A resequencer changes the ABCD grouping of a sequence of video fields derived from a motion picture film via 3-2 pulldown so as to allow that sequence of video fields to be cut into or edited with a second sequence of similarly derived video fields, the cut or edit occurring at any desired position, without any artifacts. The resequencer comprises eight field stores. In each video field time, an input video field is stored into one field store and an output video field is read from a different field store. The particular field stores into which fields are read and written in each video field time are chosen so as to achieve the desired change in ABCD grouping.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to video post-production editing systems, and in particular to editing systems which are used to edit program material taken from standard 24-frame-per-second film.
2. Related Art
Movies and videotapes give the illusion of motion by playing back rapidly a sequence of still images called xe2x80x9cframes.xe2x80x9d Commercial movies are designed to be played back at 24 frames per second. In contrast, under the American NTSC television standard, videotapes are designed to be played back at 29.97 frames per second. Under high-definition video standard SMPTE-240M, high-definition videotapes are designed to be played back at 30 frames per second. In Europe, under the PAL and SECAM television standards, videotapes are designed to be played back at 25 frames per second.
Besides the difference in frame rates, video playback differs in another important way from movie playback. In video, the screen image is divided up into a large number of horizontal scan lines. The American NTSC standard provides for 525 scan lines on the screen (not all of which are visible), whereas the European PAL standard provides for 625 scan lines. In videotapes, the scan lines that correspond to each frame are divided into two xe2x80x9cfields,xe2x80x9d the first containing the even-numbered scan lines and the second the odd-numbered scan lines. On videotape, to record a frame, one records first one of the fields and then the other field. Thus, a video frame contains two fields, and an SMPTE-240M videotape is designed to be played back at 60 fields per second, corresponding to 30 frames per second.
It is common to move program material from motion picture film to videotape. A machine which can perform this function is called a xe2x80x9ctelecine.xe2x80x9d For further background on telecines, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,387, issued to the present inventors. Nowadays, it is also common to move program material from videotape to film, particularly inasmuch as high definition video equipment allows this operation to be carried out without degradation in image quality. Either process requires a way of bridging the gap between the 24 frames per second used in film and the 25, 29.97, or 30 frames per second used in videotape.
When converting 24 frame per second film to 29.97/30 frame per second videotape, the standard process used to bridge the frame rate gap is called xe2x80x9c3-2 pulldown.xe2x80x9d In this process, even-numbered frames of the film are recorded as two successive fields, which are identical (except that they correspond to different sets of scanlines). Odd-numbered frames of the film are recorded as three successive fields, which are also identical (except that they correspond to different sets of scanlines). Thus, every pair of frames in the film, which takes {fraction (1/12)}th of a second to play back at the film playback rate of 24 frames per second, is converted into five video fields, which also take {fraction (1/12)}th of a second to play back at a video playback rate of 60 fields per second.
As depicted in FIG. 1, videotapes derived from a film 100 by means of 3-2 pulldown consist of a sequence of groups of fields such as 125, 130, 135 and 140, each field group corresponding to one film frame such as 105. There are actually four different types of field groups, which we call A, B, C, and D. An A field group consists of two fields corresponding to one videotape frame and to one film frame. A B field group consists of three fields, the first two belonging to one videotape frame and the third to the next videotape frame, with the three fields corresponding to one film frame. A C field group consists of two fields, corresponding to two different videotape frames but only one film frame. A D field group consists of three videotape fields, the first belonging to one videotape frame and the other two belonging to the next videotape frame, but all corresponding to one film frame.
It is important to note the following difference between A and C field groups. Even though both consist of two fields corresponding to one film frame, the first field of an A field group is the first field of a video frame, and thus it corresponds to even-numbered scanlines. In contrast, the first field of a C field group is the second field of a video frame, and thus it corresponds to odd-numbered scanlines. There is a similar difference between B and D field groups. The first field of a B field group is the first field of a video frame, and thus it corresponds to even-numbered scanlines. In contrast, the first field of a D field group is the second field of a video frame, and thus it corresponds to odd-numbered scanlines.
A videotape derived from film by means of 3-2 pulldown thus consists of a sequence of field groups in the order ABCD, ABCD, ABCD, etc. Notably, the first two fields of the videotape will be an A field group, and thus it will be possible to know, just from the location of a field within the videotape, whether it belongs to an A, B, C, or D field group. In modern videotape editing, the frames are referred to by xe2x80x9ctime codes,xe2x80x9d which take the form hh:mm:ss:ff, where hh denotes hours, mm minutes, ss seconds, and ff frames (not fields). Because there are six sets of A, B, C, and D field groups in each second""s worth of videotape, each set of field groups encompassing five video frames, it is possible to know just from the video frame number ff of the time code whether the fields of that video frame belong to A, B, C, or D field groups. In particular, the first video frame of each second consists of two fields forming an A field group, the second video frame consists of two fields that make up part of a B field group, the third video frame consists of one field from a B field group and one from a C field group, and so forth.
It is common, in the process of editing videotape, to cut, wipe, or dissolve between two or more sources of video. Post-production video editing systems of the types known in the art permit this cutting, wiping, or dissolving to be performed at any video frame boundary.
Consider a typical editing scenario, depicted in FIG. 2. The user of the editing system has two source videotapes, tape X and tape Y, derived from film by means of 3-2 pulldown. The user wishes to copy the first six video frames, numbered 0 through 5 in FIG. 2, from tape X onto the output, followed by five video frames, numbered 0 through 4, from tape Y. Because both tapes were obtained by 3-2 pulldown, tape X""s video frames 0 through 5 come from five film frames and have an ABCDA sequence, while tape X""s video frames 0 through 4 come from four film frames and have an ABCD sequence. If this operation were carried out on a prior art editing system, first the six video frames 0 through 5 in tape X will be copied to the output, which will give the output tape an initial ABCDA sequence. Then the five video frames 0 through 4 from tape Y will be copied to the output. This additional copy operation will result in the output having an undesirable irregular ABCDAABCD sequence, as shown in FIG. 2.
Suppose now that the operation depicted in FIG. 2 were a dissolve rather than a cut, so that contents of the two tapes are blended, with an increasing proportion of tape Y content being used as time advances; It is readily seen that the output video frame numbered 7 consists of two fields. The first field of output frame 7 is derived from tape X""s B film frame (spanning the video frames numbered 6 and 7) blended with tape Y""s B film frame (spanning video frames numbered 1 and 2). The second field of output frame 7, however, is derived from a different film frame on tape X, the C film frame spanning video frames 7 and 8. This is also undesirable.
As this example shows, even if the source videotapes X and Y are derived from film via 3-2 pulldown and have perfect ABCD sequences, an editing operation can potentially result in irregularities in the ABCD sequence of the output videotape. These irregularities can give rise to visible artifacts when the output videotape is converted back to film. Even a single cut can result in all the videotape after the cut having an offset ABCD sequence, so that the time code no longer allows one to determine whether the fields of a frame belong to A, B, C, or D field groups.
One technique for avoiding this difficulty is to limit the resolution at which cutting, wiping and dissolving take place so that these operations are only allowed at the boundary of an ABCD structure. Since an ABCD structure is five videotape frames long, i.e., one-sixth of a second, this greatly restricts the editor""s ability to cut as artistic considerations dictate (e.g., to synchronize with sound effects). This loss of creative control is unacceptable in practice.
It is therefore an objective of the invention to create an editing system for videotape which allows cut and dissolve at the highest temporal resolution consistent with preserving the ABCD sequence of field groups. It is a further objective to achieve this by means of a modest alteration of existing videotape editing systems, without requiring any radical changes in existing systems.
To achieve these objectives, the invention makes use of a novel apparatus called a resequencer. The resequencer contains eight field stores, i.e., devices capable of storing the contents of a video field at the resolution corresponding to the video equipment being used (e.g., NTSC or SMPTE-240M). A video tape player is connected to the input of the resequencer, and the resequencer generates video at its output. One resequencer is needed for each source of video going into the editing system, so that forexample if the editing system is capable of combining video from three video tape players to produce the output videotape, three resequencers are needed.
The invention also makes use of a controller interfaced to the resequencers and commanding them. The controller commands the resequencer to perform the appropriate transformations between its input and output so that the resequencers"" outputs have an ABCD sequence of field groups which matches the desired ABCD sequence in the output videotape.
Through the combined action of the controller and the resequencer, it is thus possible to achieve the objective of performing cuts, wipes, and dissolves between two video sources while preserving the output videotape""s regular ABCD sequence of field groups. These cuts, wipes, and dissolves can be carried out with the maximum temporal resolution which the sources permit, so that the cut, wipe, or dissolve can start with the beginning of any A, B, C, or D field group in each source and be placed at the beginning of any A, B, C, or D field group in the output.

Method and apparatus for changing phase of video program material taken from 24 frame per second film


A storage system, a non-transitory computer readable medium and a method of pre-fetching. The method may include determining, by a pre-fetch module of the storage system, to fetch a certain data portion from a data storage device of the storage system to a cache memory of the storage system; wherein the certain data portion belongs to a certain statistical segment that belongs to at least one logical volume; determining, by a pre-fetch module of the storage system, to pre-fetch at least one additional data portion to the cache memory based upon input/output (I/O) activity statistics associated with the certain statistical segment; wherein the I/O activity statistics comprises timing information related to I/O activities; fetching the certain data portion; and pre-fetching the at least one additional data portion if it is determined to pre-fetch the at least one additional data portions.

Modern large scale information systems utilize special storage systems or devices that may include thousand of magnetic/optical disks and other storage media. Usually, the storage system or device is serving several clients/hosts via various types of communication link (LAN, WAN, wireless, direct connection etc.). A host device is any type of electronic device that has a need either to access data stored on the storage system or to store data in the storage system/device.
When a host device (also referred to as host computer) sends data to a storage device, the storage device may store the data on one or more storage media including hard disk drives, optical storage drives, magnetic tape drives, or semiconductor storage devices. In a typical implementation, the storage device is configured as a storage controller that controls a plurality of hard disk drives.
The host reads data from the storage device by requesting the data from the storage device. In response to the request, the storage device retrieves the data from the storage media and communicates the data to the host.
Unfortunately, there is typically a significant delay between when the storage device receives the request and when the storage device is able to communicate the data.
Data pre-fetching techniques are used to reduce drastically the above mentioned delay. The main scheme of these techniques is that the storage device retrieves data in advance from slow storage media and write the data to the cache. The cache is able to receive and communicate data much faster than the electro-mechanical storage media such as magnetic disk, reducing the time required to perform reads. Hence when the storage device receives request from a host for the data, the requests is serviced from the high speed cache instead of the magnetic/optical disk which takes longer time. In this way, data is communicated to the host much faster.
In general, a main problem related with any implementation of pre-fetch methods is that the storage device is unable to decide with 100% certitude which of the pre-fetched data will be actually used by the host. It should be noticed that the system pays a price (both in terms of disk activity and cache space) for pre-fetch, and hence we need to reduce the amount of false pre-fetch decisions.
There is a need to develop pre-fetch methods that are based on intelligent criteria that correctly pre-fetch accurate amounts of data and reduces the number of false pre-fetch operations.


A substantially closed cassette for conducting therein electrophoresis separation which includes a closed chamber, the chamber includes therein a body of gel, at least one ion source having a volume smaller than the volume of the gel for providing ions for driving the electrophoresis separation and electrodes for connecting the cassette to an external electrical power source, thereby enabling to drive the electrophoresis separation.

A great deal of diagnostic procedures and laboratory research are carried out wherein deoxyribonuveic acid (DNA), ribonuveic acid (RNA) or proteins are separated according to their physical and chemical properties via electrophoresis. This process is widely used and has many applications. For example, it is used to analyze DNA molecules according to their resultant size after being digested by restriction enzymes. It is also used to analyze the products of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Typically, electrophoresis separation is carried out in a separation medium, such as a gel of agarose or acrylamide or a combination of the two. Usually, agarose gels are cast in open trays and form a slab whereas acrylamide gels are cast between two glass plates.
In order to effect the electrophoretic separation, two opposite ends of the gels are exposed to an electrically conducting buffer which is connected by electrodes, typically carbon or platinum, to an electric power source. Once the electrical power source is switched on, the electric field forces negatively charged molecules to move towards the anode and positively charged molecules to move towards the cathode. One characteristic of conventional electrophoresis is the use of large volumes of buffer having a relatively low salt concentration to maintain the required electric field.
DNA is negatively charged and therefore, in the agarose or acrylamide gels which provide sieving action, DNA molecules move towards the anode at a rate which depends on their size, wherein the smaller the molecules the faster they move.
Typically, it is desirable to visualize and to document the results of the electrophoretic separation test. In electrophoretic separation of DNA molecules, this has been done by immersing the gel slab after the electrophoretic separation has been completed in a solution of a fluorescent compound which emits visible light when exposed to a ultra violet (UV) light. A widely used compound is ethidium bromide.
Conventional electrophoretic separation systems are deficient in many respects, a few of which are listed below.
Prior art electrophoresis separation systems are a potential source of contamination to the working environment in which the tests are performed. The two major sources of contamination are ethidium bromide and PCR products. Ethidium bromide is a hazardous chemical due to its mutagenic activity and therefore, exposure to ethidium bromide may induce malignant tumors. PCR is an extremely sensitive method to the extent that a single molecule of DNA product from one PCR (out of the trillions of molecules being produced) may interfere with the subsequent PCR such that it will produce incorrect result.
Conventional electrophoresis is also deficient in other respects, one being that it is time consuming.
Various attempts have been made to solve the deficiencies of conventional electrophoresis. Most attempts have been addressed to overcome the deficiency of conventional electrophoresis systems with respect to the use of buffers therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,491 to Stalberg describes an electrophoresis system having a high concentration buffer containing gel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,639 to Sarrine et al. describes an electrophoresis plate with improved buffer circulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,164 to Tansamrit et al. describes an electrophoresis plate having thickened ends as buffer reservoirs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,831 to MacConnel describes a bufferless disposable cassette having open ends and conductive film electrodes.

Apparatus and method for electrophoresis


A laminated chip varistor comprises a varistor body, first and second inner electrodes, a heat conductor, and first and second outer electrodes. The varistor body has first and second outer faces. The first and second inner electrodes are disposed in the varistor body so that at least portions thereof are opposing to each other. The first and second outer electrodes are formed on the first outer face, the first outer electrode being connected to the first inner electrode, and the second outer electrode being connected to the second inner electrode. The heat conductor is formed in the varistor body extending in a direction from the first outer face toward the second outer face with one end face thereof exposed on the first outer face and the other end face thereof exposed on the second outer face.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a varistor element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally disclosed light emitting devices comprise an electronic element and a varistor element electrically connected to the electronic element (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2001-15815). In the light emitting device described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2001-15815, the varistor element is connected in parallel with a semiconductor light-emitting element serving as the electronic element, the semiconductor light emitting element being protected from ESD (Electro Static Discharge) surges by the varistor.


To provide a semiconductor device which is higher functional and reliable and a technique capable of manufacturing the semiconductor device with a high yield at low cost without complexing the apparatus or process. At least one of a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer is formed containing one kind or plural kinds of indium, tin, lead, bismuth, calcium, manganese, or zinc; or oxidation treatment is performed at least one of interfaces between an organic compound layer and the first conductive layer and between the organic compound layer and the second conductive layer. The first conductive layer, the organic compound layer, and the second conductive layer which are formed over a first substrate with a peeling layer interposed therebetween can be peeled from the first substrate with the peeling layer, and transposed to a second substrate.

Recently, an individual-recognition technique has drawn attention, in which by giving an ID (individual identification number) to each object, information such as a history of the object is clarified for manufacturing, management, or the like. In particular, a semiconductor device capable of non-contact data transmission and reception has been developed. As such a semiconductor device, an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification: also called an ID tag, an IC tag, an IC chip, an RF (Radio Frequency) tag, a wireless tag, an electronic tag, or a wireless chip) or the like specifically begins to be introduced into companies, markets, or the like.
Such a semiconductor device generally includes an antenna and a circuit (hereinafter, also referred to as an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip) using a semiconductor substrate of silicon (Si) or the like, and the IC chip is constituted from a memory circuit (hereinafter also referred to as a memory), a control circuit, or the like.
In addition, a semiconductor device such as a liquid crystal display device or an electro-luminescence display device, in which thin film transistors (hereinafter also called TFTs) are integrated over a glass substrate, has been developed. In such a semiconductor device, a thin film transistor is formed over a glass substrate by using a thin-film formation technique, and either a liquid crystal element or a light-emitting element (an electro-luminescence element, hereinafter also called an EL element) is formed as a display element over various circuits constituted from the thin film transistors, thereby the semiconductor device functions as a display device.
In a manufacturing process of the above-described semiconductor device, in order to reduce manufacturing cost, a process of transposing an element, a peripheral circuit, or the like manufactured over a glass substrate onto an inexpensive substrate such as a plastic substrate has been performed (e.g., see Reference 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-26282).

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A driving method of a display device for performing time-division gray scale display is disclosed, which is capable of inputting accurate data into a panel by using one memory. M groups each having a pair of a first period and a second period are provided in one frame period. Video signals are written into a memory in the first period of at least one group among the m groups, while video signals are read out from the memory in the respective second periods of the m groups. The start timing of reading out video signals from the memory is synchronized with the start timing of each of the n sub-frame periods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving method of an active matrix display device, which has a switching element in each pixel and a memory for storing a video signal inputted to each pixel. In particular, the invention relates to a driving method of a display device where gray scales are expressed by controlling the light-emission period of each pixel.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a driving method of a display device, such a driving method of a display device has been proposed that gray scales are expressed by dividing one frame period into multiple sub-frame periods and selecting light emission or non-light emission of each pixel by inputting a video signal thereto in each sub-frame period (hereinafter also referred to as a time-division gray scale display) (see Patent Document 1).
For example, one frame period is divided into first to third sub-frame periods, and the ratio of the (light-emission length of the first sub-frame period): (light-emission length of the second sub-frame period):(light-emission length of the third sub-frame period) is set to satisfy 20:21:22. Here, the light-emission length of each sub-frame period corresponds to a period in which a pixel selected for light emission emits light in each sub-frame period. By inputting a video signal into each pixel in each of the first to third sub-frame periods to select light emission or non-light emission of the pixel, 8 gray scales can be expressed.
A display device that performs time-division gray scale display has a panel including multiple pixels and a driver circuit for inputting video signals into the multiple pixels, and a peripheral circuit for inputting signals into the panel. The peripheral circuit generates video signals and timing signals to be inputted into the panel. Based on the signals inputted from the peripheral circuit, the panel performs the time-division gray scale display.
The peripheral circuit of the display device that performs time-division gray scale display has a memory and a controller for controlling the memory. The controller writes (stores) video signals (hereinafter also referred to as source video signals) inputted to the display device into the memory, and reads out the written (stored) video signals to be inputted into the panel. In order to perform time-division gray scale display, it is necessary that video signals are read out from the memory in each sub-frame period. That is, the read operation of video signals from a memory is required to be synchronous with each sub-frame period. On the other hand, source video signals are inputted into the display device independently of the sub-frame periods. That is, the write operation of source video signals into the memory is asynchronous with each sub-frame period.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-5426
In a peripheral circuit of a display device that performs time-division gray scale display, the write timing of source video signals into a memory is asynchronous with the read timing of video signals from the memory. Therefore, such a method has been adopted that two memories (single-port memories) are provided in the peripheral circuit so that a video signal stored in one memory is read out while a source video signal is written into the other memory. This method requires two memories and a circuit for controlling the write/read operation of video signals to/from the two memories in the peripheral circuit, which results in the complex configuration of the peripheral circuit and larger size of the display device.
Alternatively, there is a method of using one dual-port memory instead of providing two memories in the peripheral circuit. In the dual-port memory, the write operation of source video signals and the read operation of video signals can be performed independently of each other. That is, the read operation of video signals that are written into a dual-port memory can be performed concurrently with the write operation of source video signals into the dual-port memory. However, since the same memory area is used for writing source video signals and reading out video signals in concurrently performing the write operation of source video signals and the read operation of video signals to/from the dual-port memory, signals written into the memory and signals read out from the memory are mixed with each other. Therefore, there is a problem in that video signals cannot be accurately inputted into the panel, which results in the low display quality of images.

Driving method using divided frame period


A timer for controlling an appliance includes a housing. The timer also includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The plurality of cam surfaces are positioned within the housing. The timer further includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. Moreover, the timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The auxiliary member is positioned outside of the housing. The timer yet further includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm. A method of controlling an appliance is also disclosed.

The present invention relates generally to appliance timers, and more specifically to an appliance timer having an auxiliary switching assembly for increasing switching capacity.
Appliance timers are commonly used in many household appliances, such as dishwashers, clothes washers, and clothes dryers. The appliance timer controls operation of the appliance by actuating and deactuating switch assemblies which start and stop various work functions within the appliance such as a rinse function in the case of a clothes washer. The switch assemblies within the appliance timer are actuated and deactuated as a result of interaction between a number of a cam surfaces defined in a camstack of the appliance timer and a number of assemblies.
The switch assemblies are generally grouped into a number of switch blocks associated with the appliance timer. For example, one common switch block configuration includes eight switch assemblies. Moreover, each of the switch assemblies typically includes an upper circuit blade and a lower circuit blade, with an intermediate circuit blade positioned therebetween. The circuit blades are moved into and out of contact with one another in order to make and break, respectively, a number of circuits. In particular, if the circuit blade has a cam follower molded or otherwise secured thereto, the circuit blade may be moved into and out of contact with other circuit blades via cooperation with one of the cam surfaces defined in the camstack. Alternatively, if the circuit blade is configured without a cam follower, the circuit blade will remain stationary until another circuit blade associated with the switch assembly is moved into or out of contact therewith. One common switch assembly arrangement includes an upper and a lower switch blade each of which is configured without a cam follower. Actuation of the switch assembly occurs as an intermediate circuit blade, which has a cam follower secured thereto, is selectively lifted into contact with the upper circuit blade or dropped into contact with the lower circuit blade.
One way to categorize appliance timers is by the number of switch blocks included in the timer. For example, appliance timers may be categorized as either xe2x80x9csingle blockxe2x80x9d timers or xe2x80x9cdouble blockxe2x80x9d timers. As their respective names suggest, a single block timer includes a single switch block (e.g. a single group of eight switch assemblies in operative contact with the camstack) whereas a double block timer includes two switch blocks (e.g. two groups of switch assemblies each having eight switch assemblies in operative contact with the camstack).
Single block timers advantageously have fewer components relative to double block timers thereby reducing costs associated with the appliance timer. Hence, a number of single block timers have heretofore been designed for use in many household appliances. Such single block timers are used in conjunction with appliances which do not require the additional switching capacity associated with double block timers. For example, it is known that approximately 85% of the clothes washer and dishwasher models available in the appliance market may be operated with a single block timer. Therefore, use of single block timers in such appliances provides the switching capacity necessary to operate the appliance without the additional costs associated with double block timers.
However, the remaining models, often referred to as xe2x80x9chigh-endxe2x80x9d models, generally must be controlled with a more complex timing device such as a double block timer. This is true since such high-end models generally have additional features associated therewith thereby increasing the number of switches required for operation of the appliance. As alluded to above, while use of such double block timers increases the switching capacity associated with the timer, costs associated with the timer are also increased thereby disadvantageously increasing costs associated with the appliance.
What is needed therefore is an appliance timer which has greater switching capacity relative to single block timers which have heretofore been designed. What is further needed is an appliance timer which has greater switching capacity relative to single block timers which have heretofore been designed, but has fewer components relative to double block timers which have heretofore been designed.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a timer for controlling an appliance. The timer includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The timer includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. The timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The timer also includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an appliance. The appliance includes a timer having (1) a camstack which includes a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein, (2) a switch block having a number of switch assemblies, (3) an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof, and (4) a number of switch arms positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. The method includes the step of rotating the camstack so as to cause the number of switch assemblies to cooperate with the plurality of cam surfaces so as to provide a first number of switching operations for the appliance. The method also includes the step of rotating the auxiliary member so as to cause the number of switch arms to cooperate with the circuit pattern so as to provide a second number of switching operations for the appliance.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a timer for controlling an appliance. The timer includes a housing. The timer also includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The plurality of cam surfaces are positioned within the housing. The timer further includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. Moreover, the timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The auxiliary member is positioned outside of the housing. The timer yet further includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful timer for controlling an appliance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved timer for controlling an appliance.
It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful method of controlling an appliance.
It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of controlling an appliance.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an appliance timer that includes an auxiliary switching assembly for increasing the switching capacity associated with the timer.
It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide an appliance timer that utilizes fewer components relative to appliance timers which have heretofore been designed.
It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary switching assembly which may be retrofit to an existing timer thereby increasing the switching capacity associated with the existing timer.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.

Appliance timer having an auxiliary switching assembly


A constant voltage circuit converts a voltage input to an input terminal and outputs a predetermined constant voltage from an output terminal. The constant voltage circuit includes an output transistor that outputs an electrical current corresponding to a control signal input thereto to the output terminal, a differential amplifier circuit that outputs the control signal according to a difference between a comparative voltage proportional to the output voltage and a predetermined reference voltage, a current mirror circuit that serves as a load of a pair of input transistors included in the differential amplifier circuit, and a voltage comparator that compares a voltage at a control electrode of a transistor included in the current mirror circuit and a voltage of the control signal. The differential amplifier circuit controls a bias electrical current supplied to the pair of input transistors according to a comparison result of the voltage comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a constant voltage circuit of a whole category of electronic equipment aboard a computerized personal organizer, a handset, a voice recognition device, a voice memory device, and a computer, etc.
2. Discussion of the Background
At present, energy saving has been actively promoted to protect environment. For battery-powered electrical equipment, such as mobile phones, digital cameras, etc., energy saving is especially important to prolong battery life. Such portable equipment typically uses a constant voltage circuit.
In constant voltage circuits, in order to quickly respond to fluctuations in output voltage, a bias electrical current, which is hereinafter simply referred to as bias current, in a differential amplifier circuit is typically increased.
However, increasing the bias current causes the constant voltage circuit to consume a greater amount of electrical current.
In view of the foregoing, in a known method, the bias current in the differential amplifier circuit is increased in proportion to the output voltage.
However, phase compensation is difficult in this method because the bias current of the differential amplifier continuously changes. Further, response speed is relatively slow when the output electrical current changes abruptly.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a known constant voltage circuit that increases bias current of a differential amplifier circuit unit when an output electrical current reaches a predetermined or given value.
As shown in FIG. 1, a constant voltage circuit 100 includes an output transistor M101, PMOS (P-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors M102, M103, and M107, NMOS (N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors M104, M105, and M106, a comparator CMP, and resistors R101, R102, and R103.
The constant voltage circuit 100 supplies a drain current of the PMOS transistor M107 that is in proportion to a drain current of the output transistor M101 to the resistor R103. The comparator CMP outputs a high level signal when a decrease in a voltage of the resistor R103 exceeds a reference voltage Vs.
When the comparator CMP outputs the high level signal, the NMOS transistor M106 turns on, which adds a constant current ib from a current source to a bias current ia of the differential amplifier circuit, thus increasing the bias current.
Although the constant voltage circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1 can respond more quickly to abrupt changes in the output electrical current, it is difficult to maintain a high degree of accuracy of the resistor R103 when the constant voltage circuit 100 is an integrated circuit (IC). Consequently, it is difficult to set the output electrical current accurately when the bias current is switched.
The output electrical current when the bias current is switched can be set accurately using a resistor capable of trimming as the resistor R103. However, using such a resistor will increase the cost because an IC chip having a broader area and capable of supporting a trimming process are necessary.
Another known constant voltage circuit detects an output electrical current value based on differences in voltage between both input terminals of a differential amplifier circuit and increases the bias current of the differential amplifier when the voltage difference exceeds a predetermined voltage.
In this constant voltage circuit, because changes in temperature and variations in production process conditions can cause the voltage between a gate and a source of a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor to fluctuate, it is difficult to set a relation between the output electrical current and the voltage difference between the two input terminals of the differential amplifier circuit accurately.
Further, this constant voltage circuit includes two more differential amplifier circuits in order to measure the voltage difference between the two input terminals of the first differential amplifier circuit, and detects the predetermined voltage using input offset voltage of those two differential amplifier circuits.
However, it is difficult to accurately set the output electrical current at which the bias current is switched similarly to the constant voltage circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, because the input offset voltage described above fluctuates depending on temperature and production process conditions.


An anvil positioning device for an automatic machine tool which performs a rivet operation on a rivet comprises a chuck (3) movably connected to the machine tool (2). A block (17) is slidably mounted axially inside of the chuck. An interchangeable anvil (12) is engageable with the chuck and has a rod (20) which is slidably mounted within the anvil for pressing a rivet. A control unit (40) is used to control the movement of the chuck and a pressing unit (30) is used to press the block against the rod of the anvil.

The present invention relates to an anvil positioning device with an interchangeable anvil for riveting operations performed by automatic machine tools.
In particular, it relates to a positioning device, designed to be fitted to a support with several degrees of freedom, which positions the anvil spatially.
The present invention relates to the field of automatic machine tools, and in particular to automatic machine tools which are used to assemble aircraft parts, e.g., to fit the skin of the aircraft onto the load-bearing structure of the aircraft. The difficulties encountered in performing these operations correctly and within the manufacturers' tolerances are well known.
Various tools are need to be brought to the the rivets which are positioned at right angles to the surface, whatever its inclination, and automatically perform the various operations required, such as drilling, flaring, adhesive spreading, rivet insertion, rivet driving, etc., while keeping within narrow positioning and orthogonality tolerances.
The equipment which is able perform these operations on various types of structures is already known; in particular, one such type of equipment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,064 held by the Applicant.
This reference relates to a machine tool comprising a support which moves along three cartesian axes, an operating head with two degrees of freedom fitted to the said support, and a plate with connection points for a positioning device, the plate is fitted to the operating head and able to perform controlled movements along a pair of cartesian axes.
These machines however, present some problems in the case where rivet insertion into the structures of rather complex shape, such as those shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and to 1e which schematically illustrate some possible configurations of the internal ribbing of the structure to be assembled, each of which calls for a different anvil.
Normally, the hammer of the anvil which drives in the rivet works on the outside of the structure (i.e. on the side of the panel to be attached to ribbing or the like), while the anvil is placed against the rivet on the inside. The anvil, therefore needs to be inserted into structures of quite complex shape while always remaining perpendicular to the surface, and the anvil axis must pass through the rivet.
It is therefore necessary to replace the anvil whenever operations change over from one structure to another, so that the right tool can always be used.
Another problem is posed by the need to position the anvil at an angle around its own axis as operations move along the structure to be assembled which, as already mentioned, is generally curved in both directions and has ribs of various shapes.
This characteristic makes it difficult, if not practically impossible, to design a single anvil suitable for all jobs (or all of the different types of area to be worked on) which possesses the correct attributes of pressure bar, rivet crushing, robustness and ease of manufacture.

Riveting anvil positioning device with interchangeable anvil for riveting operations performed by automatic machine tools


A display case for a replacement window, comprising a case assembly and frame member. The case assembly has a front panel and a rear panel hingedly connected to each other near their top edges, and having an inwardly directed flange connected to their side edges. The frame member secures a replacement window therein and is slidably inserted within the case assembly. The frame member comprises two side sections, a top section and a bottom section. Each side section has at least one longitudinally-extending channel on its external surface for sliding engagement with a flange on the case assembly. The case assembly has means for preventing opening of the hinged connection beyond a predetermined maximum point. There is a plank attached to said bottom section of the frame and extending along its length. The plank has outwardly beveled longitudinal edges so as to create a groove between the bottom section of the frame and the bottom of each beveled edge. Sliding the frame out of the case assembly and opening the hinged connections to their maximum point causes the top edges of the panels to engage the grooves and lock the frame in an extended position. Closing the panels releases the grooves and allows the frame to slide within the case assembly for transportation and storage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable display assembly for replacement windows. In particular, the invention relates to a portable display assembly that serves as a cover for a replacement window during transportation and also as a stand to display the window at a convenient height.
2. The Prior Art
Portable display assemblies have been used by vendors of replacement windows to sell their wares door-to-door. These assemblies serve both as a cover for the replacement window as it is being transported or stored, and as a stand for displaying the window at a convenient height.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,935,165 to Elliott and 3,124,225 to Rosenberg disclose demonstration devices of the type described above, which comprise an interior frame connected to an outer housing which has a front panel and a rear panel. The front and rear panels are hinged together and provide a supporting stand for the inner frame. The frame can be slid within the stand to convert the stand and frame combination into a portable carrying case for the frame. The frame is supported on the stand by a triangular notch cut in the sides of the frame, which rests against the edges of the stand when the frame is in the open position.
While these devices provide a convenient way to transport and display replacement windows, they suffer from several drawbacks. The main problem is that the mechanism for holding the frame in an upright position on the stand is not durable or steady. The frame can easily become disengaged from the stand and slide down between the panels. Second with frequent use over time, the moving, sliding parts easily wear out and/or come loose.


Methods and systems to transform an alternating current into constant-polarity constant or pulsed voltages, provide these to a first group of contacts of an electrical connector assembly such that none of the contacts is subjected to polarity reversal, receive the constant-polarity constant or pulsed voltages from a second group of contacts of the electrical connector assembly, and reconstruct the alternating current from these voltages.

An electrical connector assembly may include electrical contacts made from a self-passivating transition metal, which forms a non-conductive passivation layer on surfaces of the positive contact when the contact is exposed to water or other electrolytes. This non-conductive passivation layer minimizes current leakage from the contact into the electrolyte and/or prevents short circuits across the contacts.
It has been found that, for some contacts made from a self-passivating transition metal, passivation response is slow enough that they will not have sufficient time to form an effective insulating film when the polarity of the contacts reverses too quickly, for example, when applying alternating current of sufficiently high frequency. For this reason, such contacts have been found unsuitable for use in applications in which there is a rapid polarity reversal of the contacts. This same reasoning is why polarity cannot be reversed on tantalum and electrolytic capacitors.

AC power transfer over self-passivating connectors


Certain spirocyclic heterocyclic compounds, and their pharmaceutically-acceptable salts, are inhibitors of the aldose reductase enzyme, and so are useful for the control of diabetic complications.

In the past, various attempts have been made by numerous investigators in the field of organic medicinal chemistry to obtain new and better oral antidiabetic agents. Many of these efforts have involved the syntheses and testing of various new and unavailable organic compounds, particularly in the area of the sulfonylureas, in an endeavor to determine their ability to lower blood sugar (i.e., glucose) levels to a substantially high degree when given by the oral route of administration. The effect of other organic compounds in preventing or arresting certain chronic complications of diabetes, such as diabetic cataracts, neuropathy and retinopathy, etc. has also been studied. For example, K. Sestanj et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,383 discloses that certain aldose reductase inhibitors like 1,3-dioxo-1H-benz[d,e]isoquinoline-2(3H)-acetic acid and some closely related derivatives thereof are useful for these purposes, even though these particular compounds are not known to be hypoglycemic in nature.
In addition, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,714 entitled "Hydantoin Therapeutic Agents" the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference discloses dextrorotatory spiro-hydantoin compounds such as d-6-fluoro-spiro-[chroman-4,4'-imidazolidine]-2',5'-dione and d-6'-fluoro-spiroimidazolidine-4,4'-thiochroman-2,5-dione.
Non-hydantoin compounds previously reported to inhibit aldose reductase include 1H-benz[d,e]isoquinoline-1,3(2H)-dione-2-acetic acid derivatives, Sestanj et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,383; halogen substituted chroman-4-carboxylic and chroman-4-acetic acids, Belletire, U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,663; spiro-]chroman-4,5'-oxazolidin]-2',3'-diones, Schnur, U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,642; and variously substituted phthalazin-1(2H)-on-4-acetic acids, Larson et al., published European Patent Application No. 222,576.
These aldose reductase inhibitors all function by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme aldose reductase, which is primarily responsible for regulating the reduction of aldoses (like glucose and galactose) to the corresponding polyols (such as sorbitol and galactitol) in the human body. In this way, unwanted accumulations of galactitol in the lens of galactosemic subjects, and of sorbitol in the lens, peripheral nervous cord and kidney of various diabetic subjects, and thereby reduced or prevented. As a result, these compounds are of value as aldose reductase inhibitors for controlling chronic diabetic complications, including but not restricted to those of an ocular nature, since it is known that the presence of polyols in an eye lens invariably leads to cataract formation and a loss of lens clarity.
Although compounds such as the hydantoins have proven useful for the treatment of diabetic complications there is a continuing search in this field of art for different, more effective inhibitors for the treatment of diabetic complications.

Heterocyclic compounds as aldose reductase inhibitors


A component carrier includes a stack having at least one electrically conductive layer structure and at least one electrically insulating layer structure; a barrier structure; and a component. The component has at least one pad embedded in the stack and/or in the barrier structure. At least a portion of one of the electrically conductive layer structure and the at least one pad includes copper in contact with the barrier structure.

A conventional component carrier such as a printed circuit board comprises a stack having at least one electrically conductive layer structure and at least one electrically insulating layer structure, and a component having at least one pad and being embedded in the stack. High performance and low energy consumption combined with compact dimensions and the lowest possible weight are usually target requirements for modern electronic assemblies. By embedding chips in the printed circuit board, excellent developments have been made in the recent years, particularly in the automotive sector.
However, it has been revealed that a combination of strong electric fields and high temperatures (higher than 120° C. or even higher than 155° C.) especially occur in embedded power components and promote a migration of electrically conductive material. Such a migration is a transport of metallic material caused by the gradual movement of ions in a conductor due to a momentum transfer between conducting electrons and diffusing metal atoms. Such a migration usually occurs in the form of dendrites at transition areas of component pads and copper contacts and may lead to short circuits and other failures in the assembly. Such a migration particularly occurs in applications with high direct current densities, such as in automotive applications, microelectronics and related structures. As the structure size in assemblies is miniaturized, the practical significance of this effect increases. In some cases, electrochemical migration is caused by chlorides in a base material such as FR4, but also by residues of chlorides in an etching solution.

Component carrier and method of manufacturing the same

AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft


A testing system for interfacing with a vehicle diagnostic system and performing a diagnostic test on a vehicle. The testing system includes a housing configured to at least partially retain a processor in circuit communication with test circuitry configured to selectively communicate with vehicle's onboard diagnostic system via a test cable. The test cable retrieves diagnostic data from the onboard diagnostic system, and the processor performs a diagnostic test which is sent to an output device for displaying the test results. Results are transmitted to a computing device comprising an application system having an interpreter for displaying diagnostic data on a display of the computing device.

Many vehicles today include an onboard diagnostic system (OBD), which refers to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capabilities. The OBD system gives the vehicle operator or repair technician access to the status of the various subsystems within the vehicle. Subsystems may include the powertrain control module, engine control module, transmission control module, airbag control module, and anti-lock braking system (ABS) control module. Modern OBD systems use a standardized digital communications port to provide real-time data in addition to a series of diagnostic trouble codes (DTC's) which allow one to identify and remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.
OBD devices are often handheld and can be purchased at automotive stores. Mechanics require large fees for performing the diagnostic to determine the DTC. The operator or repair technician must then look up the code using a reference to determine the source of the DTC. Often, the cause of the DTC is not readily apparent causing further confusion to the user.
In the current arts, OBD devices do not allow for external communication to computing devices. The user must manually search for the DTC and determine the cause of the issue. Further, current OBD devices do not source or recommend appropriate repair personnel for the DTC which has been identified, resulting in a loss of resources and confusion.


A CVD process for forming a layer or layers of superconducting materials on a semiconductor substrate in which volatile organometallic compounds of bismuth, strontium, calcium and copper are heated in the presence of a carrier gas in a first chamber free of hydrolyzing agents. Under conditions free of hydrolyzing agents, the carrier gas transports a predetermined quantity of the volatile organometallic compounds of the bismuth, strontium, calcium and copper to a deposition chamber. The compounds are decomposed and deposit mixed oxides on the substrate. Subsequent to deposition of the mixed oxides of the desired elements the layer is sintered in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and formed into a superconducting film by subsequent slow cooling still in an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of forming high T.sub.c superconducting films by organometallic chemical vapor deposition. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of forming superconducting films on a semiconductor surface by chemical vapor deposition of volatile organometallic compounds of the rare earth and alkaline earth elements, and copper.
2. Description of Prior Art
The discovery of high temperature superconductivity in ceramic oxides with the perovskite structure has generated considerable research in fabricating thin films of these materials by a variety of techniques. The synthesis of bulk powder samples of ceramic metal oxides that are superconducting, such as YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.6.5, has been accomplished by heating stoichiometric mixtures of the individual metal oxides. The resulting powders, however, are not suitable for forming thin films of material that might be used in electronic devices.
Several techniques have been proposed for making thin films of superconducting materials on a substrate including spray pyrolysis, sputtering, evaporation, laser ablation, and spin coating. See R. B. Laibowitz, R. H. Koch, P. Chaudhari, and R. J. Gambino, Phys. Rev. B. 35, 8821 (1987); M. Hong, S. H. Liou, J. Kwo, and B. Davidson, Appl. Phys. Lett., 51, 694 (1987); J. Kwo, T. C. Hsieh, R. M. Fleming, M. Hong, S. H. Liou, B. A. Davidson, and L. C. Feldman, Phys. Rev. B, 36, 4039 (1987); X. D. Wu, D. Dijkkamp, S. B. Ogale, A. Inam, E. W. Chase, P. F. Miceli, C. C. Chang, J M. Tarascon, and T. Venkatesan, Appl. Phys. Lett., 51, 861 (1987); A. H. Hamdi, J. V. Mantese, A. L. Micheli, R. C. O. Laugal, D. F. Dungan, Z. H. Zhang, and K. R. Padmanabhan, Appl. Phys. Lett., 51, 2152 (1987); A. Gupta, G. Koren, E. A. Giess, N. R. Moore, E. J. M. O'Sullivan, and E. I. Cooper, Appl. Phys. Lett., 52, 163 (1988). These materials show promise for use in both large and small scale applications if a process is developed for depositing this class of superconductors on a variety of substrate geometries compatible with state-of-the-art semiconductor growth and processing techniques.
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) processes have been used to make semiconductors. A matter of primary concern in a CVD process is the selection of precursors with suitable transport properties. In the case of metal oxide films, metal alkoxides, M(OR).sub.x, and metal .beta.-diketonates, M(RCOCHCOR).sub.x, are known to have volatility. H. Prakash, Prog. Crystal Growth and Charact., 6, 371 (1983). The alkoxides are recognized to be moisture sensitive. The copper precursor, copper acetylacetonate, Cu(CH.sub.3 COCHCOCH.sub.3).sub.2, is known to be commercially available. Its transport properties are not well understood, but there is at least one report of its use in the growth of CuO films. L. A. Ryabova, Current Topics in Material Science, Vol. 7, edited by E. Kaldis (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1981), pp. 598-642. The corresponding yttrium acetylacetonate is reported to be nonvolatile, whereas other yttrium chelates with fluorinated and non-fluorinated groups substituted in the 1 and 3 positions of the .beta.-diketone ligand are described as volatile. E. W. Berg and J. J. Chiang Acosta, Anal. Chim. Acta, 40, 101 (1968)
At page 141-143 of the Extended Abstracts, High-Temperature Superconductors II, edited by Capone et al. and distributed Apr. 5-9 1988, at the Symposium Support Department of Energy Division of Material Science, at Reno, Nev., Berry et al. disclosed a formation of High T.sub.c superconducting films by organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) utilizing .beta.-diketonates. About May 26, 1988, Nakamori, Abe, Kanamori, and Shibata distributed a paper directed to the same subject matter. Nakamori et al. noted problems with the stability of the .beta.-diketone chelate and with converting the films to superconductors. Nakamori et al. suggested trying the fluorinated analogs.
The diketone chelates are known to hydrolyze upon heating. Charles et al., J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem., 26, pp. 373-376, (1964); Springe et al., Inorganic Chem., Vol 6, #6, pp. 1105-1110, June 1967; Richardson, Inorganic Chem., Vol. 10, #3, pp. 498-504 (1971); Cranley et al., Anal. Chim., 60, pp. 109-116, (1972); Berg et al., Anal. Chim., 60, pp. 117-125 (1972). The hydrolyzed product will block feed passages used in a CVD process if they form during transport and will not be volatile if they form before transport.

Formation of superconducting Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films by organometallic chemical vapor deposition

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for utilizing unused portions of an allocated frequency spectrum in a wireless communications system that broadcasts content to wireless stations. A first wireless station may communicate with a second wireless station on an idle broadcast channel while keeping the resulting interference level below an acceptable maximum limit at the other wireless stations. Using interference level information that are measured at the wireless stations, the wireless station can negotiate with the other wireless station on an establishment channel for subsequent communications on one or more broadcast channels. The wireless station may receive broadcast content on a time slice that corresponds to a broadcast channel and that is further processed by the wireless station. Otherwise, the wireless station can utilize the corresponding time to measure an interference level for the corresponding channel or to transmit or receive data to/from another wireless station.

Radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a valuable resource, in which different communication services vie for the frequency spectrum. Typically, frequency spectrum is not shared by different communication services. In other words, if frequency spectrum is allocated to a communication service, other communication services are not allowed to utilize the frequency spectrum even if the allocated communication service is not currently using the frequency spectrum.
There are a plethora of wideband services that are gaining popularity and consequently are demanding greater usage of radio frequency spectrum. For example, video streaming, data streaming, and broadband digital broadcast programming are increasing in popularity in wireless network applications, e.g., Internet protocol (IP) multicast services. To support these wireless applications, wireless broadcast systems transmit data content that support data services to many wireless terminals simultaneously. A Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) system is one example of a wireless broadcast system. A DVB system may support different video services including MPEG-2 multi-media services. A DVB system typically includes multiple cell transmitters (up to hundreds) that provide RF coverage for each cell.
What are needed are systems and methods that facilitate the usage of an allocated frequency spectrum when the frequency spectrum is not being utilized by an associated service with adversely affecting the associated service.

System and method utilizing a cognitive transceiver for ad hoc networking


A panel splicing structure capable of repeated assembly and disassembly without damage and rapid splicing comprises a plurality of panels and a plurality of insertable locking plate structures. The panel is a hollow panel body. The panel is also provided with reinforcing support bars, insertion cavities and locking pin holes. The insertable locking plate structure comprises a hollow plate body, a plurality of locking pins and controlling rods. The locking pins protrude outside or retract inside the sides of the hollow plate body under control of the controlling rods. The panels are arranged side by side with each other. The insertable locking plate structures are inserted into the insertion cavities of the panels, and the locking pins are inserted into the locking pin holes by the controlling rods to assemble the panels to form an integrated panel.

The present invention relates to the technical field of integrated panel manufacturing, and more specifically relates to an integrated panel structure formed by splicing.
Currently, aluminum panels, plastics panels or composite panels which are relatively larger in area that are available in the marketplace are formed as follows: Small panels with male fastening edges and female fastening edges are manufactured with molds. These small panels are smaller in width and area, and are therefore beneficial for forming by pressing with molds. When in use, integrated panels with larger width and area are formed by interlocking the male fastening edges and the female fastening edges of the small panels. Integrated panels formed by the aforementioned method have the following disadvantages: As the integrated panels are formed by interconnecting the male fastening edges and the female fastening edges only, when the integrated panels are used on support surfaces without any paving, the integrated panels are easily loosened due to impact of external force, and thus the structural strength and impact resistance of the integrated panels are relatively weak. For example, floor panels, wall panels and so forth with the aforementioned problems could only be applied on flooring and walls with paved support surfaces. However, in reality, there are many circumstances where integrated panels of large area need to be used, and such needs in real life applications could not be fulfilled due to the relatively weak structural strength and impact resistance of the integrated panels of large area with the aforementioned splicing structure. Therefore, the applicant is of the view that it is necessary to completely forgo the current splicing structure and develop a panel splicing structure which can significantly enhance the structural strength and impact resistance of the integrated panel after splicing in order to better fulfill the needs of home construction in future.

Panel splicing structure capable of repeated assembly and disassembly without damage and rapid splicing


It is aimed to provide a sound-absorbing material and a wiring harness with sound-absorbing material capable of absorbing sound in a wide frequency range from a low frequency to a high frequency and avoiding a weight increase. A sound-absorbing material 1 is configured by laminating base material sheets 3 using non-woven fabrics and a skin material sheet 2 having a smaller basis weight than the base material sheets 3 such that the skin material sheet 2 is arranged between the plurality of base material sheets 3 and an air permeation amount of the sound-absorbing material is within a range of 5 to 50 cm3/cm2·s.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound-absorbing material using non-woven fabrics and a wiring harness with sound-absorbing material in which a sound-absorbing material and a wiring harness are integrated.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in performance and function, centering on automotive vehicles, electronic products and the like. To accurately activate various pieces of electronic equipment such as automotive vehicles, electronic products and the like, a plurality of wires are used for internal wiring in the automotive vehicles, the electronic products and the like. Generally, the plurality of these wires are used in the form of a wiring harness. To obtain the wiring harness, a plurality of wires are assembled into a form necessary for wiring in advance. After necessary branching, connector mounting on ends and the like are applied, a wiring harness protection material which comes in various shapes such as a tape shape, a tube shape and a sheet shape is wound around the outer periphery of a wire bundle, thereby forming the wiring harness.
Further, sound-absorbing materials are provided in the interiors of automotive vehicles, houses and the like to enhance indoor silence. Conventionally, glass wool, rock wool, porous ceramics, waste cotton and the like have been used as sound-absorbing materials. However, due to problems such as workability, safety on human body, recyclability and environmental load, non-woven fabrics have been used as the above sound-absorbing materials in recent years (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-49351).
A sound-absorbing material described in patent literature 1 is such that a meltblown ultrafine staple fiber non-woven fabric is laminated on one side of a polyester-based fiber non-woven fabric. In the case of using such a laminated non-woven fabric as a sound-absorbing material, it is thought to be possible to enhance sound absorption performance in a specific frequency range, e.g. a frequency range of 1000 to 4000 Hz.
However, if it is tried to improve the sound absorption performance of the sound-absorbing material in a range other than the specific frequency range, e.g. a range below 1000 Hz, a basis weight of each non-woven fabric needs to be increased. However, if the basis weights of the non-woven fabrics are increased, it causes a problem of increasing a weight.
The present invention seeks to solve the above problem of the conventional technology and aims to provide a sound-absorbing material and a wiring harness with sound-absorbing material capable of absorbing sound in a wide frequency range from a low frequency to a high frequency and avoiding a weight increase.

Acoustic material and wire harness with acoustic material


The present invention describes novel plant derived elastin-like peptides and peptidomimetics that may serve as functional ligands for elastin receptors and stimulate elastogenesis. The novel plant derived peptides provide an alternative (non-animal derived) source of GXXPG (SEQ ID NO. 2) containing peptides. The present invention also describes therapeutic compositions containing novel plant derived peptides or peptidomimetics useful in stimulating elastogenesis and capillary dilatation. The therapeutic compositions of the present invention that comprise novel plant derived peptides or peptidomimetics may be combined with other therapeutic agents.

Elastin is an amorphous protein present in the elastic fibers of tissues such as arteries, blood vessels, skin, tendons and elastic ligaments, the abdominal wall, and lungs. Unlike other fibrous tissues like collagen, elastin is unique in that it may be stretched to over 150 percent of its original length but it can rapidly return to its original size and shape. This property of elastin provides tissues that incorporate it the ability to resume their original form after stretching due to, for example, blood flow, breathing, or bending. Like collagen protein, elastin contains about 30% glycine amino acid residues and is rich in proline. Elastin differs from collagen in that it contains very little hydroxyproline or hydroxylysine. Elastin has a very high content of alanine and also contains two unique amino acids isodesmosine and desmosine. These amino acids are believed to be responsible for elastin's ability to return to its original shape after stretching.
A lack of elastin or genetic abnormalities affecting elastic fibers in skin, as evidenced in Costello Syndrome, Cutis Laxa and Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum, for example, lead to premature aging most noticeably characterized by wrinkling and folding of the skin in children (pre-teenage) suffering from these illnesses. Given that these conditions only affect elastic fibers in skin, it is highly probable that development of wrinkles in aged skin is due to damage to or loss of elastic fibers in skin. Unfortunately, dermal fibroblasts lose their ability to make elastin (the major component of elastic fibers) by the end of puberty. Hence, adult dermal fibroblasts cannot repair or replace damaged elastic fibers in skin later in life, leading to an essentially irreversible formation of wrinkles.
The protein motif VGVAPG (SEQ ID NO. 1) has been previously shown to stimulate proliferation/migration of monocytes, dermal fibroblasts, and smooth muscle cells through its interaction with the cell-surface elastin receptor. Other GXXPG (SEQ ID NO. 2) sequences recognized by BA4 antibody are also known ligands for the elastin receptor. More recently, it has been shown that elastin peptides, liberated through proteolytic digestion of bovine ligamentum nuchae and containing elastin receptor ligand sequences (GXXPG) (SEQ ID NO. 2) also induce elastogenesis in dermal fibroblasts through interaction with the elastin receptor.

Plant-derived elastin binding protein ligands and methods of using the same


An amplifier in which a clamping circuit is an integral part of the output stage structure is used as a voice coil driver for positioning the heads of a memory disk drive. The output stage, operating in class AB, comprises two bipolar transistors, the source and the sink transistors, serially connected between a power supply and a ground terminal, the serial connection between the emitter of the first transistor and the collector of the second transistor being the output terminal of the output stage. The base terminals of the two output transistors are connected to a bias circuit and to an input transistor, used as the signal control element. The clamping circuit is directly connected with the base terminals of the output transistors to limit the voltage on said base terminals between a first and a second voltage reference.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to improvements in electronic circuitry used in moving read/write heads in a memory disk system of the type used in computer systems or the like, and, more particularly, to improvements in such circuitry for providing linear drive signals to a "voice coil" of such system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A coil that serves as an actuator to move and position the read/write heads of a memory disk drive of the type used in a computer system is widely referred to as a "voice coil" or "voice coil motor". Such memory disk drives are typically found in hard-disk drives, CD ROM drives, and so on. The actuator coils are known in the art as "voice coil" due to their similarity to coils commonly used in audio loud speaker systems or the like. Such voice coils are operated in a manner similar to acoustic voice coils since a positive current applied to the coil produces a corresponding positive direction of motion of the read/write head. A negative current applied to the voice coil produces a corresponding negative displacement of the read/write head.
The purpose of the voice coil is to precisely move the head assembly to the required location on the hard drive platter at high velocities, while insuring that the head does not overshoot the target and require corrective action in the control loop. The low access time required in today's high speed computing systems demands that the control system responsible for this function be optimized for fast response times.
An electrical schematic diagram of a typical voice coil driver system 20 of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The voice coil 21 shown may be a part of the read/write head mechanism of a disk drive of the type used in personal, portable, or other computers. Two amplifiers 23 and 24 are provided for delivering drive current to a voice coil 21.
A positioning voltage Vp is applied to the circuit 20 from a servocontroller with which the voice coil system 20 is associated. Ideally, the relationship between Vp and the current applied to the voice coil is directly proportional.
The amplifiers 23 and 24 are generally connected to serve as a bridge driver for the voice coil 21. It will be appreciated that the driver circuit 20 is a high performance device, and, therefor requires precise components for implementation. Moreover, in order to achieve the precision needed, typically, a large number of operational amplifiers are employed, again, each with precision components. The operational amplifier 26 is used as an error amplifier to determine the voltage difference between a known voltage reference V.sub.ref, and a feedback signal from the loop that provides information about the current that flows in the voice coil and in the sensing resistor R.sub.SENSE.
To prevent operational amplifiers and driver stages from entering saturation it is necessary to limit the swing of input and/or output signals of said amplifiers or driver stages. In fact, one main issue to deal with when designing control loops to achieve fast transient response, is to ensure that none of the active elements in the control loop enter saturation. This is especially true for the output stage driving the voice coil. Once an amplifier or driver stage becomes saturated, the response time is severely affected due to the finite time required to get out of saturation.
A well-known scheme for limiting the output voltage of an operational amplifier, used also in the L6244, an SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics voice coil motor driver circuit for hard disk drives, is depicted in FIG. 2. A1 is a tropical operational amplifier configured as an inverting amplifier with a gain of 10 V/V. This amplifier is designated an error amplifier and is used to determine the voltage difference between a known reference or control signal, and a feedback signal from the loop that provides information about the voice coil motor current. The difference in voltage between these two signals is the error signal. This error signal is then used to control the conduction of the output drivers to control the motor current.
To ensure that the output stage of the operational amplifier does not saturate, the output of the error amplifier is usually clamped to define the upper and lower boundaries of the output voltage. As shown in FIG. 2, four diodes are placed around the loop to limit or clamp the output swing.
In operation, if the output of the amplifier is driven high, both diodes D1 and D2 conduct when the output voltage exceeds two diode drops (approximately 1.4 V) above the reference voltage potential, or 5 V in this example. Analogously if the output of the amplifier is driven low, both diodes D3 and D4 conduct when the output voltage becomes two diode drops lower than the reference voltage of 5 V.
In FIG. 3 are shown waveforms of two signals employed in the circuit of FIG. 2. In particular Va is an input signal applied on the input terminal of the amplifier A1 and V.sub.out is the corresponding output signal present on the output of the amplifier. In this example the output was severely overdriven to clearly demonstrate the clamping capability of this scheme. In practice, during normal operations, the signal levels and gains are selected such that the maximum signal levels are somewhat near the compliance levels of the clamps.
While this clamping scheme is effective, it does have some main drawbacks. The clamping voltage can only be selected in multiples of diode drops. Moreover the diodes exhibit a negative temperature coefficient affecting the accuracy of the clamp voltage with temperature. Another drawback of the scheme of FIG. 2 is that the absolute value of the clamp voltage is a function of the processing of the diode drops and decreases in accuracy as the number of diodes is increased.


Noise may be reduced by delaying signal propagation outside of a time window when a change in another signal is expected. A time window may be defined between the change of the first clock signal and the change of the second clock signal during which a third signal, such as a data signal, does not propagate through the circuit. When a change occurs in a third signal after the first clock signal change while the first clock signal is at a different level than a second clock signal, propagation of the third signal change may be delayed until a change in the second clock signal is received. Delayed propagation may be achieved through a latch and hold circuit with no metastability.

Switching noise can affect the operation of a circuit, whether the circuit is an analog circuit, a digital circuit, or a mixed signal circuit. When transistors of a circuit switch from a conducting state to a non-conducting state, or from a non-conducting state to a conducting state, noise is generated in the circuit. The switching noise occurs when output from a power supply to the circuit varies based on changing power demands within the circuit. Switching noise is made worse by increasing the number of transistors switching simultaneously. Because many circuits have clock signals that synchronize operation of transistors across the circuit, switching noise may be worst around transitions in the clock signal, when transistors within the circuit switch from conducting to non-conducting or vice versa.
Switching noise can affect circuits constructed on a common substrate, because signals in the circuit are coupled to the substrate through the transistors that are constructed on the substrate. In a mixed signal system, analog and digital circuits may be built on a common substrate. Switching noise in the digital circuits of the mixed signal system may affect sampling of analog values in the analog circuits of the mixed signal system.
One conventional solution is to synchronize clock signals between a data clock and an internal clock used by the analog and digital circuits to reduce noise effects on analog data sampling. However, the synchronization results in a hard delay of at least a half cycle or one cycle of the internal clock. As a result of the hard delay, the performance of the circuit may suffer. Further, the additional circuitry for synchronizing the clock signals consumes die area on a substrate and consumes power, which further degrades performance of the circuit.

Noise management method and circuit for asynchronous signals


Disclosed is a two-stage pulse tube cryopump cooling system in which the pulse tubes and valves are inline, with the hot ends of the pulse tubes at the top and the valve mechanism is at the bottom and the hot ends and buffer volume are cooled by an inline coolant line from the compressor input to the compressor output and attached in heat exchange relationship with the buffer volume.

The pulse tube refrigerator is a cryocooler, similar to Stirling and Gifford-McMahon refrigerators, which derive cooling from the compression and expansion of gas. However, unlike the Stirling and Gifford-McMahon (G-M) systems, in which the gas expansion work is transferred out of the expansion space by a solid expansion piston or displacer, pulse tube refrigerators have no moving parts in their cold end, but rather an oscillating gas column within the pulse tube (called a gas piston) that functions as a compressible displacer. The elimination of moving parts in the cold end of pulse tube refrigerators allows a significant reduction of vibration, as well as greater reliability and lifetime, and is thus potentially very useful in many applications, both military and commercial.
Most military type applications use Stirling pulse tubes that operate at frequencies of 20 to 60 Hz, and as a result of the high speed are small, but are limited to temperatures above about 20 K. Cryogenic temperatures as cold as 3 K are achievable using two stage GM type pulse tube refrigerators which typically operate at 1 to 2 Hz. Cryocoolers operating at either 10 K or 4 K are presently used to cool the superconducting magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. A minimum temperature of about 12 K is highly desirable in such commercial applications as cryopumps, which are often used to purge gases from semiconductor fabrication vacuum chambers.
In each of these applications, there exist continued efforts to further reduce the level of vibration produced by the cryogenic refrigerator. Pulse tube refrigeration systems that are characterized by lower vibration will greatly increase the reliability and lifetime of cryocoolers.
Most vacuum chamber processes are very sensitive to vibration. With processes requiring accuracy to within nanometers, any motion can result in production defects. Conventional vacuum chamber pumps involve a system of moving parts that can cause the movement of production elements. What is needed is a way to reduce the vibration generated by a cryopump.
Cryopumps must be cooled to temperatures as low as 12 K to condense and solidify or adsorb various species of chamber gases onto one or more cryopanels. Conventional refrigerators used for obtaining these low temperatures are Gifford McMahon, GM, cycle systems, however, these systems have significantly more vibration than a pulse tube. What is needed is a way to cool a cryopump using a two-stage pulse tube.
Two-stage pulse tube refrigerators need to have the hot ends of the pulse tubes at the top in order to avoid convective losses within the pulse tubes. It is also most common to have a bulky valve mechanism on top of the cooler so the necessary valves can be integrated into a common housing and the heat that is generated at the hot ends of the pulse tubes can be transferred to the low pressure gas returning to the compressor within this same housing. In most cryopump applications it is preferred to mount the cryopump below the vacuum chamber, with a minimum space between the cryopump housing and the vacuum chamber.
A conventional two-stage pulse tube refrigerator with double orifice phase control requires a buffer volume that is relatively large. It is possible to have a significantly smaller buffer volume that can be integrated with the hot ends of the pulse tubes by using inter-phase control in combination with double orifice phase control. The buffer volume compensates for the difference in the volumes between the two stages of the pulse tubes.
Gao et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,807, dated Nov. 2, 1999 and entitled "Pulse Tube Refrigerator" describes a pulse tube refrigerator capable of generating cryogenic temperatures of below 10 K that includes first and second refrigeration stages. Each stage includes a pulse tube and an associated regenerator provided at the low temperature side of the pulse tube. A pressure fluctuation generator having a compressor and a first to a fourth valve is provided at the high temperature side of each regenerator. The high temperature ends of each pulse tube are connected by a continuous channel, while the high temperature ends of each pulse tube and the high temperature ends of each regenerator are connected by a by-pass channel. A magnetic material having a rare-earth element and a transition metal is used as a regenerative material for the regenerator.
When pressure fluctuation is generated in each pulse tube at the phase difference angle of 180 degrees, respectively, a working gas is transferred between the high temperature ends of each pulse tube as controlled by an active valve, and between the high temperature ends of each pulse tube and its associated regenerator as controlled by a passive valve. This optimizes the phase angle between the pressure fluctuation in each pulse tube and the displacement of the working gas.
Li, U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,081, dated Jul. 27, 1999 and entitled "Pulse Tube Refrigerator and its Running Method" describes a method of running a pulse tube refrigerator that has a regenerator and a pulse tube each defining a high temperature end and a low temperature end, the low temperature ends of the regenerator and the pulse tube communicating with each other, and the high temperature end of the regenerator being connected to a gas compressor. A cold area is formed at the low temperature ends by periodically supplying working gas from the high temperature end of the regenerator to the regenerator and recovering the working gas from the regenerator. The temperature of the low temperature ends is raised by steadily, pulsatively, or intermittently flowing gas in one direction through a communicating area between the low temperature ends of the regenerator and the pulse tube.
Matsui et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,498, Dated Dec. 8, 1998 and entitled "Pulse Tube Refrigerator" describes a pulse tube refrigerator where the cryostat includes regenerators and pulse tubes. Each regenerator has a cold stage at an upper end thereof. Each pulse tube has a low-temperature end portion at a lower end thereof and a high-temperature end portion thereof, the low-temperature end portion being located lower than the cold stage. The cold stage and the low-temperature end portion are connected to each other through a line whose cubic volume is substantially negligible in comparison with that of the pulse tube. Since the pulse tube has working gas of relatively high (should be low) density in an upper portion thereof and working gas of relatively low (should be high) density in a lower portion thereof, there is no convection of working gas induced by the gravity.
Chan, C. K. and Tward, E., U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,683, dated Apr. 28, 1992 and entitled "Multistage Pulse Tube Cooler" describes a multistage pulse tube cooler in which a portion of the heat from each successively lower-temperature pulse tube cooler is rejected to a heat sink other than the preceding higher-temperature pulse tube cooler, thus substantially improving the overall efficiency of the multistage cooler. Multistage pulse tube coolers of the prior art reject all the heat from each successively lower-temperature pulse tube cooler to the preceding higher-temperature pulse tube cooler, thus imposing a large cooling load on the higher-temperature pulse tube coolers which considerably reduces the overall efficiency of the cooler.
Zhu, S. and Wu, P., "Double inlet pulse tube refrigerators: an important improvement", Cryogenics, vol. 30 (1990), p. 514 describe the second orifice and how it improves the performance of a single stage pulse tube. A. Watanabe, G. W. Swift, and J. G. Brisson, Superfluid orifice pulse tube below 1 Kelvin, Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, Vol. 41B, pp. 1519–1526 (1996) describe inter-phase control. It discusses a very low temperature Stirling cycle cooler that has one passive orifice between two identical pulse tubes. J. L. Gao and Y. Matsubara, An inter-phasing pulse tube refrigerator for high refrigeration efficiency, in: "Proceedings of the 16th International Cryogenic Engineering Conference", T. Haruyama, T. Mitsui and K. Yamafriji, ed., Eisevier Science, Oxford (1997), pp. 295–298 discuss identical dual 1, 2, and 3 stage pulse tubes with single active interconnect valves. C. K. Chan, C. B. Jaco, J. Raab, E. Tward, and M. Waterman, Miniature pulse tube cooler, Proc. 7th Int'l Cryocooler Conf., Air Force Report PL-CP-93-1001 (1993) pp. 113–124 describe a Stirling single stage pulse tube that is inline, thus the hot end of the pulse tube is remote from the regenerator inlet. It has double orifice control. Heat from the hot end of the pulse tube and buffer are rejected to the base at the regenerator inlet by conduction through the buffer housing which extends the full length of the pulse tube. The hot end of the pulse tube is not attached to the vacuum housing so the entire pulse tube assembly can be easily removed.
There continues to exist the need for a pulse tube cooled cryopump, where the refrigeration unit has an inline configuration with the hot ends of the pulse tubes on top and where there is easy access to the components of the refrigeration unit. It would be desirable to configure a two-stage pulse tube refrigerator so that the valve mechanism is below the cryopump housing, the regenerators and pulse tubes are inline with the hot ends of the pulse tubes on top, and there is a means to remove the heat that is generated at the hot ends of the pulse tubes. It is also desirable to have access to the components of the two-stage pulse tube refrigerators to permit the cryopanels and the pulse tubes to be removed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a way to cool cryopanels in a cryopump using a two-stage pulse tube.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a design for an inline two-stage pulse tube refrigerator.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a way to remotely remove heat from the hot end of an inline two-stage pulse tube refrigerator.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a means to minimize the size of an inline two-stage pulse tube refrigerator.
It is an object of the present invention to allow easy servicing of the system by removably attaching the cryopanels to the pulse tube and the pulse tube itself from the cryopump housing.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the vibration generated by a cryopump.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a long maintenance cycle before regular maintenance is required.
It is an object of the present invention to offer improved reliability relative to existing GM refrigerators.

Cryopump with two-stage pulse tube refrigerator