A transmission mechanism for a vehicle door handle is provided, the handle including a handle lever, movable between a flushing position and a ready position, the mechanism attachable to the lever and to an electric motor, and including a lever shaft connectable to the lever, a rotation of which causes motion between the positions; a reduction mechanism to adapt an output torque of the motor into a rotational motion of the shaft, including first and second reduction stages each having a worm drive, the first including a first worm and a first worm gear, and the second having a second worm and another worm gear rotationally coupled to the shaft; and a brake mechanism frictionally engaging a rotating element of one of the stages when the shaft reaches a rotational braking position between the positions to stop the shaft in a position where the lever is in the ready position.

The present invention concerns a transmission mechanism for a vehicle door assembly, in particular of the type with a flushing door handle lever.
Such a transmission mechanism for vehicle door handle assembly is connected to an electric motor which, when actuated, moves the handle lever between a flushing position and a ready position. In the flushing position, the handle lever is flush with the exterior surface of the door body. In the ready position, the handle lever is protruding from said exterior surface, so as to be graspable by a user.
Once the user grasps the handle lever in its ready position, he can unlatch the door by pulling the lever in a further protruding unlocking position, in which the handle door lever interacts (via a Bowden cable, a rotating pin or a gear mechanism) with a latch mechanism and unlatches the door.
A handle lever spring brings the handle lever back in its ready position when the user releases the handle lever. The electric motor may also move the handle lever from the ready position to the flushing position after opening or closing the door.
When a user opens the door with important speed, the user pulls on the lever, which is in open (extended) position, to open the door. Once the door panel reaches a sufficiently open position, the user will stop the motion by pushing on the handle lever to stop the door panel motion.
The lever is then quickly driven back from open to ready or flushing position by inertial forces. During this motion, a reduction mechanism of the handle is actuated in reverse, potentially with high movement speed.
In normal functioning, the electric motor sets the handle lever in motion via the reduction mechanism, comprising for example a set of worm and gear drives, which reduces the rotational speed of the motor actuation while increasing torque value. To grant access to the vehicle in case of electrical or mechanical actuation failure (empty battery, electric motor malfunction), a push-push unit using an armed spring is added to the handle.
To release the spring of the push-push unit, the user pushes the handle lever inwards into a clicking position. The released spring pushes the handle lever in its ready position.
When the user pushes the lever from the flushing to the clicking position, said reduction mechanism has to be actuated in reverse.
For the handle spring not to bring the handle lever spontaneously back to flushing position while allowing reverse actuation of the mechanism, a fine tuning of the friction between parts is required, which may not be ensured over the wide temperature range encountered and the lifespan of the vehicle. Furthermore the tolerances of the component dimensions may not allow said fine tuning.


A cosmetic or dermocosmetic agent consisting of galactomannans with molecular masses in a range from 1 to 150 kDa obtained from Caesalpinia spinose and cross-linked sulfated galactans with molar masses in a range from 1 to 150 kDa obtained from Kappaphycus alvarezii. Non-therapeutic cosmetic methods in which the agent is applied on the skin in order to tens the skin and/or to form a film on the skin.

Women are on a perpetual quest for solutions aimed at keeping their skin young and healthy. They are looking for a product capable of eradicating the signs of time and providing them with protection from the harmful effects of an ever more-aggressive environment. In fact, due to the industrialization and expansion of towns, individuals are regularly exposed to allergens, irritating molecules or fine particles. The latter, particularly emitted by vehicles, have devastating effects on health. Apart from their impact on a respiratory level, they cause major damage to the skin whilst accelerating its ageing: appearance of wrinkles and pigment spots, sagging skin, loss of elasticity and lack of radiance. Faced with this problem, the cosmetics market offers a wide range of anti-ageing and protective treatments. These include products aimed at fundamentally reshaping the skin over the long term in order to restore its youthful appearance. Moreover, an array of anti-oxidants, detoxifiers or stimulators of the natural defenses is available to help the skin protect itself. However, in addition to these "long term" treatments, consumers also want immediate results. Nowadays, treatments very widely include lifting active ingredients capable of instantly improving the signs of ageing. Since 2010, progress in skincare has taken the form of a new category of active ingredients: the "second skin" active ingredients. Having a short- and long-term action, these ingredients are included due to their radiance boost and protective action against external aggressions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cosmetic agent formed by galactomannans obtained from

SOCIETE INDUSTRIELLE LIMOUSINE D'APPLICATION BIOLOGIQUE


A method is used with a document camera and an image display device for adjusting the image display range. The document camera includes an image synthesis controller and a graphics buffer. In the method, a first image frame and a second image frame are received by the image synthesis controller. In response to the image parallel display information, the graphics buffer is divided into a first region and a second region, and the image synthesis controller fills partial data of the first image frame and second image frame into the first region and the second region, respectively. In response to a change of the image parallel display information made by the user, the graphics buffer is divided into a third region and a fourth region, and the image synthesis controller fills partial data of the first image frame and second image frame into the third region and the fourth region, respectively. The data filled in the graphics buffer is then outputted to the image display device as a synthesized frame to be displayed.

In the commercial meetings or conferences of companies or schools, it is often needed to indicate some literal or graphical data during discussions or briefings. A document camera is thus popularly used to facilitate the presentation or discussion of a document, chart or academic thesis. Such a document camera is so-called a teaching material prompting machine, or, most commonly, an object-image projector.
A common object-image projector combines the functions of photographing, scanning, and image output of cameras or scanners. The photo module can be, for example, a digital video recorder, a digital statistic camera, a cell phone with a camera module, a monitor camera, or a PC camera. According to current technology, there are several available types of camera modules which are different in manufacturing processes, prices, sensitivities of pixels, sums of power consumption, etc. These camera modules can be classified as two main types, i.e. camera modules equipped with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors and equipped with charged coupled device (CCD) sensors. The sensors act as the film of a conventional camera. A conventional camera film performs the development according to the change of the film resulted by a chemical reaction occurred according to light sensed by the film. On the other hand, image sensors such as the CMOS or CCD sensors, by utilizing the photo-electric converting effect, generate electric charges with a number variant with the intensity of sensed light, and thus form the current to be outputted.
However, according to different requirements, CMOS/CCD image sensors can be applied in different fields. Generally speaking, when compared with the CMOS image sensors, the CCD image sensors have maturer manufacturing technique and higher pixel number or dpi. Therefore, the CCD image sensors are often applied in digital statistic cameras or digital video recorder having middle/high level dpi. However, the CCD image sensors have defects of high power consumptions and prices. Furthermore, most manufacturing processes are stilled monopolized by Japanese manufacturers. On the other hand, although the CMOS image sensors have smaller dpi values than those of the CCD image sensors, the CMOS image sensors are benefited in capable of being manufactured in standard semiconductor manufacturing processes. Therefore, the CMOS image sensors can be manufactured in mass production. Furthermore, the CMOS image sensors are also benefited in their low power-consumptions and low prices. Therefore, the CMOS image sensors are wildly applied in the camera modules of cell phones and PC cameras, which do not need high dpi values. Consequently, the CMOS/CCD image sensors can be optionally selected to be the main structure of the camera module of an object-image projector according to the requirement of application. Except for capturing an image of a 3D object, the object-image projector can also be applied with image devices such as an image scanner or a fax machine which are capable of scanning documents or pictures to be projected to a project screen via a common triple-beam/single-beam digital projector, or outputted to a monitor of a common television or computer system to undergo a live video of the image of the object to be projected.
Therefore, according to such an operation of the object-image projector, the users can directly present lecture notes, references, drawings or the like to the audiences on the monitor of a computer or a projecting screen without previously scanning or color/black-and-white copying these projecting object to the transparent projection slices. Hence, the object-image projector has not only reduced the loading of preparing the presentation materials, but also provided a greater convenience and flexibility for the users during the presentations.
Referring to FIG. 1(a), there is a conventional object-image projector 10 which indicates an image of a presenting object 1 on the project screen 21. The image of the presenting object 1 is obtained by capturing or scanning of the image-capturing module 11 (constructed mainly by the CCD or CMOS sensor) of the object-image projector 10 and then projected by a single-beam digital projector 20 to the project screen 21. In other words, a real-time video image of the presenting object 1 will be indicated on the project screen 21 once the presenting object 1 is placed in front of the image-capturing module 11. Preferably, there is a zoom lens on the image-capturing module 11 so as to zoom in or zoom out a certain portion of the presenting object 1 for facilitating the observation.
FIG. 1(b) illustrates a block diagram of the operation of the conventional object-image projector 10. The inside of the conventional object-image projector 10 includes a digital signal processor (DSP) 12, an image synthesis device 13, a memory 14, and a digital/analog converter 15. The image-capturing module 11 also includes an analog/digital converter 111 for converting the analog image signal into a digital format signal to be transferred to the DSP 12 to be processed. For example, the signal is processed after an image zoom-in or zoom-out, and the processed signal can be transferred to the image synthesis device 13 to be synthesized with other image. Furthermore, different images can be stacked up. Moreover, the image of the presenting object 1 captured or scanned by the image-capturing module 11 can be stored in the memory 14 in a picture or image file format after being processed by the DSP 12.
In other words, the image of the presenting object 1 can not only be real-time displayed, but also be synthesized with the other image stored in the memory 14. The image stored in the memory 14 can be an image of another presenting object previously captured by the image-capturing module 11. The synthesis of the real-time image and the previously stored image enables the user to display and compare the present/previous presenting objects. The synthesized image signal processed by the image synthesis device 13 is a digital signal and can be converted into an analog signal by the digital/analog signal converter 15 to be projected by the single-beam digital projector 20 to the project screen 21.
However, according to the current prior art, the synthesis image frame of the real-time image of the presenting object 1 and the previous image stored in the memory 14 is often processed by the electronic panning, i.e., the synthesis image frame are evenly divided into two portions for displaying both images. An example of the synthesis image frame is shown in FIGS. 1(c) and 1(d), the conventional object-image projector 10 indicates two image frames simultaneously on the project screen 21. As shown in FIG. 1(c), the synthesis image frame is constructed by an object image frame P1 indicated by an image captured from the presenting object 1, and a file image frame P2 indicated by an image read from a record file stored in the memory 14. In an example case, the object image frame P1, the file image frame P2, and the display range of the project screen 21 all have 800×600 pixels, and the initial coordinates are all (1, 1) as well. The left portion of the object image frame P1, i.e. pixels from (1, 1) to (400, 600) in P1, is indicated on the left portion of the project screen 21. Meanwhile, what is indicated on the right portion of the project screen 21 is the right portion of the file image frame P2, and the display range is from pixel (401, 1) to pixel (800, 600) of the file image frame P2.
It is observed that only a half of the object image frame P1 and only a half of the file image frame P2 can be indicated on the project screen 21. However, if it is desired to change the view scope of the object image frame P1 or the file image frame P2 on the project screen 21, e.g. change the view scope to the object image frame P1 to the right portion or change the view scope of the file image frame P2 to the left portion so as to facilitate the observation or comparison of the two images, the only way in the conventional method is to apply the electronic panning on the image of the image frame P1 or P2 so as to shift the view scope of the image in the image frame to a desired range just as to scroll an image in a window. Such an operation can be performed via an operation interface of the object-image projector, e.g. a remote controller. According to the electronic panning, the user can, as shown in FIG. 1(d), indicate the right portion (from (401, 1) to (800, 600) of the object image frame P1 on the project screen 21, and the left portion (from (1, 1) to (400, 600)) of the file image frame P2. However, such an electronic panning can only change the view scope range other than the view scope size. In other words, the image in either the object image frame P1 or the file image frame P2 can only be observed in a scope size, in the maximum case, a half of the project screen 21. Such a limitation disadvantages the observation or comparison of the two images in both image frames. It is then attempted by the invention to solve the problems.

Method for adjusting image display range of a document camera


This new invention, the water column floating pump, is a fluid pump which uses a rotationally symmetric container to pump fluid from an inlet reservoir to the outlet end of the rotationally symmetric container. The rotationally symmetric container is adapted to float with its axis of rotation vertical in a pump flotation chamber. The rotationally symmetric container floats and rotates in the fluid being pumped and uses the buoyancy of the fluid to carry its weight. A plurality of helically spiralling conduits proximate the periphery of the symmetric container forms a system of vacuum suction tubes designed to suck water from the inlet reservoir, proximate the bottom of the fluid pump, to the outlet end proximate the top of the container. The rotationally symmetric container operates at low rotational speed and requires a small horsepower motor to overcome water friction and water pressure. Under normal operation, the fluid filled spiral conduits form a heavy mass on the periphery of the rotationally symmetric container. This heavy rotating peripheral mass, in turn, generates sufficient centrifugal force and high torque to push fluid upward continuously from the inlet end of the rotationally symmetric container, through the helically spiralling conduits, and to discharge the fluid through the outlet end into the flotation chamber.

This invention relates generally to fluid pumps and in particular centrifugal and screw type fluid pumps.
Many of the screw type fluid pumps of the prior art were tilted at an angle to the level of fluid being pumped so that the fluid would be captured between the helical screw blades and the cylindrical wall of the pumping container. As the pump drive rotated the screw, the water would be trapped and move up the cylinder to be discharged out of the top of the tube.
Other screw type pumps used both a rotating helical screw and a contra-rotating cylinder equipped with outward directed feed vanes at the collector end of the rotating screw. The feed vanes were used to deliver the highly viscous feed material into the intake end of the screw to force the material onto the feed screw.
All the prior art screw type pumps operated at generally low rotational speeds. As the size of these pumps increased, so did their weight. This required larger bearings and increased bearing loads and friction loses. As a result, larger pump motors were required.
Prior art pumps relying on centrifugal force usually operated at very high rotational speeds causing the pumped fluid to cavitate and erode the pump impeller.
The pumping apparatus of the present invention is an improvement over the prior art pumps. It uses the pumping fluid itself to carry the weight of the pump to minimize frictional losses and to eliminate the need for high weight carrying bearings Its rotating symmetrical pump mass allows it to operate at low rotational speed and yet generate sufficient centrifugal force and high torque to elevate large volumes of water to a high level continuously. As a result, only a small horsepower motor is required.


A buoyant structure having a hull, a planar keel defining a lower hull diameter, a lower cylindrical portion connected to the planar keel, a lower frustoconical portion disposed above the lower cylindrical portion with inwardly sloping wall at a first angle, an upper frustoconical portion directly connected to the lower frustoconical portion, and the upper frustoconical portion with outwardly sloping wall, the inwardly sloping wall abutting the outwardly sloping wall forming a hull neck with a hull neck diameter. The buoyant structure having a main deck, a moon pool, and propellers attached to the planar keel, which are operated by a motor or a generator. The buoyant structure connects over a chambered buoyant storage ring.

A need exists for a highly stable buoyant structure that is a floating vessel that can be towed from drilling location to drilling location at sea or moves on its own power, and which additionally provides storage for tubulars in chambers, preventing tubulars from rolling off into the sea.
A need exists for a drilling vessel that does not easily list.
A further need exists for larger moon pool in a drilling vessel to provide safer drilling operations for handling of equipment and personnel and to provide a larger contained space for making up tubulars and performing topsides subsea drilling activity.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

Buoyant structure for petroleum drilling, production, storage and offloading


The present invention provides a matrix type display device which simplifies the process in a display signal generating circuit while relieving the load on an external CPU, and which arranges freely character and icon display areas while preventing the quality of display from being degraded by the shadow phenomenon and others. A display code memory stores character display codes and icon display codes for one image at a desired address arrangement. A pattern generating circuit transfers image patterns for the display codes to a display signal transferring circuit through a multiplexer. A decoder selecting device is responsive to a decoder select signal to select a decoder, thereby controlling voluntarily the timing of latch signal generation. Display signal input in the time division manner is latched in first and second latch circuits through the latch signal. Thereafter, the display signal is transferred to a signal electrode driving circuit through a line memory to display an image on a matrix panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matrix type display device, an electronic system including the same and a method of driving such a display device. Particularly, the present invention concerns a matrix type display device which can display characters and icons.
2. Description of the Related Art
As for a simple matrix type display device, a built-in RAM is known. In such a display device, the display is carried out by transferring display data for one image from the CPU or the like to the built-in RAM, and sequentially reading display data for one scan line from the built-in RAM. If the image on display remains the same as in a still image, the display data transfer from the CPU is unnecessary and the display operation can be carried out only by the display data from the built-in RAM, thus reducing the power consumption.
Another matrix type display device with a character pattern generator is known. In addition to the built-in RAM in such a matrix type display device, the display is performed by transferring character codes for one image from the CPU or the like to the built-in RAM, and converting the character codes into dot image display data through the character pattern generator. This matrix type display device can operate with a reduced power consumption and be controlled easily. Therefore, such a matrix type display device has been broadly used in many portable electronic devices such as portable telephones, electronic pocketbooks and others.
Such a matrix type display device with a character pattern generator is required to provide a function of displaying icons such as indicators, symbols and others in addition to the characters. If such icons can be displayed, for example, a portable telephone can display an indicator showing the residue of batteries, the radio field intensity, a symbol representing a telephone or the like.
FIG. 13 shows a matrix type display device with a character pattern generator which is constructed in accordance with the prior art and which can display icons. The matrix type display device comprises a matrix panel 116, a scan electrode driving circuit 110, a signal electrode driving circuit 111, a display signal transferring circuit 126 and a display signal generating circuit 140. The matrix panel 116 includes display pixels arranged in a matrix, and a plurality of signal electrodes crossing a scan electrode, the number of dots being n.times.(m+1). Over the matrix panel 116, a character display area 142 (which includes crossing areas between signal electrodes S1-Sn and scan electrodes C1-Cm) and an icon display area 144 (which includes crossing areas between the signal electrodes S1-Sn and a scan electrode CS) are provided. For example, if one character is to De displayed by 5.times.7 dots, it is possible to display characters equal to (n/5).times.(m/7) as well as icons equal to n. The display signal generating circuit 140 includes a display code memory 114 for storing display codes for one image(display image), a character pattern generating circuit 113 for generating a character pattern of dot image for the display codes, an icon display memory 115 for storing an icon pattern of dot image and a multiplexer 112 for multiplexing the output of the character pattern generating circuit 113 and the icon display memory 115 to form an output display signal 123. The display signal transferring circuit 126 transfers the display signal 123 to the signal electrode driving circuit 111. The signal electrode driving circuit 111 and the scan electrode driving circuit 110 form signals for driving the signal electrodes and the scan electrodes, respectively.
The operation of the prior art is explained hereafter. The characters are displayed through the following operation. First, character codes of a character to be displayed are written in the display code memory 114 at a desired address layout. The display code memory 114 is not rewritten unless any changes are made to the displayed image, and thus reducing the power consumption. Then a character code signal 120 is read out from the display code memory 114 responding to a read-out signal 118, and is transferred to the character pattern generating circuit 113. The character pattern generating circuit 113 responds to the character code signal 120 to generate a character pattern display signal 121 which is transferred to the signal electrode driving circuit 111 through the multiplexer 112 and display signal transferring circuit 126.
On the other hand, icons such as indicators, symbols and others are displayed by the following manner. First, a pattern of dot image for an icon to be displayed is written in the icon display memory 115 through the CPU or the like. The icon display memory 115 then responds to a read-out signal 118 for an icon pattern display signal 122 to be read out therefrom. The icon pattern display signal 122 is then transferred to the signal electrode driving circuit 111 through the multiplexer 112 and the display signal transferring circuit 126.
The multiplexer 112 responds to a select signal 119 to select either the character pattern signal 121 or the icon pattern display signal 122. The selected signal, signals 121 or 122, is multiplexed to be a display signal 123. In other words, the signals 121, 122 are transferred as the display signal 123 to the display signal transferring circuit 126 through the multiplexer 112 within one horizontal period in the time division manner. The display signal transferring circuit 126 accumulates the display signal 123 as data for each pixel line and transfer the data to the signal electrode driving circuit 111. Such a transfer is carried out for every horizontal period. The signal electrode driving circuit 111 outputs liquid-crystal drive voltages corresponding to the transferred display signal to the signal electrodes S1-Sn. On the other hand, the scan electrode driving circuit 110 responds to a scan control signal 117 to scan the scan electrodes C1-Cm and CS sequentially for each horizontal period. In other words, the display signal transferring circuit 126 receives and stores the display signal 123 for the scan electrode C1 before the scan electrode C1 is scanned. As the scan electrode C1 is scanned, the circuit 126 outputs liquid-crystal drive voltages corresponding to the stored display signal 123 to the signal electrodes S1-Sn to display one pixel line. During this horizontal period, the circuit 126 receives another display signal 123 for the next scan electrode C2. Since the scan electrode CS is only used to display icons, the display signal 123 for the scan electrode CS includes only the icon pattern display signal 122, but not the character pattern display signal 121. In such a manner, the sequentially scanned scan electrodes and the signal electrodes to which the drive voltages corresponding to the display signal are applied to perform together the display operation in the matrix type display device.
However, the aforementioned matrix type display device of the prior art has many disadvantages.
First, the prior art has a problem in that the processing in the display signal generating circuit 140 becomes complicated with an increased processing time. More particularly, in the prior art, the external CPU or the like must write character codes into the display code memory 114 and also dot images into the icon display memory 115. Therefore, the CPU is required to handle a combined data of character codes and dot images. This makes the process complicated and increases the burden on the CPU. It is further assumed that the data bus from the CPU is eight-bit data bus. In such a case, since one character can be specified by an eight-bit character code, only one data transfer from the CPU is necessary to display one character (e.g., 5.times.7 dots). On the contrary, the data of an icon must be transferred as a dot image. For example, if an icon of 5.times.7 dots is to be displayed, four or five data transfers are required, increasing the processing time.
Second, the prior art has a problem in that the icon display area is not freely arranged on the matrix panel 116 under the limitations of arrangement with respect to the scan electrodes and signal electrodes. For example, it an icon display area is to be provided on the right side of the character display area 142, it is necessary to extend the icon scan electrode CS, and display the icon at the areas where the extended icon scan electrode CS and the signal electrode Sn cross(see FIG. 12). Since the signal electrodes and scan electrodes are formed on the same substrate, they cannot cross one another. Therefore, a pattern of extending the scan electrode CS becomes complicated in addition to increase in the length of the extended scan electrode CS. The complicated electrode extending pattern makes the design of the matrix panel 116 difficult while the further extended scan electrode increases the parasitic resistance, and thus degrading the quality of display. Furthermore, the prior art cannot substantially display the icon in the character display area 142.
To overcome such a problem, it is possible to provide another icon display signal electrode SS on the matrix panel 116. According to such a measure, an icon can be displayed at crossing areas between the signal electrode SS and the scan electrodes C1-Cm and CS. However, providing such a signal electrode SS raises another problem in that the data transfer from the multiplexer 112 to the display signal transferring circuit 126 becomes complicated. More particularly, the character pattern generating circuit 113 usually outputs display signal (five-bit) for one character at the same time. Nevertheless, it the icon display signal electrode SS is newly provided and when display signal is to be transferred to dots on the scan electrodes C1-Cm, the multiplexer 112 must repeatedly output character display five-bit signal (n/5) times within one horizontal period before an icon display one-bit signal is output. On the other hand, when display signal is to be transferred to dots on the scan electrode CS, the multiplexer 112 must output icon display one-bit signal (n+1) times. Thus, if the icon display signal electrode SS is newly provided in the prior art, the multiplexer 112 must perform a different multiplexing operation for each scan line and handle a very complicated process.
Since the character and icon display areas are fixed in the prior art, those users who design portable telephones or the like using the matrix type display device can not rearrange freely the character and icon display areas.
Third, the prior art raises a still another problem in that it may degrade the quality of display depending on the rate of lighting-on in the character patterns. Namely, the prior art may create a shadow phenomenon (cross-talk). Such a problem is raised not only in the aforementioned matrix type display device of the prior art, but also generally in all the matrix type display devices with character pattern generators.

Matrix type display device, electronic system including the same and method of driving such a display device


The present invention is to disclose a handrail device adapted for a playard frame, and the handrail device includes a handrail, a connecting component, and an engaging structure for detachably connecting the handrail and the connecting component. The handrail is detachably connected to the connecting component and is assembled easily. Hence, it is beneficial to decrease a size of a package for packing the handrail device before being assembled, and the handrail device can be transported or stored easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handrail device and a playard frame therewith, and more specifically, to a handrail device and a playard frame with the handrail, having a simple structure and easy assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A playard is a kind of beds for the infant, and a playard frame is assembled with a plurality of handrails and a plurality of columns to form a containing space, so as to allow the infant to play or sleep in the playard. Therefore, the playard becomes more popular for parents and infants. However, a conventional connecting structure for connecting the handrails and the columns of the playard frame is complicated, so that it is inconvenient in assembling the playard frame. In addition, a package for packing the playard frame occupies a lot of space, resulting in inconvenience in transporting or storing the playard.

Playard frame and handrail device thereof


An electro-mechanical dosimeter of granulate, such as seeds and fertilizer. The electro-mechanical dosimeter includes a feeder tube for holding the granulate, a cylindrical body attached to the feeder tube, and a conical plate attached to the cylindrical body for rotating the granulate horizontally outward towards the perimeter of the cylindrical body. The feeder tube has a first opening from which the granulate is feed to the plate and a volume register surrounding the feeder tube at the first opening. The electro-mechanical dosimeter also includes a motor for rotating the plate around a central axis of the cylindrical body, and a second opening on the cylindrical body from which the granulate exits the cylindrical body to a discharge tube where the granulate is dispensed at a controlled and even rate. The volume of the granulate may be changed by adjusting the size of the first opening by raising and lowering the volume register upon the feeder tube.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to agricultural products, and, more particularly, to an electro-mechanical dispenser for granulate, such as seed or fertilizer.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to increase the production of food, it is well known that farmers use various machines for planting and fertilizing fields. For example, a farmer may utilize a planting machine pulled behind a tractor. The planting machine usually includes at least one drum or hopper which holds a supply of seeds to be planted and some means for dispensing the seeds. However, existing machines have not been able to achieve precise control of the rate at which the seeds are dispensed. As a result, uneven distribution of the seeds in the field results. Additionally, the farmer cannot accurately estimate the amount of fertilizer or any other granulate that will be required to cover his fields at a desired coverage rate.
Thus, it would be a distinct advantage to have an apparatus for dispensing granulate in exact amounts upon a field. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.

Electro-mechanical dosimeter of seeds and fertilizer

B.degree. 1.degree. de mayo (Rosario) C.P. 2000


A method of changing driving sequence to output a charge coupled device signal, the method is applied to a scanner. The scanner has a pixel processor and a charge coupled device. A plurality of charge signals detected by the charge coupled device is sequentially output to the pixel processor according to the driving sequence. In the method of changing the driving sequence to output the charge coupled device signal, a fast driving sequence is provided. The fast driving sequence has a period equal to 1/N of the original driving sequence. According to the fast driving sequence, the charge signal is sent to the pixel processing circuit. The charge signals are sampled by the processing circuit according to a sampling sequence, and the data obtained by sampling is output.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to methods of scanning and outputting a charge coupled device signal, and more particularly, to a method of outputting a charge coupled device signal by changing the period of the driving sequence.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a normal color scanner, a color charge coupled device (CCD) is used as an optical sense device. The color charge coupled device is formed of several sensor cells to sense the intensities of the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) primary color lights. FIG. 1A shows a linear charge coupled device. The first row of sensor cells 102 of the linear charge coupled device is used to detect the R light intensity. The second row of sensor cells 104 is to detect the green light intensity, and the third row of sensor cells 106 is used to detect the blue light intensity. After a period of exposure time, different amounts of charges are accumulated according to the light intensities detected by the sensor cells. A charge signal formed by the charges is sent to a register within the period of a dump sequence. FIG. 2A shows the sequence of conventional linear charge coupled device signals. When the dump sequence SH is high, the charge signals of the first row of sensor cells 102 are sent to the register 108. Meanwhile, the charge signals of the second row of sensor cells 104 are sent to the register 110, and the charge signals of the third row of sensor cells 106 are sent to the register 112. According to FIG. 2A, in period T1 of driving signals φ1 and φ2 (using the rising edge of the signal as the data transmitting point), the register 108 sends the charge signal S1 to the pixel processing circuit 114. Similarly, in period T2, the charge signal S2 is sent to the pixel processing circuit 114. The charge signals in the register 108 are thus sequentially sent to the pixel processing circuit 114. During a pixel sampling sequence, the pixel processing circuit 114 sends the charge signal S1 to a subsequent circuit at the period TS1, and sends the charge signal S2 to a subsequent circuit at the period TS2. Thereafter, the charge signals are sequentially output to the subsequent circuit. The registers 110, 112, and the pixel processing circuits 116 and 118 are similar to the above description.
In FIG. 1B, the stagger charge coupled device has six rows of sensor cells 122, 124, 126, 128, 130 and 132. The first and second rows of sensor cells 122 and 124 are to detect the red light intensities. The third and fourth rows of sensor cells 126 and 128 are to detect the green light intensities. The fifth and the sixth rows of sensor cells 130 and 132 are to detect the blue light intensities. After a certain exposure time, different amounts of charges are accumulated according to the light intensities detected by the sensor cells 122 to 132. FIG. 2B shows the sequence of the stagger charge coupled device signals. When the dump sequence SH is high, the charge signals of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth rows of sensor cells 122 to 132 are sent to the registers 134, 136, 138, 140, 142 and 144, respectively. In the period T11 of the driving sequences φ1 and φ2, the register 134 sends the charge signal S1 to the pixel processing circuit 146. The charge signal S3 is sent to the pixel processing circuit 146 in the period T12. The register 136 sends the charge signal S2 to the pixel processing circuit 146 in the period T21 of the driving sequences φ1 and φ2. The charge signal S4 is sent to the pixel processing circuit 146 in the period T22. Thereafter, the charge signals of the register 134 are sequentially sent to the pixel processing circuit 146. During the pixel sampling sequence, the pixel processing circuit 146 outputs the charge signals S1 and S2 to the subsequent circuit at the period TS1 and TS2, respectively. The registers 126, 128, 130, 132 and the pixel processing circuits 148 and 150 are similar to the above.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a scanner. In FIG. 3, the sensor 302 converts the charged signal detected by the charge coupled device into an analog voltage signal. Using an analog/digital converter 304, the analog voltage signal output from the sensor 302 is converted into a digital voltage signal. An application specified integrated circuit 306 and a compensation RAM 310 perform a calculation on the compensation value and the digital voltage signal. The calculated video signal is stored into a video RAM 308. The data of the image signal is then read from the video RAM 308 by the application specified integrated circuit 306, and sent to the I/O port 312.
When the scanner is scanning a video document, a high resolution is not always required. Without changing the scanner structure (that is, the amount of the sensor cells in each row of the charge coupled device), the sampling sequence of the analog/digital converter is changed. That is, the scanning optical resolution is reduced to one half, and the sampling sequence of the analog/digital converter is reduced to one half. Or alternatively, the scanning optical resolution is reduced to one quarter, and the sampling sequence of the analog/digital converter is reduced to one quarter. When the optical resolution of the scanner is reduced, and the sampling time of the analog/digital converter is not reduced, the scanning time of the scanner is not reduced, that is, the scanner does not have the function of high scanning speed at low optical resolution.

Method and apparatuses for changing driving sequence to output charge couple device signal


A storage power optimized server system includes a high performance spinning hard drive for storing a first set of data and a power controlled hard drive for storing a second set of data. The high performance spinning hard drive is continuously driven while the power controlled hard drive may have a lower power consumption, slower access time or higher capacity than the high performance spinning hard drive. The first and second set of data may be based on one or more data conditions. The first set of data may include data that has been requested at a rate above a predetermined threshold, or after a predetermined file age date, or after a predetermined last access date. The second set of data may include data that has been requested at a rate below the predetermined request rate threshold, or before a predetermined file age, or before a predetermined last access date.

One of the challenges of business operations and continued deployment of information technology is the increasing power demands that the systems require. The ability to supply this increasing power demand may even discourage companies from successfully operating more modern systems that demand more of their infrastructure than previous buildouts can accommodate. Existing datacenter rack density technologies have already eclipsed many corporations' abilities to provision an adequate power and cooling infrastructure. Advancing capabilities in computational systems are consuming electricity with geometrically increasing rates. Heat dissipated by a computer system must be offset by cooling equipment in order to keep the computer system and it's components operational temperature within specifications for functionality, long life and reliability. However, the cooling systems themselves require even more electrical power to operate. The result of this combined computing and cooling power load is that many data centers often use much more than 100 Watts per square foot to operate the facility. This power density is more than 10 times the density of the average office. Increasing system power demand is driving the cost of datacenter operations up as much as 25% annually and making it a significant growing consideration in the total cost of ownership (TCO) for computing equipment. It is estimated that within five years, it will cost $4 million a year to cool an average data center; that cost is up from roughly $1 million today. Some companies spend about 10 percent of their entire power budget on power to keep data centers cool enough for reliable computer operation.
Similarly, the cost of managing the power resource expenditure is problematic. As the ability to consume power exceeds the ability to reliably provision it, some systems may be pressing the envelope of acceptable operations, thereby creating a more fragile and vulnerable system. When operating at the edge of a system's capacity even very small power problems lasting a fraction of a second may cause problems that can take many hours of precious operations staff to recover.
Storage devices can occupy as much as 75% of the floor space in computer centers; making storage in many systems the biggest single load in the datacenter. The total world wide information volume generated annually is about 1.5 exabytes (1×1018), and is growing at an exponential rate. A more recent accelerator to this information volume is the wealth of analog information and rich media which are increasingly being managed using digital facilities. Naturally, there are also new and increasingly available ways to capture and generate higher and richer definition information within digital systems. It is estimated that 93% of rich media content is now born digital; occurring first in a digital format.
It is observed that the densities for magnetic disks have increased more than 60% a year since 1990. The shipped mechanical hard drive capacity is more than doubling every year. The cost for a gigabyte of storage on disk drives is declining much faster on magnetic disks than it is on optical media or tape. In 2004, a 3.5″ advanced technology attachment (ATA) drive storage will be cheaper than super digital linear tape (SDLT) tape cartridge storage. Industry rules of thumb have suggested that there has been about 10 times as much storage on tape as on hard drives. This fraction has been falling dramatically as more and more data is maintained online in spinning magnetic media in the form of mechanical hard drives. This spinning media based data is decommissioned very slowly compared to its online growth. Consequently, both old and new data is being placed and maintained on spinning mechanical drives. Keeping data on hard drives has several advantages beyond price such as being quicker to access, of more consistent methods and much more versatile to use than tape drives. Additionally, there are generally operational difficulties common to tape backup and near-line schemes such as their handling, maintenance, and related costs.
The cost of managing storage hardware generally ranges from two to ten times its acquisition cost. The fastest growing segments of the storage markets seem least equipped to manage this growth. Usage on microcomputer based operating systems may generate now more than 80% of the new digital storage demand, but offer storage management tools that are years behind standard mainframe tools. A typical storage administrator can manage from 400-600 gigabytes of disk storage on micro and distributed platforms versus the more than 40 terabytes on a mainframe. Further, these mainframes have operated at much lower power per square foot requirements. When replaced with these more popular micro computer system solutions, the updated computer configurations challenge the capability of the legacy facilities and make the replacing systems more susceptible to heat and power related failures. New techniques for power and thermal management of computer system facilities is clearly desirable.
Although storage power management for mobile systems has seen many advancements, the fundamental principles and techniques underlying the roles and deployment of servers with respect to power management have lagged. Server storage power controls which can manage data loads and growth are virtually nonexistent.
In most servers, the data accessed daily is a very small percentage of the total data available online within the system. Some estimates are that over 90% of digital information activity occurs to less than 5% of the online storage. Stated another way, most of the data maintained and available online at great expense is only rarely accessed. As a result, most of the data on spinning drives can remain unaccessed for months.
Thus, there is a need to provide operations, budgeting and management schemes for servers to manage the expenditures in power, thermal control and hardware with current and future systems as data requirements continue to grow.

System and method for storage power, thermal and acoustic management in server systems


A write-once optical recording medium has a transparent resin substrate having a concentric groove or a spiral groove and having recessed cells defining recording regions that are arranged in the groove, a recording film comprising an organic dye formed to fill the cells, and a metal reflection film formed on the recording film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a write-once optical recording medium capable of achieving a high recording density.
2. Description of the Related Art
With spread of personal computers in recent years, importance of media for storing digital data is being enhanced. Recently, a recording medium capable of recording-reproducing digital data has come to be mounted to home electric appliances such as a digital video appliance in addition to a digital audio appliance. A recording medium for storing digital data has also come to be used in mobile appliances such as cellular phones. A disk-type medium, i.e., a recording disk, is widely used as such a recording medium because it permits easily performing recording-reproducing of a large amount of digital data, it is capable of achieving a high random access performance, and it is inexpensive.
The recording disk includes a magnetic disk and an optical disk. The magnetic disk is a magnetic recording type medium represented by a hard disk. The optical disk is an optical recording type medium represented by CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R and DVD-RW.
The optical disk is based on CD standards (such as red book) and DVD standards (such as DVD book) and, thus, is excellent in its compatibility and in its removability. To be more specific, it is possible to carry an optical disk having information written with a certain drive, and to write and read information in and out of the optical disk with another drive.
The optical disk includes a read-only type (ROM) such as CD-DA, CD-ROM, DVD-VIDEO and DVD-ROM, a write-once type, in which information can be written only once, such as CD-R and DVD-R, and a rewritable type in which information can be written many times such as CD-RW and DVD-RW. As the optical disk capable of recording, the write-once type optical disk such as CD-R and DVD-R employing an organic dye in the recording layer, is most widely used because the manufacturing cost of the disk is low and, thus, the disk of this type is inexpensive. It should also be noted that, where the data capacity is as large as 700 megabytes or more, it is substantially unnecessary to erase data in preparation for the writing of new data. Thus, it practically suffices for the recording medium to be capable of writing information only once. The particular situation also provides the reason for the spread of CD-R and DVD-R.
In the write-once optical disk employing an organic dye, a recording region defined by grooves is irradiated with a laser beam. As a result, the resin substrate is heated to a temperature not lower than the glass transition point Tg of the resin substrate. At the same time, a film of the organic dye within the groove performs a photochemical reaction so as to set up a negative pressure. It follows that the resin substrate is deformed within the groove. The deformation of the resin substrate is utilized for forming a recording mark.
However, two serious problems remain unsolved in the write-once type optical disk. One of the problems is that a limit of high-speed recording is being reached in the DVD-R drive that is available nowadays. Presently, the highest recording rate in the DVD-R drive is four-times speed (4×), i.e., 3.49 m/sec×4=13.96 m/sec. In the DVD-R disk for high-speed recording, the groove is formed shallow, and the film of the organic dye is designed thin so as to achieve a high sensitivity. However, the shallow groove implies that the deformation amount of the substrate is small. Therefore, if the groove is formed shallower for improving the sensitivity, it is impossible that the recorded marks produce a sufficiently high phase difference, leading to a low degree of the signal modulation. It follows that read error for the data tends to be generated, resulting in failure to satisfy the DVD book standards. It should also be noted that the degree of the signal modulation of the land pre-pit arranged as address data is also lowered. It follows that the read error for the address data tends to be generated, resulting in failure to satisfy the DVD book standards.
The other problem to be noted is that a limit is being reached in data recording density for the DVD-R available nowadays. In order to improve further the recording density, it is necessary to decrease the size of the recording mark itself. However, since the shortest wavelength of the semiconductor laser is about 400 nm and the maximum numerical aperture of the objective lens is 0.65 to 0.85 nowadays, a limit is being reached in the spot diameter itself of the laser beam. It is very difficult to record a small mark with a high accuracy and to reproduce the recorded small mark by using a relatively large light spot.
As described above, it was difficult to satisfy both the higher recording speed and the higher recording density simultaneously in the conventional write-once optical recording medium such as a DVD-R.


A conveyor belt or treadmill belt comprises a cloth layer woven by at least one warp and woof and having an outer surface and an inner surface in response to each other, a clearance passing through the inner and the outer surfaces and being formed between the warp and the woof of the cloth layer; a pattern layer in response to the outer surface of the cloth layer including patterns formed thereon; a laminating layer melted to couple between the outer surface of the cloth layer and the pattern layer, such that the laminating layer merges into the clearance between the warp and the woof so that the laminating layer is integrally formed a rough connecting surface, the connecting surface engaging with the clearance of the cloth layer, hence another surface of the laminating layer is in connection with the pattern layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conveyor belt or treadmill belt that can couple the pattern layer onto an outer surface of the cloth layer without through laminating process to enhance production efficiency.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional conveyor belt or treadmill belt are coupled together in high frequency manner so that the conveyor belt or treadmill belt can be fixed on front and rear transmission wheels (not shown) respectively, obtaining conveying and stepping function.
As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the conventional conveyor belt or treadmill belt at least comprises:
a cloth layer 1 woven by at least one warp 11 and woof 12, a clearance 13 being formed between the warp 11 and the woof 12, an inner surface of the cloth layer 1 being fixed around outer sides of two transmission wheels;
an adhesive layer 2 serving as coating adhesive agent onto an outer side of the cloth layer 1 by using a gel coating machine so that the gel can merge into the clearance 13 of the cloth layer 1 and then the cloth layer 1 is dried by a dryer;
a leather layer 3 adhered on the outer surface of the cloth layer 1 by using the adhesive layer 2.
However, such a conventional conveyor belt or treadmill belt is easy to be peeled off and has poor stepping stress.
Besides, the color of a surface of the leather layer 3 is black or gray, having poor appearance.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


A thermal processor including a rotating drum including an internal heater configured to heat and maintain the drum at a desired set-point temperature, and a plurality of pressure rollers, including a first pressure roller, circumferentially spaced along a segment of the drum. A temperature sensor is configured to provide a temperature signal indicative of a temperature proximate to the first pressure roller. A controller is configured to adjust the desired set-point temperature based on the temperature signal.

Photothermographic film generally comprises a base material, such as a thin polymer or paper, typically coated on one side with an emulsion of heat sensitive materials. Once the film has been subjected to photostimulation, such as via a laser of a laser imager, for example, a thermal processor is typically employed to develop the resulting latent image through application of heat to the film. In general, a thermal processor raises the base material and emulsion to an optimal development temperature and holds the film at the development temperature for a required time period to develop the image. To provide optimal and consistent quality in developed images, a thermal processor must perform this heating operation smoothly and consistently within a single film and between multiple films.
One type of processor for thermally developing photothermographic is typically referred to as a drum processor. One type of drum processor employs an internally heated rotating drum having a series of non-heated pressure rollers positioned around a segment of the drum's surface. During development, rotation of the drum draws the photothermographic film between the drum and the pressure rollers, with the pressure rollers holding the film, typically the emulsion-side, in contact with the drum as the film moves through the processor. As it moves through the processor, heat is transferred to the film and it is heated to an optimal development temperature to develop the latent image.
While heat is transferred to the photothermographic film primarily from the heated drum, some heat is also transferred to the film from the non-heated pressure rollers. During idle times, when film is not being processed, the pressure rollers are in direct contact with and absorb heat from the heated drum. As film passes between the drum and pressure rollers during processing, a portion of this heat is transferred to the film. At low film throughput (i.e. the number of films processed in a given time period), heat transfer from the pressure rollers typically does not pose a problem as heat transferred to given sheet of film is recovered through contact with the drum between sheets so that the temperature of the rollers does not significantly drop.
However, at higher film throughput (such as continuous film feed, for example), the pressure rollers are not able to recover heat from the drum between films, and the temperature of the rollers, particularly those which make first contact with the film, decreases with successive films until an equilibrium or steady state temperature is reached. Consequently, earlier films of a series of films being processed have different temperature profiles and absorb more heat than later films of the series, resulting in uneven densities of the developed images between films of the series.
In view of the above, there is a continuing need for improved photothermographic film developers. In particular, there is a need for a thermal processor that reduces variations in image density resulting from variations in roller temperatures as described above.

Thermal processor with temperature compensation


An RF PA system that generates its own local characterization information. The RF PA system includes a PA to generate a RF output signal from a RF input signal, the PA powered by a supply voltage. A characterization block generates characterization information corresponding to a relationship between the supply voltage and performance (e.g., gain, power efficiency, distortion, receive band noise) of the RF PA system for a plurality of levels of one or more operating conditions (e.g., temperature, operating frequency, modulation format, antennae mismatch, etc.) of the RF PA system. An amplitude estimator block estimates an amplitude of the RF input signal. A supply control block generates a supply voltage control signal for controlling the supply voltage based on the characterization information and the amplitude of the RF input signal.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to envelope tracking power amplifier systems, and more specifically to envelope tracking power amplifier systems with improved characteristics.
2. Description of Related Art
Envelope Tracking (ET) systems may be found in the radio frequency (RF) transmitter section of a radio where power efficiency is important, such as in cellular radios used in mobile phones. A typical ET system includes a variable power supply supplying a power amplifier (PA) with a dynamically changing supply voltage that tracks the amplitude of the modulation. The goal of such an ET system is to improve power efficiency by operating the PA with low headroom.
The supply voltage level can be determined with a look up table that references amplitudes to values for the supply voltage. FIG. 7 illustrates the nature of choices available for a lookup table. As an example, for an amplitude corresponding to PA output power of 22 dBm, the lookup table may contain PA supply voltage values ranging from 1.2V to 5V. The choice of this value may be set to provide a good balance between PA efficiency and linearity. If the PA supply voltage is set too low, the PA operates with lower head room, and thus with higher efficiency, but with higher distortion. Conversely, if the PA supply voltage is set too high, the PA operates with higher head room, and thus with lower efficiency, but the additional headroom allows for lower distortion levels.
The values for the lookup table are typically determined in a factory through characterization on a typical PA on a typical radio device under typical conditions. This initial set of values is then copied into other ET systems. However, during actual operation of the other ET systems, the PA may exhibit different characteristics from those during characterization of the typical PA, depending on factors such as PA process and manufacturing tolerances, power supply circuit variations, environmental factors, temperature, operating frequency modulation formats and antenna mismatch. Thus, the initial set of values may not operate the PA with the right balance of power efficiency and distortion.

Envelope tracking system with internal power amplifier characterization


The invention concerns a semiconductor optical amplifier. The optical guide structure of this amplifier comprises a rectangular cross-section active stripe (12). Its material is homogeneous and it is subjected to a tensile strain sufficient to render the amplifier insensitive to the polarisation of the light to be amplified.. The invention finds an application in optical telecommunications.

The present invention concerns the amplification of optical signals. It typically finds applications in fibre optic telecommunication networks. The signals transmitted by these networks consist of pulses carrying information to be transmitted in binary form. These pulses must be amplified to compensate power losses to which they are subject as they propagate in these networks. Semiconductor amplifiers constitute a compact means of providing such amplification that can be integrated. However, in the absence of particular provisions, their gain is sensitive to the polarisation of the light that they receive, which is referred to for simplicity hereinafter as the polarisation sensitivity of an amplifier. This invention find a more particular application in the situation in which this sensitivity must be eliminated or at least limited. This is frequently the case. It arises when the distance travelled by the optical pulses to be amplified is such that the polarisation of the pulses has been affected greatly and at random during their propagation and when it is preferable for the amplified pulses to have one or more predetermined power levels.
More generally, this invention finds applications when an optical amplifier must have no or limited polarisation sensitivity.
A semiconductor optical amplifier includes a wafer comprising layers of semiconductor materials having respective refractive indices and forming a common crystal lattice. In the absence of mechanical strains, the respective lattices of these materials have characteristic dimensions constituting a respective lattice constant of the material. The layers are in succession in a vertical direction forming a right-angle trihedron with two horizontal directions constituting a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, these directions being defined relative to this wafer. The latter includes at least the following layers or groups or parts of layers:
A substrate consisting mainly of a semiconductor base material having a first type of conductivity. This substrate has a thickness sufficient to impose the lattice constant of the base material on all of the crystal lattice of the wafer. PA1 An active layer including an active material adapted to amplify light by stimulated recombination of charge carriers of both types injected into this material. PA1 A guide structure. This structure include at least one stripe having a refractive index higher than that of the surrounding materials. It extends in the longitudinal direction to guide said light in this direction. This stripe has a transverse width and a vertical thickness. PA1 Finally, a top confinement layer (18) consisting of a material having a second type of conductivity opposite to the first. PA1 "1.5 .mu.m Multiquantum-Well Semiconductor Optical Amplifier with Tensile and Compressively Strained Wells for Polarisation-independent Gain" M. A. Newkirk, B. I. Miller, U. Koren, M. G. Young, M. Chein, R. M. Jopson, and C. A. Burrus. PA1 IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, VOL.4, NO 4, APRIL 1993, and: PA1 "Polarization insensitive multiple quantum well laser amplifiers for the 1300 nm window" L. F. Tiemeijer, P. A. Thijs, T. van Dongen, R. W. M. Slootweg, J. M. M. van der Heijden, J. J. M. Binsma, and M. P. C. Krijn, Appl. Phys. Lett. 62 (8), Feb. 22 1993. PA1 "Defects in epitaxial multilayers" J. W. Matthews and A. E. Blakeslee, J. Crystal Growth 27, 118 (1974). PA1 "1.55-.mu.m Polarization-Insensitive Optical Amplifier with Strain-Balanced Superlattice Active Layer" A. Godefroy, A. Le Corre, F. Clerot, S. Salaun, S. Loualiche, J. C. Simon, L. Henry, C. Vaudry, J. C. Keromnes, G. Joulie, and P. Mamouler, PA1 IEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, VOL. 7, NO 5, MAY 1995. PA1 "1.55 .mu.m Polarisation Independent Semiconductor Optical Amplifier with 25 dB Fiber to Fiber Gain" F. Doussiere, F. Garabedian, C. Graver, D. Bonnevie, T. Fillion, E. Derouin, M. Monnot, J. G. Provost, D. Leclerc, Associate, IEEE, and M. Klenk. PA1 IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, VOL. 6 NO 2, FEBRUARY 1994. PA1 "High Performance MQW Laser Amplifiers for Transmission Systems Operating in the 1310 nm Window at Bitrates of 10 Gbit/s and Beyond", L. F. Tiemeijer, Proc. 21st Eur. Conf. on Opt. Com. (ECOC'95-Brussels) P.259 et seq. PA1 ease of fabrication and integration, PA1 insensitivity to polarisation, PA1 good spectral position, PA1 good energy efficiency, and/or PA1 high output power.
This amplifier further includes a bottom electrode and a top electrode respectively formed on the bottom face and the top face of the wafer to enable an electrical current to be passed between these faces to inject said charge carriers of both types into the active material.
The base materials of prior art semiconductor optical amplifiers are of the III-V type. They are typically indium phosphide and gallium arsenide. The active material in typically a ternary or quaternary material comprising the same chemical elements. The width of the stripe that guides the light is generally required to be about one micrometer to facilitate the formation of the stripe by etching and above all to facilitate integration of the amplifier with other optical components on a common semiconductor wafer. The thickness must then be very much less than the width to assure mononodal guidance of the light which typically has a wavelength of 1 310 nm or 1 550 nm. In the absence of specific provisions, it is this rectangular shape of the cross-section of the stripe that gives rise to the polarisation sensitivity previously mentioned.
Various families of prior art amplifiers of this kind are distinguished from each other by the various provisions made therein to render these amplifiers polarisation insensitive.
A first family of prior art amplifiers includes a so-called "ridge" type stripe, i.e. a stripe projecting from the semiconductor wafer. Given that the two lateral faces of a stripe of this kind separate it from a gaseous medium such as air having a refractive index very much lower than that of the semiconductor material, adjusting the height of the stripe imparts to the cross-section of the stripe a shape which, whilst being strongly rectangular, can render the amplifier polarisation insensitive. An amplifier of this first family is described in an article: S. Pajarola, J. Eckner, P. A. Besse, G. Guekos and D. Syvridis, "Temperature behaviour of a bulk InGaAsP/InP ridge waveguide structure for polarisation insensitive optical amplifier operation", Appl. Physics Lett. 65, No.22, pp.2762-2764, 1994.
The amplifiers of the first family have the drawback that it can be difficult to effect the necessary adjustment of the height of the stripe. Note also that the heat generated in the active material in service is difficult to remove because of the low thermal conductivity of the gaseous medium surrounding the stripe, which the active material is necessarily near.
No such adjustment of stripe height is necessary in second and third families of prior art amplifiers known as "buried stripe" amplifiers. In these amplifiers the active material constitutes the stripe guiding the light and is surrounded entirely by a binary semiconductor material. This has the advantage of conducting heat well but its refractive index is only slightly lower than that of the active material.
In said second family of prior art amplifiers the active layer is of the "quantum well" type. This is in contrast to the situation in which the active material is homogeneous, in which case it is known as a bulk material. In the second family the cross-section of the buried stripe is strongly rectangular. Given the small index difference between this stripe and the surrounding binary material, the confinement of a horizontal polarisation wave is better than that of a vertical polarisation wave, the difference between the two confinement factors being in direct proportion to the ratio of the width of the stripe to its thickness. The confinement mentioned here in respect of a wave is considered in a transverse plane. It is equal to the ratio of the power of this wave in the area occupied by the stripe to the total power of the wave. The confinement factor is defined for each polarisation and for each wavelength by the space and the dimensions of the cross-section of the stripe and by the refractive indices of the material of the stripe and of the surrounding material. In the case of a rectangular stripe cross-section it can be regarded as the product of a directional confinement factor in the horizontal direction by a directional confinement factor in the vertical direction, each of these two directional confinement factors being polarisation-dependent. Given that the phenomenon of amplification of the wave by recombination of carriers and stimulated emission is achieved only in the active material, i.e. in the stripe, the gain of the amplifier for a wave is in direct proportion to the confinement factor of the wave. As a result, if the material of the stripe were homogeneous, and moreover isotropic, and therefore polarisation-insensitive, the gain of the amplifier would be greater for horizontal polarisation waves than for vertical polarisation waves.
This is why, in the prior art amplifiers of this second family, the material of the stripe is neither homogeneous nor isotropic. It is firstly a non-homogeneous (i.e. composite) material, because it is in the form of a structure comprising a succession in the vertical direction of layers alternately constituting quantum wells and barriers. The quantum wells are made of the active material and have thicknesses in the order of 8 nm. The barriers are made of the base material and have thicknesses in the order of 10 nm. This quantum well structure is distinguished from other structures that are also made up of successive layers but in which the thickness of the layers are much greater, for example 50 nm. A material that is homogeneous or consists of these thick layers is known a "bulk material".
The material of the stripe is not isotropic because the lattice constant of the active material is smaller than that of the base material. The quantum wells are therefore subjected to a bidirectional tensile strain in the horizontal plane. The effect of this strain is to make the gain gV of the active material for vertical polarisation waves greater than the corresponding gain gH for horizontal polarisation waves, these gains being gains per unit length. The difference between the two gains is in direct proportion to the strain. The effective gain per unit length GH or GV of the amplifier for a horizontal or vertical polarisation wave is the product of the confinement factor CH or CV of that wave by the gain gH or gV of the material of the stripe for that wave, respectively. Choosing a suitable strain for the active material then makes it possible to satisfy the equation: EQU CH.gH=CV.gV i.e. GH=GV
i.e. to render the amplifier polarisation-insensitive.
The amplifiers of this second family have the drawback of a poor spectral position, i.e. the wavelengths of light that can be amplified efficiently by strained quantum well stripes are ill-suited to their transmission over long distances by optical fibres if the strains applied to the wells are sufficient to render the amplifiers polarisation-insensitive. Amplifiers of this second family are described in the articles:
In a manner that is known in itself the application of a tensile strain to an active material favours the gain gV of this material for vertical polarisation waves whether the material is in the form of bulk material or in the form of quantum wells. This is why it is considered that this effect of a strain of this kind might enable a polarisation-insensitive amplifier to be obtained using a bulk active material. A potentially useful structure has been proposed to this end. Before describing this structure it is necessary to specify the problems that occur if a strain of this kind is to be used to this end. One such problem is that the strain can favour de-mixing, i.e. segregation of the components of a quaternary material. However, the most serious problem is related to the inevitable existence of dislocations in the crystal lattice of the semiconductor material. This is because any tensile strain applied to a material of this kind tends to provoke the propagation and the amplification of dislocations of its crystal lattice. These dislocations compromise the energy efficiency of the amplifier, among other things, and can even render it unusable. For each value of the strain and for each material there exists a layer thickness, known as "critical thickness", beyond which incipient dislocations propagate in such a manner that the material becomes unusable. The existence of this critical thickness is described in the article:
This problem associated with the dislocations has not prevented the production of prior art amplifiers of the second family referred to above because the thicknesses of the quantum wells are substantially less than the critical thickness corresponding to the applied strains. This is why, for cases in which the active material layer thicknesses must exceed those of the quantum wells, and be greater than 30 nm, for example, the potentially useful structure mentioned above would consist in separating such layers by layers of another semiconductor material to a compressive strain that would, on average, compensate the strains which would be applied. However, this potentially useful structure has not in practice appeared to be able to overcome usefully the problem associated with the dislocations. This theoretical structure is described in:
The drawbacks of the prior art amplifiers of the second family and the known problems that would be associated with the use of the above theoretical structure are avoided in a third family of prior art amplifiers in which another structure is used and effectively prevents amplifier polarisation-sensitivity.
The stripe of the amplifiers of this third family is constituted homogeneously of a bulk active material the lattice constant of which is identical to that of the base material so that the material is not strained and is then isotropic. At least approximate polarisation-insensitivity results from the fact that the cross-section of this stripe is square or substantially square, i.e. its width, for example 500 nm, is equal to or slightly greater than its thickness, for example 400 nm. The drawbacks already mentioned relating to an insufficient width of the stripe are then encountered, i.e. in particular the problem of integrating the amplifier with other optical components on a common semiconductor wafer. The third family is described in an article:
These three prior art amplifier families are mentioned in an overview in:


A probabilistic classifier is used to classify data items in a data stream. The probabilistic classifier is trained, and an initial classification threshold is set, using unique training and evaluation data sets (i.e., data sets that do not contain duplicate data items). Unique data sets are used for training and in setting the initial classification threshold so as to prevent the classifier from being improperly biased as a result of similarity rates in the training and evaluation data sets that do not reflect similarity rates encountered during operation. During operation, information regarding the actual similarity rates of data items in the data stream is obtained and used to adjust the classification threshold such that misclassification costs are minimized given the actual similarity rates.

With the advent of the Internet and a decline in computer prices, many people are communicating with one another through computers interconnected by networks. A number of different communications mediums have been developed to facilitate such communications between computer users. A prolific communication medium is electronic mail (e-mail).
Email participants seem to receive an ever increasing number of mass, unsolicited, commercial e-mailings (colloquially known as e-mail spam or spam e-mail). Spam e-mail is akin to junk mail sent through the postal service. However, because spam e-mail requires neither paper nor postage, the costs incurred by the sender of spam e-mail are quite low when compared to the costs incurred by conventional junk mail senders. Consequently, e-mail users now receive a significant amount of spam e-mail on a daily basis.
Spam e-mail impacts both e-mail users and e-mail providers. For e-mail users, spam e-mail can be disruptive, annoying, and time consuming. For e-mail and network service providers, spam e-mail represents tangible costs in terms of storage and bandwidth usage, which costs are not negligible due to the large number of spam e-mails being sent.

Classifier tuning based on data similarities


Secretion of gastric acid and development of ulcers can be inhibited by administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a hot water extract of the cultivated mycelia of Cordyceps sinensis.

Vegetative wasps, e.g., plant worms, are fungi of Scoymycota, Pyrenomycetes, Clavicipitales, Clavicipitaceae, and Cordyceps. These wasps undergo both a complete metamorphic phase and an incomplete metamorphic phase. The fruits on which these fungi are found have been valued from ancient times as drugs which are effective for imparting perennial youth and longevity or for nourishment and tonicity. The fruit bodies which bear vegetative wasps that have heretofore been considered extremely valuable as Chinese medicinals are generally powdered and administered as powders.
According to the present invention, the mycelia of particular vegetative wasps are cultivated, and the thus-cultivated mycelia are extracted with hot water. The fact that the resulting extract from such mycelia has a cardiotonic and anti-fatigue effect, as well as an anti-ulcer effect, has heretofore been completely unknown.

Method and composition for treating ulcers and secretion of gastric acid


There is provided a wall port cover to be installed in building wall ports. Wall ports are simply openings in a wall or ceiling of a building which may be used to house electrical panels, HVAC systems, access panels, lighting switches, and the like. The wall port cover comprises an engagement means which is rotatable between an engaging position and a releasing position. In the engaging position, the engaging means extend beyond the wall port cover to engage a top surface of the wall or ceiling drywall panel to support and retain the wall port cover within the vent opening. In the releasing position, the engaging means are retracted within the wall port cover to disengage from the top surface of the wall or ceiling drywall panel to allow the wall port cover to be removed from the vent openings.

There are many types of wall ports which exist in a building. Wall ports are simply openings in a wall or ceiling of a building which may be used to house electrical panels, HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning) systems, access panels, lighting switches, and the like. Wall ports are covered as they are unsightly or for functional reasons, for example, to provide adjustable ventilation, to be secured from dust, or to control access to the wall port.
For example, HVAC systems installed in buildings generally provide heated, cooled or conditioned air into various rooms of a building. An air handling unit is the main unit of the HVAC system that comprises the furnace or air conditioner and provides the heated, cooled or conditioned air. Typically, air vents or ducts move air from the air handling unit to the various rooms of a building. The air vents terminate at opening located at the terminal end of the vent, for air output into a specific room. The vent openings are generally covered with a louvered vent cover which is installed in the vent opening. Vent openings can be located in floors, walls or ceilings of the various rooms in a building. This is to provide the most efficient route from the HVAC air handling unit. For example, if the air handling unit is located on the ground floor of a 3-storey building, floor vents can be provided on the upper floor, ceiling vents can be provided in the basement and wall vents can be provided on the ground floor of the building.
The typical louvered vent covers are easily retained in floor vent openings by gravity. However, for vents provided in walls or ceilings, it is necessary to attach the vent cover to the wall or ceiling such that the vent cover is retained within the vent opening. Typically, vent covers are attached to the wall or ceiling through the use of fasteners such as screws, nails, or adhesives. However, the use of fasteners can present some difficulties in attaching the vent cover to the vent opening. For example, the vent opening may not be adjacent to a framing member (i.e. a stud) to provide proper attachment of the screws. Furthermore, screws, nails and adhesives may cause permanent damage to the walls or ceilings.
To overcome these problems, in some instances, a larger vent cover can be fit into a smaller vent opening to provide a tension-fit attachment. However, this may not be feasible if the vent opening is too large. Furthermore, there is a risk of having the vent cover fall from the ceiling or the wall and hurt someone or damage property.
Similarly, or access panels for vent cleaning or electrical panels are generally located on the wall covered sometimes with a door panel. The door may open unexpectedly, and the electrical panel may be accessible by children or other adults not authorized access.
Thus, there remains a need for a wall port cover which is easy to install and stays within the vent opening without permanent fasteners such as screws, nails or adhesives, etc.


A low power transmitter for use in a vehicle security system includes an oscillator that is isolated from a transmitter antenna. An amplifier is coupled between the oscillator and the antenna to achieve the isolation. The amplifier and the isolator are tied to a single signal source so that each is initiated at the same time. The amplifier has a faster turn-on time than the oscillator so that the amplifier is fully operational at the instant it receives an output signal from the oscillator. The amplifier amplifies the single frequency of the oscillator and that amplified signal is transmitted by the antenna to a controller, which responsively controls the vehicle security system.

This invention generally relates to vehicle security systems and, more particularly, to a low power transmitter for remote access to the vehicle security system.
A variety of vehicle security systems are available today. Some are installed by the manufacturer while others are available on an after-market basis. In most vehicle security systems, a remote access feature is provided through a key fob. The key fob typically includes one or more buttons that can be pressed to activate or access the vehicle security system. For example, a button can be pressed to unlock the vehicle doors from some distance away from the vehicle.
In some markets and areas, it is becoming increasingly important to customize vehicle security systems to fit within certain operating parameters. For example, in Japan, the signals that are transmitted by a remote transmitter must be of a much lower power level than that typically used in the United States. Current attempts to address this situation utilize special integrated circuitry within the key fob transmitter. Alternatively, metal shielding has been introduced to isolate the various components within the key fob, which permits lower power signal operation. Neither of these solutions is satisfactory because they both introduce undesirable cost into the system.
There is another difficulty in designing a system that operates at a low power level. In conventional systems, the transmitter includes an oscillator and an antenna. The antenna is typically coupled with the collector of the oscillator and, therefore, is a load on the oscillator. Since the antenna is influenced by outside factors, the oscillator must be robust in the conventional arrangements. An oscillator that is more robust carries with it the undesirable drawback of yielding higher harmonic levels if low power levels are used. Another significant problem with conventional designs is that lowering power within the circuitry compromises the performance of the oscillator and, therefore, the output signal from the key fob.
There is a need for a transmitter for use with a vehicle security system, for example, that allows for low power operation without compromising oscillator performance. This is a challenge that has not been met prior to this invention.

Vehicle security system with low power transmitter


The invention relates to the field of pharmaceutics and medicine and concerns a nano-diamond conjugate with glycine for delivering glycine into an organism, the conjugate comprising nano-diamond particles modified by glycine, with a particle size of 2-10 nm, and containing up to 21% by mass of glycine which is included in the composition of the superficial shell of said particles with a thickness of up to 1 nm, and to a method for producing said conjugate.

The present invention relates to the field of pharmaceutics and medicine, in particular, to pharmaceutical nanotechnology, and is directed to a nanodiamond and glycine conjugate for the delivery of glycine into an organism, and to a method for the preparation of said conjugate.
A nanodiamond and glycine conjugate, comprised of particles 2-10 nm in size and used as a binding agent in polymeric compositions, is known in the art [1, 2]. A distinct feature of said conjugate is the presence of fluorine atoms on the nanodiamond's surface. The content of fluorine atoms on the nanodiamond's surface is less than 1%. However, in reality, the fluorine content can reach 14% or more.
A method for the preparation of nanodiamond and glycine conjugates used as binding agents in epoxy polymer composites of anti-corrosion coatings is also known in the art [2] and comprises the following: A nanodiamond sample is carefully weighed, placed in a reactor with a constant helium flow, and annealed at 150-470° C. for 3-4 hours. The nanodiamond samples are then fluorinated at 50-500° C. for 1-24 hrs by placing them in contact with a mixture of fluorine in hydrogen gases. To prepare a nanodiamond and glycine conjugate, the fluorinated nanodiamond is treated with ultrasound in o-dichlorobenzene for 20-30 minutes and combined with glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride (NH2CH2COOCH2CH3.HCl) and several drops of pyridine. The resulting mixture is stirred at 130-140° C. for 8-12 hours. The formed conjugate is washed with ethanol and dried in a vacuum at 70° C.
Fluorine-modified nanodiamond-glycine conjugates are undesirable for medical use, as the presence of fluorine and its derivatives in organic substances is known to increase their toxicity and can alter the microsomal system of the xenobiotic biotransformation indicators in the liver [3]. In addition, fluorine and fluorine compounds can accumulate in various environmental objects, where they can be present in different amounts [4].

Nanodiamond and glycine conjugate and method for the preparation thereof

Zakrytoe Aktsionemoe Obschestvo “Almaz Pharm”


Disclosed herein is an apparatus. The apparatus includes a first housing section, electronic circuitry, and a second housing section. The first housing section forms a front face and a first side of the apparatus. The electronic circuitry is mounted in the first housing section. The second housing section is movably connected to the first housing section. The second housing section is configured to be movable between a first position and a second position. The second housing section partially houses components from the first housing section when the second housing section is in the first position. The second housing section forms a majority of a back face of the apparatus when the second housing section is in the first position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electronic device and, more particularly, to an electronic device with an integrated slide.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
Electronic devices, such as mobile phones for example, have various types of opening mechanisms to achieve a small transport size and a large use size. Many of these devices include a housing having two halves (or housing sections) which are connected with fold or slide mechanisms for example. The configuration of these housing sections generally prohibits the use of components having high (or tall) profiles. The maximum component height is generally limited by the height of either half of the housing.
Patent Application Nos. WO 03/019909 A2 and EP 1770965 A1 disclose conventional configurations having a main housing section with one or more slidable keypad sections. As consumers demand increased functionality from electronic devices, there is a need to provide improved devices having increased capabilities while maintaining robust and reliable product configurations.
Accordingly, there is a desire to provide an improved housing configuration for an electronic device.