A processor includes a communication control unit for communicating with an external network device via a connecting unit. A power control unit switches a power mode between a normal power mode and a power saving mode. A packet processing unit includes a first determining unit that determines whether a packet processing is needed for a packet received when the power saving mode is set and a second determining unit that determines, when it is determined that the packet processing is needed, whether the packet processing is available. The power control unit switches the power mode based on a result of determination by the second determining unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network-connected information-processing apparatus capable of switching power modes, a packet processing method, and a computer program product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, such a network system that a plurality of information-processing apparatuses, such as a computer and a printer, is connected to one another by, for example, an Ethernet (Registered Trademark) local area network (LAN) connection thereby enabling data transmission/reception among the information-processing apparatuses has been in widespread use. The information-processing apparatus typically includes a control processor equipped with a media access controller (MAC) and the like, and has a power-mode switching function. With the power-mode switching function, the information-processing apparatus can switch power modes. When predetermined conditions are met, the information-processing apparatus switches from a normal power mode to a power saving mode, for example, by shutting off a power supply to a part of the apparatus including the processor, thereby reducing power consumption.
However, in the conventional technology, such a typical information-processing apparatus can neither discard a predetermined packet received via the network nor transmit a response packet with respect to the received packet without intervention of a central processing unit (CPU) of the processor. Therefore, even when the information-processing apparatus is put into the power saving mode, for example, by switching the CPU to a sleep mode, the CPU needs to be switched back to a normal power mode every time the information-processing apparatus receives a packet. In other words, the CPU cannot be in a low power-consumption state for a long time. Thus, it is difficult for the conventional information-processing apparatus to reduce the power consumption effectively.
As one technique to cope with this problem, the CPU, the MAC, and a packet processing unit capable of processing a predetermined packet can be integrated into an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In this technique, while the information-processing apparatus is in the power saving mode, the packet processing unit can process a portion of a received packet without intervention of the CPU. However, in such an information-processing apparatus employing various types of processors to support various types of performances of the system, there is a disadvantage of a high development cost for the ASIC.
As another technique, a dedicated network controller for processing a received packet and the like can be provided to an external bus of the CPU, such as a peripheral components interconnect (PCI) bus. However, in this technique, it is necessary to provide functions irrelevant to network communications, such as a PCI bus function, to the information-processing apparatus additionally. Therefore, the MAC and a network processing function of the processor including the CPU are not utilized effectively. In addition, a cost of the entire apparatus disadvantageously increases.
It is common knowledge that as an operating frequency of the circuit gets lower, power consumption of the circuit gets smaller. With this knowledge, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-148681 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-362282 disclose an apparatus that switches power modes of which by changing a clock frequency to be supplied to a network-connected information-processing apparatus or the like thereby reducing power consumption of the apparatus.
However, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-148681, a received packet is to be processed by a CPU. Therefore, in the same manner as described above, the CPU cannot be in a low power-consumption state for a long time. Thus, it is difficult to reduce the power consumption effectively.
Furthermore, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-362282, it is necessary to provide a specific dedicated unit, for example, for controlling a network connection and for controlling a change in clock frequency while the apparatus is in the power saving mode to a circuit. Therefore, a configuration of the circuit becomes complicated, and thus a cost of the apparatus disadvantageously increases.

Information-processing apparatus, packet processing method, and computer program product for communicating with an external network device and switching between a normal power mode and a power saving mode


Process for improving a controlled oxidation reaction between at least one reactant and oxygen, in which at least one reactant is reacted with oxygen or an oxygen containing gas, constituting a reaction mixture, in the presence of at least one additional gas which is introduced into said reaction mixture and is selected from methane, ethane and helium, and the resulting reaction product from the oxidation reaction is possibly treated so as to give a final product.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a process for improving the selectivity of a controlled oxidation reaction between at least one reactant and oxygen in order to give a final product for improving either the capacity or the yield of a production unit where this controlled oxidation reaction is carried out.
2. Description of Prior Art
Most of the oxidation reactions which are used in the chemical industry are based on the following scheme:
(I) REACTANT(S)+O.sub.2 .fwdarw.PRODUCT(S) Controlled oxidation PA0 (II) REACTANT(S)+O.sub.2 .fwdarw.CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O Complete oxidation PA0 (III) REACTANT(S)+O.sub.2 .fwdarw.CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O PA0 (IV REACTANTS+O.sub.2 .fwdarw.COPRODUCTS Secondary reactions PA0 (V) COPRODUCTS+O.sub.2 .fwdarw.CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O
Controlled oxidation reaction (I) is the one leading to the intended product and it is the one that should consequently be preferred as compared to the other reactions.
Reactions (I) and (II) are generally predominant, the others often being clearly less important.
It should be noted that reaction (II) consisting in the total oxidation of the reactants into CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 O, is clearly more exothermic than main reaction (I).
This type of oxidation reactions, under industrial conditions, usually rely on air as a source of oxygen, the nitrogen from the air being inert towards the reactants used.
The selectivity of the process in terms of intended product is generally low as compared to the maximum theoretical selectivity. This relatively low selectivity is examined by the strong contribution of the secondary reactions, in particular reaction (II), with the corresponding release of heat, which causes technical problems in removing this heat and limits the yield of conversion for each pass.
For a large majority of the processes of oxidation, the selectivity of the intended product and the conversion yield may be improved by increasing the concentration of oxygen in the reaction mixture. This concentration is limited either by technical problems of evacuation of the reaction heat or by the range of inflammability of the mixture at the inlet or the outlet of the reactor as well as at any other point of the reactive section. As a matter of fact, any mixture of combustible reactant and oxygen may ignite when its oxygen content exceeds a certain maximum value, which is inherent to each reaction mixture and to the pressure and temperature conditions used. In the conditions of use of this type of reaction, it is therefore suitable not to exceed this maximum value of oxygen which is permissible at any point of the reactive section of a production unit where the oxidation reaction is used and in particular in the reaction mixture, for example for safety reasons.
It would still be particularly interesting, for a mixture of the same reactant and oxygen, under similar conditions of pressure and temperatures, to improve the removal of the reaction heat and to increase the concentration of oxygen which is permissible in the reaction mixture without for this reason only, of course, igniting it.
German patent 1,254,137 describes a process for the manufacture of ethylene oxide by oxidation of ethylene, in which methane is introduced into the reaction mixture in order to increase the concentration of oxygen in the reaction zone. However, this German patent strictly only concerns the oxidation of ethylene in the presence of methane in order to give ethylene oxide. It is particularly noticeable that ethane is considered within the framework of this oxidation reaction, as having an effect which is contrary to that of methane.
On the other hand, it is indicated in this same German patent that until then, it was considered essential that the concentration of paraffin hydrocarbons in the circuit, and consequently also in the ethylene feed, be reduced to a minimum.
This enables to explain why, since 1962, no other oxidation reaction, except the one described in said German patent, was used in the presence of methane or another paraffin hydrocarbon.
As a matter of fact, if it can be considered that within the framework of the oxidation of alkene, essentially ethylene, in order to give an alkene oxide such as ethylene oxide, methane, contrary to ethane, enables to increase the permissible concentration of oxygen, one skilled in the art would have no reason, in view of said German patent, to use a paraffin hydrocarbon, known to be detrimental in view of its tendency to ignite, in order to increase the concentration of oxygen in another oxidation reaction. In other words, it appears, according to the teaching of this German patent, that the use of methane in order to increase the permissible concentration of oxygen is recommended only in the case of the oxidation of an alkene, such as ethylene, in order to give an alkene oxide, such as ethylene oxide.
The German patent has not solved one of the problems raised above, namely, increasing the concentration of permissible oxygen in a reaction mixture in order to increase the productivity of any controlled oxidation reaction other than the oxidation of an alkene to give an alkene oxide.
The present invention therefore concerns a process enabling to improve the selectivity of a controlled oxidation reaction. A second object of the invention consists in enabling to increase the concentration of permissible oxygen in the reaction mixture and this, without any problem of safety.
A third object of the invention consists in providing a reaction mixture in which the thermic properties for example heat conductivity and specific heat, are improved, thereby permitting a better control of the temperature of the oxidation reaction, as well as an easier removal of the reaction heat at the level of the reactor.
Another object of the invention consists in improving the capacity or yield of a production unit in the operation of a controlled oxidation reaction.

L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude et L'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


A scalable periphery tunable matching power amplifier is presented. Varying power levels can be accommodated by selectively activating or deactivating unit cells of which the scalable periphery tunable matching power amplifier is comprised. Tunable matching allows individual unit cells to see a constant output impedance, reducing need for transforming a low impedance up to a system impedance and attendant power loss. The scalable periphery tunable matching power amplifier can also be tuned for different operating conditions such as different frequencies of operation or different modes.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to power amplifiers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to scalable periphery tunable matching power amplifiers.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of mobile radios, a typical power amplifier vendor is dependent on the ability to quickly change either a power amplifier (PA) or a power amplifier module (PAM). Power amplifiers and power amplifier modules are typically needed to meet custom specifications from mobile radio manufacturers to meet their customer's system specifications. This can be a difficult task for those PAs and PAMs implemented in silicon (Si) technologies due in part to long design cycle times and also long fabrication cycle times. These Si technologies include, but are not limited to, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, silicon on insulator (SOI) CMOS technology, silicon on sapphire (SOS) CMOS technology, and bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) technology (e.g. technology involving a combination of bipolar junction transistors and CMOS transistors).
A power amplifier is an important component in many radio frequency (RF) systems, as the power amplifier is usually necessary to amplify an RF signal prior to transmitting the RF signal using an antenna. During cellular voice communications, a power amplifier typically spends a small fraction of operation time operating at peak power level. However, during wireless data communications, the power amplifier can spend a significant portion of operation time operating at peak power level to allow more efficient data transmission.
Various cellular communications devices operate on different frequency bands in the RF spectrum. For example, there are frequency bands in use at 700-900 MHz and 1700-2400 MHz as well as many others. Current cellular devices are not capable of covering multiple bands simultaneously because of expense incurred when adding extra components that would enable such cellular devices to cover multiple bands simultaneously. However, an amplifier that can be tuned can be utilized to enable a power amplifier in an RF front-end that covers many bands. For this reason, tunability of power amplifiers shows promise for future power amplifier design.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Scalable periphery tunable matching power amplifier


A housing of a portable electronic device includes a main body, a waterproof structure, and a plug retainer. The main body defines a jack hole therein. The waterproof structure is formed on the main body and defines a plurality of waterproof grooves. The plug retainer is received in the waterproof structure and defines a connecting hole and a plurality of draining holes therein. The connecting hole is aligned with the jack hole, and the draining holes guide water entering the plug retainer to flow into the waterproof grooves.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to housings of portable electronic devices, and particularly to a waterproof housing of a portable electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), and laptop computers, are widely used. In use, the portable electronic devices often need to be connected to many accessories, such as earphones, chargers, and Universal Series Bus (USB) cables, etc. Generally, many types of portable electronic device housings define a plurality of jack holes therein for receiving the plugs of the accessories, which can allow liquid such as water to enter the device and cause damage
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd.


Monomer beads which can be obtained according to a process in which    i. one or more aromatic tetraamino compounds are mixed with one or more aromatic carboxylic acids comprising at least two acid groups per carboxylic acid monomer in an extruder and melted at 190° C.-270° C.;    ii. the melt is dropletized at 190° C.-270° C. by means of a die located at the extruder outlet;    iii. the liquid droplets are collected, cooled and allowed to solidify.

The present invention relates to novel monomer beads for producing a proton-conducting polymer membrane based on polyazoles, which, owing to its excellent chemical and thermal properties, can be used widely and is particularly suitable as polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) in PEM fuel cells.
Polyazoles such as polybenzimidazoles (®Celazole) have been known for a long time. Such polybenzimidazoles (PBI) are usually produced by reacting 3,3′, 4,4′-tetraaminobiphenyl with terephthalic acid or esters thereof in the melt. The prepolymer formed solidifies in the reactor and is subsequently broken up mechanically. The pulverulent prepolymer is subsequently fully polymerized in a solid-state polymerization at temperatures of up to 400° C. to give the desired polybenzimidazoles.
To produce polymer films, the PBI is, in a further step, dissolved in polar, aprotic solvents such as dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and a film is produced by classical methods.
The basic polyazole films can subsequently be doped with concentrated phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid and then act as proton conductors and separators in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM fuel cells).
The acid-doped polymer membranes based on polyazoles which can be obtained in this way display an advantageous property profile. However, owing to the applications desired for PEM fuel cells, especially in the automobile sector and decentralized power and heat generation (stationary applications), these still require overall improvement.
WO 02/088219 therefore proposes the use of a proton-conducting polymer membrane based on polyazoles, which can be obtained by a process comprising the steps    A) Mixing of one or more aromatic tetraamino compounds with one or more aromatic carboxylic acids or esters thereof which comprise at least two acid groups per carboxylic acid monomer, or mixing of one or more aromatic and/or heteroaromatic diamino carboxylic acids, in polyphosphoric acid to form a solution and/or dispersion,    B) Application of a layer to a support using the mixture according to step A),    C) Heating of the sheet-like structure/layer which can be obtained according to step B) under inert gas to temperatures of up to 350° C., preferably up to 280° C., to form the polyazole polymer,    D) Treatment of the membrane formed in step C) until it is self-supporting.
However, such a procedure is relatively time-consuming and complicated. Furthermore, the polycondensation or the reaction time is not always completely reproducible, which frequently makes the production process more difficult.
Thus, for example, a reaction time of more than 35 hours is usually required for the polycondensation of 3,3′,4,4′-tetraaminobiphenyl with terephthalic acid in polyphosphoric acid. Furthermore, the precise stoichiometry of the two monomers has to be adhered to since otherwise a sufficiently high molecular weight is not built up.
A further problem is the necessity of freshly premixing the monomers. For the two monomers to become similarly well distributed in the polyphosphoric acid, they have to be premixed in powder form and added as a homogeneous mixture to the polyphosphoric acid. However, this premixing has to be carried out separately for each batch. If larger batches of monomer mixtures were to be produced beforehand, the monomers would demix during storage.
Finally, the different dissolution rates of the monomers also lead to additional problems. When the monomer mixture is stirred into and dissolved in the polyphosphoric acid, the 3,3′,4,4′-tetraaminobiphenyl goes into solution substantially more quickly than the terephthalic acid. It is frequently observed that residues of monomer powder accumulate on the stirrer or on the vessel walls and are thus withdrawn from the reaction solution. This leads to a nonstoichiometric ratio of the two monomers in the reaction mixture, which in turn has an adverse effect on the build-up of the molar mass in the polycondensation.

Monomer beads for producing a proton-conducting membrane

Abstract: The monomer beads are particularly suited to the production of a proton-conducting polymer membrane based on polyazoles.


Disclosed herein are embodiments of halogenated nanohoop compounds and assemblies thereof that can be used to for a variety of biological and chemical applications. The halogenated nanohoop compounds described herein exhibit non-covalent interactions that promote their ability to stack and form column-like assemblies having uniform pore size and that do not exhibit structural defects typically associated with other column-like structures, such as carbon nanotubes. Assemblies described herein also are capable of non-covalent interactions with other assemblies and thus can be used to form networks of the assemblies described herein.

The emergence of functional, porous materials has had a profound impact on the development of numerous fields within the disciplines of chemistry, physics, and biology. As such, one important focus of synthetic chemistry is to develop new materials with well-defined and increasingly diverse functional pores. Significant research on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) has provided a solid roadmap for the design of new porous materials, ultimately highlighting important design elements, such as self-assembly, that lead to well-defined structure and thus, functionality. Likewise, investigations with materials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have illustrated the importance of pore shape, size, and composition. CNTs, due to their inherently porous, smooth, it-rich cylindrical channels, have shown remarkable properties, such as mass transport and molecular encapsulation—an increasingly important property of CNTs, which has enabled synthetic access to uniform materials such as graphene nanoribbons as well as various other linear polymeric materials. While CNTs are poised to act as robust tools, drawbacks such as insolubility, inhomogeneity, and ill-defined structure present challenges in their full implementation in various applications.
In nature, non-covalent interactions direct the assembly of relatively simple building blocks into the formation of large, complex assemblies, such as the DNA double helix or the tertiary structure of proteins. Through appropriate molecular design, chemists have leveraged similar interactions to access unique molecular organization, resulting in molecules and materials with enhanced properties or exotic functionality. There exists a need in the art, however, for compounds that can provide materials having reactivity similar to CNTs but that can be made with improved uniformity and purity not achieved with conventional CNT synthesis techniques. There also is a need in the art for compounds that can be easily assembled into uniform assemblies without complicated chemical modifications and/or coupling reactions.

Halogenated nanohoop compounds and methods of making and using the same


The present application relates to a flame retarded polycarbonate resin composition containing for flame retardancy a hydroxy-terminated aromatic oligomeric phosphate composition of the formula: ##STR1## where R is a hydrocarbyl group derived from an aliphatic or aromatic diol, Ar is an alkyl-substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group, n is from about 0 to about 10, and the phosphate composition contains a predominant amount of phosphate where n ranges from 0 to 1.

Aromatic oligomeric phosphate compositions which are not hydroxy-terminated are known to persons of ordinary skill in the art with representative examples being described in European Patent Publication Nos. 509,506 and 521,628 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 227,632/1988.
A hydroxy-terminated aromatic oligomeric phosphate is depicted as one of the products formed by the processes described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 223,158/1989. The product that is desired is a mixture of 22%-65%, by weight, of a reactive, hydroxy-terminated monophosphate ester, 15%-30% of a non-reactive, no-hydroxy-terminated phosphate ester, and 5%-63% Of the hydroxy-terminated oligomeric phosphate ester. This patent document teaches the use of such a mixture to flame retard phenolic resin.
Aromatic oligomeric phosphate compounds which are devoid of hydroxy termination are taught as flame retardants for polycarbonate resins in U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,394 to J.C. Gosens et al. Blends of tetra(lower alkaryl) p-phenylene diphosphate compounds and polycarbonate resin are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,556 to R.P. Kambour.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,130 to V. Serini et al. teaches flame-resistant polycarbonate resin-containing mixtures comprising a branched polyphosphate which can contain hydroxy functionality linked to the phosphorus atom of the phosphate moiety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,212 to H. Nishihara et al. discloses the use of certain hydroxyphenyl-containing organophosphorus compounds as a flow modifier additive in thermoplastic resin compositions. The compounds represented by formula I at Col. 2, lines 35-45 of this patent contain only one hydroxy group when n is either 0 or 1 (see Col. 2, lines 57-58).

Hydroxy-terminated aromatic oligomeric phosphate as additive flame retardant in polycarbonate resin composition


The battery includes an electrolyte activating a positive electrode and a negative electrode. The electrolyte includes a plurality of salts in a solvent, one or more passivation salts in the solvent, and one or more passivation additives in the solvent. At least one of the passivation salts forms a passivation layer on the negative electrode during discharge of the battery and includes both lithium and boron. At least one of the salts is an inorganic lithium salt that excludes boron. The solvent includes one or more organic solvents. At least one of the passivation additives forms a passivation layer on the negative electrode during discharge of the battery and is not a salt. The positive electrode has one or more positive active materials that each include a lithium transition-metal oxide and the negative electrodes includes a negative active material selected from a group consisting of lithium metal and graphite.

A variety of batteries make use of a positive electrode having a positive active material that includes a transition metal such as manganese. These batteries include a negative electrode that typically includes graphite as the negative active material. These batteries are often employed in high current applications such as powering movement of hybrid-electric vehicles, electric vehicles, and power tools. Placing a high current draw on these batteries can cause the temperature of these batteries to increase. Additionally, these batteries can be used in high temperature environments such as the desert. These increased temperatures are often associated with dissolution of manganese ions into the electrolyte. The ions can then migrate to the negative electrode where they deposit onto the negative electrode. The deposition of these ions on the negative electrode degrades the performance of the battery. As a result, there is a need for a battery having improved performance at high temperature and/or high current conditions.

Battery having electrolyte including multiple passivation layer forming components


Pigment based particles in powder form intended to be used as colorants in a digital print formed by applying dry colorants on a surface, bonding a part of the colorants with a binder and removing the non-bonded colorants from the surface. A panel with a surface including a digitally formed print of macro colorants including a particle body and color pigments attached to the surface of the particle body is also described. The colorants are arranged in patterns with pigments on an upper and lower surface of the particle body.

The following description is used to describe the background and products, materials and production methods that may comprise specific parts of preferred embodiments in the disclosure of this invention.
a) Laminate Floorings.
The majority of all laminate floors are produced according to a production method generally referred to as Direct Pressed Laminate (DPL). Such laminated floors have a core of 6-12 mm fibreboard, a 0.2 mm thick upper decorative surface layer of laminate and a 0.1-0.2 mm thick lower balancing layer of laminate, plastic, paper or like materials.
The surface layer of a laminate floor is characterized in that the decorative and wear properties are generally obtained with two separate layers of paper, one above the other. The decorative layer is generally a printed paper and the wear layer is a transparent overlay paper, which comprises small aluminium oxide particles.
The decor paper is the most critical of the lamination papers as it gives the visual appearance of the laminate. The decor paper weight is generally in the range of 60-150 g/m2.
The overlay paper is generally thinner with a weight of about 20-50 g/m2 and is made of pure cellulose, which is based on delignified pulp. The overlay paper becomes almost completely transparent after lamination and the appearance of the decor paper is visible.
Thicker overlay papers with a considerable amount of aluminium oxide particles may give a high wear resistance. The disadvantage is that they are less transparent and the decorative pattern is covered by a grey layer that disturbs the printed pattern.
Printing of decorative papers is very cost efficient. Rotogravure presses with printing cylinders that may have a width of 3 meters and that may run with a speed of up to 600 m/min are used. The printing cylinders are generally produced by conventional mechanical engraving. Recently digital laser engraving has been introduced which allows faster décor development and provides a better décor quality. Solvent-free inks with organic pigments are often used and excess ink is re-cycled.
The printed decorative paper and the overlay are impregnated with melamine formaldehyde resins, generally referred to as melamine resins, and laminated to a HDF core in large discontinuous or continuous laminate presses where the resin cures under high heat (about 170° C.) and pressure (40-60 bars) and the papers are laminated to the core material. An embossed press plate or steal belt forms the surface structure. Sometimes a structured paper is used as a press matrix. The embossing is in high quality floors made in register with the design. The embossing depth is limited to 0.1-0.2 mm (100-200 micron).
Laminated floors may also be produced with direct printing technology. One advantage is that the pressing operation may be avoided and that no printed papers are needed to provide a decorative surface. Hydro printing inks are used to print the décor by a multicolour printing press with rollers onto a pre-sealed core and the print is covered with a protective transparent wear layer that may be an overlay, a plastic foil or a lacquer. The production process is rather complicated and is only cost efficient in very large production volumes.
Direct printing technology may be replaced with digital printing technology that is much more flexible and small production volumes can be economically manufactured. The difference between these two methods is mainly the printing step where the printing rollers are replaced by a digital non-contact printing process.
Digital printing may also be used to print on a paper sheet that is used in conventional laminate production and laminated under heat and pressure. The printing may be made prior or after impregnation. Such printing prior to impregnation is complicated since paper may swell and shrink during the printing and impregnation step and small quantities are not cost efficient to impregnate. Printing after impregnation on a melamine impregnated paper is very difficult since pigments applied on a melamine surface float during the pressing step when the melamine resin is in a liquid state. Such problems may partly be solved with a method where a raw paper, preferably comprising a base colour, is applied and fixed to the core prior to printing and impregnated paper or melamine powder is applied under and/or over the raw paper such that the resins from the impregnated papers penetrate into the raw paper during the pressing step.
Laminate floors may also have a surface of paper foils or plastic foils and such foil materials may also be printed digitally. A protective wear resistant transparent layer that generally is a polyurethane lacquer is used to covers the printed décor.
b) Powder Based Floors (WFF)
Recently new "paper free" floor types have been developed with solid surfaces comprising a substantially homogenous powder mix of fibres, binders and wear resistant particles hereafter referred to as WFF (Wood Fibre Floor).
The powder mix may comprise aluminium oxide particles, melamine formaldehyde resins and wood fibres. In most applications decorative particles such as, for example, colour pigments are included in the mix. In general, all these materials are applied in dry form as a mixed powder on a HDF core and cured under heat and pressure to a 0.1-1.0 mm solid layer. The powder is, prior to pressing, stabilized with moisture and IR lamps such that it forms an upper skin layer similar to a paper layer and this prevents the powder from blowing away during pressing. Melamine formaldehyde powder and wood fibres may be replaced by thermoplastic particles.
Several advantages over known technology and especially over conventional laminate floorings may be obtained such as increased wear and impact resistance, deep embossing, increased production flexibility and lower costs. An embossing depth of 0.2-0.7 mm may easily be reached.
Powder technology is very suitable to produce a decorative surface layer, which is a copy of stone and ceramics. In the past it was more difficult to create designs such as, for example, wood decors. However, recently digital powder printing has been developed and it is possible to create very advanced designs of any type by injecting ink into the powder prior to pressing. Problems related to paper impregnation may be completely eliminated since no impregnation is required. The surface structure is made in the same way as for laminate flooring by a structured press plate, a steal belt or an embossed matrix paper that is pressed against the powder. A major advantage compared to the other digital printing technologies is that the powder provides a base colour and no protective layer is needed above the print since the ink may penetrate into the powder. The penetration is however rather limited since the ink drops will be bonded to the first particle that they hit, mainly the wood fibres. Increased wear resistance may be reached if several printed powder layers are applied on each other or if a powder overlay is used as a protective layer applied over the digital print.
c) Melamine Formaldehyde Resin.
A basic substance in Laminate and WFF floors is the thermosetting melamine formaldehyde resin that is used as a binder. Melamine resin or melamine formaldehyde resin (generally shortened to melamine) is a hard, thermosetting plastic material made from melamine and formaldehyde by polymerization. Such resin, hereafter referred to as melamine, comprises three basic stages. The stages, A-stage, B-stage, C-stage are described in Principles of Polymerization, George Odian, 3rd edition, which is hereby incorporated by reference, including particularly pages 122 to 123. The first uncured A-stage is obtained when melamine, formaldehyde and water is boiled to a liquid substance with a dry content of about 50%. The second semi-cured B-stage is obtained when the liquid resin is used to impregnate, for example, an overlay paper that after the application of the liquid resin is dried with heat. The molecules have started to cross link but the resin is still possible to cure in a final stage if the drying of the resin is made during a rather short time, for example, one minute and with a heat of about 90-120° C.
The B-stage may also be obtained by spraying the liquid resin over hot air such that the drops are dried and a dry semi-cured melamine formaldehyde powder is obtained that comprises small round spherical particles with a diameter of about 30-100 microns (0.03-0.10 mm).
The final completely cured C-stage is obtained when, for example, the melamine impregnated paper or the WFF powder is heated to about 160° C. under pressure during 10-20 seconds. The dry melamine formaldehyde resin becomes softer, melts and cures to a fixed form when the temperature increases during the pressing. The curing is dependent on temperature and heating time. Curing may be obtained at lower temperatures and longer time or at higher temperature during shorter time. Spray dried melamine powder may also be cured under high temperature.
d) Wood Floors.
Wood floors are produced in many different ways. Traditional solid wood floors have developed into engineered floors with wood layers applied on a core made of wood lamellas, HDF or plywood. The majority of such floors are delivered as pre-finished floors with a wood surface that is coated with several transparent layers in the factory. The coating may be made with UV cured polyurethane, oil or wax. Recently wood floorings have also been produced with a digitally printed pattern that improves the design of the wood grain structure in wood species that do not have a sufficient surface quality.
e) Ceramic Tiles
Ceramic tiles are one of the major materials used for flooring and wall coverings. The raw materials used to form tiles consist of clay minerals, feldspar and chemical additives required for the shaping process. One common method to produce ceramic tiles uses the following production steps. The raw materials are milled into powder and mixed. Sometimes, water is then added and the ingredients are wet milled. The water is removed using filter pressing followed by spray drying into powder form. The resulting powder is then dry pressed under a very high pressure (about 400 bars) to a tile body with a thickness of 6-8 mm. The tile body is further dried to remove remaining moisture and to stabilize the tile body to a solid homogenous material. Recently dry pressing of large and thin panels have been introduced. Dry granular material is pressed with very high pressure up to 400 bars and panels with a size of 1*2 m and more and with thicknesses down to a few mm may be produced in a cost efficient way. Such panels may be used for wall panels and worktops. The production time has been reduced from several days to less than an hour. Such panels may be cut and shaped with production tolerances that are superior to the traditional methods and the may even be installed in a floating manner with mechanical locking systems. One or several layers of glaze, which is a glass like substance, are applied on the tile body by dry or wet methods. The thickness of the glazing is about 0.2-0.5 mm. There may be two glazes on the tile, first a non-transparent glaze on the tile body, then a transparent glaze on the surface. The purpose of tile glazing is to protect the tile. The glaze is available in many different colours and designs. Some glazes can create different textures. The tile is after glazing fired in a furnace or kiln at very high temperatures (1,300° C.). During firing, the glaze particles cure and melt into each other and form a wear resistant layer. Roller screens are often used to create a decorative pattern. The contact nature of the rotary screen-printing has many disadvantages such as breakages and long set-up times. Several tile producers have therefore recently replaced this conventional printing technology with digital ink jet printing technology that offers several advantages. Generally oil based inks are used and the print is applied on the pressed tile body or on a base glazing that is applied in wet form and dried prior to printing. A transparent glaze layer may be applied on the digital print in order to improve the wear resistance. Digital non-contact printing means no breakages and possibility to use thinner tile bodies. Short set-up times, randomized printing with no repetition effects and ability to print on surfaces of variable structures and on tiles with beveled edges are other major advantages. Additional circumstances that have contributed to the introduction of the digital printing technology in the tile industry is the fact that ceramic tiles are rather small compared to, for example, laminate and powder based floors that are produced as large pressed boards of about 2.1*2.7 m. Rather small printers with limited number of print heads may be used in the tile industry and the initial investment is rather limited. Oil based inks have a very long drying time and clogging of nozzles may be avoided. Other advantages are related to the glazing that provides a base colour. Generally smaller amounts of pigments are required to form a tile pattern on a base colour than to provide an advanced wood grain design on a HDF or paper material used in laminate floorings where impregnation and lamination creates additional problems.
f) LVT Floorings.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles, generally referred to as LVT floorings, are constructed as a layered product. The name is somewhat misleading since a major part of LVT floors have a plank size with a wood pattern. The base layer is made primarily of several individual base layers comprising different mixtures of PVC powder and chalk filler in order to reduce material costs. The individual base layers are generally about 1 mm thick. The base layer has a thin high quality printed decorative PVC foil on the upper side. A transparent wear layer of vinyl with a thickness of 0.1-0.6 mm is generally applied on the decorative foil. Glass fibres are often used to improve thermal stability. The individual base layers, glass fibres, the decorative foil and the transparent layer are fused together with heat and pressure in continuous or discontinuous presses. The transparent layer may include a coating of polyurethane, which provides additional wear and stain resistance. Some producers have replaced the transparent vinyl layer with a polyurethane layer that is applied directly on the decorative foil. Recently new types of LVT floors have been developed with a base layer thickness of 3-6 mm and with edges comprising mechanical locking systems that allow floating installations. LVT floors offer several advantages over, for example, laminate floors such as deep embossing, flexibility, dimensional stability, moisture resistance and lower sound. Digital printing of LVT floors is only on an experimental stage but would, if introduced, provide major advantages over conventional printing technology.
As a summary it may be mentioned that digital printing is used in several floor types to create a décor. However the volumes are still very small, especially in wood and laminate flooring applications, mainly due to high cost of the ink and high investment cost for the industrial printers. The flexibility that the digital printing technology provides is limited by the embossing that is fixed and not possible to adapt to the variations of the digitally printed décor. It would be a major advantage if the ink cost could be reduced, if more cost efficient printing equipment could be used in an industrial scale, if a higher wear resistance could be reached without separate protective layers and if variations in the embossed structures may be formed that correspond to variations in the digitally printed pattern.


A lens barrel having an image blur prevention system including an image blur prevention optical system to prevent image blur, and an image blur prevention optical system drive mechanism to move the image blur prevention optical system within a plane that is generally perpendicular to the optical axis of a main optical system. The image blur prevention optical system drive mechanism is arranged around the image blur prevention optical system to most efficiently use the space in the lens barrel. A power transfer shaft, which is connected to a focusing system in the lens barrel, is arranged in parallel to the image blur prevention optical system, and the focusing system is located in front of the image blur prevention optical system so that it does not interfere with the image blur prevention optical system drive mechanism arranged around the image blur prevention optical system. By efficiently using the space in the lens barrel, the assembly and disassembly of the lens barrel is simplified. Further, by preserving space for the image blur prevention optical system, a large lens size may be maintained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interchangeable lens barrel having an image blur prevention system incorporated therein, and, more particularly, to an interchangeable lens barrel including an image blur prevention system having an image blur detection device to detect vibration, an image blur prevention optical system, and an image blur prevention optical system drive mechanism, which are arranged with respect to other lens barrel components in a manner which efficiently utilizes the space within the lens barrel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interchangeable lens barrels are known which may be easily attached to and removed from a camera, such as a single-lens reflex camera. The known types of interchangeable lens barrels may include, for example, a zooming mechanism to adjust the focusing distance of a lens optical system from telephoto to wide-angle, and an autofocus (AF) mechanism to automatically perform subject focusing. Recently, image blur prevention systems have also been incorporated into lens barrels to compensate for camera vibration caused by, e.g., a photographer's hand movement, resulting in multiple functions incorporated into the lens barrel.
The types of lens barrels described above, having the image blur prevention system and the various other mechanisms, include a multiple lens optical system, multiple drives (including electric motors), control circuits, and sensors for sensing information related to the various mechanisms. The size of the lens barrel is determined by the diameter of the optical lens system contained inside the lens barrel. Since it is not desirable for the lens barrel to be made any larger than is necessary, the space inside the lens barrel must be used as effectively as possible. Therefore, the multiple drives, the control circuits, and the sensors must be arranged efficiently in the lens barrel.
However, the following problems occur in the known types of lens barrels which include an image blur prevention system. Specifically, the image blur prevention optical system is arranged to move within the lens barrel in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis I of a photographic optical system in the lens barrel. Accordingly, space must be preserved around the image blur prevention optical system so that the image blur prevention optical system can move. Recently, the drive motor that drives the image blur prevention optical system and the drive mechanics, such as a power transfer drive gear, have increased in size and complexity, requiring increased space for arranging these elements, and resulting in increased difficulty of assembly and disassembly due to the complexity. When the drive mechanics are arranged around the image blur prevention optical system, because of the space taken up by the drive mechanics the diameter of the optical system must be reduced.
Further, in general, the image blur prevention optical system drives are arranged with fixed parts connected to a fixed barrel, or with fixed parts connected to a fixed barrel portion that is connected to the lens barrel. With these kinds of lens barrels, it is desirable to reduce the lens barrel diameter as much as possible. However, when the diameter of the lens of an image blur prevention optical system is reduced, the amount of freedom for aberration adjustments is reduced and the blur adjustment tolerance also is reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to make the diameter of the image blur prevention lens as large as possible. To make the diameter of the image blur prevention lens as large as possible, the image blur prevention optical system drive must use the previously unused space within the lens barrel as efficiently as possible.
Furthermore, a focusing device, such as the AF mechanism, generally uses the drive power from the main body of the camera. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the power transfer drive system for transferring power from the main body to the focusing device in a manner which efficiently utilizes the space inside the lens barrel.

Lens barrel having an image blur prevention system arranged with respect to other lens barrel devices to efficiently utilize lens barrel space


Methods and systems for operating a double-base bidirectional power bipolar transistor. Two timing phases are used to transition into turn-off: one where each base is shorted to its nearest emitter/collector region, and a second one where negative drive is applied to the emitter-side base to reduce the minority carrier population in the bulk substrate. A diode prevents reverse turn-on while negative base drive is being applied.

The present application relates to double-base bipolar transistors and circuits and systems including them, and to methods for operating such transistors and circuits and systems.
Note that the points discussed below may reflect the hindsight gained from the disclosed inventions, and are not necessarily admitted to be prior art.
Application Ser. No. 14/313,960 (now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,029,909, and hereby incorporated by reference) disclosed bidirectional bipolar transistors known as "B-TRANs," and methods for operating such transistors. Further improvements, applications, and implementations were disclosed in subsequent commonly-owned and co-pending patent applications, including e.g. US/2016-0141375, US/2016-0173083, WO/2016-112395, and US/2016-0241232, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The most basic B-TRAN is a four-terminal three-layer power device. In the most basic version, each side of a p-type monolithic semiconductor wafer has an n-type emitter/collector region and a p-type base contact region. The two base regions are contacted separately, and the two emitter/collector regions are connected to provide the two current-carrying terminals. This example can operate, in either direction of current flow, as an NPN bipolar transistor.
The polarity of the externally applied voltage will determine which of the emitter/collector regions is operating as the emitter (i.e. is emitting electrons, in this NPN example), and which is operating as the collector. The two base regions are not connected together, but are operated separately: in describing the operation of this class of devices, the base region on the same surface as the collector will normally be referred to as the "c-base," and the base region on the same surface as the emitter will normally be referred to as the "e-base." (Of course, when the external polarity reverses, the functions of the two emitter/collector regions will be exchanged: the collector will become the emitter, the emitter will become the collector, the e-base will become the c-base, and the c-base will become the e-base.)
The methods of operation described in the U.S. Pat. No. 9,029,909 patent, and in the published applications listed above, result in a fully bidirectional switching device which provides high gain, high breakdown voltage, and low voltage drop in the ON state. This combination of advantages is extremely advantageous.
To achieve this combination of advantages, an operation sequence was disclosed which included a pre-turnoff timing phase as well as a preliminary turn-on phase (known as "diode turn-on"). The principles of operation are very different from those of conventional bipolar power transistors, as may be seen from the following description.
A B-TRAN is in the "active off-state" when the e-base (base on the emitter side) is shorted to the emitter, and the c-base (base on the collector side) is open. In this state, with the NPN B-TRAN, the collector is the anode (high voltage side), and the emitter is the cathode (low voltage side).
The B-TRAN is also off when both bases are open, but due to the high gain of the B-TRAN in this state, the breakdown voltage is low. The series combination of a normally-ON JFET and a Schottky diode attached between each base on its respective emitter/collector, as previously disclosed, will significantly increase the blocking voltage in this "passive off-state". The JFETs are turned off during normal operation.
The e-base is essentially at a constant voltage—it varies only about 0.1 V from a low drive to a high drive condition. The c-base, in contrast, is a nearly constant current drive, even as the voltage is varied from 0 V above the collector to about 0.6 V. Instead of the c-base current changing with c-base voltage, Vce changes. At a c-base voltage of 0 V (c-base shorted to collector), there is a certain gain that depends on the emitter current density, and Vce is nominally 0.9 V over a large range of current density. Raising the c-base to 0.1 V above the collector does not change the gain, but it lowers Vce by nominally 0.1 V. Raising the c-base to 0.6V drops Vce to about 0.2 or 0.3 V.
One sample embodiment for B-TRAN turn-on is to simultaneously, from the active off-state and blocking forward voltage, open the e-base-to-emitter short while shorting the c-base to the collector. This immediately introduces charge carriers into the highest field region of the depletion zone around the collector/base junction, so as to achieve very fast, forward biased turn-on for hard switching, very similar to IGBT turn-on.
Another advantageous turn-on method, from the active off-state, is to have the circuit containing the B-TRAN reverse the B-TRAN polarity, which produces the same base state described in the hard turn-on method, but at near zero voltage. That is, the e-base which is shorted to the emitter becomes the c-base shorted to the collector as the B-TRAN voltage reverses from the active off-state polarity. Again, turn-on is fast.
In a third turn-on method from the active off-state, the e-base is disconnected from the emitter, and connected to a current or voltage source of sufficient voltage to inject charge carriers into the base region. This method is likely slower, since the charge carriers go into the base just below the depletion zone. Also, it is known that carrier injection into the e-base results in inferior gain relative to carrier injection into the c-base.
After turn-on is achieved with either of the methods using the c-base, Vce is more than a diode drop. To drive Vce below a diode drop, turn-on goes to the second stage of increased charge injection into the c-base via a voltage or current source. The amount of increased charge injection determines how much Vce is reduced below a diode drop. Injection into the e-base will also reduce Vce, but the gain is much lower than with c-base injection.
In the first step of one advantageous turn-off method, the c-base is disconnected from the carrier injection power supply and shorted to the collector, while the previously open e-base is shorted to the emitter. This results in a large current flow between each base and its emitter/collector, which rapidly removes charge carriers from the drift region. This in turn results in a rising Vce as the effective resistivity of the drift region increases. At some optimum time after the bases are shorted, the connection between the c-base and the collector is opened, after which Vce increases rapidly as the depletion region forms around the collector/base junction.
Turn-off can be achieved by simply opening the c-base and shorting the e-base to the emitter, but this will result in higher turn-off losses since the drift region (base) will have a high level of charge carriers at the start of depletion zone formation.
Turn-off can also be achieved by simply opening the c-base and leaving the e-base open, but this will result in the highest turn-off losses and also a low breakdown voltage.

Operation of double-base bipolar transistors with additional timing phases at switching transitions


A glider fifth wheel attachment assembly includes a support frame including a pair of spaced guide rails and a pair of upright assemblies attached to the guide rails. Each upright assembly includes a lower sleeve portion for receiving a respective guide rail, an intermediate housing portion vertically above the sleeve portion, and an upper mounting portion vertically above the housing portion. A head assembly may be adjustably mounted between respective housing portions of the upright assemblies. At least one roller is positioned within each housing portion of the upright assemblies such that the at least one roller contacts an upper surface of an upper guide rail. In addition, the glider fifth wheel attachment assembly includes a latching assembly for releasably locking the glider fifth wheel attachment assembly between a first and a second position.

The present invention relates generally to towing devices and, more particularly, to an adjustable fifth wheel hitch attachment for enhanced maneuverability in limited or tight operating areas.
Fifth wheel hitches for towing a trailer behind a towing vehicle are well known in the art. Typically, fifth wheel hitches include a support frame for mounting the hitch to the towing vehicle. Usually, fifth wheel hitches are mounted within the bed of a pick-up truck. The support frame includes a pair of transverse rails that are bolted to the bed and/or frame of the truck, rail assemblies that are releasably mounted to the transverse rails and upright assemblies mounted to the rail assemblies. A transverse cross bar typically interconnects the upright assemblies, thereby forming a head support for mounting a head assembly by means of a trunnion arrangement allowing for pivotal fore and aft movement. The head assembly includes a jaw assembly operable by means of a control handle and is specifically adapted to releasably engage and hold a kingpin of a towed vehicle.
Conventional fifth wheel trailer hitches typically limit the maneuverability of a towing vehicle at low speeds and in close quarters. In particular, fifth wheel hitches typically center the kingpin of the towed vehicle substantially between the rear wheels and over the rear axle of the towing vehicle. When so mounted, very close clearance is provided between the towed vehicle and portions of the towing vehicle. Under normal towing conditions, the close clearance is sufficient to allow effective operation under speed on the open road. However, the close clearance may hinder maneuverability, especially in situations requiring tight cornering within limited space, such as, for example, the conditions found at campgrounds and some trailer parks.
In order to address the maneuvering shortcomings of conventional fifth wheel trailer hitches, various attempts at adjustable fifth wheel hitches have been made. It has been found that by temporarily moving the hitch assembly rearward in the towing vehicle, clearance between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle is increased, thereby allowing for greater maneuverability of the towed vehicle. In one adjustable fifth wheel hitch design, the towed vehicle must be detached from the fifth wheel hitch prior to any adjustment of the fifth wheel hitch. The detachment efforts are time consuming and require precise movement of the towing vehicle. The adjustable hitches also typically require more than one person to effect the adjustment of the fifth wheel hitch. Another design utilizes low friction shoes within upright mounting members for movement on parallel guide rails. The uprights are selectively slideable along each guide rail. Each upright includes a hollow cavity for receiving a dual bar latch and a leaf spring for biasing the dual bar latch into a position to lock the uprights against slideable movement. However, the effective weight borne by the low friction shoes tends to cause binding of the shoes such that seizing may occur. The high friction between moving parts prevents easy and smooth adjustment of the fifth wheel trailer hitch. Moreover, the latching mechanism is hidden from view, thereby preventing an operator from confirming engagement of the locking mechanism to lock the adjustable portion against slideable movement.
The present invention is directed to a glider fifth wheel attachment assembly for use with fifth wheel towing assemblies attached to motor vehicles. The glider fifth wheel attachment assembly includes a support frame including a pair of spaced guide rails and a pair of upright assemblies attached to the guide rails. Each upright assembly includes a lower sleeve portion for receiving a respective guide rail, an intermediate housing portion vertically above the sleeve portion, and an upper mounting portion vertically above the housing portion. A head assembly may be adjustably mounted between respective mounting portions of the upright assemblies. One roller is positioned within each housing portion of the upright assemblies such that the roller contacts an upper surface of an upper guide rail. The glider fifth wheel attachment assembly further includes a latching assembly for releasably locking the glider fifth wheel attachment assembly between a first and a second towing position.
In a preferred embodiment, each housing portion includes two spaced rollers contacting the upper surface of the respective guide rails. In a most preferred embodiment, the latching assembly further includes a generally L-shaped bar, wherein a first end of the bar extends through aligned apertures in the housing portions. At least one latch pin is mounted parallel to and laterally spaced from the first end adjacent at least one of the upright assemblies. The latch pin is received in one of a plurality of apertures formed in the guide rails, wherein the plurality of apertures correspond to the respective first and second positions. Moreover, the latching mechanism is preferably biased to a latched position in either the first or second position by means of a compression spring located along the first end of the latching bar. The housing portions may further include at least one strap parallel to an axis of rotation of the rollers, and closely adjacent thereto.
The glider fifth wheel attachment assembly of the present invention allows adjustment of the fifth wheel hitch assembly using rollers. As a result, the fifth wheel trailer hitch is allowed to roll fore and aft, while the towed vehicle remains coupled to a towing vehicle. Advantageously, the glider fifth wheel attachment assembly rolls, rather than slides. Binding between the fifth wheel trailer hitch and the guide rails due to uneven rolling or excessive friction is therefore entirely eliminated. In the preferred embodiment, the latching mechanism is visible outside of the upright assemblies so that an end user may positively identify when the glider fifth wheel attachment assembly is locked in either a first or a second position. Moreover, the latching mechanism is preferably biased to a latched position in either the first or second position by means of a compression spring located on a first end of the latching bar. In this way, shortcomings of prior art adjustable fifth wheel hitch assemblies are overcome.


A movable insulation puncher includes lancing elements which are used to define slots for receiving shear connectors in a multi-layer panel. The lancing elements are heated by gas burners and are moved along a panel on a carriage, and toward a panel by a crank assembly. Return to a neutral position of the lancing elements is spring assisted, and the carriage can be used to store tools, or to support a workman.

The present invention relates in general to building panels, and, more particularly, to means for punching composite building panels.
A reinforced insulated concrete building panel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,639. This panel has a plurality of layers, including a layer of insulation sandwiched between inner and outer layers of concrete. Shear connectors are embedded in the panel to prevent delamination of the panel.
These shear connectors are U-shaped and have bent lowermost ends which extend at approximately right angles to the axes of the legs. The lowermost ends help to securely set the shear connector in the panel.
The shear connector should be placed in an easy manner, and in a manner which reduces the possibility of mistakes and neatly places the shear connectors while avoiding a possibility of damaging the insulation. Heretofore, placing these shear connectors has been extremely difficult in some of the thick and/or heavy density materials.
There are known methods of placing shear connectors. For example, in early panels shear connectors of various types were installed at the joints between sheets of insulation. However, this method requires that a space be defined between the insulation layers. Furthermore, using such a method, the insulation joints were required to be in a special pattern to suit the spacing of the shear connectors.
Another known method of setting shear connectors includes merely pushing the shear connectors through the insulation as required. While this method may be satisfactory on soft insulations, it is not satisfactory on the better class and heavier density insulation for a number of reasons. These reasons include: (1) It is very difficult to push a shear connector through even two inch thick insulation. Furthermore, due to the density of the insulation, there is a tendency for a large piece of insulation to break off as the shear connector is pushed through. (2) If insulation breaks off, a broken piece may be pushed into the wet concrete below and leave a void in the insulation. Such a void affects the thermal performance of the finished product.
Pre-punching insulation at the factory to a predetermined grid may be another way to solve the above problems. However, pre-punching insulation is not practical for the following reasons: (1) The spacing or grid can change from day to day or even in the same cast of panels, as the spacing changes according to the length of the panels. (2) The spacing of the shear connectors is different at the top and bottom of the panels for structural reasons. (3) Special sheets of insulation may be required to complete the length of each panel.
Accordingly, there is need for a device which sets shear connectors, especially shear connectors such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,639, in an easy, accurate manner without damaging the insulation or endangering the shear connector or the thermal performance of the panel.


A portable jigsaw puzzle storage case and workstation is provided generally comprising an outer cover which encloses a sorting tray and a workstation therein. The workstation generally includes an assembly tray having an assembly board and a frame. The frame extends around at least part of the outer periphery of the assembly board, and is joined thereto by an integral hinge. Preferably, the assembly tray is formed of corrugated fiberboard. Further, a method of producing an assembly tray is provided. The method generally comprises the steps of providing an assembly board having a first half and a second half, cutting out an inner section of the first half to define an outer peripheral strip, scoring the assembly board at a boundary line where the first and second half meet, and attaching the outer peripheral strip to the second half to form a frame on the second half of the assembly board. The cutting step may further include the step of cutting the inner section to form a sorting tray.

The present invention relates generally to storage cases for puzzles, and more particularly relates to portable cases also serving as puzzle workstations.
The present invention relates to a puzzle caddy for facilitating assembly of the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and for enabling the assembled or partially assembled puzzle to be stored and/or transported from place to place. One such exemplary device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,307.
While many puzzle caddies have enjoyed much commercial success, they are not without their drawbacks. For example, many puzzle caddies have complicated structures for protecting the puzzle. Such puzzle caddies require significant amounts of manual labor to construct, resulting in lower productivity and higher cost. Similarly, components selected for constructing these devices often increase costs even further, and may require the manual installation of that component. Accordingly, there exists a need for a sturdy yet easily formed puzzle caddy having a low cost of production.
In light of the above, it is a general aim of the present invention to provide an improved portable puzzle storage case that allows assembled and unassembled pieces to be stored or transported from place-to-place without disturbing the position of the pieces, and that is simple and cost effective to produce.
In that regard, it is a further object of the present invention to provide such a portable puzzle storage case that can be produced inexpensively and with minimal waste.
In accordance with these objects, the present invention provides a portable jigsaw puzzle storage board generally comprising an outer cover which encloses a sorting tray and a workstation therein. The workstation generally includes an assembly tray having an assembly board and a frame. The frame extends around at least part of the outer periphery of the assembly board, and is joined thereto by an integral hinge.
According towards more detailed aspects of the puzzle storage board, the assembly board has four sides, the frame extending around three of the four sides. Preferably, the hinge joins the assembly board and frame along the fourth, unframed, side of the assembly board. The frame includes a first strip connecting opposing second and third strips, the second and third strips being joined to the assembly board by integral hinges. A bottom surface of the frame is integrally joined to a top surface of the assembly board to form the integral hinge. Additionally, the workstation may further include a second assembly tray identical to the first assembly tray, each of the tray sized to hold a first standard size puzzle. The first and second assembly trays are positionable proximate each other along the unframed sides to form a combined assembly tray sized for a second standard size puzzle larger than the first standard size puzzle. Preferably, the assembly tray is formed of corrugated fiberboard.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of producing an assembly tray is provided. The method generally comprises the steps of providing an assembly board having a first half and a second half, cutting out an inner section of the first half to define an outer peripheral strip, scoring the assembly board at a boundary line where the first and second half meet, and attaching the outer peripheral strip to the second half to form a frame on the second half of the assembly board.
According to more detailed aspects of this embodiment, the attaching step includes folding the outer peripheral strip about the boundary line and toward the second half, and also includes applying an adhesive to one of the outer peripheral strip and the second half. Preferably, the cutting step and scoring step are performed substantially simultaneously. The scoring step defines integral hinges linking the second half of the assembly board to the outer peripheral strip. The cutting step may further include the step of cutting the inner section to form a sorting tray.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Portable puzzle storage case and workstation


A laser diode module includes a laser diode, a lens located on an optical path of light emitted from the laser diode, and an optical fiber located to receive the emitted light concentrated by the lens. The optical fiber includes a fiber grating having a reflection center wavelength greater than the cutoff wavelength of the laser diode and having a half-width of reflection spectrum ranging from twice the spacing of longitudinal modes of the laser diode to 10 nm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser diode module used as a light source for exciting an optical fiber amplifier.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 13 schematically shows a structure of a conventional laser diode module disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,377. The laser diode module includes a laser diode 1 and an optical fiber 12 located on an optical path of light emitted from laser diode 1. Laser diode 1 emits light with a wavelength of 982 nm when there is no optical feedback. Optical fiber 12 has a microlens part 13 at its tip where light is incident as well as a part where a fiber grating 4 is formed that reflects light with a center wavelength of 980 nm. In general, the fiber grating is formed to cause refractive index to periodically change in the optical fiber. Because of the periodic change of the refractive index, the fiber grating has characteristics that it only reflects a constant amount of light having a specific wavelength according to the rate of change in refractive index. The fiber grating can be manufactured by exposing an optical fiber to ultraviolet radiation.
A laser beam emitted from laser diode 1 enters microlens part 13 to be converted from diffused light into parallel light and propagates as the parallel light through the inside of optical fiber 12. The laser beam passing through optical fiber 12 to reach fiber grating 4 is reflected from fiber grating 4 to be returned to laser diode 1. In a composite resonator thus structured, the wavelength of laser diode 1 is not 982 nm as indicated above but 980 nm which is the center wavelength of fiber grating 4, and the wavelength of laser diode 1 is locked or fixed on this wavelength. In other words, regardless of forward current applied to laser diode 1 and ambient temperature of the laser diode, a stable optical output with a wavelength of 980 nm can be achieved.
FIG. 14 shows a relation between optical output Pf from an end of the fiber and forward current If of the laser diode to compare the laser diode module having fiber grating 4 within optical fiber 12 thereby returning the laser beam to laser diode 1 as described above with a laser diode module with no fiber grating. The laser diode module without fiber grating has characteristics indicated by the dotted line while the laser diode having fiber grating 4 has characteristics indicated by the solid line. It is apparent from FIG. 14 that, regarding the laser diode module having fiber grating 4, the maximum optical output which is possible without occurrence of kink (hereinafter referred to xe2x80x9cmaximum kink-free optical output powerxe2x80x9d) remarkably decreases. A resultant problem is that the available optical output of the laser diode module having the fiber grating is nearly a half of the optical output which is possible by the laser diode module with no fiber grating. xe2x80x9cKinkxe2x80x9d refers to a phenomenon that occurrence of beam steering eliminates linearity between optical output within the optical fiber and forward current applied to the laser diode, which is detailed later.
One object of the present invention is to solve the problem above by providing a laser diode module enabling a sufficiently great maximum kink-free optical output power even when a wavelength to be used is locked on a desired value by means of a fiber grating.
According to one aspect of the invention, for the purpose of achieving the object above, a laser diode module of the present invention includes a laser diode, a lens located on an optical path of light emitted from the laser diode, and an optical fiber located to receive the emitted light concentrated by the lens. The optical fiber includes a fiber grating having a reflection center wavelength greater than cutoff wavelength of the laser diode and having a half-width of reflection spectrum ranging from twice the spacing between longitudinal modes of the laser diode to 10 nm.
When this structure is employed, the reflection center wavelength of the fiber grating is greater than the cutoff wavelength. Accordingly, fundamental transverse mode dominates high-order transverse mode thereby suppresses high-order transverse mode oscillation. Further, the fiber grating has its half-width of reflection spectrum that is at least twice the spacing of longitudinal modes and thus the fiber grating has a reflection band containing a plurality of longitudinal modes of the laser diode. Oscillation of a plurality of longitudinal modes stabilizes optical output. In addition, the fiber grating has a half-width of reflection spectrum that is 10 nm or less, the wavelength can be controlled to a precision of 10 nm or less.
According to another aspect of the invention, a laser diode module includes a laser diode, a lens located on an optical path of light emitted from the laser diode, and an optical fiber located to receive the emitted light concentrated by the lens. The optical fiber includes a fiber grating having a reflection center wavelength greater by at least 2 nm than gain peak wavelength of the laser diode and having a half-width of reflection spectrum ranging from twice the spacing between longitudinal modes of the laser diode to 10 nm.
By employing this structure, the maximum kink-free optical output power can efficiently be increased since the maximum kink-free optical output power sharply increases as seen from the experimental result shown in FIG. 5 when the difference between the reflection center wavelength and the gain peak wavelength (oscillation center wavelength of the laser diode itself) exceeds 2 nm.
Preferably, when a fundamental transverse mode parallel to a crystal growth layer of the laser diode matches a fundamental transverse mode of the optical fiber at a magnification called fundamental transverse mode matching magnification, coupling magnification of the laser diode and the optical fiber has a value between the fundamental transverse mode matching magnification and a magnification producing a maximum coupling efficiency. As seen from the experimental result shown in FIG. 11, the maximum kink-free optical output power can be increased to a greatest value by employment of this structure.
Preferably, the laser diode is of ridge waveguide type and produces oscillation at 980 nm. This structure can be used to apply the laser diode to use as an optical source for excitation of an optical fiber amplifier.
Preferably, the lens is a cylindrical lens provided on a light-incident end of the optical fiber. When this structure is employed, the magnification is 1 with respect to the direction perpendicular to the direction where lens effects are exhibited. High-order mode oscillation can accordingly be suppressed and thus the maximum kink-free optical output power increases.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


An electromagnetic bandgap structure and a printed circuit board having the same are disclosed. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the electromagnetic bandgap structure can include a plurality of conductive layers, placed between two conductive layers; and a stitching via, configured to make an electrical connection between any two conductive layers of the conductive layers. Here, the stitching via can include a first via, one end part of the first via configured to any one of the two conductive plates; a second via, one end part of the second via configured to the other of the two conductive plates; and a connection pattern, placed on a planar surface that is different from the conductive plates, between the two conductive layers and configured to make an electrical connection between the other end part of the first via and the other end part of the second via. Any one of the first via and the second via can be formed to penetrate a same planar surface as at least one of the two conductive layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic bandgap structure, more specifically to an electromagnetic bandgap structure and a printed circuit board having the same that prevent a signal ranging a predetermined frequency band from being transmitted.
2. Background Art
New electronic apparatuses and communication apparatuses are increasingly becoming smaller, thinner and lighter, reflecting today's emphasis on growing mobility.
These electronic and communication apparatuses have various complex electronic circuits (i.e. analog circuits and digital circuits) for performing their functions and operations. These electronic circuits typically carry out their functions by being implemented in a printed circuit board (PCB). The electronic circuits on the PCB commonly have different operation frequencies from one another.
The printed circuit board in which various electronic circuit boards are implemented often has a noise problem, caused by the transfer and interference of an electromagnetic (EM) wave resulted from the operation frequency and its corresponding harmonics components of one electronic circuit to another electronic circuit. The transferred noise can be roughly classified into radiation noise and conduction noise.
The radiation noise (refer to the reference numeral 155 of FIG. 1) can be easily prevented by covering a protective cap on the electronic circuit. However, preventing the conduction noise (refer to the reference numeral 150 of FIG. 1) is not as easy, because the conduction noise is transferred through a signal transfer path inside the board.
The noise problem will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a printed circuit board including two electronic circuits having different operation frequencies. Although FIG. 1 shows a 4-layered printed circuit board 100, it shall be obvious that the printed circuit board can be modified to have a 2, 6 or 8-layered structure.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printed circuit board 100 includes metal layers 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 and 110-4 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as 110) and dielectric layers 120-1, 120-2 and 120-3 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as 120) interposed between metal layers 110. The top metal layer 110-1 of the printed circuit board 100 is implemented with two electronic circuits 130 and 140 having different operation frequencies (hereinafter, referred to as a first electronic circuit 130 and a second electronic circuit 140, respectively). Here, both of the first electronic circuit 130 and the second electronic circuit 140 are assumed to be digital circuits.
Here, if it is assumed that the metal layer represented by the reference numeral 110-2 is a ground layer and the metal layer represented by the reference numeral 110-3 is a power layer, each ground pin of the first electronic circuit 130 and the second electronic circuit 140 is electrically connected to the metal layer represented by the reference numeral 110-2 and each power pin is electrically connected to the metal layer represented by the reference numeral 110-3. In the printed circuit board 100, every ground layer is also electrically connected to each other through vias. Similarly, every power layer is also electrically connected to each other through vias (refer to the reference numeral 160 of FIG. 1).
If the first electronic circuit 130 and the second electronic circuit 140 have different operation frequencies, a conductive noise 150 caused by an operation frequency of the first electronic circuit 130 and its harmonics components is transferred to the second electronic circuit 140 as shown in FIG. 1. This has a disadvantageous effect on the accurate function/operation of the second electronic circuit 140.
With the growing complexity of electronic apparatuses and higher operation frequencies of digital circuits, it is increasingly more difficult to solve this conduction noise problem. Especially, the typical bypass capacitor method or decoupling capacitor method for solving the conductive noise problem is no longer adequate, as the electronic apparatuses use a higher frequency band.
Moreover, the aforementioned solutions are not adequate when several active devices and passive devices need to be implemented in a complex wiring board having various types of electronic circuits formed on the same board or in a narrow area such as a system in package (SiP) or when a high frequency band is required for the operation frequency, as in a network board.
Accordingly, an electromagnetic bandgap structure (EBG) has currently come into the spotlight to solve the foresaid conductive noise problem. This aims to block a signal of a predetermined frequency band by disposing an electromagnetic bandgap structure having a predetermined structural shape in a printed circuit board.
An electromagnetic bandgap structure having a mushroom type structure as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B has been studied.
The electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B is formed by repeatedly arranging a mushroom type structure 230, which includes a metal plate 232 formed between the first metal layer 211 and the second metal layer 212 and a via 234 connecting the first metal layer 211 to the metal plate 232, between a first metal layer 211 and a second metal layer 212, each of which functions as a ground layer and a power layer. A first dielectric layer is interposed between the first metal layer 211 and the metal plate 232, and a second dielectric layer is interposed between the metal plate 232 and the second metal layer 212.
As such, arranging the mushroom type structure 230 between the first metal layer 211 and the second metal layer 212 repeatedly can allow a signal x of a low frequency band (refer to FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D) and a signal y of a high frequency band (refer to FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D) to pass through the electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 and block a signal z of a certain frequency band (refer to FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D) ranging between the low frequency band and the high frequency band. In other words, the electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B can function as a band stop filter blocking a signal of a certain frequency band. This can be easily understood through an equivalent circuit of FIG. 2C.
In the equivalent circuit of the mushroom type electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 shown in FIG. 2C, a capacitance component C1 and an inductance component L1 are connected in series between the first metal layer 211 and the second metal layer 212. Here, C1 is a capacitance component formed by the second metal layer 212, the second dielectric layer 222 and the metal plate 232, and L1 is an inductance component formed by the via 234 placed between the metal plate 232 and the first dielectric layer 221. As a result, the mushroom type bandgap structure 200 can function as a kind of band stop filter by this L-C serial connection.
However, it is difficult to apply the mushroom type electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 in various apparatuses because the mushroom type electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 functions as a band stop filter by using one inductance component and one capacitance component only. This is because the acquirable length (i.e. corresponding to an inductance value) of the via 234 is limited in the structural shape of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. The acquirable capacitance value is also limited because the mushroom type structure 230 is placed between two adjacent metal layers only.
As new electronic apparatuses and communication apparatuses are increasingly becoming smaller, thinner and lighter, it is more difficult to select a desired bandgap frequency band by using the mushroom type electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 only. In other words, the mushroom type electromagnetic bandgap structure 200 shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B has some restrictions in adjusting each bandgap frequency band to meet conditions and features of various application apparatuses or to lower a conductive noise to a desired noise level in a pertinent bandgap frequency band.
Accordingly, it is necessarily required to study the structure of the electromagnetic bandgap that not only can outstandingly block or reduce a conductive noise between a power layer and a ground layer but also can be universally applied to various application apparatuses having different bandgap frequency bands.
It is also necessary to study the structure of an electromagnetic bandgap that can be applied to a multi-layered PCB structure with a simplified overall process by reducing the number of stacking operations and can be easily realized without an additional change of process.

Electromagnetic bandgap structure and printed circuit board


A bag which is portable and adapted to be opened and erected on a display stand on which materials including fabrics, wallpaper, rugs and the like may be displayed to a prospective customer. The materials are attached to the bag on a support bar by means of tab members which allow for easy removal or insertion of the materials into the bag.

The present invention relates to a display bag for use in the transportation and display of various flat materials, including fabrics, wallpaper, rugs and the like.
Numerous instances occur in which it is desired to make a presentation in which articles must be transported and displayed at different facilities away from the home or office of the person making the presentation. One such situation occurs when a salesman visits a customer and desires for instance to present a new line of fabrics or wallpaper.
Heretofore, flat materials such as fabrics, wallpaper, rugs and the like have generally been transported for display to customers by packing the materials in some type of case. Display of the materials in this manner proved cumbersome as the materials had to be lifted out of the case and placed on some type of stand in order to be conveniently accessible to sight and touch. Moreover, the display of materials using the above method proved to be time consuming as time was required to physically remove materials from the case and then to place them back. Such a procedure does not lend itself to an efficient presentation of the goods to be displayed in that it is difficult to locate particular fabrics, maintain the goods in a presentable and unwrinkled state, all of which are of great importance to the prospective customer.
Attempts to improve conventional methods of display have resulted in the production of bulky display cases and racks which mandated the use of wheels for easy transportation. Attempts to develop a display case which both houses the materials to be displayed and utilizes the components of the case as a support for the materials during inspection and display thereof proved to be complicated to assemble. Furthermore, the rigid built-in support mechanism of these cases required space, thus decreasing the amount of space left in the case to hold the materials.


A system and method for directing vibrational oscillating sonic waves toward a target tissue in the body of a person, to thereby influence a phenotypic differentiation of the target tissue at a cellular level, requires the use of an epidermal or implantable patch. Mounted on the patch is a sonic generator for generating sonic energy that entrains cellular functions of the target tissue for a desired phenotypic response. Also included is a unit for titrating the target tissue to monitor for changes in an expression level of the target tissue resulting from phenotypic differentiation.

It is well known that human beings will physically react to sonic energy. Hearing is but one example of this phenomenon. It often happens, however, that the human reaction to sonic energy is not immediately perceptible. Instead, the perception is the result of a longer term evolutionary process. In this last category, in vivo cellular reactions and gene expressions have been attributed to the influence of sonic radiation. Of particular interest here are cellular reactions that result in a phenotypic differentiation of the target tissue.
Apart from the phenotypic cell differentiation that can result from exposure to sonic radiation, it is also known that meditative states and/or alpha brain wave/relaxation states are greatly influenced by sonic radiation. On this point, consider the effect music can have on an individual. Also, consider the effect an exposure to loud, abrasive and/or startling noises can have on an individual, regardless whether the sound is instantaneous, repetitive or continuous.
Although a wide variety of protocols for sonic radiation therapy have been, and can be, proposed, it is axiomatic that for beneficial therapy, sonic radiation must be effectively directed onto the proper target tissue. With this objective in mind, an effective delivery of sonic radiation necessarily requires a controlled exposure to the radiation. This control, in turn, requires the employment of preplanned operational parameters for the radiation (i.e. frequency, intensity, and duration), at predetermined exposure intervals. Preferably, all this is done with minimal requirements for patient supervision.
With the above in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for directing vibrational oscillating sonic waves toward a target tissue in the body of a person to influence a phenotypic differentiation of the target tissue at a cellular level. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for using sonic radiation to induce meditative states and/or to establish alpha brain wave/relaxation states for the user. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for monitoring the efficacy of sonic radiation therapy by employing a titration capability in the operational protocol. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for providing sonic radiation therapy that is easy to use, is simple to implement, and is relatively cost effective.

System and method for titrating in vivo cellular reaction and gene expression using varying oscillation frequencies