A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device and a semiconductor device that is manufactured by the method. In the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a releasing sheet is disposed in close contact with a hole of an aluminum plate having the recessed hole, and a skeleton structure of a semiconductor device is put into the recessed hole. Then, liquid epoxy resin is poured into the recessed hole. After hardening, the epoxy resin body 10 including the skeleton structure is taken out from the recessed hole to complete manufacturing the semiconductor device. Using a simple molding jig including the aluminum plate, and covering the skeleton structure with the epoxy resin body, a highly reliable semiconductor device with a case-less construction can be manufactured.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device that is a semiconductor module having a case-less construction, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a part of a conventional semiconductor module 500 having a terminal case 61. This semiconductor module can be referred to as a semiconductor device having a case construction.
The semiconductor module 500, which is a general insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power module, includes semiconductor chips 57 such as an IGBT chip and a diode chip mounted on an insulated circuit board 51 with a conducting pattern.
The insulated circuit board 51 with a conducting pattern includes a ceramics 52 and metal foils adhered onto the upper and lower surfaces of the ceramics 52. The lower metal foil 53, which is a conductive layer, is joined to a metal base plate 56 with a solder 55a. The metal foil 54, which is a conducting pattern layer, on the upper surface of the ceramics 52 is adhered to the semiconductor chip 57 with a solder 55b. A terminal case 61 is adhered to the peripheral region of the metal base plate 56 with an adhesive.
The terminal case 61 has an externally leading out terminal 58, which is an externally leading out metal terminal, insert-molded. The externally leading out terminal 58 is connected to the semiconductor chip 57 through a bonding wire 59a. Then, the terminal case 61 is filled with silicone gel 60 and closed with a lid 62 at the top of the terminal case to complete the semiconductor module 500. The lid 62 is made of the same resin as that of the terminal case 61. The terminal case 61 is an outer frame made of a resin and holding the inserted externally leading out terminal 58.
Patent Document 2 discloses a semiconductor module having silicone gel filling a terminal case and epoxy resin thereon covering the terminal case. Patent Document 4 and Non-patent Document 1 disclose a semiconductor module having epoxy resin filling a terminal case but without a lid covering the terminal case.
The terminal case 61 is most often formed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). For insulation protection against creeping discharge along the ceramic insulated circuit board 51 and for insulation protection of the semiconductor chip 57, the terminal case 61 is generally filled with silicone gel 60 or epoxy resin.
In order to ensure high temperature continuous operation of onboard IGBT power modules that need high temperature continuous operation, power cycle life needs to be elongated.
For elongating the power cycle life, epoxy resin exhibiting a high elastic modulus is more advantageous than silicone gel exhibiting a low elastic modulus. A high elastic modulus helps firmly hold solder joints and bonding wire joints and relaxes the stress on the joints caused by the difference in linear expansion of the components in the power cycle operation.
Examples of semiconductor modules with a case-less construction having no terminal case are disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 that disclose semiconductor modules of a mold structure.
Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 also disclose the use of transfer molding and compression molding for sealing a semiconductor module.
Patent Document 2 also discloses the use of a base plate and a frame jig for manufacturing a semiconductor module with a case-less construction in diversified, small-lot production.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 3390661 (FIG. 1 in particular)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-238803 (FIG. 18 in particular)
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese domestic re-publication of PCT international application corresponding to international publication WO2005/004563
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H06-005742
[Non-Patent Document 1]
Fuji Electric Technical Journal 2012, vol. 85, no. 6, pages 430-434 (in Japanese)
In the semiconductor module with a terminal case structure disclosed in Non-patent Document 1 and Patent Document 4, sealing epoxy resin adheres to the terminal case with high strength when it hardens.
When the terminal case is formed of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, the PPS resin directly affects the sealing epoxy resin due to anisotropy of glass fibers in the PPS resin and the crystallization temperature, Tg=90° C.-130° C.
As a result, large internal stress is generated in the semiconductor module and hinders elongation of power cycle life of the semiconductor module, hardly achieving high reliability.
A means to solve this problem is sealing the semiconductor chip with epoxy resin by means of transfer molding or compression molding without using a terminal case. This method of manufacturing a semiconductor module having case-less construction, however, needs expensive molding equipment and a metallic mold, and thus requires high equipment investment costs. Because diversified, small-lot production of semiconductor modules needs various types of expensive metal molds, this manufacturing method is not suited to diversified, small-loot production.
The semiconductor modules with a case-less construction disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are manufactured by means of transfer molding, and the semiconductor module disclosed in Patent Document 3 is manufactured by means of compression molding. Both these molding techniques need very expensive molding equipment and metallic mold, at a cost of several tens to one hundred million yen, and are not suited to diversified, small-lot production.
The method proposed in Patent Document 2, though suited to diversified, small-lot production, needs a large number of parts and takes a lot of labor for assembling, dismantling, and cleaning of jigs, raising the manufacturing costs.
All of Patent Documents 1 through 4 and Non-patent Document 1 fail to disclose a method of manufacturing a semiconductor module with a case-less construction that use neither transfer molding nor compression molding.


A retroreflective article having at least one valve is disclosed. Each valve may include a channel extending from a first major surface to a second major surface of the retroreflective material, and at least one movable member proximate the channel. The at least one movable member is movable between a closed position and an open position. When in the closed position, the at least one movable member obstructs at least a portion of the channel. A method of making a retroreflective article having at least one valve is also disclosed.

Retroreflective materials have been developed for use in a variety of applications, including road signs, license plates, footwear, and clothing patches. Retroreflective materials are often used as high visibility trim materials in clothing to increase the visibility of the wearer. For example, retroreflective materials are often added to protective garments worn by firefighters, rescue personnel, EMS technicians, and the like.
Retroreflective materials can be particularly useful to increase the visibility of fire and rescue personnel during nighttime and twilight hours. In some situations, however, when firefighter garments are exposed to extreme temperatures during a fire, some impermeable or semi-permeable retroreflective materials may contribute to accumulation of heat and/or fluids inside the garment. Under certain conditions, the trapped heat can result in discomfort or even injury to the skin of a firefighter.
In particular, moisture that has collected under impermeable or semi-permeable retroreflective material may expand or vaporize rapidly when the garment is exposed to extreme temperatures from a fire. If the expanded moisture is unable to quickly escape, the firefighter can be exposed to harmful temperatures. Impermeable or semi-permeable materials on the outside of the garment may constrain the rapid escape of heated moisture vapors, allowing the vapors to be directed toward the firefighter's skin. In some cases, this can result in steam burns or other thermal injury to the skin.
Conventional retroreflective materials, including some perforated retroreflective materials, generally exhibit this phenomenon. Such conventional perforated retroreflective materials include standard retroreflective trim having needle punched holes, laser punched holes, slits, or relatively large holes made with a paper punch. Further, perforating retroreflective materials to make them permeable removes a substantial portion of the retroreflective material, thereby potentially decreasing the conspicuity of the material.

Retroreflective article having at least one valve and method of making same


There is provided a method of coating a substrate comprising at least one secondary amine, by contacting the substrate surface with a compound comprising at least one carbon-carbon double bond, wherein an electron withdrawing group is on at least one side of the carbon-carbon double bond, so that a complex is formed between nitrogen in the secondary amine and the carbon-carbon double bond. Then a reaction is initiated to form a covalent bond by reaction of nitrogen in the secondary amine and the carbon-carbon double bond, by subjecting at least a part of the formed complexes to actinic radiation, wherein the wavelength of the actinic radiation is adapted to be absorbed by the complex. When a further top-coat is added, the resulting surface has a high hardness, and the scratch resistance is improved.

GB 2 542 629 discloses a curable primer composition comprising copolymer where components of the copolymer may be substituted with an anhydride. The composition may further comprise a curable acrylate compound. The anhydride is not free but instead reacted to form the copolymer.
US 2003/01502767 discloses a primer composition comprising a polymer reacted with for instance maleic anhydride.
CN 104945983 and CN 104945985 disclose monofunctional methacrylates forming polymer chains with maleic acid anhydride. There is in a first step formed a poly-anhydride which in a subsequent step reacts with epoxy. Thus, the anhydride is reacted to a poly-anhydride. Since monofunctional methacrylates are used, no cross-linked network is formed. In the introduction there is disclosed that there is first synthesized an acrylic resin having pendant anhydride groups, which is then subjected to a modified epoxy resin, epoxy-modified acrylic resin prepared by the preparation of one-component epoxy modified acrylic coatings having excellent adhesion, good hardness and gloss.
Even the coatings and primers according to the state of the art are used today there is still room for an improvement regarding for instance the adhesion, at least for some materials.
CN 106519919 discloses a UV-curing composition, which may be added to a melamine substrate. The composition may comprise for instance an acrylate. A photoinitiator is present and initiates the curing reaction.
CN 102558928 discloses a UV-curing coating composition which can be used to coat melamine substrates. The coating may comprise different acrylates. A photoinitiator is present, initiating the curing reaction.
US 2010/272920 discloses a radiation curable composition which may comprise acrylates. They may be used on a melamine substrate. A photoinitiator is present.
US 2010/178440 discloses a UV-curable binder which may be applied on a base material of melamine. A photoinitiator or possibly another initiating mechanism such as e-beam is present.
US 2015/218408 discloses a process for coating sheets comprising applying a coating formulation to a sheet of paper which has been impregnated with melamine formaldehyde resins, carrying out at least partial radiation curing, and applying at least one further radiation-curable coating material, and finally carrying out complete curing by radiation. It should be noted that the melamine formaldehyde resins are not cured when contacted with the coating formulation.
CN 106634543 discloses a UV-curing primer comprising acrylates which may be applied on melamine. A photoinitiator is present.
WO 2008/005752 discloses a substrate (a contact lens) where the surface comprises an amine group (Scheme 1 and 2a). The molecule reacting with the amino group has a C═C double bond adjacent to an electron withdrawing group. The initiation is not made my irradiation of a formed complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,016,532 discloses an example where a surface is coated with a polymer primer. A polymer is grafted on the polymer primer. The primer may comprise a secondary amine (column 47, lines 54-64) and the group reacting with the amine may comprise a C═C double bond. The initiation is made with added initiators such as UV-initiators, heat initiators and redox initiators. The initation is not made by irradiation of formed complexes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,754 discloses a process for coating a material surface, comprising the steps of: (a) covalently binding a compound comprising an ethylenically unsaturated double bond to the material surface; (b) polymerizing a monomer comprising a reactive or crosslinkable group on the surface and thereby providing a primary polymer coating comprising reactive or crosslinkable groups, (c) in case of a monomer comprising a reactive group in step (b) reacting the reactive groups of the primary coating with a further compound comprising an ethylenically unsaturated double bond and graft-polymerizing a hydrophilic monomer and optionally a co-monomer having a crosslinkable group onto the primary coating obtained according to step (b) and (d) in case of crosslinkable groups being present in step (b) or (c) initiating crosslinking of said groups.
EP 0 618 237 discloses a composition containing charge transfer complex from at least one unsaturated compound having an electron donor group and having an electron withdrawing group and being free of any photoinitiating compound is polymerized by being subjected to ultraviolet light.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,447 discloses a radiation curable coating composition is provided and includes an effective amount of cationic photoinitiator, in combination with a charge transfer complex, the charge transfer complex comprising at least one electron withdrawing reactant component and at least one electron donating reactant component free radically reactive therewith, the electron withdrawing reactant component comprising an unsaturated nitrogen containing compound and the electron donating reactant component comprising an unsaturated compound having at least one vinyl ether group, the electron donating reactant component may be separate from or structurally incorporated within the electron withdrawing reactant component and an effective amount of a cationic photoinitiator.


A universal respiratory detector for detecting a respiratory gas. The universal respiratory detector may include a plurality of layers with a visual indicator to quickly and reversibly change color to detect a respiratory gas parameter such as carbon dioxide. The color change may be visible from both sides of the detector. In some examples, the respiratory detector may be a biocompatible and conformable sticker for mounting on a person's face or an oxygen delivery device.

Oxygen is essential to life. Human beings cannot store very much oxygen in their bodies. Regular breathing, referred to as ventilation, for supplying oxygen to the body is important to sustain body functions. Permanent brain damage can occur after a person stops breathing for as little as three minutes and death can occur a few more minutes after that unless ventilation is restored. Insufficient breathing, such as shallow or irregular breathing, can lead to insufficient oxygen and problems such as headaches, confusion, shortness of breath, weakness, and poor heart and brain function.
The chest rises up and down during breathing and one way of monitoring breathing is to observe adequate chest rise. However, chest rise can be subtle and difficult to observe, such as if person is covered by a blanket, wearing bulky clothes, in a poorly lit area, or has shallow breathing. Some hospitals monitor a patient's breathing status using a specially designed monitoring device for monitoring air exhaled from the patient. Commonly used monitoring devices measure and numerically or graphically display the amount or concentration of carbon dioxide in exhaled air. These devices variably have air sampling lines, detectors, displays, batteries or another power source and may need to be mounted on a device that supplies oxygen to the patient. For example, monitoring devices are commonly used by anesthesiologists by attaching a monitoring device to a tube placed in the patient's airway (an intubated patient) and taking a sample of the exhaled air during surgery or by medical personnel taking a sample of expired air from an oxygen face mask. These monitoring devices are limited in the circumstances in which they can be used and require training for proper use. These devices are subject to contamination by viruses and other biologic agents. They can also be bulky, relatively expensive, difficult to decontaminate, or require warm up time. Another monitoring device is a patch mounted on a device that supplies oxygen to the patient. These patches can be bulky, have a short life span, and require an oxygen-supplying device for attachment.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved devices for monitoring breathing to overcome these and other problems. Described herein are systems, devices and methods for determining a person's breathing status that may address these and other problems.


An electronic device includes a printed circuit board having a top surface, a clip member, a heat sink mounted on the top surface of the printed circuit board, and an anchor having a mounting portion with a solder surface for soldering to the top surface of the printed circuit board and a hook portion used to lock the clip member assembled to the heat sink. The solder surface is mounted to the top surface of the printed circuit board by surface mount technique (SMT).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat sink anchor, and more particularly to a heat sink anchor fixed to a printed circuit board by surface mount technique.
2. Description of Related Art
WO Publication No. 2003003455 issued to George on Jan. 9, 2003 discloses heat sink components to be coupled with a printed circuit board. The heat sink components include a thermal conductive plate and at least two mounting pins. The thermal conductive plate can further include a heat exchange portion disposed across the mounting pins. The mounting pins are inserted into corresponding holes of the printed circuit board so that the mounting pins can be wave soldered to the printed circuit board. The heat sink components are most of the time too heavy to be held by only mounting pins during shock and vibration tests, because the inner side of the hole provides less solder surface to engage with the mounting pin.
Therefore, an improved heat sink component is needed.


An arrangement for reducing noise which is generated by a wind turbine blade is provided. The wind turbine blade has a first panel and a second panel. The first and the second panel are arranged at a trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, wherein the first panel is adjacent to the second panel. The first panel includes a first transition zone and the second panel includes a second transition zone. The first transition zone and the second transition zone are engaged in a way that whistle tones produced by a gap of the wind turbine blade, the gap being located between the first panel and the second panel, is reduced or even avoided.

EP 1 314 885 discloses a flexible serrated trailing edge of a wind turbine. A serrated panel is connected at the trailing edge of the blade to optimize the aerodynamic characteristics of the wind turbine blade. This results in an increased electrical output power of the wind turbine for example.
The shape of the trailing edge even influences the noise or the aerodynamic noise, which is originated by the wind turbine blade. Thus, the dimension and the shape of a panel, which is attached to the trailing edge, even contribute to the aerodynamic noise of the turning wind turbine blade. Thus a compromise needs to be found between the location and the dimension of the panel for an improved blade-characteristic on the one hand and a reduced aerodynamic noise on the other hand.
FIG. 4 shows a blade 1 of a wind turbine. A number of panels 2 are arranged at and along the trailing edge TE of the blade 1. The panels 2 show a number of serrations SE. the size and the shape of the panels are optimized in a way that a lift-drag-ratio of the blade is increased. Thus, the aerodynamic characteristics of the blade 1 are improved.
The panels 2 might connected by a glue with the trailing edge TE. Thus retrofitting of existing blades in dependency of specific conditions of the site of the wind turbine is quite easy.
The panels 2 may be made in smaller sections and may be attached side by side as illustrated. Thus an entire flap, arranged at the trailing edge TE of the blade, is established or constituted.
FIG. 5 shows a specific detail of FIG. 4, which is indicated by a circle there. The flap FP as shown here in detail comprises several panels 2. This allows a flexible movement of the serrated panels 2 when the wind turbine is in operational mode. Due to the flexing of the serrated panels the blade characteristics are improved.
There is a little gap GP between two adjacent panels 2. The gap GP is needed for the flexing movement of the panels 2. Additionally, the panels 2 are connected with the trailing edge TE by a band or strip or connection-area FX. This connection-area FX is preferably used for a glue-connection.
Another band or strip OL is arranged between the connection area FX and the serrations SE, thus a kind of "overhang" or projection OL is created.
The little gap GP between the panels 2 generates a whistle-tone as aerodynamic noise. The whistle-tone is even influenced by the dimension of the strip OL or overhang OL.
The whistle tone is originated by the wind V, which is slipping through the gap GP. This is schematically shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 7 refers to the FIG. 5 and shows a well known prior art solution to reduce this whistle-tone.
The gap GP between the panels 2 is filled with a flexible filler material 3. However, the filler material 3 deteriorates over time and becomes stiff and inflexible. Thus the filler material 3 finally might fall off. The usage of the filler material even results in time extensive work thus this solution is expensive.

Arrangement to reduce noise originated by a wind turbine blade


A device includes: an image acquisition device acquiring a taken image in which a subject is imaged; a smoothing device generating a smoothed image by smoothing the taken image; a noise extraction device extracting a difference noise component from a difference between the taken image and the smoothed image; a noise addition device adding the difference noise component to the smoothed taken image; a map acquisition device acquiring a blurring strength map that represents a distribution of blurring strengths for the taken image; and an image combining device combining the taken image with the smoothed image on the basis of the blurring strength map, and generating an output image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, an imaging device and an image processing method, and a program, and particularly to a technique that creates a blurring-emphasized image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In fields of imaging devices, such as digital cameras, and image processing devices, corresponding point detection and image transformation are performed for a taken image acquired by what is called focus bracket imaging, and blurring is added to the taken image on the basis the results, thereby creating an image with a shallow depth of field.
For instance, in PTL 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-271240), the filter characteristics of a Gaussian filter to be applied to a reference image are calculated on the basis of focus bracketed images, and the reference image is locally smoothed on the basis of the characteristics, thereby creating a blurring-emphasized image.
PTL 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-241424) discloses that when a noise adding filter is applied to an image, a region which includes a person or the like and to which noise is not intended to be added is detected, a soft focus process is performed for this region, and a noise adding process is applied to regions other than this region.

Image processing device, imaging device, image processing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium


A handle assembly for a closure of a vehicle includes a force-based sensor disposed beneath an uninterrupted class-A surface and responsive to a force applied thereto. The handle assembly includes a handle ECU, configured to monitor the force-based sensor and to communicate with an electronic latch controller. A super-capacitor is disposed on a PCB within the handle assembly for providing electrical power to the handle ECU and the force-based sensor. The handle ECU includes one or more feedback devices such as LED lights, acoustic, and haptic devices to provide information about the status of the closure and the electronic latch system. The handle assembly is also configured to provide different responses to two or more different levels of force applied to the force-based sensor. An output interface in the handle assembly provides wired and wireless backup communications to the electronic latch controller.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Electronic latch systems, also called smart latches, are becoming increasingly attractive for vehicle manufacturers to replace mechanical linkages between handles and other hardware with latch mechanisms in vehicle closures, such as doors and lift gates or tail gates. A capacitive sensor, such as a touch pad, can be used to replace external handle switch in such a smart latch system, for example, for entry of a code sequence to open, lock, or unlock the door, or a swipe or wave hand gesture. However, capacitive sensors have several disadvantages, such as susceptibility to moisture from rain, melting snow or spilled beverages, which can render switches that use capacitive sensors useless. Further, false activations, due to water presence over the capacitive sensor for example, may unintentionally cause the release or activation of the smart latch. Capacitive sensors are also ineffective at detecting touches by hands covered by items such as gloves or bandages.
Furthermore, electronic sensors, such as capacitive sensors, require electrical power and are not effective to detect a user's touch in case of battery disconnection. This is especially problematic for touch sensors that are intended for use on an outside handle.

Smart handle assembly with force-based sensor and backup energy source


A system and method are disclosed for removing hydrocarbons from a gaseous mixture, which comprises selecting a plurality of agents which are effective for adsorbing hydrocarbons at predetermined temperatures, wherein for at least two of the adsorbing agents, the temperatures at which the maximum adsorption rates for the hydrocarbons occur, are different from one another, and contacting the adsorbing agents with the gaseous mixture at the predetermined temperatures to cause adsorption of the hydrocarbons. A multistage catalyst system for converting NO.sub.x, CO, and hydrocarbons from a gaseous mixture to innocuous products is disclosed, which comprises the above described system for removing hydrocarbons as one stage, and a main body catalyst stage for converting NO.sub.x, CO, and hydrocarbons to innocuous products, wherein the gaseous mixture passes from one stage to the other.

Internal combustion engines emit a large amount of unburned hydrocarbons during cold engine start-up. In fact, a substantial fraction of the emitted hydrocarbons have been found to occur during the first ten of seconds due to the rich fuel mixture.
Release of hydrocarbons immediately after starting an engine poses a special problem because at this point the temperature of the conventional catalytic reactor is not high enough for conversion to innocuous products. The catalysts utilized in catalytic converter systems are generally ineffective at ambient temperature and must reach high temperatures, often in the range of 300.degree.-400.degree. C. before they are activated.
One method of reducing cold start emissions is to temporarily adsorb hydrocarbons on zeolites which desorb at engine operating temperature and are converted by the main body catalyst.
One disadvantage of this method is that specific zeolites do not adsorb with equal efficiency at the full temperature range of the exhaust gas at start-up, that is, from room temperature to about 300.degree. C. Additionally, the adsorbed hydrocarbons can prematurely desorb before the main conversion catalyst is up to operating temperature, thus emitting hydrocarbons to the atmosphere.
This problem is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,210 which relates to an exhaust gas purifying apparatus which has a 3-way catalyst and either Y-type zeolite or a mordenite as an adsorbent for adsorbing a harmful component at the upstream side of the catalytic converter so that when the exhaust gas temperature exceeds the specific temperature, the harmful component desorbs from the adsorbent and is introduced into the catalytic converter. Further, an activated carbon trapper and a by-pass are provided in parallel at the upstream side of the adsorbent so that the flow paths of exhaust gas are selectively switched from one to the other in accordance with the level of exhaust gas temperature. Activated carbon is present for adsorbing at the lower temperature, the Y-type zeolite or mordenite is for adsorbing at the higher temperatures seen by the exhaust gas before engine operating temperatures normal for continuous operation are reached. The activated carbon is separate from the other adsorbing agents to prevent the activated carbon from being exposed to high temperature and eventually destroyed and to prevent excessive pressure drop in the exhaust system.
European patent application publication no. 0460542A2 relates to an engine exhaust system having two catalytic converters, a first noble metal catalytic converter positioned near the engine exhaust manifold and a second converter positioned farther from the exhaust manifold. The second converter contains molecular sieve (zeolite) materials capable of adsorbing and holding hydrocarbons to prevent their discharge into the atmosphere until the catalyst in the converters attains an efficient operating temperature. Because hydrocarbons begin to desorb from the zeolite at a temperature below light-off, it is not possible merely to place zeolite `in-line` in the exhaust system with the catalyst, the system employs one or more conveying means with several valves to selectively convey exhaust gases to each of the two catalytic converters in a manner such that initially produced hydrocarbon is withheld in the system by molecular sieves in order to be recycled through the converters and brought into contact with the catalyst after an effective converting temperature has been attained.
It would be desirable to have a way to efficiently adsorb hydrocarbons without premature desorption at engine start-up which would not result in destruction of the adsorbing agents.

System and method for removing hydrocarbons from gaseous mixtures using multiple adsorbing agents


A plasma display panel is provided in which discharge connection in the column direction is prevented without increasing the number of man-hours in a formation process of a partition and without deteriorating ventilation for an exhaust process. A pattern in a plan view of a partition is made a mesh pattern in which vertical patterns are included at inter-row positions in each column. Each of first vertical walls is positioned at a boundary between columns, each of second vertical walls is arranged at a position away from a boundary between columns for each boundary between rows and each of horizontal walls is positioned at a boundary between rows. In the partition, a height of portions where the first vertical wall crosses the horizontal wall and a height of portions where the second vertical wall crosses the horizontal wall are smaller than a height of the other portions of the partition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) having a mesh-patterned partition for dividing a screen into cells arranged in each row and each column of a matrix display.
In recent years, a mesh-patterned partition that offers advantages in separation of discharges and increase in arrangement area of fluorescent materials has drawn attention instead of a stripe-patterned partition that is excellent in mass productivity. In the case of adoption of the mesh-patterned partition, it is desirable to contrive so as to shorten a time required for an exhaust process in manufacture of a plasma display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing a plasma display panel, a pair of substrates is attached to each other, then, an interior space is cleaned to perform an exhaust process for filling a discharge gas. A gas remained in a gap between the substrates is evacuated through a vent formed on the back substrate to produce a vacuum, and after that, a discharge gas is filled.
Concerning acceleration of an exhaust process in a mesh-patterned partition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,441 discloses that a partition is partly lowered to provide a mesh-like air path passing through all cells in a screen. The mesh-like air path has better ventilation than a unidirectional air path has, such as a vertical air path or a horizontal air path.
A heat shrink property of a partition material is used in formation of a partition, and thereby, a partition that is partially low can be formed by the same man-hour as the case of forming a partition having a constant height. More specifically, when a partition is formed by baking a low melting point glass paste, a pattern width of a portion to be lowered in a mesh pattern is thickened. Since shrinkage in the width direction is inhibited in the thick portion, the shrinkage amount in the height direction of the thick portion is greater than that of a thin portion by the corresponding amount. Accordingly, a portion whose pattern width is thickened is lower than the other portions in the partition.
According to a plasma display panel described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,441 mentioned above, since portions corresponding to inter-row portions in a matrix display of a partition are equally low, there is a problem that separation of discharges among cells constituting columns of the matrix display tends to be insufficient. Especially, in a high-definition plasma display panel in which display electrodes are arranged between rows, a discharge tends to extend in the column direction (generally, in the vertical direction) through the display electrodes each of which straddles adjacent two rows. Accordingly, it is necessary to ensure discharge separation between rows.

Mesh-pattern partitioned plasma display panel


Disclosed is a method of processing signals from a large-format scanner comprising a first and a second image sensor that provide respective image signals recorded at respective areas of a scanned medium, where a portion of the respective areas is recorded also by the other of the respective image sensors, whereby image data from overlapping and non-overlapping areas are present in the respective signals; the method comprising: determining a first and a second level of intensity from image signals from the first and the second image sensor at the overlapping area, respectively; determining a compensation value by processing the first level of intensity and the second level of intensity to determine a discrepancy between the level of intensities; applying compensation values to image data from overlapping and non-overlapping areas to provide compensated image data to compensate for a discrepancy between levels of intensity from the first and the second image sensor.

Scanning of large objects, e.g. large maps or technical drawings, is conventionally performed by using a plurality of image sensors as it is a difficult and expensive task to manufacture large single image sensors. Examples of image sensors are charge coupled device (CCD) or contact image sensors (CIS). Differences between image sensors, however, create visible artefacts in the scanned images. The intensity of a scanned medium may look different dependent on which image sensor is used. This makes the scanned images less perceptually appealing. As the differences are non-static, compensation is a challenging task.
EP 2 091 223 entitled "Image reading device and image forming apparatus" discloses an optical scanner with multiple cameras that each outputs line signals. The cameras are arranged to each view a portion of a line on a document to be scanned. The cameras view the line with a certain overlap such that intensity information is recorded by two cameras in the overlapping regions of the line. A complete line on the document is reproduced by combining line signals from the cameras. The line signals are processed in the overlapping area to compensate for an intensity boundary, e.g. a visible artefact at the stitching point between cameras, which may occur. The method, however, still creates visible artefacts in the generated images.
Thus, it remains a problem to improve the image quality of large-format scanners to compensate for differences between individual image sensors.

Signal intensity matching of image sensors


The present invention relates to an oligomer conjugate for use in the treatment of a viral disorder. The oligomer conjugate comprises: a) an oligomer capable of modulating a target sequence in HBx and/or HBsAg of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) to treat said viral disorder; and b) a carrier component capable of delivering the oligomer to the liver which is linked, preferably conjugated, to the oligomer.

Molecular strategies are being developed to modulate unwanted gene expression that either directly causes, participates in, or aggravates a disease state. One such strategy involves inhibiting gene expression with oligonucleotides complementary in sequence to the messenger RNA of a deleterious target gene. The messenger RNA strand is a copy of the coding DNA strand and is therefore, as the DNA strand, called the sense strand. Oligonucleotides that hybridize to the sense strand are called antisense oligonucleotides. Binding of these strands to mRNA interferes with the translation process and consequently with gene expression.
Certain nucleotide-based compounds have been utilized in various therapeutic applications. In particular, various oligonucleotides have been investigated including single-stranded and double-stranded oligonucleotides, and analogues. To be useful in in vivo applications, an oligonucleotide must have a plethora of properties including the ability to penetrate a cell membrane, have good resistance to extra- and intracellular nucleases, have high affinity and specificity for the target and preferably have the ability to recruit endogenous enzymes such as RNAseH, RNAaseIII, RNAseL etc.
A fundamental property of oligonucleotides that underlies many of their potential therapeutic applications is their ability to recognize and hybridize specifically to complementary single stranded nucleic acids employing either Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding (A-T and G-C) or other hydrogen bonding schemes such as the Hoogsteen/reverse Hoogsteen mode. Affinity and specificity are properties commonly employed to characterize hybridization characteristics of a particular oligonucleotide. Affinity is a measure of the binding strength of the oligonucleotide to its complementary target (expressed as the thermostability (Tm) of the duplex). Each nucleobase pair in the duplex adds to the thermostability and thus affinity increases with increasing size (number of nucleobases) of the oligonucleotide. Specificity is a measure of the ability of the oligonucleotide to discriminate between a fully complementary and a mismatched target sequence.
Modified nucleic acids are known to be used to improve for example stabilisation of the oligonucleotides, in particular for the gapmer designs, such as when 1 or more modified nucleotides are present in either or both of the wing regions. Examples of modifications include 2′-O-alkyl-RNA units, 2′-amino-DNA units, 2′-fluoro-DNA units, LNA units, arabino nucleic acid (ANA) units, 2′-fluoro-ANA units, HNA units, INA (intercalating nucleic acid—Christensen, 2002. Nucl. Acids. Res. 2002 30: 4918-4925, hereby incorporated by reference) units, 2′MOE units, ENA (ethylene nucleic acid), UNA (Unlocked Nucleic Acid, Fluiter et al., Mol. Biosyst., 2009, 10, 1039), Tricyclo DNA (R. Steffens & C. J. Leumann, J. Am. Chem. Soc, 1997, 119, 11548-49), cET-LNA (shown herein), and LNA. FIG. 4 presents drawings of some of these analogues.
A particular efficacious modified nucleic acid is referred to as a Locked Nucleic Acids (LNA). LNAs have been reported in the art—for example see International Patent Application WO 99/14226; P. Nielsen et al, J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1, 1997, 3423; P. Nielsen et al., Chem. Commun., 1997, 9, 825; N. K. Christensen et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1998, 120, 5458; A. A. Koshkin et al., J. Org. Chem., 1998, 63, 2778; A. A Koshkin et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 13252-53; Kumar et al. Bioorg, & Med. Chem. Lett., 1998, 8, 2219-2222; and S. Obika et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 1999, 515. Interestingly, incorporation of LNA units containing a 2′-0,4′-C-methylene bridge into an oligonucleotide sequence leads to an unprecedented improvement in the hybridization stability of the modified oligonucleotide (see above and e.g., S. K. Singh et al., Chem. Commun, 1998, 455). Oligonucleotides comprising the 2′-0,4′-C-methylene bridge (LNA) units and also the corresponding 2′-thio-LNA (thio-LNA), 2′-HN-LNA (amino-LNA), and 2′-N(R)-LNA (amino-R-LNA) analogue, form duplexes with complementary DNA and RNA with thermal stabilities not previously observed for bi- and tricyclic nucleosides modified oligonucleotides. The increase in Tm per modification varies from +3 to +11° C., and furthermore, the selectivity is also improved. No other DNA analogue has reproducibly shown such high affinity for nucleic acids.
In a particular aspect, the present invention relates to hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapies. Hepatitis B is a viral disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is transmitted parenterally by contaminated material such as blood and blood products, contaminated needles, sexually and vertically from infected or carrier mothers to their offspring. In those areas of the world where the disease is common vertical transmission at an early age results in a high proportion of infected individuals becoming chronic carriers of hepatitis B. It is estimated by the World Health Organization that more than 2 billion people have been infected worldwide, with about 4 million acute cases per year, 1 million deaths per year, and 350-400 million chronic carriers. Approximately 25% of carriers die from chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, or liver cancer and nearly 75% of chronic carriers are Asian. Hepatitis B virus is the second most significant carcinogen behind tobacco, causing from 60% to 80% of all primary liver cancer. HBV is 100 times more contagious than HIV.
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped, partially double-stranded DNA virus. The compact 3.2 kb HBV genome consists of four overlapping open reading frames (ORF), which encode for the core, polymerase (Pol), envelope and X-proteins. The Pol ORF is the longest and the envelope ORF is located within it, while the X and core ORFs overlap with the Pol ORF. The lifecycle of HBV has two main events: 1) generation of closed circular DNA (cccDNA) from relaxed circular (RC DNA), and 2) reverse transcription of pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) to produce RC DNA. Prior to the infection of host cells, the HBV genome exists within the virion as RC DNA. It has been determined that HBV virions are able to gain entry into host cells by non-specifically binding to the negatively charged proteoglycans present on the surface of human hepatocytes and via the specific binding of HBV surface antigens (HBV sAg). Once the virion has entered the cell, the viral cores and the encapsidated RC DNA are transported by host factors, via a nuclear localization signal, into the nucleus through the Impβ/Impa nuclear transport receptors. Inside the nucleus, host DNA repair enzymes convert the RC DNA into cccDNA. cccDNA acts as the template for all viral mRNAs and as such, is responsible for HBV persistence in infected individuals. The transcripts produced from cccDNA are grouped into two categories; pgRNA and subgenomic RNA. Subgenomic transcripts encode for the three envelope (L, M and S) and X proteins, and pgRNA encodes for Pre-Core, Core, and Pol proteins. Inhibition of HBV gene expression or HBV RNA synthesis leads to the inhibition of HBV viral replication and antigens production. For instance, IFN-α was shown to inhibit HBV replication and viral HBsAg production by decreasing the transcription of pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) and subgenomic RNA from the HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) minichromosome. All HBV viral mRNAs are capped and polyadenylated, and then exported to the cytoplasm for translation. In the cytoplasm, the assembly of new virons is initiated and nascent pgRNA is packaged with viral Pol so that reverse transcription of pgRNA, via a single stranded DNA intermediate, into RC DNA can commence. The mature nucleocapsids containing RC DNA are enveloped with cellular lipids and viral L, M, and S proteins and then the infectious HBV particles are then released by budding at the intracellular membrane. Interestingly, non-infectious particles are also produced that greatly outnumber the infectious virions. These empty, enveloped particles (L, M and S), are referred to as subviral particles. Importantly, since subviral particles share the same envelope proteins and as infectious particles, it has been surmised that they act as decoys to the host immune system and have been used for HBV vaccines. The S, M, and L envelope proteins are expressed from a single ORF that contains three different start codons. All three proteins share a 226aa sequence, the S-domain, at their C-termini. M and L have additional pre-S domains, Pre-S2 and Pre-S2 and Pre-S1, respectively. However, it is the S-domain that has the HBsAg epitope.
Hepatitis B viral infections are a continuing medical problem because, like any rapidly-replicating infectious agent, there are continuing mutations that help some sub-populations of HBV become resistant to current treatment regimens. Currently the recommended therapies for chronic HBV infection by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) include interferon alpha (INFa), pegylated interferon alpha-2a (Peg-IFN2a), entecavir, and tenofovir. However, typical interferon therapy is 48-weeks and results in serious and unpleasant side effects, and HBeAg seroconversion, 24 weeks after therapy has ceased, ranges from only 27-36%. Seroconversion of HBsAg is even lower—only 3% observed immediately after treatment ceases, with an increase to upwards of 12% after 5 years.
The secretion of antiviral cytokines in response to HBV infection by the hepatocytes and/or the intra-hepatic immune cells plays a central role in the viral clearance of infected liver. However, chronically infected patients only display a weak immune response due to various escape strategies adopted by the virus to counteract the host cell recognition systems and the subsequent antiviral responses.
Many observations showed that several HBV viral proteins could counteract the initial host cellular response by interfering with the viral recognition signaling system and subsequently the interferon (IFN) antiviral activity. Among these, the excessive secretion of HBV empty subviral particles (SVPs, HBsAg) may participate to the maintenance of the immunological tolerant state observed in chronically infected patients (CHB). In particular, SVPs could contribute to the absence of antigen presentation by dendritic cells together with the lack of HBV-specific T cell immune activation to enable viral persistence. HBsAg quantification is a significant biomarker to predict the infection outcome; however the achievement of HBsAg seroconversion is rarely observed in chronically infected patients. The reduction of the SVP and HBsAg burden is thought as a pathway to recover anti-viral immune function and the seroconversion to HBsAg-negative after antiviral therapy can be seen as an indication as a functional cure and remains the ultimate goal of therapy. Therefore, targeting HBV gene expression leading to reduction of HBsAg together with HBV DNA levels in CHB patients may significantly improve CHB patient immune reactivation and remission.
The nucleoside and nucleotide therapies entecavir and tenofovir are successful at reducing viral load, but the rates of HBeAg seroconversion and HBsAg loss are even lower than those obtained using IFNa therapy. Other similar therapies, including lamivudine (3TC), telbivudine (LdT), and adefovir are also used, but for nucleoside/nucleotide therapies in general, the emergence of resistance limits therapeutic efficacy.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,598,334 and WO 2012/145697 mention the use of antisense oligonucleotides to target HBV.
The control of viral infection needs a tight surveillance of the host innate immune system which could respond within minutes to hours after infection to impact on the initial growth of the virus and limit the development of a chronic and persistent infection. Despite the available current treatments based on IFN and nucleos(t)ide analogues, the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major health problem worldwide which concerns an estimated 350 million chronic carriers who have a higher risk of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
There is a need for new anti-viral therapies, in particular anti-HBV therapies. There is also a need to have a therapeutic strategy that enables one to target different types of HBV genotypes.


Methods and apparatus relating to fast deskew when exiting a low-power partial-width high speed link state are described. In one embodiment, an exit flit on active lanes and/or a wake signal/sequence on idle lanes may be transmitted at a first point in time to cause one or more idle lanes of a link to enter an active state. At a second point in time (following or otherwise subsequent to the first point in time), training sequences are transmitted over the one or more idle lanes of the link. And, the one or more idle lanes are deskewed in response to the training sequences and prior to a third point in time (following or otherwise subsequent to the second point in time). Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

Computer systems are generally made up of components that communicate with each another for various purposes. Links that interconnect computer components provide a mechanism for transferring data and each link generally includes a plurality of "lanes", where each lane transfers a bit of data in a given cycle. The number of lanes to be used during communication generally defines the link width which in turn effectively controls the bandwidth of the link. As such, wider links provide a larger bandwidth than narrower links. On the other hand, wider links tend to consume more power because of the additional circuitry that supports the additional lanes. Also, power consumption, quality of service, or performance can become an issue when deciding link widths.

Fast deskew when exiting low-power partial-width high speed link state


An interactive device having time synchronization capability is provided. In one embodiment of the present invention, the interactive device has a computer processor that stores an internal clock. The computer processor may be preprogrammed to generate announcements based on a particular time of the internal clock. A user may input and adjust the time of the internal clock. In another embodiment of the present invention a setup module is provided. A setup module is an operative device that includes a computer processor that stores a setup time. The setup module establishes a connection with an interactive device, and time synchronizes the interactive device such that the internal clock of the interactive device is running the same time as the setup module. The setup module is capable of synchronizing the internal clock of multiple interactive devices, despite the interactive devices being programmed on separate occasions. In addition, the setup module is capable of programming a number of interactive devices in a quick and efficient manner, thereby keeping the manufacturer's costs low. The computer processor of the interactive device runs a software program which enables the interactive device to be synchronized by the setup module via a hard-wired connection or wireless means such as infrared (IR) and/or radio frequency (RF) signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive device with time synchronization capabilities, and more particularly to an apparatus, system, and method for programming interactive devices such that internal clocks of the interactive device are time synchronized despite such devices being simultaneously programmed at a point of origin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Children are often attracted to interactive toys that provide both visual and audio stimulation. As a result, there are a number of articulated and animated toys capable of interacting with children in ways which appear intelligent which are well known in the art and commercially available under such trademarks as Furby® from Tiger Electronics, Ltd., and Barney® from MicroSoft, Inc. These toys are capable of understanding speech, speaking in a natural language and demonstrating limited animation such as mouth, eye and ear, movements.
Market demands compel creative manufactures to take traditional, mechanical toys and educational materials and transform them into interactive electronic devices. As expected, such interactive devices appeal to consumers more than their traditional counterparts. However, certain interactive devices require an exhaustive setup that may dissuade consumers from purchasing them. Therefore, oftentimes such interactive devices come preprogrammed by the manufacturer to relieve the user of the burden of a tedious setup.
Manufacturers are continuously attempting to implement procedures in an effort to streamline the production of such interactive devices. A setup computer or system is often used for streamlining production. The process promotes a quick and efficient manner to program the devices. This is especially advantageous when the manufacturer has a large number of devices in production. However, certain interactive devices may require a more exhaustive setup than other devices. For those devices which include calendar and clock functionality, the known prior art is currently lacking a quick, efficient, and cost effective protocol which may be implemented by the manufacturer to allow such devices to be time synchronized at the point of origin, such that each device's internal clock reads the same time which corresponds to an ultimate shipment destination for such devices.
One of the advantages of having time synchronized devices, is that each device may generate a triggered response at the same time. Such devices may be more marketable to consumers when viewed upon a retailer's shelf generating audio and visual messages in concert. Another one of the advantages of having time synchronized devices is that the ultimate purchaser of such device may be excused from the burden of having to undertake a time consuming, difficult programming task as would otherwise be needed to cause the device to function in the desired manner. A particular interactive device that may benefit from time synchronization at the point of manufacture is a customizable calendar. An example of a customizable calendar is an Advent calendar. An Advent calendar is a popular holiday calendar that counts down the days to Christmas. The traditional Advent calendar, as illustrated in FIG. 1, consists of two pieces of cardboard on top of each other where twenty-four doors are cut out in the top layer creating specific compartments, with one compartment door being opened every day from December 1 to December 24 (Christmas Eve). Each compartment can either show a part of the Nativity story, or can simply display a piece of paraphernalia having to do with Christmas (e.g. Bells, holly).
An electronic adaptation embedding the functionality of an Advent calendar 1 into an interactive device requires the device (i.e., the interactive Advent device) to generate a response indicative of when to open a particular compartment door based upon date and time. In this regard, the interactive Advent device must be programmed relative to the calendar and clock parameters of a traditional Advent calendar in that it must have an internal calendar and clock which is capable of counting down the days to Christmas. Furthermore, the functionality of the interactive Advent device must generate an instruction or an alarm, at a set time, instructing the user take action relative to the opening a box in a traditional Advent calendar. Therefore, for the reasons discussed above, it would be advantageous for each interactive Advent device to be time synchronized at the point of manufacture such that the devices run precisely the same date and time corresponding to their ultimate shipment destination. Having a global marketplace allows products like an interactive Advent device to be manufactured, marketed, and sold all over the world; therefore various local customs, such as daylight savings, must also be incorporated into the program. Consequently, the programming of such devices is made difficult as a result of mass production and would require a great deal of manpower and associated costs to individually program each device such that they are time synchronized in a prescribed manner.
Therefore, there is currently a need in the art for an apparatus, method, and system for streamlining the time synchronization capability of an interactive device, such as an interactive Advent device, such that it is efficient, low cost, and versatile to adapt to customized parameters.

Interactive device with time synchronization capability


An apparatus for patterning a work piece including a source, and at least one reflective tilting surface adapted to induce a phase difference using at least one of a phase shifting plate and a difference in step height. A method corresponding to the apparatus for patterning a work piece. A method of manufacturing the apparatus for patterning a work piece and a Spatial Light Modulator, which may be included therein.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to lithography.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
In conventional lithography systems, a spatial light modulator (SLM) may be used in pattern generation. Conventional SLM's may include tilting planar micromirrors. The micromirrors may be tilted in order to generate a pattern on a work piece. The writing quality of the conventional lithography systems may depend on the degree of planarity of the micromirrors. For example, the planarity of the micromirrors may decrease and the writing quality may decrease as a result thereof. An increase in the planarity of one or more micromirrors may provide for higher quality pattern generation. For example, one or more micromirrors may have a greater degree of planarity, and writing quality may improve. However, higher degrees of planarity (e.g., extreme or perfect planarity) may be difficult to achieve and/or cost ineffective.
Conventional tilting micro-mirrors may also have a reduced amount of negative amplitude. Negative amplitude may be useful since in enabling resolution enhancements. For example, full, or substantially full, negative amplitude may be used in chromeless phase lithography on masks in, for example, stepper technology. Full, or substantially full, negative amplitude may enable stronger phase shift effects, which may result in resolution enhancements.

Method and apparatus for patterning a workpiece and methods of manufacturing the same


A handheld electronic device is provided. The handheld electronic device comprises a main body, a processing unit, an image projection module, a motion sensor, a first light sensor and a second light sensor. The processing module is disposed in the main body to generate display data. The image projection module generates a projection image according to the display data. The motion sensor senses an orientation of the handheld electronic device. The first and second light sensors sense an ambient light. The processing unit generates the display data according to the ambient light sensed by the first light sensor when the processing module determines that the orientation is a first orientation and according to the ambient light sensed by the second light sensor when the processing module determines that the orientation is a second orientation.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to image projection technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to a handheld electronic device and a projection method of the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Handheld electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs become the most important electronic products due to their light weight, powerful data-processing and data-transmission ability and integration of various multimedia technologies. In order to satisfy various user demands, more and more modules, such as speaker with two channels, the projector or a combination of the above, are integrated into the handheld electronic devices to bring functions with diversity and convenience to the user.
Take the projector as an example, since the technology of micro projector becomes matured, the image supposed to be displayed on the display module can be projected to a screen by the smartphone equipped with the micro projector. However, since the size of the smartphone is small, the user often accidentally flips the smartphone. The micro projector may not be able to correctly display the image when the smartphone is flipped.
Accordingly, what is needed is a handheld electronic device and a projection method of the same to address the above issues.

Handheld electronic device and image projection method of the same


A pneumatic downhole impact drill has a porting system for automatically supplying pneumatic pressure fluid from a fluid delivery tube received within an axial bore in the impact piston to the opposite ends of the piston operating cylinder as the piston reciprocates. A flange on the delivery tube is slidably mounted in a cavity in a mounting hub assembly. Passageways provide fluid communication between the pressure fluid inlet plenum and the operating chamber side of the cavity and between the back chamber and the inlet plenum side of the cavity. Fluid pressure forces acting on the opposite faces of the flange and on the top end surface of the delivery tube reciprocate the delivery tube between upstroke and downstroke positions. Positioning the delivery tube in the upstroke position increases the axial distance that the piston must travel before the pressure fluid supply is connected to the back end of the operating chamber on the piston upstroke. Positioning the delivery tube in the downstroke position increases the axial distance the piston must travel before the pressure fluid supply is disconnected from the back end of the operating chamber on the piston downstroke.

This invention relates generally to pneumatic impact hammers of the type having an impact piston and a fluid delivery tube received within a coaxial bore in the piston for supplying pneumatic pressure fluid to one or both ends of the piston operating chamber for reciprocation of the piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,363 discloses a pneumatic impact drill having a porting system for automatically supplying pneumatic pressure fluid from a fluid delivery tube received within a coaxial bore in the impact piston to the opposite ends of the piston operating cylinder as the piston reciprocates. The porting system comprises an annular set of equiangularly spaced outlet ports in the fluid delivery tube and two sets of radially extending bores in the piston having first and second, axially spaced, annular sets of equiangularly spaced inlet ports which cooperate with the outlet ports in the delivery tube. The number of inlet ports in the piston and the number of outlet ports in the supply tube are selected to provide substantial fluid communication therebetween at all relative angular positions of the piston and fluid delivery tube.
Such invention provides a new and improved porting system. However, this porting system uses a single fluid delivery tube port to complete alternative flow paths for the two axially spaced piston ports and requires axial piston movement to initiate transfer from the first flow path to the second flow path. Consequently, pressure conditions that impede the movement of the piston can exist while the fluid delivery tube port is positioned intermediate the two piston ports.

Porting system for back chamber of pneumatic hammer


A space-saving pressure sensor for a metal or plastics processing tool is configured to perform date stamping during injection molding with the processing tool. The pressure sensor is configured to be inserted into a single drilled hole of the tool. A first cast-compatible mark and a second cast-compatible mark of the pressure sensor may be adjusted against one another in such a way that a variety of different date marks can be created, which may then be applied to different injection-molded products. The pressure sensor may be used within the framework of manufacturing an injection-molded product.

Pressure sensors are known and are used in many ways. One field of application for pressure sensors refers to metal and plastics processing. Thus, pressure sensors are used in metal and plastics processing tools in order to, for example, be able to measure the pressure in the space enclosed by the tool during injection molding. The measured pressure is used in order to control and optimize the injection molding process. Thus, the quality of the injection-molded products produced this way is improved. For example, a suitable pressure sensor is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,999, which is hereby incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. This is a pressure sensor with a cylindrical measuring element located directly behind a pressure piston. The measuring element may be passive or active and operate according to a piezoelectric, piezoresistive, inductive or capacitive measuring method. The pressure sensor is inserted into a drilled hole of the tool and a housing body of the pressure sensor is pressed longitudinally on a contact surface of the tool using mounting bolts. The pressure to be measured within the space of the tool affects the pressure piston and is captured by the measuring element as a force. Such pressure sensors comprised by the state of the art are hereinafter referred to as conventional pressure sensors.
Likewise, date stamps, also referred to as identification stamps, are known in metal and plastics processing. They can be used to attach a date stamp to the injection-molded product during injection molding. This way, injection-molded products can be traced, for instance by enabling conclusions to a certain batch. For many plastics products such as parts requiring documentation and safety parts, installing a date stamp is mandatory. For example, such a date stamp is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2012-125212A1, which is hereby incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. An outer bushing has marks on its front face such as the numbers of the twelve months. A pivotable actuator surrounded by the bushing also has marks, for example an arrow and the year. By rotating the actuator in relation to the bushing, any date stamps can be created this way. Date stamps are normally also attached in a drilled hole located within the tool. Such date stamps comprised by the state of the art are hereinafter referred to as conventional date stamps.
Frequently, the installation space for pressure sensors and date stamps within the metal and plastics processing tool is limited in such a way that either a pressure sensor or a date stamp can be installed, but not both together. If, as a consequence, it is not possible to install a pressure sensor, this may compromise the quality of the injection-molded product. If it is not possible to install a date stamp, no parts requiring documentation or safety parts may be produced.

Pressure sensor for a metal or plastics processing tool


An abrasive pad for a manual grinding machine, in particular for an eccentric grinder, has a flat contact surface (13) on which an abrasive sheet is placed, and attachment means located on the contact surface (13) for creating an adhesive connection with the abrasive sheet. To reduce the production costs of the abrasive pad, it is made entirely—including the attachment means—of plastic using a single-component injection molding procedure, whereby the attachment means are designed preferably as hook-type fasteners (18) which extend out of the contact surface (13) (FIG. 1).

The present invention is directed to an abrasive pad for a manual grinding machine, in particular for an eccentric grinder.
A known manual grinding machine designed as an eccentric grinder (U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,314) includes an abrasive pad which is mounted via a pivot bearing on an electric motor-driven eccentric driven shaft of an eccentric drive. The pad body of the abrasive pad is composed of a bearing receiving part and a grinding means carrier mounted thereto composed of an elastically deformable material which has a flat, circular contact surface for an abrasive pad opposite the bearing receiving part. The bearing receiving part is composed of a flat, round plate and a bearing support which is integral with the plate and extends out of the plate at a right angle, the pivot bearing being inserted in the bearing support. The grinding means carrier lies flat on the plate and grips over it in the manner of a clip with its edge which is configured accordingly.
With a known abrasive pad for a manual grinding machine (EP 0 557 773 B1), the pad body is composed of a support plate made of plastic, a cushion applied via foaming to the support plate as a carrier for grinding means, and a steel disk as reinforcing member located between the support plate and cushion. The underside of the cushion forms a flat contact surface for an abrasive sheet and is covered with a gripping fabric to which the velour backing of the abrasive sheet attaches. In terms of manufacturing abrasive pads of this nature, it is known to manually place the support plate with steel disk and the coarsely precut gripping fabric in a foaming mold and to join these components with the foamed cushion by filling the foaming mold with foam. After the finished abrasive pad is removed from the foaming mold, the gripping fabric hanging over the outer edge of the contact surface is trimmed off. This manufacturing process requires manual labor to insert the pad body and the coarsely precut gripping fabric in the foaming mold and, due to the relatively slow-acting foaming process, it also requires a very long cycle time.

Abrasive pad for a manual grinding machine


A vehicle anti-theft method for use in a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, an ignition, a starter, fuel injectors, a memory, engine controller, and a real clock time function in the engine controller, said engine controller being configured to operate the engine in a plurality of different modes including a theft protection mode, comprises; a) comparing a lock window definition time with an engine controller real clock time; b) operating the engine in a theft protection mode when the real clock time matches the lock window definition time; c) determining whether the engine is running, and; d) controlling the operation of the engine.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle anti-theft system and method to provide such functionality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Price et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,356,186 is assigned to Detroit Diesel Corporation. The patent discloses a vehicle anti-theft system and method that operates the engine in a theft mode protection in which the engine is permitted to operate at idle or speed limited is provided the method includes a armed password, comparing the password with a stored password in the memory, and operating the engine in the theft mode protection when the armed password matches the stored password.
The present invention differs from Price et al. '186. Specifically, the present invention does not require the use of a stored password and does not require the operator to know an armed password. Moreover, Price et al. '186 requires a handheld device or some other device when an operator enters the armed password into the system for comparison to the stored password. Such a required interface is lacking in the present invention.
Norris et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,780 discloses a self-contained timed cycled security code activation system for controlling power equipment including a truck. The system includes a keyboard by which an activation security code is entered into a microprocessor. The microprocessor controls an activation relay, which selectively controls the equipment and has stored therein a plurality of security codes, which are timed cycled by a real time clock. This differs from the present invention. Specifically, the present invention does not require the use of multiply security codes and does not envision the use of an interface such as a keyboard or other coded device in order to activate the vehicle.

Vehicle anti-theft time based engine start inhibitor


A data storage device and method for application-defined data retrieval in surveillance systems are provided. In one embodiment, a data storage device is provided comprising a memory and a controller. The controller is configured to store, in the memory, a stream that combines data from a plurality of receivers; receive a request from a host for data generated by a selected receiver; extract, from the stored stream, the data generated by the selected receiver; and send the extracted data to the host. Other embodiments are provided.

A data storage device can store data received from a plurality of receivers in a single stream in its memory. For example, the data storage device can store a stream of video data that combines video from a plurality of cameras in a surveillance system. A host can request the video stream from the data storage device for playback.

Data storage device and method for application-defined data retrieval in surveillance systems


Systems and methods for remotely monitoring and debugging processes over a distributed network are provided. In one aspect, a method includes attaching to a first process of a plurality of processes running on a remote device such that a second process of the plurality of processes is not interrupted, and displaying details of the first process at a client.

The systems and methods described herein relate generally to debugging workflow instances and, more particularly, to simultaneously monitoring and debugging multiple workflow instances throughout a distributed network.
At least some known debugging tools allow remote debugging of a running workflow instance over a network. Some such debugging tools use a graphical client interface. However, such tools require that debugging services be installed on the computer or device running the workflow instance. Moreover, when a user connects to a device in order to debug a workflow instance, all other workflow instances running on the device are stopped.
Further, for at least some known debugging tools, only one workflow instance can be debugged at a time when using a tool having a graphical client interface. Similarly, for at least some known debugging tools, only one debugging tool having a graphical client interface can be connected to a device at any one time.

Systems and methods for debugging multiple workflow instances


An electro-dynamic loudspeaker is provided with dampening arrangements that contribute to improved acoustical properties for the electro-dynamic planar loudspeaker. The dampening arrangements include providing a frame having a curved sidewall surface for reducing standing waves. Another design provides for a ferrofluid being disposed between the diaphragm and magnets of the electro-dynamic loudspeaker in order to dampen the resonance frequency of the device. In addition, a diaphragm of an electro-dynamic loudspeaker is provided with a short turn of conductor disposed along a fringe zone at an edge of the diaphragm in order to electro-dynamically dampen the edge resonance of the film.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to electro-dynamic loudspeakers, and more particularly, improvements for electro-dynamic loudspeakers and manufacturing methods thereof.
2. Related Art
The general construction of an electro-dynamic loudspeaker includes a diaphragm, in the form of a thin film, attached in tension to a frame. An electrical circuit, in the form of electrically conductive traces, is applied to the surface of the diaphragm. Magnetic sources, typically in the form of permanent magnets, are mounted adjacent to the diaphragm or within the frame, creating a magnetic field. When current is flowing in the electrical circuit, the diaphragm vibrates in response to the interaction between the current and the magnetic field. The vibration of the diaphragm produces the sound generated by the electro-dynamic loudspeaker.
Many design and manufacturing challenges present themselves in the manufacturing of electro-dynamic loudspeakers. First, the diaphragm, that is formed by a thin film, needs to be permanently attached, in tension, to the frame. Correct tension is required to optimize the resonance frequency of the diaphragm. Optimizing diaphragm resonance extends the bandwidth and reduces sound distortion of the loudspeaker.
The diaphragm is driven by the motive force created when current passes through the conductor applied to the diaphragm within the magnetic field. The conductor on the electro-dynamic loudspeaker is attached directly to the diaphragm. Because the conductor is placed directly onto the thin diaphragm, the conductor should be constructed of a material having a low mass and should also be securely attached to the film at high power (large current) and high temperatures.
Accordingly, designing conductors for electro-dynamic loudspeaker applications presents various challenges such as selecting the speaker with the desired audible output for a given location that will fit within the size and location constraints of the desired applications environment. Electro-dynamic loudspeakers exhibit a defined acoustical directivity pattern relative to each speaker's physical shape and the frequency of the audible output produced by each loudspeaker. Consequently, when an audio system is designed, loudspeakers possessing a desired directivity pattern over a given frequency range are selected to achieve the intended performance of the system. Different loudspeaker directivity patterns may be desirable for various loudspeaker applications. For example, for use in a consumer audio system for a home listening environment, a wide directivity may be preferred. In the application of a loudspeaker, a narrow directivity may be desirable to direct sound, e.g., voice, in a predetermined direction.
Often, space limitations in the listening environment prohibit the use of a loudspeaker in an audio system that possesses the preferred directivity pattern for the system's design. For example, the amount of space and the particular locations available in a listening environment for locating and/or mounting the loudspeakers of the audio system may prohibit the use of a particular loudspeaker that exhibits the intended directivity pattern. Also, due to space and location constraints, it may not be possible to position or oriented the desired loudspeaker in a manner consistent with the loudspeaker's directivity pattern. Consequently, size and space constraints of a particular environment may make it difficult to achieve the desired performance from the audio system. An example of a listening environment having such constraints is the interior passenger compartment of an automobile or other vehicle.
While the electric circuitry of electro-dynamic loudspeakers may present design challenges, electro-dynamic loudspeakers are very desirable loudspeakers because they are designed to have a very shallow depth. With this dimensional flexibility, electro-dynamic loudspeakers may be positioned at locations where conventional loudspeakers would not traditionally fit. This dimensional flexibility is particularly advantageous in automotive applications where positioning a loudspeaker at a location that a conventional loudspeaker would not otherwise fit could offer various advantages. Further, because the final loudspeaker assembly may be mounted on a vehicle, it is important that the assembly be rigid during shipping and handling so that the diaphragm or frame does not deform during installation.
While conventional electro-dynamic loudspeakers are shallow in depth and may therefore be preferred over conventional loudspeakers for use in environments requiring thin loudspeakers, electro-dynamic loudspeakers have a generally rectangular planar radiator that is generally relatively large in height and width to achieve acceptable operating wavelength sensitivity, power handling, maximum sound pressure level capability and low-frequency bandwidth. Unfortunately, the large rectangular size results in a high-frequency beam width angle or coverage that may be too narrow for its intended application. The high-frequency horizontal and vertical coverage of a rectangular planar radiator is directly related to its width and height in an inverse relationship. As such, large radiator dimensions exhibit narrow high-frequency coverage and vice versa.
The frame of the electro-dynamic loudspeakers supports the magnets, the diaphragm, and the terminal. A ferrous steel frame has the advantage of carrying magnetic flux that can improve efficiency over a non-ferrous frame. However, frames constructed from non-ferrous or non-metallic materials provide other manufacturing advantages. The frame presents design challenges since it is preferably rigid enough to keep the diaphragm film tension uniform and capable of not deforming during handling, assembly, or over time. The frame also should be capable of withstanding environmental high temperatures, humidity, salt, spray, etc., and be capable of bonding with the diaphragm film.
Other features affecting the acoustic characteristics of the electro-dynamic loudspeaker include damping of undriven portions of the diaphragm film in order to help reduce distortion and smooth frequency response. Damping is required to control film edges by reducing unproductive or counter productive vibration.
Furthermore, the controlled directivity of sound is critical for a good system design and acoustical interaction in the listening environment. The electro-dynamic loudspeakers exhibit defined acoustical directivity relative to frequency and to their shape and also relative to the distance from the source. In addition, other frequency response enhancements can also be made to the current electro-dynamic loudspeaker designs.
With the dimensional flexibility obtained with an electro-dynamic loudspeaker, various locations in automotive and non-automotive vehicles may be employed to house electro-dynamic loudspeakers. Different locations offer various advantages over other locations. The thin depth of the electro-dynamic loudspeaker allows them to fit where conventional loudspeakers would not. The final assembly may be mounted on a vehicle, and therefore, must be rigid during shipping and handling and should not allow the diaphragm or frame to deform during installation.

Acoustically enhanced electro-dynamic loudspeakers

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


For producing semiconductor chips by thin-film technology, an active layer (2) that has been grown on a substrate, with contact layers on the back side that have a base layer (3), is reinforced by a reinforcement layer (4). Next, an auxiliary carrier layer (5) is applied, which makes the further processing of the active layer (2) possible. The reinforcement layer (4) and the auxiliary carrier layer (5) replace the mechanical carriers used in conventional methods.

Such semiconductor chips are known from European Patent Disclosure EP 0 905 797 A2, for instance. The active layer of these semiconductor chips is typically grown on a substrate. The substrate will in general absorb some of the photons emitted by the active layer. To increase the light yield, it is therefore known to separate the active layer from the substrate and apply it to a carrier body that is separated from the active layer by a reflective layer. Securing it to a carrier body is necessary in order to assure the requisite mechanical strength in the subsequent process steps.
One disadvantage of the known semiconductor chips is that transferring the active layer from the substrate onto the carrier body is difficult to handle. In particular, the bond between the carrier body and the active layer can in general be accomplished only by employing high mechanical pressure or an elevated temperature. Both of these can be harmful to the active layer.

Semicoductor chip and method for production thereof


Methods, apparatuses, and systems are provided for using laser ablation to manufacture nanoparticles. An example method includes steps of generating, by a laser beam generator, a laser beam, splitting, by a set of beam splitters, the laser beam into a plurality of derivative laser beams, and directing each derivative laser beam towards a plurality of targets. In this example method, the plurality of targets are submerged in corresponding synthesis solvents within corresponding synthesis chambers. Moreover, interaction of each derivative laser beam with its corresponding target releases nanoparticles into the corresponding synthesis solvent to create a nanoparticle solution including both the corresponding synthesis solvent and the released nanoparticles.

Various systems are configured to use laser ablation techniques to fabricate nanomaterials or nano structures (which are also referred to herein as nanoparticles). Applicant has identified a number of deficiencies and problems associated with existing approaches. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in various embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail below.

Method and apparatus for fabricating high performance optoelectronic devices

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A refrigeration cycle that controls the deposit of foreign matter at inlet or outlet of a capillary tube, which forms an expansion device in the refrigeration, regardless of changeover from a cooling operation to a heating operation. In particular, in a refrigeration cycle using an alternative refrigerant, a junction is provided for joining an end of a capillary tube forming an expansion device to the piping through which the refrigerant flows. The junction has a slope defined by the inside diameter thereof, which gradually decreases from the side of the junction that joins the piping to the side of the junction that joined the capillary tube. An end portion of the capillary tube projects into the junction at the piping side. The projecting end of the capillary tube is opened obliquely to the axial line of the capillary tube. A hole is formed in the peripheral wall of the projecting end of the capillary tube. According to such an arrangement, foreign matter in the refrigerant is forced to be deposited in portions of the refrigerant cycle other than the capillary tube and prevented from clogging the capillary tube.

The present invention relates to a refrigeration cycle, and more particularly to a refrigeration cycle connecting a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator in a loop by piping, using a mixed refrigerant or alternative refrigerant mixing at least one or two or more types of hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants.
The compressor used in the refrigeration cycle, in particular, is the maintenance-free enclosed compressor composed as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent 62-298680, a compressive mechanism filling an enclosed container with a mixed refrigerant and oil for compressing by sucking refrigerant, an oil pump for feeding the oil into machine sliding parts, and a motor for driving them by drive shaft.
On the other hand, the refrigeration cycle uses a refrigerant such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or R12 and designated hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) or R22. The specific CFCs are chemically stable, and free from flammability and toxicity as compared with hitherto known refrigerants such as sulfur dioxide and methyl chloride, and are widely applied as ideal refrigerants and have been used for many years.
Recently, however, chlorine atoms contained in the molecules of specific CFCs are recognized to induce destruction of the ozone layer, and development and use of alternative refrigerants not containing chorine atoms have been attempted.
As a practical alternative refrigerant, for example, a chlorine-free refrigerant such as hydrofluorocarbon has been proposed (Hydraulic and Pneumatic Technology, June 1994, Nippon Kogyo Shuppan). As an alternative refrigerant, for example, R134a is used.
Since chlorine is not contained in the refrigerant, however, the alternative refrigerant is not expected to have an excellent lubricity as in the conventional specific CFCs. Accordingly, as the oil to be contained in the enclosed container, an oil compatible with the alternative refrigerant is particularly required. The oil contained in the enclosed container is stirred by the alternative refrigerant discharged from the compressive mechanism into the enclosed container, and is further stirred by rotor of the motor. At this time, if the oil is compatible with the alternative refrigerant, the oil is stirred well with the refrigerant discharged into the enclosed container, and permeates into narrow gaps in the sliding parts of the machines. Therefore, together with the effects of the supply of oil by an oil pump, the lubricating performance is enhanced. As such oil, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent 6-235570, an ester derivative synthetic oil is used.
However, when an enclosed compressor is operated in such conditions and the refrigeration cycle is executed and continued, foreign matter may be deposited in the inlet and outlet of capillary tubes forming the expansion device, and the flow of the refrigerant is blocked relatively early, and the refrigerating function is lowered.
To elucidate and study the cause of such a defect, various experiments were conducted. As a result, it was found to be due to the use of the ester oil as the oil compatible with the alternative refrigerant. If moisture invades when enclosing the refrigerant piping, or moisture is formed after enclosing due to some reason, the ester oil is hydrolyzed by the moisture, and produces fatty acid. The fatty acid corrodes the parts in the piping, forms metal soap and produces sludge. The ester oil is low in stability, and therefore foreign matter is likely to be dissolved and mixed in when the temperature is raised, or foreign matter is likely to precipitate when the temperature is lowered. At the inlet of the capillary tube, the flow velocity of the refrigerant drops, and hence, the precipitating foreign matter is likely to be adhered to cause clogging. At the outlet of the capillary tube, since the temperature is lowered, foreign matter is likely to precipitate and stick.
The above Japanese Laid-open Patent 6-235570 discloses a refrigeration cycle characterized by solving the problems of faulty flow of refrigerant or clogging in the capillary tube, by capturing the foreign matter by installing a filter immediately at the upstream side in the flow direction of the refrigerant in the capillary tube in the midst of the refrigerant piping.
However, the above filter structure is complicated and expensive, and it cannot cope with the defect of precipitation due to temperature drop at the outlet of the capillary tube and immediate deposit of the precipitates. In the refrigeration cycle operated by the heat pump, if the flow direction of refrigerant is reverse in changeover of heating and cooling, the filter must be provided at both sides of the capillary tube, which further adds to the cost.
It is an object of the invention to present a refrigeration cycle of high reliability capable of suppressing deposit of foreign matter at the outlet or inlet of the capillary tube in a simple and inexpensive structure, regardless of the changeover from a cooling operation to a heating operation, and vice versa.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.