A current monitoring circuit for DC-DC switching converters includes a track and latch comparator circuit (30) having a preamplifier (32) that is controlled independently of a latch circuit (34). The comparator is small and operates very fast and with improved sensitivity. For example, the preamplifier circuit is disabled when the latch stage is making its decision to avoid noise and input disturbances from affecting the latch stage. This selective disabling feature speeds up the signal processing of the comparator and allows it to work in parallel with other circuits. The latch stage can make its decision later, regardless of any further activity at the inputs of the comparator.

Current monitoring and overcurrent trip circuits are typically used in high current voltage regulation IC's, including DC-DC switching converters. These circuits protect the IC, and/or the other circuits to which the regulator is supplying current, in applications such as computers, communications, and industrial machinery. Without over current monitoring, both the switching regulator itself and the circuits powered by the regulator may overheat and collapse when there is too much current being supplied to the load.
In a conventional DC-DC converter, a switching transistor (switches) is turned ON to pass a noisy input voltage to the output as a quiet, well regulated output voltage that is sourcing a large current. This current may be monitored a number of ways. A typical current monitor circuit has a current sensing element which provides an associated voltage signal that is sent to a comparator stage to decide whether the voltage signal is higher than some reference (voltage) value that is representative of an over-current threshold. The comparison is often made only after a certain time interval that allows signals to settle, known as the blanking time interval.
FIG. 1 shows a typical timing diagram for the blanking time and a pulse (PH) which controls a conventional DC-DC switcher, turning it on and off to pass or restrict current to the load. There are several cases, 1A-1C. FIG. 1A with a long PH (switcher ON) time interval case allows the current limit circuit much time after the blanking period, to operate and make a decision. However, cases 1B and 1C give the current limiting circuit very little time to operate and make a decision. This circumstance occurs when the switching cycle is very fast, and the switcher is ON only briefly.
FIG. 2a shows a prior art example of a "continuous time" high speed comparator that may be used as part of a current limiting circuit, similar to those used in many Texas Instruments DC-DC converter products.
FIG. 2b shows a discrete time current comparator, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,518, that switches currents. The decision is made on the edge of an enable control signal.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a conventional "track and latch" comparator architecture adapted to be used in data converters. A preamplifier is selectively enabled by a clock signal, and its output "tracks" the input while the second latch stage is simultaneous disabled and is controlled by the same clock signal. During the latch mode, starting at the rising edge of the clock signal, the latch stage is enabled and regeneratively amplifies the output of the preamplifier with nearly infinite gain (i.e. a decision will be made regardless), producing and holding the output logic decision.

Efficient current monitoring for DC-DC converters


Systems and methods for maintaining performance of an integrated circuit are disclosed. One embodiment of a system may comprise a working power limit evaluator that determines a working power limit as a function of at least one performance factor associated with variations that affect performance of the integrated circuit. The system may further comprise a power management system that varies power of the integrated circuit based on the working power limit and an actual power of the integrated circuit to maintain a substantially constant performance.

Power consumption is becoming an increasing concern in the design of integrated circuits (ICs), particularly for very large scale integration (VLSI) chip design. Increases in power consumption are outpacing the advantages of advances in scaling in silicon technologies, and the benefits of reducing power supply voltages. Power management has been recognized as an important consideration associated with the design and operation of VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) chips to mitigate power consumption associated with VLSI chips. For example, power consumption is becoming a serious performance limiter for high speed microprocessors. For instance, a key design objective for microprocessor systems is providing the highest possible peak performance for computer-intensive code, while reducing power consumption of the microprocessor system.
As a result, power management systems have been employed that vary processor frequency and/or supply voltage in order to hold the power consumption of a chip below a certain level that is acceptable for use in a given system (e.g., within a desktop, workstation or portable devices). However, power management systems do not take into consideration variations that can affect application performance across different systems.

Systems and methods for maintaining performance of an integrated circuit within a working power limit

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A knee brace for a person, particularly an elderly person. The knee brace made up of a generally planar sheet of elastomeric, e.g., a plush fabric-covered neoprene, material and has a pair of adjustment straps secured to it. The sheet has a central portion having a longitudinal axis, a first side disposed laterally from the axis and from which an intermediate mounting tab projects and a second side disposed laterally from the axis opposite the first side and from which an upper and a lower mounting tab project. The upper tab includes a free end portion in the form of a VELCRO.RTM. multi-hook connector. The intermediate tab is similarly constructed, as is the lower tab. The central portion of the brace is arranged to be mounted on the person's knee so that the longitudinal axis is over the person's patella. The upper tab is arranged to be stretched and wrapped around the posterior of the person's thigh so that it's VELCRO.RTM. multi-hook connector releasably engages the plush fabric of the central portion contiguous the said first side to hold it in place. The lower tab is arranged to be stretched and wrapped around the posterior the person's calf so that it's VELCRO.RTM. multi-hook connector releasably engages the plush fabric of the central portion contiguous with the first side to hold it in place. The intermediate tab is arranged to be stretched and wrapped around the posterior the person's knee so that it's VELCRO.RTM. multi-hook connector releasably engages the plush fabric of the portion contiguous with the second side to hold it in place. One of the adjustment straps is an inelastic member which is located on the central portion of the brace above the person's patella to adjust the tightness of the brace on the person's thigh, while the other of the adjustment straps is similarly constructed and is located on said central portion of the brace below the person's patella to adjust the tightness of the brace on the person's calf.

This invention relates generally to knee braces and more particularly to knee braces for use by the elderly.
Various knee braces in the form of elastic sleeves are commercially available and/or are disclosed in the patent literature for use on a person's knee to stabilize the joint and patella. Examples of such braces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,703,171 (Schiavitto), 3,934,583 (Hollingshead), 3,945,046 (Stromgren), 3,970,081 (Applegate), 4,064,874 (Valin), 4,084,584 (Detty), 4,116,236 (Albert), 4,250,578 (Barlow), 4,296,744 (Palumbo), 4,353,362 (DeMarco), 4,366,813 (Nelson), 4,370,978 (Palumbo), 4,474,573 (Detty), 4,476,857 (Levine), 4,765,318 (Per Tranberg et al.), 5,085,210 (Smith), 5,139,477 (Peters), 5,168,577 (Detty), and 5,334,135 (Grim). While such sleeves are generally suitable for their intended purposes, a large segment of the population, namely, the elderly, may be incapable of adequately using such braces since they no longer have sufficient hand strength and/or dexterity to pull the sleeve onto their knee.
Various wrap-around knee braces are commercially available and/or disclosed in the patent literature. Examples of such braces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,463,147 (Stubbs), 3,831,467 (Moore), 4,090,508 (Gaylord, Jr.), 4,651,722 (Karczewski), 4,378,009 (Rowley et al.), 5,024,216 (Hiono), 5,086,761 (Ingram), 5,221,252 (Caprio et al.), 5,399,153 (Caprio et al.), 5,451,201 (Prengler), and 5,472,413 (Detty).
While the aforementioned wrap-around braces are suitable for their intended purposes, and in some cases may be easier to apply than elastic sleeve braces, these wrap-around braces still leave something to be desired from the standpoint of applicability for the geriatric market.


Co-channel user (129) interference on trunked radio communication systems cannot be compensated for in the same way as conventional radio systems because the communication unit does not know what frequency it will be assigned to until it begins transmitting. Placing an additional receiver (119) in the coverage area (125) of the co-channel user (129) and sending information of recent co-channel usage to the controller (101) allows the controller (101) to decide which channel has the least likelihood of co-channel interference so that it may be assigned.

Channel assignment decisions in trunked communication systems are carried out by a central controller in response to channel requests from a plurality of communication units. At times, these trunked systems are installed in geographic proximity with other users of the same channels. This produces some undesired co-channel interference for both parties. These co-channel users can be using another trunked system or a conventional system.
Conventional radio systems add special signalling, such as sub-audible tone modulation on the carrier, to avoid being bothered with other user's traffic. Turning off this feature before transmitting to avoid interference is quite common. This enables the receiving speaker to hear any current user on the channel. If no one is active, the operator can then transmit with little risk of interference. This method of manual interference avoidance is very common. Similarly, some conventional radio units provide an option that automatically inhibits transmission if a signal is present at the receiver.
This method of monitoring the communication channel for co-channel users prior to transmission cannot be readily applied to a trunking system since the communication units never know which channel resource (a voice or data channel) they will be assigned. Because the system central controller decides which resource to assign, it is logical that interference avoidance in a trunked system could be performed in the central controller. The centralized interference avoidance method today involves looking for activity on the inbound voice channels at the base station receiver. Since channels in trunked systems are made up of the same frequency pair (one channel for inbound messages to the base station, one channel for outbound messages from the base station), detecting an inbound signal usually meant that the outbound frequency is active as well. However, many systems use wireline dispatch centers which do not use the inbound channel to make an outbound call, hence dispatcher co-channel users cannot be detected with this method.
The present method of signal detection starts a timer as soon as a simple carrier is detected (above a preset signal level threshold) on one of the inbound voice channels. The timer continues to run as long as the carrier remains present. A break in the carrier resets and turns off the timer. When the timer expires, i.e. reaches a predetermined value, say, 50 seconds, the channel is considered to have undesired interference and is taken out of service for a period of time, such as 5 minutes. This carrier detection method is best suited to detect the class of interference called intermodulation (IM), which is very common at the more congested antenna sites. It is not suited to instantaneously and reliably detect the presence of a true co-channel user.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of co-channel interference detection that can instantaneously and reliably detect co-channel users, especially dispatcher co-channel users, on both inbound and outbound frequencies.

Communication system that avoids co-channel interference


A gaming machine having a pick and spin bonus scheme is provided where, in response to a player selection from among a number of selections, or picks, (1) game play occurs yielding a game play outcome, and (2) a separate action occurs where the separate action is a result of the player selection. The final outcome therefore, is a combination of the result of the game play outcome plus the result of the separate action. For a slot machine having a pick and spin bonus scheme, in response to a player selection of a tile from a row of tiles where multiple rows of tiles form a grid, (1) video reels spin and stop yielding a game play outcome and (2) a separate action occurs where the separate action is a result of the player tile selection. The separate action may enhance, prolong or end bonus game play.

Gaming machines providing base games such as electronically driven video slots, video poker, video blackjack, video keno, video bingo, video pachinko, video lottery, and mechanically driven reel slots, etc., are well known in the gaming industry. Generally gaming machines are configured to operate as "stand-alone" units (that may or may not be coupled to a backroom computer) where the outcome of game play is "locally determined", or as part of a server-based gaming network where the outcome of game play may be either locally determined or "centrally determined".
Typically, video gaming machines are configured with a main video display for displaying video game images including video images representing game play outcome (e.g., simulated reel symbols in the case of a slot game, simulated cards, simulated numbers, etc.). In addition to displaying game play information (e.g., game outcome, status of game play including credits, lines bets, etc.), the main video display may be configured with a touch screen to allow player interaction. The player can make a number of game play selections by touching "virtual" buttons or particular touch-sensitive areas provided on the main video display. Alternatively, the player can make game play selections by depressing various electromechanical buttons provided on a player control panel of the gaming machine. Mechanical spinning reel slot machines, on the other hand, generally include a main reel display area configured to allow a player to view a reel symbol array provided by the stopped mechanical spinning reels. The player can make game play selections by depressing various electro-mechanical buttons provided on a player control panel.
Bonus games, typically initiated by an occurrence of a bonus triggering event during base game play, have been used in conjunction with base games to enhance overall wagering game play. Bonus game play is desirable because it generally results in some type of win for the player. Typical bonus game play may be either (1) a variation of base game play (e.g., same game with new pay table, better winning odds, new symbols, etc.) sans a wager or (2) a "new" game requiring some sort of player action such (e.g., the player making one or more selections from a number of choices, spinning a wheel, etc.), but not both. Thus, in the case of a slot game, the bonus triggering event may be an occurrence of particular symbols appearing on multiple reels and the bonus game may be a series of free spins. In another example, the bonus triggering event may be an occurrence of a particular bonus symbol on one reel and the bonus game may require the player to make one or more selections from among a number of possible selections.

Gaming machine having a pick and spin bonus scheme


A parallel computer system includes a plurality of processors, each of which is placed in data communication with an interconnecting network. Pairs of a data signal and a data identification code, predetermined for the data signal, are received by each processor and stored in a memory. Structure is provided for reading a data signal belonging to one of the pairs having a data identification code designated by a data readout instruction.

The present invention relates to a parallel computer system composed of a plurality of processors and a host processor.
The data transmission between the processors of a parallel computer system according to the prior art are accomplished by two methods: one--for data transmission between two processors being synchronized with each other; the other--for data transmission between two processors being left asynchronous. In the second method, more specifically, the individual processors are controlled so as to perform so-called "data flow type operations", in which each operation is not started in a processor before all data necessary for the operation arrive at the processor. According to the first method an overhead for synchronizing two processors for data transmission is a problem. That is, one processor is frequently interrupted for the synchronism by another so that each using efficiency of each processor is degraded. According to the second method, on the other hand, the difficulty of the first method can be eliminated to some extent. Since, however, an operation cannot be started before all necessary data is prepared, the steps of an operation--data transmission--wait are sequential, and the overheads for the steps of the data transmission and wait are still left.
Another third method has also been proposed for data transmission without any synchronization of the processors (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 49464/1985). In this example, a processor sends not only data to be transmitted but also addresses of instructions requiring the former. Each time the receive processor receives the data, the execution of an instruction is interrupted, and a flag indicating arrival of the necessary data is added to the instruction which is in an address accompanying the data received. According to this third method, the interruption of the instruction execution for the above-specified processing is performed upon each data receipt, thus obstructing the desired high-speed operations.

Parallel processor system with asynchronous data transmission by a data producing processor to a data using processor employing controlled execution of a program by the data using processor for processing the data


A water surface transport means, comprising a bottom (1), boards (2), a deck (3), surge diversion grooves (4) and wave suppression diversion baffles (5), the surge diversion groove (4) being provided in a space between a bottom surface vertically recessed into the hull bottom (1) and the deck (3) and extending from the bow to the stern, with an arc-shaped transverse section and a top line of longitudinal section being lower in the front and higher in the rear; a top transverse section of the wave suppression diversion baffle (5) being arc-shaped and a top line of longitudinal section being lower in the front and higher in the rear. The water surface transport means can be configured as mono-hull, catamaran and trimaran.

At present, vehicles used for waterway transport, i.e., all sorts of vessels, include:
General displacement vessels, which have good stability and can satisfy the demands of large-, medium- or small-tonnage, but due to deep draft, big water resistance and the larger the tonnage is, the deeper the draft is, have high energy consumption so that it is difficult to improve the speed.
Hydrofoil crafts, which have reduced water resistance due to shallow draft so that the speed is improved but have weaker maneuverability, seaworthiness and dirigibility and are difficult to navigate in fast-flowing, shallow watercourse and to navigate steadily in strong wind and big waves.
Hovercrafts, which are free from water resistance so that the speed is improved, but need large power to generate air cushion and have high energy consumption so that it is uneconomical to use them in passenger and cargo transport. In addition, hovercrafts have weak anti-wave performance, and in particular, its advantage disappears under the attack of crosswind.
General planing crafts, which have shallow draft during gliding so that the speed is improved, but adopt a hull bottom of V-type transverse section so as to improve their own course, transverse stability and operating performance, resulting in increased wetted surface to increase frictional resistance, and have big lift force in the bow and smaller lift force in the stern, so that the water surface surge height at the bow increases to increase the resistance, and be sensitive to wave response and have poor anti-wave performance.
Except for the displacement vessels, the large limitation of tonnage is another common weakness for all of the above vessels. In addition, a common water surface transport means in the related art is limited in speed due to its structure form; when the speed is greater than 50 knots, it will generate a phenomenon that the stability becomes worse; if the propulsive power is further increased, not only will the speed not be increased, but it will result in the loss of stability so that the danger of overturning occurs.


A wireless LAN system is provided to make a frequency band setup task easy such that interference among base stations is reduced. The base station connected to a wired LAN includes a wired connection unit connected to the wired LAN and a wireless communication unit communicating with a LAN terminal via radio waves. The base station finds frequency bands already used by other devices in a place where the base station is installed and sets up a frequency band not used by the other devices as a frequency band to be used by the wireless communication unit to automatically set up a frequency band of radio waves to be used by the wireless communication unit.

The present invention relates to the technology of setting up frequency bands used by base stations that communicate with wireless terminals. More particularly, the present invention relates to the technology of setting up frequency bands for a plurality of base stations in a system where a plurality of base stations in communication with a plurality of wireless terminals are connected to networks such as wired LANS.
In a system where a plurality of base stations are provided, radio signal interference sometimes causes communication errors. Interference may be caused by radio waves from other base stations, by radio waves from wireless communication terminals connected to other base stations, or by external noises independent of a wireless LAN system.
Today, three spread spectrum communication methods are in common use for wireless LAN communication: direct sequence (hereinafter called DS), frequency hopping (hereinafter called FH), and a combination of both. In the DS method, a base station (for example, a wireless communication hub) spreads the frequency by transferring a signal to which a code, which indicates a specific frequency bandwidth occupied by the base station, is attached. In the FH method, each hub transfers signals while changing the frequency at a regular interval. Although both methods are designed to be less susceptible to noises, the DS method that occupies a specific frequency bandwidth for data transmission transfers signals more speedily than the FH method that transfers each unit of data across a specific frequency bandwidth.
In practice, about 20 wireless terminals may be connected to one wireless hub. Therefore, many wireless terminals require many base stations. When installing a plurality of base stations in the same area, an arrangement and a method that eliminate interference among base stations are required.
An earlier patent disclosure dealing with this is found, for example, in JP-A-9-275401. In this example, the master hub, one of the plurality of wireless hubs, specifies frequency bandwidths to be used by other hubs to minimize interference among the coverage areas of wireless LAN systems each using the FH method. This technology, specifically designed for the FH method, is not applicable to the DS method that occupies a particular bandwidth.
The DS method, which allows one of the base stations to occupy a particular frequency bandwidth, does not allow two base stations to share the same bandwidth when the coverage areas of a plurality of base stations overlap. Therefore, the system must prevent interference in one of two ways: (1) prevent the coverage area 123A of a base station 121A on a wired LAN 120 from overlapping the coverage area 123B of a base station 121B on the wired LAN as shown in FIG. 11 and (2) separate the frequency bandwidth of the base station 121A and that of the base station 121B.
Currently, the set-up task such as the allocation of frequencies to base stations is performed manually. Therefore, as more base stations are used in the as same area, it becomes more difficult to implement the optimum setup because interference among base stations must be considered and, at the same time, the setup task takes long. More base stations in the same area result in more wireless terminals connected to the base stations. An increase in the number of wireless terminals makes the setup task even more difficult. In addition, unexpected external noises, as well as interference caused by wireless terminals used by moving users, must be considered.

Base station for wireless communication and method for setting up frequency band in the base station


A circuit assembly (400) includes a flexible circuit (402) having first (504) and second layers (502). A current-limiting device such as a nichrome strip (316) is coupled to the flexible circuit (402) for limiting the amount of current during a short circuit condition. A heat sink (404) is selectively placed between the first and second layers of the flexible circuit in thermal proximity to the nichrome wire (316) in order to dissipate some of the heat generated by the nichrome strip (316).

Batteries used with portable communication devices sometimes require the use of nichrome wire as a safety device in order to limit the amount of current flow in case of a short circuit. This is typically the case for batteries which need to meet safety level specifications (such as intrinsic safety standards) set by testing agencies such as Factory Mutual, etc. The nichrome wire acts as a current-limiting device similar to a resistor. Typically, batteries which meet these safety standards will also use a polyswitch (such as a positive temperature coefficient device (PTC) made by RAYCHEM, Inc.). Usually, the polyswitch will heat up and "trip" in a few seconds (approximately 3 to 4 seconds) after a short circuit condition occurs. In intrinsically safe batteries, however, given that the nichrome strip is connected in series (adding more resistance to the current flow during a short circuit) the polyswitch will normally take between 7-10 seconds. This increase in time causes more heat to be built-up at the nichrome strip (since the polyswitch takes longer to trip). Once activated, the polyswitch limits the amount of current flow and thereby reduces any chances of damage to the communication device and the battery. The nichrome strip is generally designed not to open electrically, and thereby tends to get extremely hot when short circuits develop. This heat can cause charring and damage to the battery. Since the polyswitch takes several seconds to activate, present intrinsically safe batteries will utilize a fiberglass or other heat absorbing material to incase the nichrome strip. This protects the battery from the heat that is generated by the nichrome wire during a short circuit condition. Unfortunately adding a sleeve or other thermal protector to the flexible circuit adds manufacturing expense which includes the cost of the fiberglass sleeve and the added labor required to manually insert the sleeve. A need thus exists for a way of dissipating some of the heat generated by the nichrome wire when a short circuit is created, thereby dispersing the concentration of heat and preventing any damage to the battery without having to incur additional manufacturing expenses.


A semiconductor laser assembly includes a substrate 10 having a first mount surface 10a and a second mount surface 10b, and a submount 3 which is mounted on the first mount surface 10a and which is separate from a monitoring photodiode 4. A laser diode 1 is mounted on the submount 3. The monitoring photodiode 4 is mounted on the second mount surface 10b, and an electrode 4a formed on the monitoring photodiode 4 is used as a relay electrode for a metal wire 5a connected to an upper-surface electrode of the laser diode 1.

This invention relates to a semiconductor laser assembly.
There has hitherto been a semiconductor laser assembly in which a monitor submount scheme is adopted. FIG. 6A is a view showing a state in which a semiconductor laser assembly is seen from above, and FIG. 6B shows a state in which the semiconductor laser assembly is seen sideways. In FIG. 6B, metal wires are omitted. In this semiconductor laser assembly, a Si (silicon) substrate 110 is mounted on a lead frame substrate 109. An electrode 107 for fitting a laser diode is formed on the Si substrate 110. A laser diode 101 is fitted on the electrode 107. A lower-surface electrode (not shown) of the laser diode 101 is connected to the electrode 107, and a metal wire 105b is connected to the electrode 107. A metal wire 105a is connected to an upper-surface electrode (not shown) of the laser diode 101. The Si substrate is formed with a light-receiving portion 106 adjacent to the laser diode 101, and a metal wire 105c is connected to an electrode 111 formed on an upper surface of the light-receiving portion 106.
There is another conventional semiconductor laser assembly as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B (e.g., see JP-2001-345507A). FIG. 7A shows a state in which the semiconductor laser assembly is seen from above, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the semiconductor laser assembly is seen sideways. In FIG. 7B, metal wires are omitted. In this semiconductor laser assembly, a submount 203 is mounted on a lead frame substrate 209. Two spaced electrodes 208a and 208b are formed on the submount 203.
A laser diode 201 is mounted on the submount 203 through the electrode 208b. A lower-surface electrode (not shown) of the laser diode 201 is connected to the electrode 208b, and an upper-surface electrode (not shown) of the laser diode 201 is connected to the electrode 208a by a metal wire 205a. The electrode 208a is connected to an upper surface of the lead frame substrate 209 by a metal wire 205c. The electrode 208b is connected to a stem or lead pin (not shown) by a metal wire 205b. The metal wire 205a connected to the upper-surface electrode of the laser diode 201 is extended in a direction approximately perpendicular to an optical axis of the laser diode 201.
A monitoring photodiode 204 is mounted on the lead frame substrate 209, and a light-receiving portion 206 is provided on an upper surface of the photodiode 204. The photodiode 204 is separate from the submount 203, and the thickness Hp of the photodiode 204 is smaller than the thickness Hs of the submount 203 (Hp<Hs), as shown in FIG. 7B.
In this device, the purpose of making the thickness Hp of the photodiode 204 smaller than the thickness Hs of the submount 203 as described above is to make a laser beam from the laser diode 201 incident on the light-receiving portion 206.
In the former conventional device in which the monitor submount method is adopted, the light-receiving portion 106 is formed on the Si substrate 110, which serves as a submount of the laser diode 101.
However, Si (silicon) has a relatively small heat conductivity (84-147 W/m·K) and is not necessarily sufficient for letting out heat generated in the laser diode 101. Thus, there is a problem that it is difficult to adopt a laser diode requiring a lot of heat dissipation.
On the other hand, since the photodiode 204 and the submount 203 are separated from each other in the latter conventional device, a material having higher heat conductivity than Si can be used as the material of the submount 203.
In the latter case, however, if the thickness of the photodiode 204 is larger than that of the submount 203, the amount of laser light that is incident on the light-receiving portion 206 of the photodiode 204 from the laser diode 201 decreases. Consequently, sufficient monitoring cannot be achieved. Therefore, it is required that the thickness of the submount 203 and the thickness of the photodiode 204 be set strictly, which increases restriction on the production process.
In the former case, when the metal wire 105a from the laser diode 101 is connected to the substrate 109, a height difference between the opposite end portions of the metal wire 105a increases and thus workability and reliability in the wire connection is not good.
On the other hand, in the latter conventional case, since the metal wire 205a from the laser diode 201 is relayed via the electrode 208a on the submount 203, a height difference between the opposite end portions of the metal wire 205a can be reduced compared with the former conventional case. However, there is a requirement that an electrode formed on the submount 203 must be divided into an electrode 208a and an electrode 208b. This causes a complication in the production process.


User can input characters and numerals without mode transition on a keypad using Part-Whole Selection (PWSM). Moreover, by allocating characters having higher use frequency to lattice elements on each button in the Order of Proximity to Base Lattice Element (OPBLE), input efficiency of the PWSM is maximized, and the number of times a button is pressed in the Base Repeat Selection Method (BRSM) is minimized. Applying Control Processing Method can simplify character arrangement on a keypad. For languages such as Korean, Hindi, Myanmar and the other languages in which consonants and vowels alternately come after each other, representative consonants and vowels are uniformly assigned to buttons on a keypad, thereby minimizing ambiguity when the RSM is used in input operation. Finally, representative consonants having phonetic values are allocated to Base Lattice Elements (BLEs) on each button, so that they can be used for memorizing or naming telephone numbers and a variety of codes.

As wireless communication has developed, voice communication centered mobile terminals have provided more functions for communicating digital character information. Therefore, a keypad originally designed for telephone number input becomes to include means for inputting characters. The size of a keypad used for a mobile terminal tends to be smaller, thereby limiting the number of buttons on the keypad. Meanwhile, there are 27 alphabet characters in Korean, 24 in English, 46 in Japanese, 24 and more in alphabets derived from the Roman alphabet. Like this, the alphabets of almost every language include over 12 characters that is the number of buttons used on a usual telephone keypad. Therefore, one button or the combination of two or more buttons is used to input one character through the telephone keypad.
Conventional methods of inputting alphabet characters using a small keypad can be classified into a character selection type, a character creation type, and a mixed type. In the character selection type, a plurality of characters are assigned to a single keypad button, so a character (hereinafter, referred to as a "target character") which a user intends to select on a keypad can be selected by pressing a corresponding button a predetermined number of times. This type of input method is used for English as proposed by the E.161 recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union—Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU). In the character creation type, primary or atomic character elements (stokes such as →, ↓, , , ⊃, ◯, etc) are individually assigned to keypad buttons, so a target character is created by operating the buttons so that the shape of the target character can be formed. In the mixed type, some of the alphabet characters are processed according to the character selection type, and the remaining characters are processed according to the character creation type. In the example of the mixed type for the Korean alphabet, consonants are processed according to the selection type and vowels are processed according to the character creation type.
As described above, in the conventional three types, a target character is input by operating one or more buttons on a keypad.
The character selection type can be divided into several methods as follows. In a first method, a plurality of characters (generally, 3˜4 characters) are assigned to each button, so a character assigned first to the button is selected when the button is pressed once, a character assigned secondly to the button is selected when the button is pressed two times and so on. In a second method, characters (generally, 3˜4 characters) are assigned to each button, so a character assigned first to the button is selected when the button is pressed once, and a character assigned secondly to the button is selected by the combination of the button and a particular button (such as [#] or [*] button). In a third method, characters are assigned between two buttons, and a target character is selected by the combination of the two buttons.
There are some innate faults in the first method. If it is assumed that three characters 'A', 'B' and 'C' are assigned to a [2] button, when a user wants to sequentially input the characters 'A', 'B' and 'C', the user is supposed to consecutively press the [2] button six times. In this case, there is ambiguity among the input of 'A', 'B' and 'C', the input of 'B', 'B' and 'B' and the input of 'C', 'B' and 'A'. To overcome this problem, the user is supposed to press the button six times with time delay between the characters like [2]-[2][2]-[2][2][2]. However, it is not easy to verify that a target character is input correctly in a terminal such as a normal telephone unprovided with a display window. Moreover, according to the first method, the more characters that are assigned to each button, the greater the number of times a button needs to be pressed for one character. For example, when three alphabet characters are assigned to each button for English, it is necessary to press buttons an average of two times for each character. When five alphabet characters are assigned to each button for Japanese, it is necessary to press buttons an average of three times for each character. Accordingly, when 5 or more characters are assigned to each button for an alphabet, it may be necessary to press buttons 5 or more times for one character, so it is very inconvenient, and accuracy is low.
In the second method, when a user wants to input a character not assigned first to a button, the user should press a particular button such as a [#] or [*] button in addition to the button to which the character is assigned. Accordingly, it is not easy for the user to be familiar with a character input method.
The third method has the advantages of simplicity and consistency in inputting characters. However, this method is not fit for a mnemonic number dialing plan, and it is not easy to print characters in the small space between buttons on a miniaturized mobile terminal such as a cellular phone, a PCS phone, and an IMT-2000 phone.

Apparatus and method for inputting alphabet characters on small keypad


A test instrument and method for operating the same are disclosed. The data acquisition system within the instrument generates signals and couples the signals to a device and/or receives signals from the device. The data processor within the instrument includes measurement specific software that generates measurements from the received signals, a restricted software application that utilizes the measurement data, and a physics API that interfaces the measurement specific software with the data acquisition system. The physics API provides a plurality of internal physics functions that are used by the measurement specific software to access the measurement data. The instrument includes an external API that maps the physics functions to an external set of physics functions that are available to the restricted software application and that hide the internal physics functions from the restricted software while providing access to a portion of the measurement data.

Test instruments were originally compact stand-alone devices that performed physical measurements and displayed the results. For example, an oscilloscope measured the voltage as a function of time at a particular point in a circuit and displayed the result as a simple graph of voltage versus time. As the cost of computational hardware decreased, additional capabilities were incorporated into test instruments to provide increased computational and display capabilities. This new class of instruments typically includes a general-purpose computer that performs various calculations on the raw data or configuration parameters and provides more sophisticated data output capabilities including enhanced displays.
One class of test instruments is organized into three layers. At the lowest layer are the modules that actually generate the signals that are applied to the device under test (DUT) and measure signals received from that device. This layer will be referred to as the "physics" layer in the following discussion. These devices include RF signal generators, A/D and D/A converters, frequency converters, signal conditioners, digital signal processors (DSPs) and gate arrays. Many of these devices include software components that can be utilized to control the operation of the modules by appropriate calls to routines within the software. In some cases, the software itself can be augmented to provide new functions. The specific modules utilized in a particular instrument are sometimes provided by a vendor that is different from the vendor that provides the test instrument. Hence, the software at the module level can be more or less independent of the specific test instrument in which the module resides.
The second layer of software typically includes programs that transform the physical measurements provided by the physics layer into the basic measurements of interest. This layer of software will be referred to as the measurement layer in the following discussion. For example, a network analyzer typically measures the response of a DUT to an RF signal as a function of the frequency of the RF signal. The analyzer may include the RF signal generator, a local oscillator (LO) generator, and a mixer that down converts a signal received from the DUT to a base band determined by the LO signal. Finally the analyzer measures the amplitude and phase of the signal from the mixer as a function of frequency by causing the RF signal generator and LO generator to sweep through the desired range of frequency values. The measurement layer software controls the physics layer modules and software such that the modules generate the correct signals. The measurement layer software converts the raw measurements from the modules into the measurements of interest, i.e., the amplitude and phase of the signal from the DUT as a function of frequency.
The measurement layer routines are preferably independent of the specific modules that are used to generate and measure the signals that provide the final measurement. The lifetime of any particular module is limited, and hence, systems that can be altered by the replacement or addition of a new module without the need to rewrite a significant portion of the measurement layer routines have distinct advantages in terms of the cost of designing and maintaining a family of test instruments. Furthermore, a particular measurement layer application set may be useable in a number of different instruments based on different sets of physics level modules. Hence, to provide the desired level of independence, an application program interface (API) is provided between the physics layer and the measurement layer routines. This API provides a number of standardized calls that can be utilized by the measurement level software to operate the physics level devices and software. When a module is altered, at most, the API calls that interact with that module need to be updated.
The third major layer will be referred to as the presentation layer in the following discussion. Many of the tests that are performed using a test instrument involve making a number of different measurements and then combining data from the different measurements to arrive at the quantity of interest. For example, a network analyzer is often used to characterize a DUT in terms of the S parameters that characterize that DUT. To arrive at values for each S parameter as a function of frequency, the response of the DUT must be measured as a function of frequency as well as the response of the system with the DUT replaced by certain calibration devices. The results obtained with the calibration devices are then combined with the results obtained with the DUT to arrive at the S parameters. The software in the measurement layer performs this type of computation and utilizes the presentation layer to display or transmit the results in a manner that is more useful to the user than the measurements provided by the measurement layer routines.
The software in the presentation layer is preferably constructed such that the presentation software does not depend on a detailed knowledge of the function calls, algorithmic sequences and specific calculations, and organization of the software in the measurement layer. This allows the presentation software to be used with a variety of instrumentation platforms without having to substantially modify the software when moving from platform to platform. In addition, third party software can be more easily adapted for use in the presentation layer if this level of independence is maintained. To provide the desired level of independence, a second application program interface (API) is provided between the presentation layer and the measurement layer routines. This API provides a number of standardized calls that can be utilized by the presentation level software to access and control the measurement level software.
In some situations, it would be advantageous for third parties to have access to the APIs discussed above to facilitate the development of additional software that can be run on a given instrument. In other situations, it would be advantageous for third parties to substitute their software for pre-existing default measurement software. In addition, it would also be advantageous to control the level of access given to outsiders with respect to the APIs so that separate charges could be made for accessing particular features. However, the APIs discussed above are often proprietary to a particular instrument manufacturer and may include trade secrets or other proprietary information that the manufacturer does not wish to reveal to outsiders. Also, the APIs discussed above may vary between the product lines of a manufacturer. In addition, the APIs do not provide a method for limiting a user to a particular subset of the function calls in the API. Hence, many of the advantages of allowing third parties to have access to the APIs have not been fully realized.

Standardized interfaces for proprietary instruments


A device for directing one or more optical channels includes one or more micromirror elements. A micromirror element has a mirror and a mirror controller. The mirror is operable to reflect light at a first interaction area to yield a first passband for an optical channel, and to reflect light at a second interaction area to yield a second passband for the optical channel. The mirror controller operates to position the mirror at a first position at which light interacts with the first interaction area to yield the first passband, and to position the mirror at a second position at which light interacts with the second interaction area to yield the second passband.

A communication network for a geographic area, such as a metropolitan area, may have a ring topology. As an example, a synchronous optical network (SONET) system may comprise a ring with nodes. In operation, channels of packets travel through the nodes. A node may add or drop channels in order to direct the packets through the ring.
A node may include a wavelength device with a reflective device that is used to add or drop channels. According to known techniques, the reflective device has a fixed passband for each channel. A fixed passband for each channel, however, may be inefficient in certain situations. It is generally desirable to be efficient in certain situations.

Directing optical channels using a reflective device


A transflective liquid crystal display device includes a first and a second substrates, a liquid crystal layer, and a plurality of reflective electrodes and transparent electrodes. The liquid crystal layer is interposed between the first and the second substrates and functions in an OCB mode. The reflective electrode and the transparent electrode in one picture element are spaced apart from each other to produce a transverse electric field when a voltage is applied across the liquid crystal layer.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transflective liquid crystal display device and, more particularly, to a transflective liquid crystal display device using an OCB (optically compensated birefringence) technique which realizes a wide view-field angle and high-speed response.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Twisted nematic (TN) cells, which at present are widely used in thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display devices, have a small view-field angle and low-speed respond. To solve this problem, studies on an OCB (optically compensated birefringence) technique have been made. Specifically, in case of displaying moving images, a response time is required in the order of ten milliseconds or even less, and the OCB technique is possible to obtain a high-speed response characteristic as well as a wide view-field angle. Hence, it is the best mode suitable for accommodating a recent trend of multimedia and motion picture processing that allows a vast amount of image data to be moved on the screen of a display device at high speed.
FIGS. 1A-1C show schematic diagrams illustrating the transformation of splay-bend alignment of liquid crystal molecules in an OCB cell 102.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the liquid crystal layer exhibits an initial splay-aligned state when no voltage is applied across it, where the liquid crystal molecules in the region A and region B tilt at a very small angle (compared with the later described angles shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C) to the alignment films 104 and 106. Also, the liquid crystal molecules in the region C turn to nearly parallel to the alignment films 104 and 106.
Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer exhibiting splay alignment and gradually increased to approach a threshold voltage Vt, the splay alignment of liquid crystal molecules is deformed and transformed to a bend alignment, where the angle between the liquid crystal molecules and the alignment film 104 in the region A and the angle between the liquid crystal molecules and the alignment film 106 in the region B are both increased. Further, the liquid crystal molecules in the region C are almost perpendicular to the alignment films 104 and 106. At this time, the OCB cell is in a white state and has maximum brightness.
Then, when the voltage is continually increased to exceed a critical voltage Vc, the angle between the liquid crystal molecules and the alignment film 104 in the region A, and the angle between the liquid crystal molecules and the alignment film 106 in the region B are both increased to a maximum, about 80 degrees or more. Further, most of the liquid crystal molecules in the region C are perpendicular to the alignment films 104 and 106. At this time, the aligned direction of the liquid crystal molecules is almost perpendicular to the absorption axis of a polarizer (not shown), so the OCB cell is in a dark state. Thus, the OCB mode works when the applied voltage has a value between the threshold voltage Vt and the critical voltage Vc.
In the OCB cell, the liquid crystal molecules are well arranged to allow for a reduced friction during rotation, so that a wide view-field angle and high-speed response are realized. However, in order to operate an OCB mode LCD device, the applied voltage should be higher than the threshold voltage Vt. Thus, it may take much time to increase the applied voltage from zero to reach a threshold value once the threshold voltage Vt is high. More specifically, the threshold voltage Vt should be as low as possible to decrease the response time of the OCB mode LCD device and to prevent its thin film transistors from being damaged.
On the other hand, the OCB technique is typically used in either a transmission type or a reflection type LCD device. Though the transmission type LCD device uses backlight to obtain a bright display independent of surrounding environments, the panel brightness is often not sufficient when the device is exposed to direct sunlight. In comparison, a reflection type LCD device employs surrounding light to effect a display so that a backlight source is omitted; however, the reflection type LCD device is largely deteriorated in visibility in a dark surrounding. Hence, there has been a strong demand for designing an OCB mode LCD device that operates at a low threshold voltage and possesses good visibility in any environment.

Transflective liquid crystal display device


A height control mechanism for a lift device includes an elongated rail and an actuator slidingly mounted thereto. The actuator is biased toward a first end of the rail, and a proximity sensor is mounted proximate the second end of the rail. A cable pulls the actuator toward the second end of the rail as the lift device is elevated. When the proximity sensor detects the presence of the actuator, a signal is generated to halt further elevation. The position of the proximity sensor along the rail can be adjusted to set the maximum height of the lift device. A second proximity sensor, responsive to the presence of the actuator, can also be secured to the rail to generate a signal indicating that the lift device has been elevated off of the ground by a short distance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lifting devices, and more particularly, to a permanently-installed wheelchair lift device with an improved height control mechanism to provide access to stages, platforms, risers and other elevated structures for individuals with disabilities.
2. Description of the Background Art
Under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA"), the U.S. government required that public buildings be accessible to the disabled. For persons requiring a wheelchair for mobility, abrupt changes in floor elevation have to be modified to enable access by wheelchair. The ADA permits vertical lifting devices to be used instead of a ramp.
Lifting devices for the disabled are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,915 (Gary) describes a lifting device having a car including fixed sides and short, one-piece ramps at each end. The car is raised and lowered by a pantograph jack including a hydraulic pump driven by an electric motor controlled by switches. The patent also describes several lifting devices of the prior art. Another wheelchair lifting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,798 to Brady, et al., and assigned to AGM Container Controls, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. The '798 patent discloses a portable lift device with gates at both ends of the lift car, transparent walls, a loading ramp, a dock plate, a stage height sensor, and numerous safety features. On the other hand, the height detection system disclosed in this patent involves mechanical contact between the lift car and a sensor positioned on the stage.
Another portable lifting device adapted for wheelchairs is disclosed within pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/026,863, filed on Dec. 30, 2004, and published as U.S. Publ. No. 20060182570 (Zuercher, et al.) on Aug. 17, 2006, also assigned to the assignee of the present application. This application discloses a height adjustment mechanism accessible through a panel of the lift car for varying the elevational height of the lift. A rotatable arm is used to set the elevational height, and a knob secured to the end of such rotatable arm slides within a circular slot. The knob can be loosened to move the knob within the circular slot, thereby repositioning the rotatable arm. Once the knob is set to the desired elevational height, the knob is re-tightened, and the access panel is closed.
Portable wheelchair lifting devices generally require that the height to which the lift car is elevated be readily adjustable. Such lift devices are frequently moved from one stage or platform to another, and the elevations of two or more stages or platforms often differ from one another. On the other hand, a permanently-installed wheelchair lift remains permanently at a particular location, and once the height has been properly adjusted for a particular platform or stage, further height adjustments are neither required or recommended. During installation of a permanently-installed wheelchair lift, an installer adjusts the height to which the lift is elevated, and it would be desirable to permit such initial height adjustment to be made quickly and easily. Once the installer has adjusted the lift height, the lift device should be able to raise the platform of the lift device repeatedly, and reliably, to the pre-set height.
Lift devices for the disabled often include an entry gate and an exit gate. The entry gate is opened when the lift platform is fully-lowered to allow a user to enter the lift device prior to elevation, or to exit the lift device just after the platform is lowered. A valuable safety feature incorporated within lift devices for the disabled prevents the entry gate from being unlocked unless the platform is within a few inches of its fully-lowered position. Alternatively, the lift device can be configured to prevent continued elevation of the platform if the entry gate is not fully closed and locked by the time that the platform has been raised more than a few inches off the ground. To provide such safety features, it is necessary to sense that the platform is more than one or two inches above the ground.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lift device suitable for lifting wheelchair-bound users up to the height of stages, platforms, risers and the like in a safe and reliable manner, and comporting with all applicable ADA requirements.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device including a height control mechanism that does not require any physical contact between the lift device and the stage (or any objects supported by the stage).
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device including a height control mechanism particularly adapted for a permanently-installed wheelchair lift that remains permanently at a particular location, and which reliably raises the lift platform to the same desired height time after time.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device including a height control mechanism for a permanently-installed lift wherein an installer can adjust the height to which the lift is elevated quickly and easily.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a lift device including a height control mechanism which can also be used to detect whether the lift platform is more than one or two inches above the ground.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.

Permanently-installed wheel chair lift with height control


A connector has conducting pins projecting from a connector body, and fixing pin extending substantially in parallel with the conducting pins. The fixing pins are longer than the conducting pins. The fixing pins are constructed such that they can be inserted in corresponding fixing holes of a printed circuit board when the connector is attached to the printed circuit board. The fixing pins are locked in the fixing holes to secure the electrical connection between the conducting pins and corresponding electrode pads and the mechanical connection between the connector and the printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a test of a printed circuit board, a plurality of probes connected to a test device are arranged, in the same pattern as the pattern of electrode pads on the printed circuit board, and are brought into contact with the respective electrode pads. Spring probes are used as the testing probes. The spring probes are arranged in a jig, so that the spring probes are pressed against the electrode pads on the printed circuit board. This method makes it necessary to develop and manufacture jigs in line with printed circuit boards, and the cost of development and manufacture of a jig arises for each type of printed circuit board. Moreover, the jig bearing the spring probes has a relatively complex structure and a mechanism for supporting the printed circuit board is needed.
As a method of connecting a printed circuit board to a test device, a method of mounting a connector is used. In this method, a connector mounting design is needed so that the connector can be mounted on the printed circuit board. The expenses of parts of a connector and the labor and cost for mounting the connector arise.
An example in which a connector is mounted on a printed circuit board is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-268911, for example. The terminal pins of the connector are inserted into through holes in the printed circuit board.


A hanger assembly is disclosed as including a main body with a male portion, a hook joined at an upper portion of the body, and a hook receiving element adapted to engage with the male portion. A hanger is also disclosed as being formed of engagement of the body and the hook receiving element of the hanger assembly. There is also disclosed a method of forming a hanger, including the steps of (a) providing a main body with a male portion; (b) providing a hook at an upper portion of the body; (c) providing a hook receiving element adapted to engage with the male portion; and (d) engaging the male portion with the hook receiving element to thereby engage the body with the hook receiving element.

There are in existence a number of ganging hangers, which allow a hanger to be supported by and suspended from another hanger.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,098 issued to Bredeweg et al. discloses a garment hanger with a hook and a dependent loop vertically aligned with the hook. The legs forming the legs are joined at their lower ends and are offset from each other in a normal to the face of the hanger whereby the hook of a second hanger can be passed through the loop and support the second hanger while confined between and parallel to the front and back faces of the hanger body supporting it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,321 issued to Willinger et al. discloses a garment hanger having a hanger body, a hook member, and a hook receiving element for suspending from the garment hanger a second garment hanger. The hook receiving element is disposed in vertical alignment with the hook member and includes a frame member and base member, the frame member being provided with openings to define first and second intersecting passageways for selectively receiving the hanging means of the second garment hanger. The second garment hanger may thus be suspended in a plane parallel to the plane of the hanger body or perpendicular thereto.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 394,753 issued to Zuckerman discloses a design for a ganging assembly of ganging hanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,658 issued to Olk et al. discloses a coordinate loop garment comprising a molded plastic hanger body having a hook receiving element depending from and molded integrally with the molded plastic body at a lower portion thereof. The hook receiving loop element includes a passageway for selectively receiving and suspending therefrom a hook of a second ganged garment hanger which is at least partially enclosed along its length by the left, right, top and bottom surfaces.
In these prior art garment hangers, the hook receiving element is formed integrally with the body of the hanger, with the following shortcomings:    1. As the body of the hanger is intended to support a garment, which may be rather heavy, the material with which the body is made should be of a high rigidity. On the other hand, the hook receiving element should be of less rigidity so as to give some yield, and thus to prevent breakage, when the hook of a second hanger clashes with it when it is attempted to suspend the second hanger from the original hanger. This difference in rigidity cannot be provided for in the prior art garment hangers, as such existing garment hangers are molded integrally of a single material.    2. As the garment hangers are made of a single material, even if they are of different sizes, they are all of the colour and general outlook. It is very difficult for a user, or even the manufacturer, to differentiate between garments of different sizes.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a hanger assembly, a hanger formed of such a hanger assembly, and a method of forming such a hanger, in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hanger in which the body and the hook receiving element are made of different materials, each of a different rigidity.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a hanger in which the body and the hook receiving element are of different colours, so as to allow visual differentiation of sizes and other characteristics.
Such and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing discussion.

Hanger assembly and a hanger formed of such an assembly


A removable vehicle exterior door guard device comprising an elongate panel and a plurality of vacuum seal suction cups. The panel can comprise a foam pad or other flexible polymer coupled to one or more suction cups configured to hold the panel to a vehicle surface. The device can comprise a foam pad having suction cups configured to provide a vacuum seal to a vehicle exterior door, for example using screw-tightening suction cup mechanism or a lever tightening suction cup mechanism. The vacuum seal suction cups are configured to maintain a strong seal against the vehicle surface over extended periods of time, even if the panel is bumped or the vehicle surface is not clean. The device can additionally include a theft deterrent system comprising a cord attached at a proximate end to the panel and at a distal end to an anchor that is secured inside the vehicle.

Vehicle exteriors are vulnerable to damage caused by impact from other vehicles parking alongside and opening doors while parties enter or exit their vehicles. Vehicles may also be damaged by impact from other objects such as bikes or shopping carts. The risk of damage is compounded by crowded parking lots, narrow or angled parking spaces, and differences between vehicle types and sizes, such as minivans, trucks, and sport utility vehicles, all with a variety of protruding shapes of the vehicle's door design.
Conventional vehicle manufacturers provide minimal protective solutions, generally consisting of narrow side-strip molding on some automobiles, while many manufacturers provide no exterior molding protection. Conventional aftermarket side-exterior vehicle protection devices include a variety of molding strips, elongated tubing, or pads comprised of plastics, foam, or rubber materials. These conventional devices fail to sufficiently protect vehicles from damage, and can be bulky and difficult to store and handle.
For example, a conventional molding strip may be formed to cover the furthest outward point of a particular vehicle's doors. However, adjacent vehicles often have different contours, and the furthest outward point of those adjacent vehicles could be relatively higher or lower, precluding protection offered by the molding strip. Additionally, conventional molding strips are often permanently affixed to the vehicles, making reorientation to better protect against a particular adjacent vehicle impossible. Such conventional strips or pads, therefore, may be lightweight and easy to handle, but provide insufficient coverage to the protected vehicle.
Some conventional aftermarket devices have large dimensions, covering the width and length of the vehicle's side panels and significant portion of the doors. These devices provide more protection than the lightweight molding strips, but are burdensome to handle and manage. Their size often makes storage in the vehicle when the device is not in use difficult. Aftermarket devices can also be difficult to attach to and remove from the vehicle. For example, they may use hooks, spring-loaded clips or strapping to adhere to the vehicle, which often require a great deal of effort to properly attach. Moreover, these mechanisms often come unattached from the vehicle after a short time, or after a single impact. Both lightweight and bulkier versions of conventional aftermarket door protection devices suffer from poor coverage of the various protruding points of different vehicle makes and models. This is compounded by the wide variety of vehicle types, parking angles and positioning inherently present in parking lots.
Other conventional aftermarket devices incorporate magnets to attach to the vehicle. Increasingly, vehicles are manufactured with aluminum or carbon fiber body parts that magnetic vehicle protection devices will not adhere to. Many magnetic vehicle protection devices can also be difficult to remove due to the necessary strength of the magnetic attraction.
Although these problems have been recognized, limited solutions have been provided. Several of these devices must also be constructed in a customized fashion as previously described in order to fit an intended vehicle and use, increasing production costs. Conventional devices are typically either permanently adhered, as described above, or alternatively rely on either magnetic attachment, attachment to a fixed physical structure with mechanical clips or cleats, or suction-based. Each of these comes with a corresponding tradeoff.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,303 ("Soria") discloses a telescopic elongate bar assembly for adjusting the length of the apparatus for mounting on any size of vehicle. The bar assembly includes slideable suction cups for connecting the apparatus to a vehicle. A rubber strap having a bar at one end is attached at the other end to the rubber coating on the largest telescopic bar. With all the sliding and adjustable elements in Soria, attaching the device to the vehicle is an awkward and time-consuming task.
US Patent Application No. 2005/0099026 ("Velazquez") uses both mechanical attachment (i.e., clips) and suction cups. Velazquez describes the deficiencies of Soria in the background, and goes on to describe an elongated tubular PVC bar having a length that coincides with the width of a vehicle's door or door and fender. Therefore, the Velazquez device must be specially manufactured for each particular make and model of vehicle, increasing costs. A significant disadvantage is that the tubular PVC bar can be awkward to handle when attaching and detaching from the vehicle, difficult to store when not in use, and significantly limits the range of protection offered in areas where scratches and dents commonly occur. Velazquez discloses attaching the device to a vehicle using mechanical means in conjunction with multiple suction cups, to ensure that the device remains fixed to the vehicle during use.
US Patent Application No. 2006/0097528 ("Southerland") provides some reasoning for the inclusion of multiple suction cups—each one is unable to hold much weight. Southerland discloses an automotive dent guard comprising panels molded of translucent vinyl that are secured by slip clips and suction cups. Because the suction cups of Southerland are unable to hold the guard panel to the vehicle on their own, the slip clips are also required to ensure that the door guard remains in position on the vehicle. Attaching the slip clips and suction cups to the vehicle makes the Southerland device burdensome to handle and time-consuming to attach.
PCT Application No. WO 2006/087483 ("Morin-Docter") discloses a cellular foam plate lined with plastic that may be secured on a vehicle using four or five conventional suction cups. However, Morin-Docter's description admits that these conventional suction cups are subject to reduced performance when the vehicle is not perfectly clean and smooth. For example, the Morin-Docter device does not reliably adhere to the vehicle when there is dust on the vehicle.
Overall, mechanical connectors using magnets or clips may cause damage to the very same vehicle they are designed to protect, particularly when dirt or other foreign objects are present on the vehicle. Applicant's own prior invention, U.S. Pat. No. 9,862,258, relies on magnetic attachment to overcome these deficiencies. Magnetic attachment may not be appropriate for all vehicles, however, such as those made of non-magnetic material that are becoming more prevalent.


A no-ID zone-bit-recording data recording disk drive system having an interface processor and a servo processor is described wherein track seek time is substantially reduced by the following two step seek process. The interface processor converts a logical block address (LBA) to an estimated physical block address (EPBA) using a defect map where the EPBA is communicated to the servo processor. The servo processor uses a zone table and converts the EPBA to an estimated zone-cylinder-head-sector (ZCHS) value which is used to initiate actuator arm movement and moving the appropriate head over the disk in the direction of sought after track. Concurrently with the servo processor computation and actuator arm motion, the interface processor generates an exact PBA and communicates the exact PBA to the servo processor. The servo processor converts the exact PBA to exact ZCHS values and modifies the actuator arm motion so the head can be exactly positioned over the sought after track. By allowing the servo processor to map PBA to ZCHS and further utilizing EPBA to initiate actuator arm motion before the exact PBA becomes available, substantial reduction in track seek time is attained.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to data storage disk drives commonly referred to as disk drives, and in particular to a system and method for reducing track seek time in such disk drives.
2. Description of the Background Art
In data storage systems such as magnetic disk drives, digital information is magnetically stored upon a surface of a magnetic medium such as a magnetic storage disk in a set of concentric circular patterns called "tracks". The digital information is represented by selectively polarizing the surface of the disk. When this information is read back from the disk, the magnetic polarization of the medium is sensed and converted to an electrical output signal. The read and write operations are performed by read/write electronics in conjunction with a read/write head which "flies" over the surface of the rotating disk and provides an output signal.
Typically, storage disks of a disk drive are stacked in a "disk stack" (also known as "disk pack") which are mounted for rotation together on a single spindle. Each side of each disk in the disk stack has a surface which is usually used to store information. Each surface of a disk in the disk stack is usually exposed to at least one head responsible for reading and writing information on that particular surface. Typically, all the magnetic heads which are mounted on an actuator arm move in tandem radially over the surfaces of the disk so that they are all at the same approximate disk radius at the same time.
In order to accurately move a magnetic head to a desired track and position the head over that track a servo system is utilized. The servo system performs two distinct functions known as a "seek" or "access" function and "track following" function. During the "seek" operation the servo system moves a read/write head to a selected track from a previous track or from a park position as quickly as possible. When the head reaches the desired track, the servo system begins a "track following" operation in which it accurately positions the head over the centerline of the selected track and maintains the head in that position as successive portions of the track pass by the head.
It is important to note that during a seek operation the actuator arm where the head is mounted, in general, is moved as fast as possible so as to minimize the time required for that operation. Since the seek time is one of the most important factors considered in measuring the overall performance of a disk drive, it is essential to minimize the time it takes for carrying out the seek operation as much as possible.
In order to read and write data from the correct location in the disk pack, the data sectors in the disk pack are identified by a cylinder address, head address and sector address (CHS). A "cylinder" identifies a set of specific tracks on the disk surfaces in the disk pack which lie at equal radii and are, in general, simultaneously accessible by the collection of heads. The head address identifies which head can read the data and therefore identifies the disk that the data is recorded on. Each track within a cylinder is further divided into "sectors" for storing data and servo information.
Many modern disk drives also use a concept known as zone bit recording (ZBR) as taught by Hetzler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,660 in which the disk surface is divided into radial zones and the data is recorded at a different data rate in each zone. The addition of zones requires expansion of the cylinder, head, sector (CHS) identification scheme (addresses) to a zone, cylinder, head, sector (ZCHS) identification scheme.
Some disk files have servo information only on a dedicated surface on one disk in a disk stack. However, many modern disk drives use a servo architecture known as "sectored servo" (also referred to as "sector servo") as taught by Hetzler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,660 where servo information is interspersed with the data stored on each disk surface. The servo sector in sectored servo architecture contains positioning data on each track to help the magnetic head stay on that track. This latter approach is preferred because it can be implemented at low cost without extra components beyond those required for storing data and because it provides the servo information at the data surface which is being accessed, thereby eliminating all thermal sources of track misregistration (TMR).
The use of either sectored servo or dedicated servo surface architectures and the implementation of either of the two are well known to those skilled in the requisite art.
There are also a number of methods used to format disk files, one of which is fixed block architecture (FBA) method which is used in both dedicated servo disk files and sectored servo disk files. In an FBA formatted disk file, each disk track is divided into a number of equal-sized segments, and each segment is divided into sectors containing servo information, identification information (ID), and data.
A typical segment 9 of a track on an FBA formatted disk utilizing sectored servo architecture is illustrated in FIG. 1. The segment 9 comprises sequentially a servo sector 10, and identification (ID) region 11 and a data sector 12. Servo sector 10 further comprises information such as write-read and speed Field 15, address mark (AM) field 16 and position error signal (PES) field 17. The ID region 11, which is written onto the disk during the format operation contains specific information concerning the data sector 12 which can be used during normal operation, either writing or reading, to identify the succeeding data sector 12. The ID region 11 typically comprises a read/write and speed field 18, VCO sync field 19, encoder/decoder flush field 20, sync byte 21, and ID and CRC field 22. The data sector 12 typically comprises fields 23-26 which correspond to the ID fields 18-21, and data and ECC field 27. In a disk file having an ID region, the CHS/ZCHS or LBA information is typically recorded on the data ID field 22 immediately preceding the data sector.
Recently, a new method and system has been developed to increase the capacity of disk drives known as the no-ID format and the disk drive systems utilizing no-ID format are commonly referred to as no-ID disk drive systems. This format has been taught by Hetzler in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,848, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. For no-ID disk drives implementing a sector servo architecture, a "full track number identifier" in the position field in the servo sector of a given track is used in combination with a defect map to uniquely identify the requested data sectors and thereby completely eliminate the use of ID regions.
Briefly stated, bad sectors are mapped out of the disk file by means of a defect map. At disk format time, each sector is written to and read from to determine whether it is usable or defective. Clusters of defective sectors are marked bad by recording in the defect map the sector location identifier of the first bad sector in the cluster and the quantity of consecutive bad sectors in the cluster. During read/write operations, the disk file performs logical block address (customer or system addressable block) to physical block address (total number of sectors available on a disk drive) conversion (logical to physical sector conversion) by searching the defect map for an entry having a value less than or equal to the requested logical sector location identifier. If none is found, the physical block address is equal to the logical block address. If an entry is found, the corresponding offset representing the quantity of consecutive bad sectors is extracted from the defect map and added to the logical block address of the requested sector to produce the physical block address for that sector. The PBA in turn is translated to either CHS (no zone recording) or ZCHS (zone recording present) in order to access a physical disk location.
Once the disk drive completes the required seek operation to the cylinder and head identified, or to the zone, cylinder and head identified, the recording channel scans for the desired data sector by examining the servo sector associated with each data sector as it passes under the head. When the appropriate data sector is found, the data is read and the operation is completed.
In prior no-ID data storage disk drives, having one or two processors (interface processor and servo processors), the PBA of a specific track must be calculated and converted into a CHS or ZCHS value before the actuator is instructed to seek the track. For example, in the case of the two processor design, the interface processor generally performs the logical block address (LBA) to PBA conversion and PBA to CHS/ZCHS for the first possible track where the data is located. The CHS/ZCHS is then used to start a track seek operation by applying necessary signals to servo electronics which in turn provides the necessary current to voice coil which in turn causes the actuator to move.
The process of performing LBA to PBA and PBA to CHS/ZCHS conversions for the first possible track, communicating that information to the servo processor, and then carrying out the seek operation is a time consuming operation and degrades the overall performance of the disk drive. The overall performance of the disk drive is degraded because the aforementioned conversions directly contribute to the track seek time overhead.
Therefore, there is a great need for an invention that can substantially decrease the track seek time overhead in disk drives and further eliminate the overall performance degradation associated with the track seek in no-ID disk drives.

System and method for reducing target track seek time in a data storage disk drive

International Business Machines Corporation


An integrated circuit includes a first source, a first drain, and a first gate that is arranged between the first source and the first drain. A first body is arranged inside of and is surrounded by the first source. The source and the drain include n+ regions and the body includes a p+ region. The first body tapers as a distance between a midportion of the first body and the first gate decreases. The first body is in contact with the first gate or spaced from the first gate.

Integrated circuits or chips may include a large number of interconnected transistors. The transistors and other circuit elements are interconnected in various ways to provide desired circuit functions. It is usually most efficient to fabricate multiple integrated circuits on a single wafer. After processing, the integrated circuits that are fabricated on the wafer are separated and then packaged. The wafer can accommodate a fixed number of integrated circuits for a given integrated circuit size. Reducing the size of individual transistors in the integrated circuit may help to reduce the overall size of the integrated circuit. This, in turn, allows an increased number of integrated circuits or chips to be made on each wafer and reduces the cost of the integrated circuits.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary transistor 10 includes a drain 12, a gate 14, a source 16 and a body 18 or substrate tap. For example, the transistor 10 in FIG. 1 is an NMOS transistor. In some circumstances, the body 18 is connected to the source 16 as shown in FIG. 2.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the body 18 includes a p+ region and may include a contact tap 30. The source 16 includes an n+ region and may include a contact tap 32. The drain 12 includes an n+ region and may include a contact tap 34. Additional transistors may be fabricated on one or sides of the transistor 10 as indicated by " . . . " in FIG. 3.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the body 18 may be repeated between sources 16 of adjacent transistors. The body 18 takes up valuable chip area and increases the size of the transistor and the integrated circuit. Additional transistors can be arranged on one or more sides of the transistor 10 as shown by " . . . " in FIG. 4.


A large-capacity CAM (content addressable memory) is disclosed. RAM core cells are used to store the CAM data. The comparison function is not performed in the core cells, but rather in comparators which are placed adjacent to a plurality of core cells, in such a way that the plurality of core cells shares access to a single comparator. Access to the comparator is shared by a time-division multiplexed means, requiring a plurality of serialized operations. These operations are self-timed and transparent to the user, because they occur in a single cycle of the externally-supplied clock.

A typical content addressable memory (CAM) includes CAM storage elements (core cells) which include comparators therein, so as to perform the dual functions of storage of a bit of data and comparison of the stored bit to applied reference data. Recent prior art includes examples of employing RAM core cells and less than one comparator per storage bit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,254 granted to W. F. Beausoleil on Mar. 7, 1972 discloses the implementation of a CAM using shift registers or other rotating media for storage. They are arranged in such a way as to function as a plurality of word-serial searches operating in parallel. It requires that the stored data rotate past the comparator logic, instead of being read from a RAM based on a rotating pointer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,737 granted to S. M. Lamb et al. on Mar. 20, 1979 discloses the implementation of a CAM using RAM for storage. The comparators are a shared resource, but in a search operation, only one RAM location is selected from each block (the same across all blocks).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,653 granted to D. J. McElroy on Nov. 11, 1986 discloses a means of integrating comparators together with a DRAM, accessing all cells in a single row of the DRAM simultaneously (a row referred to as a "block"), thereafter comparing them to reference data, with multiple match lines provided for the multiple words in a physical row, and sequential access means for sequencing through all of the blocks that make up the memory.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,377 granted to K. Takahashi on Sep. 18, 1990 discloses many possible embodiments of an associative memory, in which data does not need to be explicitly compared, since the value of a bit is encoded in its position.
A paper by M. Motomura et al. entitled "A 1.2-Million Transistor, 33-MHz, 20-b Dictionary Search Processor (DISP) ULSI with a 160-kb CAM", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 1158-1165, October 1990, describes a means of sharing a comparator among multiple SRAM cells using categorization, such that a search is completed in a single cycle, but only one of these SRAM cells is actually compared to the reference data (the one belonging to the selected category). The search of stored data is hence only partial. Though SRAM cells and comparators are grouped into blocks, there are no sub-blocks, no parallel searches per block, and only one match line per column. The match line does not perform any access control function.
A paper by G. J. Lipovski entitled "A Four Megabit Dynamic Systolic Associative Memory Chip", Journal of VLSI Signal Processing, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 37-51, 1992 (also U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,180 issued on Jan. 29, 1991), describes a means of storing CAM data in DRAM core cells, which share access to a comparator on a TDM (time division multiplex) basis. The entire contents of the CAM is searched in a single search operation, but the embodiment of this operation is most likely serialized by bit, rather than by word. Row access is controlled by a counter and address signals, rather than shift registers. The plurality of bits belonging to each word are all processed (compared) in the same comparator.
A paper by I. N. Robinson entitled "Pattern-Addressable Memory", IEEE Micro, pp. 20-30, June 1992, describes a structure in which CAM data are stored in DRAM cells, which share a comparator. Access is on a word-by-word basis and is normally performed in some pre-determined order. Rows are selected by address lines and decoders, as controlled by an "array controller", rather than deterministically by shift registers. There is a plurality of blocks on the chip, but each block contains a plurality of complete data words, and blocks are not sub-blocked. Match lines are confined to the "match engine" associated with each block, and do not run above DRAM cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,072 granted to I. N. Robinson et al. on May 24, 1988 discloses searching circuitry composed of a plurality of "retrieval processors", each with an associated bank of RAM. RAM access is controlled by a shift register, thus arbitrating access to the comparator resource in the processor. Although the access pattern, as controlled by the shift register, is sequential, it is not deterministic (fixed TDM). The processor, itself, may contain considerable circuitry in addition to the comparator, for the intended purpose of controlling the search for a sequence of entries, rather than a single isolated entry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,559 granted to A. J. Greenberger on Dec. 27, 1988 discloses a means of achieving content-addressable functionality using standard DRAM storage array(s). Fixed TDM sharing of the comparator may be employed. Though the memory chip may be divided into separate blocks for the purpose of searching multiple words in parallel, these blocks are oriented such that only a single word line is asserted per cycle (said word line spans a plurality of blocks), and the match line is parallel to the word line, rather than parallel to the bit lines.
In a paper by K. J. Schultz et al. entitled "Architectures for Large-Capacity CAMs", INTEGRATION: the VLSI Journal, Vol. 18, pp. 151-171, 1995 describes, in a general tutorial fashion (pp. 158-161), an architecture employing multiple blocks being searched in parallel.

Large-capacity content addressable memory


A correction method for correcting uneven light emission of an organic EL panel, the correction method includes the steps of: supplying a predetermined signal to the organic EL panel to detect the brightness of the panel at horizontal and vertical scan positions; forming, based on a detection output thereof, correction data adapted to correct uneven brightness of the organic EL panel at a horizontal or vertical display position of the panel; storing the correction data in a memory; and reading the correction data from the memory during viewing to correct the level of a video signal supplied to the organic EL panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for an uneven light emission correction of an organic EL panel and a display correction circuit of an organic EL panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some panel-shaped display devices for displaying a TV image or the like use an organic EL panel. The organic EL panel has a plurality of organic EL elements arranged in a matrix form. Each of the organic EL elements is associated with one pixel (one of the red, green and blue pixels).
FIG. 7 illustrates the principle of a drive circuit for an organic EL element. A drive TFT (Q) and organic EL element D are connected in series to a power source +VDD. The TFT (Q) is supplied with a video signal voltage V.
Therefore, the signal voltage V is converted into a signal current I by the TFT (Q). The signal current I flows through the organic EL element D. This causes the organic EL element D to emit light L at the brightness (emission intensity) associated with the magnitude of the signal current I. As a result, the pixel is displayed at the brightness associated with the signal voltage V.
As described above, a display device using an organic EL panel can be reduced in thickness because it is self-luminous and therefore demands no backlights as does the liquid crystal display. Further, the light emission thereof is achieved by excitons in the organic semiconductor. As a result, the display device has high energy conversion efficiency, making it possible to reduce the voltage demanded for light emission down to several volts or so.
Further, the organic EL panel offers high response speed and wide color reproduction range. Still further, the panel is immune to magnetic field interference unlike the cathode ray tube (picture tube). It should be noted that the organic EL is also called the organic LED or OLED.
The following document is available as an existing art document: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-15604, hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1.

Method for uneven light emission correction of organic EL panel and display correction circuit of organic EL panel


An apparatus includes a processor, USB connectors, and variable resistors or variable current sources. The processor is configured to read and load instructions causing the processor to dynamically adjust a current consumed by a given connector through adjustment of a related variable resistor or variable current source.

Power delivery via USB (e.g., USB Specification 3.1) connections may involve providing and/or consuming power under various operating conditions. For example, a given USB connector that supports power delivery may be coupled to a charging circuit that is configured to sink (e.g., consume) power from a 12-20V input to quickly charge an internal battery of the device, sink power from a 5V input to allow charging from general purpose USB charger, and supply a 5V output to power a USB peripheral device. Conventional charging circuits may use several converters and power switches in order to support all of these functions. While recent developments in bidirectional converters may have reduced the number of converters supporting only a single USB connector, devices with multiple USB connectors may still use a separate Buck converter to provide the 5V output.
Furthermore, the USB Type-C Specification 1.0 has been released. USB-C devices may optionally provide or consume bus power currents of 1.5 A and 3.0 A (at 5 V) in addition to baseline bus power provision. Power sources can either advertise increased USB current through the configuration channel, or they can implement the full USB Power Delivery specification.

Load balancing in multi-port USB systems