example, some packets may contain a flag or other notification that indicates, to devices within a network path, that the packets are to be dropped instead of fragmented upon reaching a device with an MTU smaller than the size of the packets. As a result, these packets may be unable to reach their intended destinations.
To avoid both fragmented and dropped packets, network devices and/or network administrators may implement a variety of techniques to determine a path MTU (PMTU) of a network path. Packets sized to comply with or correspond to this value may be transmitted along the path without being dropped or fragmented. However, traditional methods for PMTU discovery may be unable to determine the PMTU of certain types of network paths. For example, a conventional PMTU discovery system may determine the PMTU of a network path by forwarding test packets along the network path and receiving error messages in return (e.g., Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) error messages). Network paths that are protected by firewalls or other types of packet filters may block or drop the test packets and/or the returned error packets. In addition, some PMTU discovery systems may not be capable of forwarding packets across network interfaces (e.g., via tunnels). As a result, traditional PMTU discovery services may fail to identify PMTUs in various situations, thereby impeding the flow of traffic within or across networks.
The instant disclosure, therefore, identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved apparatuses, systems, and methods for discovering PMTUs.

Apparatus, system, and method for discovering path maximum transmission units


A content distribution system, a content distribution method and a terminal device are capable of effectively preventing disadvantages of users who formally bought content. In the content system in which a distribution server and a terminal device are connected through a network, even content is taken out from a storage means of the terminal device to the outside later, the content always carries user identification information, so that even the user having the content distributes the content over the network illegally, the distributor of the content can be found with sure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a content distribution system, a content distribution method and a terminal device, and more particularly, is suitably applied to a content distribution system using the Internet or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a content distribution system of this kind, a distribution server distributes data (hereinafter, referred to as content) to a requesting user's personal terminal out of many personal terminals connected to the server through a network such as the Internet, the content composed of material data such as text, video and audio based on a scenario.
At this time, such a cipher system is generally adapted that the distribution server encrypts the content before transmission and the user's personal terminal is allowed to display the content only when it can decrypt the encrypted content received through the network.
In the content distribution system adapting such cipher system, however, a user views content after decryption, so that if the content stored on the hard disk or in an external memory of his/her personal terminal is taken out to the outside, or if the content is published over the network, the content can be illegally copied and it is difficult to prevent such data leakage.
Even if illegally-copied content or content which is illegally published over the network is detected, it is difficult to find a person which illegally obtained the content and to certify the identity of the content. Therefore, to prevent this illegal data leakage, some actions beyond legal regulations should be done.
In addition, because easy digital copy can create content which is completely the same as the original, what we can do is to strictly protect copyright. As a result, users should follow more strict usage rule than before, and more users who formally bought content are not satisfied with the rule.

Content distribution system, content distribution method and terminal device


A system for optimizing warm-up time of a display device may include a display device including a display substrate configured to display at least one image, the display substrate including a first display zone and at least one additional display zone. The display device may further include one or more heating layers including a first heating layer portion and at least one additional heating layer portion. The system may further include a controller configured to: generate a first electrical current within the first heating layer portion in order to increase a temperature of the first display zone of the display substrate; and generate at least one additional electrical current within the at least one additional heating layer portion in order to increase a temperature of the at least one additional display zone of the display substrate.

Many display devices require lengthy warm-up time requirements in order for the display devices to reach adequate operating temperatures. Required warm-up times may be lengthened when the display devices are to be operated in cold environments. For example, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices may require lengthy warm-up times when started from a cold state in order to reach sufficient operating temperatures required for the LCD device to produce sufficient ranges of colors, contrasts, and luminance levels.
Next-generation aircraft are being fitted with large-format display devices (e.g., large-format LCD devices). In the context of aviation, performance issues associated with lengthy warm-up times for display devices may pose a danger to both the aircraft and passengers/personnel aboard the aircraft. In particular, aircraft personnel have a need for display devices to be fully functional within minutes of power being provided to the display device. For example, warning signals indicative of a dangerous engine condition (e.g., overheating engine temperature) may be displayed in bright red on a display device within the aircraft cockpit. With lengthy warm-up times, the display device may not be able to reach an operating temperature capable of effectively displaying the bright red warning to aircraft personnel before an engine failure may be avoided. By the time the display device has warmed up sufficiently to effectively display the warning signals, the dangerous engine condition associated with the warning signals may be irreversible, potentially damaging the aircraft engine and endangering aircraft personnel and passengers.
Previous techniques used to improve warm-up time of display devices (e.g., LCD devices) have utilized heating layers used to warm-up display substrates of the display devices. However, previous techniques used to improve warm-up times are expensive and unable to match the scale of increasingly large displays. In particular, as the size of aircraft cockpit display devices continue to increase, the amount of power consumption required with previous techniques must scale accordingly. This increased power consumption increases heater size and cost, and oftentimes exceeds the available power of the aircraft. Thus, previous display heating techniques are unbale to be utilized with growing aircraft display devices.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method which cure one or more of the shortcomings identified above.

System and method for optimizing warm-up time on large format displays


An inflatable toy device is disclosed, the toy including a base portion, the base portion having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet covered by a removable surface; an inflatable object disposed within the base portion when not inflated, the inflatable object being fluidly connected to the inlet; a hand pump fluidly connected to the inlet, the hand pump configured to create air pressure to inflate the inflatable object; wherein the inflatable object protrudes from the base portion outlet, thereby removing the removable surface, upon inflation. The toy device also may include an injectable object fluidly filled such that the injectable object protrudes from the base portion outlet upon being filled.

Small, inexpensive toys are well known in the children's toy marketplace. It is typical to find small, inexpensive toys in children's meal value packs commonly sold at quick-service restaurants, and such toys may be part of a collection, to encourage repeat sales such that a child may collect all of the toys of a collection. Toys of this nature often include small toy cars or devices having wheels that can propel the toy.
There exists a phenomenon in the children's toy marketplace wherein certain toys are sold in a closed box or bag without a complete description as to the toy. In the children's toy marketplace, these often are referred to as "blind bags," so named because children do not know what the specific toy is until opening the box or bag containing the toy. In this arrangement, much of the excitement of the toy is experienced upon the revealing of the toy.
Another phenomenon that exists in the children's toy marketplace is a toy having or including, or comprising, a low-viscosity fluid often referred to by children as "slime." The so-called "slime" often is colored, many times in bright colors, and may be scented or include certain solid objects suspended within the slime. Popular children's television shows and networks, or events, have made the use of slime exciting, and children may experience a tactile response from holding or kneading the slime.


At least one embodiment of the invention relates to a contact apparatus for SMT placement on a printed circuit board, the contact apparatus being provided for the electrically conductive connection to at least one conductor track on the printed circuit board. The contact apparatus includes a contact holder for accommodating the contact, and the contact of the contact apparatus is provided for the connection to at least one electrical mating contact. The contact apparatus is designed on an SMT basis and can therefore be produced inexpensively and fitted easily. According to at least one embodiment of the invention, the contact apparatus has a first housing part, the housing part having at least one elongate cutout for accommodating the contact holder, and at least one stop for the contact being integrally formed on the housing part, which stop is provided for the purpose of absorbing insertion forces when contact is made between the contact and an electrical mating contact.

A contact apparatus for SMT solder points (surface mounting technology) is employed in the fabrication technology for printed circuit boards. SMT modules, which are also referred to as flat modules, require a high level of standardization which is made possible by high-quality fabrication and component application techniques. Any simplification, for example reducing the individual parts of the flat modules, is of great advantage.
In the past, SMT has gained more and more prominence over "through-hole technology" (THT) owing to simple fabrication, even though the strength of the SMT solder point is less by a factor of 5 to 10 than that of a THT solder point. On the other hand, SMT obviates holes in the circuit board and saves on at least one working step and elaborate soldering methods. A great disadvantage of SMT is that it is usually unsuitable for certain components, such as insertion connections or heavy components, for which a high mechanical load occurs on the solder points. For this reason the tried and tested, albeit more laborious, THT is nowadays often resorted to for heavy components and insertion connections as before.
Nevertheless, for certain problematic components it is possible to circumvent THT. SMT insertion connections, for example, which are intended to establish electrical contact of mating contacts (contacts outside the printed circuit board) with conductor tracks of the printed circuit board, require auxiliary designs in order to ensure stable anchorage on the printed circuit board. If such an auxiliary design is not available, then SMT insertion connections do not generally provide the required stability in order to absorb the mechanical load, or the flow of force cannot be dissipated to more stable components. In order to counter this problem, lug-like apparatuses which are aligned vertically to the printed circuit board as auxiliary designs, and are used to position the insertion connection, may simultaneously be used for absorbing the mechanical loads parallel to the printed circuit board. For this reason, an insertion connection is in general usually configured so that the movement of the insertion process is carried out parallel to the printed circuit board so as to relieve the load from the SMT solder points.
EP 0874421A1discloses a plug-in connector which can be connected mechanically and electrically to a printed circuit board via SMT solder points in one working step. Lugs, which are sunk into the printed circuit board and are used as mechanical protection, are provided on the plug-in connector in order to protect the SMT solder points. The insertion movement is carried out parallel to the printed circuit board and perpendicularly to the lugs—as described in the previous section.
US 2003/0224653 A1discloses an electrical connector, which comprises an insulating housing and can be installed on a printed circuit board. It has a series of terminals, which can be contacted by conductor tracks of the printed circuit board.

Contact apparatus for minimizing the load of mechanically loaded SMT soldered joints


The cDNA encoding safener binding protein (SafBP), also referred to as SBP1, is set forth in FIG. 5 and SEQ ID No. 1. The deduced amino acid sequence is provided in FIG. 5 and SEQ ID No. 2. Methods of making and using SBP1 and SafBP to alter a plant's sensitivity to certain herbicides or a plant's responsiveness to certain safeners are also provided, as well as expression vectors, transgenic plants or other organisms transfected with said vectors and seeds from said plants.

Conferring resistance of plants to either their natural enemies or to those compounds used to protect them from their natural enemies has been accomplished through the techniques of genetic engineering. U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,863 teaches a method of conferring pest resistance by creating genetically transformed plants through the use of trypsin inhibitors derived from legume plants. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,096 describes isolated toxin genes derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which may be used to provide transformed plants with resistance to certain insects.
With respect to herbicide resistance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,926 teaches the isolation and purification of the plant histidinol dehydrogenase, as well as assays to detect inhibitors of histidinol dehydrogenase (e.g., herbicides) and mutant forms of the wild-type enzyme not inhibited by inhibitors. Transgenic crop plants may thus be produced, containing the non-inhibited mutant enzyme, and these crops may be treated with histidinol dehydrogenase inhibitors to treat weeds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,777 teaches conferring resistance to herbicidal glutamine synthetase inhibitors by amplification of the glutamine synthetase gene by linking it to a sequence which is capable of increasing the expression of the gene. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,268 describes conferring resistance to phosphinothricin, a potent glutamine synthetase inhibitor used in herbicides, through the isolation of phosphinothricin resistance genes and processes of producing plants which are transformed with such genes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,296 teaches isolated DNA sequences encoding herbicide-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes and iron-sulfur proteins which assist these enzymes by donating electrons. Both the enzymes and helper proteins may be utilized to transform plants into having the ability to break down herbicides, thus conferring herbicide resistance.
Herbicide safeners, also known as antidodes, are used to protect plants against injury from herbicides. Widely used herbicide safeners include the dichloroacetamides such as dichlormid (R-25788), which are used in combination with thiocarbamate herbicides (e.g., EPTC) and chloroacetanilide herbicides (e.g., metolachlor), on maize and sorghum (FIG. 1). The mode of action of safeners is associated with their ability to stimulate glutathione (GSH)-mediated detoxification of herbicides (Lay, M.-M. et al., Science 189:287-289 (1975)), although the mechanism by which they induce this is unclear.
Etiolated maize seedlings have high-affinity binding activity for the dichloroacetamide safener R-29148 ((R,S)-3-dichloroacetyl-2,2,5-trimethyloxazolidine). Walton, J. D. and Casida, J. E., Plant Physiol. 109:213-219 (1995). R-29148 (Saf) is a commercially used dichloroacetamide safener and is shown in FIG. 1. The characterization of a soluble, high affinity (K.sub.d =120 nM) safener binding activity (SafBA) for [.sup.3 H]Saf in extracts of etiolated maize seedlings has been reported. Walton, J. D. and Casida, J. E., Plant Physiol. 109:213-219 (1995). SafBA is sensitive to boiling and protease treatment. Although present in all tissues of the etiolated seedling, SafBA is most abundant in the coleoptile. There is good correlation between inhibition of binding and safener action among a series of Saf analogs, with dichlormid being the strongest binding antagonist of any compound tested (IC.sub.50 10 nM, IC.sub.50 =inhibitor concentration that reduces specific binding by 50%).
It would thus be desirable to provide the gene responsible for SafBA. It would also be desirable to isolate and purify the gene product. It would also be desirable to control SafBA in plants. It would further be desirable to control SafBA in plants by controlling the expression of the gene encoding the protein responsible for SafBA. It would also be desirable to transform plants using the gene in order to alter their sensitivity to herbicides. It would also be desirable to acquire long-term control over SafBA in plants to provide safener responsiveness in plants which are not safener responsive, and increase safener responsiveness in plants which are safener responsive. It would additionally be desirable to provide an in vitro assay to screen for new herbicides and safeners.

Gene encoding herbicide safener binding protein

Board of Trustees Operating Michigan State University


A method for the repair of the overbraid for metal overbraided wiring harness is provided. The method requires no special wiring harness design, uses readily available materials and can be accomplished without removing the wiring harness. The method involves trimming around the damaged area, spreading the braid to expose a repair area, covering the repair area with a metal cover and then covering the repair area with wire screen mesh. Finally, the mesh is secured onto the wiring harness. Also provided is a metal overbraid wiring harness having been repaired with the method of the present invention.

This invention relates generally to methods of repairing electrical wiring harnesses and, more specifically, to methods of repairing the overbraid for metal overbraided wiring harnesses.
Wiring harnesses are used in the operation of most engines to electrically couple the engine and associated equipment to one another. In aircraft jet engines, the wiring of the harnesses is often protected by an outer metal overbraid. Although satisfactory as installed, the high temperature, high vibration and associated chafing conditions experienced by the electrical harnesses during engine operation tend to cause the metal overbraid to become worn or frayed. Currently, it is difficult to repair a damaged wiring harness in the field, particularly without removing the harness from the engine for, what is commonly known as, "on wing" repairs. When damaged the harness is usually removed for repair and then replaced. This procedure is expensive and results in downtime for the aircraft.
Methods for splice repair of electrical wiring harnesses are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,986 describes an electrical wiring harness having at least one repair splice means at pre-defined locations in the harness and at predetermined distances from the backshell. The repair splice means allows for easy repair without removing the harness from the engine. However, although repairs may be made on wing, the specific harness of the '986 patent is required. Moreover, it only allows for repairs around the backshell terminations and not mid-span of the harness wiring.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,444 discloses a splice kit for repairing shielded cable. The kit comprises crimp ferules and a shielding sleeve to use for splicing together damaged cable. The crimp ferules are applied on either side of the splice site to prevent further unraveling of the wire shielded braid. The central conductor is then spliced together using crimp-type conductor splices. Finally, the repaired portion of the central conductor is protected by placing a preformed shield seal sleeve around the spliced shielded wire. However, repairs by this method are limited by the availability of the kit. Moreover, often times only the overbraid is damaged and in need of repair without requiring splicing of the central conductor.
As can be seen, there is a need for a simple method to repair the overbraid of metal overbraided wiring harnesses that can be accomplished easily with materials that are readily available. It would be advantageous to have a method which allows for 'on-wing' repair of the harness eliminating having to remove it from the engine.

Method for temporary repair of the overbraid for metal overbraided wiring harnesses


A system, method, and a computer program product for processing messages in a message queuing system includes an application repository, a message store, and a queue-less application programming interface in each message queuing system. The application repositories may store application identification data provided by applications. The application programming interfaces may put messages to and get messages from the message queuing systems, and provide with each connect and put request application identification data.

It is increasingly common to distribute a data processing operation over a plurality of data processing units, with each of the units communicating over a data communications network such as the Internet. One reason for this is that a particular data processing unit may be able to do a job better than another, so a first unit makes a request for a second unit to do a particular job and then to return the result to the first unit.
It is also common to have a large number of intermediate data processing units, which are also known as "nodes," between the originating unit that makes a request and the destination unit that is being requested to do the work. Each intermediate unit receives the request, performs some initial processing to determine what to do with it, and then forwards it on to the next unit.
One mechanism for carrying out such distributed data processing is called asynchronous message queuing, where applications communicate with each other by sending messages to a queue, which can then be accessed by the receiving application at a time that is convenient for the receiving application. IBM's WebSphere MQ (trademark) software product, which has been on the market for a number of years, is a popular example of this type of software.
Applications connect to a message queuing system and usually retrieve messages from one queue, perform their message processing with the retrieved message, and put the message on another queue in the message queuing system. From that queue, another application retrieves the message, performs its message processing, and puts it on another queue, and so on. To implement a message flow, however, each application needs to know the queue names for getting and putting the messages from or to queues. This becomes even more important in a grid where a service provider may provide services in a message queuing network.

Processing messages in a message queueing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of gaming comprising: (a) defining a target outcome to be achieved in respect of a game, the target outcome having an associated award; (b) allocating a number of game rounds to achieve the target outcome; (c) conducting the allocated game rounds, each of which can result in a contribution to the target outcome; (d) accumulating any contributions during the one or game rounds; and (e) making the associated award if the target outcome is achieved based on the accumulated contributions before the allocated game rounds are exhausted.

Many gaming systems provide spinning reel type games, where a plurality of reels are spun, stopped and prizes awarded based on their stop positions. Some gaming systems, additionally include a feature game where a player has an opportunity to win prizes by means of some other type of game, for example by picking a box of a set of boxes, at least one of which corresponds to a prize.
While such gaming systems provide users with enjoyment, a need exists for alternative gaming systems, suitable to provide feature games, in order to maintain or increase player enjoyment.

Method of gaming, a game controller and a gaming system

ARISTOCRAT TECHNOLOGIES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED


Candles are provided for dispensing air treatment chemicals in response to heat. There is a lid bearing the air treatment chemical. The candle includes a housing with a combustible fuel. An upper lid includes a cover plate bearing the air treatment chemical and an opening centrally disposed in the plate to allow heated air to pass through when the fuel is being combusted. The plate is suspended across an upper end of a side wall of the housing creating an air gap adjacent the radial periphery of the lid. When the fuel is combusted the air treatment chemical can be heated thereby and carried away by heated air that has passed through the central opening, and the air gap can permit cooler air to enter the cavity while the fuel is being combusted.

The present invention relates to candles that dispense an air treatment chemical from a lid. More particularly, the invention relates to structures associated with the lid to facilitate such dispensing.
A variety of devices are known for dispensing volatilizable air treatment chemicals. Such air treatment chemicals may be air scents or deodorizers (e.g., fragrances or masks), pest control materials (e.g., insecticides, insect repellants, or insect growth control regulators), allergen control ingredients, disinfectants, sanitizers or other materials.
In some of these devices the air treatment chemical is mixed with a candle wax and is dispensed during the burning process, the chemical usually being released primarily from the heated wax surrounding the wick rather than from the wax as it combusts. While this is a common technique for dispensing a variety of fragrances, typically it has been less successful for the dispensing of pest control materials.
There has been a variety of attempts to improve candle burning efficiency by placing a cover over the candle. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,585,510, 6,589,047, and 6,663,384. The disclosures of these patents and of all other publications referred to herein are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. These devices, however, were focused on improving candle burning efficiency in a deep-cup type candle, rather than distributing air treatment chemicals from sources other than the wax.
Many other attempts have been made to use the heat from a candle or analogous device to distribute air treatment chemicals, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,742,342, 4,781,895, 6,482,365, 6,503,459, and 7,138,130. However, these devices can require relatively expensive constructions to achieve their results, and/or incorporate structures that do not provide the flexibility either to distribute the air treatment chemical when the candle is on, or not to distribute the air treatment chemical even when the candle is combusting.
Other devices for using candles or similar structures to dispense volatiles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,279,118, 6,033,212, 6,309,986, 6,337,080 and 6,663,838. Each has its own limitations.
Thus, there is a need for improved candle assemblies, particularly where the candle can be readily converted from normal operation to operation where the candle also dispenses an air treatment chemical.

Candle with lid for dispensing an air treatment chemical