The invention relates to an apparatus for determining the condition of a fluid in a space, comprising: a measuring electrode extending inside the space; a second electrode placed in the space; and a measuring circuit for measuring the impedance between the measuring electrode and the second electrode and calculating the condition from the impedance, wherein the measuring electrode extends at least partially uncovered in the space.. According to a preferred embodiment the apparatus is therefore provided with a measuring circuit which is adapted to measure the ohmic impedance between the measuring electrode and the auxiliary electrode. As stated, this provides the option of measuring the impedance of the substance present in the vessel so that with determined material properties it is possible to arrive at a better and more accurate measurement result.. It is pointed out herein that the present electrode also enables determining of the capacity between electrode and second electrode.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining the condition of a fluid in a space, comprising:
a measuring electrode extending inside the space;
a second electrode placed in the space; and
a measuring circuit for measuring the impedance between the measuring electrode and the second electrode and calculating the condition of the fluid from the impedance.
Such an apparatus is known from WO 96/24823.
This known apparatus provides excellent results in measuring the quality, such as the degree of filling or the dielectric constant, of the fluid situated in the vessel. Fluid is herein understood to mean not only a gas or a liquid but also ocher substances behaving as a fluid, such as granulates and substances in powder form.
This known apparatus measures not only the capacity between the measuring electrode and the second electrode but also the ohmic resistance connected in parallel thereto, or the conductivity of the product between the measuring electrode and the second electrode. It will be apparent that the measurement result is influenced hereby.
There is therefore a need for an apparatus for measuring substances by means of other properties, such as the ohmic resistance. This is for instance also the case with substances wherein the dielectric constant differs only little from that of air.
This known apparatus moreover has the drawback that when the dielectric constant of the substance present in the space is not known precisely, the measurement signal is a function of the dielectric constant of the substance and of the degree of filling.
It is of course possible to arrange a separate measuring electrode for this purpose which is always immersed in the substance and which serves to compensate the dielectric constant, although this results in a costly and thus less attractive solution.

Apparatus for measuring the quality of a fluid in a vessel


An optical channel monitor assembly for simultaneously measuring the optical power levels of multiple series of dense wavelength division multiplexed channels or the like traveling on separate optical fibers in an optical communications system includes an arrayed waveguide grating router having a first side and a second side, the first side including a first plurality of ports and the second side including a second plurality of ports, the first plurality of ports in optical communication with the second plurality of ports, wherein the first side includes a first input port for collectively receiving a first series of optical channels, wherein the second side includes a first plurality of output ports for individually delivering the first series of optical channels, wherein the second side includes a second input port for collectively receiving a second series of optical channels, and wherein the first side includes a second plurality of output ports for individually delivering the second series of optical channels.

The direct measurement of the optical power levels of a series of DWDM channels is typically performed in either a serial manner, using a tunable filter and a single OCM device, or in a parallel manner, using a 1×N filter and multiple OCM devices, where N is the number of DWDM channels. When measuring the optical power levels of multiple series of DWDM channels traveling on separate optical fibers, either multiple OCM devices are used, one for each optical fiber, or an N×1 selection switch and a single OCM device are used, where N is the number of optical fibers, and where the OCM device alternates between measuring the optical power levels of each of the series of DWDM channels.
When measuring the optical power levels of multiple series of DWDM channels traveling on separate optical fibers using multiple OCM devices, the cost is typically excessive, as each OCM device is relatively expensive. This cost can be reduced by using the N×1 selection switch and a single OCM device, as the cost of the N×1 selection switch is currently much less than the cost of an additional OCM device. The significant drawback of this configuration and procedure, however, is that the frequency at which optical power level measurements can be made is limited by the switch rate of the N×1 selection switch, the switch rate of the N×1 selection switch being considerably slower than the rate at which the OCM device can complete the optical power level measurements of all of the DWDM channels in a series. For example, a 1×N filter and multiple OCM devices can complete the optical power level measurements of all of the DWDM channels in a series at a rate approaching about 1 MHz. The average switch rate of an N×1 selection switch is less than about 100 Hz. Therefore, the optical power levels of multiple series of DWDM channels traveling on separate optical fibers can only be measured at a rate of about 100 Hz, and the optical power levels of multiple series of DWDM channels cannot be measured simultaneously.
Thus, what is needed is a relatively inexpensive OCM assembly for simultaneously measuring the optical power levels of multiple series of DWDM channels or the like traveling on separate optical fibers in an optical communications system.

Dual optical channel monitor assembly and associated methods of manufacture and use


Template entries are added to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (“LDAP”)-accessible database, containing attributes that affect new records added to the database, attributes returned in response to an LDAP query, and records identified through an LDAP search operation. Static and dynamic attributes are discussed.

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol ("LDAP") is a standard computer networking protocol for querying and modifying entries in a database. The basic protocol is defined in a group of Internet Engineering Task Force ("IETF") Request for Comments ("RFC") documents; various aspects of the current version of the protocol (version 3) are described in RFCs listed in the "LDAP Technical Specification Road Map" (RFC4510, published June 2006). The databases reachable through LDAP may contain any sort of data, but most commonly contain identity and contact information for people and organizations.
LDAP presents a hierarchical view of the data in a database that is somewhat like the data in a file stored in a hierarchical filesystem. Each LDAP database record is associated with a Distinguished Name ("DN") that is like a fully-qualified path of a file. LDAP also deals with Relative Distinguished Names ("RDNs"), which are like partial paths that identify files starting from a location in a hierarchical filesystem other than the root directory. However, unlike data in "sibling" files in the same directory in a fileystem, "sibling" LDAP records often contain common data elements. (Sibling files can, of course, contain related data, but it is at least as likely that they do not.)
Unfortunately, common data elements in LDAP records are completely independent copies of each other. Thus, for example, even if two employees work at the same facility of an organization, the "address" fields of their records are independent, so if the facility is moved to a different location, each employee's LDAP record must be updated independently to show the new address. Alternate LDAP database operational techniques can reduce the effort required to make changes to groups of data records, and can help prevent errors that may occur when the same change is to be made to many records.


A cutting mechanism includes a first main body and a second main body. The first main body includes a first base, a plurality of first cutter holders, and a plurality of first cutters. The first cutters are mounted on the respective first cutter holders. The first cutter holders are movably engaged with the first base in a manner that the first cutters mounted thereon are adjustably movable toward and away from the first base. The first cutters are rotatable relative to the respective first cutter holders about parallel first axes, and each of the first cutters has a first blade substantially parallel to the respective first axis. The second main body has a similar configuration as the first main body.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to cutting mechanisms and, particularly, to a cutting mechanism for cutting elements formed by injection molding.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Injection molding is a process that injecting melted modeling material into molds to mold elements having predetermined shapes. Injection molding is widely used in ceramic and polymer products as having advantages of low cost, high efficiency, and high precision.
Generally, the semi-manufactured products formed by injection molding usually have different structures due to molds with different runners, for example, correctitude runners or side runners. Referring to FIG. 5, a semi-manufactured product 20 molded by molds having correctitude runners includes a sprue portion 200, a plurality of runner portions 202 and a plurality of lenses 204 respectively connected to the plurality of runner portions 202. The runner portions 202 are connected to the sprue portion 200 and form a radial-distribution around the sprue portion 200. Each of the lenses 204 is correspondingly formed at a distal end of the runner portions 202 and on an axial direction extending from the center axis AA′ of the runner portions 202. Referring to FIG. 6, a semi-manufactured product 30 molded by molds having side runners similarly includes a sprue portion 300, a plurality of runner portions 302 and lenses 304. The difference between the semi-manufactured product 30 and the semi-manufactured product 20 is that, each of the lenses 304 is formed on a side of a direction extending from the center axis BB′ of the runner portions 302. Due to different structure relationship between the lenses and runner portions, different cutting blades are needed in cutting process. Accordingly, a corresponding cutting mechanism is needed in the cutting process.
Therefore, what is needed is a new cutting mechanism in order to overcome the above described shortcomings.


The inkjet recording apparatus has a recording head including: large nozzles which eject ink containing pigment particles serving as a coloring material; small nozzles which eject the ink; and a common ink flow channel which is connected to the large nozzles and the small nozzles, wherein: a volume of the ink ejected from each of the large nozzles is different from a volume of the ink ejected from each of the small nozzles; the large nozzles and the small nozzles eject the ink to perform image recording on a recording medium in terms of one direction or both directions while the recording head is moved bi-directionally in a direction substantially perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium; of the pigment particles which are dispersed in the ink, the pigment particles having a particle diameter not less than 150 nm account for not more than 5 volume percent; and an ink ejection process in which the large nozzles and the small nozzles eject the ink that is unrelated to the image recording is performed at a particular timing in a process of the image recording and at a particular position outside a region for the image recording in such a manner that number of ejections of the ink from the large nozzles is greater than number of ejections of the ink from the small nozzles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording method and an inkjet recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a so-called "shuttle scanning" (serial scanning) type of inkjet recording method and apparatus in which an image is recorded using a pigment-based ink while moving an inkjet head reciprocally in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an inkjet recording apparatus (inkjet printer) is known, which comprises an inkjet head (ink ejection head) having an arrangement of a plurality of nozzles (ink ejection ports) and which forms images on a recording medium by ejecting ink in the form of liquid droplets from the nozzles toward the recording medium while causing the inkjet head and the recording medium to move relatively with respect to each other.
Various methods are known conventionally as ink ejection methods for an inkjet recording apparatus of this kind. For example, one known method is a piezoelectric method, where the volume of a pressure chamber (ink chamber) is changed by causing a vibration plate forming a portion of the pressure chamber to deform due to deformation of a piezoelectric element (piezoelectric ceramic), ink being introduced into the pressure chamber from an ink supply passage when the volume is increased, and the ink inside the pressure chamber being ejected as a droplet from the nozzle when the volume of the pressure chamber is reduced. Another known method is a thermal inkjet method where ink is heated to generate a bubble in the ink, and ink is then ejected by means of the expansive energy created as the bubble grows.
In an image forming apparatus having an ink ejection head such as an inkjet recording apparatus, ink is supplied to an ink ejection head via an ink supply channel from an ink tank which stores ink, and this ink is ejected by one of the various ejection methods described above. However, it is necessary that ink is ejected stably in such a manner that factors, such as the ink ejection volume, the ejection velocity, the ejection direction, and the shape (volume) of the ejected ink, conform to uniform values at all times.
However, during printing, the nozzles of the ink ejection head are filled with ink at all times, in order that printing can be performed as soon as a printing instruction is issued. Therefore, the ink in the nozzles is exposed to the air, and the ink in nozzles which do not perform ejection for a long period of time dries, the viscosity of the ink increases, and nozzle blockages may occur. Increased viscosity of this kind in the ink meniscus of the nozzles may be a cause of ink ejection failures. Furthermore, there is a possibility that foreign matter, such as dust, and air bubbles which have entered inside the ink supply channel may become trapped and block the supply of ink, leading to the occurrence of ejection defects.
Therefore, conventionally, in response to increased viscosity of the ink in the meniscus region in the nozzles, which can be a cause of ink ejection defects and ink ejection failures, restoration processing has been carried out by purging (dummy ejection or preliminary ejection) or suctioning, in order to expel this ink of increased viscosity from the head, forcibly, at periodic intervals.
In suction-based restoration processing of this kind, the nozzle surface of the inkjet head is covered with a cap and the ink inside the inkjet head is suctioned forcibly by means of a pump, but the ink expelled into the cap by suctioning remains on the nozzle surface immediately after suctioning and may flow in reverse back into the inkjet head. Therefore, a preliminary ejection is carried out after performing a suctioning restoration process.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-98626 discloses an inkjet recording apparatus which forms images by using an inkjet head having at least two types of nozzles which eject different ink ejection volumes, including a row of large nozzles and a row of small nozzles. In this apparatus, the amount of floating mist is reduced and the time required for preliminary ejection after suctioning is shortened, by making the number of ejections performed by the large nozzles greater than the number of ejections performed by the small nozzles, or by increasing the ejection frequency of the large nozzles, when preliminary ejection is carried out after suctioning the meniscus.
However, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-98626 discloses technology relating to the control of preliminary ejection performed by large nozzles and small nozzles after a suctioning restoration process, with the aim of reducing the time required for preliminary ejection after suctioning and preventing the generation of floating mist during preliminary ejection, but it makes no disclosure with respect to purging (preliminary ejection) during a recording scan; in particular when a pigment-based ink is used, there is a problem in controlling preliminary ejection carried out during recording in order to improve ejection stability.

Inkjet recording method and inkjet recording apparatus


A cartridge includes a cleaning unit. A casing having a wall that is formed with at least one opening that allows communication between an interior and an exterior of the casing. The cleaning unit is accommodated in the casing and that confronts the wall with a space being formed between the cleaning unit and the wall. At least a part of the cleaning unit confronts the at least one opening. The at least a part of the cleaning unit is in communication with the exterior of the casing via the at least one opening.

One type of process cartridge employed in an image-forming device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,410 includes a drum cartridge accommodating a photosensitive drum, and a developer cartridge (toner cartridge) that is detachably mounted on the drum cartridge. The developer cartridge is provided with a developing roller for carrying toner on the surface thereof in order to develop electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drum.

Process cartridge for image-forming device


Embodiments of the invention described herein relate to methods and apparatus for recovery of viscous hydrocarbons from subterranean reservoirs. In one embodiment, a completion string for an enhanced oil recovery system is provided. The completion string includes an umbilical device having a plurality of conduits disposed therein, a downhole steam generator coupled to the umbilical device by a connect/disconnect device, and a conduit extending from the downhole steam generator through a packer.

Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to methods and apparatus for recovery of hydrocarbons from geological formations. More particularly, embodiments provided herein relate to recovery of viscous hydrocarbons from geological formations.
Detailed Description
There are extensive hydrocarbon reservoirs throughout the world. Many of these reservoirs contain a hydrocarbon, often called "bitumen," "tar," "heavy oil," or "ultra heavy oil," (collectively referred to herein as "viscous hydrocarbon") which typically has viscosities in the range from 100 to over 1,000,000 centipoise. The high viscosity of these hydrocarbons makes it difficult and expensive to produce.
Each viscous hydrocarbon reservoir is unique and responds differently to the variety of methods employed to recover the hydrocarbons therein. Generally, heating the viscous hydrocarbon in-situ, to lower the viscosity thereof, has been employed to enhance recovery of these viscous hydrocarbons. Typically, these viscous hydrocarbon reservoirs would be produced with methods such as cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), steam drive (Drive), and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), where steam is injected from the surface into the reservoir to heat the viscous hydrocarbon and reduce its viscosity enough for production.
However, some of these viscous hydrocarbon reservoirs are located under cold tundra or permafrost layers and may be located as deep as 1800 feet or more below the adjacent land surface. Current methods of production face limitations in extracting hydrocarbons from these reservoirs. For example, it is difficult, and impractical, to inject steam generated on the surface through permafrost layers in order to heat the underlying reservoir of viscous hydrocarbons, as the heat of the injected steam is likely to expand or thaw the permafrost. The expansion of the permafrost may cause wellbore stability issues and significant environmental problems, such as seepage or leakage of the recovered hydrocarbons at or below the wellhead.
Additionally, the current methods of producing viscous hydrocarbon reservoirs face other limitations. One such problem is wellbore heat loss of the steam, as the steam travels from the surface to the reservoir. Wellbore heat loss is also prevalent in offshore wells and this problem is exacerbated as the water depth and/or the well's reservoir depth increases. Where steam is generated and injected at the wellhead, the quality of the steam (i.e., the percentage of the steam which is in vapor phase) injected into the reservoir typically decreases with increasing depth as the steam cools on its journey from the wellhead to the reservoir, and thus the steam quality available downhole at the point of injection is much lower than that generated at the surface. This situation lowers the energy efficiency of the hydrocarbon recovery process and associated hydrocarbon production rates. Further, surface generated steam produces gases and by-products that may be harmful to the environment.
The use of downhole steam generators is known to address the shortcomings of injecting steam from the surface. Downhole steam generators provide the ability to produce steam downhole, prior to injection into the reservoir. Downhole steam generators, however, also present numerous challenges, including high temperatures, corrosion issues, and combustion instabilities. These challenges often result in material failures and thermal instabilities and inefficiencies.
Therefore, there is a continuous need for new and improved apparatus and methods for recovering heavy oil using downhole steam generation with improved thermal efficiency and minimal environmental impact.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and methods for recovery of hydrocarbons


An engine includes: a cylinder block; and a piston ring, in which the cylinder block has a cylinder liner portion formed of an aluminum-based composite reinforced by a ceramic containing at least either of a silicon carbide and an alumina, and in which the piston ring is coated with a nitride film (20) including a vanadium nitride layer (21) exposed on an outer circumferential sliding surface (17).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the combustion pressure of engine has become higher and higher to achieve a high output power. Therefore, it is desired to provide a cylinder block having high rigidity and high strength to withstand the higher combustion pressure. As a result, in such an engine, since attack to a piston ring which slides against the cylinder is increased, it is necessary to improve durability (wear resistance, etc.) of the piston ring. There is conventionally known a piston ring having a nitride chromium film formed on an outer circumferential sliding portion thereof (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei07-286262, paragraphs [0023] to [0026] and others). Such a piston ring is excellent in durability compared with a conventional piston ring plated with hard chromium or a conventional piston ring subjected to a nitriding treatment.
Further, there is conventionally known a piston ring coated with a VN-based film. This type of the piston ring is more excellent in durability, and particularly excellent in crack resistance and peeling resistance (refer to, for example, Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-256967, paragraphs [0004] to [0007] and others).
On the other hand, in order to reduce the weight and size of the engine, a cylinder block formed of an aluminum-based composite is employed (refer to, for example, Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-186151, paragraphs [0010] to [0014] and others). The aluminum-based composite is formed by, for example, incorporating single filaments or particles formed of alumina (Al2O3), silica (SiO2), carbon or the like into a matrix metal such as ADC12, so that the weight of the cylinder block can be reduced. However, the rigidity and strength of the aluminum-based composite is not sufficient compared with a cast iron, therefore combustion pressure of the engine can not be sufficiently increased.
Further, there has been known an aluminum-based composite formed by filling aluminum into pores of a porous ceramic, and Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-2606, paragraphs [0021] to [0031] and others) discloses a cylinder block whose cylinder liner portion is formed of the aluminum-based composite. Since the pores of the porous ceramic has a three-dimensional network structure formed by a plurality of spherical cells and communication holes which communicate the plurality of spherical cells adjacent to each other, the cylinder block is imparted with a rigidity and strength high enough to withstand a higher combustion pressure.
However, on the other hand, attack to the piston ring is further increased for the cylinder block formed by the porous ceramic (refer to, for example, Patent document 4) as compared with the cylinder block formed by the aluminum-based composite (refer to, for example, Patent Document 3). Thus, there is a concern that even if a piston ring which exhibits excellent durability against a conventional cast iron cylinder block (refer to, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) will not have sufficient durability against the cylinder block disclosed in Patent Document 4. Thus, it is necessary to provide a piston ring with high durability for a piston to be paired with the cylinder block formed by the porous ceramic.


The present invention relates to electrostatic dissipative impact modified polymeric compositions comprising an effective amount of a chain extended block copolymer, polyvinyl halide and no more than 10 weight parts of a polymeric impact modifier per 100 weight parts of polyvinyl chloride. The chain extended block copolymer is formed from reacting a di-functional polyether with a chain extender which is a condensate selected from the group consisting of polyundecanolactam, polydodecanolactam, poly(11-aminoundecanoic acid) and (12-aminododecanoic acid). The compounds further comprise a heat distortion modifier which does not interfere with ESD properties and is selected from the group consisting of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, alpha methyl styrene-styrene-acrylonitrile terpolymer, a polymer of alpha methyl styrene-styrene-N-cyclohexyl maleimide, N-phenylmaleimide, imidized polymethyl methacrylate, post-chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, styrene-maleic anhydride polymer, imidized styrene-maleic anhydride polymer, acrylic-imide copolymer, acrylonitrile-methylmethacrylate copolymer, acrylonitrile-acrylate-polybutadiene graft copolymer, alpha methyl styrene-methylmethacrylate-acrylonitrile terpolymer, alpha-methyl styrene-styrene-methylmethacrylate terpolymer, alpha methyl styrene-methylmethacrylate copolymer, alpha methyl styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, alpha methyl styrene-methylmethacrylate graft copolymer on polyacrylate rubber, polycarbonate, and brominated polycarbonate.

The formation and retention of charges of static electricity on the surface of most plastics is well known. Plastic materials have a significant tendency to accumulate static electrical charges due to low electrical conductivity. The presence of static electrical charges on sheets of thermoplastic film, for example, can cause the sheets to adhere to one another thus making their separation for further processing more difficult. Moreover, the presence of static electrical charges causes dust to adhere to items packaged in a plastic bag, for example, which may negate any sales appeal. Static build up in containers for microprocessors and photographic film presents problems as well as in environments containing explosive dust or fumes.
The increasing complexity and sensitivity of microelectronic devices makes the control of static discharge of particular concern to the electronic industry. Even a low voltage discharge can cause severe damage to sensitive devices. The need to control static charge buildup and dissipation often requires the total assembly environment to be constructed of partially conductive materials. It also may require electrostatic protective packages, tote boxes, casings, and covers be made from conductive polymeric materials to store, ship, protect, or support electrical devices and equipment.
The prevention of the buildup of static electrical charges which accumulate on plastics during manufacturing or use has been prevented by the use of various electrostatic dissipative (ESD) materials. These materials can be applied as a coating which may be sprayed or dip coated on the article after manufacture although this method usually results in a temporary solution. Alternatively these materials can be incorporated into the polymer during processing thereby providing a greater measure of permanence. However, the incorporation of low molecular weight electrostatic dissipative materials (anti-static agents) into the various polymers has its own limitations. For example, during the hot temperatures required during conventional processing many of the antistatic agents cannot withstand high temperatures and are damaged or destroyed, thereby being rendered useless with respect to their ESD properties. Also, many of the higher molecular weight ESD agents are not miscible with the base polymers employed, and if the refractive indices differ by more than about 0.02, there can be a substantial opacity in the composition. In an immiscible polymer blend where the particle size of a dispersed phase is greater than 0.1 micron, the smaller the difference in the refractive indices between the additives and the base polymer the greater the clarity of the article made from the mixture.
A large number of anti-static agents are also either cationic or anionic. These tend to cause the degradation of plastics, particularly PVC, and result in discoloration or loss of physical properties. Low molecular weight anti-static agents possess undesirable lubricating properties and are difficult to incorporate into the polymer. Incorporation of the low molecular weight anti-static agents into the polymers often will reduce the moldability of the base plastic because the antistatic agents can move to the surface of the plastic during processing and frequently deposit a coating on the surface, producing excessive marring or poor surface finish on the articles of manufacture. In severe cases, the surface of the article of manufacture becomes quite oily or marbleized. Additionally, the low molecular weight ESD agents tend to lack permanence and lose their ESD capability due to evaporation. There can be undesirable odors, stress cracking or crazing can develop on the surface of an article in contact with the article of manufacture.
One of the known lower molecular weight antistatic agents is a homopolymer or copolymer oligomer of ethylene oxide. Generally, use of the lower molecular weight polymers of ethylene oxide or polyethers as antistatic agents are limited by the above-mentioned problems relative to lubricity, surface problems, or less effective ESD properties. Further, these low molecular weight polymers can be easily extracted or abraded from the base polymer thereby relinquishing any electrostatic dissipative properties. Polyetheresteramide block copolymers (PEA) have higher molecular weight and thus would have better permanence of properties, however with respect to polyvinyl chloride polymers, there are problems pertaining to compatibility and impact strength. With some polyetheresteramides there are incidences of lack of uniform dispersion within the PVC matrix. There are problems relating to the reduction of moduli and impact strength of mixtures of PEA and polyvinyl chloride.
The high polymer electrostatic dissipative agents in general derived from polymers of ethylene oxide or a derivative thereof like propylene oxide, epichlorohydrin, glycidyl ethers and the like having high haze values and thus lack transparency desired for some end uses. This is especially true for combinations of PVC and certain polyetheresteramides.
Antistatic properties for thermoplastic polyvinyl chloride resins which are suitable for injection molding has increased commercial importance, however these resins have inherent rheological characteristics which limit the number of ESD additives which can be successfully melt mixed to form a uniform blend of commercially acceptable appearance and physical properties. This invention is directed to a solution for this problem.
In the modification of vinyl thermoplastics such as polyvinyl chloride, there must be sufficient mechanical compatibility between the antistatic polymer and the vinyl polymer in order that the blend will have sufficient tensile strength and impact resistance, however in order for achieving the desired degree of ESD performance a discrete dispersed phase of ESD agent is necessary. This dictates that a certain degree of incompatibility must exist between the matrix polymer phase polyvinyl chloride, and the dispersed phase ESD agent which results in poor impact strength. It has been found that conventional impact modifiers in combination with polyetheresteramide and polyvinyl chloride interfere with static decay rate and volume resistivity. This invention is aimed at a solution to this problem.
Certain polyetheresteramide block copolymers having acceptable static dissipative properties are non-rigid owing to the proportion of polyether segment in the block copolymer. These non-rigid materials may be blendable with rigid PVC thermoplastic resins but there is presented a problem of reduction in moduli and heat distortion temperature which limits the commercial applications for such a compound. This invention addresses a solution to this problem.

Electrostatic dissipative blends of PVC, polyetheramides and an impact modifier


Certain circuit faults in a phase of a multi-pole, switched reluctance, rotary electrical machine are detected; and the machine is selectively operated with a detected circuit fault when the nature of the fault permits continued operation of the phase and the operation of the phase is desirable. The fault may be one of certain short or open circuits in which at least one of the two current controlling electronic switches is operable to control phase current within predetermined limits. In the continued operation when a fault is detected, (1) the phase current is switched off earlier than it would be in the absence of the fault and/or (2) the maximum phase current is reduced compared with that permitted in the absence of the fault; and either or both of these modifications may be a function of motor speed. If the circuit fault adversely affects current control by an electronic switch normally controlling current level, another electronic switch is substituted for current control.

The literature has long recognized that the switched reluctance (SR) motor is fault tolerant because it can continue operating and produce torque with one or more of its phases not functioning. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,089 to Kliman et al, where various means are described to identify faults, the corrective action upon detecting a fault is "that the faulted motor phases are deactivated" (column 9, lines 49–50). See also "Fault Detection and Management System for Fault-Tolerant Switched Reluctance Motor Drives, by Charles M. Stephens, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 27, No. 6, Nov/Dec 1991. The focus in the prior art, then, has been to construct SR drives with separate inverters, power supplies and electronics for each phase, thus allowing an easy disconnect of any particular phase, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,576 to Jones et al.
In "Fault Tolerant Operation of Single-Phase Generators" by T. Sawata, P. C. Kjaer, C. Cossar, and T. J. E. Miller, published in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications, vol. 35, No. 4, July/August 1999, the authors discuss the fact that a particular phase may be made of several windings. If these windings are separately excited, one can remove excitation from one winding and continue operating the rest of that phase. A similar idea is proposed in. U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,102 to Jahns, where 2 inverters are used for each phase and, in case of a failure, one half of a phase is disconnected (that is, excitation to that phase is removed) while the other half continues working and provides half of the nominal torque from that phase. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,711 to Rubertus et al, an SR drive is shown where the various phases and poles can be reconfigured to minimize the impact of removing a faulty circuit. In all 3 cases cited in this paragraph (Sawata et al, Jahns and Rubertus et al), though, the faulty circuit is removed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,164 to Ferreira et al, the authors point out that, when an SR motor is designed such that each phase has 4 poles, then turning off only 2 poles can be damaging because the flux from the poles remaining in the on state will travel through the poles with the damaged winding. Their proposed solution is to turn off all windings aligned with a rotor pole associated with a fault. Therefore, they go beyond the previous prior art and disable not only the damaged windings, but other windings as well.
A particular problem occurs with a faulty SR motor at standstill. The torque produced by an SR machine is produced by each phase sequentially. Therefore, if one phase is fully disabled (disconnected, etc), there is no torque available for some angular positions, spanning an angle somewhat less than 360°/Nph Nr, where Nph and Nr are the numbers of phases and rotor poles, respectively. Disabling a phase completely is an issue during starting if the rotor is in the wrong angular position.
This starting problem has also been recognized and addressed in the prior art. The authors of U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,089, cited above, point out that if a motor cannot move clockwise as desired, due to an open phase, then it is possible to first move the motor counterclockwise to some other position, from which it can be excited to move clockwise. In some applications, a small rotation in the wrong direction may be acceptable, but not so in others.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,102 to Jensen teaches that, when specially designed, some SR motors do not have any dead zone for starting. However, the design conditions are severely limiting; for instance, there must be a minimum of 5 phases, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,088, cited above, suggests using two separate excitation circuits (inverters, etc) for each phase. For instance, each excites two separate windings. Then, in case of a failure, only one half of the phase is removed and, concerning starting, half the starting torque is still available in the "dead zone". This solution, however, is costly, and relies again on disabling the faulty circuits.

Switched reluctance motor control with partially disabled operation capability


Bone graft retention devices, systems, and methods for retaining bone graft material at a desired site are described. The devices may attach to existing bone fusion systems or components thereof, such as rods or cross connectors, or may be integrated directly into a cross connector. The devices include a fin, and optionally one or more attachment elements. The bone graft material is attached to the fin, such as via an adhesive or by friction fit inside a cavity. Optionally, during insertion in a patient, the fin is flipped upwards so that it does not hinder the insertion. Following insertion of the rod or cross-connector in the desired location and tightening of the screws into their final positions, the fin of the bone graft retention device is flipped into place such that it aligns with the spine, pressing the bone graft material against the spine.

Each year, several hundred thousand spinal fusions are performed in the United States, and over one million a year in the world. While performing spinal fusion surgery, such as posterolateral fusion, surgeons often place screws through the posterior spine into the pedicles or lamina/lateral masses. These screws are connected with rods and secured in place to immobilize the spine. Then, bone graft or bone graft substitutes, such as VITOSS® (Stryker Corp.) or INFUSE® (Medtronic), are placed lateral to the combined screws and rods to induce bony fusion and bone formation across the affected spinal elements. For example, a bone bridge may form between the transverse processes of the spine. Currently, the bone formation inducing material, i.e. a bone graft or bone graft substitute, is placed freely along and between the transverse processes, sacral alae, and/or lateral masses of the spine.
Unfortunately nothing is done to ensure that the bone graft or bone graft substitute remains in place, and often the graft material dislodges, resulting in suboptimal fusion results.
Postoperative radiology reports often indicate that the position and location of the bone that is formed due to application of the bone graft or bone graft substitute is not where it was expected, indicating the bone formation inducing material migrated out of the site of its initial placement, which can lead to ectopic bone formation. These observations lead to significant concern and poor outcomes from fusion surgery. The compressed bone or bone substitute can compress or irritate neural structures, such as nerves or the spinal cord.
There is a need for improved methods and devices for preventing the movement of bone graft material after it is implanted.
Therefore it is an object of the invention to provide devices for maintaining the location of a bone graft material following implantation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide devices and systems for preventing a bone graft material from dislodging from the initial site of application in a patient's body.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide methods for enhancing bone fusion and/or for preventing a bone graft material from dislodging from the initial site of application in a patient's body.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved multi-axial cross connector.


A storage control device including an area control unit, an attribute control unit, and an access control unit. The area control unit determines one or more valid areas for each type of areas included in respective storage areas stored in two or more storage devices to generate a virtual storage having the valid areas as a storage area. The attribute control unit selects, as speed information of the virtual storage, a lowest value of minimum guaranteed speeds in reading and writing which are included among respective pieces of attribute information stored in the two or more storage devices, with reference to the respective pieces of the attribute information. The access control unit transmits information regarding the storage area of the virtual storage and the speed information to a host device that reads and writes data from/to the virtual storage.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-175824 (Patent Literature 1 (PLT 1)) discloses a main frame storage control device connected to a main frame and to other storage control device(s). The main frame storage control device converts commands and data received from the main frame into commands and data to be transmitted to the other storage control device(s). In addition, the main frame storage control device transmits data received from the other storage control device(s) to a host computer. It is thereby possible to provide the main frame with a plurality of real volumes as a single virtual volume.

Storage control device, storage system, and storage control method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


An electronic device having high density wiring formed in a multi-level layer structure which has a plurality of conductors distributed with high density. Each conductor is formed to have a sectional area which is determined on the basis of length thereof such that ones of the plurality of conductors having relatively longer lengths have sectional areas larger than those ones of relatively shorter lengths. Wirings in the electronic device are formed through effecting electrical connections of conductors having step-wise increasing sectional areas to thereby control the wiring resistance and signal propagation delay thereof and also preclude a malfunction or reduction in operation performance of the device.

The present invention relates to an electronic device having high-density wiring, and more particularly to an electronic device having high-density wiring in which the shape or configuration of wiring in a digital electronic device is dealt with.
As advances in electronic devices are developed, emphasis towards further miniaturization, complexity and large scale integration schemes will become more prevalent as the demands for high function and high performance become increased, thereby facilitating use of and portability of the electronic device. Employing a high-density wiring technique greatly contributes to attainment of these objectives.
Wiring in the electronic device is mainly formed on a printed wiring board, a ceramic board, a semiconductor or the like, and in either case, the wiring is usually designed on the condition that the configuration thereof, such as width and thickness of a conductor, for use in wiring, is fixed, except for the length of the conductor thereof. Particularly, the number of conductors for use in wiring for transmitting signals is increased and, accordingly, it is common that the above condition is strictly kept since the design of wiring is simplified by using this condition.
When the width and thickness of a conductor, used in wiring, are standardized to be fixed and conductors are positioned on grids arranged at regular intervals, the design of wiring can be made simply and rapidly by dividing the design into designs relative to paths and shape of conductors. More particularly, the path design can be made only by considering how conductors can be connected between terminals through predetermined paths on the grids without intersection with many other conductors. The shape design can be made only by applying a width of conductors, a shape of connection terminals and a shape of through-holes and the like to the result of the path design to design actual shape of conductors. A final wiring configuration is described on a mask which is subjected to a process technique, such as the photolithography and the etching technique, to form actual wiring.
Such a wiring design method is known widely and can be found in, for example, "HIGH-DENSITY SURFACE MOUNTING TECHNIQUE", TRICEPS Corporation, ISBN 4-88657511, pages 73 and 126-128, and "CAE OF PRINTED BOARD" by Akihiko Yamada, Applied Technique Publishing Corporation, pages 4-5, 58-59 and 76.
As described above, by standardizing to make the width and thickness of conductors fixed and dividing the wiring design into two steps of the path design and the shape design, the design work of wiring can be arranged to be concise and be made rapidly or a large-scale design can be achieved to contribute to the development of the electronic industry greatly.
An electronic device can be complicated, formed on a large scale and miniaturized and hence possess increased functions and high performance by high-density wiring. More particularly, there is technical development of the process which can form a wiring configuration for conductors and through-holes with high density, so that wiring can be made narrower and thinner and the mounting density can be improved to attain miniaturization, enhanced circuit complexity, large-scale formation and high function of the electronic device. Further, since miniaturization of the device can shorten the length of wiring, a time required for propagating a signal through wiring is reduced so that the device is operated at high speed to thereby improve the performance of the device.
In the device design using the high-density wiring, particularly the wiring design, the dimension of wiring is standardized to be narrowed and thinned to a minimum attained by the high-density wiring technique. Consequently, the dimension of wiring is reduced uniformly. This method advantageously reduces the wiring dimension of the device and hence the mounting density uniformly over the whole device to utilize the benefit of the high-density wiring technique effectively.
As described above, in the prior art, the dimension such as the width and thickness of conductors is designed in accordance with the predetermined standards and the high-density wiring is attained by reduction of the standardized dimension to thereby realize miniaturization circuit complexity, large-scale formation, high function and high performance of the electronic device.
However, any attempt at further advancement using the above conventional wiring method would reach an electrical limit, so that the normal operation of the electronic circuit is impeded. This is caused by the fact that narrowed and thinned wiring configuration with high density reduces a sectional area of conductors and increases an electrical resistance of conductors. More particularly, when the conventional wiring method is used to narrow and thin the width and thickness of conductors, a resistance of conductors is increased and the electronic device can no longer be operated normally or the performance of the device is reduced. It would not be practical to solve this problem by improvement of material since a material having a considerably small resistivity as compared with copper or aluminum is not available and since the superconductor wiring cannot be easily utilized. Further, in the conventional wiring design technique, since the dimension, such as the width and thickness of conductors, is standardized to be fixed, malfunction of the electronic device and reduction of performance thereof are caused by employing many long conductors.

Electronic device having high-density wiring


After a predetermined period of time in a life cycle of a flash memory device, a plurality of reliability values corresponding to a plurality of reads of one or more of the plurality of memory cells are generated; each of the reads using a variation of a predetermined read level voltage. An offset voltage is then identified, offset from the read level voltage. The offset voltage corresponds to a zero crossing point in the range of the reliability values. Once the offset voltage is identified, the read level voltage is set to a calibrated voltage based on the offset voltage.

The present disclosure relates to the retrieval of information from flash memory devices, such as solid-state drives (SSDs). Lower priced Solid State Drives (SSD) are typically manufactured using multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory for increased data capacity, but MLC memory devices are sometimes less reliable than single-level cell (SLC) flash memory. Consumer SSD manufacturers have mitigated such problems by employing certain wear-leveling algorithms. Even with the increased data capacity of MLC flash memory, using MLC flash memory in enterprise applications becomes more expensive due to increased (wear causing) stresses required to read, program and erase the flash memory, causing a gradual degradation in endurance.


A vacuum cleaner that includes an upright main body, an upright fan motor generating a suction force, and a wheel assembly that is mounted on the upright main body and guides movement and rotation of the upright main body. The upright main body includes a first housing that is installed on the wheel assembly so as to be rotatable in a leftward/rightward direction, and a second housing that is installed in the first housing so as to be rotatable in a forward/backward direction. The vacuum cleaner can be moved and rotated by freely moving an extension frame extending upward from the second housing in forward, backward, leftward, and rightward directions.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vacuum cleaner capable of changing a direction in a smoother way.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, vacuum cleaners are appliances designed to do cleaning by suctioning dust along with air using a suction force generated from a fan rotated by a motor, separating the dust included in the suctioned air from the air, and collecting the separated dust.
Such vacuum cleaners include a main body with a fan motor generating a suction force, a head unit that is disposed in the front of the main body and suctions dust from a floor along with air, a handle grasped by a user so as to allow movement of the vacuum cleaner, and an extension frame that connects the handle and the main body and enables the user to move the main body while in an upright posture. However, the structure of the conventional vacuum cleaners is such that while a forward and backward movement of the vacuum cleaner may be accomplished by a user, other movements such as left or right, are more difficult and cause inconvenience to a user.
Further, some of the vacuum cleaners have recently been designed to include an upright dust collection unit that causes dust to be filtered by a principle of centrifugal separation during a cyclonic flow of air.


As a result of producing anti-DDR1 antibodies and conducting extensive studies on the antitumor activity thereof, antibodies that bind to the stalk domain in the amino acid sequence of human DDR1 were found to have a potent activity even when used alone compared to antibodies that bind to other domains. It was also found that the antibodies have one or more activities selected from the group consisting of: (i) an activity to suppress cell proliferation, (ii) an activity to inhibit cell migration, (iii) an activity to inhibit phosphorylation of DDR1 in cells, (iv) an activity to be taken up into cells, (v) an activity to decrease the expression level of DDR1 in cells, and (vi) an activity to decrease the expression level of TGF-β in cells.

Discoidin Domain Receptor 1 (also referred to as DDR1, EDDR1, NEP, NTRK1 or CAK; hereinafter referred to as DDR1) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) having a molecular weight of 105 kDa that was cloned from human placental tissue as a homologous protein of RTK (Non-Patent Document 1). It is known to induce signal transduction to downstream molecules through its autophosphorylation that occurs as a result of binding with collagen, which is the ligand (Non-Patent Document 2). DDR1 is a single-pass transmembrane receptor, and its extracellular domain is composed of a discoidin (DS) domain and stalk domain from the N-terminal; the former is required for binding to collagen, while the latter is required for dimerization of DDR1, and both have been reported to be required for autophosphorylation of DDR1 by collagen (Non-Patent Documents 3 and 4).
Suggested molecular functions of DDR1 are contribution to cellular morphological changes, adhesion, cell migration, infiltration, proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, and the like. Experimental findings serving as the basis for these presumed functions are based on phenotype analyses of DDR1-overexpressing strains or DDR1 expression-suppressed strains, and phenomena occurring in cells induced by collagen treatment. Experimental findings including adhesion and increased infiltration in macrophages (Non-Patent Document 5), increased infiltration ability and suppression of apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells (Non-Patent Document 6), suppression of apoptosis and increased proliferation in human colorectal cancer cells (Non-Patent Document 7), and increased cell migration ability and increased infiltration ability in human lung cancer cells (Non-Patent Document 8) have been reported thus far, strongly suggesting involvement of the molecular functions of DDR1 in cancer proliferation and metastasis. In addition, high expression and activity levels of DDR1 in cancer tissue have been reported in multiple types of cancer as indicated in the following cases: glioma (Non-Patent Document 9), breast cancer (Non-Patent Document 10), endometrial cancer (Non-Patent Document 11), ovarian cancer (Non-Patent Document 12), lung cancer (Non-Patent Document 13) and bile duct cancer (Non-Patent Document 14). In addition, the correlation between expression of DDR1 and the prognosis and metastasis of cancer has been reported in glioma (Non-Patent Document 15) and lung cancer (Non-Patent Document 8). On the other hand, the existence of a function of DDR1 that is not mediated by collagen binding activity or kinase activity has also been suggested in recent years (Non-Patent Document 16), thus indicating that there are still aspects of the mechanism of action of DDR1 that remain unknown.
With respect to using DDR1 as a target of cancer therapy, an approach has already been disclosed based on the potential for screening cancer therapeutic agents, by using as indicators, DDR1-mediated phenomena (such as phosphorylation) and measuring whether or not they are inhibited, based on experimental results which indicate that DDR1 is highly expressed in cancer cells of breast cancer or the like (Patent Document 1). In addition, polyclonal antibodies to DDR1 have been prepared, which have been reported to neutralize binding between DDR1 and collagen as well as suppress the cell protective action of collagen in cancer cells (Patent Document 2). Moreover, following preparation of monoclonal antibodies to DDR1, it was reported that these monoclonal antibodies bind to an epitope in the DS domain of DDR1, particularly to an epitope which has a tryptophan residue at position 53 at its center, and inhibit collagen-induced phosphorylation of DDR1. Although a remarkable antitumor activity was not demonstrated when said antibodies were used alone in a colorectal cancer xenograft model, antitumor activity was demonstrated when used together with irinotecan, a chemotherapeutic agent (Patent Document 3). However, an example of an anti-DDR1 antibody capable of demonstrating potent antitumor effects in vivo even when used alone remains to be found.

Anti-DDR1 antibody having anti-tumor activity


A method for the packaging of electronic components, including the mounting of at least one electronic component on its active face side to a base, the base including electrical contacts on an external face and connection pads on a face opposite the external face, and including a first series of via holes connecting the electrical contacts and the connection pads and a second series of holes for use in aspiration. A deformable film is deposited on the face opposite to the active face of the electronic component or components. The deformable film is aspirated through the second series of holes from the face opposite the external face of the base, so as to sheath the electronic component or components. The method may furthermore include, on top of the deformable film, a mineral deposition to provide for the hermetic sealing of the components and a conductive deposition to provide for the shielding. Such an application may find particular application to surface wave filters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the packaging of electronic components, especially components whose surface needs to be unoccupied such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters, RF components, sensors and, more specifically, the method for making a packaging of this kind.
Surface wave components (SWC) used in electronics, especially as filters in the radiofrequency domains or intermediate frequency domains, in order to select frequency bands in mobile telephony, make use of the principle of the generation and propagation of acoustic waves on the surface of a piezoelectric substrate. This function makes it necessary to prepare a free space on the surface of the component on which the acoustic waves are propagated. Thus, the standard methods for the protection of surface acoustic wave components use hermetically sealed ceramic or metal packs. However, these methods are costly and unproductive, and make it difficult to minituarize the components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of semiconductor components, assembling technologies known as CSP (for Chip-Size Package or Chip-Scale Package technologies) give a high degree of miniaturization. The technology that is presently most worthwhile in terms of degree of miniaturization and cost is based on a flip-chip mounting technique (known to those skilled in the art) as illustrated in FIG. 1.
More specifically, a semi-conductor component 1 is attached to a base 2 by means of xe2x80x9cflip-chipxe2x80x9d type contacts 11 and 12. Electrical pads 21 and 22 connect the entire component 1 to external circuits by internal metallizations and via holes through the base. An encapsulation resin (not shown) consolidates the mechanical assembly and protects the component.
However, this method is not directly applicable to surface-wave components: the encapsulation resin fills the interstice between the component and the base. This disturbs the propagation of the surface acoustic waves. Secondly, since the active surface is not passivated, unlike the semiconductor components, the resin by itself is not a sufficient barrier against external attack from agents such as moisture.
In the more particular field of surface acoustic wave filters, the firm Siemens Matsushita Components GmbH has proposed the packaging of components by the fabrication of a sheath forming caps that surround the chips and lie on the substrate in regions between the chips (WO 99/43084). The caps may be obtained from a metal foil fixed to a weldable frame of the base, or a plastic foil bonded to the base between the chips. In the case of a plastic sheet, even if it is metallized, the shielding is neither hermetically sealed nor perfectly shielded.
The present invention proposes to collectively sheath the chips with a deformable plastic film that will adhere to the back and sides of the chips as well as to the substrate. This method has the advantage of boosting the mechanical strength of the chip on the base. It also has the advantage wherein, after a step described here below for the local elimination of the film, it presents a structure on which it is easy to make a continuous mineral deposit that perfectly seals the structure. Finally, if the mineral deposit is chosen to be metallic, a continuous electromagnetic shielding is made, and this shielding could be in direct contact with the electrical ground on the substrate.
The deformable film, adgering to the rear face and the side faces of the chips as well as to the base between teh chips, forms a monolithic unit with high mechanical strength.
More specifically, an object of the invention is a method for the packaging of electronic components, comprising the following steps:
The mounting of at least one electronic component on its active face side to a base, said base comprising electrical contacts on a first face and connection pads on a second face, and comprising a series of via holes connecting the electrical contacts and the connection pads and a series of holes.
The deposition of a deformable film on the face opposite to the active face of the electronic component or components.
The aspiration of the deformable film through the series of holes from the second face of the base, so as to sheath said electronic component or components and place these components in contact with the deformable film so as to form a solid assembly.
According to one variant of the invention, the method of the invention may furthermore include a step for the total elimination of the film on the base in the zone between the chips enabling the mineral deposit to totally sheath the component and thus provide perfect hermetic sealing quality. In the case of a metal deposit, this step also provides for the resumption of an electrical ground contact on the substrate and thus provides for efficient electromagnetic shielding.
An object of the invention is also a method for the batch manufacture of packaged electronic components comprising the following steps:
The batch mounting of electronic components on the active face side to a base, said base comprising electrical contacts on a first face and connection pads on a second face, and comprising a series of via holes connecting the electrical contacts and the connection pads and a series of holes.
The deposition of a deformable film on all the faces opposite the active faces of the electronic components.
The aspiration of the deformable film through the series of holes from the second face of the base, so as to sheath said electronic components
The deposition of an encapsulating resin on the deformable film so as to provide hermetically sealed protection for the electronic components.
The cutting out of the unit formed by the resin/deformable film/base so as to individualize the packaged electronic components.
According to one variant of the invention, the component or components are surface acoustic wave devices.
Advantageously, the aspiration of the deformable film is coupled with a heating step and/or a step for the application of a pressure to the surface of the deformable film.
According to one variant of the invention, the packaging method furthermore comprises a deposition of a mineral layer to provide hermetic sealing on top of the deformable film.
Advantageously, the packaging method may also include a conductive deposition on top of the deformable film in order to provide for the shielding of the components.
The packaging method may also include the depositing of a second deformable film (that may be identical to the first deformable film) on top of the conductive deposit. It may advantageously be a polymer film charged with conductive mineral particles. This second film may thus replace the standard packaging resin in contact with the exterior.

Method for the packaging of electronic components


A motor incorporating a bearing guided labyrinth system of the present invention includes a shaft, a hub, a bearing assembly, and a bearing guided labyrinth. The bearing assembly includes an inner bearing ring and an outer bearing ring separated by a plurality of ball bearings. The inner bearing ring has an inner annular ring surface and the outer bearing ring has an outer annular ring surface. The bearing guided labyrinth has an inner prong and an outer prong. The inner prong is at least partially positionable between the inner ring surface and the shaft. The outer prong is at least partially positionable between the outer ring surface and the hub. The outer prong grips the bearing assembly and specifically the outer annular ring surface of the outer bearing ring.

The following invention relates to a bearing guided labyrinth for use in electronic spindle motors having ball bearing rings.
Known electric spindle motors of the type used in disk drives conventionally use ball bearing assemblies to facilitate movement between a rotary member and a stationary member. Ball bearing assemblies generally include metallic or ceramic ball bearings which are positioned between an inner bearing ring and an outer bearing ring. Bearing rings may be either inner or outer rotators depending on whether the hub or shaft rotates. Inner rotators have an inner bearing ring that rotates, and outer rotators have an outer bearing ring that rotates. The ball bearings are preferably evenly spaced within the inner and outer bearing rings. The ball bearings are generally held in this evenly spaced position by teeth of a ball bearing cage (not shown).
Bearing lubricant fluid is used in bearing assemblies to encourage free movement of the ball bearings, the inner bearing ring, and the outer bearing ring. Conventionally, the lubricant is initially deposited on the teeth of the bearing cage. During use, however, the lubricant tends to migrate and eventually escapes the bearing ring. The lubricant that migrates and escapes the bearing ring often enters the interior of the motor or exits the motor completely.
One cause of lubricant migration is the rotation of the bearing assembly and centrifugal pull that causes the lubricant to be thrown from the bearing assembly. Although lubricant generally is not thrown from a bearing assembly at lower rotation speeds, higher rotation speeds tend to disperse or "sling out" lubricant. At particularly high speeds the lubrication is atomized.
Another cause of lubricant migration is airflow through the motor and bearing assemblies which tends to push lubricant, particularly atomized lubricant, out of the bearing assembly. Airflow also tends to carry particles and contaminants. Designers of motors try to reduce airflow to reduce or eliminate these problems. The use of bearing shields reduces the flow of air and contaminants through the bearing assembly and thereby partially inhibits the loss of lubricant from the bearing assembly.
Once the lubricant escapes the bearing assembly it enters the horizontal gap between the top surface of the ball bearing assembly and the bottom surface of the washer (or other enclosing apparatus). The lubricant then travels from the horizontal gap up through the vertical air gap between the inner surface of the washer and the smooth outer surface of the shaft. The lubricant then can escape the motor.
Using fluid labyrinths to prevent lubrication fluid from escaping a fluid bearing spindle motor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,088 which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Fluid labyrinths found in such fluid bearing spindle motors are generally the winding path in which the lubrication fluid resides, at least part of which forms the fluid bearings. Fluid labyrinths are not used with ball bearing spindle motors because the lubrication fluid is not intended as a bearing but instead is used to facilitate rotation between the ball bearings and the inner and outer bearing rings. Accordingly, the lubrication fluid is not intended to enter the air gaps.
FIG. 1 shows a labyrinth seal system shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/712,615 which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The shown motor incorporates a labyrinth seal system that includes at least one rotating member (either a hub 26 or a shaft 28) that rotates in relation to another member (either the shaft 28 or the hub 26). The rotating member is separated from the other member by a ball bearing assembly 18 that has an inner bearing ring 22 and an outer bearing ring 24 separated by a plurality of ball bearings 20. A labyrinth seal washer 40 having an annular leg 42 positioned at least partially between the outer surface of the shaft 28 and the inner surface of the inner bearing ring 22.
None of the prior art has found a solution that completely prevents oil from migrating out of a motor.

SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd., A Hong Kong Corp.


A keyboard includes a first keyboard section, a second keyboard section, and a connection structure. The connection structure includes a hook portion, a first operation member, a drive portion, and at least one latch portion. The hook portion, the first operation member, and the drive portion are defined at the first keyboard section, and the at least one latch portion is defined at the second keyboard section. The first operation member is detachably clasped with the hook portion. The drive portion drives the hook portion moving along a first direction to protrude out of the first keyboard section when the first operation member is operated to detach the hook portion. The at least one latch portion is configured for latching with the hook portion to detachably engage the first keyboard section with the second keyboard section.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to peripherals of computing devices, and more particularly to a keyboard.
2. Description of Related Art
Keyboards are important input/output (I/O) devices of computing systems, such as desktop computers and even portable computers. Under some particular conditions, two or more people may simultaneously operate one keyboard. For example, two users may play two player games using the same keyboard. However, due to the dimensions and configuration of the traditional keyboards, it is inconvenient for multiple people to operate the same keyboard simultaneously. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A three-phase suspension suitable for use as an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) control having the following three components: (1) a synthetic plasma base, (2) an aggregating agent such as a high molecular weight polymer or combination of high molecular weight polymers, and (3) chemically fixed mammalian red blood cells. The control is designed to allow the user to monitor the accuracy and precision of analytical methods for determining the sedimentation rate of human erythrocytes in whole blood specimens. Chemical fixing of the red blood cells provides the ESR control with the capability of providing useful results in the presence of citrate and/or saline.

The ESR test measures the sedimentation rate of aggregated erythrocytes in plasma. The rate of sedimentation is an indirect means of quantitating Rouleaux formation as well as red cell aggregation. Sedimentation occurs because the apparent surface/volume ratio of the red cells decreases and the denser Rouleaux overcome the buoyant forces of the plasma and sink. Erythrocyte sedimentation depends upon an interrelationship of a number of inherent biologic variables. Anything that increases the tendency to form Rouleaux or red cell aggregation will accelerate the sedimentation rate. In vivo, the plasma concentrations of proteins and globulins as well as the shape of the red blood cells are the most important factors contributing to the ESR.
In most normal persons, sedimentation takes place slowly, but in a variety of disease states the rate is rapid and in some cases proportional to the severity of the disease. The ESR test has been utilized as an indirect measure of these disease states. However, the test is very non-specific in that values for "normal" ESR may be influenced by local conditions as well as the age and sex of the patient. Nonetheless, the ESR test is an extremely common test which plays a significant role in contemporary medical practice.
Westergren developed the technique of performing an ESR determination as described in a paper published in 1924. See Alf Westergren, "Die senkungscreaktion," Ergegn. Inn. Med. Kinderheilk., 26:577 (1924). In the Westergren method, a blood sample is obtained by venepuncture and is thoroughly mixed with a suitable anticoagulant. Because the proteins and globulins in blood are unstable in vitro, at room temperature the test must be set up within 2 hours, or at 4.degree. C. within 6 hours. The blood-anticoagulant is thoroughly mixed by gentle repeated inversion and a clean dry standard Westergren-Katz tube is filled and adjusted to the `0` mark. The tube is then placed in a strictly vertical position under room temperature conditions (18-25.degree. C.), not exposed to direct sunlight and free from vibrations and drafts. After a time period, usually 1 hour, the distance (x) from the bottom of the surface meniscus to the top of the column of sedimenting red cells (where the full density is apparent), is read in mm and recorded as the ESR value. The result is expressed as follows: `ESR (Westergren 1 hr)=x mm`. Variations in the materials and methods are known, however, the basic technique is relatively unchanged since its introduction.
One variation of the Westergren method is a result of the substantial recent efforts directed to ways of decreasing the time involved in conducting the ESR test. Several ESR test apparatus manufacturers have developed methods of conducting ESR tests in less than one hour, e.g., 20 minutes or 30 minutes. These methods generally involve measuring the sedimentation distance after 20 or 30 minutes and converting that measurement to a one hour equivalent. Because the rate of sedimentation of a patient sample is generally exponential (i.e., non-linear), this conversion involves something more than simply dividing the result by the fraction of one hour within which the measurement was made. Instead, these manufacturers have developed proprietary empirical conversion factors for converting a 20- or 30-minute measured value to a one hour standard value.
Due to the manner in which ESR is measured, in addition to the biologic variables certain identifiable environmental and technical factors may influence the ESR test in misleading ways. For example, the following factors may affect the measurement of ESR:
Environmental Factors:
1. Temperature. The room temperature during the test could lead to a misleadingly high ESR (higher temperatures) or low ESR (lower temperatures). Further, a variation of temperature during the test will also lead to misleading results. PA1 2. Vibration. Vibration or movement of the testing apparatus during the test will result in misleading results. PA1 1. Positioning of tube. The correct or incorrect positioning of the tube at a perpendicular angle will affect test results. PA1 2. Delay prior to test. A delay in performing the test beyond 2 hours of drawing the blood sample will create ambiguous results. PA1 3. Insertion of tube in reservoir (for modified Westergren procedures). Failure to fully insert the tube to the bottom of the reservoir in certain modified Westergren procedures will affect the test results. PA1 4. Unfamiliarity or failing to follow manufacturer's directions will affect test results. PA1 1. Tube. Variations of the composition and/or length of the measurement tube will affect test results. For example, the use of glass vs. plastic tubes in either a Wintrobe or Westergren procedure will lead to variations in the observed sedimentation rate. PA1 2. Anticoagulant. The anticoagulant used will affect test results. PA1 3. Plasma. Changes in the plasma composition is a significant factor determining the measured ESR. PA1 1. Ficoll (MW 70,000-400,000): A synthetic polymer made by copolymerization of sucrose and epichlorhydrin that is widely used as a density gradient centrifugation medium. It is also used as an immunologically inert carrier for low-molecular-weight haptens in immunological studies. PA1 2. Cellulose: A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide comprising long unbranched chains of (1,4)-linked .beta.-D-glucose residues. Cellulose is found in cell walls of higher plants and some fungi as microfibrils, in which the cellulose chains form crystalline micelles separated by regions of randomized amorphous cellulose. PA1 3. Cyclodextrin: Any of a number of oligosaccharides based on glucopyrinose units that are linked to form a ring structure. The molecule consists of an apolar, electron-rich, hydrophobic interior with exterior sites available for hydrophilic interactions at the entrances to the internal cavity. PA1 4. Agar: A complex polysaccharide produced by red algae. It contains the polysaccharides agarose and agaropectin. Agar is used in food manufacture and as a matrix for the culture of microorganisms. PA1 5. Agarose: A polysaccharide gum obtained from seaweed composed of alternating (1,3)-linked D-galactose and (1,4)-linked 3,6-anhydro-D-galactose residues, as well as small amounts of D-xylose. Some of the D-galactose units are methylated at C-6. Agarose is used as a gel medium in chromatography or electrophoresis. PA1 6. Starch: A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide consisting largely of D-glucose units linked through an .alpha.-(1,4)-link, forming a spiral chain with only one terminal reducing moiety per chain. It consists of two fractions: amylose (25 percent) and amylopectin (75 percent). It is the major storage carbohydrate in higher plants, where it accumulates in the form of grains. PA1 7. Polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP) (MW 10,000-360,000). PA1 8. Percoll: A colloidal PVP coated with silica, used for cell separation and for tissue cultures. PA1 9. Dimethylpolysiloxane (MW 770-116,500). PA1 1. Mammalian red blood cells are washed by mixing with normal saline (0.9% NaCl) at a ratio of about 300 ml of blood and 700 ml normal saline. The mixture is subsequently centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for a period of thirty minutes to obtain a packed sample. PA1 2. After aspirating the supernatant, the packed cells are mixed with an equal volume of 0.25% glutaraldehyde solution to achieve a final glutaraldehyde concentration of 0. 125% The mixture is incubated at ambient temperature for approximately one hour. The 0.25% glutaraldehyde solution used above is prepared by using a 25% solution diluted with normal saline (0.9% NaCl) at a ratio of one part of glutaraldehyde and 9 parts normal saline. PA1 3. After one hour incubation, the glutaraldehyde fixed cell mixture is centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for thirty minutes before the supernatant is aspirated. PA1 4. The packed "fixed" cells are further washed by following the procedure in the above step 1. The washing of the fixed cells is carried out two times, after which the supernatant is removed. The packed fixed cells are then ready for use in the ESR control.
Procedural Factors:
Testing Materials Factors
Before the commercial introduction in the mid-1990s of an ESR control product manufactured by Hycor Biomedical, Inc. of Garden Grove, Calif., there was no known commercial control by which the foregoing, and other, factors could be eliminated as sources affecting test results. Accordingly, a given ESR measurement could only be accepted as within a relatively large range of error. This decreased the significance of the ESR test.
Hycor's commercial ESR control product allowed users to monitor and verify the accuracy of their ESR test method and apparatus. However, it was found that chemical agents used in certain commercial ESR testing apparatus raised compatibility issues with the Hycor commercial product. In particular, in the presence of citrate, red blood cells in the Hycor ESR control were found to change their morphologies such that their sedimentation velocities were inhibited. A similar observation was made when the cells were in the presence of normal saline solution. These effects are significant because citrate and saline solution are commonly present in many commercially available ESR test apparatuses. It is therefore desirable to obtain an ESR control having the desirable properties described herein and which is compatible with citrate and/or saline.
Moreover, and as discussed above, many current commercially available ESR test apparatuses measure sedimentation rates over a time period of less than one hour, which is a departure from the standard Westergren technique. For example, the Ves-matic system (manufactured by Diesse Diagnostica Senese, Monteriggioni, Italy) and Sedimatic system (Analys Instrument AB, Stockholm, Sweden) measure ESR over periods of 20 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively, rather than one hour. Because of this, it is also desirable to obtain an ESR control that is capable of providing consistent and reproducible results for ESR test apparatuses that operate over measurement periods other than one hour.


A lead frame including a holding portion having an area smaller than a semiconductor element to be mounted on the holding portion; and a suspension lead extending outward from the holding portion, from opposite sides of the holding portion, for supporting the holding portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lead frame and a resin-sealed semiconductor device using the lead frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, semiconductor devices mainly use a lead frame because it can be manufactured at high productivity and low cost as a wiring member for connecting the semiconductor device with an external circuit.
FIG. 17 is a top view of a resin-sealed semiconductor device using a conventional lead frame and FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIII--XVIII in FIG. 17 in the middle of the resin sealing process. In FIGS. 17 and 18, a semiconductor element 1 is mounted on a die pad 2 of a lead frame. The die pad 2 is supported by two suspension leads 3 from two directions. The semiconductor element 1 is secured to the die pad 2 by a bonding material 4. The semiconductor device is sealed by a sealing resin 5. As shown in FIG. 18, the flow length 6 of the sealing resin 5 on the semiconductor element 1 during the sealing resin process is longer than the flow length 7 of the sealing resin 5 under the die pad 2. Then, the semiconductor element 1 and die pad 2 are entirely sealed with the resin to form a semiconductor package 8. The semiconductor element 1 is held by the die pad 2 of the lead frame. An electrode formed on the semiconductor element 1 is bonded with an electrode of the lead frame by a thin metallic wire or the like and then, the thermosetting sealing resin 5 is injected and cured to form the semiconductor package 8. In FIG. 18, there is a difference equivalent to the thickness of the die pad 2 between the injection channel widths of the sealing resin 5 at the top and the bottom of the semiconductor element 1. Therefore, when injecting the resin, a difference is produced between the flow length 6 of the sealing resin 5 on the semiconductor element 1 and the flow length 7 of the sealing resin 5 under the die pad 2.
FIG. 19 is a top view of a resin-sealed semiconductor device using another conventional lead frame and FIG. 20 is a sectional view of the portion taken along the line XX--XX of FIG. 19 during the resin sealing process. In FIGS. 19 and 20, a suspension lead 9 of a lead frame supports a die pad 2 from four directions. Other structures are the same as those in FIGS. 17 and 18.
A resin-sealed semiconductor device using a conventional lead frame is constituted as described above. A lead frame is decreased in thickness as a semiconductor device is decreased in size and thickness and, moreover, a semiconductor element is increased in size as the semiconductor device is improved in function. Furthermore, there are problems that not only the lead frame but also semiconductor device components are deformed due to various stresses received in fabricating the semiconductor device and thereby, the quality and fabrication yield of semiconductor devices are deteriorated.
Particularly when sealing a semiconductor element with a resin by injection-molding and thermally curing a thermosetting resin in fabricating a semiconductor device, the thickness of the sealing resin is decreased due to a decrease in the semiconductor device thickness and a sealing-resin injection channel is narrowed in the thermosetting-resin injection molding process. Moreover, a difference in thickness equivalent to a die pad is produced between the channel thicknesses at the top and the bottom (that is, the bottom of the die pad 2) of a semiconductor element and, thereby, the sealing-resin flow velocity on the semiconductor element 1 is different from the sealing-resin flow velocity under the die pad 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 18, a difference is produced between the sealing-resin flow length 6 on the semiconductor element 1 and the sealing-resin flow length 7 under the die pad 2. Moreover, a difference is produced between the pressure applied to the semiconductor element 1 from the sealing resin 5 at the top and the pressure applied to the die pad 2 from the sealing resin 5 at the bottom. As a result, deformation of a lead frame having a semiconductor element and a die pad is induced. Furthermore, in the process for thermally curing the sealing resin 5, warpage or deformation occurs in a semiconductor package due to cured resin contraction because the amount of sealing resin on the semiconductor element 1 is different from the amount of sealing resin under the semiconductor element by an amount equivalent to the volume of the die pad 2.


A method and system is described for facilitating instant messaging (IM) between a first user with an address that includes a first domain name and a second user with an address that includes a second domain name different from the first. A substitute address is chosen that includes the second domain name and is mapped to the first address. An IM sent from the first user to the second is copied and re-addressed to be sent from the substitute address. This maintains consistency of domain names between the addressor and addressee, allowing existing IM systems that inhibit IM between incompatible IMSPs to deliver the message.

Instant messaging (IM) is a method and system of live or nearly live communication, over the internet or other electronic network, between two users who are both simultaneously logged on to an IM service provider (IMSP). The IMSP provides access to the network as well as software to facilitate IM between its users. It should be noted that there are generally two types of software: "Client-software" that is downloaded by the end-user (generally this is distributed freely) and "Server-Software" that is not downloaded by the end-user. The Server-Software is the core and the engine of the IMSP. It is the Server-Software behavior that distinguishes IMSPs from one another by offering different compelling features. Typically, users download IM Client-Software that enables them to engage in IM with other users of the same IMSP who have also downloaded the same or compatible software. There are a variety of IMSPs, for example: Wireless Village (WV), AOL, Yahoo!, MSN and ICQ (AOL is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc.; Yahoo! is a registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.; MSN is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation; and ICQ is a registered trademark of ICQ, Inc.). IM software from one IMSP generally does not enable IM communications with users of another IMSP, since most IMSPs use a proprietary solution.
Typical IM software today includes a first user (for example, user1) downloading the IM Client-Software onto his own computer. The IM software downloaded onto a user's computer is generally referred to as the Client-Software (or more simply as the client), a convention that is continued herein. The client connects to an IMSP server when user1 logs on. The client is pre-configured to know the IP address of the server, so when a user logs in (by entering the username and password) using the pre-downloaded proprietary client, it (the client) requests to connect and authenticate the user to the server. Once the user is authenticated, the server updates the client with a list of buddies and their presence information. The server sends a message back to the user1 client as to which buddies from the user1 generated buddy list are logged on, along with their presence information (such as mood, availability, etc.). The client changes the displayed status on user1's computer to indicate which buddies are logged on. The user1 access, information is also sent by the server to the clients of those logged-on buddies. When user1 wishes to send an IM message to a buddy who is logged on, say user2, user1 clicks or selects the name (IM address) for user2, types or attaches a message in the computer window provided, and sends the message. Because the user1 client has already been provided the presence information for the user2 client, the message from user1 is sent directly to user2.
It can be noted at this point that in IM the sending of the message is not guaranteed, so that if an IM is sent from a source to a destination there is no guarantee that it will reach the destination (although this is rare). Note as well that it may be possible to send a message to an end-user that has not logged into the IMSP server, although the behavior of this feature is server dependent (e.g., Yahoo will save a user's messages until the next time the user logs in, while some other IMSPs may not). Also, note that the message from user1 is not sent directly to user2, it is routed instead through the IMSP Server software.
That is, current IM architecture passes all IM messages through a server, which routes the message. A reply from user2 is transmitted to user1 in like manner. An IM session remains open until one of the users logs off, such as by logging off of his client. That client then signals the IMSP server of the offline status, and the server then notifies the clients of all of the online buddies of that revised status. Note that logging off of a client may be distinguished from closing a client, which may be instead only a change in presence information (e.g., active to idle).
One major limitation has been that users of one IMSP identified by one domain name could not effect IM with users of another IMSP identified by a different domain name. This is because each IMSP has its own proprietary standards on how they pack and unpack messages, standards that are not necessarily enabling of the proprietary standards of others. Some users have overcome this limitation by maintaining accounts in each IMSP in which one of their potential buddies has an account. However, this leads to users having to maintain multiple accounts with multiple login identifiers and passwords, having to maintain open clients for each IMSP a user chooses to monitor during any given session on his computer, and the inability to have an IM 'conversation' with two buddies who each use a different IMSP. For example, email@example.com could engage in IM with email@example.com, but not with firstname.lastname@example.com.
Certain IMSPs advertise an ability to facilitate IM communications between users of only specified domains that differ. For example, Odigo (Odigo is a registered trademark of Odigo, Inc.) asserts on its website (www.Odigo.org) that IM users can access two distinct IMSP's: AIM and ICQ. The specific protocol for facilitating this appears to be proprietary. However, since IM is only enabled between specified domains, it is assumed the service is facilitated by servers associated with each domain acting in concert under a contractual relation between the IMSPs.
For convention with regard to this disclosure, an IM address "username@domainname" is parsed as follows. The characters to the left of the '@' symbol are referred to as the username. The characters to the right of the '@' symbol constitute the domain name or domain, which in this convention includes the top-level domain name for simplicity. IM addresses and parts thereof will be offset herein by underlining for clarity.

Method and system for facilitating instant messaging transactions between disparate service providers


A loss prevention system containing a Bluetooth transceiver and a motion detection system monitors the presence of a portable electronic device such as a cell phone in the vicinity and alerts when that device leaves its vicinity. The system transceiver is activated upon detecting a movement and turned off after a check is done in order to conserve battery.

Portable electronic devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless email devices, instant messaging devices, pagers, portable compact disk (CD) players, and portable MP3 players, and others are often forgotten, lost or stolen.
Existing wireless device loss detection approaches focus primarily on remotely programming the lost device to prohibit the device from performing certain operations, such as prohibiting the placement of phone calls, and/or instruct the device to perform certain operations, such as displaying device owner information or erasing certain data stored in the device, in an attempt to increase the user's chances of recovering the device or protecting data stored in the device. This method does not allow users to quickly recover their lost devices.
Other methods for tracking and locating a lost cell phone consist in network triangulation and GPS interrogation. This method does not allow users to instantaneously recover their lost devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,212 by Sawinski discloses a method and apparatus for reducing the likelihood of loosing a portable electronic device by monitoring inadvertent removal of a portable electronic device from its retaining device. This method does not protect users from removing their devices from their retaining devices, then losing them or forgetting them.
There is a need for a more convenient and reliable method and apparatus for alerting users upon detecting their wireless communication devices are not in the vicinity.