A vehicle seat, an adjusting system and a method for moving at least one vehicle seat arranged in a vehicle cabin, particularly an aircraft seat, comprising seat components that are coupled or guided together, such as a seat part, a backrest and a leg rest, the location and/or inclination of which can be adjusted by means of at least one or more adjusting units. The adjusting system allows a separation of the basic functions from driving devices, with an electronic device for collision-free movement and for adjusting custom-designed functions and facilitating the adaptation of the custom-designed functions. The movement sequences and movements of the respective individual seat components and the seat components in relation to one another and the movements of the components or seats within an environment or group of seats are accomplished by means of a movement model in a coordinate system.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle seat, an adjusting system and a method for moving at least one vehicle seat arranged in a vehicle cabin, particularly an aircraft, comprising seat components that are coupled or guided together, such as a seat part, a backrest and a leg rest, the location and/or inclination of which can be adjusted by means of at least one driving device, with an electronic device for collision-free movement and for adjusting the vehicle seat in relation to a coordinate system.
(2) Description of Related Art
Today, vehicle seats, particularly aircraft seats for the business class and first class, contain a wide range of setting options. In most cases, a programmed control unit carries out the adjustment. This control unit accepts the request of the seat occupant to adjust his/her seat and carries out the corresponding adjustment of one or more seat components individually or even coherently depending on the construction and requirement of the given seat structure.
In the development phase of such a seat, a closely coordinated cooperation between the design engineer of the seat and the software developer of the control unit is necessary in order to convert the geometric data and adjustment of the respective seat components and the movement sequence of the components in relation to one another into a corresponding control program. Defining data must be determined for every seat component and for the movement of the components relative to one another. If these data are determined, they are converted into a sequence program for the control unit. This takes place by way of expressing the sequence in a currently common programming language, e.g. C, by a programmer who incorporates these sequences into the general control software. Due to this the basic functions and the movement functions are merged to form an inseparable overall software system. In most cases, only the manufacturer of the control unit can carry out modifications on the individual parts and necessitate a recompilation and validation and even a re-qualification of the overall software in an extreme case.
Since the creation of the control unit and programming are usually not among the core competencies of a seat manufacturer, the latter commissions the manufacturer of control units or a service provider to create the control unit and the software adaptation for the respective seat.
The verification of the adjustment sequence takes place at the actual seat. Since the particularities to be observed, e.g., cushions and cover fabric of the seat, are not yet available in complete form in most instances at the time of the program generation and also due to the requirement of an adjustment, which is convenient for the seat occupant, it is mostly necessary to implement adaptations even before the start of the series production.
Since the seat manufacturer mostly gets a service provider or a manufacturer of a control unit to create the control unit and the software, it is particularly difficult to implement unplanned changes because the resources of the service provider are bound by other projects at the time of the change request.
One solution for this bottleneck would be for the seat manufacturer to get his own employees to perform the independent adaptation of the software. However, this solution is hardly practical since the manufacturer of the control unit would have to disclose the entire program code of the control unit—thus his intellectual property—for this purpose. Furthermore, problems related to warranty can be expected to crop up in this approach since changes made in the program code by the seat manufacturer could also influence those points that do not concern the movement control and the seat manufacturer may not be able to predict the effects of these changes.
Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/066,067 (A1) discloses a vehicle seat and a method for the electrical movement of vehicle seats without interference, in which method limit values for the movement of the individual seat components (seat part, backrest, leg rest and seat-contact surface) are created by means of a movement model based on a two-dimensional mathematical model and envelopes or straight-lined borderlines. A monitoring system controls the actuating elements in such a way that these limit values are not violated. Every actuator is equipped with corresponding path sensors and angle sensors for this purpose.
This prior art does not take into account that future seating concepts that have already been developed to some extent will clearly require more flexibility. Future first class and business class seats will require distinctly more space with the "fully reclined" comfort requirement (full flat). In order to represent this economically, it is obvious that in addition to linear movements in the ZX direction, even position changes in the y direction (adjacent seats being pulled apart) or rotary movements of the seats are necessary. Furthermore, the requirement of bringing such seats/rows of seats into conference positions (again rotary movement) is also being recognized. This is hardly possible using the methods known heretofore.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Adjusting system for moving a vehicle seat in a vehicle cabin


An over-wrap for connecting a tobacco rod and a cigarette filter. The over-wrap includes a tipping wrapper and a plurality of raised ribs extending from the tipping wrapper and forming a plurality of channels between the tipping wrapper and the plug wrap. The plurality of channels allow air to flow from a tobacco rod end of the filter to a plurality of ventilation holes within a plug wrap of the filter when the over-wrap is wrapped around the filter and tobacco rod.

Smoking articles, particularly cigarettes, generally comprise a tobacco rod of shredded tobacco (usually, in cut filler form) surrounded by a paper wrapper, and a cylindrical filter aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, the filter includes a plug of cellulose acetate tow attached to the tobacco rod by tipping material or paper. Ventilation of mainstream smoke is achieved with a row or rows of perforations about a location along the filter. Such ventilation provides dilution of drawn mainstream smoke with ambient air to reduce the delivery of tar.


In a driven axle assembly (12) for a motor vehicle that includes a differential housing located substantially in the center of the axle and tubes (16, 17) extending laterally from the differential, surrounding axle shafts (20) and opening into a lubricant reservoir (60) in the differential housing, a system for circulating and cooling axle lubricant includes a cover (26) for closing and sealing the housing having an aperture into the housing where a ring gear rotates through the lubricant reservoir. The aperture in the cover opens to a chamber that holds lubricant carried through the aperture by the rotating ring gear. Conduits (72, 74) connected by hydraulic fittings (76, 78) to the chamber have their opposite ends connected to the axle tubes at an outboard location distant from the differential housing. Lubricant flows through the conduits into the axle tubes and back to the housing reservoir, effectively cooling the lubricant without the addition of a pump.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an axle for motor vehicles in which power is transmitted from a driveshaft to axle shafts. More particularly, the invention pertains to a system for circulating and cooling hydraulic lubricant in such an axle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydraulic lubricant held in a reservoir at the bottom of an axle assembly housing near the ring gear of an axle differential is heated due to friction produced at bearings in the housing and by energy transferred to the lubricant from the ring gear as it rotates in the housing through the lubricant reservoir. In addition, the lubricant is heated by radiation from vehicle exhaust systems and high ambient air temperatures.
Axle lubricants are adversely effected by high temperature. Their performance deteriorates gradually when their temperature is excessive.
Various techniques have been developed for transferring heat from an axle lubricant so that the operating temperature of the lubricant is maintained at an acceptable temperature. For example, to cool axle lubricant operating in a high torque and high temperature environment, lubricant from the axle reservoir is circulated by an hydraulic pump through an external cooler wherein heat is exchanged to ambient air and the lubricant is returned through a closed hydraulic system to the reservoir in the axle housing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,410 describes a system of this type. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,884,293 and 4,393,922 describe use of heat pipes to cool lubricant in internal combustion engines and axle housings.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,950,034 describes an axle housing formed with fins used to increase its surface area and to enhance transfer of heat from the lubricant, which circulates through bearings that support the differential mechanism, to outside air. Pumping action of the differential ring gear circulates lubricant to the heat exchanger, which is formed intrically with the axle housing.
Each of the techniques in the prior art for exchanging heat from an hydraulic lubricant to the ambient requires enhanced heat transfer capability, usually in the form of a finned heat exchanger or use of an hydraulic pump, in order to increase the surface area through which heat is exchanged from lubricant to air or to circulate the lubricant at a sufficient flow rate so that an acceptable level of heat transfer occurs. A pump and finned heat transfer surfaces add cost to the system, and the pump adds to the power load. Preferably, an axle lubricant system would include means for transferring a sufficient amount of heat to ambient air without need for an external power source to drive a lubricant pump and without need to enhance heat exchange capabilities of a conventional axle housing.

Lubricant cooling system for a motor vehicle axle


A wavelength conversion device includes a substrate, a reflective layer, a phosphor layer and a thermal conductive layer. The substrate has a surface. The reflective layer is disposed on the surface of the substrate. The phosphor layer is disposed on the reflective layer and has a conversion region configured to perform a wavelength conversion. The thermal conductive layer is disposed on the surface of the substrate and thermally directly connected to the conversion region for conducting a heat generated at the conversion region during the wavelength conversion. The thermal resistance of the reflective layer is high and causes heat in the conversion region to accumulate. By disposing the thermal conductive layer adjacent to a side of the phosphor layer, the thermal conductive layer is thermally directly connected to the conversion region, so that the heat generated at the conversion region during the wavelength conversion is efficiently dissipated.

The wavelength conversion device utilizes, for example, a laser light source to excite a phosphor to obtain a predetermined monochromatic or polychromatic light, and has been widely applied in the fields of illumination sources, projection displays and so on. Taking the projection display as an example, a laser light source is utilized to irradiate the phosphor wheel to produce the desired display color.
In the projection display application, since the reflective wavelength conversion device can provide a higher utilization efficiency of light, it is more widely used. The conventional reflective wavelength conversion device mainly includes a substrate, a reflective layer and a phosphor layer. The reflective layer is disposed between the substrate and the phosphor layer, and the phosphor layer is excited by the light source to generate the predetermined monochromatic or polychromatic light. The generated monochromatic or polychromatic light is reflected by the reflective layer at the same time. When the phosphor layer is excited by the excitation light source, it is accompanied with heat generation. Furthermore, as the power of the light source for excitation is gradually increased, the amount of heat generated from the phosphor layer is also increased. However, a conventional reflective wavelength conversion device with the reflective layer disposed on one side of the substrate and a heat dissipation device disposed on an opposite side of the substrate for heat dissipation suffers a limitation that the effective area of heat dissipation is limited, and is liable to be influenced by the reflective layer having high thermal resistance. Under the condition of high power light source for excitation, the heat generated by the phosphor layer being excited by the excitation light source cannot be dissipated in time. Consequently, the phosphor layer is performing the wavelength conversion at a high temperature and tends to deteriorate, thereby causing the light-emitting rate of the reflective wavelength conversion device to be sharply reduced.
Therefore, there is a need for providing a wavelength conversion device with enhanced thermal conductive efficiency and to address the above issues encountered by the prior arts.

Wavelength conversion device for projector


An electronic apparatus includes a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a processing module, a demand paging module and a decompression module. The ROM stores multiple sets of compressed data corresponding to a plurality of sets of uncompressed data. The plurality of sets of uncompressed data are divided from one same set of original data. According to a request associated with the set of original data and from the processing module, the demand paging module selects one or more sets from the multiple sets of compressed data. The decompression module decompresses and stores the selected one or more sets of compressed data to the RAM for use of the processing module.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a memory technique, and more particularly to a technique for saving memory space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Code and data that are no longer to be modified after electronic products are shipped out of the factory are generally recorded in a read-only memory (ROM). In the recently years, one development trend for consumer electronic products has been to integrate various functions into a single product. For example, portable handsets are designed to support extra functions such as a camera and Internet browsing in addition to basic telephone functions. Diversified functions lead to large and complex coding. To store a greater amount of code and data, the capacity of a ROM built into an electronic product is inevitably and correspondingly enlarged, leading to increased hardware costs.
In response to the above issue, a current solution is to burn compressed code and data into a ROM. Taking an example of compressing a code of an application and burning the compressed code into a ROM, an electronic device first fetches the compressed code from the ROM, and then decompresses the code through a decompressor to a random access memory (RAM) for the use of a corresponding processor.
In the prior art, an application is utilized as a unit of compression/decompression. In other words, when a certain application is needed, an electronic device is required to decompress all code of the desired application to a RAM in order to utilize the application. However, the above approach suffers from a drawback that the RAM must have a large capacity for accommodating all kinds of decompressed code. Thus, hardware costs of an electronic product are again increased due to a costly RAM.

Electronic apparatus with compressed data storage and control method thereof


A multi-row rib diffuser is provided which comprises a first row of low ribs with relatively small height extending into regions of very low flow angle and a row of high ribs located behind the leading edge of the first row of ribs. The high ribs extend further into the region of the low flow angle and accept the connected flow from the low ribs as well as additional low angle flow not corrected by the low ribs.

In a high specific speed centrifugal compressor with a vaneless diffuser, there is significant nonuniformity of the flow at the impeller exit in the passage defined by the vaneless diffusers. For radial discharge impellers, where the flow leaves the impeller 90.degree. to the impeller axis in the meridional plane, this nonuniformity is generally characterized by a large region of low radial velocity and low angle flow, relative to the tangential, near the shroud side of the passage. There can also be a small amount of nonuniformity near the hub side. For mixed flow impellers, where the flow leaves the impeller at less than 90.degree. to the impeller axis in the meridional plane, there is generally a redistribution of the nonuniformity in the direction of reducing the severity and extent of the nonuniformity near the shroud side of the passage and increasing the nonuniformity near the hub side.
There are several penalties associated with these flow nonuniformities if they are allowed to go unchecked. A low radial velocity fluid near the side walls of the vaneless diffuser will quickly be brought to rest and then pushed in towards the impeller by the increasing pressures within the diffuser. Thus, part of the flow is pushed back into the impeller where it has to be reprocessed. This leads to increased impeller work and decreased stage efficiencies. In addition, this reverse flow effectively blocks the passage in the vaneless diffuser, so that flow diffusion is diminished and efficiency suffers. The continued nonuniformity in the vaneless diffuser reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of the vaneless diffuser and downstream components.
The purpose of a rib diffuser is to correct the nonuniformity at the impeller tip by placing stationary ribs as near as practical to the impeller tip and only in regions having sufficiently low angle flow. This configuration avoids the problems associated with full vane diffusers which have vanes in the parts of the flow not requiring correction thus creating frictional and wake losses. Existing ideas attempt to correct the nonuniformity at the impeller tip by fixing a single row of ribs on the diffuser wall that extends across the complete region of low angle flow. The region of nonuniformity can be a significant percentage of the passage width at the impeller tip, and the flow angles can vary significantly over this region, up to 20.degree.-30.degree.. Consequently, a single row of ribs set at some average angle will see a large flow incidence variation, .+-.10.degree.-15.degree. or even .+-.20.degree., over the vane leading edge height. Incidence levels could be large enough to cause leading edge flow separation and/or significant boundary layer growth leading to flow losses and lower efficiencies.
Another existing idea attempts to correct nonuniformity of flow with the combination of a single row of ribs, a full vane and fins or grooves on the impeller. Because the full vane extends through areas of uniform flow, frictional and wake losses are incurred.
Thus, a need exists to more accurately correct and redirect the nonuniform flow regions without large flow incidence variations associated with single row rib diffusers and without additional frictional or wake losses associated with full vane diffusers.


A communication switch that includes a multiprocessor control block and a method therefore is presented. The multiprocessor control block includes a centralized resource and routing processor that controls resource allocation and routing functionality within the switch. A plurality of intermediate processors operably coupled to the resource and routing processor perform call processing for corresponding portions of the connections supported by the switch, where such call processing includes issuing resource allocation requests to the resource and routing processor. Each of the intermediate processors further performs functions associated with a signaling layer portion of the protocol stack. The multiprocessor control block also includes a link layer processor operably coupled to the plurality of intermediate processors, where the link layer processor also couples to a switching fabric of the communication switch. The link layer processor receives ingress data units from the switching fabric and selectively forwards these ingress data units to one or more of the plurality of intermediate processors for processing. The link layer processor also received egress data units from the plurality of intermediate processors that it forwards to the switching fabric.

Switches commonly used in communication networks often include a plurality of line cards that are intercoupled by a switching fabric. Each of the plurality of line cards receives ingress data and transmits egress data. The switching fabric allows ingress data received by one card to be directed to an egress connection on one or more of the other line cards included within the communication switch.
Various processing operations are typically performed for the various connections supported by the communication switch. Such connections can include both switched and permanent connections. The processing operations include routing that must occur within the switch such that ingress data received by one line card is directed to the appropriate egress line card. In prior art systems, the processing operations including routing were typically performed by individual processors included in each of the line cards of the communication switch. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art switch that includes a switching fabric and a plurality of line cards. As is illustrated, each of the line cards includes a processor that is responsible for performing the various call processing and routing functions for connections that are directed through that particular line card.
Such distributed call processing provides some disadvantages that become more apparent as data communication speeds continue to increase. In some cases, specific line cards within the switch will be much more active than other line cards. Some of the more active line cards can become overwhelmed by the amount of call traffic they are required to service. Because of the distributed nature of the call processing amongst the various line cards, a processor on a line card that is not being fully utilized is unable to assist the overburdened processor on another line card. As such, the overall call processing bandwidth available within the switch is not fully utilized.
Another disadvantage of distributed call processing is that none of the processors in the individual line cards has a global perspective on the operation of the switch. As such, the adaptations that an individual processor is capable of performing in order to increase the efficiency of the operation of the switch are limited.
Therefore, a need exists for a communication switch that includes call processing and routing functionality that does not suffer from the disadvantages presented by distributed processing of prior art systems.

Multiprocessor control block for use in a communication switch and method therefore


A brush structure includes a rotation bar, a plurality of brush strips, a plurality of fixing blocks, and a driving block mounted on the rotation bar to rotate the rotation bar. Thus, the helical groove is extended through the whole length of each of the two arc-shaped plates of the rotation bar, so that each of the two brush strips is extended through the whole length of each of the two arc-shaped plates of the rotation bar without interruption, thereby enhancing the cleaning effect of each of the two brush strips.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brush structure, and more particularly to a brush structure for a vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional brush structure for a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 comprises a tube 50 having two ends each formed with two symmetrical grooves 52, four brush strips 60 each mounted in a respective one of the grooves 52 of the tube 50 and each having a surface provided with a plurality of bristles 61, and two support blocks 70 mounted in the two ends of the tube 50 to prevent deformation of the tube 50. The grooves 52 of the tube 50 are separated from each other by a separation zone 51. Each of the brush strips 60 has two sides each formed with an insertion groove 62 (see FIG. 7A) for insertion of a side of the respective groove 52 of the tube 50 as shown in FIG. 8A.
However, the brush strips 60 are separated by the separation zone 51, thereby decreasing the cleaning effect of the brush strips 60. In addition, the conventional brush structure needs to provide four brush strips, thereby increasing costs of fabrication and assembly.


An apparatus and method of increasing the speed of an input receiver circuit directly interfaces the wordlines of a memory array. The speed of the input receiver and wordline driver circuit is improved by means of an inverter and a look-ahead n-channel transistor coupled to the basic wordline driver buffer.

FIG. 1 shows the typical input receiver wordline driver circuit of the prior art generally shown by 10. This circuit is designed to interface with wordlines such as wordline 34 and wordline 36. These wordlines may also be driven by high voltage drivers located elsewhere in the semiconductor chip to approximately twelve volts during the programming of the memory array. Therefore, the input receiver and wordline driver circuit 10 is designed so as to be able to interface with wordlines 34 and 36 and to accommodate possible high voltages on these wordlines. For example, circuit 10 must be able to isolate the ground voltage or the supply voltage from wordlines 34 and 36 when these wordlines are driven to a high voltage.
Inverter 12, which is typically designed to respond to TTL input levels, drives a buffer 50. Buffer 50 provides a sufficiently strong drive and sharp rise and fall edges to drive wordline 34. Thus, the combination of inverter 12 and buffer 50 is dedicated to drive wordline 34. Since, as stated above, wordline 34 may be driven to a high voltage of approximately twelve volts, buffer 50 is also used to isolate the possible high voltage on wordline 34 from the ground voltage.
Transistors 26 and 32 are used to perform this isolation of any high voltage on wordline 34 from the supply voltage and the ground voltage respectively. Transistor 26 is used to isolate the possible high voltage on wordline 34 from the supply voltage. The gate of transistor 26 is driven by signal HDWL as shown in FIG. 1. This signal switches to a high state, and thus turns off p-channel transistor 26, whenever wordline 34 is driven by a high voltage driver. Thus, when wordline 34 is being driven by a high voltage driver the electrical path between that wordline and the supply voltage is cut off by the action of signal HDWL and transistor 26 as described above. Similarly, transistor 32 is employed to isolate the possible high voltage on wordline 34 from the ground voltage. The gate of transistor 32 is driven by signal EWLS as shown in FIG. 1. This signal switches to a low state, and thus turns off n-channel transistor 32, whenever wordline 34 is driven by a high voltage driver. Thus, when wordline 34 is being driven by a high voltage driver the electrical path between that wordline and the ground voltage is cut off by the action of signal EWLS and transistor 32 as explained above.
Transistors 28 and 30 of buffer 50 are responsible for driving wordline 34. Transistors 28 and 30 respond to the variations on their common gate 15. The common gate 15 is driven by inverter 12 and shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the combination of inverter 12 and buffer 50 is a non-inverting combination which drives wordline 34 in response to variations in the input VIN of inverter 12.
In a similar manner, inverters 14 and 16 along with buffer 40 drive wordline 36. Like buffer 50, buffer 40 performs the function of providing a strong drive for wordline 36 as well as performing the function of isolating any high voltage on wordline 36 from the supply voltage or ground voltage lines. However, unlike the combination of inverter 12 and buffer 50, the combination of inverters 14, 16 and buffer 40 is an inverting combination. Thus, wordline 16 and buffer 40 is an inverting combination. Thus, wordline 36 represents an inverted version of wordline 34. Because of the additional inverter use to create the inverted wordline 36, wordline 36 makes its transitions with an added delay as compared to the transitions of wordline 34. In particular, the low to high transitions of wordline 36 are delayed, by one inverter delay time, from the low to high transitions of wordline 34.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to create an inverted version of a wordline, without rendering the low to high transition of the inverted wordline slower than the low to high transition of the non-inverted wordline.

High speed input receiver and wordline driver circuit


A projection type image display device is formed including projecting means for projecting an image onto a screen for image display by scanning laser light. The laser light includes a plurality of laser beams. The projecting means irradiates a substantially identical position on the screen with the plurality of laser beams with a time difference. An image signal applied to each of the laser beams has a time difference such that a preceding laser beam is delayed with respect to a succeeding laser beam so as to correspond to the time difference in irradiation.

The present invention relates to a projection type image display device for making image display using a laser as a light source.
A projection type image display device, that is, a so-called projector device is known as an image display device capable of large screen display.
A projection type image display device that displays images by using a laser as a light source and scanning a laser beam has been considered. The projection type image display device has advantages of providing ease of modulation with an image signal and good color reproducibility, and ensuring sufficient brightness, for example (see Patent Document 1, for example).
Laser light is collimated light emitted from a very small light emission point and having a small angle of divergence. Therefore, if the light directly enters the eye, the light concentrates as a small spot on the retina of the eye. When its laser power is high, the light causes a burn on the retina of the eye.
Thus, an international laser safety standard IEC 60825 series and internal standards of each country based on the international laser safety standard IEC 60825 series for devices using laser light provide stringent safety standards for manufacturers and users of laser devices. IEC 60825-1, for example, makes classification into classes 1 to 4 according to magnitude of laser power and provides guidelines to be followed by manufacturers and users for each class.
It is confirmed that an image display device scanning a laser beam over a screen is safe even with a laser of a considerably high intensity (laser class 3B or below), because laser light hits the screen and is then reflected and diffused in all directions.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 3-65916
However, if the laser beam before being applied to the screen is directly looked at accidentally and an amount of light of the laser beam is large, the retina of the eye may be burned.
The risk is related to energy density (W/m2) of the laser light, exposure duration, and size of an image point on the retina.
The higher the energy density (W/m2) of the laser light, the longer the exposure duration, and the smaller the size of the image point on the retina, the greater the risk of a burn.
An international standard set by an international laser safety commission defines maximum permissible exposure (MPE) of the retina when laser light directly enters the eye. The maximum permissible exposure (MPE) represents a reference value based on various experiments and assessments by the commission. The value is at or below that no damage is caused to the eye of a person exposed to laser light (see the commission's international standard IEC60825-1 amendment 2 p31 Table 6).
FIG. 6 shows a relation between exposure duration and permissible laser irradiation intensity (energy density [W/m2]) for a fixed image point on the retina. The point is of a size of a minimum perceived image point or smaller (the most stringent condition of C6=1 in the above table; when a laser light source is a smallest object point) on the basis of a numerical value in a region of visible light (wavelengths of 400 nm to 700 nm) of the maximum permissible exposure defined in the above international standard.
FIG. 6 indicates that when the exposure duration becomes shorter than 0.05 seconds, the permissible laser light intensity is sharply increased, whereas in a region of longer exposure duration than 0.05 seconds, the permissible laser light intensity is not decreased very much even when the exposure duration is increased.
That is, as a tendency, the risk of causing damage to the eye by laser light is reduced as the laser exposure duration is shortened, while as the exposure duration becomes longer than about 0.05 seconds, decrease in the permissible laser light intensity is reduced.
This indicates that when the exposure duration is shorter than about 0.05 seconds (a one-shot laser light irradiation), safety can be enhanced by minimizing a time for which the eye can be irradiated, that is, by shorter pulse irradiation.
When the exposure duration becomes longer than about 0.05 seconds (in cases of a continuous-wave laser, a continuous pulse oscillation laser, and periodic scanning of laser light, for example), safety can be enhanced more effectively by decreasing laser light intensity (W/m2) per unit time and per unit area rather than shortening a sum total of exposure duration.
From the above consideration, considering safety when audience directly looks at projected laser light, a device that makes image display by periodically scanning laser light is required to decrease laser light intensity (W/m2) as much as possible.
Conventional devices that make color display by scanning laser light are not designed from this point of view.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a conventional laser light scanning color image display device.
Pieces of laser light of three primary colors, that is, red, green, and blue are modulated by an image signal. These pieces of laser light of the three colors are multiplexed into one laser beam. The laser beam is passed through a projecting lens and scanned by a scanning mirror to display an image on a screen.
In the case of this device, when the laser beam enters the eye directly (rather than enter the eye as light diffused and reflected from the screen), a total amount of laser beam output of red, green, and blue enters the eye simultaneously.
This system is desirable from a viewpoint of ease of color shift adjustment for the three colors on the screen.
However, as shown by the above consideration, considering laser safety for the eye, the system cannot increase laser light intensity (W/m2). Consequently the system cannot display brighter images.


A cooking utensil for turning grilled, fried or otherwise cooked items without risk of dropping or breaking the foodstuff. The utensil has two pivotally connected handles, joined by a spring-loaded hinge at one terminus. Each handle is equipped with a large, fan-shaped wire spatula for grasping food. The fan-shaped spatulas are large enough to grasp food items without risk of portions breaking or falling off. Further, the utensil is equipped with a hook and eye closure mechanism to secure the spatulas together when not in use. The device may also have metal prongs extending from the outer edges of the spatulas to better grasp foodstuffs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food handling tongs and particularly to food handling tongs which are in the form of a pair of extra wide, spring loaded spatulas for ease in handling grilled foodstuffs.
Barbecuing or grilling food allows a wide range of foodstuffs to be cooked, such as burgers, hot dogs, chicken, kabobs, ribs, and much more. Grilled food has a distinct, popular flavor and has numerous health benefits. Grilled food has become increasingly popular because of the flavor and the health advantages associated with grilling food as opposed to cooking by other means. The popularity of grilled food among home consumers has also prompted commercial restaurants to offer an increasing number of grilled menu items.
Despite the advancement in popularity of grilled food, cooking utensils currently used for grilling have remained primitive and suffer from several drawbacks. The most common cooking utensil used for grilling is the conventional spatula. However, turning an item of food on the grill using a spatula is difficult, as the spatula must be slid between the grill surface and the food item. Often times a user may have difficulty cleanly picking up food from the grill surface. The spatula also does not allow one to easily check how completely cooked an item is without a series of flips. When cooking delicate food items, repeated flipping with a spatula can deteriorate the integrity and appearance of the food.
Another commonly used utensil for grilling is the conventional set of traditional kitchen tongs. Such conventional tongs are not well suited for many commonly grilled foodstuffs. Use of such tongs often causes the same problems as the spatula when picking up or separating food items from a grill surface. Further, because of the directionality of the tongs, use in grilling requires the operator to manipulate the operating hand in an uncomfortable wrist position when handling the food.
There is currently no single utensil that is well suited for all types of foodstuffs that may be cooked on a grill simultaneously. The present invention addresses this need. Consequently, the present invention contemplates a combination spatula and tong device for grilling and cooking purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several patents have been granted dealing with cooking and grilling utensils. However, such patents have not addressed the issue of handling larger grilled food items. Such inventions have focused on grease removal or serve as an all in one grilling and cleaning tool. Thus, while several cooking and grilling utensils exist in the prior art, there remains a need for a single utensil that is useful for preparing the full variety of foods that may be cooked on a grill, and one that does not suffer from the drawbacks of currently available devices. The present invention is a cooking tool that allows easier maneuvering of food and inspection thereof.
Several patents have issued for general grilling tongs or spatulas. Rader U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,365 is directed to tongs for handling food items upon a grill in which the food gripping parts of the tongs are displaced laterally as well as apart when opened to enable the user of the tongs to see the food item as it is being gripped by the tongs. Similarly, Mullen U.S. Design Patent No. D526,543 is directed to an ornamental design for a dual spatula with wide thongs. Kaiser U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,323 is similarly directed to a cooking tong apparatus for handling food items on a grill. The cooking tong apparatus has a first and second jaw for gripping, wherein each jaw has a plurality of tines that are properly spaced apart and sized to fit between standard grill slats. The cooking tong apparatus has a first and second handle that lie in a horizontal plane, allowing a user to operate the cooking tong apparatus in a manner that is most comfortable for the user's hand and wrist. The Rader, Mullen and Kaiser inventions provide slight variations on general-purpose tongs, but fail to address the issues related to the grilling of larger food items. The present invention provides wider, fan shaped tongs that permit the flipping of any grilled foodstuff without the risk of deteriorating integrity or appearance of the food.
McIntosh U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,909 is directed to a food-handling device and probe for determining the interior temperature of the food being handled. The device resembles a pair of tongs that not only carry a temperature-sensing probe with visual signal and gauge, but also carry a structure that positions the probe into the middle of the food being gripped by the tongs. Thus, the device senses the food article's temperature at the midpoint of its thickness, providing improved and reliable information as to the thoroughness of the cooking. The McIntosh invention addresses the issue of thoroughly cooking a food item and inspecting the temperature thereof, but fails to address the issue of an improved means for turning or flipping larger grilled items.
Other patents are directed to removing excess grease from cooking food by compression. Kozlinski U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,009 is directed to food handling tongs that include opposing upper and lower plates pivotally mounted. The upper plate provides a plurality of apertures surrounded by upwardly facing conical portions. The lower plate is provided with a plurality of similar apertures, each surrounded by downward facing conical portions. In use, food is pressed between the upper and lower plates, causing the fat and grease to be squeezed out of the food and directed through the apertures in the upper and lower plates. The goal is to reduce the fat content of the food, providing a healthier diet. Similarly, LaBoccetta U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,741 is directed to a food handling spatula-tong device that provides a means of picking up food and expressing excess oil or fat from the food prior to serving. The spatula-tong device is comprised of a pair of pivotally connected members with food compressing members mounted to an end of each pair of the pivotally connected members. Each of the food-compressing members is provided with apertures that are not aligned with apertures along the opposite compressing member. Both rectangular and triangularly shaped compressing members are utilized to adapt the tongs to various types of foods, including pizza. The compressing plates may be interchangeably and removeably mounted to the tongs. The upper plate is pivotally mounted to the tongs to provide maximum compressing force.
Both the Kozlinski and LaBoccetta inventions address the issue of healthier cooking through the removal of grease from grilled food. They both compress the food to drain excess grease and fat. However, both do not address the need for an improved means of turning or flipping larger food items, as described by the present invention does.
Other inventions have been directed to multipurpose grilling tools. Walde U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,721 is directed to a multi-functional adjustable grip barbeque tong assembly with an adjustable separation limiter that controls how far apart the handles separate. The assembly includes a dual-spatula tong, beveled cutting edges, tines that fit between and below the slats of a barbeque grill, and recesses to scrape a grill clean. The dual spatula assemblies are connected to one another by a spring action U-clip that has a limiting bolt running through the two legs. The further the limiting bolt is threaded into a threaded aperture, the closer the two legs are pulled together, thereby decreasing the distance between the connected handles and making the tongs easier to manage. The Walde invention addresses many issues related to grilling, including general cooking and cleaning of the grill, however, it does not provide a device that ensures proper flipping and turning of larger items.
While the above-mentioned devices are suited for their intended usages, none of these devices disclose a food-handling utensil having large, fan shaped set of opposing upper and lower wire spatulas for the turning and flipping larger food items. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of tongs, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for, and interest in, improvements to grilling devices. In this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.


The present invention relates to a camera module, which comprises a packaged image sensor, an IR filter, a lens and a holder for holding these components and has a reduced overall size and height. A camera module according to the present invention comprises an image sensor package having a translucent substrate formed thereon; and a holder having a lower end attached to the translucent substrate of the image sensor package. At this time, the holder comprises a horizontal portion formed with a through-hole and a connecting portion extending downwardly from an edge of the horizontal portion, and an end surface of a lower end of the connecting portion is formed with an inner stepped portion so as to be attached to a peripheral portion of a top surface and a lateral surface of the translucent substrate. Alternatively, the holder comprises a horizontal portion formed with a through-hole and a connecting portion extending downwardly from an edge of the horizontal portion, and an end surface of a lower end of the horizontal portion is formed to be flat such that it is attached to a peripheral portion of a top surface of the translucent substrate. Otherwise, the holder comprises a horizontal portion formed with a through-hole, and a bottom surface of the horizontal portion is attached to at least a peripheral portion of a top surface of the translucent substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module, and more particularly, to a camera module, which comprises a packaged image sensor, an IR filter, a lens and a holder for holding these components and has a reduced overall size and height.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Image sensors are semiconductor devices having the function of photographing images of human beings or objects. The market of these image sensors has been rapidly expanded as they have been loaded into portable phones as well as common digital cameras or camcorders. Such an image sensor is configured in the form of a camera module and mounted in the aforementioned apparatuses. A camera module comprises a lens, a holder, an infrared (IR) filter, an image sensor, and a printed circuit board. An image is formed by the lens of the camera module, the image formed by the lens is concentrated on the image sensor through the IR filter, and an optical signal of the image is converted into an electrical signal by the image sensor so as to photograph the image.
Among these components, the image sensor for converting an optical signal into an electrical signal is directly mounted as a bare chip on the camera module, or mounted on the camera module after an image sensor chip is packaged.
Among several methods of directly mounting a bare chip of an image sensor on a camera module, a COB (Chip-On board) method which currently occupies 90% or more has problems such as low productivity caused by a unit level packaging scheme, a high defective rate caused by introduction of dust particles during fabrication processes, high investment and maintenance costs of equipment including a clean room having a high degree of cleanness, and limitations on miniaturization. That is, all color filters and micro-lenses are very vulnerable to introduction of dust particles or penetration of moisture because they are fabricated through a photolithographic process after being coated with photoresist. Therefore, according to the COB method, the mounting of the image sensor chip, a wiring operation, the installation of the IR filter, lens and holder, and the like should be carried out in a clean room in which a high degree of cleanness is maintained.
On the contrary, if an image sensor that has been packaged in advance is used, it is possible to solve the aforementioned problems caused when the bare chip is used.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a ceramic leadless chip carrier (CLCC) most frequently used as an image sensor package. In a conventional image sensor package 20 shown in the figure, an image sensor chip 22 is mounted on a ceramic substrate 24 by using epoxy or the like such that the surface thereof faces upward, and the image sensor chip is then covered with a glass cover or glass substrate 21. In order to connect the image sensor chip 22 to the ceramic substrate 24, wires 26 connected to the image sensor chip 22 are connected to connection terminals 27 formed on a floor of the ceramic substrate 24, and the image sensor package 20 is connected to a circuit board by the connection terminals 27.
Another package method is to apply a chip scale package scheme (CSP) to an image sensor chip. This method allows an image sensor chip to be packaged at a wafer level contrary to the chip-on board (COB) method in which an image sensor chip as a bare chip is mounted on a camera module, thereby preventing dust or moisture from penetrating into an image sensing area.
An image sensor package 30 shown in FIG. 2 has been proposed by Schellcase Inc. Specifically, an image sensor chip 32 of which a bottom surface is polished to a thickness of about 100 micrometers is first prepared, an adhesive such as epoxy is coated to form an adhesive layer 34 on a top surface of the image sensor chip with a circuit formed thereon, a glass substrate 31 is then attached to the adhesive layer, an adhesive such as epoxy is then coated to form an adhesive layer 33 on the polished bottom surface, and a glass wafer 35 is then attached to the formed adhesive layer. Then, a dicing blade having a slightly gentle tip angle is used to remove a region between the image sensor chip 32 and the adhesive layer 34, thereby exposing input/output pads of the circuit formed on the top surface of the image sensor chip 32. Further, lateral sides of the image sensor chip 32, adhesive layer 33, and glass wafer 35 are formed to be inclined at a certain angle by using equipment such as a semiconductor wafer cutter (dicing saw). Next, metal wires 36 are formed to extend from the input/output pads of the exposed image sensor chip 32 via the inclined lateral side surfaces to a bottom surface of the glass wafer 35. At this time, the metal wires 36 are formed by forming a metal film from the input/output pads of the exposed image sensor chip 32 via the inclined lateral side surfaces to the bottom surface of the glass wafer 35 and by etching the metal film to form a desired pattern. Finally, connection terminals 37 such as solder balls are formed at ends of the metal wires 36 formed on the bottom surface of the glass wafer 35. The connection terminals 37 will be connected to external terminals or a printed circuit board (PCB). Such an image sensor package available from Shellcase Inc. can be completed to conform to the size of an actual image sensor chip.
As another example of CSP, an image sensor package proposed by the present applicant shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
The image sensor package 40 of FIG. 3A comprises a glass substrate 41, metal wires 44 formed on the glass substrate 41, an insulating film 45 for protecting the metal wires 44, an image sensor chip 42 electrically connected to the glass substrate 41 by flipchip solder joints 43, and connection terminals 47 such as solder balls formed outside the image sensor chip 42 and connected to a printed circuit board. Meanwhile, a dust-seal layer 46 is formed between the glass substrate 41 and the image sensor chip 42 to prevent foreign substances from being introduced into a space defined between the glass substrate 41 and the image sensor chip 42.
An image sensor package 50 for a camera module shown in FIG. 3B comprises a glass substrate 51, metal wires 54 formed on the glass substrate 51, an insulating film 55 for protecting the metal wires 54, an image sensor chip 52 electrically connected to the glass substrate 51 by flipchip solder joints 53, and passive elements 58 and connection terminals 57 mounted on the metal wires 54 outside the image sensor chip 52. Although the image sensor package 50 shown in FIG. 3B has a structure nearly similar to that of the image sensor package 40 shown in FIG. 3A, it has a structure in which the passive elements 58, such as decoupling capacitors, required to construct a camera module can be mounted together on the glass substrate and the connection terminals 57 for connection with a printed circuit board are provided on one surface of the glass substrate. Therefore, in case of such an image sensor package, it is basically possible to eliminate a printed circuit board in fabricating a camera module.
In addition to the aforementioned package methods, a further package method is to apply a chip on flexible PCB (COF) to an image sensor chip.
An example of an image sensor package manufactured according to the COF package method is shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, an image sensor package 60 includes an image sensor chip 62, a flexible PCB 64, which is formed with printed circuit patterns 64p on a surface of the flexible PCB 64, formed with a through-hole 64h for an image sensing portion of the image sensor chip 62 to be seen, and connected to the image sensor chip 62, and a glass substrate 61 attached to the other surface of the flexible PCB 64 so as to cover the through-hole 64h of the flexible PCB 64.
At this time, portions of the printed circuit patterns 64p around the through-hole 64h of the flexible PCB 64 are electrically connected to pads formed on edges of the image sensor chip 62. That is, using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or anisotropic conductive paste (ACP), connecting portions 65 between the printed circuit patterns 64p of the flexible PCB 64 and the pads of the image sensor chip 62 electrically connect the printed circuit patterns 64p of the flexible PCB 64 and the pads of the image sensor chip 62 to each other.
Generally, in the image sensor package 60 of a COF type, when the ACF or ACP is pressed after forming gold bumps on input and output pads of the image sensor chip 62, polymer balls in the ACF or ACP which have conductive surfaces are compressed, so that the electrical connection is achieved. The detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted since the configurations thereof are well known to those skilled in the art.
At this time, the edges of the image sensor chip 62 and the flexible PCB 64 may be bonded with epoxy 66 and the like.
In the mean time, an IR filter or the like may be used as the glass substrate 61, which serves to protect the image sensor chip 62. At this time, the glass substrate 61 and the flexible PCB 64 may be bonded to each other with adhesive or double-sided adhesive tape to be airtight. Next, the structure of a conventional camera module will be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings. First, a conventional camera module having the image sensor package 40 of FIG. 3A among the aforementioned image sensor packages will be described.
As shown in the figure, the conventional camera module comprises the aforementioned image sensor package 40, a printed circuit board 10 on which the image sensor package 40 is mounted, a holder 12 having a lower end fixed to the printed circuit board 10, an IR filter 14 installed at the center of the holder 12, and a lens unit 18 coupled to a lens mounting portion 12c formed at the center of an upper end of the holder 12.
In order to mount the image sensor package 40 on the printed circuit board 10, connection terminals 47 of the image sensor package 40 are soldered to printed circuit patterns (not shown) on the printed circuit board 10. Further, in order to attach the holder 12 to the printed circuit board 10 and attach the IR filter 14 to the holder 12, the IR filter 14 is first bonded to the holder 12 using epoxy 15. Thereafter, epoxy 11 in the form of paste is applied to an edge of the printed circuit board 10, the holder 12 with the IR filter 14 bonded thereto is attached to the epoxy 11 in the form of paste applied to the printed circuit board 10, and the epoxy in the form of paste is then cured at a predetermined temperature to firmly bond the printed circuit board 10 and the holder 12 to each other. When the holder 12 is completely attached to the printed circuit board 10, the lens unit 18 is coupled to the lens mounting portion 12c formed at the center of the upper end of the holder 12.
The lens unit 18 is constructed such that at least one lens 18a is fixedly installed within a hollow cylindrical case, and male threads formed on an outer surface of the case are engaged with female threads formed on an inner surface of the lens mounting portion 12c of the holder 12c. When the lens unit 18 is coupled to the lens mounting portion 12c, the distance between the lens unit 18 and the image sensor package 40, i.e., a focal distance, is adjusted.
In the camera module having such a structure, the thickness of a sidewall of the holder 12 is about 350 to 450 μm, and a tolerance of about 150 μm is required for assembling between the inner wall of the holder 12 and an edge of the glass substrate 41 of the package 40. In the camera module assembled in this way, since the size of the holder 12 is standardized to 5 mm×5 mm, 6 mm×6 mm and the like for application of the camera module to an electronic apparatus, a standardized holder always having a size larger than the size of the image sensor package 40 to be used is employed, resulting in increase in the overall size of the camera module.
Meanwhile, since printed circuit patterns (not shown) are formed on the top surface of the printed circuit board 10, the top surface is not generally even. For this reason, when the holder 12 is attached to the printed circuit board 10, a double-sided adhesive tape cannot be used but epoxy in the form of paste is applied and cured. Such epoxy paste generates vapor or particles during a curing process thereof. At this time, since the holder 12 is hermetically sealed, the vapor or particles do not escape the camera module but adhere to the image sensor package 40 or the IR filter 14. The vapor or particles adhering to the image sensor package 40 or the IR filter 14 may contaminate the image sensor package and IR filter, leading to distortion of a photographed image.
When epoxy in the form of paste is applied and cured on the uneven printed circuit board 10 in order to bond the holder 12 to the printed circuit board as described above, the thickness of the epoxy 11 interposed between the printed circuit board 10 and the printed circuit board 12 varies depending on camera modules to be manufactured. That is, after the epoxy in the form of paste is applied and cured, it is not easy to obtain cured epoxy 11 having an initially intended thickness.
For this reason, the lens unit 18 is manufactured separately and then threadly engaged with the lens mounting portion 12c formed in the holder 12 while adjusting the focal distance between the lens unit 18 and the image sensor package 40 after the printed circuit board 10 and the holder 12 are completely assembled together. That is, even though the same lens unit 18 and image sensor unit 40 are used, the focal distance between the holder 12 with the lens unit 18 mounted thereon and the printed circuit board 10 with the image sensor package 40 mounted thereon varies depending on the thickness of the cured epoxy 11. Accordingly, the focal distance between the lens unit 18 and the image sensor package 40 should be adjusted depending on the thickness of the epoxy 11.
Since the process of adjusting the focal distance between the lens unit 18 and the image sensor package 40 should be individually performed for every camera module to be manufactured, it is a process that requires a great deal of time and is very difficult to be automated among all the processes of manufacturing a camera module. Since the process of adjusting the focal distance requires a great deal of time and manpower as described above, the process increases manufacturing costs of camera modules.
In particular, since the thickness of the cured epoxy 11 may not be uniform even in one camera module, the holder 12 may be obliquely bonded to the printed circuit board 10. This causes misalignment between a lens and an image sensor, leading to a defective product. In particular, in a high pixel camera module on the degree of mega pixels, distortion of a final image is apt to occur due to the misalignment.
Meanwhile, since the image sensor packages 20 and 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are also formed with the connection terminals 27 and 37 on their bottom surfaces, respectively, similarly to the image sensor package 40 shown in FIG. 3A and assembled into a camera module in the same manner, they have the same problems. Moreover, since the image sensor package 50 shown in FIG. 3B is used without a printed circuit board, the image sensor package 50 is assembled into a camera module in the same manner as described above after a reinforcing plate instead of a printed circuit board is installed below the image sensor package 50 and a holder is bonded to the top of the reinforcing plate. This image sensor package also has the same problems.

Bisan-Dong Dongan-Gu, Anyang-Si, Gyeonggi-Do


A diagnostic system that effectively presents optimum products to the users by effectively using information about the use history of an image forming apparatus used by the users and other information specific to the image forming apparatus that may be stored in advance. The diagnostic system includes a management device that receives and manages management information including at least information of print volume of an image forming apparatus for a predetermined period, a determination device that determines an optimum image forming apparatus based on the information of print volume in the predetermined period managed by the management device, and a notification device that notifies information indicative of the optimum image forming apparatus determined by the determination device to an information processing apparatus that is capable of communication via a communication line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnostic device, a diagnostic system, a diagnostic method, a program and a medium that, depending on the usage history of an image forming apparatus that a user uses, can diagnose the optimum image forming apparatus and/or optional devices and provide the diagnostic results to the user.
2. Description of Related Art
There are systems that can detect the degree of consumption of toner within a toner cartridge used in an image forming apparatus and display on a display section provided on the main body of the image forming apparatus an instruction to replace the toner cartridge when the amount of the toner left falls below a predetermined value.
There are also systems proposed in which a signal instructing a purchase order for a new toner cartridge is send via telephone lines when the toner runs low, thereby requesting a purchase to an information processing apparatus installed at the dealer.
Furthermore, there are systems proposed in which a device such as a counter is installed on a toner cartridge or the main body of the image forming apparatus, and for example, the number of pages printed is counted by the counter, and a determination is made when the count value reaches a certain value that the toner cartridge or the image forming apparatus has reached the end of its life, and a warning is provided.
However, there has not been any systems among prior art that makes an effective use of operational history information, such as cumulative print volume of image forming apparatuses, in spite of the fact that there have been prior art that, for example, automatically place an order for a new toner when the toner runs low, or that notify the user of the image forming apparatus' or any part of the image forming apparatus' reaching the end of its life.
In the meantime, when the printer main body itself reaches the end of its life or becomes obsolete and the user is ready to replace it with a new model, the user must access web sites operated by dealers or send for a catalog from dealers and select by himself or herself the product that appears to be most suitable based on the past usage as he or she compares various product specifications, which is a very time-consuming and onerous process. In addition, this process still entails the possibility that the user would select a product that is not suitable for the user's usage frequency.
Furthermore, even when a serviceperson is called to consult about the purchase of a new image forming apparatus, since the serviceperson in fact is in the habit of suggesting an image forming apparatus that appears to fit the customer's wishes based on the serviceperson's own experience, this process is equally onerous as the process in which the customer researches by himself or herself, and still there is no guarantee that the serviceperson would be able to recommend an appropriate product.

Diagnostic device, diagnostic system, diagnostic method, program and storage medium


Video frame buffers are controlled using a sequence of new-frame-indicators (e.g., FLIP) and no-new-frame-indicators (e.g., NOFLIP) in a frame indicator queue that is accessed with each display refresh. Video samples are loaded into a chain of video frame buffers that is “rotated” during the vertical blanking signal of the display to swap an old frame buffer out for a new frame buffer. The rotations of the frame buffer chain are controlled based on the frame indicators in the frame indicator queue to present new video samples to the display in a regular pattern, thereby providing smooth video playback.

Digital video technology has advanced to provide high quality digital video playback on a computer. In a common configuration, digital video samples are received from a signal source (e.g., a hard disk or a video camera). A decoder module decodes incoming video samples and then loads each decoded sample into an available frame buffer of a video adapter at an input frame rate. The video adapter reads the video data from a populated frame buffer and sends the video data to a display (e.g., a computer monitor) on a frame-by-frame basis, in accordance with a display refresh rate.
The refresh rate specifies the number of frames displayed per unit time (e.g., frames per second). The period between the displays (or "refreshes") of temporally adjacent frames is termed the "vertical blanking interval", during which no video frame data is transmitted to the display. In many configurations, the input sample rate may be different from the refresh rate, and therefore, the incoming samples are likely to be out-of-sync with the frame refreshes.
As such, to accommodate the different rates, the availability of a new sample for display, which is dependent on the input sample rate, is synchronized with the refresh rate to achieve a smooth video display. For example, existing digital video systems synchronize sequential frame buffer reads with the refresh rate using timed software calls, which are dependent on system clocks and the system processor (e.g., the CPU). However, because timed software calls are so sensitive to CPU usage, spikes in CPU utilization can perturb this synchronization and negatively impact the video playback quality by introducing irregular playback and mis-alignment with associated audio playback.

Frame buffer control for smooth video display


A plasma reactor operable over a very wide process window of pressure, source power and bias power includes a resonant circuit consisting of an overhead electrode having a first impedance, a wafer support pedestal having a second impedance and a bulk plasma having a third impedance and generally lying in a process zone between the overhead electrode and the wafer support pedestal, the magnitudes of the impedances of the overhead electrode and the wafer support pedestal being within an order of magnitude of one another, the resonant circuit having a resonant frequency determined by the first, second and third impedances.

Plasma processing of semiconductor wafers in the manufacture of microelectronic integrated circuits is used in dielectric etching, metal etching, chemical vapor deposition and other processes. Such plasma processes require precise control of process parameters, such as the amount of plasma power delivered to the plasma, for example. This parameter is affected by a number of variables, including the ability of the impedance matching device between the plasma source power generator and the reactor's RF power applicator to provide an impedance match over a widely varying plasma load impedance. The wide range of plasma load impedance is attributable to changing conditions within the reactor chamber. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,751 referenced above, this problem is addressed by a fixed impedance match device, such as a coaxial tuning stub or a strip line circuit, that couples source power to the ceiling electrode and has a wide match space. As described in the referenced patent, the reactance of the electrode is selected so that the electrode and plasma resonate at a plasma electrode resonant frequency. Further, the resonant frequency of the fixed match device, the electrode-plasma resonance and the source power frequency are all nearly equal and lie in the VHF range. One advantage is that the fixed match device has a very wide match space, so that the system is less sensitive to variations in plasma load impedance (so that such variations do not greatly affect the amount of source power delivered to the plasma). Even greater imperviousness to variations in plasma load impedance is obtained by providing a slight deviation between these three frequencies, as described in the above-referenced patent.
A problem limiting the process window of such a reactor is that the electrode-plasma resonance frequency varies widely with chamber pressure. What is desired is a plasma reactor that can perform a process, such as a reactive ion etch process, over a wide process window, including a wide range of chamber pressures from about 5 mT to about 1000 mT. The problem is that such a wide variation in pressure creates changes in the plasma-electrode resonant frequency that cause an impedance mismatch and consequent loss of control over delivered plasma source power. As described below in the detailed description, the fixed impedance match (i.e., the coaxial tuning stub) has a wide impedance match space provided that the plasma-electrode resonant frequency does not deviate too far from the source power frequency. In general, the fixed impedance match need only hold the VSWR at the source power generator within 3:1 to provide an adequate match. What we have found is that as chamber pressure is varied from 5 mT to 1000 mT, the VSWR exceeds 3:1 over a portion of this range. Thus, the chamber pressure must be confined within a much smaller range.
We have found that the variation in plasma-electrode resonant frequency with chamber pressure seems to be unavoidable: The resonant frequency is a function of the plasma impedance which in turn depends upon the electron-neutral collision frequency. The electron-neutral collision frequency is a direct function of chamber pressure. Thus, a variation in plasma-electrode resonant frequency with chamber pressure would appear to be unavoidable, so that realizing a wide pressure window (e.g., 5–1000 mT) has not seemed an attainable goal.

Plasma reactor with overhead RF source power electrode having a resonance that is virtually pressure independent


A water filter assembly includes an upper cover body, a lower base, and a plurality of filter cores. The upper cover body is formed with a connector extending downwards. The connector is to be connected to a filter core set, which includes the filter cores connected together and has output and input hoses. The lower base has a chamber for accommodating the filter core set and has a cover portion connected to the upper cover body. Positioning members are formed on the output and input hoses at suitable positions. Notches are formed on two sides of the cover portion of the lower base so that the positioning members may engage with the notches.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved structure of a water filter assembly, and more particularly to a water filter for filtering water, wherein a water outlet and a water inlet can be firmly fixed, and the assembling directions of the water outlet and inlet can be changed.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a typical water filter 1. The water filter 1 has a base 11, which may be hung or placed horizontally. The base 11 has at least one connector 12, which is connected to a filter core set 13 composed of a plurality of filter cores connected together. The filter core set 13 has an input hose 131 and an output hose 132. The input hose 131 and the output hose 132 project out of the water filter 1 via through holes 111 of the base 11 so that the input hose 131 may be connected to a water faucet A and the output hose 132 is connected to an output faucet B.
When the water filter 1 is being used, the water faucet A is opened, and the water enters the filter core set 13 via the input hose 131 and then is filtered. The filtered water is then supplied to the output faucet B via the output hose 132 so that the filtered water can be used.
However, the through holes 111 of the base 11 of the water filter cannot effectively position the output and input hoses. Thus, the user may often carelessly break the hoses or damage the filter core set 13. In addition, the directions of the water outlet and inlet of the water filter are also limited by the direction of the filter core set and cannot be changed according to the user's requirement.


A selective layer melting or other additive layer fabrication method in which powdered material is fused by heating it with a pulsed laser, the pulses being modulated while the laser is traversing the substrate so as to control the thickness and/or width of the layer being formed. Initial layers of the fabrication structure may be formed more thickly than subsequent layers, e.g. by means of a CW laser, to reduce distortion. This aspect of the invention may be employed independently of the use of a pulsed laser to form the subsequent layers.

This invention relates to an additive layer fabrication (ALF) method, that is to say a method in which successive layers of material are added on top of each other so as to build-up a three-dimensional structure. The invention is particularly but not exclusively applicable to selective laser melting, and may be applied both to the manufacture of new articles, or to the repair of used ones.
In selective laser melting a laser beam is used to melt a controlled amount of powdered (usually metallic) material on a substrate, so as to form a layer of fused material thereon. By moving the laser beam relative to the substrate along a predetermined path, the layer can be defined in two dimensions on the substrate, the width of the layer being determined by the diameter of the laser beam where it strikes the substrate. Repeating the movement of the laser along all or part of its path enables further layers of material to be deposited, thereby fabricating a three-dimensional object.
Selective laser melting hitherto has been performed using continuous wave (CW) lasers, typically Nd:YAG lasers operating at 1064 nm. This can achieve high material deposition rates particularly suited for repair applications or where a subsequent machining operation is acceptable in order to achieve the finished component. The method does not however lend itself to the production of near-net-shape components to close tolerances and with a high quality surface finish. Preferred embodiments of one aspect of the present invention seek to address this shortcoming.


A method is for executing an application in a cloud system. The method includes receiving a request from a first user for executing an application in the cloud system; receiving, from the first user, user data of the first user related to the execution of the requested application; storing the received user data in a first storage area of a computing environment of the cloud system; in the computing environment, executing the requested application based on the stored user data of the first user to obtain an execution result; and storing the execution result in a second storage area of the computing environment, the access permission of the first user to the first storage area being a write-only permission, and the access permission of the first user to the second storage area being a read-only permission. As such, data privacy protection and security can be provided in the cloud system.

In recent years, the development of cloud platforms has become faster and faster; especially, industrial clouds are being applied to more and more fields. A large number of companies, organizations, and users often connect to industrial clouds, and they are using vast amounts of data, algorithms, and applications that are valuable data assets.
When a user connects to an industrial cloud and uses an application on the industrial cloud, on the one hand, the user needs the applications on the industrial cloud and valuable data of other users; on the other hand, the user also needs to protect his/her own private valuable data against malicious access. This is a dilemma and has become an obstacle to the widespread use of industrial clouds.

Method, apparatus, and cloud system for executing an application in a cloud system


A wide range, non-focused listening mode of a microphone of an electronic device can be set to be selectively less than a maximal range around the device. The microphone can be operated in the wide range, non-focused listening mode to detect a spoken trigger phrase. The microphone can then be operated in a narrow range, focused listening mode directed towards a location from which the spoken trigger phrase was detected in the wide range, non-focused listening mode.

Voice recognition has become sufficiently advanced that it is becoming a popular way by which users interact with electronic devices, instead of interacting with them via text entry. For example, many smartphones and other mobile computing devices can be configured to be in an "always listening" mode. A user might be able to ask, "what's the weather going to be like tomorrow," without having to type in this question, and receive a verbal response in return from the device. As another example, more recently, electronic devices have become available that are intended to remain stationary within users' homes. A user can thus in the comfort of his or her own home ask similar questions, as well as add items to a shopping list that may be retrievable from the user's smartphone, for instance, when the user is later at a store.

Electronic device microphone listening modes

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A film dressing for catheter sites and a method for applying and making such a dressing are provided. Preferably, the film dressing has a foam layer. A moisture vapor semi-permeable film may be secured to the foam layer. A window in the foam layer allows for viewing of the catheter site. The moisture vapor semi-permeable film may be coated with an adhesive for application to a catheter site. The adhesive may vary in strength and pattern. The dressing may further have a liner coated with silicone for use in protection of the semi-permeable film. A label may be removable attached to the silicone coated liner. The dressing may further have additional foam pieces for use in the application of the dressing to a patient. The dressing may have different colors indicating, for example, the strength of the adhesive used with the dressing.

The present invention generally relates to a film dressing for intravenous catheter sites as well as a method for making and applying such a dressing. More specifically, the present invention relates to a film dressing having a top foam layer having a window exposing a moisture vapor semi-permeable film. The moisture vapor semi-permeable film may be coated with an adhesive. The dressing may further have a liner for protection of the dressing and for use in the application of the dressing to a patient. The dressing of the present invention may be placed in a pouch and may be sterilized for use on a patient.
It is, of course, generally known to use film dressings for the treatment and/or covering of wounds or intravenous catheter sites. Catheter dressings that are self adherent are known. Such dressings are generally in the form of a transparent polyurethane film having an adhesive and a liner. Other known dressings include a fabric layer having an adhesive side, a sheet of film closing a window in the fabric layer, and an absorbent fiber layer on the adhesive side of the fabric tape layer. Known dressings generally have a cut in the fabric layer extending beyond the periphery of the absorbent fiber layer for receiving a catheter tube. The fabric layer seals the window dressing from contamination around the catheter tube.
A problem associated with these dressings includes adhesive that may damage the skin of the patient. For example, the adhesive of the known dressings may damage the skin or cause pain to the patient when the adhesive is applied and/or removed. More specifically, the elderly, newborns, burn patients, or other patients with sensitive, frail or damaged skin may suffer pain or otherwise be further harmed by the use of the adhesive on the dressing.
Further, dressings that do not use adhesive to secure the dressing to the skin of the patient are known. For example, a dressing is designed with bands that wrap around the patient adjacent the catheter site. The bands attach to each other using hook and loop fasteners. Adhesive is used to secure the catheter tubing against the bands and not the skin of the patient. Another known dressing has wings that wrap around the patient adjacent the catheter site. The wings are secured to a base unit with adhesive. However, these dressings are costly to manufacture, may have a tourniquet effect, do not allow for a clear view of the catheter insertion site and are not as easy to use as self-adherent dressings.
A need, therefore, exists for a film dressing for intravenous catheter sites and a method for making and a method for applying such a dressing that is easy and safe to use with patients having sensitive skin, maintains adherence to the skin and/or catheter and protects the wound from exposure to harmful environmental conditions, such as bacteria or the like.

Dressing and a method for making and applying a dressing


The present invention provides a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; a method for manufacturing the compounds of the invention, and its therapeutic uses. The present invention further provides a combination of pharmacologically active agents and a pharmaceutical composition.

BET proteins are proteins encoded by either of the genes BRD2, BRD3, BRD4, or BRDT. Each of these proteins bears two N-terminal bromodomains. Bromodomains comprise of a conserved ˜110 amino acid segment found in at least 42 diverse proteins that specifically interact with acetylated lysines that occur for example on histone tails (Filippakopoulos and Knapp, FEBS Letters, 586 (2012), 2692-2704). Histones are a constituent part of chromatin and their covalent modifications including lysine acetylation regulate gene transcription. Bromodomains are thus believed to regulate transcription by recruiting proteins to genes that are marked with specific patterns of lysine acetylation.
Several published reports have linked the BET protein family to diseases including cancer, metabolic disease and inflammation. Oncogenic fusions of BRD4 or BRD3 and the Nuclear protein in Testis (NUT) gene caused by chromosomal translocations are underlying an aggressive cancer named NUT midline carcinoma (French et al., J Clin Oncol, 22 (2004), 4135-9; French et al., J Clin Pathol, 63 (2008), 492-6). The BRD3/4 bromodomains are preserved in these fusion proteins, and their inhibition either by knockdown or with the selective BET bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 leads to death and/or differentiation of these cancer cells both in vitro and in animal tumour models (Filippakopoulos et al., Nature, 468 (2010), 1067-73). JQ1 and several other selective BET inhibitors have been shown to bind to BET bromodomains and thereby prevent acetyl-lysine binding, which prevents BET proteins from interacting with chromatin and thereby regulating transcription. BRD4 was also identified from an RNAi screen as a target in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Zuber et al., Nature, 478 (2011), 524-8). This finding was validated in vitro and in vivo using the BET inhibitor JQ1 and another selective BET inhibitor named I-BET151 that is chemically unrelated to JQ1 (Dawson et al., Nature, 478 (2011), 529-33). These and other studies showed that BET inhibitors have broad anti-cancer activity in acute leukemias, multiple myeloma and other hematological malignancies. In several cancer models an acute downregulation of the oncogenic transcription factor Myc upon BET inhibition has been observed (Delmore et al., Cell, 146 (2011), 904-17; Mertz et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 108 (2011), 16669-74). More recent studies suggest that the therapeutic potential of BET inhibitors extends to other cancer indications, for example lung and brain cancer.
Another BET inhibitor named I-BET762 that is closely related to JQ1 in chemical structure and the manner in which it binds to BET bromodomains, was reported to modulate expression of key inflammatory genes and thereby protect against endotoxic shock and bacteria-induced sepsis in mouse models (Nicodeme et al., Nature, 468 (2010), 1119-23). This body of data has been used to support the clinical evaluation of the BET inhibitor RVX-208 in clinical trials in patients suffering from atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases (McNeill, Curr Opin Investig Drugs, 3 (2010), 357-64 and www.clinicaltrials.gov), Both RVX-208 and I-BET762 have been shown to upregulate Apolipoprotein A-I, which is critically involved in reducing the tissue levels of cholesterol. Finally, BET proteins have been linked to propagation and transcription regulation of several viruses, and therefore it is believed that BET inhibitors could have anti-viral activity (Weidner-Glunde, Frontiers in Bioscience 15 (2010), 537-549).
In summary, inhibitors of BET bromodomains have therapeutic potential in several human diseases.

There remains a need for new treatments and therapies for the treatment of cancer. The invention provides compounds as BET inhibitors, pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, pharmaceutical compositions thereof and combinations thereof. The invention further provides methods of treating, preventing or ameliorating cancer, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a BET inhibitor.
Various embodiments of the invention are described herein. Particularly interesting compounds of the invention have good potency in the biological assays described herein. In another aspect they should have a favourable safety profile. In another aspect, they should possess favourable pharmacokinetic properties.

Pyrrolopyrrolone derivatives and their use as BET inhibitors