A silicon wafer includes a plurality of chip patterns arranged parallel to a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction, wherein the plurality of chip patterns include one or more patterns arranged in the first direction and the second direction in a straight line, the plurality of chip patterns include a first chip pattern and a second chip pattern adjacent to the first chip pattern, and the second chip pattern is arranged by rotating the first chip pattern at 90 degrees, the plurality of chip patterns are arranged so that an axis in which a cleavage plane of the silicon wafer and a surface arranged with the pattern on the silicon wafer intersect, and the first direction are different, and an angle between the axis and the first direction of the second chip pattern is 90 degrees.

In the field of bulk MEMS, deep holes or grooves are formed in a silicon wafer in order to develop functions. Because the silicon wafer which is used at this time is mainly used for supplying semiconductors such as memory or processors etc, a (100) orientated silicon wafer is often used.
In the case of forming deep holes or grooves in a plane direction (100) silicon wafer, it is easy for the wafer to fracture when there are scratches etc due to the properties of the silicon wafer. As an example whereby the easy to fracture properties of the silicon wafer are utilized a technique which makes a silicon wafer easy to fracture by forming a chip separation groove along a cleavage plane is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent H8-139339. However, this ease of fracturing has demerits in terms of handling a pattern formed silicon wafer.
For example, a silicon wafer sometimes fractures even in the case of forming a film using a material with a high level of stress on the silicon wafer. This type of fracture occurs on a cleavage plane in a plane direction <110>.
For example, a technique is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent 2004-349550 in which two silicon wafers are reinforced by mutually misaligning the cleavage planes and joining them together against the properties of a silicon wafer which is easy to fracture along a cleavage plane. However, while combining two silicon wafers secures strength across the entire device, because sufficient strength cannot be secured in one silicon wafer, fractures caused by stress in the material which is used in forming a film cannot be prevented.
In particular, in the field of bulk MEMS, the same pattern is often formed a plurality of times having deep holes or grooves along a cleavage plane of a silicon wafer compared to a semiconductor element such as memory. Because the depth of the formed holes or grooves is between a few tens of μm to a few hundred μm, it is easy for fractures to occur along the cleavage plane of the silicon wafer. As a result, when forming the same pattern a plurality of times on a silicon wafer, a pattern arrangement method is preferred in which it is difficult to produce fractures.

Silicon wafer with a plurality of chip patterns


A system and method for guaranteeing an upper bound on output jitter while maintaining maximum loop bandwidth. At least a portion of a plurality of transport packets stored in a buffer include a first timestamp value. A first phase locked loop receives a stream of first timestamp values and generates a variable rate timing signal stream that conveys a variation rate and a phase accumulation rate of the stream of first timestamp values to the first loop. A second phase locked loop receives the variable rate timing signal stream and generates a stable rate timing signal stream conveying the average rate of the variable rate timing signal stream. A interval timer is responsive to the stable rate timing signal stream in order to release the transport packets from the buffer.

The MPEG-2 Systems standard provides a syntax and a set of semantic rules for the construction of bitstreams containing a multiplexed combination of one or more related programs. Each program is composed of one or more related elementary streams representing video, audio or other data streams that share a common time base of the program they are associated with. The coded data for a video, audio or other data stream is packetized to form a packetized elementary stream. The transport stream protocol provides a standard format for combining one or more packetized elementary streams into a single transport stream that may then be transmitted over a medium.
A transport stream comprises a continuous sequence of transport packets carrying data from one of the packetized elementary streams. Prior to transmitting the transport stream, an encoder employs a system clock to timestamp the transport packets. A decoder receiving the transport stream permits one or more of the packetized elementary streams to be extracted from the transport stream by simply extracting every incoming packet whose header includes a program identifier assigned to the selected packetized elementary streams. Decoders receiving the transport stream utilize a corresponding system clock whose frequency of operation matches the encoder. However, the decoder system clock typically will need synchronizing with the encoder system clock.
Program Clock References (PCRs) are counter values from the encoder's system clock that are inserted into the transport packets. The PCRs inserted into the transport packets represent the time which the PCR's were inserted into the transport packets and, therefore, reflect the true time base of a particular program. Each program has its own independent time base. Each particular timestamp value represents a clock value at the time of the insertion indicative of an optimal time relationship between the payload data of the particular data packet and the payload data of prior and subsequent data packets.
Prior to transmitting a transport stream from a headend through a network to subscribers, the arrival time of packets becomes corrupted which introduces error known as jitter. The PCRs no longer accurately reflect the time base of a selected program since the packet containing the PCR arrived at the wrong time. In such case, the PCRs and the packet transmission time must be adjusted before the packet leaves the headend in order to allow the decoder to re-establish the original time base of the selected program.
Typically, type II digital phase locked loops are utilized to recover and suppress the jitter in the PCR from an MPEG transport stream. However, it is desirable to have an upper bound on output PCR jitter from a PCR dejitter algorithm. For example, a PCR jitter upper bound of no more than 500 nanoseconds is desirable. It is difficult to guarantee meeting such an upper bound for limiting PCR jitter with known digital phase locked loop systems.
Multiple cascaded phase locked loops can be utilized to suppress time base jitter. A phase locked loop provides a low pass filter function to the jitter components. This allows the jitter suppression at specific frequencies to be specified. Since the spectral components of the input jitter are not known, it is not possible to know how much overall jitter suppression will be achieved.
Therefore, simply cascading multiple phase locked loops cannot guarantee an upper bound on output PCR jitter from a PCR dejitter algorithm unless an extremely low bandwidth system is used. However, in most cases, such a low bandwidth system would be impractical because it would not be able to respond quickly enough to source clock rate changes caused by switching to a different MPEG source. What is needed is a method and system for dejittering an MPEG transport stream that guarantees an upper bound on output PCR jitter from a PCR degittering algorithm while maintaining maximum system bandwidth.

Rate limited control mechanism for MPEG PCR dejittering


In an active pixel sensor having a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels having a photodetector for accumulating charge from incident light, a transfer gate for removing charge from the photodetector, a floating diffusion that acts as a sense node to an amplifier input, and a drain the improvement comprising the provision of a reset mechanism for each pixel by application of a potential adjacent the floating diffusion such that the area between the floating diffusion and the drain becomes depleted.

APS are solid state imagers where each pixel contains a photo-sensing means, charge to voltage conversion means, reset means, and all or part of an amplifier. They have some advantages over charge coupled device imagers (CCD), including single 5 V supply operation, x-y addressability, and high level of integration of on-chip signal processing.
APS devices are operated in a manner where each pixel is repeatedly reset and read out. The reset operation is accomplished by resetting the photodetector or charge to voltage conversion means by removing the signal charge that is residing there. This is accomplished by incorporation of a reset transistor in each pixel. Turning the reset transistor on allows signal charge to flow into the drain of the reset transistor, thus being removed from the photodetector region or charge to voltage conversion region. Since a reset transistor is included in each pixel, it occupies area that could otherwise be used for the photodetector, thus reducing the fill factor and sensitivity of the device.
A prior APS pixel is shown in FIG. 1. The pixel 10 comprises a photodetector 12, which can conceivably be either a photodiode or photogate, transfer gate 14, floating diffusion 16, reset transistor 17, with a reset gate 18 and reset drain 19, row select transistor (ROWST) 8, with a row select gate (RSG) 9 and signal transistor (SIG) 6. Pixels are arranged in an array (X-columns and Y-rows), to form an image sensor. Device operation occurs in the following manner. A given row is reset by turning on transfer gate 14 and reset gate 18. Any electrons that are in the photodetector 12 or floating diffusion 16 are removed via the reset drain 19. The transfer gate 14 and the reset gate 18 are then turned off and incident light creates electrons in the photodetector 12 for a determined time (integration time). The reset gate is then turned on, removing any electrons that may have accumulated in the floating diffusion region. The reset gate is then turned off and the reset signal level is then read out one column at a time for that row (the details of this operation are not relevant to this invention). Transfer gate 14 is then turned on and these electrons are transferred onto the floating diffusion 16 which is connected to the gate of SIG 6. This signal level is then read out a column at a time for that particular row. A CDS amplifier in each column is used to remove reset noise and noise due to pixel offset. This operation is then repeated for the remaining rows, with the integration time being of constant duration for each row, but integrated during a different time period. As discussed earlier, the incorporation of a reset transistor in each pixel reduces the fill factor and sensitivity of the device. Additionally, the row by row reset integrate and read operation can produce image artifacts.
There are two basic types of charge to voltage conversion means, the floating diffusion and the floating gate. The floating diffusion method provides very good sensitivity, (i.e. small capacitance), but results in an incomplete reset which leads to reset noise. The FG method provides a complete reset and consequently no reset noise, but has poor sensitivity. The floating diffusion approach has been used predominantly in APS and charge coupled devices, (CCD) to obtain good sensitivity. The reset noise is dealt with by performing correlated double sampling (CDS).
In order to perform CDS and eliminate the reset noise the reset operation must occur prior to the read operation. Because of this need to have a reset signal level prior to a read signal level, APS devices have been operated in a manner where each line or row of the imager is reset, integrated and read out at a different time interval than each of the remaining lines or rows. Hence if one were reading out the entire imager, each line would have captured the scene at a different point in time. Since illumination conditions can and do vary temporally, and since objects in the scene may also be moving, this method of read out can produce line artifacts in the resulting representation of the image. This limits the usefulness of APS devices in applications where high quality motion or still images are required. This problem can be overcome by reading the signal level then the reset level, but as stated above this would not eliminate the reset noise.
In order to solve the problems of APS devices described above, it is desirable to provide a reset means that does not reduce the fill factor of the pixel. It is also desirable to provide a reset means that is complete so that the APS device could be operated in a manner where it is read then reset without introduction of reset noise.

Active pixel sensor with punch-through reset and cross-talk suppression


Protection and filtering functions are provided for external circuits by internal circuits that use controlled elements.

This invention relates to electronic components having actively controlled circuit elements.
The interconnected electronic components that form many electronic circuits include simple, passive elements, like resistors and capacitors, and more complex actively controlled circuit elements that provide logic and control functions. One example of an actively controlled circuit element is a MOSFET, which can he controlled to perform a switching function (e.g., turned on and off) or controlled in a linear fashion (e.g., the voltage across the MOSFET and/or the current flowing in the MOSFET are controlled over a continuous range of values).
The elements of an electronic component may be formed as regions of material on a substrate as part of an integrated circuit. Or the elements may be commercially available discrete devices (both passive and active) mounted on a circuit board using either conventional soldered leads or surface mounted contact pads.
The resulting electronic components may be packaged in housings or cases that have terminals for making electrical connection to electronic circuits. The terminals of the components can be in the form of leads or surface mounting contact pads.
Micro-lead packaging (MLP) techniques can be used to house integrated circuits and discrete devices in tiny, inexpensive electronic packages that are not much larger than the devices within them and that are easily mounted on circuit boards. Heat can easily and economically be removed from power-dissipating devices that are packaged in MLP packages (see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/643,159, "Power Converter Assembly", filed Aug. 21, 2000, incorporated by reference).
Some electronic components can be thought of as serving secondary or service functions for other, primary circuits. For example, a power converter circuit may be considered a primary circuit while a ripple filter component connected to the output of the converter may be viewed as providing a secondary or service function.
Sometimes the service functions are provided by including them directly in the primary circuit. In other cases, when the primary circuits are sold as commercial products without inclusion of the service functions, the service functions may be provided by components that are sold and mounted separately.
For example, a commercially available DC-to-DC power converter will typically include ripple filtering circuitry. However, certain applications require very low ripple, and the additional filtering requirements may be met by providing an add-on commercial product that is connected to the output terminal of the converter. One example of such a secondary product is the VI-RAM Ripple Attenuator Module ("RAM") available from Vicor Corporation of Andover, Mass., which serves as an active ripple filter at the output of a switching power converter, such as the VI-200 and VI-J00 families of converters sold by Vicor. The filter function of the RAM is provided by a combination of a linear MOSFET element connected between the output of the power converter and the load and an integrated circuit that actively controls the MOSFET to cancel the ripple at the output of the power converter as a way of reducing ripple at the load.

Components having actively controlled circuit elements


A method of data processing is applied to a communications device including a first sublayer. A physical sublayer is added above a physical coding sublayer (PCS) of a physical layer, and the physical sublayer is connected to media independent interfaces (xMIIs) with different Ethernet rates. Data signals from different media access control clients (MAC) are interleaved using the physical sublayer. Then, a tx_cmd command is used to instruct the PCS to correspondingly encode an xMII signal. Finally, an encoded xMII signal is sent through a port. According to this method, an encoding function of the PCS may continue to be used, to decouple interleaving from encoding and perform the interleaving through an xMII interface. In this case, port channelization can be implemented for ports with multiple rates, and transmission of a high-priority service is ensured when there is an excessively large quantity of service flows in a transmission process.

A port channelization technology can increase certainty and provide a low latency characteristic for a network application. For example, 100 Gbps of a fixed port may be divided into sub-rates required by a plurality of services, and may be specifically divided into different sub-rates such as 5 G, 20 G, and 40 G. In addition, in port channelization, a forwarding mode similar to cut-through forwarding is used, so that time consumption such as table lookup and queuing used in a conventional storing and forwarding (store and forward) mechanism is avoided, and the certainty is further increased and the low latency is further provided. In this way, services are better isolated.
Currently, in the Ethernet, the port channelization technology mainly includes the flexible Ethernet (flex ethernet, FlexE). The flexE is implemented only based on a high-speed Ethernet port, and port channelization is implemented by interleaving encoded 64B/66B code blocks. It can be learned that a specific interleaving scheme needs to be designed for a specific code block in the FlexE.
However, in an existing industrial Ethernet scenario, many services are based on connections of low-speed Ethernet ports, for example, low-speed Ethernet ports used in scenarios such as an industry network and an intra-vehicle network. Different 64B/66B coding mechanisms are used for these low-speed Ethernet ports and high-speed Ethernet ports. Currently, there are a plurality of coding schemes for the low-speed Ethernet ports, such as a 4B/5B coding scheme and an 8B/10B coding scheme. For ports with different rates, a port channelization solution of the FlexE cannot be used universally. Therefore, a universally-used port channelization method is required to implement port channelization for ports with a plurality of rates.

Method and apparatus for port channelization at physical layer


The present invention relates to methods of drying and recovering toner particles from a liquid carrier. The methods are very effective to generate discrete, substantially non-agglomerated dry toner particles in a manner that preserves the particle size and particle distribution of the wet particles. The resultant dried toner particles free-flowing with a relatively narrow particle size distribution. The present invention uses extrusion techniques to coat wet toner particles onto a substrate surface. Because the resultant coating has a relatively large drying surface area per gram of particle incorporated into the coating, drying may occur relatively quickly under moderate temperature and pressure conditions. After drying, the dried toner particles are readily recovered and may then be used in dry or even wet toners for electrophotographic applications.

Electrophotographic technology, also referred to as xerography, involves the use of electrophotographic techniques to form images on a receptor, such as paper, film, or the like. Electrophotographic technology is incorporated into a wide range of equipment including photocopiers, laser printers, facsimile machines, and the like.
A representative electrophotographic process involves a series of steps to produce an image on a receptor, including charging, exposure, development, transfer, fusing, and cleaning, and erasure. In the charging step, a photoreceptor is covered with charge of a desired polarity, either negative or positive typically. In the exposure step, an optical system forms a latent image of charge on the photoreceptor corresponding to the image to be formed on the receptor. In the development step, toner particles of the appropriate polarity are generally brought into contact with the latent image. The toner particles adhere to the latent image via electrostatic forces. In the transfer step, the toner particles are transferred imagewise onto a desired receptor. In the fusing step, the toner is melted and thereby fused to the receptor. An alternative involves fixing the toner to the receptor under high pressure with or without heat. In the cleaning step, residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor is removed. Finally, in the erasing step, the photoreceptor charge is reduced to zero to remove remnants of the latent image.
Two types of toner are in widespread, commercial use. These are liquid toner and dry toner. The term "dry" does not mean that the dry toner is totally free of any liquid constituents, but connotes that the toner particles do not contain any significant amount of solvent, e.g., typically less than 10 weight percent solvent (generally, dry toner is as dry as is reasonably practical in terms of solvent content), and are capable of carrying a triboelectric charge. This distinguishes dry toner particles from liquid toner particles in that liquid toner particles are solvated to some degree and generally do not carry a triboelectric charge while solvated and/or dispersed in a liquid carrier.
A typical dry toner particle generally comprises a visual enhancement additive, e.g., a colored pigment particle, and a polymeric binder. The binder fulfills functions both during and after the electrophotographic process. With respect to processability, the character of the binder impacts charge holding, flow, and fusing characteristics. These characteristics are important to achieve good performance during development, transfer, and fusing. After an image is formed on the receptor, the nature of the binder impacts durability, adhesion to the receptor, gloss, and the like. Polymeric materials suitable in dry toner particles typically have glass transition temperatures over a wide range, e.g., from at least about 50° C. to 65° C. or more, which is higher than that of polymeric binders used in liquid toner particles.
In addition to the visual enhancement additive and the polymeric binder, dry toner particles may optionally include other additives. Charge control additives are often used in dry toner when the other ingredients do not, by themselves, provide the desired charge holding properties. Release agents may be used to help prevent the toner from sticking to fuser rolls when those are used. Other additives include antioxidants, ultraviolet stabilizers, fungicides, bactericides, flow control agents, and the like.
Dry toner particles have been manufactured using a wide range of fabrication techniques. One widespread fabrication technique involves melt mixing the ingredients, comminuting the solid blend that results to form particles, and then classifying the resultant particles to remove fines and larger material of unwanted particle size. External additives may then be blended with the resultant particles. This approach has drawbacks. First, the approach necessitates the use of polymeric binder materials that are fracturable to some degree so that comminution can be carried out. This limits the kinds of polymeric materials that can be used, including materials that are fracture resistant and highly durable. This also limits the kinds of colorants to be used, in that some materials such as metal flakes or the like, may tend to be damaged to too large a degree by the energy encountered during comminution. The amount of energy required by comminution itself is drawback in terms of equipment demands and associated manufacturing expenses. Also, material usage is inefficient in that fines and larger particles are unwanted and must be screened out from the desired product. In short, significant material is wasted. Recycling of unused material is not always practical to reduce such waste inasmuch as the composition of recycled material may tend to shift from what is desired.
Relatively recently, chemically grown toner material has been developed. In such methods, the polymeric binder is manufactured by solution, suspension, or emulsion polymerization techniques under conditions that form monodisperse, polymeric particles that are fairly uniform in size and shape. After the polymer material is formed, it is combined with other desired ingredients. Organosols have been developed for use in liquid toners. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,781. Some have also been developed for dry toners. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,136,490 and 5,384,226 and Japanese Published Patent Document No. 05-119529.
Unfortunately, the use of such organosols to make dry toner particles has proved to be substantially more challenging than the use of organosols to make liquid toner compositions. When the organosol is dried to remove the liquid carrier as is necessary to make dry toner particles, the binder particles tend to agglomerate and/or aggregate into one or more large masses. Sometimes, this can be due to the heat required for drying, which causes the particles to melt or soften and thereby coalesce or fuse with other melted or softened particles. Such masses must be pulverized or otherwise comminuted in order to obtain dry toner particles of an appropriate size. The need for such comminution completely defeats a major advantage of using organosols in the first instance which is the formation of monodisperse, polymeric particles of uniform size and shape. Consequently, the full spectrum of benefits that result from using organosols has not been realized for widespread, commercial, dry toner applications.
Particle size and charge characteristics are especially important to form high quality images with good resolution. Dry toner particles must be as uniform in size, charge rate, and charge holding characteristics as is practically possible in order to maximize image forming performance. Accordingly, there is always a demand in this industry for techniques that yield dry toner particles with more uniform particle size, charging rate, and/or charge holding characteristics.

Extrusion drying process for toner particles useful in electrography


Systems and methods for a user equipment operating in a cellular-preferred mode are disclosed. A user equipment operating in a cellular-preferred mode includes a connection priority order that prefers to connect to a licensed cellular network, if available, before connecting to an unlicensed wireless network. Signal quality thresholds for a connection by a user device to licensed cellular networks and unlicensed wireless networks are selected allowing the user equipment to transfer its connection between a licensed cellular network and an unlicensed wireless network without dropping calls. A user interface provides information to alert a user from inadvertently roaming into a licensed cellular network and incurring additional unnecessary changes. By identifying available licensed cellular networks and unlicensed wireless networks, the user interface allows a user to update the priority order connection preference or to override the selected priority order for connection to a licensed cellular network or an unlicensed wireless network.

Wireless mobile communication devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, wearable devices, and the like are widely used and carried by consumers. These devices typically connect to licensed cellular networks or unlicensed wireless networks. Some wireless mobile devices allow a user to select a preference for calling, such as Wi-Fi Preferred, Cellular Preferred, or Wi-Fi Only. A Wi-Fi Preferred connection makes all calls over an available unlicensed Wi-Fi Network, or over a licensed cellular network if no Wi-Fi network is available. A Cellular Preferred connection makes all calls over an available cellular network, and only makes calls over an available Wi-Fi network if no cellular network is available. A Wi-Fi Only connection makes all calls over an available Wi-Fi network, and does not connect calls over a licensed cellular network if there are no available Wi-Fi networks.

Methods and systems for cellular-preferred logic for mobile devices


The present invention relates to nucleic acids for inhibiting expression of a target gene in a cell, comprising at least one duplex region that comprises at least a portion of a first strand and at least a portion of a second strand that is at least partially complementary to the first strand, wherein said first strand is at least partially complementary to at least a portion of RNA transcribed from said target gene to be inhibited. The first strand of the nucleic acid has a terminal 5′ (E)-vinylphosphonate nucleotide that is linked to the second nucleotide in the first strand by a phosphodiester linkage.

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) able to complementarily bind expressed mRNA has been shown to be able to block gene expression (Fire et al, 1998 and Elbashir et al, 2001) by a mechanism that has been termed RNA interference (RNAi). Short dsRNAs direct gene-specific, post-transcriptional silencing in many organisms, including vertebrates, and have become a useful tool for studying gene function. RNAi is mediated by the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), a sequence-specific, multi-component nuclease that destroys messenger RNAs homologous to the silencing trigger loaded into the RISC complex. Interfering RNA (iRNA) such as siRNAs, antisense RNA, and micro-RNA are oligonucleotides that prevent the formation of proteins by gene-silencing i.e. inhibiting gene translation of the protein through degradation of mRNA molecules. Gene-silencing agents are becoming increasingly important for therapeutic applications in medicine.
However, maintaining the stability and activity of nucleic acids, such as RNA, in vivo has proved challenging to those in the field of developing nucleic acid molecules for therapeutic use, particularly because of cellular metabolic enzymes which degrade nucleic acids and limit their activity.
siRNA mediated gene silencing requires siRNA loading into RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). 5′ phosphate on the siRNA is known to be critical for efficient RISC loading. Enzymes such as phosphatases remove the 5′phosphate of siRNA resulting in dephosphorylated siRNAs that are less efficiently incorporated into RISC and therefore have reduced silencing activity.
Thus, means for improving stability and activity of oligonucleotides, in particular double stranded siRNAs, in vivo is becoming increasingly important. In the present invention, it has been unexpectedly found that a nucleic acid in accordance with the present invention has increased activity.

SiRNAs with vinylphosphonate at the 5′ end of the antisense strand


The conduits (1-4) of length L have a linear section S.sub.1 and contain a volumetric flow rate of nitrogen Q such that, to obtain a molar concentration of impurities upon out-gassing less than C.sub.max, Q/S.sub.1 is not less than 9.5.times.10.sup.-9 L/C.sub.max. The conduits are of stainless steel with a low carbon content, not electropolished and/or chemically treated. The joints (6, 7, 9, 11) between the conduits and/or the active members (5) are maintained externally in a neutral protective atmosphere confined in a sealed casing (8, 9 . . . ) Application particularly to electronic industries.

The very high degrees of purity required for the production of integrated circuits of very high density require limiting to the minimum the risks of contamination in the installations for the distribution of gas supplying these installations and products, at the source, with very high purity. In the distribution installation, there are essentially three sources of contamination resulting from problems of losses or retro-diffusion (principally for water vapor and oxygen), of out-gassing from the elements of the installation itself (essentially for water and hydrogen) and dead spaces. The first approach to limit these risks of contamination has consisted in using extremely carefully made conduits that have been subjected to particular internal treatments, essentially an electropolishing or a chemical treatment, and special active members such as bellows valves, diaphragm valves, valves comprising special arrangements, and assemblies without flanges. This special equipment is extremely troublesome, complicating the production of the installation, and certain elements of the special components, particularly the bellows, constitute additional traps for humidity and impurities.

Installation and process for the distribution of very high purity nitrogen

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


A lockable control box for a television is designed to have the television plug attached to a timer. A programmable control panel is used to regulate the hours the television is able to be turned on, and the control box comes equipped with three specially designed security features. The first of these is a plug lock which prevents electrical plugs from being disconnected from the control unit. Secondly, a lockable door is provided so as to prevent the unit from being reprogrammed except by a person having an associated key. Lastly, a circuit breaker is provided which is designed to be tripped if the unit is unplugged from the wall. These three security features prevent children from tampering with the television set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to appliance locks and more particularly pertains to a lockable control box utilizable with a television or vcr.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of timer controls for televisions and similar appliances is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,779, which issued to L. Leone on Sep. 3, 1974, discloses a television timer which is used to regulate television viewing time. A timer and an electrical receptacle controlled thereby are positioned within a container having a top which can be locked in a closed position to prevent access to the interior of the container. An electrical cord extends through an opening in the container and is adapted for connection to a source of electrical energy to provide power to the electrical receptacle as controlled by the timer. As such, the timer cannot be disconnected without interrupting power to the television set, thereby to regulate the amount of television viewing time in a selected manner.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,901, which issued to Maclay et al. on May 13, 1986, discloses a further timer control for television which is designed to regulate the maximum time a television set can be operated. The device is manually set by use of a key which is operable to set a switch for a predetermined time period. The device interrupts the power circuit to the television when the predetermined time period expires.
As can be appreciated, both of these television timer controls are functional for their intended purposes. By the same token, each device utilizes a key to facilitate a locking or programming of the associated unit, and both units are designed to direct electrical power to the television in a noninterruptable manner. While both of these units are apparently operable for their intended purposes, neither have met with commercial success and apparently, additional versatility whereby an electrical plug might be secured in position without limiting access to a programming function might be desirable in the eyes of the consuming public. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


The invention provides an insulated wire having a conductor and an insulator of paste extruded PTFE fine powder around the conductor. The paste extruded insulator has at least one closed continuous longitudinal air channel spaced apart from the conductor. The invention further provides a process for forming an insulator around a conductor by paste extruding lubricated PTFE fine powder in an extrusion device comprising a die, mandrel, and at least one channel-forming member. The die and mandrel form a converging chamber leading to an extrusion orifice and the channel-forming member is positioned in the orifice. The mandrel has a central bore for supplying the conductor. Lubricated PTFE fine powder is forced through the chamber and out of the exit of the orifice as a lubricated green extrudate around the conductor forming an insulator with at least one closed longitudinal air channel spaced apart from the conductor.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fine powder has been used for many years as a wire insulator. However, despite the desirable properties of high molecular weight PTFE, namely low dielectric constant and low dissipation factor, other polymers have been used in forming insulation for wires, especially in large diameter, high frequency coaxial transmission cable because of the processing limitations of PTFE.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fine powder is a type of PTFE that is made by aqueous dispersion polymerization, followed by coagulation of the dispersion and drying of the resultant coagulated solids to obtain the fine powder. Because the PTFE fine powder does not flow in the melt condition sufficiently to enable melt processing, the powder has been fabricated into articles and coated onto wire by an extrusion method which does not require melt flow. This extrusion method is known as paste extrusion and is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,707. In paste extrusion, a paste extrusion composition is formed by mixing PTFE fine powder with an organic lubricant which has a viscosity of at least 0.45 centipoise at 25° C. and is liquid under the conditions of subsequent extrusion. The PTFE soaks up the lubricant, resulting in a dry, pressure coalescing paste extrusion composition that is also referred to as lubricated PTFE fine powder. During paste extrusion which is typically performed at a temperature of 20 to 60° C., the lubricated fine powder is forced through a die to form a lubricated green extrudate. The lubricated green extrudate is then heated, usually at a temperature of 100 to 250° C., to make volatile and drive off the lubricant from the extrudate. In most cases, the dried extrudate is heated to a temperature close to or above the melting point of the PTFE, typically between 327° C. and 500° C., to sinter the PTFE.
Cables capable of transmitting high frequency electromagnetic radiation are especially useful for communications in the radio bandwidth in areas where structures may inhibit signal transmission, such as in or around buildings, tunnels, or garages. Likewise, such cables also have use in unobstructed areas, but where there is a need for precisely controlled signal levels that must be distributed over distances without the interference of other nearby signals.
High frequency transmission cable requires insulation with the lowest possible dielectric constant ∈T and the lowest possible dissipation factor tan δ to obtain the desired attenuation characteristics. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,155, a dielectric constant of less than about 1.8 is desirable. Insulation material such as fluoropolymers and polyethylene have dielectric constants close to about 2. As taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,771,934 and 5,922,155, air cells can be introduced into insulation made of melt-flowable polymers to reduce the dielectric constant.
PTFE has the lowest loss (dissipation factor) of most commonly used polymers. So while other polymers such as polyethylene or melt-flowable fluoropolymers, e.g., PFA [TFE/perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer] and FEP (TFE/hexafluoropropylene copolymer), are easier to form by using melt extrusion techniques, their loss is not as low as PTFE. For example, at a frequency of 1 MHz, the dissipation factor of PTFE is more than two times lower than PFA and more than three times lower than polyethylene or FEP. Nonetheless, PTFE has been difficult to form into large diameter insulators for wire because of difficulties in drying the green extrudate to remove the lubricant from thick structures of paste extruded PTFE fine powder. Large diameter PTFE insulators have also been expensive because of the quantity of PTFE fine powder required.
Another significant requirement for high frequency communication cable is noncombustibility that fluoropolymers can provide but structures of polyethylene, polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride cannot. PTFE has the highest stability to heat among the fluoropolymers.
An insulated wire of paste extruded PTFE with lower dielectric constant, with lower dissipation factor and which requires a smaller quantity of PTFE fine powder for its manufacture would be highly desirable for use in high frequency cables.

Paste extruded insulator with air channels


The present invention relates to a method for recovering N, K, and P from liquid waste stream, preferably from a stream of urine, or from a stream comprising excreta (e.g. faeces, manure, digestate, fertilizer), or from (concentrated) wastewater, for example, municipal (e.g. sewage, septic) and/or industrial wastewater (e.g. food and feed industry, agriculture, mining, etc.); more preferably from urine, such as human or animal urine; most preferably from human urine.

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are essential elements for all living organisms, plants and animals alike. Even though they appear to be rather abundant, the occurrence of exploitable deposits in terms of quality and accessibility is limited to only a few places. For instance, a small number of countries control more than 70% of the global phosphate reserves, which are expected to peak in less than 50 years at current growing consumption rates. Given that phosphorus cannot be substituted by alternative resources, it may well become a future strategic resource.
These elements (i.e. N, P, and K) typically enter the food chain after being taken up by plants, to be eventually discharged as waste from the animal and human body. Importantly, the waste contains various amounts of said elements as usually assimilation accounts for <1%, thus forming a significant natural resource for extraction as fertilizing component. Human urine in particular is a key source containing a significant amount of inorganic and organic compounds, for example those containing N (e.g. urea, Uric acid, ammonium) and P (e.g. phosphates), and also dissolved ions (e.g. K+, Na+, Cl−, Mg2+, Ca2+). With the introduction of general sanitation, however, human waste is directly disposed of into water bodies and the increased dilution renders the valuable fertilizing components of sewage practically worthless.
Several nutrient removal and recovery technologies are known to extract resources from wastewater or from urine in particular. However, these are often chemically, energetically and/or operationally intensive, the extraction process itself has adverse environmental effects, and/or the product in which the nutrients are recovered is polluted with substances harmful to human health. Hence, it is an aim of the present invention to overcome one or more of the problems of the art. In particular, there is a need for an improved method that can recover N, K, and P without the aforementioned drawbacks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for recovering N, K, and P from liquid waste stream


A lead frame sheet of flat no-lead lead frames having a semiconductor die on a die pad, terminals, and plastic encapsulation except on a back side of the sheet to provide an exposed thermal die pad, exposed side walls, and exposed back sides of the terminals. A solder wetable metal or metal alloy plating layer is on the back side and on the exposed the walls of the terminals. The exposed thermal pad and the back side of the terminals each include a contact region which lacks the plating layer.

A variety of semiconductor chip packages are known that provide support for an integrated circuit chip (IC) or die and associated bond wires, provide protection from the environment, and enable surface mounting of the die to and interconnection with a printed circuit board (PCB). One conventional package configuration is a flat no-leads package such as quad-flat no-lead (QFN) or and dual-flat no-lead (DFN). Flat no-lead packages, also known as micro leadframe (MLF) and SON (small-outline no leads), is a surface-mount technology, one of several package technologies that connect ICs to the surfaces of PCBs without through-holes. Perimeter lands or terminals exposed on the package bottom provide electrical connections to the PCB. Flat no-lead packages also include an exposed thermal die pad to improve heat transfer out of the IC (into the PCB).
QFNs and DFNs are relatively difficult to solder to because all the terminal connections are on the bottom of the package. Some designs have small extensions for these terminals that wrap around the bottom corner of the package and come up along the edge of the package somewhat. As QFN and DFN packages conventionally comprise copper leadframes, to allow soldering thereto they have added terminal finishes, such as comprising Matt Sn (100% tin) which is applied to the terminals using an electroless (or auto-catalytic by only chemical means) plating process. The QFN/DFN tin coated terminals can then be soldered to a PCB.
Inspection of QFN and DFN packages soldered onto a PCB is typically done with X-ray equipment for an assembly process monitor. The X-ray can detect solder bridging, shorts, opens, voids and solder joint fillets under the leads and exposed pads which are determined as the critical area of termination. For example, the J-STD-002C solderability standard includes a proposed (in ballot) soldering criteria for the QFN/DFN. Some customers (e.g., automotive customers) for QFN packaged semiconductor devices besides requiring a terminal underside solder inspection also require a side solder inspection.

Flat no-lead packages with electroplated edges


A method and apparatus to afford a technical application for gathering, storing, tracking, and using requirements, engineering software for those requirements, and releasing finished enterprise software. A method is described that gathers requirements into a constrained data structure designed to facilitate the engineering of pre-specified definitions of the work to be done. A data structure and schema are described that organizes the gathering of requirements, the engineering of software that meet those requirements, and the orderly release of the software components. A computer readable medium is described, the medium having computer executable instruction to cause a system perform the method.

There have been many software engineering aids and ideas that attempted to solve the issue of structuring, storing and managing specifications created during the different phases of software lifecycle. Recently, some approaches have appeared to create an integrated approach for managing software lifecycle by integrating these islands. All these approaches suffer from the following issues: difficulty in defining standard elements to model the information captured in these various phases, difficulty in understanding the relationship between these elements while implementing the various phases, and difficulty in creating an integrated process around a central model.
Issues arise due to the fact that the representation of specifications captured across these stages need a common thread or translation semantics. Since diagram elements are varied even in a single phase and view and usage of such elements are also varied, evolving a common data model has never been achieved. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the various classes of information systems specified (e.g., business systems and real-time systems) require different representation mechanisms owing to the differences in implementation interpretation. Conventional attempts end up as patchwork of various aids integrated poorly.
Other requirements that need to be addressed in the current approach include the peripheral activities in the software lifecycle. These relate to configuration management, analyzing impact of changes to be made, project-management-related activities dealing with estimation, planning and control and rolling out the product and creating access profile. This requires standardized work product structure and the relations between the various elements of the work product. Lack of an integrated representation of the product structure severely affects the ability to perform all the related activities in the context of the work product.

Software life cycle availability over the internet


Providing a preview is disclosed. A first document associated with a first application is accessed. The first document is referenced by a second document. A preview is generated in a format capable of being displayed by the first application. The preview is provided for display by the first application.

Documents may have relationships with one or more other documents. A compound document is a document that references another document and a placed document is the document being referenced. A user performing changes on a placed document may desire a preview of the changes to the placed document that includes the compound document. Typically, this involves using the compound document application. However, this may be inconvenient for a user who is not familiar with the compound document application and may not be practical. Improved methods to display previews to users of placed documents would be useful.


The present invention provides a platform for translating between devices, updating device software, receiving and normalizing device signals, processing them, and determining appropriate responses to containers. The present invention seeks to keep intelligence at the back end allowing smart devices to remain effective under the complex conditions of the intermodal shipping industry. According to a further preferred embodiment, the invention further includes container transponders adapted to receive local signals and repeat or forward the signals. Further, the present invention discloses a method designed to increase signal reliability between smart devices which may act as relay nodes to communicate with existing devices.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for remote monitoring of smart cargo container security devices and more specifically to providing a platform for translating between device inputs that includes container transponders adapted to receive local signals and repeating or forwarding signals to an Information Management Bureau (IMB) capable of providing a universal device architecture for normalizing system functions from container to container.
2. Background of the Invention
In today's security conscious shipping environment, smart container monitoring systems and alarming devices have become part of the long term solution. Current computer tracking systems are effective at monitoring the location of individual containers from point of origin to destination and maintaining an inventory of loaded and empty containers. Most of these systems rely on transponders mounted on the containers that send messages to satellites or ground stations, from which the messages are rerouted to shipping companies, freight forwarders and companies.
A smart container monitoring system may include a sensing system for monitoring the contents of the container as well as the exterior environment of the container, an on-board processing system comprising a signal receiving element for receiving sensor data from the sensing system, a communication system, a memory for storing predetermined conditions, and a control element for analyzing received sensor data and declaring security alerts. Wide-spread fielding of the smart container monitoring systems will require standardization and the system wide infrastructure to ensure container systems are able to communicate effectively with the remote monitoring station, data fusion centers and/or satellites.
Today, approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is transported by container, and modern container ships can carry up to 15,000 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). As a class, container ships now rival crude oil tankers and bulk carriers as the largest commercial vessels on the ocean. On the decks of modern barges and transport ships, a single smart cargo container stacked among the freight of the massive bulk carriers may experience a Faraday Cage effect whereby the reception of external radio signals and electromagnetic transmissions can be greatly attenuated or blocked altogether.
A Faraday Cage's operation depends on the fact that an external static electrical field will cause the electrical charges within the cage's conducting material to be redistributed so as to cancel the field's effects in the cage's interior. This phenomenon is used, for example, to protect electronic equipment from lightning-strikes and other electrostatic discharges. While Faraday Cages cannot block static and slowly varying magnetic fields, such as Earth's magnetic field (a compass will still work inside), to a large degree, they can shield the interior from external electromagnetic radiation if the conductor is thick enough and any holes are significantly smaller than the radiation's wavelength.

Method for establishing platform for translating between device inputs


A device includes at least one computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by a processor and at least one processor configured for accessing the computer readable storage medium to execute the instructions. The instructions configure the processor for accessing terrain information representing preferred terrain of a user of the device, accessing map information, accessing location information indicating current location of the user, and receiving user input indicating a desire for route information. Based at least in part on time constraints indicated from calendar information, the instructions configure the processor for accessing the location information, terrain information, and map information to determine a route and audibly and/or visually displaying the route on the device.

Society is becoming increasingly health-conscious. A wide variety of exercise and workouts are now offered to encourage people to stay fit through exercise. As understood herein, while stationary exercise equipment often comes equipped with data displays for the information of the exerciser, the information is not tailored to the individual and is frequently repetitive and monotonous. As further understood herein, people enjoy listening to music as workout aids but the music typically is whatever is broadcast within a gymnasium or provided on a recording device the user may wear, again being potentially monotonous and unchanging in pattern and beat in a way that is uncoupled from the actual exercise being engaged in.
Thus, while present principles recognize that consumer electronics (CE) devices may be used while engaged in physical activity to enhance the activity, most audio and/or visual aids are static in terms of not being tied to the actual exercise.

Determining exercise routes based on device determined information


A magnetic nonvolatile memory cell includes a C-MOSFET, a spin torque magnetization inversion layer and a tunneling magnetoresistive layer arranged in this order. The memory cell has the function of spin torque magnetization inversion and consumes very low power. A random access memory includes a plurality of the memory cells.

With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional magnetic nonvolatile memories comprise memory cells including a MOSFET and a tunneling magnetoresistive element. In such magnetic nonvolatile memories, information is written in a free layer of the tunneling magnetoresistive element using a current-induced spatial magnetic field generated by electrification between a bit line and a word line while utilizing a MOSFET for switching; and the written information is read out by the action of an output voltage (T. Miyazaki and N. Tezuka, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 139, L231 (1995)).
In the conventional magnetic nonvolatile memories, information is written by allowing the free layer of the tunneling magnetoresistive element to inverse its magnetization using a spatial static magnetic field generated by the action of a current passing between the bit line and the word line. It therefore requires a very large power to induce a magnetic field sufficient for causing magnetization inversion, and the necessary power cannot be reduced. To solve this problem and to reduce the power consumption of a magnetic nonvolatile memory, the magnetization of the free layer should be inversed without the aid of the current-induced spatial magnetic field.

Magnetic nonvolatile memory cell and magnetic random access memory using the same


An air passage opening/closing device for a vehicle air conditioner has a casing and a slide door. The slide door is movably disposed in the casing. Both sides of the slide door are guided by guide channels provided in the casing. The guide channels are formed by the casing and a separate guide member. The slide door can be assembled by mounting the slide door on a door-sliding surface of the casing, and mounting the separate guide member on the slide door.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air passage opening/closing device for opening and closing an air passage using a slide door that moves along an opening of the air passage, and to a vehicle air conditioner that uses the air passage opening/closing device.
2. Description of Related Art
Some air passage opening/closing devices for opening and closing air passages are disclosed by the inventor in Japanese patent publications, such as JP-A-2003-2033, and JP-A-2003-28490. For example, one air passage opening/closing device has a slide door that uses a film member. In such a device, the film member is thrust while guided by guide channels of a resinous casing. This structure simplifies the air passage opening/closing device because a winding mechanism of the film member is not required.
The resinous casing has an internal air passage. The casing has separate right and left side casings in the film member moving direction (door moving direction). Each separate casing has an integral narrow guide channel that guides both ends of the film member in the width direction.
The publications do not disclose the assembly method of the device in detail. However, the assembly of the device may be difficult because when the slide door is assembled, the film member has to be inserted into the narrow guide channels, which are integrally formed in the casings.


A handheld computer comprises a housing and a cover removably connected thereto by a universal hinge assembly. The universal hinge assembly includes a tubular member or arm having a proximal end fixedly (non-rotatably) secured to an edge of the cover and a distal end pivotally coupled to an edge of the cover. The pivotal coupling may comprise a ball and socket arrangement, a pin and slot arrangement, or any other type of coupling arrangement that enables universal pivoting movement and releasable attachment between the cover and the housing. The cover may include a cushion designed to abut a display screen mounted in the housing when the cover is in a closed position. A method of reconfiguring an encasement of a handheld computer having a cover releasably coupled thereto includes removing the first cover and replacing it with a second cover of a different type.

Handheld computers, including personal digital assistants ("PDAs") and palm-sized computers, traditionally provide the user with a wide variety of functions, such as a calendar, an address book, a task list, a notepad, and a calculator. More recently, handheld computers have also been used provide the user with functions such as remote email access, real-time internet access, web browsing and other advanced communication functions.
Traditionally, most handheld computers have had an outer enclosure or housing consisting of mating front and back shells coupled together by screws. The front and back shells enclose the electronic components of the handheld computer. A display screen and one or more application buttons are typically accessible on the front shell of the computer. The display screen may be a touch-sensitive screen that accepts entry from a stylus or pointer device, which typically is stored in a slot formed in the housing when not in use. More advanced handheld computers may also include components for enabling remote communication functions such as described above.
With traditional handheld computers, a separate flexible or rigid case is typically utilized for protecting the handheld computer, and particularly the display screens, when not in use. The separate case must be stored or accounted for when the computer is in use to prevent loss.
With some handheld computers, a separate case is not required because the housing has a hinged cover that can be pivoted to a closed position to protect the display and another position to access the display. With most such computers, the cover is connected to the housing by a pair of hinges which permit the cover to be pivoted either 180° to the side of the housing (i.e., in a "book open" style) or 360° to the rear of the housing. With both of these arrangements, when the computer is placed on a horizontal surface the housing is oriented such that the display and application buttons typically face directly upward. This can be disadvantageous because the display and application buttons are placed at an awkward angle for certain uses such as video conferencing. To address this problem, it is known to provide the computer with a separate base or cradle that can be used to position the computer housing at an angle relative to the work surface. However, the cradles are quite bulky compared to the handheld computers and thus create difficulties with portability. Moreover, like the use of separate protective cases noted above, the use of separate cradles means they must also be stored and accounted for when not in use. Although some handheld computers now available include pivotally attached covers capable of not only protecting the display but also functioning as a stand that positions the housing at an inclined angle relative to the work surface (which thus eliminates the need for a separate cradle), the hinge arrangements of the heretofore known computers are relatively complex multi-part structures.
Certain handheld computers generally have a fixed (i.e., non-customizable) external appearance. Although this may not have presented any concerns in the past (when handheld computers were purchased and used almost exclusively by business traveler's and other technically savvy individuals), the fixed appearances can unnecessarily limit the market potential of the handheld computers because of their increasing popularity with individuals having diverse backgrounds. Although after-market replacement housings are available for some of the most popular handheld computers, these replacement housings tend to be quite expensive. More importantly, the use of such replacement housings requires that the original housing of the handheld computer be opened up, which voids the manufacture's warranty.
It would be desirable to provide a handheld computer having an external appearance that can be readily customized by the manufacturer, the reseller or the consumer. It is further desirable to provide a method for readily changing the external appearance of a handheld computer that does not require opening of the computer housing.


A method for controlling exclusive access to a resource shared by multiple processors in a data storage system includes providing a system lock procedure to permit a processor to obtain a lock on the shared resource preventing other processors from accessing the shared resource and providing a faked lock procedure to indicate to the system lock procedure that a processor has a lock on the shared resource where such a lock does not exist, and wherein the faked lock procedure prevents another processor from obtaining the lock on the shared resource, but does not prevent other processors from accessing the shared resource. A data storage system according to the invention includes a shared resource, a plurality of processors coupled to the shared resource through a communication channel, and a lock services procedure providing the system lock procedure and the faked lock procedure. In one embodiment, the shared resource is a cache and the system lock procedure permits a processor to lock the entire cache whereas the faked lock procedure is implemented by a processor seeking exclusive access of a cache slot.

When a computer system resource is shared by multiple processes running on multiple processors, or even on one processor, often there must be some way of insuring that no more than one such process may access that resource at any one time. In designing complex data storage systems including multiple processors, synchronizing access to shared resources has been recognized as an issue which must be addressed in order to maintain the consistency and validity of the data. However, the sharing issue may arise in connection with almost any resource that might be used by multiple requesters.
Many high-performance storage systems are intelligent data storage systems which may be accessible by multiple host computers. These intelligent data storage systems may include, in addition to one or more storage device arrays, a number of intelligent controllers for controlling the various aspects of the data transfers associated with the storage system. In such systems, host controllers may provide the interface between the host computers and the storage system, and device controllers may be used to manage the transfer of data to and from an associated array of storage devices (e.g. disk drives). Often, the arrays may be accessed by multiple hosts and controllers. In addition, advanced storage systems, such as the SYMMETRIX® storage systems manufactured by EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, Mass., generally include a global memory which typically is shared by the controllers in the system. The memory may be used as a staging area (or cache) for the data transfers between the storage devices and the host computers and may provide a communications path which buffers data transfer between the various controllers. Various communication channels, such as busses, backplanes or networks, link the controllers to one another and the global memory, the host controllers to the host computers, and the disk controllers to the storage devices. Such systems are described, for example, in Yanai et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,939 issued Apr. 27, 1993, Yanai et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,539 issued Jan. 10, 1995, Vishlitzky et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,492 issued Jan. 7, 1997, Yanai et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,144 issued Sep. 2, 1997, and Vishlitzky et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,473 issued Jul. 28, 1998, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The systems described therein allow the controllers to act independently to perform different processing tasks and provide for distributed management of the global memory resources by the controllers. This high degree of parallelism permits improved efficiency in processing I/O tasks. Since each of the controllers may act independently, there may be contention for certain of the shared memory resources within the system. In these systems, the consistency of the data contained in some portions of global memory may be maintained by requiring each controller to lock those data structures which require consistency while it is performing any operations on them which are supposed to be atomic.
Typically, synchronization of access to a shared resource, such as the global memory in the systems described above, is accomplished by associating a lock with the resource to permit a processor that obtains the lock to have exclusive access to the resource. Queued lock management allows a processor which initially fails to obtain the lock to queue for subsequent access. Lock management, including the design and operation of lock request queues, is well known in the art. Generally, the lock request queue must be implemented in a section of memory that is also shared, or at least accessible, by all of the processors which might need access to the shared resource, although it need not be on the same media as the shared resource. The procedures which allocate the lock may be centralized or distributed. In the intelligent data processing systems described above, the lock allocation procedures are typically distributed among the various intelligent controllers.
To obtain the lock for a resource, each requester from among the processors, such as one of the controllers, must first invoke a lock allocation procedure to attempt to obtain the lock. If it is not awarded the lock, its request will be entered in the lock request queue in accordance with a predetermined priority algorithm. To determine the status of its request, the requester must poll for the lock over the communication channel which links the two. If the lock is not available, the requester must wait, typically for a predetermined, fixed period, and poll again, repeating the loop until the lock is obtained.
Since locking inherently reduces the parallelism of the system and puts a high load on system resources, locking procedures must be designed with care to preserve system efficiency.

Method and apparatus for controlling exclusive access to a shared resource in a data storage system


Plural subfields are provided in one single field period, where each subfield has an initialization period during which a gradient waveform voltage gently falling is applied to a scan electrode to generate initializing discharge in a discharge cell; a writing period during which a scan pulse voltage is applied to a scan electrode to generate writing discharge in a discharge cell; and a sustain period during which sustain discharge is generated in a discharge cell selected, by the number of times corresponding to a luminance weight. The lowest voltage of a falling gradient waveform voltage in a subfield with the smallest luminance weight is set so as to be lower than that with the largest luminance weight. A method of driving a plasma display panel is provided that generates stable writing discharge without increasing voltage required for generating writing discharge even for a large-screen, high-luminance panel.

An AC surface-discharge panel, a typical plasma display panel (abbreviated as "panel" hereinafter) has a large number of discharge cells formed between the front and back panels arranged mutually facing. The front panel has plural display electrode pairs, each composed of a pair of scan electrode and sustain electrode, formed parallel to one another on the front glass substrate, and has a dielectric layer and protective layer formed so as to cover the display electrode pairs. The back panel has plural, parallel data electrodes on the back glass substrate, a dielectric layer so as to cover the data electrodes, plural barrier ribs parallel to the data electrodes over the dielectric layer, and a phosphor layer on the top surface of the dielectric layer and on the side surface of the ribs, respectively formed. The front and back panels are arranged mutually facing so that a display electrode pair crosses a data electrode at different levels, and sealed. The internal discharge space is encapsulated with a discharge gas containing xenon by 5% in partial pressure, for example. Here, discharge cells are formed between a display electrode pair and data electrode mutually facing. In a panel with such a structure, ultraviolet light is generated in each discharge cell by means of gas discharge. The ultraviolet light excites phosphors for red (R), green (G) and blue (B) to cause light emission for color display.
One of general methods of driving a panel is subfield method, where a single field period is divided into plural subfields before gradation display is made by means of a combination of subfields made emit light. Each subfield has a initialization period, writing period, and sustain period. In the initialization period, initializing discharge is generated to form wall charge required for the subsequent writing operation on each electrode. In the writing period, writing discharge is generated selectively at a discharge cell to display to form wall charge. Then in the sustain period, sustain pulses are alternately applied to a display electrode pair composed of a scan electrode and a sustain electrode; and sustain discharge is generated at a discharge cell that caused writing discharge to make a corresponding discharge cell emit light for image display.
Another new method of driving a panel among subfield methods is disclosed. That is, initializing discharge is performed using a voltage waveform gently changing, selectively for a discharge cell that performed sustain discharge to reduce light emission not related to gradation display to a minimum level for improving the contrast ratio.
Specifically, in the initialization period of one subfield out of plural subfields, all-cell initializing operation is performed that makes all the discharge cells discharge, and in the initialization period of the other subfields, selective initialization is performed that initializes only discharge cells that have performed sustain discharge. Consequently, light emitting not related to display results in only light emitting accompanying discharge for all-cell initializing operation, enabling image display with a high contrast (refer to patent literature 1, for example).
Thus driving a panel makes the luminance of the black display region changing depending on light emitting not related to image display to be caused only by feeble light emitting in all-cell initializing operation, enabling image display with high contrast.
However, a panel has been increasingly enlarged in screen size as well as providing higher resolution in recent years, making writing discharge unstable. Consequently, writing discharge fails to occur in a discharge cell where display must be performed, thus deteriorating the quality of image display or increasing voltage required for stably generating writing discharge.
[Patent literature 1] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2000-242224

Method of driving plasma display panel and plasma display apparatus


The present invention relates to rubber stocks containing a metal salt of hydroxy-aryl substituted maleamic acid. The rubber stocks compounded with the cobalt salts of hydroxy-aryl substituted maleamic acid exhibit improved aged rubber/wire adhesion. The rubber stocks compounded with sodium salts of hydroxy-aryl substituted maleamic acid exhibit improved peel adhesion.

A pneumatic tire is a polymeric composite and is a complex system of interacting components, each with specific properties for maximum effectiveness. One of the more important components of a tire is the tread. Since the tread of a tire comes into contact with the road, it is particularly compounded with various fillers and rubbers for traction. For example, to achieve good traction in a tire tread, the tread stock should exhibit a low rebound for increased hysteresis. Since there is a continuing effort to improve the traction of the tread of a tire, any rubber composition which exhibits improved rebound is desired.
Aside from complicated compounding of certain components of a tire, a frequent problem in making a rubber composite is maintaining good adhesion between the rubber and the reinforcement. A conventional method in promoting the adhesion between the rubber and the reinforcement is to incorporate a cobalt compound. Examples of cobalt compounds which are conventionally used include cobalt naphthenate, cobalt linoleate, cobalt stearate, cobalt oleate, cobalt acetate, cobalt neodecanate, cobalt tallate, cobalt resinate, cobalt acetonate, Manoband.TM. C and the like. Conventionally, the anion of these cobalt compounds has not shown to be of a major effect in the rubber stocks to which they are compounded. Whereas there is a continued need for cobalt compounds, there is a remaining desire to find cobalt compounds which are more effective.

Rubber stocks containing a metal salt of hydroxy aryl substituted maleamic acid


Fluorine-doped tin oxide particles having a structure characterized by peaks at at least 123±5 cm−1, 139±5 cm−1, and 170±5 cm−1 in Raman spectroscopy. The particles preferably have additional Raman spectral peaks at 78±5 cm−1, 97±5 cm−1, 109±5 cm−1, 186±5 cm−1, and 207±5 cm−1. The particles preferably have a specific surface area of 10 to 300 m2/g.

It is known that a non-electroconductive material, such as plastics, may be rendered electroconductive by the addition of an electrically conductive powder. Examples of known electroconductive powders include metal powders, carbon black, and tin oxide doped with antimony or a like dopant. Addition of metal powder or carbon black to plastics makes the plastics black, which can limit the utility of the plastics. Addition of tin oxide doped with antimony, etc. makes plastics bluish black, which can also limit the utility of the plastics as with the case of adding carbon black. In addition, using antimony involves the problem of environmental burdens. Hence, various studies have been reported on tin oxide free from an environmentally unsound dopant, such as antimony.
Patent literatures 1 and 2 (see below) propose tin oxide doped with fluorine that is an element with low environmental burden. Specifically, patent literature 1 teaches that tin oxide powder is brought into contact with 10 to 40 vol % fluorine gas in an inert gas atmosphere to provide fluorine-doped tin oxide exhibiting electroconductivity. Patent literature 2 discloses transparent tin oxide powder containing 0.3% to 5.0% of fluorine and free from any of antimony, phosphorus, and indium. The transparent tin oxide powder is obtained by adding fluorine or a fluorine compound to an aqueous solution of tin hydroxide, dehydrating the mixture, and heating the resulting solid in an inert atmosphere with a humidity of 50% or higher at 350° to 800° C.

Fluorine-doped tin-oxide particles and manufacturing method therefor


Antisense polynucleotides to human transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-.alpha.) and the receptor for human epidermal growth factor (rEGF) are disclosed. Those polynucleotides are about 30 to about 50 bases in length and each hybridizes to about 10 to about 25 bases flanking the start codon for the gene encoding those proteins. Use of those antisense polynucleotides alone, together and mixed with an antibody combining site-containing molecule that binds to rEGF in treating human growth factor-sensitive cancerous tumors such as prostate tumors is also disclosed.

Antisense polynucleotides contain synthetic sequences of nucleotide bases complementary to messenger RNA (mRNA or message) or the sense strand of double stranded DNA. Admixture of sense and antisense polynucleotides under appropriate conditions leads to the binding of the two molecules, or hybridization.
When these polynucleotides bind to (hybridize with) mRNA, inhibition of protein synthesis (translation) occurs. When these polynucleotides bind to double stranded DNA, inhibition of RNA synthesis (transcription) occurs. The resulting inhibition of translation and/or transcription leads to an inhibition of the synthesis of the protein encoded by the sense strand such as protein of the tissues, and more importantly here, a cellular growth factor, growth factor receptor, oncogene or protooncogene (many of which act as growth factors, receptors or mediators of signal transduction).
Previous reports have described antisense RNA inhibition of growth hormone production in rat pituitary tumor cells Paulssen et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 171:293-300 (1990)!, cytoplasmic Raf-1 protein kinase in NIH/3T3 cells Kolch et al., Nature, 349:426-428 (1991), and E-cadherin in highly invasive epithelial tumors of dog or mouse mammary gland origin Vleminckx et al., Cell, 66:107-119 (1991)!.
In one study, an antisense RNA complementary to the protooncogene c-myc sequence of the HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line reduced c-myc expression, leading to cellular differentiation. The expression of c-myc was inhibited at both translational and transcriptional levels. The RNA--RNA duplex formed increased the levels of two proteins (74 and 110 Kd). The 74 Kd protein, acting as a negative repressor, binds to the CACCTCC repeat found in the c-myc leader sequence and inhibits c-myc mRNA transcription resulting in monocytic differentiation. Yokoyama, In: Prospects for Antisense Nucleic Acid Therapy of Cancer and AIDS, E. Wickstrom (ed), Wiley-Liss, New York, 1991, pp. 35-51.
Reports on antisense DNA have included inhibition of growth hormone production in lymphocytes Weigent et al., Endocrinology, 128:2053-2057 (1991)!, reduction of EGF receptors in human cells Yamada et al., Exp. Cell Res., 184:90-98 (1989)!, reduction of N-myc expression Schilbach et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 170:1242-1248 (1990); Whitesell et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 11:1360-1371 (1991); Rosolen et al., Cancer Res., 50:6316-6322 (1990)!, inhibition of c-myc expression in human breast cancer Watson et al., Cancer Res., 51:3996-4000 (1991)! and lymphoma McManaway et al., Lancet, 335:806-811 (1990)!, inhibition of K-ras in lung cancer Mukhopadhyay et al., Cancer Res., 51:1744-1748 (1991)!, c-myb in colon cancer Melani et al., Cancer Res., 51:2897-2901 (1991)!, and ras p21 expression Chang et al., Biochemistry, 30:8283-8286 (1991)!. In the most successful instances, antisense sequences, utilizing either RNA or DNA polynucleotides, can direct partial or complete reversion of malignant phenotypes. Ledwith et al., Mol. Cell Biol., 10:1545-1555 (1990); Sklar et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 11:3699-3710 (1991).
Of particular interest in treating human malignancies is the inhibition by antisense polynucleotides of expression of the BCR-ABL gene in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Szczylik et al., Science, 253:562-565 (1991). In this case a functional BCR-ABL gene maintained the leukemic phenotype and treatment with antisense DNA, directed towards the BCR-ABL junction, suppressed leukemic colony formation.
Whereas many antisense probes are directed to the translation initiation (AUG) site, other antisense probes have been directed towards intron excision sites of pre-mRNA. Volloch et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 179:1593-1599 (1991); Munroe, EMBO J., 7:2523-2532 (1988); Munroe et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:22063-22068 (1991). In some cases, where the excision is incorrect, such an approach permits the selective targeting of malignant cells that express unique DNA sequences, while sparing their normal counterparts. Such tumor cell selectivity is not possible with conventional chemo- or radiation therapy.
Burkitt lymphoma is associated with abnormal expression of the c-myc oncogene due to a DNA translocation which joins the c-myc oncogene on chromosome 8 to either of the immunoglobulin genes encoded on chromosomes 2, 14 or 22. In some cases, as a result of an abnormal excision of intron mRNA, nascent transcripts may persist in a transformed clone. Antisense DNA synthesized complementary to these abnormal intron sequences greatly inhibited the ST486 and JD38 cell lines Rosolen et al., Cancer Res., 50:6316-6322 (1990)! and therefore selectively targeted only the cells with abnormal intron excision.
Antisense polynucleotides can also be used to identify and quantitate the number of genes and their location in particular cells. A study in human tissue utilized in situ hybridization, in both human oral cancer and normal oral epithelium, to identify the source and targeting of transforming growth factor .alpha. (TGF-.alpha.) to proliferating cells. This study utilized .sup.35 S-labeled sense and antisense riboprobes to human TGF-.alpha. and the receptor for epidermal growth facto (rEGF) mRNA. The results suggested that the eosinophils (containing TGF-.alpha. mRNA) produce and apparently deliver TGF-.alpha. to tumor sites, where mRNA for rEGF is expressed to a greater degree by dysplastic and carcinomatous epithelium (particularly in moderately to poor differentiated types). Todd et al., J. Dent. Res., 70:917-923 (1991).
Human prostate cancer tumors are often found to contain two types of cancerous cells. A first type is sensitive to (proliferates in the presence of) androgens such as the hormone testosterone. An exemplary cell line representing this human hormone-sensitive type of prostate cancer cell is the LNCap metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (ATCC CRL 1740). The second type of cancerous cells are insensitive to testosterone and are sensitive to (proliferate in the presence of) factors that these cells themselves secrete; i.e., autocrine growth factors. An exemplary cell line representing the autocrine type of human prostate cancers is the PC-3 prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (ATCC CRL 1435), or the DU 145 prostate carcinoma cell line (ATCC HTB 81).
The hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cells cause tumors that are typically slow-growing, better differentiated and are not particularly metastatic. That type of cancerous cell growth can often be arrested by androgen deprivation, such as by castration. Chemotherapeutic treatment of patients with drugs such as Lupron (leuprolide acetate) also arrests hormone-sensitive tumor growth after an initial flare (increased symptomology) in tumor growth by a mechanism that amounts to a chemically-induced castration.
Hormone-insensitive and presumably autocrine-dependent human prostate cancer cells are more aggressive and metastatic, and their metastases are usually responsible for deaths due to prostate cancers. Drugs such as Lupron are not effective in arresting growth of hormone-insensitive prostate cancer cells.
The PC-3 cell line, an established line of human prostate cancer cells, is considered an acceptable in vitro model system for studying this disease. Kaighn et al., Invest. Urol., 17:16-23 (1979). This undifferentiated cell line is hormone-insensitive and was established in 1979 from a bone marrow metastasis. PC-3 cells also secrete and respond to autocrine growth factors, including transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-.alpha.). Hofer et al., Cancer Res., 51:2780-2785 (1991). TGF-.alpha. appears to stimulate PC-3 tumor cell growth by a complicated and poorly understood mechanism of signal transduction, that begins with the binding of TGF-.alpha. to the epidermal growth factor receptor (rEGF).
TGF-.alpha. is structurally and functionally related to epidermal growth factor (EGF) Thompson, Cancer Cells, 2:345-354 (1990)!, both of which are bound equally to rEGF because of the 35-40 percent amino acid sequence homology between the two growth factors Marquardt et al., Proc. Natl. Sci. USA, 80:4684-4688 (1983)!. The in vivo precursor of TGF-.alpha. is a 160 amino acid residue membrane-bound protein (pro-TGF-.alpha.) that is cleaved to yield a soluble compound. Massague, J. Biol. Chem., 265:21393-21396 (1990). This cleavage removes an extracellular portion comprised of 50 amino acids with a molecular weight of 6 Kd and is considered to be an important regulatory event Pandiella et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 88:1726-1730 (1990)! that can be stimulated by phorbol esters acting via protein kinase C Pandiella et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:5769-5773 (1991)!.
The soluble TGF-.alpha. thus formed resembles EGF structurally because it has 6 characteristic cysteine residues that form 3 disulfide bonds spaced over a region of 35-40 amino acids. Davis, New Biol., 2:410-419 (1990). Both TGF-.alpha. and EGF regulate the growth (as a mitogen) and differentiation of normal and malignant human prostatic tissues. Cultured human prostatic tumor lines contain elevated levels of TGF-.alpha. mRNA and proliferate in response to TGF-.alpha.. Wilding et al., The Prostate, 15:1-12 (1989). TGF-.alpha. appears to have both autocrine and paracrine function, stimulating physiologic activities such as cell division and angiogenesis.
When induced in transgenic mice, TGF-.alpha. has produced epithelial hyperplasia and focal dysplastic changes that resembled carcinoma in situ. Sandgren et al., Cell, 61:1121-1135 (1990). It is suggested that TGF-.alpha. and EGF interactions are partly responsible for the autonomous growth of PC-3 cells. Such interactions could also account for the escape from hormone dependence in advanced human prostatic cancers. Hofer et al., Cancer Res., 51:2780-2785 (1991).
Regulation of signal transduction, mediated through ligand binding to the rEGF, has been attempted both experimentally and clinically. The monoclonal antibody MAb 425 (available from Hybritech, Inc., San Diego, Calif.), which is directed against the rEGF, blocks EGF dependent functions such as mitogenesis and phosphorylation. MAb 425 has also been shown to block the TGF-.alpha. induced secondary messengers inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate and Ca.sup.2+. Murthy et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 172:471-476 (1990).
The sensitivity of PC-3 cells to TGF-.alpha. acting at the rEGF is further demonstrated by the lack of PC-3 cell growth in serum free media in the presence of monoclonal antibodies directed to these regulatory proteins. Hofer et al., Cancer Res., 51:2780-2785 (1991). Clinically, the inhibition of prostatic tumor cell growth by suramin is thought to be mediated by blockage of TGF-.alpha. binding to the rEGF. Kim et al., J. Urol., 146:171-176 (1991). TGF-.alpha. expression may also be stimulated by the ras-encoded p21 oncoprotein. Aaronson et al., In: Molecular Foundations of Oncology, S. Broder (ed.), Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, Md., pp. 27-39, 1991.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a 53-residue polypeptide, and is a potent in vitro mitogen for a variety of cell types. Harris, Am. J. Kidney Dis., 17:627-630 (1991). Although the relationship of EGF to hormone (testosterone) and cellular organization (cytokeratins) is complex, EGF is implicated in the progression of prostate cancer. Fowler et al., J. Urol., 139:857-861 (1988). In addition, progression of prostate cancer from hormone dependence to independence following castration is associated with a coordinate loss of growth regulatory factors. Rubenstein et al., Clin. Physiol. Biochem., 9:47-50 (1992). It has been suggested that control of EGF following hormone independence might be therapeutically efficacious. Fowler et al., J. Urol., 139:857-861 (1988).
Both TGF-.alpha. and EGF are degraded by metalloproteases, but involve separate degradative pathways. This level of regulation could account for some differential effects encountered in various systems. Gehm et al., Endocrinology, 128:1603-1610 (1991).
The human rEGF is a membrane-bound glycoprotein of 170 kd that has been identified in human prostatic tissue and the PC-3 cell line. Hofer et al., Cancer Res., 51:2780-2785 (1991). The regulatory importance of rEGF is evidenced by the fact that the expression of mRNA for rEGF is greater in carcinomas of the prostate than that found in samples of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the greatest levels of rEGF mRNA being found in the human prostatic cell lines PC-3 and DU145. Morris et al., J. Urol., 143:1272-1275 (1990).
Following rEGF binding of either TGF-.alpha. or EGF, tyrosine kinase activity is stimulated via signal transduction mechanisms, initiating mitogenesis. Thompson et al., Cancer Surveys, 4:767-788 (1985). The number of rEGF molecules found upon the cell surface correlates to cell growth regulation. In the malignant human glioma D-298 MG Humphrey et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 178:1413-1420 (1991)!, it has been suggested that overexpression of the rEGF leads to enhanced binding by EGF and TGF-.alpha., resulting in increased tyrosine kinase activity. Therefore overexpression, rather than a structural alteration, may account for most increases in biologic activity. Humphrey et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 178:1413-1420 (1991).
This receptor is itself very important in growth regulation not only because it binds the EGF ligand (as well as TGF-.alpha.) but also because the gene for this receptor is homologus to the erb-B2 and erb-B3 protooncogenes, which, when similarly overexpressed (in adenocarcinomas of the breast, stomach, ovary, colon and salivary gland) or structurally altered (in intestinal adenocarcinoma) from its protooncogene state, stimulates uncontrolled growth Aaronson et al., In: Molecular Foundations of Oncology, S. Broder (ed.), Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, Md., pp. 27-39 (1991)!, probably by excessive stimulation of tyrosine kinase activity.
It would therefore be beneficial if a chemotherapeutic treatment could be devised that could arrest the growth and kill autocrine-sensitive or dependent prostate cancer cells such as those of the PC-3 cell line that are no longer susceptible to androgen deprivation therapy. The invention discussed hereinafter describes such a chemotherapeutic treatment and treating agents.

Antisense polynucleotide inhibition of human growth factor-sensitive cancer cells


A joint consumption of content invitation management function is described herein. In various embodiments, the invitation management function is adapted to conditionally extends the invitations to a recipient device (150) to join an inviter device (200) to jointly consume content, via IM (110).

Advances in microprocessor and related technology have lead to widespread development and the adoption of computing devices. Computing powers that used to be available only in expensive mainfne computers requiring special operating environments are now available in many personal computing devices. The form factors vary from desktop, laptop, palm sized and so forth. A number of these computing devices are packaged as "special purpose" devices, such as set top boxes, entertainment personal digital assistants ("PDA"), pagers, text messengers, smart appliances and wireless mobile phones.
Concurrently, advances in networking, telecommunications and related technologies, in particular, in the area of wireless networking/communications, have lead to increased connectivity between the computing devices, over local, private, wide area, and/or public networks. Of particular notoriety is the Internet public network.
To facilitate communications between a wide range of devices, various electronic means of communications, such as electronic mails, instant messages, and so forth have been developed. Instant messaging ("IM") protocols and services have been implemented by a variety of service providers, such as America On-Line's AIM protocol and Microsoft's MSN Instant Messenger protocol. Both services have a large number of subscribers.
At the same time, these and other related factors contributed to the availability of rich content and functionality available from a variety of devices, including sophisticated games employing complex 3-D graphics to provide realistic rendering of game scenes. Recently, this availability of connected devices has made significant advances in the area of the joint consumption of multi-media content, including online multi-user gaming.
However, these IM protocols and services do not specify ways to integrate the IM with joint multi-user content consumption, including online multi-player gaming. There is no indication of how IM protocols or services could initiate such joint multi-user content consumption, including online multi-player gaming. Further, the capability of IM protocols and services have been under exploited for the advancement and adoption of content, including games, in particular, online multi-user games.

Joint consumption of content invitation methods and apparatus


Example embodiments relate to a transflective display apparatus using dielectrophoresis and a method of manufacturing the transflective display apparatus. The display apparatus may include a display panel; a backlight unit providing the display panel with light for forming an image; and a reflective plate arranged under the backlight unit. The reflective plate may reflect external light incident thereon via the display panel back to the display panel. The display panel may include a plurality of pixel areas transmitting or blocking light using dielectrophoresis.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a display apparatus using dielectrophoresis and a method of manufacturing the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable devices (e.g., cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) devices, and the like) have experienced a relatively rapid increase in supply and availability. As a result, displays having lower power consumption and improved external visibility have also increased in demand.
According to such demands, research has been actively conducted on a transflective liquid crystal display (LCD) manufactured by combining functions of a reflective display device and a transmissive display device. Because the transflective LCD forms an image by using light from a backlight unit and/or external light, visibility of a display with the transflective LCD may be obtained even when the display is used in a bright environment (e.g., sunny environment), and power consumption may be reduced. However, in a transflective LCD, an area of a liquid cell is divided into two areas which are respectively allocated to a reflective area and a transmissive area. Consequently, the manufacturing procedure is more complicated. Also, because the incident light is divided and used, the brightness of the display may be lowered.

Transflective display apparatus using dielectrophoresis and method of manufacturing the transflective display apparatus