A tire vulcanization apparatus includes an upper container moving in a tire vulcanization position and a lower container moving between the tire vulcanization position and a shaping position, the lower container is provided with a bladder expanded/shrunk by supplying/discharging pressurized fluid from a fluid supplying apparatus, in the shaping position, a green tire is mounted on the lower container, and shaped by supplying pressurized fluid, and in the tire vulcanization position, the shaped green tire is held between the upper and lower containers and is vulcanized by supplying pressurized fluid to the bladder, a flow channel for supplying/discharging pressurized fluid from the fluid supplying apparatus to the bladder is comprised of a downstream side movable tube connected to the bladder and moving accompanied with the lower container, an upstream side fixed tube connected to the fluid supplying apparatus, and a tube for shaping made of a flexible tube to which the fluid supplying apparatus and the bladder are normally connected, and the upstream side fixed tube is so arranged that the downstream side movable tube is connected via a first joint portion in a state that the lower container has moved to the tire vulcanization position.

Up to now, a tire vulcanizer which is comprised of an upper container which moves up and down in a tire vulcanization position, and a lower container which moves between the tire vulcanization position and the shaping position has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
This tire vulcanizer, in the shaping position, mounts a green tire on the lower container, supplies pressurized fluid to a bladder in which the green tire is provided on the lower container and then expands the bladder so as to execute the shaping process.
Further, in the vulcanization position, the thus shaped green tire is held between the lower container and the upper container and the green tire is vulcanized by supplying pressurized fluid to the bladder.
Once, this prior art tire vulcanizer executes the shaping of the green tire in the shaping position and then moves the thus shaped green tire to set to the tire vulcanization position, it is possible to immediately start the vulcanization operation. Thereby, it is advantageous in that the operational performance is enabled to be enhanced.
In the prior art tire vulcanizer, a flow channel for supplying/discharging pressurized fluid from the fluid supplying apparatus to the bladder is provided on the lower container. As the tubular body in this case, a flexible tube (flexible hose) capable of flexibly bending has been utilized.
However, the fluid channel to the bladder is under a severe condition in that a high temperature fluid under high pressure (for example, high temperature steam under high pressure) flows, or a vacuum is created for exhaust purposes. Under such a severe condition, the utilization of the flexible tube causes a problem in that the flexible tube is inevitably flexed. Thus, there arises a problem in that the utilization of the flexible tube under an extremely severe condition shortens the product life.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-178333


A network server provisioning at least one Local Area Network (LAN) comprising a client entry store, a packet driver module, a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) request handler. The LAN has one or more routing realms. The client entry store stores records representing a user device connecting to the LAN provisioned by the network server as a roaming visitor of the LAN to gain temporal access to an outside network through the LAN, and records representing one or more routing realm top-level devices provided on a top level of each routing realm of the LAN. The packet driver module inspects packets arriving from and directed to the user device, and interacts with the client entry store to process the packets. The DHCP request handler examines address data in DHCP packets received from the user device and the records in the client entry store. At least one of the packet driver module and the DHCP request handler detects roaming between routing realms by the user device based on the data of the packets and the records in the client entry store, and assigns a new Internet Protocol (IP) address to the user device when roaming by the user device is detected.

Large and/or complicated computer networks may contain multiple routing devices and multiple bridging devices within the topmost level of the network hierarchy. Such a network can be considered to consist of several top-level routing realms. A routing realm is, within the context of this document, a term referring to the network space behind a routing device, or the network space behind a group of interconnected bridging devices.
For example, a network containing two top-level routers R1 and R2, and four top-level bridging devices B1, B2, B3, and B4, can be considered to have three top-level routing realms: R1, R2, and (B1, B2, B3, B4).
In the case of a network which is provisioned by a single device at the top-level of the network, the network's routing realms, by virtue of fundamental networking principles, must utilize a distinct collection of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, relative to the other routing realms within that network.
A network consisting of several top-level routing realms, where at least one of those routing realms is defined by a routing device, presents challenges to a top-level network provisioning device, because the provisioning device must successfully process routed and bridged traffic simultaneously. Such routed traffic is ISO Open Systems Interconnection Layer-3 traffic and such bridged traffic is ISO OSI Layer-2 traffic.
When an end-user device moves from one routing realm to another, since each routing realm must utilize a relatively unique collection of IP addresses, the IP address of the end-user device must change as the end-user device enters into a new routing realm. Thus, the existing provisioning device cannot handle such user who moves from a routing realm to another.
It is therefore desirable to provide a network provisioning device that can recognize that an end-user device has moved from a routing realm to another in a network comprising multiple routing realms, and handle this situation automatically.

Method of and system for support of user devices roaming between routing realms by a single network server


A circuit and method for optimizing the display of a video signal on a display. Control of the display's brightness and contrast is based on aspects of a video signal, such as the average amplitude of the signal and the standard deviation. These aspects of the video signal are determined and the video signal manipulated based on the determined characteristics such that the resultant video signal is optimized to the dynamic range of the display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to display systems and, more particularly, to systems for processing video signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
The viewability of an image on a display is generally determined by the brightness and contrast of the display and video signal corresponding to the image. The luminance of each display pixel corresponds to the amplitude of the video signal for the pixel. High amplitudes typically correspond to very bright pixels, while low amplitudes generally correspond to dark pixels. The range between the minimum and maximum amplitudes and the corresponding degrees of luminance may be subdivided into an almost infinite number of luminance levels, reflecting subtleties of shading and color represented by the video signal.
The display's brightness and contrast adjustments, on the other hand, arc essentially static. Conventionally, brightness corresponds to a DC signal added to the video signal so that the overall signal level increases. As a result, the overall display becomes brighter. For CRT displays, the DC component is added to the video signal. For liquid crystal displays (LCDs), a backlight system responds to the brightness control.
Contrast, on the other hand, relates to the amplification of the video signal. Thus, as contrast increases, bright pixels become very bright, while relatively dark pixels become only slightly brighter.
The brightness and contrast controls allow the user to manually adjust the viewability of the data. Conventional display systems may also automatically compensate for brightness variations due to transmission loss. Conventional video signals typically include a sync signal which display circuitry may use to determine transmission loss. Typically, the video signal includes a sync signal having a specified magnitude, such as 2.86 volts. When the display receives a video transmission, it compares the measured sync signal amplitude to the target amplitude to determine the transmission loss. For example, if the target sync signal has an amplitude of 2.86 volts and the received sync signal was only 1.43 volts, the display logic assumes that the entire signal is also attenuated due to transmission loss and should amplified by a factor of two.
Conventional video displays, such as cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, also typically have a wide dynamic range (i.e., a number of different and distinguishable colors and shades) for displaying each pixel with the appropriate degree of brightness according to the video signal and the brightness and contrast criteria. Small increases in amplitude cause small increases in brightness, regardless of whether the increase is due to a change the video signal or the brightness or contrast control. Consequently, subtle differences in the video signals induce subtle differences in the picture rendered by the display.
In some applications, however, subtle differences are not apparent to the user. For example, in some radar-based imaging applications, the dynamic range or peak-to-peak variation of the video signal information is relatively small. A CRT display shows variations in the video signal as slightly different shades. Where the variations are very small, the differences between different shades in the image may be so slight as to be nearly imperceptible.
This problem is compounded for various modern displays which do not provide the broad dynamic range of CRT displays. Limitations in a display's dynamic range may restrict, or even negate, the display of subtleties in the image. For example, while the dynamic range of various LCDs varies according to type and manufacturer, LCDs generally have a limited dynamic range, particularly in comparison to CRT displays. A typical LCD exhibits a dynamic range limited to, for example, 64 or even 16 shades of gray.
For displays with limited dynamic range, effectively displaying and viewing minor variations in the data or information content is difficult, if not impossible. With limited dynamic range, slight variations in the video signal are commonly lumped into the same shade. As a result, variations in the video signal may not affect the rendered image at all, potentially obscuring vital information. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a system for utilizing the available dynamic range of a display to enhance the presentation of data.


A method of making reduced oil content food chip products, such as potato chips and corn chips, includes circulating liquid carbon dioxide, over the food chip products to extract oil. Reduction of oil content to less than 50% of its initial value, including reductions to 25%, may be achieved while retaining flavor and texture comparable to conventional deep fried chips having an oil content of 30% to 40%. The oil which is recovered from the liquid carbon dioxide used for extraction has an appearance and quality which are substantially the same as virgin frying oil and may be reused to deep fry chips.

This invention relates to low oil content food products, such as corn chips and potato chips. More particularly, this invention relates to a process for removing oil from fried chip products by extraction with liquid carbon dioxide. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a process for removing more than 50%, preferably about 75%, of the oil from fried chips by extraction with liquid carbon dioxide. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a process of making fried chip products including deep frying chips in oil, extracting oil from the fried chips to produced reduced oil content fried chips, and recovering the extracted oil for further use, such as reuse in the frying process. This invention also relates to low oil content fried chips produced by the foregoing methods.
Chip food products such as potato chips and corn chips are typically produced by deep frying in oil. While such preparation yields chips which are highly desirable in terms of flavor and texture, it also yields chips with an oil content of about 30% to about 40% by weight. Such a large oil content is frequently viewed as unhealthy, and there has arisen a demand for chips having a reduced oil content. Attempts to produce such chips have encountered difficulty in achieving both a substantial reduction in oil content and acceptable flavor and texture. Accordingly, low oil chips presently marketed have only about 25%-33% reduction in oil content.
Until the present invention, two techniques have been employed to produce potato chips with a low oil content. The first technique employs the use of an alternative cooking process to conventional deep fat frying. As an example, partially cooked and processed potatoes can be mashed, extruded or otherwise formed into chip shaped articles, lightly sprayed with a vegetable or animal based oil, and then roasted in hot air to complete the cooking process. These products have a reduced oil content compared to potato chips deep fried in oils. However, these products do not have the appearance, texture or flavor of fried potato chips.
The second technique for producing a low-oil potato or corn chip is to deep fry sliced potatoes or corn chips in vegetable or animal base oils and subsequently remove some fraction of the oil from the fried chip. At least two process schemes are known for removing the oil from the fried chip. In the first scheme, a combination of heat, and/or sweeping with an inert gas or liquid, and/or a partial vacuum is used to remove some fraction of the oil from the fried chip. This process reportedly is limited to oil reductions of 33% by weight. Further reductions result in chips with unacceptable texture and flavor characteristics.
The second process scheme to remove oil from fried chips involves the use of supercritical carbon dioxide to remove some fraction of the oil from the fried chip. For instance, as disclosed in Hannigan, "Extraction Process Creates Low-Fat Potato Chips", Food Engineering, July, 1981, fried potato chips are placed in a "short and fat" processing vessel through which is passed a stream of supercritical carbon dioxide. Fats and oils dissolve into the carbon dioxide which is then routed to a separator for cleaning and recycling. According to the Hannigan article, only up to 50% of the fat can be removed while still producing potato chips with texture and flavor characteristics that are similar to the original product.
It is believed that supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of oil from fried potato chips, as proposed in the Hannigan article, has never been commercially practiced. It is believed that the reason for this is that the supercritical carbon dioxide oil extraction process has been found to be uneconomical on a commercial scale.
It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a method of producing low oil content food chip products.
It is a further object of the invention to provide low oil content food chip products having flavor and textures comparable to convention deep fried chip products.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for making low oil content food chip products which may be used with conventional deep frying techniques.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for making low oil content food chip products having an oil content of less than 50%, desirably on the order of 25%, of the oil content of conventional deep fried chip products.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of making low oil content food chip products which may be economically utilized on a commercial scale.

Method of making reduced oil content fried food products


The pressure increases of a hydraulic pressure control module for controlling the braking forces of wheels are decided on the basis of wheel speeds and a vehicle speed estimated from the maximum wheel speed. In this case, on condition that the incremental rate of the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the vehicle speed exhibited before the incremental rate exceeds the threshold value is kept as an estimated vehicle speed, which is used for deciding the pressure increases. Thus, the pressure increases can be appropriately decided even in a situation where a motor vehicle passes through a very-low-.mu. road part or a drop in road level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a braking control system for a motor vehicle. More particularly, it relates to braking control technology in which the pressure increase of a hydraulic pressure control module for controlling the braking force of each wheel is appropriately decided or judged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have heretofore been known vehicular braking control systems each of which is furnished with automatic braking control means for automatically controlling the braking forces of individual wheels, utilizing wheel speeds obtained from wheel speed sensors mounted on the respective wheels.
In executing such a braking control for a motor vehicle, inevitably both the vehicle speed (the ground speed) of the motor vehicle and the wheel speeds mentioned above need to be detected at high precisions by reason that the increases or decreases of the pressures of the hydraulic pressure control module for controlling the braking forces of the wheels are decided or judged in accordance with the lock or slip states of the wheels.
By way of example, the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7231/1975 discloses the vehicular braking control system in which the vehicle speed is estimated from the maximum one of the wheel speeds of the four wheels, whereupon the braking forces of the wheels are controlled on the basis of the comparisons between the estimated vehicle speed and the wheel speeds of the respective wheels.
In the prior art, whether or not the pressure is to be increased is decided or judged by checking theslip state in view of the difference between the estimated vehicle speed and each wheel speed. In this regard, the wheel speed sometimes rises or falls suddenly due to the change of a road surface condition. However, since the vehicle speed does not change so suddenly as the wheel speed, the estimated vehicle speed which is based on only the information of the maximum wheel speed can deviate greatly from the actual vehicle speed of the motor vehicle. In order to avoid this drawback, the vehicle speed is estimated with a predetermined guard value taken into account for the maximum wheel speed. The guard value is set at a comparatively large value in consideration of a low-.mu. road (where symbol .mu. denotes a friction factor).
The above contrivance, however, is not satisfactory yet. More specifically, in such a case where, even during its drive on a high-.mu. road, the motor vehicle descends along a drop in road level or passes through a very-low-.mu. road part, the wheel cannot receive the reaction force of the surface of the road, and the wheel speed falls once. Thereafter, when the wheel comes to receive the reaction force of the road surface on a high-.mu. part again, abrupt rise in the wheel speed occurs temporarily. In the case of estimating the vehicle speed from the maximum wheel speed, therefore, the estimated vehicle speed sometimes becomes apparently higher than the actual vehicle speed.
In a case where such a situation is to be coped with in accordance with the idea of the guard value in the prior art, it might be thought out to set the guard value small. The guard value in the prior art, however, has the basic concept that "the actual vehicle speed can never rise abruptly in excess of the guard value". Accordingly, it is naturally limited to lower the guard value. That is, in the light of the aim thereof, the guard value in the prior art is not set much lower than the value to which the vehicle speed may possibly rise in actuality.
Meanwhile, even when the wheel speed has changed due to the temporary change of the road surface condition, actually the vehicle speed hardly changes in many cases. With the guard value, accordingly, it is not in rare cases that the vehicle speed is estimated somewhat higher than in actuality.
On this occasion, in the case where the slip state is judged from the difference between the estimated vehicle speed and each wheel speed, the vehicular braking control system incurs the problem that, in correspondence with the higher estimative component of the vehicle speed, the pressure increase is not judged necessary in spite of being actually required, so the operation of increasing the pressure cannot be started (the braking force cannot be intensified).

Braking control system for a motor vehicle


The present invention provides a system to ensure security of data in a computer network system. A center certifies a public-key of user of the system and distributes a secret-key. A first system comprises the center in a network, an information provider and a plurality of users. The center identifies utilization status by requests of the secret-key. The data is encrypted by the secret-key and is stored and transferred, while the data to be stored and transferred is encrypted by a secret-key different from the secret-key of the transferred data. An original data label is added to the original data, and an edit label is added to the edited data, and the center does not store the data and stores only the original data label and the edit label. A second system comprises a center and an information provider in a network, and a plurality of users utilizing the network. The center stores the original data and editing scenario, and also the original data label, user label and edit label. The data is not transferred between the users, but data label encrypted by the public-key is transferred. In electronic commerce system, every data is distributed through a mediator in the network, data which is transferred from a maker to a user is encrypted by a secret-key for encryption, and data which is transferred from the user to the maker is encrypted by a secret-key for re-encryption.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data management system for managing digital data, and in particular to a system which can be applied to copyright management of copyrighted data, electronic commerce, and digital cash.
2. Background Art
As database systems store increasingly larger amount of information, database systems are becoming popular in which many computers, used to store various types of data independently, are connected via communication lines to share the data.
In such a database system, the information handled up to this point has been conventionally coded information that can be processed by a computer, and that contains a relatively small amount of information and monochrome binary data, such as facsimile information at most. And it was not possible to handle data containing a relatively large amount of information, such as data for natural pictures or animation. A technique is under development for digital processing of picture signals other than binary data which were handled only as analog signals in the past.
By digitizing the picture signal, it is possible to handle a picture signal, e.g., a television signal, by a computer. "Multimedia systems" is an emerging technology of the future capable of simultaneously handling the data handled by computers and digitized picture data.
Because picture data contains a much larger amount of information compared with character data and audio data, it is difficult to store or transfer or process the picture data by computer. For this reason, techniques for compressing or expanding picture data have been developed. Further, several standards for compression/expansion of picture data have been established. For example, the following standards have been established as common standards: JPEG (Joint Photographic image coding Experts Group) standards for still pictures, H.261 standards for video conferences, MPEG1 (Moving Picture image coding Experts Group 1) standards for picture accumulation, and MPEG2 standards for current television broadcasting and high definition television broadcasting. These new techniques have made it possible to process digital picture data in real time.
For analog data, which has been widely used in the past, the control of copyrights during processing has not been an important issue because the quality of the analog data degrades each time the data is stored, copied, edited, or transferred. However, the quality of digital data does not degrade when the data is repeatedly stored, copied, edited, or transferred. Therefore, the management and control of copyrights during processing of digital data is an important issue.
In the past, there has been no adequate method for management and control of copyrights for digital data. It has been managed and controlled merely by copyright law or by contracts. In copyright law, only compensation for digital sound or picture recording devices has been prescribed.
It is possible not only to refer to the content of a database, but also to effectively utilize the data obtained from the database by storing, copying, or editing the data, and also transferring the edited data to the database with the edited data registered as new data. Further, it is possible to transfer edited data to other persons via an on-line means such as a communication link or via an off-line means such as a proper recording medium.
Conventional database system have dealt with only character data. However, in multimedia systems, sound data and picture data originally generated as analog data, are digitized and included in the database in addition to the other data in the database such as character data.
Under such circumstances, it is important to control copyrights of the data in the database. However, none of the prior art methods provides a complete copyright management and control for such operations as copying, editing, transferring, etc. of data.
In the past, computers have been used in relatively small scale for data communication. Computer communication system called "Internet" has shown a rapid progress in the past several years, and it is now being developed to a system closer and familiar to everybody. The information used in communication of this Internet system has been initially limited to character information only, but, with the progress of technique, audio data and picture data are now used. At present, even electronic commerce data or digital cash data, for which reliability and confidentiality are important factors, are now being used in the Internet system.
Under such circumstances, it has become necessary to establish new techniques to ensure and guarantee security to keep confidentiality and reliability of the processed data and also of the case where it is necessary to charge and collect fee.
In the information data, i.e. copyrighted data, for which fee is charged when utilizing such data, copyright is asserted in most cases, while there are information data such as personal mail, advertisement and propaganda data, etc., for which copyright is not positively asserted. For example, in case of a personal mail, for which copyright is not asserted, it is important to maintain privacy and to prevent falsification or forgery of the contents. Even in the data for advertisement and propaganda, which is usually not associated with assertion of copyright, damage or impairment may often occur due to falsification of the contents or business activities may be disturbed because of distribution of the data to the people other than those originally aimed or such trouble may be caused by false data.
As described above, it is essential in case of personal mail to stop falsification of contents, to prevent infringement of privacy and to exclude forgery. For the advertisement and propaganda data, it is necessary to prevent falsification of data contents, to restrict looking and to exclude forgery.
The prevention of infringement of privacy in the personal mail and the restriction of looking of the advertisement and propaganda data can be achieved by encryption of data. The prevention of forgery of the personal mail and the advertisement and propaganda data and the exclusion of falsification of the personal mail and the advertisement and propaganda data can be attained by confirmation (certification) of the sender or the transmitter of the data.
The Internet system is based on grass-roots concept and is a very fragile system as far as security of the system itself is concerned. Various systems for maintaining security of the Internet system have been proposed, and typical systems are PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) adopting hierarchical structure and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) adopting horizontal distributed structure. These systems are effective to maintain confidentiality of data and to provide certification of the transmitting source, certification on non-falsification of the data, display of the first transmitter and control of public-key, while it is not possible by these systems to restrict re-utilization of data including data editing.
PEM, adopting hierarchical structure, comprises the most upper-level authority called IPRA (Internet PCA Registration Authority), a next upper-level authority called PCA (Policy Certification Authority), and the most lower-level authorities called Organizational, Residential and Personal respectively. Upper-level certification authorities issue a public-key certificate with digital signature on the data such as name of the lower-level auhority for public-key of the lower-level authority, thus guaranteeing validity of the public-key.
PGP, adopting horizontal distributed structure, has no entity to correspond to the certification authority of PEM, and a reliable third person guarantees validity of the public-key by issuing a public-key certificate with digital signature to the data such as name of the public-key. In this PGP, there is a method called electronic fingerprinting to easily confirm the public-key. By this method, the public-key is hashed by one-way hash function such as MD 5 (Message Digest 5), and 16-byte hash value is confirmed by voice.
When PEM is compared with PGP, there is no problem on the certifier in PEM, which adopts hierarchical structure, but this is not necessarily a commonly used system in the Internet System, which is based on grass-roots concept. On the other hand, PGP is a simplified system, which can be widely used. However, this cannot be utilized in case there is no reliable person to sign.
With recent development of computer network system, individual computers, used on stand-alone basis in the past, are connected together through the network system, and database system to commonly share the data is now propagated. Further, distributed object system has been proposed, in which application program or basic software called operating system as well as data is also commonly shared through the network.
In the distributed object system, both data and software are supplied by a server as an object, which comprises program and data. In the distributed object system, there are two systems, i.e. a system called object container, in which operating system, application program and data are provided by a server and data processing and data storage are performed by a user terminal unit, which is an ordinary computer, and a system called server object, in which operating system, application program and data are provided by a server, and data processing is performed by a user terminal unit called network computer, while data storage is carried out by a server. The server object system is further developed to a system, in which data processing is also performed by the server, and the user terminal unit is provided only with input/output function, and the whole system functions as a single computer.
Another form of the network system called "license network" as rental network system, is considered. In this system, an enterprise providing network base such as communication lines also provides the systems other than communication lines such as fee charging system, security system, copyright management system, certification system, etc. And a service enterprise utilizes these services and carries out network business as if it is his own system.


The described systems, methods, and data structures are directed at data transfer using Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) query strings. A block of data is partitioned into sections. Each section is encoded in a query string of a HTTP message. Each HTTP message is sent to a server by redirecting through a client. Multiple redirected messages are sent until the entire block of data is transferred to the server. The data block may be stored as a cookie on the client so that the data block does not have to persist on any server. Data transfer using HTTP query strings may be implemented to transfer a security token from a security token service (STS) server to an application server.

Web Single Sign-On (WebSSO) is a technology that allows a client to access multiple protected Web resources once a user is signed on at a trusted Security Token Service (STS) server. After a successful sign-on at the STS server, a security token containing the user's security properties is issued by the STS server. The STS server would then have to deliver the issued security token to the protected Web resource through the client.
One method for delivering the token to the Web resource is by downloading a script onto the client where the script would use a HTTP Post message to transfer the security token to the Web resource. However, this method may not work for clients that restrict the downloading or execution of scripts. The method also does not work for clients that cannot handle HTTP Post requests.
An effective technique for transferring security tokens in a HTTP communication environment without using Post messages continues to elude those skilled in the art.
Like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings.

Data transfer using hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) query strings


A method and apparatus for monitoring a process to determine when an abnormal process exit occurs comprising monitoring events related to the process and detecting a communication connection closing without receiving a notification of an exit event for the process. On detection of an abnormal exit of a process associated with the communication connection, the method and apparatus provide special failover processing including, for example, a TCP connection failover process.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to techniques for monitoring processes running on a computer system and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for monitoring at least one process during an abnormal exit of the process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Monitoring computer system processes include monitoring process activities, including starts and exits of a process among other process activities. Monitoring a process also helps detect process exit events and determine if the process exited gracefully or abnormally, so that an appropriate corrective action may be taken. Most conventional operating systems provide a mechanism for monitoring processes having ancestral relationships, for example, a parent process may monitor various child processes. Further, in POSIX compliant operating systems, system calls such as, "wait(2)", "waitpid(2)", "wait4(2)" and the like provide a mechanism to monitor child processes. However, such operating systems do not provide a mechanism for monitoring processes without ancestral relationships to a parent process.
Various efforts have been made to provide a mechanism to monitor processes without an ancestral relationship between the processes. One approach is to have a monitoring process continuously polling the processes to be monitored. The polling is done at regular intervals to check the status of the process. This approach has many limitations. For example, an instantaneous notification of a process exit is not possible, and further, repeated polling by the monitoring process wastes valuable central processing unit (CPU) resources. More importantly, this approach does not provide information on whether the process exited gracefully or abnormally.
Another approach is to re-architect the processes to be monitored to make them co-operative with the monitoring process. However, this may require modifying the existing processes and applications, and therefore such a solution is not considered a viable approach because the costs required to implement such modifications generally outweighs the benefits.
Further, in various computing environments, when a process exits abnormally and an abnormal exit of the process (a failed process) is detected, a special processing technique, such as a failover process, is invoked. In case of an abnormal exit of the process associated with a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection, the failover process may be needed for the TCP connection. In general, a TCP connection includes a local end and a remote end. The local end of the TCP connection is associated with the process and the remote end of the TCP connection is connected to a user computer. In cases of a TCP connection being failed over, the failed process associated with the connection is re-initiated or another process capable of handling the failed TCP connection is initiated. One of the major unmet challenges while failing over the TCP connection is that the remote end of the TCP connection should not be disturbed.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a method and apparatus for monitoring processes to detect abnormal process exit.

Method and apparatus for detecting process failure


A power source switching circuit, includes a first and second contact, a first, second, and third relay. The first contact includes a first normally open main contact and a first normally closed auxiliary contact. The second contact includes a second normally open main contact and a second normally closed auxiliary contact. The first, second, third normally open contacts of the first, second, third relays, connected in series, are connected between three phrase lines of the main power source and the second normally closed auxiliary contact. The second normally closed auxiliary contact is connected to a zero line of the main power source. The first, second, third normally closed contacts, connected in parallel, are connected between three phrase lines of the auxiliary power source and the first normally closed auxiliary contact. The first normally closed auxiliary contact is connected to a zero line of the auxiliary power source.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to a power source switching circuit and a power source switching system.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional power supply system includes a main power source and an auxiliary power source. The auxiliary power source is manually switched to supply power to loaders when the main power source is out of work, which is inconvenient and unsafe.
Thus, there is room for improvement within the art.

Power source switching circuit and power source switching system with power source switching circuit

ShenZhen Goldsun Network Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.


A flush lighting system for cleanroom environments encompassing a modular ceiling design includes a light well housing, filter packs above and adjacent to the light well housing, and a locking apparatus to seal the various light well housings and filter packs. By utilizing such a design, filtered air flows uniformly downward across the entire area of the ceiling without creating dead air channels underneath the light wells.

The present invention relates to improving the airflow in a cleanroom by providing a constant downward airflow across the entire area of a cleanroom ceiling. More specifically, the present invention relates to a flush lighting system for a cleanroom, wherein filtered air is provided across the entire area of a cleanroom ceiling. Also, the present invention provides a unique method of installing and locking into place the filter banks within the ceiling system.
Recent designs of cleanroom environments have begun to incorporate flush lighting systems in the cleanroom ceilings. Traditionally, protruding lighting systems were utilized in cleanroom designs. However, these protruding lighting systems created several problems in cleanroom operation. First, protruding systems prevented easy reconfiguration of cleanroom equipment and layout, thereby inhibiting flexibility of cleanroom configuration. Second, the protruding systems interfered with the downward flow of filtered air over the entire area of the cleanroom ceiling. Therefore flush lighting systems were developed to aid in both flexibility of cleanroom design and minimization of air turbulence.
Generally, cleanrooms utilize many features to improve the air quality of its environment. Most applicable to the present invention is the constant downward flow of filtered air through the cleanroom into a raised floor assembly. Typically, air is drawn into a large chamber or plenums above groups of filters in modular fabricated assemblies in the ceiling of a cleanroom. The air is then pushed through filters which remove particulate matter from the air. The air then flows downwards through the cleanroom and into the grated raised floor assembly. The air in the cleanroom is thereby recirculated approximately every 5-10 seconds.
Cleanrooms are vital components of many manufacturing processes. For example, a cleanroom environment is necessary for semiconductor wafer processing techniques to minimize wafer contamination. As the size of critical dimensions of semiconductor circuits decreases, the air purity requirements in cleanroom environments will need to become even more stringent.
One source of impurities in present cleanroom environments is dead air channels which occur underneath lighting fixtures and ceiling grid supports. These areas do not move air downward through the cleanroom, but rather create turbulence which can cause impurities to travel to other areas within the cleanroom where they may impede optimal processing conditions. Most cleanroom ceiling systems do not include a manner to prevent these dead air channels.
Therefore, a system must be developed to reduce or eliminate dead air channels in cleanroom environments. One alternative currently utilized places a screen with beveled edges underneath the ceiling filters. The beveled edges of the screen aid in blowing filtered air across the space underneath light wells. Another alternative currently utilized incorporates holes in the sides of the walls which comprise the light well, thereby allowing some air to flow through the light well. Both of these current systems permit some airflow underneath light wells. However, these alternatives do not provide a dedicated source of filtered air to the light wells, thereby permitting continuous downward, lamar airflow across the entire area of a cleanroom ceiling. It would therefore be desirable to develop a system which enables filtered air to flow downward through the light well itself.
Another problem in the prior art relates to the methods utilized in adjoining modular members of a ceiling system. Most systems require that adjacent modular members first be placed within a sealing relation to each other, for example, by lifting an adjacent member to a position next to its complementary member. Then, most systems require the user to utilize some type of mechanical adapter, such as a clamp, to lock the modules into position. Alternately, some system adhesively attach filters within plenum assemblies. However, given the potential size of modular units, these methods are cumbersome. It would therefore be desirable to develop a system which, upon lifting an adjacent member into position, it becomes automatically locked into place without the need for a second step.


A high quality non-interlaced television signal is generated without using a large size circuit. Interlaced television signals are obtained from four image pickup devices. A luminance or green signal in the interlaced television signals consists of two interlaced channels. These two channel luminance or green signals are simply combined to produce the non-interlaced signal without modifying the driving frequency of the image pickup devices.

The present invention relates to a high resolution television camera that can be applied to a single combination unit of a VTR and a television camera.
One of conventional television cameras is a three-plane type having CCDs as image pickup devices. This television camera generates R(red), G(green) and B(blue) primary color interlaced signals from the CCDs.
In the case of an NTSC television signal, each odd field consists of 262.5 interlaced signals (line signals) as shown in FIG. 10A. Moreover, each even field consists of 262.5 interlaced signals that are shifted by 1/2 pixel vertically as shown in FIG. 10B.
When an image is reproduced by a non-interlaced signal shown in FIG. 11A, the vertical image resolution is increased and image quality is improved very much. Recently, the non-interlaced system is desired.
There are two ways to generate the non-interlaced signal. The first way is based on the image pickup system of the television camera. The second way is based on a signal Processing system. The image pickup system is constructed to produce 525 line signals per field. The signal processing system interpolates between adjacent line signals.
In the case of the image pickup system for producing 525 line signals per field, driving frequencies for horizontal and vertical scanning (horizontal and vertical transfer frequencies) are double the interlaced scanning frequencies. Thus, a circuit becomes large and is expensive.
A compact unit having light weight and low power consumption is proper for a single combination unit consisting of a VTR (video tape recorder) and a television camera used for news gathering. However, it is difficult to apply the above discussed means to the single combination unit of the VTR and television camera.
The above discussed interpolation processing means should produce the non-interlaced signal by using the adjacent line signals, but that the vertical resolution may not reach an expected value. Thus, this interpolation processing means has an image quality less than the above discussed optical system and is not appropriate for the single combination unit of the VTR and the television camera for news gathering.
What is desired is a television camera that is free from the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. This desired television camera does not require a large size circuit. The desired television camera can accomplish the high resolution or non-interlaced system by using a conventional television camera construction.

Color television camera with details of luminance signal formation


A gas turbine engine includes a joint and a flexible strip wrapped circumferentially around the joint. The flexible strip includes a lock operable to fasten the flexible strip about the joint. A thermochromatic layer is attached to a surface of the flexible strip and is operable to change color responsive to a change in temperature.

Experimental and developmental engines utilize internal and external instrumentation and sensors to calculate engine performance. One variable that can add uncertainty to these calculations is engine leakage, which typically occurs at flanges, and other case/duct joints (bosses, etc.). A first step in estimating the flow being lost due to leakage is to detect that the presence and location of the leakage. As an example, infrared cameras are used to thermally observe the engine during testing to evaluate leakage. However, such cameras are limited in the locations at which they can detect leakages.

Thermochromatic test device for gas turbine engine


An absorbent article includes a conduit means which is located on a body facing surface along a longitudinal centerline of said absorbent article for collecting and transporting fecal material. The conduit means is configured to maintain at least partial contact with a gluteal fold region between a wearer's buttocks when in use. The conduit means includes an inner surface which defines an internal void volume for containing the fecal material and at least one opening through the inner surface to allow the fecal material to pass into the internal void volume. The conduit means also defines a relatively high resistance to compression and level of flexibility for improved performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorbent article for absorbing body fluids and exudates, such as urine and fecal material. More particularly, the present invention relates to absorbent garments, such as disposable diapers and adult incontinence garments, which are configured to collect and contain fecal material and avoid leakage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, employ absorbent materials located between a liquid pervious topsheet and a liquid impermeable backsheet to absorb body exudates. Such conventional absorbent articles have also typically included elasticized waistbands and leg cuffs to help reduce the leakage of body exudates.
However, many of such conventional absorbent articles have not been completely satisfactory. For example, many conventional absorbent articles have not completely contained the body exudates within the article during use thereby undesirably resulting in leakage which has soiled the clothes of the wearer. This leakage problem has been particularly evident in the crotch area of such absorbent articles when runny or watery fecal material has been excreted by the wearer during use. Typically, the crotch area of such articles is relatively narrow to provide optimum fit between the legs of the wearer. The narrow crotch and corresponding low amount of absorbent material in the crotch area has adversely affected the ability of the article to absorb and contain all of the body exudates which are typically discharged in this area thereby resulting in leaks. Such problems are magnified when the wearer is particularly active and continually exerts pressure on the crotch area of the article. The leakage problem has also occurred because the excreted fecal material has had an affinity for the skin. As a result, such fecal material has traveled along the skin of the wearer and has not been sufficiently contained and controlled within the absorbent articles.
Some conventional absorbent articles have included elasticized containment or barrier flaps at the leg sections of the article to reduce such leaks. However, such containment flaps have not completely eliminated all leakage from the article. For example, exudates such as runny fecal material have remained on and been transferred along the skin of the wearer until they escape through small openings between the containment flaps and the body of the wearer. Such openings between the body of the wearer and the containment flaps have been caused by improper fit of the article about the wearer and the movements of the wearer during use.
As a result, although such containment flaps have improved the performance of such articles, there remains a need to further reduce the number of leaks and, in particular, the number of leaks of fecal material from such absorbent articles.

Absorbent article having a collection conduit


A workpiece-position detector used in combination with a workpiece having a face and with a support having a surface adapted to engage the workpiece face has an element at the surface formed with a passage having a mouth open generally at the surface and blockable by the face of the workpiece, a flexible hose connected to the passage of the element, and a feed line connected to the hose. A pump connected to the feed line supplies a gas under pressure to the hose so that the gas exits from the passage mouth when same is not blocked. A restriction is provided in the feed line and a pressure sensor in the feed line downstream of the restriction produces an output corresponding to pressure in the conduit so that when the mouth is blocked the pressure at the sensor is relatively high and when not blocked it is relatively low. A controller connected to the pressure sensor takes action when the pressure sensor detects the relatively low pressure.

In an automated workpiece-machining apparatus it is important that the controller for the machine be able to verify whether or not the workpiece is in the proper position for machining. If the workpiece is not in place at all or out of position somewhat, substantial damage could occur when a machining operation is attempted.
Typically the workpiece is moved horizontally into position against a vertical support, to which it is secured by some form of clamp. In this arrangement the workpiece is forcibly pressed horizontally against the position detector.
When, however, the workpiece is on a horizontal support surface, the situation is somewhat more difficult to monitor, as normally only the workpiece weight is effective downward, the clamping force frequently remaining horizontal. To do this a thin metal foil is used as a position detector to check any gap between the workpiece and the support. Such a position detector is hard to use.

Position detector for workpiece-machining apparatus


A dehydrating container made of a thermoplastic polymer suitable for packaging products sensitive to ambient humidity, said containing comprising: a visual humidity state indicator, a container body forming a casing, closed at one of its ends by a base and open at another end thereof, a reclosable closure capable of cooperatively fitting on the open end of said casing, optionally, a connector placed between the closure and the casing, and a humidity absorber inside the containing for absorbing humidity from the atmosphere inside the container. The absorber comprises a dehydrating agent and the reclosable closure comprises a visual humidity state indicator that changes color according to the existing humidity level and/or to a maximum humidity level. The visual indicator is advantageously located on an internal surface of the closure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to impervious dehydrating containers that include reclosable caps.
2. Description of Related Art
Humidity-sensitive products that should be packaged in a controlled-atmosphere environmental medium include, in particular, products that desirably need to be protected so that their efficacy does not change due to a reaction with the humidity present in the ambient gaseous atmosphere and/or so that their physical integrity is preserved over time. In addition, it is often desirable to protect such products in order to avoid a change in their mechanical cohesion or their chemical behavior.
Packaging developed for such products usually comprises dehydrating materials such as, for example, silica gel and/or molecular sieves, which have the ability to act as a dehydrator of ambient gases inside the casing. Such casings are typically designed to be as impervious as possible.
A practice described in WO 03015060 involves verifying the humidity content inside a package by means of an indicator in direct contact with the ambient atmosphere of the package. The assembly includes an indicator tag formed by a soluble ink that is capable of migrating based on changes in the humidity content on a porous medium. The indicator tag can be seen through an opening present in the package, but is protected from the external atmosphere by a transparent protective layer impermeable to steam. An observer can thus visually see the migration of the ink and therefore determine if the packaged product has deteriorated. Such a design is complex because it requires the juxtaposition of a plurality of layers of which some, transparent and impermeable. This is difficult to implement in the case of containers produced at high speed by injection molding techniques from so-called convenience thermoplastic materials, which are often used to reduce the costs. In addition, as some products are sensitive to light, the inclusion of a viewing window can be unsuitable in some cases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,284 describes a similar practice concerning the verification of the humidity content of a product packaged in a steam-proof impermeable transparent external casing, comprising, on the internal surface an indicator in the form of an impression produced with an ink having the ability to change color depending on the ambient humidity. It is necessary to remember that any casing, for example an overwrapping such as a film coated with strong barrier materials, allows humidity to pass over the long term, in particular through seams. The overwrapping overlapping the first primary packaging in contact with the product to be protected is permanently broken at the time of the first opening. Therefore, this approach is not suitable for the aforementioned need to view a humidity state of an enclosed gaseous medium, during recurrent uses, but is to be considered to be an indicator of the state at the first opening only.
Another practice described in document WO 0109601 consists of knowing the hygrometric state of a dehydrating material acting as a humidity sensor inside a package. A silica gel or an amorphous silica acting as the dehydrating material is impregnated with a copper salt-based ionic composition having the ability to change color according to the humidity state around the ionic composition.
Furthermore, this same document describes a paper or non-woven tag that constitutes a medium impregnated or coated with an ionic solution containing a copper salt capable of changing color according to the ambient humidity content. Ionic solutions can have different concentrations in order to control the changes in hue. Such materials, paper and woven or non-woven textiles generally make it possible to package granular dehydrating materials. This approach by impregnation of a support is suitable for observing the change in the dehydrating agent thus packaged.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,996 describes a package for integrated circuits containing a humidity indicator of which the color changes according to the hygrometric change, visible from the outside by a window incorporated in the package. The humidity indicator is positioned inside the package to the right of this window. The container is divided into three sections and one of these sections contains a compartment housing the humidity indicator. The humidity indicator is preferably a card. The card is simply placed in the compartment, thus making it visible from the outside. The composition of the packaging material of the compartment containing the humidity indicator card is a transparent plastic that enables the humidity indicator card to be viewed from the outside of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,218 also describes a container for humidity-sensitive electronic equipment, such as, for example, an integrated circuit, including a tray, in which the integrated circuit is located, a cover that is attached to the tray, said cover being made of at least one dehydrating thermoplastic composition consisting of a polymer material, a dehydrating material and, in addition, an electrostatic charge dissipating material. The tray and cover constitute a primary package. This cover comprises an opening closed by an additional transparent part, to which the humidity indicator is attached on the internal side.
The primary package equipped with its indicator is placed in a secondary, flexible, transparent, barrier package, protecting the primary package, and in particular the dehydrating cover of which the main function is to dehydrate both the contents of the primary package as well as the gaseous volume located between the primary package and the secondary protective overwrapping. Therefore, the primary container is not impervious to humidity, and its dehydrating cover is there to keep the humidity level of said container as low as possible.
Moreover, such packages are difficult to implement, and while they may be suitable for integrated circuit-type products, with additional functionalities such as electrostatic discharge, they are not suitable for convenience products packaged in disposable packages and therefore that must be produced in large numbers and at the lowest costs.

Dehydrating container comprising a humidity state indicator


An apparatus for simultaneously punching multiple holes in a ceramic substrate comprises a plurality of vertically movable and individually solenoid-operable punch drives disposed on a frame and selectively movable up and down relative to the frame. A horizontal arm extends from each of the punch drives and a punch extends from each of the extending arms and is movable vertically by the extending arms. Each of the punches is operable individually and operable simultaneously with selected others of the punches to punch one or more holes in a substrate at the same time. There may be provided at least four of the punches wherein the punches are disposed horizontally adjacent to one another in at least a 2.times.1 or a 2.times.2 grid with a spacing between adjacent punches of less than 8 mm. There may also be provided a control system for selectively operating the punch drives, with the control system adaptable to minimize the number of simultaneous strokes of the punches needed to punch a required number of holes in a substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for simultaneously punching multiple holes in a ceramic substrate used to produce multi-layer ceramic (MLC) substrates for integrated circuit chips.
2. Description of Related Art
The trend in ceramic electronic packaging of multilayer ceramic substrates is toward "flip chip" technology, also known as controlled collapse chip contact/connection C-4, with extremely high chip/substrate interconnect point counts. As a result, packages need to have high via counts concentrated in the relatively small area where the chip attaches to the substrate.
When punching via holes in green ceramic sheets, there has typically been utilized a punch apparatus in which a magnetically operated solenoid moves a punch rod, the lower end of which is coaxially aligned with a punch. The solenoid causes the pushrod to move up and down in individual strokes to cause the punch to punch a via hole in the ceramic greensheet aligned with a die plate under the substrate. An annular magnet coaxially aligned with the punch maintains the punch in the up position between strokes. It has been known to utilize a plurality of such coaxially aligned solenoid/punch mechanism to punch via holes in MLC substrates. For example, a die set may contain a plurality of punches arranged in a manner that match, as closely as possible, the pattern of via holes required on the product. A technique to minimize punch stroke counts required of such a die setup is described in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 5 (October, 1986). While this program with the aforementioned die set operated well in previous MLC via pattern requirements, a problem exists in optimizing die set design to match many new products which contain very dense C-4 cages. The current system has not been able to accommodate die mandates with a minimum punch-to-punch spacing of less than 8 mm. With the dense via requirements of current C-4 cages, for example, containing 800 vias with punch spacing less than 8 mm, there will be required 800 strokes to punch the C-4 cage, one punch at a time.
Bearing in mind the problem and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a punch mechanism which may be used to simultaneously punch via holes in a ceramic substrate with punch-to-punch spacing of less than 8 mm.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a punch mechanism which permits punches to be placed very close together, with several punches within a chip attach area, and still allow each punch to be individually selectable for punching a via hole.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved punch mechanism with the above advantages and which permits the punches to be placed in a grid of at least two-by two punches with spacing comparable to that of the via holes for C-4 chip technology.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a punch mechanism which may be programmable to individually and simultaneously operate one or more of a multiple punch die setup to increase throughput where via holes are very closely spaced.
It is yet another object of the present object to provide a multiple punch mechanism arranged in a grid which permits several punches to be extended at every punch stroke.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a programmable punch mechanism in which the punches are selectively and simultaneously operable by solenoids.

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a stroller including a frame member, a swivel mount adapted to receive the frame member, a swivel latch adapted to be received in the swivel mount, a suspension housing including a swivel latch receiving portion, the suspension housing adapted to be attached to the swivel mount, a swivel pin adapted to be received in the frame member, the swivel mount, and the suspension housing, and at least one wheel pivotally attached to the frame member. Also disclosed is a swivel wheel mount assembly, adapted to be mounted to a structure, including a swivel mount adapted to receive a portion of the structure, a swivel latch adapted to be received in the swivel mount, a suspension housing including a swivel latch receiving portion, the suspension housing adapted to be attached to the swivel mount, and a swivel pin adapted to be received in the portion of the structure, the swivel mount, and the suspension housing, wherein the swivel mount assembly is adapted to pivotally attach at least one wheel to the portion of the structure.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a child's stroller (a bassinet, a baby buggy or similar device used to support or transport a person) with wheels which swivel.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional transporters with swivel wheels suffer from several disadvantages. In the past, wheels were rigidly fixed to the transporters on which they were used. This makes the transporter extremely bulky and very expensive to ship.
Later, wheels became removable. Although this technique reduced bulk, conventional removable swivel wheel attachment mechanisms suffer from several disadvantages. These separately shipped items proved difficult for consumers to attach to the transporter. Attachment required the use of several different tools (screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.), as well as several different types of fasteners (screws, bolts, nuts, etc.). Also, because the consumer was responsible for fastening the swivel wheel to the frame of the transporter, the rigidity of this connection varied from transporter to transporter. Finally, conventional removable swivel wheel attachment mechanisms caused the swivel wheel to be attached, via a fastener, to a wheel mount fastened off of the end of a frame member on the transporter. Thus, these conventional removable swivel wheel attachment mechanisms relied on the rigidity of the wheel mount for the stable support of the swivel wheels. Therefore, the natural rigidity of the frame member on the transporter is not relied upon for the stable support the swivel wheels.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved transporter (a child's stroller, a bassinet, a baby buggy, or similar device used to support or transport a person) with a swivel wheel mount which is both rigid and easy for the consumer to assemble/replace.


A driver circuit includes an operational amplifier OPC1 which drives a data line by a rail-to-rail operation or a non-rail-to-rail operation based on a grayscale voltage corresponding to one of first to Pth (P is an integer of four or more) grayscale values, and an operational amplifier control section OPCC1 which causes the operational amplifier OPC1 to perform the rail-to-rail operation or the non-rail-to-rail operation based on grayscale data. When the sth (1≦s≦P, s is an integer) grayscale value corresponding to the grayscale data is in a range of the qth (1<q<P, q is an integer) to rth (q<r<P, r is an integer) grayscale values, the operational amplifier OPC1 drives the data line by the non-rail-to-rail operation based on the grayscale voltage corresponding to the sth grayscale value, and, when the sth grayscale value is not in the range of the qth to rth grayscale values, the operational amplifier OPC1 drives the data line by the rail-to-rail operation based on the grayscale voltage corresponding to the sth grayscale value.

The present invention relates to a driver circuit, an electro-optical device, and an electronic instrument.
As a liquid crystal panel (electro-optical device) used for an electronic instrument such as a portable telephone, a simple matrix type liquid crystal panel and an active matrix type liquid crystal panel using a switching device such as a thin film transistor (hereinafter abbreviated as "TFT") are known.
The simple matrix type liquid crystal panel allows power consumption to be easily reduced in comparison with the active matrix type liquid crystal panel. However, the simple matrix type liquid crystal panel has disadvantages in that it is difficult to increase the number of colors and to display a video image. The active matrix type liquid crystal panel is suitable for increasing the number of colors and displaying a video image. However, the active matrix type liquid crystal panel has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to reduce power consumption.
In recent years, a video image display of an increased number of colors has been increasingly demanded for a portable electronic instrument such as a portable telephone in order to provide a high-quality image. Therefore, the active matrix type liquid crystal panel has been increasingly used instead of the simple matrix type liquid crystal panel.
In the active matrix type liquid crystal panel, it is desirable to provide an operational amplifier functioning as an output buffer in a data line driver circuit which drives data lines of the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 21 shows a configuration of a known operational amplifier.
This operational amplifier is disclosed in JP-A-2003-157054. In this operational amplifier, an n-type driver transistor M10 is controlled by a p-type differential input circuit including p-type transistors M7 and M8, n-type transistors M5 and M6, and a current source CSb. A p-type driver transistor M9 is controlled by an n-type differential input circuit including p-type transistors M1 and M2, n-type transistors M3 and M4, and a current source CSa.
Consider the case where the voltage of an input signal Vin is higher than the voltage of an output signal Vout for the n-type differential input circuit. In this case, since the impedance of the n-type transistor M4 becomes higher than the impedance of the n-type transistor M3, the gate voltage of the p-type transistors M2 and M1 increases, whereby the impedance of the p-type transistor M1 increases. Therefore, the gate voltage of the p-type driver transistor M9 decreases, whereby the p-type driver transistor M9 approaches the ON state.
In the p-type differential input circuit, when the voltage of the input signal Vin is higher than the voltage of the output signal Vout, since the impedance of the p-type transistor M8 becomes smaller than the impedance of the p-type transistor M7, the gate voltage of the n-type transistors M5 and M6 increases, whereby the impedance of the n-type transistor M5 decreases. Therefore, the gate voltage of the n-type driver transistor M10 decreases, whereby the n-type driver transistor M10 approaches the OFF state.
As described above, when the voltage of the input signal Vin is higher than the voltage of the output signal Vout, the p-type driver transistor M9 and the n-type driver transistor M10 operate in such a manner that the voltage of the output signal Vout increases. An operation reverse of the above-described operation is performed when the voltage of the input signal Vin is lower than the voltage of the output signal Vout. As a result of the above-described operation, the operational amplifier transitions to an equilibrium in which the voltage of the input signal Vin is approximately equal to the voltage of the output signal Vout.
However, the input signal Vin is supplied to the p-type transistor M7 as the gate voltage in the p-type differential input circuit, and the input signal Vin is supplied to the n-type transistor M3 as the gate voltage in the n-type differential input circuit. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 22, an input dead zone in which the voltage of the input signal Vin and the voltage of the output signal Vout cannot be made equal occurs in a range R1 in which the input signal Vin is set at a high-potential-side power supply voltage VDD to "VDD−|Vthp|" (Vthp is the threshold voltage of the p-type transistor M7) and in a range R2 in which the input signal Vin is set at a low-potential-side power supply voltage VSS to "VSS+Vthn" (Vthn is the threshold voltage of the n-type transistor M3). This is because the n-type differential input circuit does not operate in the range R2 between the low-potential-side power supply voltage VSS and "VSS+Vthn" since the n-type transistor M3 remains in the OFF state, and the p-type differential input circuit does not operate in the range R1 between the high-potential-side power supply voltage VDD and "VDD−|Vthp|" since the p-type transistor M7 remains in the OFF state.
For example, consider the case of driving a liquid crystal panel at 64 grayscales using a grayscale voltage having a maximum amplitude of 5 V (VinR). In this case, if the amplitude of 5 V is reduced in order to generate a grayscale voltage corresponding to each grayscale, the grayscale representation is impaired. Therefore, an offset of about 1.9 V is provided taking into consideration the variations of the threshold voltage Vthp of the p-type transistor and the threshold voltage Vthn of the n-type transistor to generate a grayscale voltage having a maximum amplitude of about 6.9 V (VDDR). As a result, when the power supply system of the data line driver circuit is 5 V, it is necessary to provide a voltage booster circuit in order to generate a grayscale voltage having an amplitude of about 6.9 V. When using a charge-pump circuit as the voltage booster circuit, transistors and capacitors for increasing the voltage are additionally required, and a layout taking a high voltage into consideration becomes necessary. Therefore, the chip area, total mounting cost, and power consumption are increased. In particular, since a 5-volt process for a logic power supply is insufficient, it is necessary to use a high-voltage transistor of 7 V or more, whereby the manufacturing cost is increased.
In the operational amplifier having a configuration shown in FIG. 21, the p-type driver transistor M9 and the n-type driver transistor M10 cannot be controlled when the input signal Vin in the input dead zone is input, whereby a shoot-through current cannot be prevented. This causes a decrease in circuit stability and an increase in power consumption.
Moreover, the operational amplifier constantly consumes an operating current. Therefore, even if a circuit configuration which prevents the above-described input dead zone is employed, a reduction in power consumption may not be achieved due to an increase in the number of current paths and the like.

Driver circuit, electro-optical device, and electronic instrument


A method and apparatus for automated bill of materials refactoring includes a computing system implemented process for automated bill of materials refactoring whereby historical bill of materials, inventory and sales data is scanned/searched to identify potential refactored sub-assemblies.

Many businesses manufacture, assemble and provide final products that are themselves made up of sub-assemblies and/or individual basic parts. In addition, in many instances, multiple final products provided by a business include common basic parts and/or sub-assemblies. Currently, the primary mechanism for organizing and tracking basic parts and sub-assemblies of a finished product is a bill of materials, or bill of material, (BOM).
A bill of materials is an essential part of the design, manufacture, inventory, and sale of any final product or high level product assembly that consists of more than one basic part. A bill of materials is used to describe a product in terms of its assemblies, sub-assemblies, and basic parts. At its most fundamental, and simplistic, level a bill of materials consists of a list of all the basic parts required to create or provide a given final product and/or high level product assembly. However, bills of materials are most useful for identifying sub-assemblies, and providing hierarchical sub-assembly listings in the form of multiple hierarchical bills of materials, with the master, or highest level, bill of materials describing a list of the largest, or most complicated components, and sub-assemblies and then the various sub-assemblies and/or basic parts of these highest order components and sub-assemblies being described as a further list of components and sub-assemblies in lower level bills of materials, and so on, all the way down to single individual basic parts being listed in a lowest level of bill of materials. Using a bill of materials, multi-part sub-assemblies can be identified at a desired hierarchical level without the need to necessarily list, or enter, all the constituent sub-assemblies and/or basic parts making up the multi-part sub-assembly, thereby saving time and energy, increasing overall efficiency, and minimizing the opportunities to introduce error.
In addition, using a bill of materials, the actual need for a larger number of particular sub-assemblies, for multiple finished products, is identified than might be identified without the bill of materials. As a result, based on the information gained by using the bill of materials, larger batches of manufacturing sub-assemblies are produced and starting and stopping of the manufacturing processes occurs less frequently. Less frequent starting and stopping of the manufacturing processes typically means more efficiency and less overhead cost. Therefore, using a bill of materials, manufacturing costs can often be reduced and profits increased and/or sale prices of the finished product reduced. In addition, the true need for sub-assemblies identified using a bill of materials can also be out-sourced to lower cost manufacturers.
In addition, using a bill of materials, shared sub-assemblies are identified and this can reduce the amount of inventory needed and/or the amount of warehouse space needed to carry sufficient inventory to meet demand fluctuations. As a result, inventory can be run more efficiently and inventory costs can be reduced using a bill of materials.
In addition, using a bill of materials, the time to manufacture a finished product, from order to delivery, can be reduced by having the correct sub-assemblies and the correct number of sub-assemblies, as identified using a bill of materials, on hand and assembled to reduce final finished goods assembly time.
In addition, once a well defined and complete bill of materials is created for one level of sub-assemblies, creating higher level, or new, bills of materials, such as a master bill of materials, is greatly simplified.
As an example, for a computing system, such as a desktop PC, the highest level bill of materials might list the shipping box, manual, packaging, packaging labels and the actual PC. Then the PC itself referenced in this highest level bill of materials might contain its own list of sub-assemblies like power supply, motherboard, hard drive, case, etc. This increasing level of detail then continues for all sub-assemblies until it reaches its constituent parts, such as resistors or processors, or modules that are out of the scope of the bill of materials, such as parts making up a fan that is bought as a module from another manufacturer.
As discussed above, bills of materials are extremely important, since without a working knowledge of how many basic parts a product needs, there is no way of knowing how many units of that part a business needs to buy and keep in inventory and/or warehouse. As also discussed above, a bill of materials is most useful when sub-assemblies are recognized and the bill of materials is efficiently organized or "refactored" using the recognized sub-assemblies. However, as many of the products sold and used in the world today have become larger and larger collections of basic parts and sub-assemblies, and as many individual businesses continue to produce and offer a greater selection of products, it has become harder and harder for businesses to recognize common sub-assemblies and to refactor the bills of materials to include these sub-assemblies.
For instance, continuing with the PC example from above, a desktop system, a notebook system, and a server system assembled and/or manufactured by the computing system manufacturer business can easily share several common sub-assemblies such as memory sub-assemblies, hard drive sub-assemblies, power supply sub-assemblies, motherboard sub-assemblies, graphics board sub-assemblies, software packages/sub-assemblies, etc. In addition, each of these sub-assemblies can, and often does, include further basic parts and/or sub-assemblies such as memory chips/chip modules, microprocessors/modules, discrete components such as capacitors, resistors, inductors, etc.
As a further specific example, assume the desktop system, the notebook system and the server system all use the same motherboard, and that the common motherboard includes a given microprocessor, a power supply module, and various discrete components. It is quite possible that a bill of materials clerk might enter each the basic parts into a computing system implemented inventory and sales tracking system as part of a rather inefficient bill of materials listing:
Desktop PC:                Microprocessor (1);        Power Supply Module (1);        Capacitors, 10 microfarad (5);        Capacitors, 5 microfarad (6);        Resistors 10 ohm (6);        Resistors 3 ohm (20); etc.
Then the same bill of materials clerk might enter a similar list for a notebook system as follows:
Notebook System:                Microprocessor (1);        Power Supply Module (1);        Capacitors, 10 microfarad (5);        Capacitors, 5 microfarad (6);        Resistors 10 ohm (6);        Resistors 3 ohm (20); etc.
Then the same bill of materials clerk might enter a similar list for a server system as follows:
Server System:                Microprocessor (1);        Power Supply Module (1);        Capacitors, 10 microfarad (5);        Capacitors, 5 microfarad (6);        Resistors 10 ohm (6);        Resistors 3 ohm (20); etc.
This type of redundant entry often occurs day in and day out without anyone ever recognizing that the basic parts: Microprocessor (1); Power Supply Module (1); Capacitors, 10 microfarad (5); Capacitors, 5 microfarad (6); Resistors, 10 ohm (6); and Resistors, 3 ohm (20), could all be refactored and entered under the single sub-assembly "motherboard".
Of course, the example above is a highly simplified illustrative example. Many products and/or sub-assemblies, including real motherboards and computing systems, are far more complicated and therefore recognizing a given sub-assembly and refactoring an actual bill of materials is far more difficult. Consequently, considerable time and energy is currently often expended repeatedly entering basic parts or sub-assemblies that could be refactored into larger groupings, and numerous opportunities for errors are introduced.

Method and apparatus for automated bill of materials refactoring


Aqueous, viscoelastic surfactant solutions for the cleaning of hair and skin which contain:. (A) from 4 to 25% by weight of an anionic surfactant; PA1 (B) from 0 to 10% by weight of a betainic surfactant; PA1 (C) from 0 to 20% by weight of a nonionic surfactant; PA1 (D) from 0 to 6% by weight of an electrolyte; PA1 (E) from 0 to 5% by weight of a water-soluble polymer; and PA1 (F) from 0 to 5% by weight of a further constituent; in which the sum of the amounts of (A), (B), and (C) is at least 10% by weight and the sum of the amounts of (C), (D), and (E) is between 2 and 20% by weight, in each case based on the total weight of the aqueous solution, and having a shear modulus, G.sub.0, between 50 and 500 Pa at temperatures between 20 and 40.degree. C. and a pH of from 4 to 8, and in which the conditions for the identity of the storage modulus, G', and the loss modulus, G", are in the angular frequency range between 0.1 and 60 rad.multidot.s.sup.-1, exhibit optimum flow behavior for the intended applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aqueous hair and skin cleaning compositions like shampoos, shower gels, bath gels or generally aqueous cosmetic cleaning liquids having high foaming ability, for which an increased viscosity is necessary or desired for application reasons.
2. Discussion of the Background
Aqueous hair and skin cleaning compositions have in the past been predominantly based on anionic surfactants, such as, in particular, fatty alcohol sulfates or fatty alcohol ether sulfates, if desired, in combination with fatty acid amides, i.e. surfactant combinations, which can be readily thickened by means of electrolytes. As alternatives, carbobetaines and sulfosuccinates have recently been included for reasons of higher skin compatibility. Suitable thickeners for these systems are likewise fatty alcohol ethoxylates having a relatively low degree of ethoxylation (see: A. Behler et al., SOFW, vol. 116, p. 60 (1990)) or alkyl polyglycosides (see: EP 0 070 074 and EP 0 384 983). Furthermore, in some cases water-soluble polymers are added as thickeners to the predominantly anionic surfactants.
In all of these formulations, only data on viscosity have entered into the discussion of the rheology in the literature; values and limitations for any elasticity present have, in contrast, not been mentioned.
Viscoelastic surfactant solutions (see: H. Hoffmann and H. Rehage, in Surfactant Solutions, Surfactant Science Series, vol. 22, R. Zana, Ed., New York, 1987, p. 209 ff.), i.e., systems which have both prominent viscous and elastic properties, which when supplied with mechanical energy therefore respond both with conversion into heat and storage of mechanical energy, have been studied primarily in the case of quaternary ammonium compounds in the presence of strongly binding counterions. The example of cetylpyridinium salicylate is typical. However, other cationic surfactants too, such as hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide in the presence of extremely high salt concentrations, show viscoelastic behavior (see: A. Khatory et al, Langmuir, vol. 9, p. 1456 (1993)). Such properties of surfactants are used in special cleaners which are to be transported as undiluted by static water as possible to their site of action, such as, for example, low-surfactant, high-alkali and high-electrolyte pipe cleaners (see: EP 0 317 066). In other cases, the viscoelastic behaviour of cleaning solutions is enhanced by adding strongly crosslinked polymers which themselves are significantly elastic (see: EP 0 398 021 and EP 0 584 877). In the case of simple surfactant solutions, such as, in particular, the anionic surfactants which are so important in applications, viscoelastic behaviour has not hitherto been described. For the purposes of the present invention, surfactant solutions are liquids which can also contain dispersed materials.
The viscoelastic effects in the flow behaviour of aqueous personal care solutions have considerable importance for their use. Two processes in particular, namely taking the product from the container and its distribution on the skin or the hair, are relevant here. While the first process usually occurs at relatively low shear rates of up to about 10 s.sup.-1, the distribution on the skin or the hair occurs under the action of substantially higher forces, usually at shear rates above 100 s.sup.-1. The discussion which hitherto rested exclusively on viscosity data therefore promoted shear-thinning flow behaviour, by means of which slow flow from the container, simple metering combined with the effect of high active ingredient concentration, and also simple distribution on the skin are ensured. However, since shear-thinning surfactant systems frequently show viscoelastic effects and the elastic contributions usually increase strongly with rising forces, the discussion hitherto is insufficient and has to be corrected to take viscoelasticity into account. Accordingly, the elastic contributions must not become too high, since otherwise satisfactory distribution on the skin or the hair is made more difficult. In addition, high elasticity leads, during outflow of the liquid, to a relatively unappealing oscillation of the shapelessly thick liquid thread in the neck of the container; the liquid flows back if the inclination of the container is reduced only slightly. On the other hand, systems which are exclusively viscous tend to form very long rejuvenating threads, which in turn could form cobwebs, a behavior which is likewise very unsatisfactory aesthetically. Optimum flow behaviour of the liquid can therefore only be expected when viscosity and elasticity of the liquid are matched to one another.
Thus, there remains a need for aqueous viscoelastic surfactant solutions for hair and skin cleaning which exhibit good flow behavior and good distribution on the skin and hair.

Aqueous viscoelastic surfactant solutions for hair and skin cleaning


A method of detecting tissue changes includes the following steps: a) taking a tissue structure scan for at least one part of a patient""s body and all of the tissue structure scan data is stored; b) after a predetermined period of time, taking another tissue structure scan for at least that part of the patient""s body at least once, and again storing the data; c) computer-assisted positional assignment and comparison of two or more sequential tissue structure scans; and d) computer-assisted detection and output of changes in the tissue of the patient, resulting from the different data for each body portion assigned.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of detecting tissue changes.
Early recognition of tissue changes is vital in the medical field, especially in combating cancer since if tissue changes are ascertained relatively early on, in most cases, it is possible to take measures which lead to the complete recovery of the patient.
2. Description of Related Art
Known methods of early recognition are obtaining samples of body fluids for analysis, the scanning of tomographs, or in apparatus medicine also the observation, of tomographs as well as ultrasound images of individual body parts.
The disadvantage of all of these methods is that they can only furnish xe2x80x9cmoment imagesxe2x80x9d. Although, the physician is able to recognize the momentary condition of the tissue, he has no possibility of determining the growth of such a tissue change. Even for skilled physicians it is often difficult to pin-point diseased tissue changes from such a single image.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of detecting tissue changes which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages. In particular, it is intended that changes in the shape and size of such tissue changes may be easily detected. The surgeon should be provided with technical means by means of which he can easily analyze the progress or formation of tissue changes.
For this purpose, the invention makes available a method of detecting tissue changes comprising the following steps:
a) taking a tissue structure scan for at least one part of a patient""s body and storing all tissue structure scan data;
b) after a predetermined period of time, taking another tissue structure scan for the part or all of the patient""s body at least once, and again storing the data;
c) computer-assisted positional assignment and comparison of the data of two or more sequential tissue structure scans;
d) computer-assisted detection and output of changes in the tissue of the patient, resulting from the different data of each body portion assigned.
In other words, either a body part or all of the patient""s body is scanned for signs of a tissue change in defined periods of time over a lengthy time period. Once the computer has assigned and compared the matching body parts, any tissue changes can be ascertained and be output so that they are easily recognizable. Thus, it is possible to locate early a diseased site, forming or growing in the body, and to observe its development.

Continuous detection and analysis of tissue changes


An apparatus that allows for the testing of multiple wraps of cable in environments of varying temperature, pressure, and in different fluids in a single apparatus, and can be tested against the varying loads the cable may encounter is disclosed. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the multiple wraps of cable are simulated by layering electrically-insulated portions of the cable on top of one another inside an environmentally controlled container. This container has two parts: a thermally-insulated container and a pressure container.

Cables are used for the transporting energy and information. Often, these cables are very long and even stretch across oceans. Different environments pose different challenges to the cables. When a cable has to cover a long distance, it will face different environments.
In order to determine which cables are best for a particular environment, it would have to be tested in the different environments. This means that the cable would have to be tested against different temperatures, different fluids, different levels of pressure, etc.
For each of these variables, the cable would have to be tested against the varying loads that pass through the cables. Testing any particular type of cable against these variables is very difficult.
Often these cables are wrapped on spools. When wrapped on a spool, a cable is often underneath several layers of itself, and the additional pressure of the mass of the cable and the heat from the layers of cable above and below it can damage the cable.
To test cable, it would have to be taken to the place in which it is to be used, and then subjected to all the environmental factors and varying loads it can be expected to face. This, however, is not practical.
Often these cables are intended to be used at the bottom of the ocean, with salt water, low temperatures and high pressures. Other times cables are used in very frigid environments with extremely low temperatures, high winds, and freezing rain and snow. It is not practical to monitor cable at these locations for extended periods of time under varying power loads.