An optical information recording medium having a structure in which irregular reflection of information light and recording/reproducing light from the reflective layer of an optical information record medium is prevented, thereby reducing the noise appearing on the reproduced image. The optical information recording medium for recording information by holography comprises a transparent substrate, a recording layer where information is recorded by an interference pattern, and a filter layer formed between the transparent substrate and the recording layer and adapted to transmit a light of a first wavelength and reflect a light of a second wavelength. The filter layer of the thus structured optical information recording medium transmits a light of the first wavelength (for example, red light) and reflects a light of the second wavelength (for example, green light). As a result, two lights of different wavelengths can be separated and used for different purposes without being influenced by each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording medium wherein information is recorded utilizing holography. In particular, the present invention relates to a structure of an optical information recording medium wherein the generation of diffusive light from a reflective surface which causes various adverse effects is prevented when the reflective surface provided on the substrate of an optical information recording medium is irradiated with information light and recording/reproduction reference light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Holographic recording for recording information to a recording medium using holography is generally performed by superimposing light holding image information and reference light within the recording medium and writing the interference pattern formed at this time to the recording medium. When reproducing the recorded information, the image information is reproduced by diffraction due to the interference pattern by irradiating this recording medium with reference light.
One structure of an optical information recording medium implemented in this holographic recording is proposed in Patent Publication "Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-311936", released on Nov. 9, 1999. The optical information recording medium proposed in this patent publication comprises a servo pit 3 provided on plastic or glass substrate 1, over which aluminum film or the like is deposited to form reflective layer 2, and further comprises hologram recording layer 4 composed of recording material and substrate 5 on top of this reflective layer, as shown in FIG. 1.
However, in FIG. 1, not only servo light (red) but also information light and reference light for recording used when recording and reference light for reproducing used when reproducing (all of which are green) reach reflective layer 2 by being irradiated onto the disk and thereby, is reflected and output from incident and output surface A as returning light. A portion of the light reflected from reflective layer 2 is reflected diffusely because reflective layer 2 is not completely flat. This diffused reflection light appears in reproducing light as scattering noise. This is problematic in that the reproduction image cannot be correctly detected by CMOS sensor or CCD and because it is extremely difficult to separate this noise. Because servo light is red light, it can be separated from the green light of information light and recording/reproduction reference lights, and therefore, scattering noise from reflective layer 2 becomes a problem when green light is emitted.
In addition, even when recording, there is a possibility that, when information light and recording/reproduction reference light reach reflective layer 2, are reflected and generate diffused reflection light, this diffused reflection light and the emitted recording/reproduction reference light both generate a different interference pattern. This interference pattern is unnecessary and is problematic in that not only may this become noise during reproduction but the recording medium will not be able to reach its original recording capacity. If the recording medium does not react to red, this will not affect the recording capacity of the recording medium will not be affected even if servo light is reflected slightly diffusely.


A switch unit has a display part that displays an image in at least one input area, a substrate provided above the display part, the substrate having a contact, and at least one substrate opening configured to allow the image in the at least one input area to be viewed from above, an operating button case that covers the substrate, having at least one button case opening, at least one operating button that has translucency, and that is freely pressed down through the at least one button case opening of the operating button case and causes conduction of the contact by being pressed down, light sources mounted on the substrate, that illuminate an area surrounding the at least one operating button, and a light transmissive water-proof sheet made of an elastic member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a switch unit and a game machine, and particularly to the water-proof structure and the light partition structure of a push-button switch unit and a game machine equipped with the same.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a game machine called a slot machine. In a slot machine, a plurality of reels on each of which a plurality of types of symbols are displayed are spun. Then, a winning combination ("yaku") is determined on the basis of a matching pattern of symbols that are displayed when the reels are stopped and the matched symbols, and a prize is given according to the determined winning combination and the number of bets.
Further, operations such as the setting of the number of bets and the spinning of the reels have been performed by pressing a button. More specifically, a player presses a bet button with his/her hand to determine the number of bets as many times as the number of bets to be set, and presses a reel spinning button with his/her hand to start the spin of the reels. The reels are automatically stopped by the control of the machine.
In the meantime, a slot machine is placed, for example, in a casino. In a casino, not only slot machines manufactured by a single game machine manufacturer, but also slot machines manufactured by various game machine manufacturers are placed. A player selects a slot machine that suits his/her preference from slot machines manufactured by various game machine manufacturers, and plays the selected one. Therefore, each casino takes the business strategy to ensure superiority to its competitors by placing slot machines that are popular to players. Therefore, each game machine manufacturer makes efforts to provide slot machines that can attract the attention of players.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-111137 (published on Apr. 28, 2005) discloses a slot machine as a game machine that is provided with a display part including a touch panel. In this slot machine, a character and a numeric keypad are displayed on the display part, and the setting of the number of bets and the start of spin of reels are performed by using the touch panel.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-149700 (published on Jun. 15, 2006) discloses a slot machine in which an operating switch is arranged in an inclined surface in view of an easy pressing operation.


An epilating apparatus includes a compartment for receiving a cooling/heating pad. The cooling/heating pad includes a bag portion containing a cooling/heating medium and a fixing portion for removably fixing the cooling/heating pad to the epilating apparatus.

An epilating apparatus comprising an auxiliary member for cooling the skin is for example known from WO-A-00/76363. With the known epilating apparatus hairs are mechanically extracted from the skin. The hair removing member of the known epilating apparatus comprises a series of clamping discs which are rotatably supported in an epilation head. During rotation of the clamping discs the clamping discs are tiltable in pairs, from a hair catching position, in which hair catching spaces are present between the pairs of clamping discs, to a clamping position in which the pairs of clamping discs are clamped against each other near their edges. Hairs that penetrate the hair catching spaces when the clamping discs are in the hair catching positions are subsequently clamped between the clamping discs and extracted from the skin under the influence of the rotating movement of the clamping discs.
The auxiliary member of the known epilating apparatus is provided with a skin contact element and a holder which is in thermal contact therewith. In the holder there is provided a substance having a comparatively high cold capacity. The auxiliary member is detachably coupled to a main housing of the hair removing device. Before using the hair removing device, the substance should be cooled to a comparatively low temperature by placing the auxiliary member, for example, in a refrigerator for some time. If the auxiliary member is coupled to the main housing, the skin contact element is situated, viewed in a direction wherein the hair removing device is to be displaced over the skin, directly in front of the hair removing member. Consequently, during displacing the hair removing device over the skin, the skin is first cooled by the auxiliary member and immediately after that treated by the hair removing member.
By previously cooling the skin the pain that is usually felt when hairs are extracted is masked. This masking effect can be attributed to the fact that pain stimuli generated during extracting the hairs by pain receptors present around the hairs, are only partially passed on via the nervous system because said nervous system is partially blocked to pain stimuli by the cold stimuli already present in the nerves system and generated by the cold receptors present around the hairs. By virtue of this masking effect the extraction of hairs is experienced as considerably less painful.
A similar pain reduction can be reached by heating the skin before it is treated. Additionally or alternatively it is also possible to cool or heat the skin after treatment. This also reduces the pain and can, for example, be realized by mounting the auxiliary member behind the epilating area with reference to the moving direction.
However, there is a problem in that the known auxiliary member and therefore the whole known epilating apparatus is costly. The known attempts to heat the skin before treatment are also costly.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a cheaper possibility for cooling/heating the skin to be treated.

Epilating apparatus and cooling/heating pad for the same apparatus


A heat dissipation device comprises a heat spreader for contacting an electronic device for absorbing heat therefrom. A plurality of fins is formed on the heat spreader. A first heat sink is separated from the heat spreader and comprises a first base substantially perpendicular to the heat spreader and a plurality of first fins formed on the first base. A second heat sink comprises a second base connecting with the first base and a plurality of second fins formed on the second base. Two heat pipes connect the heat spreader with the first base and the second base via opposite sides of the heat dissipation device. The heat pipes are partly sandwiched between the first base and the second base and transfers heat from the heat spreader to both of the first and the second heat sink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a heat dissipation device for removing heat from a heat-generating device, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device with heat pipes for cooling an electronic device such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU).
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs) generate lots of heat during normal operation. Unless removed, such heat will adversely affect the operational stability of the CPUs. Solutions must be taken to efficiently remove the heat. Typically, a heat sink is mounted on a CPU to remove heat therefrom.
Conventional heat sinks such as aluminum extrusion type heat sinks are widely used for heat dissipation of electronic devices. However, the aluminum extrusion type heat sinks which each commonly include a flat base and a plurality of fins extending integratedly from the base, have many disadvantages. The first is that the total surface area of the fins available for heat dissipation is very limited as the distance between adjacent fins cannot be desirably small enough. This seriously bars improvement of the heat removal rate of the aluminum extrusion type heat sinks. Another disadvantage is that the heat generated by heat sources cannot be rapidly transferred to remote portions of the fins so that the remote portions have a relatively lower heat dissipation effect. This also limits heat dissipation efficiency of the heat sinks.
To solve the above disadvantages of aluminum extrusion type heat sinks, a heat sink having an inverted-T-shaped base and a plurality of fins, has been developed. Taiwan Patent Issue No. 326939 shows an example of this kind of heat sink. The performance of this kind of heat sink is greater than aforesaid aluminum extrusion type heat sinks. However, heat is transferred to the fins still by a conventional conduction which is inherently slow and not enough to remove the heat promptly from the heat source to meet the requirement of heat dissipation of high-powered heat-generating electronic devices.
To enhance the performance of a heat sink, nowadays, heat pipes have been widely used. A heat pipe is a pipe with a hermetically sealed chamber, in which a wicking structure is formed and working fluid is filled. The heat pipes work as follows. Thermal energy enters an evaporating section of the heat pipe and vaporizes the working fluid. The working fluid moves in the heat pipe to an area of lower temperature, and then condenses. After the vapor condenses, the wicking structure draws the liquid back to the evaporating section by capillary action of the wick structure. The cycle is repeated continuously and heat is transferred from high temperature area to low temperature area. Because of the rapid transport capability of the vapor, the heat pipe has a very highly effective thermal conductivity over a long distance. In order to improve performance of a heat sink, today heat pipes are widely used in combination with the heat sink. The combination manner between the heat pipes and the heat sink significantly affects heat dissipation effectiveness of a heat dissipation device consisting of the heat sink and the heat pipes.
Therefore, it is desired to design a novel heat dissipation device with heat pipes wherein the heat pipes are combined with a heat sink in such a way that the heat dissipation device can have an optimal heat dissipation effect.

Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A communication system service billing arrangement is described that adapts to system loading in realtime. As system loading varies, one or more individual subscribers units (ISU) of a communication system are provided with realtime information on the current cost of the communication service. The system determines the locations of the ISUs and the current loading there between and calculates a calling rate based at least on the current loading. This calling rate is sent to at least one of the ISUs whose operator can choose to connect or not connect the call between the ISUs based on the current realtime variable rate.

Present communication system pricing methods rely on fixed, prepublished pricing based upon call duration, call distance, time of day and day of the week. Based on these parameters, the user can determine what the price per service will be prior to the placement of the call. The pricing matrix for local calls is generally given in the Telephone Books from the local service provider. The pricing matrix for a long distance call is based generally on the same parameters but with the call distance being a larger factor. The pricing matrix is of a fixed nature and changes infrequently.
A feature generally found in long distance pricing structure is the practice that the cost rate for the call is based on the price structure of the one who originates the call. For example, in a call from Los Angeles, CA, where the time is 4:00 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, to New York, N.Y., where the time is 7:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, the cost of the call is based on the rate in effect in Los Angeles at the time of the call, which in this case is the more expensive daytime rate. If the call had originated in New York the cost of the call would be based on the evening rate, which is lower than the daytime rate. This type of fixed pricing matrix structure is well established. Its historical roots are a result of the generally fixed nature of the physical plant used to provide the service, that is, the wires and other transmission means have known physical locations. Calls are made from one fixed geographical location to another. Thus, the associated cost per service is easily calculated and published or otherwise available to the user of the service.
Even with published rates there has been a need for callers to have a simple way to predict the cost of calls of different distance and duration, rather than merely waiting for the bill from the Phone Company. Apparatus for this is generally called a Telephone Call Metering device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,956, issued to John M. Delany and U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,728, issued to John M. Treat and U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,308 issued to Gerald J. Weinberger et al; describe Telephone Call Metering devices. Various communication billing computation systems and the like are shown. These devices use or are based on the fixed published pricing matrix (described above). Typically, the user inputs the call distance (e.g. by Area Code) and call rate ($/min-Area Code) applicable for the time of day when the call is to be made, and the device calculates an estimate of the telephone charge depending on the call duration.
With these arrangements the pricing parameters are loaded into the Telephone Call Metering Device by the user and not by the provider of service. A disadvantage of this is that as rates change due to regulatory or other actions, the Telephone Call Metering Device must be up-dated by the user or else the displayed costs will not be accurate. Or, if a call is made to a region not programmed then no costs can be displayed. The displayed costs are only an estimate of the actual cost based on the published cost matrix and the time-distance parameters at the time when the information is loaded into the Telephone Call Metering Device.
Other Telephone Call Metering devices are those used with Pay-for-service telephones, or as they are generally called, "Pay Phones". Pay Phone systems indicate the basic charges for the call via aural or visual display means, so that the user can determine how much currency must be deposited before the provider of service will permit the call to be completed. In the case of a long distance call from a Pay Phone, the service is terminated after a fixed period of time unless the originating user deposits within the Pay Phone additional currency to keep the connection open.
A difficulty with the above described approaches is that they do not take into account realtime demand for the service. Specifically, the fixed price matrix on which the call charge is based relies on an average time-of-day usage assumption and is changed only infrequently. Service charges to the user are not revised on a real time basis. With prior art systems, there is no mechanism for having the call service charge reflect the real time demand for the particular line or set of lines being used.
The advent of cellular phone systems and in particular satellite and/or cellular telephone systems makes it highly desirable to have a service billing system that adapts to system loading in real time or nearly real time. The number of simultaneous user that such a system can handle is generally much smaller than with wire line service. This problem is especially severe with satellite cellular telephone systems. As system loading varies, it is highly desirable to simultaneously vary the rate structure.
The nature of cellular telephone and data communication systems, especially satellite systems, creates a further problem in that users have little or no geographical restrictions on the locations in which they may place calls or receive calls. The old fixed price matrix method used with wire lines of fixed location or with terrestrial cellular systems of very limited geographical range are difficult to apply to satellite cellular telephone systems and large area terrestrial cellular systems. Currently, operators of the systems have no way of varying the rates in real time and users of said systems have no means of knowing the instantaneous rate prior to and during the placement of a call.
As used herein the terms "telephone system" and "telephone service" are intended to include both voice and data transmission.

Dynamic pricing method and apparatus for communication systems


Embodiments of a method, device, and terminal apparatus for load balancing and a storage medium are provided. The method can include acquiring a service traffic of a service request received by at least one load balancer configured for an equipment room of a plurality of equipment rooms, acquiring a dispatching result of the load balancer, according to the service traffic of the service request and a service capacity of the equipment room, and pushing the dispatching result to a distribution proportion configuration center configured to send the dispatching result to the load balancer, where the dispatching result is used to indicate the load balancer to distribute the service request to one or more equipment rooms.

In order to achieve purposes such as disaster tolerance of a network service, or providing services close to a user's location, systems providing a service are typically deployed in a plurality of equipment rooms in one or more data centers. In this case, the data traffic of a user accessing the system needs to be dispatched among the plurality of equipment rooms for the purpose of balancing load, fault prevention, and so on. The technique of dispatching traffic among multiple equipment rooms is collectively referred to as global load balancing.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, global load balancing is generally implemented based on a Domain Name System (DNS). Users are first divided by region (e.g., Beijing, Tianjin). Then, an Internet Protocol (IP) address is selected for a user corresponding to each region. When a user of a region requests the parsing of a domain name of a service, the IP address selected for the user in the region is returned, and traffic of the user in the region is directed to the equipment room corresponding to the IP address. In this manner, the following effects can be achieved:
1. Load balancing: By dispatching the users' traffic into equipment rooms in respective regions according to the regions where the users are located, the load of each equipment room can be adjusted to realize load balancing.
2. Fault prevention: When one equipment room fails, the IP address mapped to the failed equipment room can be adjusted to the IP address of any one of the other equipment rooms, such that user traffic is transferred to a functioning equipment room for the purpose of stopping loss.
However, global load balancing based on DNS can have the following disadvantages:
1. The dispatching takes effect slowly. The DNS needs to clear the cache every time the address is parsed. Thus, the dispatching takes effect slowly, up to for ten minutes or even several hours.
2. Inaccurate dispatching. When the equipment rooms are excessively divided by region, it is difficult to accurately divide the regions to which the users belongs, in particular where a local domain name (local DNS) is used by users in different regions. Therefore, it is difficult for DNS dispatching to accurately dispatch user traffic to various regions, and the effect of load balancing often does not meet expectations.

Method and device for load balancing, and storage medium

Beijing Baidu Netcom Science and Technology Co., Ltd.


A roller conveyor has drive rollers individually connected to a stepping motor and idler rollers arranged longitudinally in two rows. The conveyor is divided longitudinally into a plurality of sections, each section being provided with a sensor and one of control cards that are sequentially connected and can exchange signals such that objects can be transported longitudinally on these rollers from one section to the next without colliding each other. Each drive roller has a wear-resistant lining around the drive shaft of the associated stepping motor such that the drive rollers can start and stop rotation gradually even if the associated motors are started or stopped abruptly.

This invention relates to roller conveyors for transporting objects such as silicon wafers or memory disks in cassettes, as well as control systems for such roller conveyors.
Conveyors of various types have been developed, including belt conveyors, roller conveyors and conveyors with a combination of both belts and rollers which are driven by motors. Each type of conveyor serves a specific purpose and modifications are constantly being introduced to eliminate various deficiencies and also to meet specific requirements or needs. One of the drawbacks of prior art conveyors is that they are costly. Typical prior art belt or roller conveyors utilize complex control systems incorporating a complex and heavy wiring system lacking the intelligence of transferring objects such that collisions or chafting of objects may occur frequently, resulting in generation of contaminating particles. Thus, another of major drawbacks of prior art conveyors is their inability to maintain a clean environment free of small particles. In many industries, smoothness in movement of the objects and contamination control are key issues. For applications inside a cleanroom, generation of small particles due to slippage of a belt conveyor becomes a serious problem for maintaining a dust-free environment. For transporting delicate objects such as silicon wafers and memory disks, conveyors which start and stop abruptly can cause damage to the surfaces of the objects.

c/o HYAC Corporation 48511 Warm Springs Blvd.


A functional member having a molecular layer on its surface, wherein the molecular layer is formed through a coordinate bond, and the coordinate bond is a multidentate bond in which at least one molecule is bonded to one metallic atom of the member and two or more ligands of the molecule are coordinated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a functional member having a molecular layer on its surface and, more particularly, to a functional member having a molecular layer formed to coordinate on its surface, and a method of producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, as methods for formation of a molecular layer, there are known a so-called LB method and a chemical adsorption method (K. Ogawa et al., Langnuir, 6,851 (1990)).
The LB method is a method such that amphiphatic molecules developed on a water surface are collected together, with pressure being applied to the molecules in a direction parallel to the water surface, the molecules being then scooped onto a substrate while the pressure is kept constant, whereby a monomolecular layer is formed.
In the chemical adsorption method, a silane-based surface active agent is mainly used in such a way that the surface active agent is caused to go into condensation reaction with functional groups having active hydrogen, such as hydroxyl group and carboxyl group, which are present on the substrate, whereby a monomolecular layer of the silane-based surface active agent is formed on the substrate.
However, the above mentioned forming methods each have problems yet to be solved.
The LB method requires the provision of a developing bath first of all. The developing bath must be protected against vibration so that any slight vibration in the surroundings will not be transferred to the bath to cause the liquid surface to become wavy.
Another problem with the LB method is that since a molecular layer prepared by the LB method is fixed to the substrate by ionic bonding, the layer will be easily peeled off not only by a mechanical scratch, but also by being merely brought into contact with a liquid.
Whilst, the chemical adsorption method involves a problem that hydrogen chloride is produced because the silane-based surface active agent is brought into condensation reaction with a functional group having an active hydrogen atom as already mentioned. Therefore, the chemical adsorption method may be unsuitable for use with a substrate having low acid resistance.
Another problem with this method is that the silane-based surface active agent will not go into condensation reaction with a substrate having no active hydrogen atom; therefore, it is impossible to carry out layer-forming by using such a method.
The present invention has been developed in view of above mentioned state of the art and, therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method of forming on the surface of a substrate a molecular layer which involves no such problems mentioned above as have been encountered in the prior art.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel functional material having a molecular layer firmly bonded to the surface of a component member.
Therefore, the present invention relates to a functional member having a molecular layer on its surface, wherein the molecular layer is a layer formed on the surface of the member through a coordinate bond, the coordinate bond being a multidentate bond such that at least one molecule is in bond with one metallic atom of the member, and such that two or more ligand atoms of the molecule are coordinated so that the metallic atom is placed between the ligand atoms. The invention also relates to a method of producing the functional member.
A multidentate bond wherein multidentate ligand molecules are in bond with atoms of a substrate metal is known as a chelate bond. A chelate bond is different from a covalent bond in the way in which the bond is formed, but the formed bond per se is same as the covalent bond. In a coordinate bond, both electrons that form the bond come from one of the atoms. Although the bond is covalent in character, a coordinate bond differs from a covalent bond in the origin of the electrons that form the bond. In a covalent bond, one electron originates on each of the two atoms being bonded. Therefore, the multidentate bond provides much higher layer/substrate metal bond strength than a monodentate bond, and accordingly the molecular layer formed can exhibit good performance characteristics, such as high heat resistance. Further, characteristic features of such multidentate ligand molecules can be advantageously utilized in providing the member with various properties, such as insulating property, electrical conductivity, permeability, bonding property, absorption characteristic, and protective property.
Multidentate ligand molecules usable for forming a molecular layer in the present invention include, for example, acetylacetone, acetoethyl acetate, benzoyl acetone, ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, diethylamine, thiourea, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, iminodiacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, quinoline-8-carboxylic acid, quinaldinic acid, o-aminobenzoic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, anthranilic acid, 2-aminoperimidine, galloyl-gallic acid, potassium xanthate, oxine, cupferron, 4-chloro-3-methyl-5-nitrobenzene sulfonate, salicylaldehyde oxime, diantipyrylmethane, diethyl dithiocarbamic acid, p-dimethylamino benzylidene rhodamine, dimethylglyoxime, cinchonine, N-cinnamoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine, thioacetoamide, thionalide, tetraphenyl borate, trimethylphenyl ammonium, 1-nitroso-2-naphthol, nitrone, neocupferron, bismuthyol II, p-hydroxyphenyl arsonic acid, 8-hydroxy-7-iodo-5-quinoline sulfonic acid, pyrogallol, 1-pyrrolidine carbodithioic acid, phenylarsonic acid,(phenylthio) dantinic acid, phenylfluoron, xcex1-furyldioxime, brucine, benzidine, N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine, xcex1-benzoin oxime, benzo[f] quinoline, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, rhodamine B, 4-tetradecyl-N-methyl salicylaldehyde oxime, 3-tetradecyl pyridine, itaconic acid, and pyromellitic acid.
For use as a component member on which a molecular layer is to be formed in accordance with the present invention, materials having a metallic portion or metallic oxide portion exposed on the surface are most suitable. The member may be in the form of a metallic plate or a material such that a metallic component is dispersed in resin and is contained as a part of the surface component. There is no particular limitation with respect to the configuration and size of the substrate.
In order to form a multidentate bond with a multidentatable molecule, it is necessary that the coordination number of atoms of the component metal should be two or more. Where the coordination number of such atoms is four or more, multidentate molecules which are in bond with one metallic atom may be two or more in number. For example, when the component metal is copper, the coordination number is 2 or 4; when the metal is nickel, the coordination number is 4 or 6; when cobalt, the coordination number is 4 or 6; when silver, the number is 2 or 4; if gold, the number is 4; when platinum, the number is 4 or 6; when aluminum, the number is 6; and in the case of tungsten, the number is 6 or 8.
To form a molecular layer on the surface of the component member, multidentate molecules may be brought into contact with the member. For causing such a molecule to contact the member, a suitable method is to bring the substrate into contact with one of a liquid molecule, a liquid solution having molecules dissolved in a solvent, and a gaseous molecule.
In particular, when a liquid solution is used, it is necessary to suitably select a solvent which will not affect the substrate on which a layer is to be formed. For example, water, alcohols, and ketones are most suitable for this purpose.
The variation of characteristics of a molecular layer and/or the control of molecular layer thickness may be adjusted depending on the kind of multidentate molecules and conditions used for causing the substrate into contact with the multidentate molecule.
In order to enable the formation of a strong chelate bond of the multidentate molecule with the component member to provide a molecular layer having high heat resistance, it is preferable that the molecule should be a molecule having not less than two functional groups selected from carboxyl groups, amino groups, and hydroxyl groups, including, for example, ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, diethylamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, imino-diacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid, quinoline-8-carboxylic acid, quinaldinic acid, o-aminobenzoic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, anthranilic acid, galloyl-gallic acid, pyrogallol. By using such a multidentate molecule to form such a chelate bond of the molecule with the component member as represented by the formula (1) below is it possible to realize the formation of aforesaid molecular layer:
(in which, M represents a metallic atom of the substrate).
The shorter the time for contact between the component member and the ligand molecule, and the lower the probability of such a contact, the smaller is the thickness of the molecular layer formed. Conversely, the longer the time for contact between the component member and the ligand molecule, and the higher the probability of such a contact, the larger is the thickness of the molecular layer formed. In order to form a multimolecular layer more efficiently and in sufficient thickness, it is desirable that a ligand molecule capable of dissolving the metal of the component member is preferably used.
In order to form a monomolecular layer, a component member is treated (immersed) in a ligand molecule solution having a concentration of the order of 0.1 mmol/L to 500 mmol/L under temperature conditions of more than the melting point but lower than boiling point of a solvent used and for not more than 24 hours, preferably at a temperature of 0 to 100xc2x0 C. for 1 to 60 minutes, more preferably at a temperature of room temperature (24xc2x0 C.) order for about 10 minutes, whereby a molecular layer comprised of a monomolecular layer can be formed on the surface of the component member.
Multidentate molecules which can be preferably used in forming such a monomolecular layer are exemplified by molecules comprising functional groups expressed by the following formula (2):
In the formula (2), A1-A6 denote (CH2)nCOOH (n is 0-3), (CH2)nOH (n is 0-3), or (CH2)mNXY (m is 0-2; X and Y independently represent a hydrogen atom, a hydrocarbon group having not more than 8 carbon atoms, a phenyl group or an aromatic ring group having one or more hydrocarbon group having not more than 8 carbon atoms). The double bond in the formula (2) may be a part of a benzene ring or other aromatic ring.
Specifically preferred as such molecules are, for example, ethylene diamine, diethylene triamine, triethylene tetramine, diethyl amine, diethanol amine, triethanol amine, iminodiacetic acid, nitrilo-triacetic acid, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, o-aminobenzoic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, and fumaric acid. Among them, o-aminobenzoic acid is preferred.
When a monomolecular layer is formed, the use of a modified coordination molecule assures more accurate formation of the monomolecular layer because such a molecule is less liable to be influenced by manufacturing conditions. Usable as such molecules are, for example, anthranilic aid, itaconic acid, or pyromellitic acid, incorporating a substituent group which will not interact with metal, such as an alkyl group of the C3-C22 order, as expressed by the following formula (3):
anthranilic acid or itaconic acid incorporating a fluoroalkyl group of the C1-C18 order which will not interact with metal, as expressed by the following formula (4):
; or anthranilic acid or itaconic acid incorporating a bulky substituent such as a t-butyl group or a polycyclic aromatic group or the like, as expressed by the following formula (5):
For forming a multimolecular layer, the ligand molecule solution is preferably treated under temperature conditions of more than the melting point but lower than boiling point of a solvent used and for a time period of 10 minutes to 48 hours, preferably at a temperature from room temperature to less than the boiling point for 10 minutes to 24 hours, more preferably at a temperature adjacent to room temperature for 10 to 40 minutes, whereby a molecular layer comprised of a multimolecular layer can be formed on the surface of the component member.
In the present invention, a molecular layer is formed on the surface of component member. This makes it possible to give a functional member provided on its surface with functional properties which coordinated molecules possess.
For example, it is possible to provide an electrically conductive component member with electrical insulating properties. If the conductive component member can be provided with electrical insulating properties on its surface in a molecular level thickness, it is possible to meet contemporary needs for size and thickness reduction with respect to electronic components. More especially, with respect to coils for transformers, motors and the like which take a particularly large part in volume and weight among various electronic components, size and thickness reduction is a current universal requirement yet to be met.
Generally, a coil is such that for securing the insulation between adjacent wires in the coil, the wires are coated with a resin material, such as enamel. The electromotive force of the coil is proportional to the number of turns of the winding. In order to increase the number of turns of the winding for a given volume, a high-performance winding machine has been employed to carry out high-density winding. However, since the thickness of resin material, such as enamel, used for coating the wires is so thick, i.e., on the order of 10 to 50 xcexcm, and since the electromotive force of the coil is proportional to the number of turns of the winding, attempts have been made to reduce the size of the coil and also to reduce the thickness of resin coating, such as of enamel, in order to increase the electromotive force of the coil. However, any further thickness reduction of the enamel coating has been found difficult because such thickness reduction would possibly lead to dielectric breakdown due to pin holes, and this has been a great hindrance to coil size reduction and/or electromotive force increase.
With the development of high-density packaging techniques for circuit boards, boards having adjacent conductors arranged in a very narrow spaced relation have been fabricated. In order to insure inter-wire insulation, it has been general practice that as the spacing between adjacent conductor electrodes becomes narrower, any conductor metal surface of the circuit board which requires protection from moisture is coated with a resin material, such as urethane resin or acrylic resin. However, in order to insure good insulation with respect to the circuit board, it has been necessary to coat the conductor metal surface of the board with a urethane resin, acrylic resin, or the like which has good moisture-proofing characteristics to a thickness of 100 xcexcm or more, or in some cases to a thickness of 10 mm or more. This has made it difficult to achieve size reduction and thickness reduction with respect to circuit boards.
The application of the present invention makes it possible to reduce the thickness of an insulating layer on a metal surface of coil wiring and/or of a circuit board, thus achieving a breakthrough size reduction and thickness reduction with respect to electronic components.
In this way, where the provision of a functional member having electrical insulation characteristics for use in electronic parts is intended, a water-insoluble and electrically insulative multidentate molecular layer is formed on the surface of an electrically conductive member to which insulation characteristics are to be imparted. The molecular layer so formed will not be elated by water even under high temperature conditions and will not be degraded in its insulating properties. The molecular layer is very thin because of a molecular level thickness. Therefore, a very thin insulating layer, which is far much thinner than any conventionally made insulating layer, can be formed on the surface of a conductive component.
Multidentate ligand molecules preferred for use in forming a water-insoluble and electrically insulative complex-molecular layer on the surface of a conductive component include, for example, anthranilic acid, 2-aminoperimidine, galloyl-gallic acid, potassium xanthate, oxine, quinaldinic acid, cupferron, 4-chloro-3-methyl-5-nitrobenzene sulfonate, salicylaldehyde oxime, diantipyrylmethane, diethyl dithiocarbamic acid, p-dimethylamino benzylidene rhodamine, dimethylglyoxime, oxalic acid, cinchonine, N-cinnamoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine, thioacetoamide, thionalide, thiourea, tetraphenyl borate, trimethylphenyl ammonium, 1-nitroso-2-naphthol, nitrone, neocupferron, bismuthyol II, p-hydroxyphenyl arsonic acid, 8-hydroxy-7-iodo-5-quinoline sulfonic acid, pyrogallol, 1-pyrrolidine carbodithioic acid, phenylarsonic acid, phenylthiodantinic acid, phenylfluoron, a-furyldioxime, brucine, benzidine, N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine, a-benzoin oxime, benzo[f] quinoline, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, rhodamine B, and quinoline-8-carboxylic acid. Among these compounds, oxine, cupferron, oxalic acid, anthranilic acid, quinaldinic acid, and quinoline-8-carboxylic acid are preferred.
The multidentate ligand molecules preferably include at least a multidentate ligand molecule which can form on the surface of a conductive component a water-insoluble and electrically insulative complex molecular layer, and which can dissolve an oxide layer on the surface of the conductive component. This makes it possible to provide an insulation layer which is much thinner than any conventionally produced insulation layer and, in addition, is formed in uniform thickness. Usually, the metal surface has a spontaneous oxide layer formed thereon, so that there is low possibility of the metal itself being exposed on the surface. Multidentate ligand molecules will readily react with metal itself and metallic ions, but will not easily react with metal in oxidized condition. Therefore, the oxide layer is dissolved to cause metal exposure, and metal of the oxide layer are ionized to react with multidentate ligand molecules. It becomes possible to form a complex molecular layer to give a more uniform insulation layer.
Preferred multidentate ligand molecules which are capable of dissolving an oxide layer on the surface of a conductor material and forming a water-insoluble and electrically insulative complex molecular layer are exemplified by oxalic acid, anthranilic acid, galloyl-gallic acid, quinaldinic acid, quinoline-8-carboxylic acid, thiourea, pyrogallol, phenylfluorone, 4-chloro-3-methyl-5-nitrobenzene sulfonate, and Rhodamine B. Among of these compounds, oxalic acid, anthranilic acid, quinaldinic acid, and quinoline-8-carboxylic acid are preferred inter alia.
An oxide layer on the surface of a conductive material is made thicker by previously heat-treating the material. The use of a multidentate ligand molecule capable of dissolving an oxide layer as an insulation treatment agent can bring about an increase in the number of metallic ions which react with the multidentate ligand molecule. Therefore, the complex molecular layer becomes thicker in proportion to the thickness of the oxide layer. This correlation between the thickness of the oxide layer and the thickness of the complex molecular layer provides an advantage such that by selecting conditions for metal pretreatment it is possible to control the thickness of the insulating layer to be obtained.
When imparting electrically insulating characteristics to a conductive component, it is possible to control the thickness of the molecular layer to be formed within a thickness range of from a ultra-thin monomolecular layer level to the order of about 5 to 6 xcexcm by adjusting various conditions, such as temperature, treatment time period, and heat treatment. For example, a molecular layer of about 3 xcexcm in thickness can be formed under operating conditions of immersion for 10 to 40 minutes at room temperature and drying at 100xc2x0 C. for 30 minutes; and a molecular layer of about 5 xcexcm in thickness can be formed under operating conditions of prior heat treatment of the substrate at 100xc2x0 C. for 10 minutes, immersion at room temperature for 10 to 40 minutes, and drying at 100xc2x0 C. for 30 minutes.
When a copper wire for coil is used as conductive member in forming such an electrically insulating molecular layer, size reduction can be enhanced with respect to transformers, motors, and the like. At the same time, costs involved in moisture-proof coating and the like can be substantially reduced.
The present invention is applicable for use in circuit board insulation techniques by using as a solvent for insulation treatment a solvent which is not detrimental to resin material of circuit boards and the like. Further, when a circuit board with respect to which device soldering has been completed is immersed in an insulation treatment agent and then dried, only metallic portions of the circuit board, such as conductor metal, solder coating, and leads, are treated for insulation without involving such a problem as resin deterioration or the like. Therefore, the invention enables easy insulation treatment of circuit boards with soldered device.
When insulation treatment is intended, the solvent to be used is easy to dry after complex formation and not detrimental to the resin used for the circuit board. Therefore, suitable for use as such a solvent are water and at least one kind of material selected from the group consisting of monovalent alcohols having not more than 4 carbon atoms, such as ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol. A monovalent alcohol having 5 or more carbon atoms has a high boiling point. Such a monovalent alcohol is hard to evaporate during the process of insulation treatment, and therefore it remains on the metal surface after insulation treatment, which leads to poor insulating performance. Therefore, such a monovalent alcohol is not suitable for use. In the foregoing respect, the invention also substantially contributes toward size and thickness reduction of circuit boards and can substantially reduce costs which may otherwise be involved in moisture-proof coating, etc.
When 4-tetradecyl-N-methylsalicylaldehyde oxime, 3-tetradecyl bipyridine, 4-pentylanthranilic acid, 2-heptafluoroethynyl itaconic acid, or the like is used in forming a molecular layer on the surface of a component, water-repellent or rust-proofing characteristics can be imparted to the component.

Functional member having molecular layer on its surface and method of producing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An electronic apparatus includes: a first cover having a first face portion that covers a plurality of parts built in the electronic apparatus, and a first peripheral face portion which provides a first portion of an outer peripheral face of the electronic apparatus; a second cover having a second face portion that covers the plurality of parts, and a second peripheral face portion which provides a second portion of the outer peripheral face of the electronic apparatus; a channel defined by a separation between the first cover and the second cover, where the first and second face portions are opposite to one another, a first peripheral edge of the first cover and a second peripheral edge of the second cover oppose one another and do not meet, thereby defining the separation between the first cover and the second cover; and a plurality of air vent holes located through at least one wall surface within the channel.

An electronic apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,755,896 has an upper housing and a lower housing which are combined with each other in an upward and downward direction. Various parts built in the electronic apparatus such as a circuit board and a cooling fan are fixed on the inner side of the lower housing and are covered with the upper housing. Attachment holes for screws are formed on a lower face of the electronic apparatus, and the upper housing and the lower housing are fixed to each other by screws inserted in the attachment holes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electronic apparatus and fabrication method therefor


Arrangements and methods are provided for obtaining data associated with a sample. For example, at least one first electro-magnetic radiation can be provided to a sample and at least one second electro-magnetic radiation can be provided to a reference (e.g., a non-reflective reference). A frequency of such radiation(s) can repetitively vary over time with a first characteristic period. In addition, a polarization state of the first electro-magnetic radiation, the second electro-magnetic radiation, a third electro-magnetic radiation (associated with the first radiation) or a fourth electro-magnetic radiation (associated with the second radiation) can repetitively vary over time with a second characteristic period which is shorter than the first period. The data for imaging at least one portion of the sample can be provided as a function of the polarization state. In addition or alternatively, the third and fourth electro-magnetic radiations can be combined so as to determine an axial reflectance profile of at least one portion of the sample.

Optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) techniques, which may be also known as swept source or Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques, are OCT procedures which generally use swept laser sources. For example, an optical beam is focused into a tissue, and the echo time delay and amplitude of light reflected from tissue microstructure at different depths are determined by detecting spectrally resolved interference between the tissue sample and a reference as the source laser wavelength is rapidly and repeatedly swept. A Fourier transform of the signal generally forms an image data along the axial line (e.g., an A-line). A-lines are continuously acquired as the imaging beam is laterally scanned across the tissue in one or two directions that are orthogonal to the axial line. The resulting two or three-dimensional data sets can be rendered and viewed in arbitrary orientations for gross screening, and individual high-resolution cross-sections can be displayed at specific locations of interest. This exemplary procedure allows clinicians to view microscopic internal structures of tissue in a living patient, facilitating or enabling a wide range of clinical applications from disease research and diagnosis to intraoperative tissue characterization and image-guided therapy.
The contrast mechanism in the OFDI techniques is generally an optical back reflection originating from spatial reflective-index variation in a sample or tissue. The result may be a so-called intensity image that may indicate the anatomical structure of tissue up to a few millimeters in depth with spatial resolution ranging typically from 2 to 20 μm. While the intensity image can provide a significant amount of morphological information, birefringence in tissues may offer another contrast useful in several applications such as quantifying the collagen content in tissue and evaluating disease involving the birefringence change in tissue. Certain methods and apparatus, so called polarization-sensitive OFDI or OCT, have been utilized. In the conventional methods, the polarization state of probe beam can be alternated between two states in successive axial line (A-line) scans, while the beam is scanned laterally across the sample. Each pair of successive polarization measurements may form a single axial birefringence profile of a sample via the vector analysis. This conventional method utilizes the substantial overlap of the probe beam in the sample between the two A-line scans to avoid speckle-induced errors. Therefore, a compromise can be explored between the accuracy in birefringence measurement and the image acquisition speed. Furthermore, due to the relatively long delay between A-line scans, the conventional method is likely sensitive to a mechanical motion of the sample or catheter.
Exemplary system and method for obtaining polarization sensitive information is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,415. Exemplary OFDI techniques and systems are described in International Application No. PCT/US04/029148. Method and system to determine polarization properties of tissue is described in International Application No. PCT/US05/039374. Using the exemplary OFDI techniques, it may be desirable to implement a balanced detection. However, the balanced detection may complicate the fiber implementation of the polarization sensitivity and polarization diversity because two signal channels that are balanced can have different polarization states.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the deficiencies as described herein above.

Methods, arrangements and systems for polarization-sensitive optical frequency domain imaging of a sample


A method of manufacturing a sensor device includes a step of forming a sensor chip including a sensing element and a wiring portion connected to the sensing element on a substrate, a step of connecting the wiring portion to a lead, and a step of molding a member for covering a connecting portion between the wiring portion and the lead by injecting a molding material in a mold, while the sensing element is exposed. In the molding step, a buffering member is disposed between an area to be covered with the molded member and the sensing element. Furthermore, in the molding step, the buffering member is deformed by a pressure from the mold, and the molding material is injected in the deformed state of the buffering member so as to form the molded member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor device, in which a sensing element is exposed and a connecting portion between a wiring portion and a lead is covered with a molded member, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Arts
U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,795 (corresponding to JP-B2-2784286) discloses a manufacturing method of a sensor device in which a sensing element is exposed and a connecting portion between a wiring portion and a lead is covered with a molded member.
In the method according to the U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,795, firstly a dam resin membrane made of silicon resin is formed around a sensor element portion. Secondly, only a connecting portion between a connecting terminal and a lead is covered with a molded resin, while the sensor element is exposed. The molded resin sandwiches a semiconductor chip through the dam resin membrane so that the dam resin membrane plays a role of a shield. That is, the sensor element portion can be prevented from being contaminated by the molded resin.
Also, Japanese Patent No. 3,328,547 discloses a thermal type flow sensor. In the flow sensor, a flow-detecting chip is mounted to a supporting member. A part of a flow-detecting portion including a heater is exposed to a fluid to be measured. An area including a connecting portion and a circuit chip is covered with a molded member integrally. The connecting portion connects a connecting wire to the flow-detecting portion, a circuit portion, and a lead.
In the above-described thermal type flow sensor, the supporting member includes an end face and both side faces for positioning of the flow-detecting chip. The faces of the supporting member are bent in a vertical direction from a bottom part of the supporting member, in which the flow-detecting chip is disposed. The position of the flow-detecting chip is determined by the end face and the both side faces of the supporting member. The flow-detecting chip is disposed in the supporting member to cover a cavity portion underneath a membrane portion of a substrate. Therefore, the cavity portion underneath the membrane portion of the flow detection chip is covered with the supporting member. Thus, the cavity is not directory exposed to the fluid, i.e., air to be measured. Accordingly, a generation of a turbulent at the cavity portion can be prevented. A temperature fluctuation of the heater can be decreased so that a noise of an output signal can be decreased.
However, according to the manufacturing method of the sensor device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,795, a burr may be formed in the side faces of the semiconductor chip because the dam resin membrane cannot be provided on the side faces of the semiconductor chip.
For example, if the manufacturing method shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,795 is simply applied to the thermal type flow sensor according to Japanese Patent No. 3,328,547, a burr may be formed in the side faces of the flow-detecting chip, because there is a clearance between the side face of the supporting member and the side face of the flow-detecting chip. The molding material can pass through the clearance at the mold forming time. In this case, if a burr is formed, a turbulent may be generated by the burr. Thus, an accuracy of detection cannot be maintained.

Sensor device having a buffer element between the molding and the sensing element


The invention relates to a target-detection and target-alignment device for a missile system whose field of view is expanded by a wide-angle lens system, which does not contain any optical components which must be additionally moved, and which is equipped with an integrated system for correction of homogeneity of the ambient conditions. Two radiometers or photometers are connected to two emission surfaces positioned on opposite sides of the image of the field of view to adjust the angle of the target detector to compensate for mismatch of the output signals of the emission surfaces.

The invention relates to a target-detection device for a missile system such as a shoulder launched missile system.
The invention relates, in particular, to such a missile detection system in which an imaging sensor of a target detector on the missile sends an image to a wide angle lens system.
Modern operator controlled missile systems, such as shoulder launched missile systems are generally aimed at a target by the operator by means of optical devices containing simple or complex reflective elements. Detection and assignment of the target in such cases is achieved either in a simple way by observers with binoculars or by guidance systems, which receive their information from sensors which are not part of the missile or its launching system.
Also known are IR thermal imaging systems for target acquisition by an observer (without self-guidance by the missile system) for example, by using the imaging sensor of the missile itself for the imaging of the target. In such embodiments, the imaging missile sensor is used for target detection and acquisition in combination with a wide-angle lens adapter, in order to broaden the normally narrow visual field provided by the imaging sensor on the missile.
An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal imaging system of the above type in which the wide-angle visual field of the wide-angle adapter is adjusted without any movable optical components to correct for non-uniform ambient conditions.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing radiation detection means for detecting ambient atmospheric conditions and for adjusting emissions on both sides of the emission image produced by the wide-angle adapter to compensate for non-uniformity in the ambient atmosphere.
In further accordance with the invention, the radiation detection means comprises radiation sensors for detecting radiation differences in the ambient atmosphere, for example, by aiming one radiation sensor towards the sky and another radiation sensor towards the ground and supplying emission from the radiation sensors to two auxiliary emission members having emission surfaces located on opposite sides of an optical member which produces the image in the wide-angle lens system.

Target-detection device for a missile system


A system for inserting a supplemental micro-operation sequence into a macroinstruction-generated micro-operation flow provides a versatile, flexible mechanism for early pipeline stages of a microprocessor to pass control signals, data, and other information to later pipeline stages. The mechanism is useful to maintain precise timing of a fault model in pipelined processors. A method includes the step of detecting the occurrence of a predetermined uop-inserting event and, responsive thereto, generating a control signal to a uop insertion unit. Responsive thereto, the uop insertion unit supplies signals to a decoder which, responsive thereto, decodes the signal encoded within the signal to provide the inserted uop sequence, which is inserted in a position within the macroinstruction-generated micro-operation flow predetermined by the uop-inserting event.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to decoders for processors that have pipelined decoders and execution units.
2. Description of the Related Art
Driven by demand for faster processors, microprocessor manufacturers are continually developing new designs. Each new processor usually provides better performance (i.e., it must be faster than previous processors), introduces new capabilities or expands upon pre-existing capabilities and/or has reduced cost. Furthermore it is preferable that the new processor support all previously-supported instructions for that type of processor. Compatibility is an extremely valuable characteristic, for without software a new processor would not be immediately useful.
In order to increase processing speed of computer processors, "pipelined" structures have been developed. A pipelined computer processor includes a plurality of stages that operate independently of each other. When a first instruction has completed execution in one of the pipeline stages, the instruction moves on to the next stage, and a second instruction moves into the stage vacated by the first instruction. Processing speed is increased because multiple instructions are processed simultaneously in different stages of the pipeline. For example, a ten-stage pipeline can simultaneously process ten instructions in ten separate stages. In order to further increase processing speed, processors termed "superscalar" processors have been designed with multiple pipelines that process instructions simultaneously when adjacent instructions have no data dependencies between them. Even greater parallelism and higher performance can be provided by an out-of-order processor that includes multiple parallel units, in which instructions are processed in parallel in any efficient order that takes advantage of whatever opportunities for parallel processing may be provided by the instruction code.
As pipelines increase in complexity, it is has become increasingly difficult for the early stages (sometimes referred to as the "front-end") to communicate with the later stages (sometimes referred to as the "back-end"). The front-end may include stages such as instruction fetch and decode stage, and the back-end may include execution stages and retirement stages. It would be useful to have a mechanism that allows the front-end to communicate with the back-end in an efficient and precise manner.
Precise timing of the communication is of critical importance, particularly for microprocessors that-are designed for instruction sets in which precise timing of exceptions and other events is essential to preserve compatibility with previous processors. One example of an instruction set requiring precise fault timing is the well-established software written for the INTEL family of processors beginning with the 8086 and continuing with the 80286, i386.TM., 80486, and the Pentium.TM. processors. When introduced, the fault model of each of those processors was compatible with software written for previous models, so that the existing software base was fully usable. The term "INTEL instruction set" refers to software written for those processors.
As the INTEL instruction set developed, its capabilities expanded but so did its complexity. The INTEL instruction set is now very complex: it includes variable length instructions that may include prefixes, and a complex, segmented, paged memory management system. Designing a pipelined processor to handle all of these complex instructions, as well as dealing with faults, exceptions, cache misses, self-modifying code and other problems in a precise manner is becoming increasingly difficult.
It would be an advantage to provide a mechanism that a microprocessor designer could use to communicate between the front-end and back-end. Such a mechanism could handle a number of difficult problems that arise during decoding and later processing in the pipeline. For example, such a system could be useful to handle illegal opcodes, special instruction prefixes, code breakpoints, TLB faults, and self-modifying code while maintaining compatibility with the precise fault model of the INTEL instruction set. The flexibility afforded by such a tool could provide an efficient mechanism to ensure compatibility with previous processors.

System for inserting a supplemental micro-operation flow into a macroinstruction-generated micro-operation flow


A system for communication among audio-related devices in an audio system includes a performance equipment manager that communicates with audio-related devices to monitor and control changeable parameters of a corresponding audio-related device. Each of the audio-related devices includes an audio node structure having components that are representative of the functionality of the respective audio-related device. Some of the components are representative of changeable parameters in the audio-related device. The performance equipment manager is configured to be selectively subscribed to one or more of the changeable parameters so that when a predefined condition occurs, the audio-related device is configured to automatically provide the current value of the changeable parameter(s) to the performance equipment manager.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to audio systems, and more particularly, to a system for audio-related device communication.
2. Related Art
Use of an audio system to amplify audio signals is well known. Typically, an audio system operates to amplify an audio signal with an amplifier and drive one or more loudspeakers. Such audio systems can range from relatively simple configurations having only a few components, such as in a retail clothing store, to large complex systems, such as those used in a concert hall performance.
Configuration of an audio system usually involves the physical placement and interconnection of the devices that make up the audio system. In addition, some of the devices, such as an amplifier, typically include user configurable settings. The settings may be configured at the preference of the user to achieve the desired audio system performance. As the size and complexity of an audio system increases, the amount of interconnections and settings may also increase. In addition, the devices in the audio system may become more geographically dispersed. Accordingly, operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of the system may become more challenging. This is especially true in audio systems that are repeatedly disassembled and re-assembled in various configurations, such as in the case of a touring musical group.
Devices in an audio system may be configured to communicate over a network. Typically this requires that predetermined device-to-device specific subroutines be developed and implemented in the devices where communication is desired. For a first device to obtain the information in a second device, the first device must request the information. Each time the information needs to be updated, the first device must ask for the information. In addition, the information may include a large volume of data and/or multiple requests to get the information. Where there are many such devices performing such communications on a network, the bandwidth of the network may be adversely affected. In addition, each of the devices must be pre-programmed on site with the units and/or appropriate conversion factors for the information the device will be receiving. Further, each of the devices must be pre-programmed with specific protocols to be able to handle the format of the information being sent and received.

System for audio-related device communication

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


A method and apparatus for producing both wing-type and wingless tire treads from a single mold. The mold includes a main portion, a pair of first inserts which are selectively attachable to the main portion. The pair of first inserts is capable of molding wingless treads. A pair of second inserts can be selectively secured to the main portion in place of the first pair of inserts to mold wing-type treads. The method for converting a wingless tire tread mold to a wing-type tire tread mold includes the steps of removing the pair of first inserts from the main portion of the mold and securing the pair of second inserts to the main portion of the mold with the securing apparatus.

This invention pertains generally to the art of apparatuses and methods of manufacturing either winged or wingless precured tire treads, and more specifically to the use of an insert to allow the use of a common mold for either winged or wingless tire treads.
The traditional method of manufacture of conventional flatbase precure treads utilizes a flat metal matrix, press platens, a layer of unvulcanized rubber applied within the matrix and between the press platens, and rubber contoured into a vulcanized tread configuration by means of compression molding at an elevated temperature. The current marketplace provides for precure tire tread products with and without wings. The absence of wings is typical of conventional precure. Use of wings is intended to yield a finished retread product with the appearance of a full cap or mold cure retread, with rubber being vulcanized down a part of the casing shoulder and upper sidewall.
Traditional technology requires two molds to manufacture each of the distinct retread products, winged and wingless precure. Alternatives include manufacturing the wing type and cutting off the wing for those who do not prefer to purchase and use wing type tread. This process is time consuming and results in costly scrap which adversely affects the cost of the product and, possibly, the appearance.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved removable mold insert which is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.

Removable mold insert for wing or wingless type precure tread production


The invention relates to short 3- to 10-mer bioactive oligopeptides composed of amino acid residues selected from the group consisting of glycine, alanine, β-alanine, serine, histidine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine and arginine. They are able to improve at least one cell culture parameter such as growth rate, viable cell number, viability on day 6 or 7, or final product yield, when added to the basal nutrient medium. The invention further relates to mixtures of such oligopeptides and to a method of improving cell culture parameters by incubating animal or plant cells in the presence of said oligopeptides.

The biotechnological production of biologically active proteins is essential for the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic tools and procedures. The majority of these synthetically produced peptides is at present obtained from animal cell cultures. In spite of rapidly accumulating knowledge in this field, some aspects of the in vitro production systems such as, for example, cell proliferation and cell death, are still not entirely controllable.
Industrial processes employing animal cells, particularly permanent animal cell lines, require cell numbers in the order of 108 to 1012 cells. According to GMP (good manufacturing practice), the production of a new lot of product has to be started by thawing a frozen cell stock from the master cell bank. The overall efficiency of the culturing and manufacturing process largely depends on the time period necessary for the first cycles of multiplication of the cells starting from a small frozen inoculum.
Speeding up the growth of the cell population can be achieved by supplementing the culture media with nutritional supplements or growth factors. For instance, it is known in the art to use glutamine dipeptide in replacement of monomeric glutamine, because the dimeric form of glutamine is more stable under cell culture conditions. Either way, however, glutamine as a monomer and as a dipeptide serves as a nutrient and is resorbed and metabolized by the cells of the cell culture.
Growth factors may be, for instance, components of animal sera. Their main disadvantage is that they are usually not well defined. Moreover, the use of components of direct animal origin is presently discouraged in pharmaceutical industry due to the danger of transferring viruses, prions or other possibly pathogenic agents from the animal body to the desired end product, e.g., the bioactive proteins. Alternatively, recombinant growth factors, such as insulin or members of the interleukin family, may serve as suitable growth stimulants. Another possibility is to use safe, chemically defined culture media free of any protein component. However, as a rule the generation time in protein-free media is longer than in media supplemented with serum.
Therefore, there is a great demand for techniques capable to intensify and accelerate the growth and/or product yield of cultured animal cells as well as the cell viability during incubation, particularly for industrial scale manufacturing processes. The present invention will contribute to satisfying this demand.

Polymun Scientific Immunbiologische Forschung GmbH


Apparatus for temporarily securing a fishing rod in position while fishing, during the interval between fish strikes, having a fixed hollow tubular holder for the rod handle inserted in one end of the holder, the holder having an opening on the top, and having a clamp hingedly attached to one end of the opening, the clamp and opening being of a form allowing the user to secure the rod handle within the holder, by pressing down upon the clamp; and to free the rod handle from the holder by simply pulling up on the clamp.

The present invention pertains to apparatus for temporarily securing a fishing rod in place during fishing, so that the person fishing need not constantly hold the rod while waiting for a fish strike, and more particularly to a combined rod holder and clamp allowing the user to both readily and quickly secure the rod and retrieve it when a strike occurs.
Everyone who fishes is well aware that even on a productive fishing outing, there are often long intervals between fish strikes. Yet it is necessary that the fishing rod handle be held constantly in a secure position, lest the rod be pulled into the water and lost when a strike occurs.
To obviate any need for the user to constantly hold the rod in the hand, it is desirable to provide an apparatus allowing the user to temporarily secure the fishing rod handle, so that the user may engage in other activities between fish strikes, such as reading, consuming food and/or a beverage, or quietly talking to any fishing companions.
It is needed that such an apparatus allow the user to easily and quickly secure the rod handle to the apparatus to await a fish strike, and even more importantly, to very easily and quickly remove the rod handle from the apparatus when a strike occurs. It is also needed to provide such an apparatus which is simple in form, and uses a minimum of material, so as to be easily and inexpensively manufactured.
Embodiments of the present invention, detailed below, meet said needs by the general approach of providing a fixed hollow tubular holder for the rod handle inserted in one end of the holder, said holder having an opening on the top, and a clamp hingedly attached to one end of said opening, said clamp and opening being of a form allowing the user to secure the rod handle within the holder in two ways, by pressing down upon the clamp, which causes the clamp to engage a lip at one end of said opening, and also causes the clamp to engage the rod handle by clamping said handle between the sides of the clamp; and to free the rod handle from the holder by simply pulling up on the clamp.
It is not the intent of this application, by stating that certain embodiments of the present invention are suited to meeting certain needs, to necessarily limit the scope of the invention to only embodiments which meet said needs; it is instead the intent that the scope of the invention be determined by the claims as more fully stated below.


Systems and methods are described for providing fraud deterrents during payment card transactions especially for e-commerce and e-transactions. Fraud deterrents may be selected and configured by a client, bank, or other third-party and provided to a client in customized manners which may be configured on a client's authorized device or otherwise as defined in an e-profile associated with a payment card. Fraud deterrent options may be contingent upon transaction features including a client's profile, transaction value, or other preferences. The deterrent features may be customized by the client and include use of conceptual passwords.

This invention is in the fields of e-commerce transactions and preventing or deterring fraudulent activity.
The selling of products using both conventional shipping as well as by electronic download is suboptimal from the seller's point of view due to a number of issues related to fraud. A "fraudster" is a user who intends or attempts to perform illegitimate activity such as assuming a false identity, or otherwise avoiding payment for products or services offered by a seller, rather than being a user who is a legitimate client. Fraudsters use many types of strategies to attempt fraud over the internet.
One type of fraudster strategy is to provide the seller with credit card information that is stolen in the case of a payment made by a credit card, that was issued by a credit card issuing bank, for a downloadable software product, or a physical product, the selling company may have to refund to the issuing bank or a card association an amount equal to the payment made for the product. In the case of a downloadable software product, if a seller must also pay a software company, for which it is acting as a distributor, that the seller will often experience a financial loss, which is often regarded as a 'cost of doing business'. If the seller and the software company are the same entity, although they will not have a loss, the company will have failed to realize a profit from a valid sale of a product.
Software vendors have developed a number of strategies in order to decrease financial loss due to fraudulent activity. For example, license software modules' may be distributed with software and may periodically determine a current calendar date and remind the user of scheduled renewal fees which are due. The module may cause the purchased software program to stop working until such renewal fee is paid. Alternatively software may be designed to periodically establish a connection over the internet to contact a seller's server and to assess whether a license is still "active" so that a user will be allowed to continue to use the software.
These methods have a number of disadvantages. License manager software modules rely upon periodic reminders which may be realized using, for example, pop-up windows. These windows are annoying to the user. Further software engineers can create "cracks" which allow users to bypass the licensing manager by disabling it in some fashion. Software which periodically requires online communication with the seller's server, in order to operate properly, requires that the user be online which may often not be the ease. For example, the user may be on an airplane and without online access. Additionally, such online validation operations may be hindered by server outages and communication failures which hinder normal operation during this 'validation' period. Strategies which constrict the operation of software to a particular computer cause problems when computers crash and a new computer is purchased for the same user.
The creation of computer-specific software modules can require complex compilation schemes, such as real-time compilation of the source code to create an executable locked to the information of a unique computer identification number. This may be an onerous and complex solution that is not viable for smaller software manufacturers or distributors. Strategies in which software requires a hardware lock or "dongle" necessitate the additional cost of this hardware, occupy a communication port of the computer, and can be 'cracked' by software engineers. Strategies which rely upon software "wrappers" that change the executable in manners that prevent fraudulent use are problematic since software wrappers are often made by a third party and can often interfere with proper functioning of the software.
These currently implemented strategies all have a number of additional disadvantages that are overcome by features of the disclosed invention. For example, these methods and systems are all oriented towards deterring unauthorized use of the software, or are aimed at promoting licensing renewal, rather than deterring fraud during the point of sale process itself. These strategies do not utilize any information about the client, by way of accessing a client history or online client profile (from an online profile website, an online verification website, or a well established site such as E-Bay or PayPal which contain such a profile). These strategies do not implement fraud prevention strategies which have security measures, the strength of which are selected based upon the value of the digital product being purchase, the history of purchases by a user, or other aspect of a users electronic profile. These strategies put a large burden on the software provider, to incorporate fraud-deterrent mechanisms into the software product, rather providing the distributor or 'seller', or card issuing bank or card association, with mechanisms for deterring fraudsters both at point of sale and subsequently thereafter. The disclosed invention is pertinent to selling of non-electronic products, software, digital media, distribution, use, and rights management and e-commerce in general. The disclosed features are also relevant to establishing and protecting a client's valid identity and profile.

Fraud deterrence for payment card transactions


A language-based model to support asynchronous operations set forth in a synchronous syntax is provided. The asynchronous operations are transformed in a compiler into an asynchronous pattern, such as an APM-based pattern (or asynchronous programming model based pattern). The ability to compose asynchronous operations comes from the ability to efficiently call asynchronous methods from other asynchronous methods, pause them and later resume them, and effectively implementing a single-linked stack. One example includes support for ordered and unordered compositions of asynchronous operations. In an ordered composition, each asynchronous operation is started and finished before another operation in the composition is started. In an unordered composition, each asynchronous operation is started and completed independently of the operations in the unordered composition.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) that require waiting for a non-deterministically and relatively long time, such as accessing network resources or reading files from a storage media, in an application can be performed as synchronous or asynchronous operations.
Synchronous operations stall the application and other operations until the synchronous operation is complete. Synchronous syntax in computer programs is generally straightforward and familiar to developers, and many developers have little or no difficulties writing synchronous operations. An application using synchronous operations, however, can hold on to valuable computing resources while the synchronous operations complete, and thus synchronous operations can be very expensive if the network resources of files are not readily available.
Asynchronous operations, on the other hand, are used to avoid stalling the application and allow the computing resources to perform other useful work while the operation completes. For example, if an asynchronous operation pauses because the application is waiting for a response from a local storage media, a website server, or the like, the computing resources are released to perform other valuable work, and the asynchronous operation will resume with the computing resources after the application has received the file or download.
Managed environments, such as .NET available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., provide for several ways of defining and implementing asynchronous operations. A commonly used way is to use an Asynchronous Programming Model (APM). The APM defines an asynchronous operation as including two functions with the typical shape as:
IAsyncResult BeginXXX(<<args-1>>, AsynchCallback cb, object state);int EndXXX (IAsyncResult ar, <<args-2>>);where IAsynchResult represents the status of the operation, "XXX" is the name of the operation, "args-1" is the list of the in- and ref-parameters, and "args-2" is the list of the out- and ref-parameters of the operation.
Although asynchronous operations provide the benefit of increased workflow, asynchronous operations as currently defined and implemented presents difficulties for many developers. One difficulty includes scaling, or providing for multiple requests, and chaining together requests in a loop as complications quickly arise as more requests are introduced. Also, many developers find composing larger asynchronous operations from existing APM-based operations to be a challenge. As the present trend toward integration of software applications with remote serves in an Internet cloud continues, there is a need for more asynchronous code.

Language-based model for asynchronous operations


A non-lethal tranquilizer bullet is provided. The non-lethal tranquilizer bullet may include a housing defining an internal space and having a non-penetrating distal tip. A plunger assembly, a tranquilizer fluid, and at least one plunger stop may be disposed in the internal space. The plunger assembly can include a piston and a needle, and the needle may include a shaft terminating in a tip. The shaft may have a plurality of holes disposed along its length. When the bullet is fired from a gun and contacts a living body, the plunger assembly can move toward the non-penetrating distal tip such that the needle tip breaches the housing tip and enters the living body. The force of the plunger assembly moving forward may disperse the tranquilizer fluid into the living body through at least one of the plurality of holes. The plunger stop can prevent the piston from exiting the tip.

The present invention relates to non-lethal tranquilizer bullets, particularly to bullets with a plunger assembly to dispense a tranquilizer fluid.
Law enforcement officers are often required to enter situations where their safety is at issue. In order to resolve these situations, non-lethal force is often used. One non-lethal tool at officers' disposal is rubber bullets. Rubber bullets may deter another person, but generally will not incapacitate them. Another non-lethal tool at the officers' disposal are tranquilizer bullets. However, standard tranquilizer bullets can only be used in a tranquilizer gun, which requires officers to carry multiple weapons.


A parking sensor apparatus and method to keep air brakes from interfering with the parking sensor apparatus allow the parking sensor apparatus to be used with vehicles that have air brakes. The ultrasonic components of air brake noise is detected, and the alarm is bypassed when air brake noise exists. This technique reduces false alarms on vehicles with air brakes and allows the parking sensor apparatus to be used on the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parking sensor apparatus and method to keep air brakes from interfering with the parking sensor apparatus and especially to a technique that prevents noise of an air brake from interfering with detecting obstacles and determining a distance to the obstacle to allow the parking sensor apparatus to be used on vehicles with air brakes.
2. Description of Related Art
Parking sensor apparatus detect an obstacle and determine a distance from the sensor to the obstacle with ultrasonic sound when backing a vehicle. The parking sensor apparatus operates on principles similar to radar but operates at ultrasonic frequencies rather than radio frequencies and comprises a controller, an ultrasonic transducer and alarm. The ultrasonic transducer transforms an electronic signal to an ultrasonic pulse, transmits the ultrasonic pulse, receives an ultrasonic echo and transforms the ultrasonic echo to an electronic signal.
With reference to FIG. 4, the ultrasonic transducer responds to a signal from the controller and a reflected echo (B) from an obstacle. With reference to FIG. 5, any reflected echo will be buried in noise generated by the release of air from air brakes on a vehicle such as a truck or bus. Noise from the air brake causes the ultrasonic transducer to saturate and generate an electronic signal indicating receipt of a high amplitude signal. Consequently, the controller activates the alarm in a false alarm situation. Any significant number of false alarms will cause a driver to lose confidence in the parking sensor apparatus. Therefore, the conventional parking sensor apparatus cannot filter or block air brake interference and produces false alarms.
Consequently, conventional parking sensor apparatus cannot be used in vehicles with air brakes. The situation can be mitigated significantly to allow a parking sensor apparatus to be used on vehicles with air brakes.

Parking sensor apparatus and method to keep air brakes from interfering with the parking sensor apparatus


In an injection device a rotary indicator element (20) indexes angularly between a pre-firing position to an injection complete position to create a visual and audible/tactile signal as the drive plunger (28) arrives at or near its fired position. The indicator element (20) has a saw tooth profile which co-operates with respective abutments (34, 40) on the plunger and a housing part of the device to control and energise indicator movement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to injection devices and in particular, but not exclusively, to reusable autoinjector devices comprising a housing into which a disposable syringe may be inserted to effect the injection and then removed and replaced as required for the next injection.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a common requirement that autoinjectors signal to the user when the injection is complete by means of an 'injection complete' signal. The term 'injection complete' is used to refer to a condition in which a satisfactory delivery of the drug has been achieved. It is also desirable that this indication is not only visual but also audible and/or tactile, to provide confirmation to the user when injection site is out of sight, or would require some straining to see, for example in the buttocks or upper arm.
It is desirable that at least some of the energy required to generate the audible signal is stored in an energy store associated with an indicator element so that a fast impact energetic movement can be released, that is essentially independent of the actual speed of plunger movement. Moreover it is desirable to provide an indicator arrangement which resets automatically for each injection cycle.


A system for ocular assistance is disclosed. The plurality of subsystem includes an ocular condition registration subsystem, configured to register one or more users. The plurality of subsystem includes an ocular calibration subsystem, configured to determine a plurality of ocular settings. The plurality of subsystem includes a device configuration identification subsystem, configured to determine a plurality of device settings for each of one or more device associated with the registered one or more users. The plurality of subsystem includes a screen customization subsystem, configured to determine values corresponding to the plurality of ocular settings based on a pre-stored look up table and determined plurality of device settings. The screen customization subsystem modifies current values corresponding to the plurality of ocular settings to the determined values. The system modifies or rectifies the screen images or texts for suffering users.

In order to clearly view text and images, individuals use reading glasses, prescription eyewear, including contact lenses, or other types of corrective eyewear. This includes text and images displayed on display of a device, such as a screen of a computer monitor or a handheld mobile device.
However, in certain scenario, the individual may not wear a correct eyewear. The individual may perceive the images displayed on the device to be blurry without correction to focal length provided by their corrective eyewear.
To cope with the above problem, existing solutions use a dedicated application for magnification of an area on the display. The said solution can be used by the individuals suffering from far-sightedness. Further, for the individuals suffering from a partial colour blindness or any other form of eye defect, the existing solutions replace colours which affect the individual's vision by other colours in order to rectify the partial colour blindness of the individuals.
Furthermore, wearing a spectacle or contact lens for a longer duration often tends to bring an overhead for the individual. Also, user experience gets further degraded, if the individual who is consuming a visual content is colour blind. An effective system is needed to solve all types of problems concerning ocular conditions in real time.
Hence, there is a need for an improved system for ocular assistance related to digital displays and a method to operate the same and therefore address the aforementioned issues.