A connector assembly comprises a mounting portion for mounting the connector to a complementary portion which could be either another connector or a member fixed to a structure such as an automobile's bodywork. The mounting portions comprise interengaging T-shaped walls and T-shaped profiles that are longitudinally slidably interengaged. The mounting portion walls comprise interleaving recesses and extensions and that enable the mounting portions to be interengaged by placing the mounting portions one against each other and then sliding them in opposing directions by only a short travel. The latter enables longitudinally slidable T-profiles to be used but nevertheless over short travel which is advantageous for certain applications to reduce cable length surplus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mechanism for mounting a connector assembly to a structure such as a panel, or to another connector assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many applications there is a need to fix a connector assembly to a structure, one example being in an automobile. Harnesses for an automobile typically comprise a plurality of connectors interconnected by cables, the connectors being fixed to body work or other structures of the automobile. Harnesses assembled to the automobile often require that the connectors have a determined position and do not rattle or move about with respect to the automotive structure.
It is desirable to have a means of fixing the connector assemblies to the structure that allows rapid mounting, but that is sturdy enough to allow mating of connectors (which sometimes generate quite high forces). Many resilient latching systems do not satisfy this requirement for robustness. It is also desirable to have a mounting mechanism that requires very little or no extra length in the wires that is sometimes needed for mounting of the connector to the mounting structure. Cost effectiveness, robustness, reliability, and short cable surplus length are therefore desirable features of the connector mounting mechanism.


This invention teaches an apparatus, method, means, and computer readable media to address the problem of the inconsistent, unreliable nature of wind, and in particular low-wind speeds, through utilizing a blower and/or startup assist to aid in turning an electricity generating electrical generator during periods of low-wind speed. This generator provides electrical power for an electrolyzer used to generate hydrogen gas from water. Some embodiments include wind speed and direction sensors and control programming and/or circuitry that tracks trends in direction and speed, and anticipate the need to move the direction of the wind-collecting funnel to best take wind into the funnel, and to provide a start-up assist to the wind-powered turbine at a wind speed that is lower than could start rotation of the turbine without assist, or to maintain rotation when the wind temporarily slows below the speed needed to maintain rotation.

Presently, most modern economies are dependant upon fossil fuels and the benefits that they provide in allowing for the generation of power. One problem with fossil fuels, however, is that they are a non-renewable resource. Additionally, they tend to generate pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other toxic substances.
A solution to the non-renewable, polluting nature of fossil fuel use is to utilize technologies that allow for the generation of electrical power through renewable, non-polluting means. Two such technologies are wind power and hydrogen gas generated using other than fossil fuels.
Wind power used to generate electrical power is typically realized in the form of a wind-collection device used to capture the kinetic energy of wind via, for example, blades affixed to a horizontal or vertical axis or a turbine, coupled to a generator which then generates electrical current. This generator, and the electrical current that it generates, is then incorporated into an electrical power grid to supplement more traditional fossil-fuel-based generators of electrical power.
Like wind power, hydrogen gas from other than fossil fuel is a renewable resource that does not pollute the environment. One of the most abundant sources of hydrogen gas is water. Hydrogen gas can be liberated from water through the use of electrolysis. Once liberated, this hydrogen gas can be stored for future use in such things as running a power plant to generating electricity.
One problem with wind power as a basis from which to supply the electricity needed for electrolysis is that like the wind, wind power is an inherently unreliable, inconsistent form of power. An upshot of this unreliable, inconsistent nature is that power grids have problems synchronizing with wind-power based electrical generators. Various inventions through the years have sought to solve this problem by creating more efficient electrical generators that function at all wind speeds including low-wind speeds.

Apparatus and method for generating hydrogen gas through the use of wind power


Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vertical MOSFET selection transistor that is configured to suppress leakage voltage in the memory cell without limiting the size of the memory cell. The memory selection transistor has a semiconductor body with first and second trenches that define a raised semiconductor structure having a source region, a channel region, and a drain region. A gate structure has a first gate electrode in the first trench, which extends vertically along a first side of the raised semiconductor structure, and a second gate electrode in the second trench, which extends vertically along an opposite, second side of the raised semiconductor structure. The first and second gate electrodes collectively control the flow of current between the source and drain region in the raised semiconductor structure. An electrical contact couples the drain region to a data storage element configured to store data.

Integrated chips use memory to store data and executable programs. As the functionality of an integrated chip increases, the need for more memory also increases, causing integrated chip designers and manufacturers to have to both increase the amount of available memory while decreasing the size and power consumption of an integrated chip. To reach this goal, the size of memory cell components has been aggressively shrunk over the past few decades.
The aggressive shrinkage of memory cells has benefited from the highly repeatable pattern of memory arrays. For example, the repeatable pattern used in memory arrays has allowed for lithography to be tuned to improve the lithographic resolution of memory cells over that of other logic circuits. However, as physical dimensions continue to shrink, the physical limits of elements within the memory cell are beginning to limit the size of memory cells.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A garment hanger comprising pinch grip clips has a unique molded beam design for added strength and stability. The cross-section of the hanger beam comprises an “S”-shaped design extending along the beam between the pinch grip clips. The “S”-shaped construction reduces warping in the beam body that may be caused by heavy clothing material or frequent use. Alternatively, a “Z”-shaped design may also be used.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of beam construction for a hanger. More specifically, the present invention is related to a beam construction having increased strength and stability with reduced warping and material requirements.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Pinch grip garment hangers are typically used to hold clothing and garments such as pants or skirts or undergarments. Therein, a garment hanger requires strength and stability to hold clothing of all weights and sizes. Garment hangers may be molded in one complete design or comprised of several parts, for example the hook or clips, attached to a molded body.
The strength and stability of the hanger comes from its beam design. Unfortunately, the hanger body or beam portion is subject to a substantial amount of wear and tear due to the heaviness or weight of the clothing material and frequent use. Particularly, a substantial amount of warping in molded hangers occurs in the beam. The designs currently used in the art do not provide a strong structure and therefore do not sufficiently address this problem.
Therefore, what is desired is a garment hanger having a beam construction that increases the strength of the beam to deter warping as well as to reduce the amount of material needed for construction. For example, a curved or inclined construction connecting a top and bottom part of a hanger beam is not described in the prior art and is desired. More specifically, what desired is a clothes hanger beam having a structural cross-section in the form of an "S" or "Z" shape.
It is known to use hanger beams of different designs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,045 appears to disclose a standard "channel-back" design with a generally inverted U-shaped cross section. However, a curved, inclined, "S"- or "Z"-shape cross-section is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,785,216; 6,085,950; 6,435,387; and 6,588,634 and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0155387 appear to describe "M"-shaped cross-sections. The use of a curved, inclined, or an "S"- or "Z"-shaped cross section, however, is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,714 appears to show a double "I" cross-section. U.S. Pat. Des. 187,092 appears to disclose a similar double "I" cross-section that is separated by a gap. Neither reference, however, discloses a curved, inclined, "S"- or "Z"-shaped cross-section.


In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a high volume, low pressure paint spray gun connectable to a paint source, an atomization air source and a shaping air source. The paint spray gun is provided with a spray gun body which is in fluid communication with the paint source, the atomization air source for atomizing paint and the shaping air source for shaping paint spray patterns. The spray gun is further provided with a nozzle which defines a paint atomizing zone for discharging atomized paint and a paint spray pattern shaping zone shaping atomized paint spray patterns. The spray gun is further provided with a paint hose, atomization air hose, and shaping air hose each having an inlet end which is connected to the spray gun body and a discharge end which is connected to the nozzle. The spray gun is further provided with a bendable, shape-retaining paint conduit having an inlet port which is connectable to the spray gun body and an outlet port which is connectable to the nozzle. The hoses extend through and are contained within the paint conduit. The paint conduit allows the nozzle to be self-supporting for maintaining the paint atomizing and shaping zones remote from and at any angle relative to the spray gun body for selectively discharging atomized paint and shaping resulting paint spray patterns thereof.

In recent years, there has been an ever increasing industry and legislative drive towards increasing the transfer efficiency of fluid materials sprayed from pressurized spray guns. Transfer efficiency can be defined as the amount of sprayed fluid material, such as paint, that goes onto subject parts as compared to the amount lost to overspray and bounceback. A high transfer efficiency decreases fluid material consumption reduces undesirable deposits on adjacent surfaces, and results in relatively less overspray which improves operator visibility. Importantly, transfer efficiency is a measure of the amount of fluid material dispersed into the ambient air which contributes to environmental pollution.
One class of spray gun uses pressurized air for atomizing liquid material and for shaping the envelope or pattern of the atomized liquid material as it is discharged from a nozzle assembly on the gun. Air atomization spray guns broadly fall into two classes. One type of air atomization spray gun uses a low volume flow of high pressure air (LVHP) for atomization and pattern shaping. The air pressure in such guns may typically be in the 40 psi to 100 psi range. The transfer efficiency associated with such guns, however, are far from optimal. This is due to the relatively high air pressures which produces a high degree of overspray and bounceback.
The other broad type of spray gun which uses pressurized air for atomizing liquid material employs a high volume, low pressure (HVLP) spray approach in order to increase fluid material transfer efficiency. The transfer efficiency of HVLP spray guns is much greater than the LVHP spray guns. HVLP atomization utilizes a high volume of air typically delivered at 10 psi or less to atomize fluid material. It is the large volume of air passing in contact with a fluid material in a suitable nozzle assembly which causes atomization of the fluid material.
Many industries have adopted the HVLP approach, either voluntarily or by legislative mandate. For example, currently the Southern California Air Quality Management District's rules and the EPA's National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants require spray gun air atomization pressure to be no greater than 10 psi.
There are many applications where parts and surfaces are located in confined spaces and need to be coated with a fluid material. This is especially the case in the aerospace industry. For example, often painting is required in and around complex structures within aircraft wings and under aircraft skin panels. Another example is where lines or beads of sealant are required to be applied in confined spaces to parts and surfaces, such as fasteners and joints. Due to the spatial constraints, gaining access to the subject parts or surfaces may present a formidable task to the spray gun operator. Often, the operator must apply fluid material to parts which the operator cannot even see. In addition, when working in such confined spaces, it is desirable to mitigate overspray onto adjacent parts such as electronic gear, wiring, and the like.
It is therefore evident that there exists a need in the art for a high volume, low pressure spray gun which facilitates operation in confined spaces while mitigating overspray and bounceback.


The invention relates to an electrolytic cell, and a method for manufacturing such cell. The cell comprises an anode and a cathode compartment, a separator partitioning the compartments, gas diffusion electrode members arranged to the separator with a space between adjacent electrode members in the vertical direction, and current collector members electrically connected to the electrode members. The current collector members comprise resilient means arranged to homogenise the contact between the electrode members, the current collector and the separator. The invention also relates to the use of the electrolytic cell for production of e.g. alkali metal hydroxide.

The electrolytic production of e.g. alkali metal hydroxides is today of considerable importance, although a large amount of energy is consumed in the electrolysis process. Many attempts have been made to lower the energy consumption, e.g. by use of a gas diffusion electrode in the electrolytic cell which is believed today to have the highest capability of saving electric energy and lower the production costs.
When the conventional electrolytic reaction (1) using a hydrogen-evolving metal electrode as cathode is replaced by a gas diffusion electrode, reaction (1) is replaced by reaction (2) as follows:2NaCl+2H2O→Cl2+2NaOH+H2, E0=2.21 V  (1)2NaCl+½O2+H2O→Cl2+2NaOH, E0=0.96 V  (2)
By converting a hydrogen-evolving metal electrode to a gas diffusion electrode, the cell voltage is reduced from 2.21 V to 0.96 V, thus an energy saving of about 60% becomes theoretically possible. Accordingly, various investigations have been conducted for performing chloralkali electrolysis using a gas diffusion electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,901 discloses an electrolytic cell partitioned by an ion exchange membrane into an anode chamber and a cathode chamber. The electrolytic cell comprises current collectors electrically connected to horizontal electrode members having the shape of belts arranged with a space between the members in the vertical direction, which electrode members are contacted to the membrane.
However, it has been observed that the electrical contact between the belt-shaped electrode members and the current collectors is not satisfactorily homogeneous, which leads to inhomogeneous current distribution and higher cell voltage, as well as a shorter service life of the gas diffusion electrode. These problems arise especially if the horizontal and/or vertical dimensions of the electrode members are too long.
Furthermore, it has been noticed that partial drying, i.e. vacant portions, may occur in the cathode chamber between the membrane and the gas diffusion electrode due to formation of gaps caused by an insufficient amount of electrolyte filling such gaps. As a consequence of these problems, the cell voltage is often unstable and at a higher level, which shortens the life span of the gas diffusion electrode. The present invention intends to solve the problems mentioned above.


A terminal device is provided and includes a location information acquisition device configured to acquire location information including a location of the terminal device, a storage configured to accumulate history information on past communication status including a communication time of the terminal device at each location, and a controller configured to acquire the history information for a current location of the terminal device from the storage based on the location information, to extract one or more connection destinations as targets of communication quality measurement from connection destination candidates based on communication times for the connection destination candidates, and to measure communication quality levels of communications with the extracted connection destinations.

In recent years, various wireless communication methods such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and wireless LAN communication have been widely used. In the future, 5G systems (next generation mobile communication systems) are expected to be additionally available, which will expand a range of choices of connection destinations for a terminal device. In particular, a 5G communication system (fifth generation mobile communication system), which includes a number of small cells using a high SHF (Super High Frequency) band, needs to perform a number of control operations for selection of a connection destination, which requires substantial time to finish selecting a connection destination. Thus, there is a need for technology to efficiently extract an optimal connection destination from a large number of connection destination candidates.
Known technologies used to efficiently extract a connection destination include a system in which a base station is configured to transmit connection destination candidate list to a terminal device, where the connection destination candidate list indicates connection destinations connectable to the terminal device, and the terminal device is configured to, upon receiving the list, select one or more connection destinations as targets of communication quality measurement from the connection destinations in the list, to prioritize the selected connection destinations, to measure communication quality levels of communications with the selected connection destinations in the order of priority, and to transmit a measurement report including results of the communication quality measurement to the base station. (See Patent Document 1)

Terminal device, communication system, and communication control method


In the initial part of a wet-process rotary kiln, means to decrease the amount of product dust entrained in the escaping combustion gases. Pipes running lengthwise of the kiln, in the region where the feed slurry is wet enough to flow, fill with slurry as they rotate through the slurry pool at the bottom of the kiln, and discharge their contents through exit ports so placed on each pipe as to emit streams of slurry when the pipe is carried by kiln rotation to a position near the top of the kiln. In conjunction with the forest of chains commonly used in such kilns, the transverse-flowing combustion gases are scrubbed of some of their entrained product dust content by its being entrapped in wet slurry and recycled.

1. Field of the Invention
Kilns in which chemical transformation of bulk materials occur continuously as combustion gases flow along the kiln axis, counter to a flow of input feed, frequently operate with the feed stock suspended in a water slurry. In such kilns, particularly cement kilns, the escaping combustion gases entrain a sizeable percentage of finely divided product. The field of this invention is that of reducing the Mount of product which leaves the kiln entrained in the stream of exhaust gas.
2. Description of Prior Art
A typical wet-process rotary kiln constructed according to the present state of the art is a long cylindrical shell rotated about its axis and tilted about two degrees from horizontal so the material fed into it tends to flow downward and the counterflowing gases from a system of burners exit at the upper end. The liquid slurry enters the kiln at the higher end and loses its moisture in a relatively short distance as it progresses toward the burner-and-product-discharge end.
Product is basically in the form of clinkers or chunks of reacted feed stock, but the tumbling of these clinkers during their progress along the bulk of the kiln length ensures a copious supply of product dust at the lower, exit end of the kiln. Standard practice is to fasten loops of chain to the interior kiln wall, near the slurry entrance. The resulting forest of chains, in which some are for the moment at the top of the rotating kiln, others drooping with the lower part of the loop in slurry flowing along the bottom, and still others fully immersed in the slurry, serves two purposes. Heat passes from the flowing combustion gases into the metal of the chains and from there (when that chain is at or near the bottom of the kiln) into the slurry, saving energy. Further, the ascending chains are wet, so the aforementioned dust (product) collects on them, is largely returned to the slurry as the kiln rotates, and is recycled through the kiln, undergoing the thermal process again.
The physical arrangement described above comprises the prior art. Approximately 11 percent of the product still leaves the kiln entrained in exhaust combustion gases and must be recovered by electrostatic precipitators or equivalent means.

Gas scrubber for wet process rotary kilns


A polymer compound having a monosaccharide or an oligosaccharide residue, or an amino acid or peptide residue bound to a monosaccharide or an oligosaccharide residue bound to a side chain of a water-soluble polymer through a linker containing a selectively cleavable bond, the water-soluble polymer containing 20 to 80 mol % of (meth)acrylic acid residue.

Although carbohydrates are just as important constituents of living bodies as nucleic acids and proteins, their structures and mechanisms are not as well understood as those of nucleic acids and proteins. Carbohydrates frequently form polymers having sugar chain in sequence, and bind with proteins or lipids to form extremely complicated composite molecules, glycoconjugates, which are called glycoproteins, glycolipids, and proteoglycans. Nucleic acids and proteins are polymers wherein constituent units of nucleotides or amino acids are linked to one other linearly. In contrast, carbohydrates have a plurality of intramolecular branch points and their constitutional units, i.e., monosaccharides, are linked to each other in various manners, and therefore carbohydrates have complicated structures incomparable to those of nucleic acids or proteins. This structural complexity is one of the major causes of the delay in the study of carbohydrates.
In recent years, since it has been gradually revealed that carbohydrates have a roll in cell recognition, immunity, differentiation, fertilization, aging, canceration, etc., carbohydrates become a target of study that attracts significant attention. Under such circumstances, many attempts have been made to synthesize a sugar chain having natural structure and a novel sugar chain. Automatic synthesis techniques for nucleic acids and proteins have been already established, and these techniques have obviously accelerated the progress of the researches in these fields. Therefore, the establishment of automatic synthesis techniques for sugar chains have been eagerly desired.
Several attempt for automatic synthesis for sugar chains have so far been reported, and their approaches can be roughly classified into two groups. One employs chemical synthesis, which has many problems such as the fact that stereoselective glycosylation reaction has not been well established, and the process is tedious and complicate because of protection and deprotection. Another employs enzymatic synthesis, which requires no protection, and glycosylation reaction can be carried out stereoselectively. Therefore, compared to chemical synthesis, enzymatic synthesis has many advantages. Several methods have been proposed in recent years. It is due to cloning the genes of various glycosyltransferases and economical production of some recombinant glycosyltransferases. In automatic synthesis, a certain carrier (sometimes referred to as a primer) bound sugar residues, which serve as initiators, through linkers that can be cleaved under specific conditions is used as a starting material. The types of glycoconjugate produced depend on the kind of linkers, and they are released from the carrier as oligosaccharides, glucosides, glycopeptides, glycolipids, etc.
As one of the examples of automatic synthesis method of a sugar chain using glycosyltransferases, U. Zehavi et al. have reported on a solid-phase synthesis method using a polyacrylamide gel bound with an aminoethyl group or an aminohexyl group as a solid-phase carrier (see, for example, Carbohydr. Res., 124(1983), 23; and Carbohydr. Res., 228(1992), 255). This method comprises the steps of converting a suitable monosaccharide to 4-carboxy-2-nitrobenzyl glycoside, condensing this glycoside with amino group of the above carrier, elongating the sugar chain by glycosyltransferase using the condensate as a primer, and releasing the elongated sugar chain as oligosaccharide by photolysis. According to this method, however, sugar transfer yield is low, i.e., less than 10%. It has been a common understanding that glycosyltransferase dose not react well with monosaccharide or oligosaccharide bound to a solid-phase carrier and efficient elongation of sugar chain reaction is difficult to achieve. However, U. Zehavi et al. have documented in a recent report that the sugar transfer yield could be improved up to 51% by using a linker between 4-carboxy-2-nitrobenzyl glycoside and the solid-phase carrier having a long chain such as hexamethylene, and octamethylene, etc. (see, for example, React. Polym., 22(1994), 171; Carbohydr. Res., 265(1994), 161). However, even this method cannot achieve satisfactory yields.
As another example, C.-H. Wong et al. have reported a method wherein a sugar chain is elongated using glycosyltransferases and aminated silica bound a group represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group and Boc is a t-butoxycarbonyl group) as a primer, and the elongated sugar chain was released in the form of a glycopeptide by hydrolysis of α-chymotrypsin (see, for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 116(1994), 1136). However, the yield of sugar-chain elongation reaction using glycosyltransferase is unsatisfactory at 55 to 65%.
Furthermore, C.-H. Wong et al. revised the group to be bound to the solid phase as aminated silica to represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) and reported a method wherein the sugar chain was elongated using glycosyltransferases and released by hydrazinolysis. They also reported that the enzymatic glycosylation reaction was proceeded almost quantitatively (see, for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 116(1994), 11315). In this method, the elongated sugar chain is released in the form of a 6-carbohydrazide hexanol glucoside.
M. Meldal et al. have reported a method wherein a sugar chain was elongated using glycosyltransferases and a polymer gel of mono- and diacryloyl compound of diaminated poly(ethylene glycol) having a group represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) as a primer and the elongated sugar chain was released in the form of a glycopeptide using trifluoroacetic acid. According to their report, the transglycosylation reaction is proceeded almost quantitatively (see, for example, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1849 (1994)). The peptide sequence in the glycopeptide obtained by this method is Asn (asparagine)-Gly (glycine), and the glycine residue at the C-end is a glycinamide residue, and therefore it differs from typical glycopeptides. C.-H. Wong et al. have also reported a method for releasing typical glycopeptides synthesized on a solid-phase carrier. In this method, aminated silica is used as a solid-phase carrier introduced a group represented by the following formula as a primer
(wherein Fmoc is (9-fluorenylmethyl)oxycarbonyl)), the peptide chain is elongated using Fmoc-amino acids and Fmoc-Thr(βGlcNAc)-OH, after peptide elongation protecting groups on the peptide chain are eliminated, the sugar chain is elongated by glycosyltransferase to the above-mentioned N-acetylglucosamine residue, and resultant glycopeptide is released by tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium treatment (see, for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 119(1997), 8766). The yield of the obtained glycopeptide estimated from the amino acid initially introduced to the solid-phase carrier is less that 10%, which is unsatisfactory.
T. Norberg et al. have reported a method wherein a sugar chain was elongated using Sepharose 6B (manufactured by Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) bound a group represented by the following formula as a primer and glycosyltransferase,
and the elongated sugar chain is released by treatment with bromine or ammonia/ammonium borate (see, for example, Carbohydr. Res., 319(1999), 80). In this method, the enzymatic transglycosylation reaction proceeds quantitatively, so there is no problem with the yield. However, this method is uneconomical because expensive 3,4-diethoxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione is used for producing the primer. The above-described methods have drawbacks such that the transglycosylation reaction yield is unsatisfactory, and/or an immobilized glycosyltransferase cannot be applied since the sugar-chain elongation reaction is carried out on a water-insoluble carrier. In sugar chain elongation by glycosyltransferases, the use of immobilized glycosyltransferases that permit repetitive use are desirable, since glycosyltransferases are still very expensive, though mass production of glycosyltransferases by genetic recombination techniques are becoming available. In order to use an immobilized glycosyltransferase, the sugar-chain elongation reaction should be proceeded not on a water-insoluble carrier but on a water-soluble carrier.
S. Roth et al. have disclosed a method as follows (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1993-500905). Saccharide, sugar acceptor for a glycosyltransferase, is bound to a solid-phase carrier to form an affinity adsorbent, and a glycosyltransferase is then adsorbed to the above adsorbent by contacting with a tissue extract containing a glycosyltransferase that can recognize the sugar acceptor. Thereafter, the glycosyltransferase transfers sugar residue from sugar nucleotide to the acceptor on the absorbent and elutes from the adsorbent by contacting with a solution containing a sugar nucleotide which the glycosyltransferase can use as a sugar donor. Furthermore, by repetition of contacting the resultant one sugar residue elongated sugar chain on the absorbent with a tissue extract containing another glycosyltransferase that can recognize the elongated sugar acceptor and the similar elution procedure, a desired sugar chain can be synthesized on a solid-phase carrier. However, no concrete data demonstrating the effectiveness of this method is provided. Furthermore, no methods for releasing the elongated sugar chain from the solid-phase carrier are disclosed.
C.-H. Wong et al. have also reported a method for elongating a sugar chain on a water-soluble carrier wherein a water-soluble polymer, acrylamide/acrylic acid/N-isopropylacrylamide copolymer bound a group represented by the following formula to acrylamide residue in this copolymer
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) is used as a primer, the sugar chain is elongated by glycosyltransferases and released by the treatment with cerium (IV) diammonium nitrate (see, for example, Adv. Synth. Catal., 343(2001), 675). The proportion of acrylic acid in the copolymer primer used in this method is 4%, and therefore this primer differs from that of the present invention. In this method, the enzymatic transglycosylation reaction progresses at 80 to 90% yield, and the elongated sugar chain is released in the form of a p-formylphenol glucoside. However, this method has drawbacks such that column chromatography using organic solvents is required to purify the released p-formylphenol glucoside, and in some cases obtained p-formylphenol glucoside is not so stable.
The present inventors have reported a method for elongating a sugar chain on a water-soluble carrier wherein polyacrylamide bound a group represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) to every fifth amide nitrogen atom in it is used as a primer, the sugar chain is elongated by glycosyltransferases, and the elongated sugar chain is released in the form of an oligosaccharide by hydrogenolysis (see, for example, Tetrahedron Lett., 35(1994), 5657; Carbohydr. Res., 305(1998), 443).
The present inventors have also reported a method for elongating a sugar chain on a water-soluble carrier wherein polyacrylamide bound a group represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) to an amide nitrogen atom of amide moiety is used as a primer, the sugar chain is elongated glycosyltransferases, and the elongated sugar chain is released in the form of a 6-aminohexanol glucoside by hydrolysis of α-chymotrypsin (see, for example, Tetrahedron Lett., 36(1995), 9493; Carbohydr. Res., 305(1998), 443).
According to these reports by the present inventors, glycoconjugates can be efficiently synthesized by free enzymes; however, as described later, when an immobilized enzyme is used, the production efficiency is unsatisfactory. The present inventors have also reported a method for elongating a sugar chain on a water-soluble carrier wherein polyacrylamide bound peptide residue linked monosaccharide residue to functional group on side chain of amino acid in this peptide residue through a linker which has a desired length and comprises an amino acid residue or peptide residue having a cleavage site for a certain protease for example a group represented by the following formula
(wherein Ac is an acetyl group) is used as a primer, a certain protease dose not have cleavable site in the above-mentioned peptide which bound directly polyacrylamide, the sugar chain elongation is initiated on the above-mentioned monosaccharide by glycosyltransferases, and the elongated sugar chain is released in the form of a glycopeptide using a appropriate protease hydrolysis (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-220399).
The present inventors have also reported a method which uses a primer comprising a residue represented by the following formula (VIII)
(wherein R13 and R14 are independently H, a monosaccharide residue or an oligosaccharide residue; R15 is a C6-20 alkyl group or C6-20 alkenyl group; and R16 is a C5-19 alkylene group) bound to a side chain of a water-soluble polymer. In this method, the sugar chain is elongated by glycosyltransferases, an resultant oligosaccharide residue is transferred in the presence of a ceramid from the polymer having elongated sugar chain to the ceramide by ceramide glycanase, and then liberated as a sphingoglycolipid (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1998-251287).
In the above-described methods, polyacrylamide is disclosed as one example of water-soluble polymer but no examples are disclosed when acrylic acid is used. Furthermore, when a polyacrylamide is used as a water-soluble polymer, if the transglycosylation reaction is proceeded by immobilized glycosyltransferases, its efficiency is unsatisfactory as described later. If the latter primer is used, when gel filtration chromatography and ultrafiltration are performed to remove by-product nucleotides and unreacted sugar nucleotides after the transglycosylation reaction, recovery of the primer is not always satisfactorily high.
One of the main objects of the present invention is to provide a compound that is suitable and useful as a primer for automatic synthesis of various kinds of glicoconjugates, and a method for producing glycoconjugate using the compound.

Water-soluble polymer compound having sugar chains


An airbag device and an airbag for a saddle-ride type vehicle is provided to efficiently utilize space in the vehicle body when installed therein, by using customized ways of shaping a housing case of the airbag and of folding the airbag so as to correspond to the shape of the housing case. The airbag device includes a housing case. The housing case includes a concave shape surface. The concave shape surface faces a steering stem. The housing case is disposed behind the steering stem so as to cover a rear of the steering stem with the concave shape surface. The airbag device includes an airbag housed in the housing case. The housed airbag corresponds to a shape of an inner peripheral surface of the housing case having the concave shape surface.

An airbag device is designed to absorb kinetic energy of a driver when a vehicle body receives an impact of a predetermined value or more. Heretofore, studies have been made on how and where to appropriately arrange such an airbag device in a motorcycle, the airbag device integrally housing components such as a folded airbag and an inflator for inflating and deploying the airbag.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-314117) generally discusses a structure for a scooter-type motorcycle in which a low-slung foot rest for the rider is formed between a steering handlebar and a rider seat. In the structure discussed in Patent Document 1, an airbag device is installed so as to be housed inside a cover member arranged upright on the front side of the low-slung foot rest in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body so as to cover the spindle of the steering handlebar.
However, because the airbag device needs to inflate and deploy the airbag in front of the rider at a proper position, a motorcycle, in particular, does not have many location possibilities for installing the airbag device. Additionally, wasted space may be created around the housing, when a housing case of the airbag is made to have, for example, a substantially rectangular-solid shape and is installed in a vehicle body of the motorcycle. Accordingly, the shape of the housing case and its installing position still need to be devised in order to further efficiently install the airbag device. Furthermore, there exists a problem in folding the airbag so that the airbag can be efficiently housed in the housing case. Patent Document 1 does not really take such issues into account.

Airbag device and airbag for saddle-ride type vehicle


Apparatus for injection voltage compensation in series into an electric power line includes an inverter or other controlled voltage source which wye connects the secondary windings of a three-phase transformer to the load end of the electric power line. The transformer, which could already be present for meeting load requirements, has its primary winding connected to the source end of the electric power line and sustains the saturation currents rather than the inverter in response to faults on the source side of the transformer. Preferably, a three-phase inverter with a common dc link is used. For active power line conditioner (APLC) action, a second, also preferably a three-phase, inverter is connected in parallel to the load end of the electric power line and to the common dc link. This parallel inverter provides harmonic and reactive power compensation and also supplies the real power requirements of the wye connection inverter.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus incorporating solid state inverters for providing compensation on a three-phase electric power line. More particularly, it relates to apparatus which injects a compensating voltage into the power line in series, such as for example, a dynamic voltage restorer or an active power line conditioner. An inverter forms a load side neutral for the secondary windings of a transformer having the primary connected to the source end of the line.
2. Background Information
There are various types of apparatus for providing compensation on electric power lines which incorporate power inverters. One such system is the Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) an example of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,222. The DVR injects a voltage in series with a utility source for the purpose of making up missing voltage that occurs when upstream faults cause short term voltage sags. The DVR described in the above mentioned patent uses three single-phase inverter modules with a common dc link which are connected to the utility line through injection transformers. The common dc link approach allows the use of one common source of energy to supply three separate injection systems, one for each phase, in a three-phase system. This common source of energy can be for instance, a capacitor bank or an interface to draw the required power from the line, even when the voltage is sagged. The injection transformers isolate the power electronics from the power line allowing the maximum injection capacity to be less than the source voltage. It has been shown that the vast majority of sags in utility systems are less than 50% of the phase-to-neutral voltage. The DVR can correct these sags with an inverter rating of less than the connected downstream load which is protected by the DVR.
In practice, the inverter modules of the DVR can be implemented as individual power devices, if the ratings are high enough; series strings of power devices as is the present practice and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,166; or single-phase inverter modules as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,024.
As previously stated, the topologies which have an injection transformer allow the use of a common dc link and energy storage interface since the injection transformer provides the required isolation. The injection transformer also allows a particular power rating to be adapted to many different application voltages with only a change in the transformer and some sensing devices. The major problem with the injection transformer approach is the requirement of a transient flux capability of twice the rated injection voltage of the system, if arbitrary waveforms are to be produced. This requirement makes the transformer larger and unusual, and thus more expensive. Other accuracy and bandwidth limitation problems are introduced by transformer leakage reactance. Unavoidable dc offsets in the inverter make it difficult to prevent saturation, even if the injection transformer has a large flux margin. When the injection transformer saturates, large currents can flow in the inverter if fast control action is not taken. This requires a fast current limit or a trip to occur.
A system without an injection transformer would avoid some of these problems, but prevents the use of a common dc link. Such a requirement for separate energy source/supply interfaces for the inverter for each phase increases the cost and complexity of the system. Some flexibility of manufacture is also lost since the inverter voltage rating must be changed for different system voltages. More devices must be seriesed in a string inverter or more single-phase modules must be connected in series for the modular approach as the voltage increases, assuming the same power devices are used. Differently rated power devices can also be substituted, but this requires more development and requires a more varied parts inventory with lower quantities of an individual power device type.
Another type of compensation equipment which uses series injection with transformer coupling is the active power line conditioner (APLC). The APLC includes a series inverter and a parallel inverter connected by a common dc link. The parallel inverter transfers real power to and from the series inverter and also supplies harmonic currents and the reactive component of the load current. The series path in the APLC suffers from the same limitations as the DVR due to the series injection transformer discussed above.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved apparatus for providing compensation in electric power lines.
More particularly, there is a need for improved apparatus for providing compensation in the form of a voltage injected in series with the power line.
There is an additional need for such apparatus which avoids the prior art problems associated with saturation of an injection transformer.

Neutral point connected apparatus providing compensation to an AC power line

Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, LLC


A picture coding method according to the present invention includes: a coding step (S102, S103) of coding, picture parameter sets (PPS) to be used for decoding all the pictures (pic) included in a random access unit (RAU) made up of plural pictures and a sequence parameter set (SPS); and a parameter set placement step (S104) of placing, in the random access unit (RAU), the parameter set (PPS, SPS) coded in the coding step (S102, S103).

Recently, with an arrival of the age of multimedia which handles integrally audio, video and pixel values of others, existing information media, i.e., newspapers, journals, TVs, radios and telephones and other means through which information is conveyed to people, has come under the scope of multimedia.
Generally speaking, multimedia refers to a representation in which not only characters but also graphics, audio and especially pictures and the like are related to each other. However, in order to include the aforementioned existing information media in the scope of multimedia, it appears as a prerequisite to represent such information in digital form.
However, when calculating the amount of information contained in each of the aforementioned information media as the amount of digital information, the information amount per character requires 1-2 bytes whereas the audio requires more than 64 Kbits (telephone quality) per second and when it comes to the moving picture, it requires more than 100 Mbits (present television reception quality) per second. Therefore, it is not realistic to handle the vast information directly in digital form via the information media mentioned above. For example, a videophone has already been put into practical use via Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) with a transmission rate of 64 Kbit/s-1.5 Mbit/s, however, it is impossible to transmit video captured on the TV screen or shot by a TV camera.
This therefore requires information compression techniques, and for instance, in the case of the videophone, video compression techniques compliant with H.261 and H.263 standards internationally standardized by International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) are employed. According to the information compression techniques compliant with the MPEG-1 standard, picture information as well as audio information can be stored in an ordinary music CD (Compact Disc).
The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an international standard for a compression of moving picture signals and MPEG-1 is a standard that compresses video signals down to 1.5 Mbit/s, namely, to compress the information included in TV signals approximately down to a hundredth. The quality targeted in the MPEG-1 standard was the medium quality so as to realize a transmission rate primarily of about 1.5 Mbit/s, therefore, MPEG-2, standardized with the view to meet the requirements of high-quality picture realizes a TV broadcast quality for transmitting moving picture signals with a transmission rate of 2-15 Mbit/s. In the present circumstances, a working group (ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11) previously in the charge of the standardization of the MPEG-1 and the MPEG-2 has standardized MPEG-4 which achieves a compression rate superior to the one achieved by the MPEG-1 and the MPEG-2, allows coding/decoding operations on a per-object basis and realizes a new function required by the era of multi media. At first, in the process of the standardization of the MPEG-4, the standardization of a coding method for a low bit rate was aimed, however, the aim is presently extended to a more versatile coding including a coding of moving pictures at a high bit rate and a coding of interlace pictures. Moreover, a standardization of MPEG-4 AVC and ITU H.264 is in process as a next generation coding method with a higher compression rate, jointly worked by the ITU-T and the ISO/IEC. The next generation coding method is published under the name of Committee Draft (CD) as of August 2002.
In coding of a moving picture, compression of information volume is usually performed by eliminating redundancy both in spatial and temporal directions. Therefore, inter-picture prediction coding, which aims at reducing the temporal redundancy, estimates a motion and generates a predictive picture on a block-by-block basis with reference to forward and backward pictures, and then codes a differential value between the obtained predictive picture and a current picture to be coded. Here, "picture" is a term to represent a single screen and it represents a frame when used for a progressive picture whereas it represents a frame or a field when used for an interlaced picture. The interlaced picture here is a picture in which a single frame consists of two fields having different time. For coding and decoding an interlaced picture, three ways are possible: handling a single frame either as a frame, as two fields or as a frame structure or a field structure depending on a block in the frame.
A picture to which intra-picture prediction coding is performed without reference pictures is called I-picture. A picture to which inter-picture prediction coding is performed with reference to a single picture is called P-picture. A picture to which inter-picture prediction coding is performed by referring simultaneously to two pictures is called B-picture. Two pictures whose display time is either forward or backward to that of a current picture to be coded can be selected arbitrarily as reference for coding B-picture. The reference pictures can be specified for each block which is a basic unit for coding and decoding, but they can be classified as the first reference picture for a reference picture that is described first in a coded bit stream and a picture that is described later as the second reference picture. However, the reference pictures need to be already coded or decoded as a condition to code or decode these I, P and B pictures.
A motion compensation inter-picture prediction coding is employed for coding P-pictures or B-pictures. The motion compensation inter-picture prediction coding is a coding method applying motion compensation to inter-picture prediction coding. The motion compensation is not a method to simply predict motions using pixels in the reference pictures but to estimate a motion (to be referred to as "motion vector" hereinafter) at each part within a picture and improve prediction accuracy by performing prediction that takes the motion vector into consideration as well as to reduce the data amount. For example, the amount of data is reduced by estimating the motion vector for a current picture to be coded and coding prediction error between a predictive value, which is obtained after being shifted for the amount equivalent to the motion vector, and the current picture. In the case of using this method, information on motion vectors is required at the time of decoding, therefore, the motion vectors are coded and then recorded or transmitted.
A motion vector is estimated on a block-by-block basis. More precisely, a motion vector is estimated by fixing a block in the current picture, then, shifting a block in the reference picture within a range of search, and finding out a location of the reference block that resembles a basic block.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the conventional picture coding apparatus.
A picture coding apparatus 900 outputs a coded image signal (to be referred to as "bit stream") Str9 which is a bit stream obtained by coding an image signal Vin on a picture-by-picture basis, and includes a motion estimation unit 903, a motion compensation unit 905, a subtractor 906, an orthogonal transformation unit 907, a quantization unit 908, an inverse quantization unit 910, an inverse orthogonal transformation unit 911, an adder 912, a picture memory 904, a switch 913, a variable length coding unit 909 and an access point determination unit 902. Each component such as the motion estimation unit 903 executes the following processing per block or per macroblock that constitutes a picture.
The subtractor 906 calculates a differential value between the image signal Vin and a predictive image Pre and outputs the differential value to the orthogonal transformation unit 907. The orthogonal transformation unit 907 transforms the differential value into frequency coefficients and outputs them to the quantization unit 908. The quantization unit 908 quantizes the frequency coefficients and outputs the quantized values to the variable length coding unit 909. The inverse quantization unit 910 restores the frequency coefficients by inversely quantizes the quantized values and outputs the frequency coefficients to the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 911.
The inverse orthogonal transformation unit 911 performs inverse frequency transformation on the frequency coefficients outputted from the inverse quantization unit 910 into pixel differential values and outputs them to the adder 912. The adder 912 adds the pixel differential values outputted from the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 911 and the predictive image Pre outputted from the motion compensation unit 905, and generates a decoded image. The switch 913 connects the adder 912 and the picture memory 904 so that the picture memory 904 stores the decoded image generated by the adder 912. The decoded image stored in the picture memory is simply referred to as "picture" hereinafter.
The motion estimation unit 903 refers to the picture stored in the picture memory 904 as a reference picture and specifies an image area that resembles the image signal Vin the most among the reference pictures. Then, the motion estimation unit 903 estimates a motion vector MV indicating a position of the image area.
The motion estimation unit 903 also identifies a reference picture that resembles the image signal Vin out of the plural reference pictures using identification numbers (relative index Idx) for identifying the reference picture.
The motion compensation unit 905 extracts an image area that is the most applicable to the predictive image Pre from among the pictures stored in the picture memory 904 using the motion vector MV and the relative index Idx. The motion compensation unit 905 then generates a predictive image Pre from the extracted image area.
The access point determination unit 902 instructs the motion estimation unit 903 and the motion compensation unit 905 to code (intra-picture code) per predetermined unit (random access unit) a predetermined picture as a special picture. The special picture here means a picture from which the decoding can be started in the stream Str 9. Furthermore, the access point determination unit 902 outputs an access point identifier rapp indicating that a picture is the special picture to the variable length coding unit 909.
The variable length coding unit 909 codes a parameter set PS obtained from outside resources, the motion vector MV, the quantized values, the relative index Inx and the access point identifier rapp, generates a stream Str9 in which the coded parameter set is placed only at the head side, and outputs the stream Str9.
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram showing the structure of the stream Str9 outputted by the conventional picture coding apparatus 900.
The stream Str9 includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync, a parameter set PS, plural random access units RAU9. Such stream Str9 complies with the JVT (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) which is presently in process of standardization, jointly worked by the ITU-T and the ISO/IEC.
The parameter set PS is common data equivalent to a header and includes a picture parameter set PPS is equivalent to a header of the picture, a sequence parameter set SPS equivalent to a header of a unit with a level superior to a random access unit RAU9. The sequence parameter set SPS includes a maximum possible number of reference pictures, a picture size, or the like, whereas the picture parameter set PPS includes a type of variable length coding (a switching between Huffman coding and arithmetic coding), an initial value in the quantization step, the number of reference pictures, or the like.
The random access unit RAU9 includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync and a plurality of coded pictures pic. The random access unit RAU9 as such is a single unit including the plural pictures in the stream Str9 and includes the special picture as mentioned above which can be decoded without depending on other pictures. Namely, the random access unit RAU9 is obtained by dividing the stream Str9 into a group of plural pictures including a special picture.
The picture pic includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync and a parameter set identifier PSID and plural pieces of pixel data pix.
The parameter set identifier PSID indicates the sequence parameter set SPS and the picture parameter set PPS, which are included in the parameter set PS, to be referred to by the picture pic.
The synchronous signal sync included in the head of the stream Str9, in the head of the random access unit RAU9 and in the head of the picture pic indicates respectively a section distinguishing the units such as the stream Str9, the random access unit RAU9 and the picture pic.
Namely, in the picture coding method in which the conventional picture coding apparatus 900 generates a stream Str9 by coding the image signal Vin, a stream Str9 is generated in such a way that the parameter set PS is coded together and then placed at the head side of the stream Str9, whereas plural random access units RAU9, each of which does not include a picture parameter set PPS and a sequence parameter set SPS, follows the parameter set PS.
When decoding such stream Str9, the picture decoding apparatus refers to the sequence parameter set SPS and the picture parameter set PPS included in the parameter set PS indicated by the parameter set identifier PSID in the picture pic so as to decode the picture pic.
A conventional stream according to MPEG-2 has a structure different from the stream Str9.
FIG. 3 is a structural diagram showing the structure of the conventional stream according to the MPEG-2.
A stream Str8 according to the MPEG-2 includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync, a header hed that is common data in the stream Str8 and a plurality of groups of pictures GOP.
The group of picture GOP includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync, a header hed that is common data for the group of pictures GOP and plural coded pictures pic.
The group of picture GOP as such is a basic unit for coding and is used for editing a moving picture and performing random access. The picture pic included in the group of picture GOP is either I-picture, P-picture or B-picture.
The picture pic includes sequentially from the head a synchronous signal sync, a header that is data common to the pictures pic and plural pieces of pixel data pix.
Namely, in the picture coding method according to the MPEG-2 for generating a stream Str8 by coding the conventional image signal Vin, a stream Str8 is generated in such a way that the header hed necessary for decoding the picture pic is included respectively in the heads of the stream Str8, each group of picture GOP and each picture pic.
However, a problem is that the picture decoding apparatus cannot decode from a random access point that is a head of the random access unit RAU9 in the stream Str9 (i.e. random access) in an attempt to start performing random access, for example, in the case where the parameter set PS cannot be obtained since the stream Str9 is read out from the middle, as the parameter set PS is placed in one place at the head side of the stream Str9 according to the conventional picture coding method as described above, employed by the picture coding apparatus 900. Namely, the picture decoding apparatus cannot decode the picture pic properly because the corresponding picture parameter set PPS and sequence parameter set SPS are not found.
More precisely, the stream Str9 cannot be decoded from the middle when the picture decoding apparatus has read in the stream Str9 from the middle under the circumstance where the stream is incessantly transmitted as in a case of broadcasting or delivery.
In the case where the stream Str9 is recorded on a recording medium such as a tape or a disk, the picture decoding apparatus firstly has to read the parameter set PS placed in the head of the stream Str9 on the recording medium and then start reading the stream Str9 from the random access point in the attempt to start performing random access for the stream Str9. That is to say that the picture decoding apparatus has to shift the position of reading the data from the head of the stream Str9 to the random access point, and thereby, a prompt random access cannot be operated since the shifting time becomes a waiting time for the random access.
In the case where the recording medium is a tape, it is apparent that the waiting time is very long, and even if the disk is capable of high-speed reading, the waiting time may be prolonged to several seconds, which cannot be ignored.
The picture decoding apparatus can perform random access for each group of picture GOP on the stream Str8 generated using the picture coding method according to the MPEG-2 by using the header hed in the group of picture GOP and the header hed in each picture pic.
With the use of the picture coding method for generating such stream Str8, however, the compression rate of the stream Str8 is low since each of the pictures pic included in the group of picture GOP has a header hed and many of such headers hed have the same value as other headers hed. That is to say, the picture coding method for generating a stream Str8 allows a generation of a stream Str8 to which random access can be performed, on one hand, however, decreases the coding efficiency on the other.


A rear derailleur for a bicycle includes a base member for attaching the derailleur to the bicycle, a movable member for supporting a chain guide, a linkage mechanism coupling the base member to the movable member so that the movable member is capable of movement relative to the base member, a biasing mechanism for biasing the movable member toward a wheel of the bicycle, and an actuating member for coupling to a control cable of the type having an inner wire that slides within an outer casing so that pulling the inner wire causes the movable member to move away from the rear wheel of the bicycle against the biasing of the biasing mechanism and releasing the control cable causes the movable member to move toward the rear wheel of the bicycle in accordance with the biasing of the biasing mechanism. A shock absorber is coupled in a path between the control cable and the movable member for allowing the movable member to move relative to the base member when an external force having a component directed toward the rear wheel is applied to the derailleur.

The present invention is directed to bicycle components and, more particularly, to a bicycle rear derailleur with a shock absorber that accommodates external forces applied to the derailleur.
FIG. 1 shows a typical bicycle rear derailleur 10 which, for example, may be constructed in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,644, incorporated herein by reference. Derailleur 10 includes a base member 14 for attaching derailleur 10 to a bicycle frame 16 through an optional fixing member 17, a movable member 18 attached to a chain guide 22 which includes a guide pulley 23 and a tension pulley 24, and links 25, 26 coupled to base member 14 and movable member 18 through connecting pins 28 to form a conventional pantograph mechanism. It is well known in the art that this structure allows chain guide 22 to move from the position shown in solid lines to the position shown in broken lines in response to movement of a control cable (not shown) so as to position chain guide 22 beneath a selected one of a plurality of sprockets S attached to a rear wheel of the bicycle. A threaded shaft 30 is used to fix base member 14 to fixing member 17 (or directly to the bicycle), and a spring (not shown) is disposed within base member 14 to bias base member 14 clockwise (when viewed from the right side) relative to the bicycle. A similar spring (not shown) is disposed within movable member 18 for biasing chain guide 22 clockwise relative to movable member 18 (when viewed from the right side).
A return spring (not shown) is normally provided for biasing chain guide 22 toward a home position, which can be either the position shown in solid lines or the position shown in broken lines. If the return spring biases chain guide 22 toward the position shown in solid lines (so that chain guide 22 is disposed beneath the smallest sprocket S.sub.1), then the derailleur is called a "high normal" derailleur. Pulling the control cable causes such a derailleur to move the chain guide 22 from the position shown in solid lines toward the position shown in broken lines (toward the rear wheel). If the return spring biases chain guide 22 toward the position shown in broken lines (so that chain guide 22 is disposed beneath the largest sprocket S.sub.2), then the derailleur is called a "low normal" derailleur. Pulling the control cable causes such a derailleur to move the chain guide from the position shown in broken lines toward the position shown in solid lines (away from the rear wheel).
The two types of derailleurs (low normal and high normal) differ in how they react to external forces applied to the derailleur, such as when the bicycle falls over or is struck from the side. When an external force toward the rear wheel is applied to a high normal derailleur, the force acts in a direction to compress the control cable. Since the control cable does not resist such compression to any significant extent, the movable member readily moves toward the rear wheel to accommodate the external force. However, when an external force toward the rear wheel is applied to a low normal derailleur, the force acts in the direction to further tension the control cable. In this case the control cable strongly resists movement of the movable member toward the rear wheel, and damage to the cable or derailleur is likely to occur.

Low normal bicycle derailleur which allows lateral movement of the chain guide toward the rear wheel in response to a force directed laterally towards the rear wheel


Integrated circuit memory devices can include a plurality of conductor paths that are electrically coupled to all memory blocks included in separate memory arrays of the device and are configured for access together during a read or write operation. All of the conductor paths are configured to reduce differences in propagation delays of signals conducted thereon.

As integrated circuit memory devices become more highly integrated and complex, the operational speed of the device may be increased. As the capacity of the memory increases the propagation delays of signals therein may become a significant portion of timing in the memory. Specifically, the propagation delay of input signals (e.g., an address signal) used to drive a decoder may be an issue as the input signals may be relatively far from the decoder.
In addition, word lines connected to the gates of cell transistors may be formed of poly silicon, which may have a large resistivity. Also, since the word lines may pass above a gate oxide layer of the cell transistor, the capacitance C may be significant, which may increase an associated RC delay as the length of the word line increases. To compensate for the increased RC delay of the word line, the word line voltage may be increased, which may also increase the area occupied by a row decoder. Furthermore, if the bit line becomes long, the resistance R and capacitance C associated therewith may also be increased, which may also increase an area of the row decoder.
Since the word lines and the bit lines are long-distance interconnects, the propagation delay of each may be long. Furthermore, the size of the decoder may also increase as a memory block size is increased, which may also increase delay time due to, for example, increased decoding time.
It is known to divide memory banks into memory blocks (e.g., four memory blocks), and a decoder is used for each memory block in the bank. This approach has been used due to some of the advantages of this approach, such as operational speed. However, this approach also offers some disadvantages, such as power consumption. However, there are advantages in aspect of operation speed or power consumption, so that this manner has been widely used recently.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional memory partitioning approach including input signals. It will be understood that the arrangement of only one memory bank is discussed below, however, the arrangements in the remaining memory banks are analogous to the arrangement discussed. As shown in FIG. 1, a memory cell array can be divided into two memory banks 100, 200. Each of the memory banks (e.g., 100 in FIG. 1) is divided into four memory blocks 110, 120, 130 and 140. Decoders 150, 160, 170 and 180 are located between each memory block. The memory banks 100, 200 are arranged in a matrix shape.
A signal generator 600 generates address signals for selecting a specific address in a memory block, which is input to the decoder. In particular, the address signal shown selects memory blocks 110, 210, 310 and 410, which are located in each of the memory banks 100, 200, 300 and 400. The difference in the lengths of the lines which carry the address signal to the different memory blocks may cause an access in each of the memory blocks 110, 210, 310 and 410 in the separate memory banks to occur at slightly different times. However, if the size of the memory blocks A, B, C, and D becomes too large, and the decoder becomes too long, the distance that a address signal may have to propagate may become so long that a difference in phase may be introduced between the signals in the different memory blocks. For example, the time for driving the A blocks 110 and 310 may be longer than the time for driving the A blocks 210 and 410 as the address signal must travel farther to reach the A blocks 110 and 310. Additionally, if the decoder becomes to long, an address signal may be is incapable of full swing so that a high frequency characteristic may be reduced. In addition, the rising/falling time may depend on position of the block.

Integrated circuit memory devices reducing propagation delay differences between signals transmitted to separate spaced-apart memory blocks therein


A cathode ray tube includes a panel portion having a phosphor screen, a neck portion having a stem fused and sealed to one end thereof, the stem having a plurality of stem pins annularly arrayed, sealed thereto and extending therethrough for supporting an electron gun in the neck portion and a funnel portion for connecting the other end of the neck and panel portions. A stem mound is raised and formed integrally with the stem around a base of each of the stem pins on an electron-gun-supporting side thereof. A first R1 is defined as a distance from a center axis of portion to an inner wall in a region of the neck portion facing a major portion of the electron gun, a second distance R2 is defined as a distance from the center axis tide edge of the stem mound, measured at half an axis of the stem mound, the first distance R1 and the second distance R2 satisfy a relationship, 0<R1-R2<2.1 mm. A wall thickness of a region of the neck portion in the vicinity of the fused and sealed regions of the neck portion and the stem is smaller than a wall thickness of a region of the neck portion facing the major portion of the electron gun.

The present invention relates to a cathode ray tube, and particularly to a cathode ray tube including a stem having a plurality of stem pins annularly arrayed, and sealed and extending therethrough and having glass mounds raised and surrounding the base of each of the stem pins on the side thereof supporting an electron gun, and a neck portion at one end thereof heat-sealed by the stem.
Generally, a color cathode ray tube known as a cathode ray tube emitting a plurality of electron beams has a vacuum envelope composed of a panel portion having a phosphor screen coated with a phosphor on the inner surface thereof and suspending a shadow mask therein closely spaced from the phosphor screen, a funnel portion connected to and tapered down from the panel portion, a neck portion connected, thereto, and a stem supporting an electron gun housed in the neck portion and fused to an open end of the neck portion.
The stem has a plurality of stem pins annularly arrayed and sealed and extending therethrough to support electrodes of the electron gun and introduce various signal voltages from an external circuit.
A deflection yoke is mounted exteriorly in a transition region between the funnel portion and the neck portion, and a plurality of electron beams modulated by video signals and emitted from the electron gun are deflected in two directions, i.e. horizontally and vertically to thereby reproduce a visible image on the phosphor screen.
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the schematic construction of a color cathode ray tube to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 13 designates stem pins, 14 a stem, 20 a panel portion, 21 a neck portion, 22 a funnel portion, 23 a phosphor screen, 24 a shadow mask, 25 a mask frame, 26 a magnetic shield, 27 a shadow mask suspension mechanism, 28 an electron gun, 29, a deflection yoke, and 30 an external magnetic adjustment device.
As described above, the color cathode ray tube of this kind has a vacuum envelope compressing the panel portion 20, the neck portion 21, and the funnel portion 22 for connecting the panel portion 20 and the neck portion 21.
The panel portion 20 is formed with the phosphor screen 23 coated with three-color phosphors in the inner surface, the electron gun 28 for emitting three electron beams in a line is housed in the neck portion 21, and the shadow mask 24 having a multiplicity of apertures or a parallel array of narrow strips is arranged in the vicinity of the phosphor screen of the panel portion 20.
The deflection yoke 29 is mounted exteriorly in the transition region between the funnel portion 22 and the neck portion 21.
The electron gun 28 is housed in the neck portion 21, and the stem 14 has a plurality of stem pins 13 annularly arrayed and sealed and extending therethrough to support electrodes of the electron gun and introduce various signal voltages from an external circuit.
Three electron beams (Bc, Bs.times.2) modulated by video signals and emitted from the electron gun are deflected in two directions, i.e. horizontally and vertically by horizontal and vertical deflection magnetic fields generated by the deflection yoke 29, and are subjected to color selection at apertures in the shadow mask 24 to impinge on the respective phosphors thereby forming a color image.
FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining one example of an electron gun for a cathode ray tube. Reference numeral 1 designates a cathode, 2 a first grid electrode, 3 a second grid electrode, 4 a third grid electrode, 5 a fourth grid cathode, 6 a fifth grid electrode, 7 a sixth grid electrode, 7a a shield cup, and 8 glass rods for holding the electrodes in position (beading glass). Reference numeral 13 designates stem pins, and 14 a stem.
In FIG. 8, controlling and pre-focusing of electron beams are carried out by the first grid electrode 2 to the fourth grid electrode 5. The fifth grid electrode 6 as a focus electrode and the sixth grid electrode 7 as an anode constitute a main lens.
The shield cup 7a is connected to the anode 7 (the sixth grid electrode) and serves as an electrode part for fixing contact springs for centering the electron gun in the neck portion and for supporting a getter.
These electrodes are mounted on the stem by being welded directly or through connecting leads, to the plurality of stem pins 13 which are annularly arrayed on the stem 14, sealed thereto and extending therethrough, then the electrodes are inserted into the neck portion from its open end, and the periphery of the stem 14 is fused and fixed to the end of the neck.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the operation for fusing and sealing the stem to the open end of the neck portion of the cathode ray tube. Reference numeral 10 designates an exhaust tubulation, 13 stem pins, 13a inner portions of the stem pins projecting into the interior of the neck portion, 14 a stem, and 21 a neck portion. An electron gun 28 is indicated by dotted lines.
As shown in FIG. 9, the stem 14 for supporting the electron gun 28 at its inner portions 13a projecting into the interior of the neck portion is formed of glass material, and is in the form of a flat disk whose outside diameter is smaller than that of the neck portion 21.
Stem mounds 11 are formed at the bases of the inner portions of the stem pins by raising the glass material of the stem 14 to mechanically support the inner portions 13a of the stem pins and to prevent the loss of the vacuum.
After the electron gun 28 has been secured to the stem 14, the electron gun is inserted from the open end of the neck portion 21 as indicated by the arrows, the outer peripheral portion of the stem is placed in contact with the open end of the neck portion, and the neck portion and the stem at their junctions are fused and sealed by heating them from outside the outer periphery thereof by a burner or the like.
After the stem is fused and sealed to the neck portion 21 and the vacuum envelope is evacuated to a desired vacuum with the exhaust tubulation 10 connected to a vacuum pumping system, the exhaust tubulation 10 is sealed off.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of main parts for explaining a fused portion of the neck portion and the stem in sealing a conventional cathode ray tube. Reference numeral 12 designates a groove, and 15 a fused portion. The same reference numerals are used in FIG. 10 as used for corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 to 9.
As explained in FIG. 9, in sealing the cathode ray tube, the stem 14 is placed in contact with the open end of the neck portion 21, their junctions are heated and fused by using a burner or the like, the force is applied so that the stem 14 is somewhat pulled away from the neck portion 21 to thereby form a constricted portion in the fused portion 15 as shown in FIG. 10.
In the aforementioned conventional cathode ray tube sealed off by fusing the stem 14, a sufficiently large difference (R1-R2) between a distance (hereinafter also called an inner radius) R1 from the tube axis to the inner wall in a region of the neck portion housing a major portion of the electron gun 28 supported on the inner portions 13a of the stem pins projecting into the interior of the neck portion, and a distance R2 from the tube axis to the outside edge of the stem mounds 11 measured at half the axial height H of the stem mounds 11, has been secured to thereby prevent the occurrence of crack in a fused portion of the stem.
Therefore, for example, a stem having a diameter of 15.24 mm of a circular array of stem mounds 11 (corresponding to a diameter of a stem pin circle) has been coupled to a neck portion having an outside diameter of 29.1 mm and an inside diameter of 23.9 mm. In this case, the minimum value of R1 is approximately 12 mm and the maximum value of R2 is approximately 9.3 mm, and the difference (R1-R2) is nearly equal to 2.7 mm.
There has been a problem in that it is difficult to fuse and seal such a large-pin-circle stem to a neck portion of, for example, a so-called narrow neck low-deflection-power cathode ray tube having a neck narrower than a presently widely used neck having a nominal diameter of 29.1 mm.
There has been another problem in that, since a connecting portion between glass of the stem 14 and glass of the neck portion is very close to the groove 12 formed in the fused portion, crack tends to occur in that portion.

Narrow-neck CRT having a large stem pin circle