Electrochemical light emitting devices are disclosed which include a composite material in contact with two electrodes. The composite material is an admixture of ionic species and an `immobile` semiconductor and a high-boiling gel-forming liquid. The presence of high-boiling gel-forming liquid improves the efficiency of the devices. The semiconductor is capable of supporting both p- and n-type carriers and having a doping profile which can be dynamically changed in a controlled fashion through reversible electrochemical oxidation and reduction. Devices having this structure may be used to generate electrochemically induced p-n junctions, thereby providing a new means of exploiting the light emitting properties of such junctions under an applied voltage. Systems and methods for generating useful levels of light employing these devices are also disclosed.

The semiconductor light emitting diode is a p-n junction specially fabricated to emit light under an applied voltage. In conventional inorganic semiconductor devices a p-n junction consists of a single crystal semiconductor formed such that part of the crystal is doped with positively charged carriers called p-type and the other part is doped with negatively charged carriers called n-type. It is a basic feature of all such junctions that their chemical composition and, hence, doping profile are static, or fixed in position in the host crystal. During operation in a device charge carriers are injected into, or removed from, the junction through electrical contacts external to the junction region. Abrupt junctions, in which the transition between the n- and p-type regions is relatively narrow, are typically fabricated by alloying a solid impurity (for example, a metal) with the semiconductor, or by one of a number of epitaxial growth techniques on crystalline semiconductor substrates; graded junctions, in which the transition region is relatively broader, are produced by diffusion or ion implantation of impurities into the host semiconductor. These technologically demanding manufacturing processes make it both difficult and expensive to fabricate large area displays. Moreover, such devices are inherently brittle and lack the mechanical and processing advantages generally associated with organic, and especially polymeric materials. For these reasons, there has been considerable interest for many years in the development of suitable organic materials for use as the active (light-emitting) components of light emitting diodes.
More recently, a number of workers have disclosed electroluminescent devices using organic materials as the active light emitting layer in sandwich architecture devices. For example, S. A. Van Slyke and C. W. Tang in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,507 disclosed a device consisting of a bilayer of two vacuum sublimed films of small organic molecules sandwiched between two contacts, while R. H. Friend et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,190 disclosed a device consisting of a thin dense polymer film comprising at least one conjugated polymer sandwiched between two contacts. Because these are electric field driven devices, the active electroluminescent layer must be very thin (about 1000 angstroms thick or less) and uniform. In these devices excess charge carriers are injected through the contacts into the light emitting semiconductor layer by processes well known in the study of metal-semiconductor interfaces see, e.g., M. A. Lampert and P. Mark, Current Injection in Solids, Academic Press, N.Y., 1970!. Dissimilar metals were used for the contacts to facilitate the injection of electrons at one contact and of holes at the other. As a result the current-voltage characteristic curves of these devices show a pronounced asymmetry with respect to the polarity of the applied voltage, like that typical of the response of diodes. Hence, the rectification ratio of such devices is high, typically greater than 10.sup.3, and light is emitted for only one polarity of the applied voltage. Among other drawbacks, the devices disclosed by S. A. Van Slyke and C. W. Tang and by Friend et al. suffer from the need to use metals of relatively low work function to inject sufficient numbers of electrons into the active layers to produce efficient light output at low drive voltages. Because such metals are readily oxidized, they are a source of device degradation in ambient conditions and require passivating packaging.
Electrochemistry provides a convenient means of reversibly doping a number of semiconductors with n- and p-type carriers. This carrier injection mechanism is physically distinct from that in the sandwich architecture electroluminescent devices disclosed by S. A. Van Slyke and C. W. Tang and by Friend et al. In particular, in the case of electrochemical doping the charge carriers generated are compensated by counter-ions from the electrolyte. However, the mobility of these carriers is often too low for practical use. This is believed to be due to the fact that in a semiconductor in contact with an electrolyte, subsequent to an electrochemical oxidation or reduction reaction, the charge carrying species generated are typically ionically bound to a counter-ion from the electrolyte. The electrochemical generation of the charge carriers therefore necessarily also involves incorporation of the compensating counter-ions within the seniconductor. The often dense morphology of many semiconductors inhibits the diffusion of the counter-ions, leading to slow doping and undoping kinetics.
Semiconducting polymers offer particular advantages as electronic materials. These materials exhibit the electrical and optical properties of semiconductors in combination with the processing advantages and mechanical properties of polymers. Inorganic crystalline devices, in contrast with many polymer materials and objects, are mechanically brittle. Semiconducting polymers can often be doped by chemical means with relative ease, and the dopant species can often diffuse into the anisotropic polymer structure at room temperature. Alternatively, the doping can often be carried out electrochemically as a redox reaction, and the doping level controlled by the applied electrochemical potential with respect to a counter-electrode. Although useful as electrodes in battery applications, electrochromic devices, and the like, such electrochemically doped materials have not been considered suitable for semiconductor device applications since the dopant species are mobile at room temperature. As a result, any doping profile (such as that needed for forming a p-n junction) is necessarily transient.
The electrochemiluminescent cell, a device for generating light using the reversible oxidation-reduction reactions of organic or metallo-organic species in an electrochemical cell, is disclosed by A. S. Bard et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,418. As in the present invention, electrochemiluminescent devices produce light by electron transfer reactions between electrogenerated species. The devices disclosed by Bard et al. rely on an organic solvent containing the electrolyte to transport the oxidized or reduced light emitting molecules themselves, rather than the charge carriers, between the electrodes. The oxidized and reduced species react with each other to form the original organic or metallo-organic species in an electronically excited state which may subsequently decay radiatively. N. Levantis and M. S. Wrighton in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,549 disclose electrochemiluminescent displays in which the electrochemiluminescent substance is dissolved in a solid electrolyte. Again, N. Levantis and M. S. Wrighton disclose that after generation of the oxidized and reduced species, said species diffuse away from their generation sources (i.e. the electrodes) and eventually meet somewhere between the electrodes. Alternatively, other workers have found that an electrochemiluminescent material can be fixed on one of the electrodes in an electrochemical cell and cyclically reduced and oxidized by an alternating potential. A direct current potential can be used only if the cell contains an additional species which serves to interact with the luminescing material in such a way as either to oxidize it at the same potential at which it is electrochemically reduced or to reduce it at the same potential at which it is electrochemically oxidized see, e.g., M. M. Richter et al., to be published in Chem. Phys. Lett. 226, 115 (1994)!. A key disadvantage of many of these electrochemiluminescent devices is the large volume of organic solvent relative to the quantity of the electrochemiluminescent material, said volume of organic solvent being a source of reactants whose electrochemical side reaction products act to quench the recombination radiation. The use of the solvent is also a disadvantage from the point of view of the fabrication and packaging of such devices. In solid electrolytes, such as polymer electrolytes, the diffusion rate of the oxidized and reduced species are substantially lower, which compromises device performance.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,043, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed an electrochemical light emitting device. That device includes a composite material in contact with two electrodes. The composite material is an admixture of ionic species and an `immobile` semiconductor. The semiconductor is capable of supporting both p- and n-type carriers and having a doping profile which can be dynamically changed in a controlled fashion through reversible electrochemical oxidation and reduction. Devices having this structure may be used to generate electrochemically induced p-n junctions, thereby providing a new means of exploiting the light emitting properties of such junctions under an applied voltage.


An RFID device. The device comprises a conductive layer formed on a first substrate. An opening line (or two or more opening lines) is formed in the conductive layer to make the conductive layer a part of an antenna structure. An integrated circuit chip is placed over at least a portion the opening line and coupled to the conductive layer. The integrated circuit chip is electrically connected to the conductive layer.

Systems for remote identification of objects are being used for many purposes, such as identifying an item or object in a warehouse, retailers, stores, dealerships, parking lots, airports, train stations and/or at any particular location. Such systems use Radio Frequency (RF) signals to communicate information between an RF reader apparatus and an RF transponder (tag) attached to the item or the object. The RF transponder includes a memory component that can store particular information, such as identification information (e.g., price, identification, serial number, product information, etc . . . ) about the object or the item. Many RFID systems operate based on a passive powering system in which the RFID reader conveys energy to the RFID transponder. The RF transponder includes an antenna to receive the energy conveyed from the RFID reader and transfer the energy to the memory component in order to facilitate the communication between the RF reader and the RF transponder. Some systems include both "read" and "write" functions; thus, the RF reader can read information previously stored in the RF transponder's memory and the RF transponder can also write new information into the memory in response to signals from the RF reader.
Each RF transponder has an individual code containing information related to and identifying the associated object/item. In a typical system, the RF reader sends an RF signal to the remote RF transponder. The antenna in the RF transponder receives the signal from the RF reader, backscatter-modulates the received signal with data temporarily or permanently stored in the RF transponder (such as data indicating the identity prices, and/or contents of the object/item to which the transponder is attached), produces a sequence of signals in accordance with the transponder's individual code, and reflects this modulated signal back to the RF reader to pass the information contained in the RF transponder to the RF reader. The RF reader decodes these signals to obtain the information from the transponder. Likewise, the transponder may decode signals received from the reader and write information to the transponder's memory.
Tagging an object or an item is an important application. Tagging an object or an item includes at least identifying, authenticating, recognizing, inventorying, checking-in, checking-out, tracking, locating, detecting and sensing the electronic device for many purposes. For instance, there have been many attempts to tag an item such as a CD or a DVD.CD, a DVD, a merchandise, or the like. Such tagging has been employing an RFID system. Attempts have been made to place an RFID transponder on the cover or jacket of the CD or the DVD item. However, current tagging technology employing RFID systems do not successfully read the items/objects 100% of the time, especially without adding complex components to the items to booster the read accuracy. Additionally, the transponder is only placed on the jacket or cover of the item such as CDs/DVDs thus allowing for possible removal or tampering of the RFID transponder and possibly removing the CDs/DVDs from actual item from the jackets or the covers. Such possible removal the actual CDs or DVDs items from the covers defeat the purpose of tagging. Most importantly, the current tagging technology employs only a short range detection (13.56 MHz) thus does not provide for a long range detection.
Merchants, sellers, buyers, surveyors, retailers, libraries, pharmacies, hospitals, and the like who distribute, sell, or otherwise require information for particular items have the need to track, tag, and/or authenticate object/items. Thus, many people and/or entities rely on such tracking and tagging systems. To name a few benefits, such tagging system reduces operation costs or needs for manpower in tracking and tagging, increases security of the items, increases efficiency in keeping a good inventory of the items on premises, and increases reliability in the authentication of such items.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag for an item having a conductive layer included or attached


A plasma processing apparatus includes: a mounting table, disposed in a processing chamber, configured to mount thereon the substrate; an inductively coupled antenna disposed outside the processing chamber to be opposite to the mounting table, the inductively coupled antenna being connected to a high frequency power supply; and a window member forming a wall of the processing chamber which faces the inductively coupled antenna. The window member includes a plurality of conductive windows made of a conductive material, and dielectric portions disposed between the conductive windows. The inductively coupled antenna is extended in a predetermined direction on the window member and electrically connected to one of the conductive windows, and electrical connection by conductors is sequentially performed from the one of the conductive windows to the other conductive windows in the same direction as an extension direction of the inductively coupled antenna.

In a plasma processing apparatus including a chamber and an ICP (inductively coupled plasma) antenna disposed outside the chamber, a ceiling portion of the chamber which faces the ICP antenna is configured as a window member (dielectric window) made of a dielectric material, e.g., quartz or the like. The ICP antenna is connected to a high frequency power supply, and magnetic force lines are generated at the ICP antenna by a high frequency current supplied to the ICP antenna. The generated magnetic force lines are transmitted through the dielectric window, thereby generating a magnetic field in the chamber along the ICP antenna. If the magnetic field is temporally changed, an induced electric field is generated. Electrons accelerated by the generated induced electric field collide with molecules or atoms of a processing gas introduced into the chamber, thereby generating a plasma. Since the induced electric field is generated along the ICP antenna, the plasma is also generated in the chamber along the ICP antenna.
Here, the dielectric window partitions the inside of the chamber which is a depressurized environment and the outside of the chamber which is an atmospheric environment, and therefore, it is required to have a thickness that ensures stiffness enough to endure the pressure difference. Further, a substrate to be subjected to plasma processing while being accommodated in the chamber, e.g., a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for use in FPD (flat panel display), is expected to be further scaled up, so that the dielectric window opposite to the substrate also needs to be scaled up. At this time, if the thickness of the dielectric window is increased to ensure stiffness required in the case of scaling up the dielectric window, the distance between the ICP antenna and the substrate is increased, which results in deterioration of efficiency. Moreover, the increase in the weight of the dielectric window leads to the increase in the apparatus weight or the increase in costs.
Accordingly, there is suggested a configuration in which a ceiling portion of a chamber is configured as a conductive window made of a material of low cost and high stiffness, e.g., metal (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-029584.) In the conductive window, the magnetic force lines are shielded by the metal, so that slits penetrating through the conductive window are provided and the magnetic force lines pass through the slits. However, the number or the size of the slits provided at the conductive window is restricted. Therefore, in the case of employing the conductive window, there occurs a problem that the transmission efficiency of the magnetic force lines deteriorates and as a result, the plasma generating efficiency deteriorates.
Meanwhile, there is suggested a configuration in which a ring-shaped conductor is disposed near an inductive antenna including an inner coil and an outer coil along the inductive antenna (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-103346.) Here, the mutual inductance is controlled at circumferential positions between the ring-shaped conductor and the induction antenna and between the ring-shaped conductor and the plasma by changing the radius of the ring-shaped conductor from the center of the apparatus and the cross-sectional shape of the ring-shaped conductor depending on the circumferential angle of the coils. Accordingly, the coil current varied depending on the circumference of the coils of the induction antenna can be compensated, and uniformity of a current on the generated plasma in the circumferential direction can be improved. With such a configuration, the deterioration of the plasma generating efficiency can be suppressed.
However, the aforementioned conventional configuration cannot sufficiently improve the plasma generating efficiency, and a higher efficiency is required.

Plasma processing apparatus, plasma generating apparatus, antenna structure and plasma generating method


A contact arrangement comprises an electrical contact element including a plate member with a contact slot configured to receive an electrically insulated conductor. The plate member has first and second plate arms extending there from that delimit the contact slot. At least one retaining element extends from a plane of the plate member configured to secure the electrical contact element in a housing. The retaining element has first and second retaining surfaces arranged at a fixed angle to each other. The fixed angle is less than 180 degrees. A housing has a contact accommodating chamber that receives the electrical contact element. The contact accommodating chamber has first and second conductor receiving openings and a wall. The retaining element engaging the wall when the electrical contact element is positioned in the contact accommodating chamber.

Electrical contact elements that are used for contacting an electrically insulated conductor are well known. For example, Tyco Electronics manufactures an electrical contact element known as MAG-MATE, which has a contact slot for contacting an electrically insulated conductor. When the electrically insulated conductor is inserted into the contact slot, the electrical insulation of the electrically insulated conductor is cut open by edges of the contact slot such that electrical contact is established between the electrically insulated conductor and the electrical contact element.
In order to ensure good electrical contact, the contact slot needs to have a width smaller than a diameter of the electrically insulated conductor after the insulation is removed. The electrical insulation can thereby be cut open when the electrically insulated conductor is inserted into the contact slot and direct contact between the electrical contact element and the electrically insulated conductor can be ensured. A disadvantage of this configuration, however, is that when the contact slot is expanded during insertion of the electrically insulated conductor, the geometry of the electrical contact element can be altered and/or compressive stresses can be created in the electrical contact element. If the electrical contact element has retaining elements with which the electrical contact element is secured inside a housing, there is therefore a danger that the engagement between the electrical contact element and the housing could be impaired through the compressive stresses and/or the alteration of the geometry of the electrical contact element.
A electrical contact element and a connector arrangement consisting of the electrical contact element and a housing is known from DE 197 43 328 A1. The electrical contact element has a substantially U-shaped insulation displacement region and a contacting region with two contacting arms, which are arranged with their edges positioned opposite each other. Each of the contact arms is constructed in two layers in a region of a contacting zone so that the edges of both layers contribute to a contacting process. The insulation displacement region comprises two insulation displacement terminals that are arranged parallel to each other and form the sides of the U-shaped insulation displacement region. The electrical contact element also has fastening devices for fastening the electrical contact element inside a contact receiving chamber of the housing. The fastening devices are arranged such that forces of the fastening devices on the housing and forces of the insulation displacement terminals on the housing run perpendicular to each other. The fastening devices are provided in a region of the insulation displacement terminals and just in front of the contacting region on both sides of the insulation displacement terminals and serve to fasten the electrical contact element inside the housing. The fastening devices are bent outwards by way of barbs from a plane of the insulation displacement terminals. To fasten the electrical contact element inside the housing, webs are provided on the housing into which the barbs of the electrical contact element engage when the electrical contact element is inserted into the contact receiving chamber of the housing.

Electrical contact element and contact arrangement


In order to prevent a situation that due to inherent variations in capability of a motor for a fan for blowing and sucking air, a motor for driving the suction transportation belt and the like, an external atmospheric pressure, and attaching of duct, the blowing force and the suction force upon the sheets become unstable, so that during suction attraction to the suction transportation belt, the sheets are not sucked parallel to the transportation direction but are sucked displaced, and therefore, a paper feeding error (jamming) results. An air blast nozzle for floating up the topmost sheet is disposed on the side to a sheet feeding cassette, and a suction transportation belt for suction attracting the topmost sheet is disposed above the sheet feeding cassette. A sheet pressing member is disposed above the sheet feeding cassette and a sheet rear end restricting plate. When the sheets have a small size which is smaller than a predetermined size, the sheet pressing member presses the topmost sheet at a rear end of the sheet from above and confines the sheet within a restricted area which is defined by the sheet rear end restricting plate and a sheet width restricting guide until the floated sheet is suction attracted to the suction transportation belt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus for use in apparatuses such as a copying machine and a printer, which sucks and feeds sheet of papers, and more particularly, to a sheet feeding apparatus in which seat floating means floats one topmost sheet separately from a stack of sheets which is contained within sheet stacking means and suction transportation means sucks and feeds the floated sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in a copying machine, a printer, etc., a sheet of paper is used as a paper on which an image is to be formed, a stack of sheets is housed in a sheet feeding cassette, and when an image is created, sheets are fed to a predetermined position for image creation one by one through a conveying path.
As a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets one by one from a sheet feeding cassette, there are an apparatus which uses sheet feeding rollers, an apparatus which uses suction feeding means, and the like.
In an apparatus which uses suction feeding means, using a fan which rotates when driven by a motor as a drive source, air is blown onto a stack of sheets in a sheet feeding cassette to float the topmost sheet, and the topmost sheet which is floated is sucked and transported on a suction transportation belt.
A prior art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 61-155139 (1986), for instance, is a technique for preventing wrinkles which are associated with scattering or excessive floating of sheets when the amount of a stack of sheets is small, in which a floating amount restricting member which moves in accordance with the amount of the stack of sheets is disposed above the stack of sheets, and the floating amount restricting member abuts a top surface of the stack of the sheets during sheet feeding so that even when the amount of the stack of sheets decreases, the floating amount restricting member stays abutting the top surface of the stack of sheets. According to the prior art, air is blown onto the stack of sheets from a side surface side downstream along a direction of transporting sheets to separate the bottom-most sheet from the rest of the stacked sheets, and the bottom-most sheet is sucked to the transportation belt and fed.
In a sheet feeding apparatus as described above in which air is blown onto the sheets to float the topmost or the bottom-most sheet and the sheet is sucked and transported by means of suction air (intake air), due to factors such as inherent variations in capability of a motor for a fan for blowing and sucking air, a motor for driving the suction transportation belt and the like, an external atmospheric pressure, and attaching of duct, the blowing force and the suction force upon the sheets become unstable, so that during suction attraction to the suction transportation belt, the sheets are not sucked parallel to the transportation direction but are sucked displaced, and therefore, a paper feeding error (jamming) can result.
This paper feeding error occurs particularly often in the case of sheets of a small size, since when the size of sheets is small, a sheet which is floated by blown air is positionally displaced.
Further, the related art which is disclosed in the publication requires to suck, float and feed the bottom-most sheet. The floating amount restricting member abuts the top surface of the stack of sheets, to prevent scattering of the sheets and creasing of the sheets due to excessive floating when the amount of laid sheets becomes small, but does not aim at preventing such a paper feeding error above which particularly occurs with feeding of sheets of a small size.


We describe a universal Ethernet telecommunications service (UETS) that combines the features of the telephone network, local area networks and the Internet in order to offer integrated broadband services by re-using the infrastructure of the telephone and electrical networks. User-network communication extends the Ethernet local network services to the infrastructure of the operator in the “Ethernet domain”, which is distinguished from the Internet “IP domain”. The access device offers packet telephone service, with power supply over the telephone pairs, which guarantees the emergency call through the exchange being provided with a battery and power control for energy saving. Terminals are also defined with a simple supervisor to support the applications used in the Internet, which communicate via the Ethernet domain with the LLC/MAC or TCP/IP protocols and via the IP domain with the TCP/IP protocols.

Ever since 1970 the search has been going on for a solution to what the International Telecommunications Union called the Integrated Services Digital Network or "ISDN", a new system, a development of the analogue or digital public switched telephone network to a single common network infrastructure in order to offer voice, data and multimedia services by way of a single interface. The work carried out by the International Consultative Committee for Telephony and Telegraphy (CCITT) gave rise to a set of Recommendations for the ISDN system, but they did not finally achieve the desired result, as the resultant network used low speed circuit technology (64000 bits per second), which was not suitable for data traffic. Subsequently, numerous attempts have been made in this respect, such as ATM, or the more recent ones based on the use of ADSL techniques, without the objective of total service integration being achieved so far.
Recently, new proposals have appeared for the integrated network, with different orientations. Some propose maintaining the classic infrastructure of digital telephone circuits, adding XDSL type accesses, fundamentally with the ADSL alternative, providing access to the Internet and IP services on an ATM switch infrastructure. This may not really be considered as an integrated network as, although all the communications are digital, the telephony goes on using the circuits technique, while the data are carried on packet networks, there actually being three network technologies: pure circuits for the telephone, virtual circuits for ATM and datagrams for IP. Another very serious problem of ATM technology is that it is based on virtual circuits (connected mode), while IP and Ethernet are based on datagrams (non-connected mode). A universal service like that proposed in this invention would not be possible with ATM, as has already been adequately shown with all the attempts that have been made since 1993 to offer local network services with ATM, being particularly illustrative what happened with LANE (LAN Emulation).
Furthermore, systems are appearing that offer access to the telecommunications network based on Ethernet technology—IEEE 802.3, but only as a connectivity service between different points of connection to the network. The typification of the Metro Ethernet Forum is illustrative of these.
The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Standardisation Committee has set up the IEEE 802.3ah (Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for subscriber access networks) working group for access to telecommunications networks based on Ethernet. This standard is of use as a base for the development of the invention being described here, as it provides the basic specifications for setting up connections with a telecommunications network over the telephone pair, a key element for taking advantage of the existing infrastructure. With 1200 million telephone lines in the world, according to a recent estimation published by Lucent Technologies, there is an enormous potential for an integrated services solution capable of using the traditional telephone access loop infrastructure.
This invention corresponds to a universal telecommunications service based on Ethernet technology, according to the specifications of the IEEE 802.3 and ISO/IEC 8802-3 standards to which there will be applied the acronym "UETS" (Universal Ethernet Telecommunications Service), which refers to the equipment and services needed for the evolution, development and implementation of a universal network of services integrated on a single interface based on the packet technique in non-connected mode, using as the logic means data exchange the formats defined in standards IEEE Std 802.3 and IEEE Std 802.2 [ISO/IEC 8802-2] and as the physical means the access infrastructure over copper pairs of the analogue or digital telephone network, the electrical network with PLC (Power Line Communications) techniques, optical fibers and wireless systems.
Standard IEEE Std 802-2001 defines the term "local area network" or LAN as a "computer network, located on a user's premises, within a limited geographical area". It also defines "802 LAN" as "a LAN consisting of an access domain using either a MAC protocol specified in one of the IEEE 802.n and ISO/IEC 8802-n Standards". This is applicable to IEEE 802.3 and ISO/IEC 8802-3, from where this invention takes the "Ethernet domain" concept.
The object of the invention is a new universal digital telecommunications service, where a clear distinction is made between the "Ethernet domain", in which the service is offered, and the "IP domain", which offers connectivity via the Internet, with the possibility of either versions 4 and 6 of the IP Internet protocol being used. One of its advantages is that it allows existing telephone pairs to be used for connecting the special Ethernet network termination devices, described in this invention, with the network resources situated in the services supplier's part. For the connection data pairs, optical fibers, wireless systems or the ones based on the electrical network like PLC (Power Line Communications) may be used, when the service or broadband needs advise it.
This invention takes advantage of the experience gained by the more mature technologies: the classic physical circuit telephone network, the virtual circuit networks (X.25, Frame Relay and ATM), the Ethernet-based local area networks, and the Internet, now used all over the world. By choosing the best of all these and combining it in an absolutely novel way, an end solution has been reached that is extraordinarily simple in its approach, efficient in its working, austere in the use of resources, environmentally friendly due to consuming the strictly necessary energy by means of the power control mechanism, and of assured operation through using well proven techniques and those in which the inventor has long practical experience. The network proposed is capable of offering all the advanced telecommunications services: voice, telephony, data, videoconference, image, real-time video, on-demand video, remote control, remote metering, network storage services, access to applications servers, transactional services, network games, tele-education, telemedicine, e-business, etc.
Ethernet-based local area networks are used today all over the world and form an unparalleled data system, hitherto confined to building and campus installations. Their advantages are evident and their wide-scale use has brought about a reduction in the costs of the network equipment, now very largely composed of switches to which the terminals are connected at speeds of 10, 100 and 1000 megabits per second. A key idea of this invention is the extension of the Ethernet local network to the telecommunications installations of the operator, who in this way is able to offer services equivalent to those currently offered in local building or campus networks, being systems of proven efficacy and of which there is a great deal of experience, so that it is possible to offer advanced high-speed services at a minimal cost per bit transmitted.
In order to be able to transport voice, data and video at the same time over Ethernet links, at least 2 megabits per second in balanced duplex mode is required, i.e. at the same speed in both transmission directions. Thus, the requirements of the International Telecommunications Union are also met, as in Recommendation I.113 of the ITU Standardisation Sector broadband is defined as a "faster transmission capacity than the primary speed of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) at 2.0 megabits per second", which represents a net speed of 1.92 megabits per second, as the ISDN primaries transport 30 channels at 64000 bits per second each. Although a minimum service is assured with that speed, it is desirable to raise it to 10 or 100 megabits per second whenever possible.
Furthermore, in order to be considered a genuine Telecommunications Service, the connection must meet certain particular conditions, taken from the classic telephone network, such as the terminal power supply via the pairs so as to guarantee the emergency call service (112 in Europe or 911 in the United States), and the terminal power control so as not to consume energy from the exchange other than when essential (the current Ethernet network devices consume energy all the time). Supposing that this were used for access to broadband networks and applying the most conservative forecasts of 200 million users in 2010, the minimum energy saving would be in the region of 14 TWh a year, equivalent to some 1400 million euros a year at the current price of electric energy.
The 2BASE-TL and 10PASS-TS modalities of the new IEEE 802.3ah standard make it possible to access the telecommunications network at 2 and 10 megabits per second over a single telephone pair, including the procedures necessary for the link operation and maintenance (OAM). To have the functions required by this invention available, it is necessary to add the functionalities that are not in the afore-mentioned IEEE 802.3ah standard: power supply over the telephone pair, power control and management for energy saving and increasing the speed up to 100 megabits per second. Power supply over the pair does not represent a problem, as this is done at the ISDN connections and when the ADSL router co-exists in the same telephone pair with the DC-powered telephone. The power control is included in the IEEE 802.11 systems, as described in point 11.2 of the standard (Power Management), it being possible to adapt this system to transmission over pairs or to use other techniques, such as those defined for ISDN systems. Chips already exist for operation at 100 megabits per second over telephone pairs, such as those made by Fujitsu Access Ltd.
The power source in the access equipment, located on the user's premises, would mean that, in the event of a power failure, the connection would be lost, which is not acceptable in a true Telecommunications Service, in which it is necessary to maintain emergency communications. In addition, power supply from the exchange is more efficient from the energy point of view than local supply, more reliable through being able to incorporate a higher level of redundancy, and to assure the service batteries are incorporated in the exchange—a classic telephone network solution.
In order to offer the basic telephone service and guarantee the emergency call service, the user's end network terminator will be supplied from the exchange and will include a telephone that may use the voice on packets (VoP) techniques with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) signalling, according to the specifications of the corresponding IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFCs. As an alternative, it would also be possible (though not recommendable) to make use of Recommendation H.323 and related International Telecommunications Union ones. The access service to the telephone network can be offered and managed by the own operator, thereby permitting the telephone number to be maintained both for incoming and outgoing calls. It would also be possible to assign a specific prefix for the data terminals wishing access to and from the telephone network, such as 050 in the case of Japan, or to use ENUM type techniques.
The Internet model resolves the concepts universal network and terminal services, with the TCP and IP protocols for interconnection, and the Internet applications use a universal presentation based fundamentally on the browser model (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.) and on the W3C specifications. The applications, for communicating over the Internet, set up connections by the association of IP addresses and IP and TCP/UDP source and destination ports. The information travels in circuit mode with TCP or in datagrams mode with UDP on the IP datagrams. The main problem of the TCP/IP protocol stack is that they correspond to layers 3 and 4 of the reference communications architecture, and they correspond to software applications, which represents a major limitation as regards efficiency, both in the hosts and in the routers. If we take as a reference the strategy used in the virtual circuit networks, we may see that when the layer 3X.25 protocol made it impossible technically speaking to increase the speed of the network connections, a change was made to layer 2 switching with Frame Relay. In the case of the Internet, it would be fundamental to adapt the applications so that instead of the IP protocol they should directly use MAC 802.3 encapsulating, which with its 6 octets of addresses has 140,737,488,355,328 possible different combinations (in local networks, with the ARP process, an IP address is associated with a MAC address). While the IP datagrams have to progress by routing procedures, the MAC 802.3 frames use very mature switching procedures proven in the field of local networks. When wishing to extend the Ethernet domain to remote premises, pure circuit techniques may be used with synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) or MPLS tunnels, which transport the MAC 802.3 frames directly. At transport layer, the TCP protocol could be substituted for internal connections in the Ethernet domain by the LLC 802.2 type 2 protocol for setting up reliable circuits and the UDP protocol by the LLC 802.2 type 1 or type 3, in accordance with the needs of the applications. For this purpose, for instance, a LSAP value not used currently could be employed for indicating that the two octets corresponding to the TCP or UDP are going next, in the MAC field local address could be used, indicated with the U/L bit fixed to 1, and transport the IP addresses in the source and destination MAC addresses field. In this way, use could be made of all the current Internet applications that go on TCP, UDP and IP within the Ethernet domain.
The set of network elements that uses the MAC/IEEE 802.3 and LLC/IEEE 802.2 link layer protocols for the connections of network users and servers constitutes the "Ethernet domain", this being limited to the infrastructure of the services supplier and isolated from other environments, in particular from the Internet IP domain. The services may be offered in the Ethernet domain, in the IP domain or by a combination of both. The owner operator of the physical network infrastructure, which connects the users with the switching exchange, may use various techniques to route the traffic to multiple suppliers of services, for example by means of VLAN techniques according to the IEEE 802.1 standard or by the use of local MAC addresses identifying every one of the suppliers. With this solution, the suppliers may offer services in the Ethernet domain both with LLC/MAC and with TCP/IP transport, in the latter case taking advantage of all the current Internet environment equipment and applications.
Another important element of the invention is the intelligent terminal, in which all the common Internet applications run on a supervisor capable of being connected to the Ethernet domain by means of the protocols described above (LLC/MAC and TCP/IP) and communicating in it with the servers, which will also have the corresponding connectivity protocols. The terminals, both clients and servers, will have TCP/IP protocol stacks for connectivity with the IP domain, and LLC/MAC for connectivity in the Ethernet domain. When accessing services in the Ethernet domain, they will use the LLC/MAC connector and VLAN techniques and when accessing the IP domain, they will use the TCP/UDP/IP connector. The Ethernet and IP domains may co-exist on the same physical infrastructure, as the terminals described have the capacity to operate on either one or the other.
One of the main problems for the widespread use of broadband services is the need to connect up to them by means of a personal computer with an operating system, a solution too complex for the majority of potential users of the service, as they do not understand its operation nor are they capable of maintaining it properly. To this are added the high cost of the system and its rapid obsolescence, which means that the investment in computer equipment has a short period of life. It is unnecessary to describe the severe problems of security due to viruses and attacks of all kinds that arrive over the Internet, in the face of which the average user feels impotent and which sooner or later end up causing him problems, or the difficulties entailed in the management of the back-up copies of the information stored in the computer. All this is a task for professionals, and a complete solution is provided to this with the terminal that is proposed in this invention. First of all, through not having an operating system, the possible attacks from the network are minimised through being connected to the Ethernet domain controlled by the service supplier, which represents a protected area. As the local network is extended to the service supplier, he will be the one to install and maintain the different servers: applications, data, e-mail, names and addresses, audio, video, etc. With this system, we resolve the problem of software licenses, as the user pays for the service and the supplier takes care of paying for the respective licenses. Something similar happens in the case of audio and video, as the users will pay for the number of accesses to the contents. With these new services, the telecommunications operators may offset the loss of revenue they have been experiencing because of the telephone bill, due in a large extent to the expansion in the use of voice on packets.
If the end user so wishes, he will be able to have servers at his installation, the traffic of these being restricted to his segment of network, through being connected to the services supplier with a device that filters the traffic to the access network. This would be applicable from a small domestic network right up to a super-computer with thousands of parallel processors.
Through having to initiate only a small-sized program, the starting of the terminal is practically immediate. In case of problems, you only have to switch off and on, as the browser program and the file handler are in a non-volatile memory. For the extreme case of an irreparable failure occurring in these programs, the terminal will be endowed with the mechanisms needed to carry out an initial loading from the applications servers of the services supplier, who will also be the one responsible for installing the corresponding updates. A solution could be that every time the terminal is started, a connection is set up with the applications server, which will send it the necessary updates or the complete program if so requested by the user.

Universal ethernet telecommunications service


The media disc package is a container for holding a media disc, a media disc with fine prints on top, and a magnifier formed of a transparent plastic material with a bar shape, a length of at least 4 inches, and a width of at least ½ inch.

Media disc have been very popular in recent years. The most widely used media discs are the music CD's and the video DVD's. The media discs are normally laser engraved plastic disc that have a dimension of not larger than 5 inches in diameter. On the media disc, it is desirable to provide the purchasing consumer sufficient information in order to market the product and make it attractive for purchase. One of such important information would be the title, the artist, and otherwise the content of the media disc. For instance, for a music CD disc, the name of the artist, the production company, and the title of the various music pieces would be shown on the disc in order to attract buyers. Due to the small size of the disc, the printed message must be in a small print format and are sometimes difficult to read without a magnifying glass. It is therefore desirable to provide each media disc package with a magnifier attachment such that a person would not need to find a magnifier to read the printing on the disc.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a media disc package that does not have the drawbacks or shortcomings of the conventional media disc packages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a media disc package that has a magnifier attachment.

Media disc package with magnifier attachment


A sales prediction system predicts sales from online public discussions. The system utilizes manually or automatically formulated predicates to capture subsets of postings in online public discussions. The system predicts spikes in sales rank based on online chatter. The system comprises automated algorithms that predict spikes in sales rank given a time series of counts of online discussions such as blog postings. The system utilizes a stateless model of customer behavior based on a series of states of excitation that are increasingly likely to lead to a purchase decision. The stateless model of customer behavior yields a predictor of sales rank spikes that is significantly more accurate than conventional techniques operating on sales rank data alone.

The World Wide Web represents a global, timely, and largely unregulated touchstone of popular opinion, which many believe may be exploited for early insights into new trends and opinions. Areas proposed for such analysis comprise the outcome of political elections, the emergence of the next big musical group/toy/consumer electronic device, and the pulse of the global economy. Yet, despite widely touted opinions that marketing will soon be a small branch of machine learning, there has been little work formally demonstrating connections between online content and customer behavior such as purchase decisions.
Predicting sales from indicators is an important problem in marketing and business. The very concept of creating a new product is predicated on the assumption (or rather, prediction) that someone will eventually purchase it. The same can be said for pricing, inventory planning, production capacity planning, store placement and layout, etc.
One conventional technology for predicting sales from indicators analyzes the nature of sales spikes in amazon.com sales rank data. This approach shows that two distinct types of peaks may be identified by their growth and relaxation patterns, and this approach ties these two spike types to endogenous and exogenous events. However, this approach only addresses sales rank data to determine spikes in sales.
Another conventional approach to predicting sales from online postings predicts box office proceeds of movies from opinions posted to net news. This approach utilizes the power of Internet discussion in understanding customer views of a product or brand. Yet another conventional approach examines community-created metadata on music artists, using "buzz" or discussion on blogs to predict record sales.
Although these technologies have proven to be useful, it would be desirable to present additional improvements. Conventional approaches have not addressed the use of online public discussion to predict sales of products. An increasing fraction of the global discourse is migrating online in the form of weblogs, bulletin boards, web pages, wikis, editorials, in addition to new collaborative technologies. This migration has now proceeded to the point that topics reflecting certain individual products are sufficiently popular to allow targeted online tracking of the ebb and flow of "chatter" or postings in online discussions around these topics.
What is therefore needed is a system, a service, a computer program product, and an associated method for predicting sales from online public discussions. The need for such a solution has heretofore remained unsatisfied.

Method and computer program product for predicting sales from online public discussions

International Business Machines Corporation


A pin having a head and a plurality of legs extending from that head, and a bushing having a flange and a shank extending from that flange, are comprised. In the flange, holes for accepting a plurality of legs are provided in a plurality corresponding to the number of legs, and in the shank, corresponding spaces for accepting each of the legs which have passed through the holes are provided in a plurality corresponding to the number of legs. The cross-section of the shank is polygonal, spaces are disposed on the surfaces of the shank capable of forming that polygon, and elastic latching pieces extending outward in lateral directions are provided at positions adjacent to the flange in a plurality corresponding to the spaces. By inserting the legs into the spaces, the elastic latching pieces are prevented from being displaced in directions whereby they would approach the spaces.

Examples of the configurations and uses of conventional anchors shall now be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12. These drawings correspond to the drawings disclosed in TOKKAI [Unexamined Patent Application] No. 2008-20006 (Gazette).
FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of an attaching member and a member being attached to that can be connected by anchors 1. A curtain shield air bag 2 as an example of an attaching member and an automobile body panel 5 as an example of a member being attached to are represented, respectively. The curtain shield air bag 2 has a main air bag body and attachment parts 3 for supporting the main air bag body. By using the anchor 1 to secure the attachment parts 3 at a plurality of positions above the door window from the front toward the rear inside an automobile, the main air bag body can be installed in a prescribed position on the body panel 5 of the automobile. The main air bag body is usually deployed in a folded-up condition above the door window, whereupon, in the event of a automobile collision or the like, the bag is deployed very rapidly by a gas expelled from a compressed gas source 80 in the direction of the arrows "A" in the figure, for example, and is capable of protecting the side of the head, or the like, of a passenger. FIG. 8 in particular represents the condition of the main air bag body after it has been deployed.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged diagram of the situation just before the anchor 1 diagrammed in FIG. 8 is provisionally latched to the body panel 5. The anchor 1 comprises two components, namely a pin (male member) 6 and a bushing (female member) 7. For provisional latching, with these components in the provisionally connected condition, the shank 88 of the bushing 7 is inserted, first into an attachment hole 83 in the attachment part 3 and then into an attachment hole 85 in the body panel 5. During insertion, elastic latching pieces 89 flex inward in lateral directions in a space 84 provided in the shank 88 and then, after passing through the attachment hole 83, are restored to the condition whereby they are extended outward in lateral directions. As a consequence, latching shoulders 82 of the elastic latching pieces 89 engage the back surface of the attachment part 3, the attachment part 3 is clamped between a flange 87 and the elastic latching pieces 89, and provisional attachment is effected to the attachment part 3. Furthermore, although this is discretionary, a spacer 86 having an elastic action may be provided between the attachment part 3 and the body panel 5. The shank 88 portion is passed through an attachment hole 97 in the spacer 86 in like manner as through the attachment hole 83 in the attachment part 3 in the spacer 86 are provided elastic latching pieces 95 that can elastically deform between the attachment part 3 and the body panel 5, whereby "wobble" between the attachment part 3 and the body panel 5 can be eliminated and the attachment stabilized. By selecting the thickness of the spacer 86, the thickness between the attachment part 3 and the body panel 5 can be suitably adjusted.
In FIGS. 10 and 11, the fully latched condition of the anchor 1 is diagrammed. FIG. 10 is a front elevation of the fully latched anchor, while FIG. 11 is a section thereof at line A-A in FIG. 10. By placing a finger on a head 99 provided between a pair of upright walls 81 and pressing the pin 6 into the bushing 7, for example, the provisionally latched anchor 1 can easily be fully latched. In the fully latched condition, the shank 88 of the bushing 7 passes through the attachment hole 85 of the body panel 5, and four elastic latching pieces 89 provided at the outer corners of the shank 88, respectively, extend out toward opposite-angle directions on the back side of the body panel 5 and hook firmly on the four inner corners of the hole. The head 99 of the pin 6, furthermore, is adjacent to the flange 8 of the bushing 7, (a) latching projection(s) 96 is/are latched in (a) latching edge(s) 98 of a hole in the flange 87, the legs 90 of the pin 6 are adequately inserted into the space 84 in the bushing 7 and impact against the elastic latching pieces 89 corresponding thereto inside the space 84, and the elastic latching pieces 89 are prevented from flexing to the inside of the shank 88. In this fully latched condition, the latching shoulder 82 portions of the elastic latching pieces 89 are definitely prevented from flexing inside the space 84, whereupon the anchor 1 can connect the attachment part 3 to the body panel 5 (member being attached to) with high securing strength.
In TOKKAI 2005-047325 (Gazette) also, another conventional example, an anchor similar to the one described above is disclosed, except that here, only two elastic latching pieces 65 and 66 are used, and furthermore, in the shank, only two elastic latching pieces which elastically protrude outwardly at positions adjacent to the flange and when the shank has been inserted into the attachment holes of the curtain shield air bag that is the attaching member and of the body panel, these two elastic latching pieces are shaped such that the two members are clamped between the flange and the elastic latching pieces. When the legs have been satisfactorily inserted into the space, however, the elastic latching pieces are prevented from toppling over inward in lateral directions, whereupon the clamping of the two members by the flange and the elastic latching pieces is maintained and so forth, which points are the same as in the conventional example cited earlier.
Patent Literature 1: TOKKAI No. 2008-20006 (Gazette)
Patent Literature 2: TOKKAI No. 2005-047325 (Gazette)
The anchor disclosed in TOKKAI No. 2008-20006 (Gazette) and the like is superior insofar as greater strength (high holding force) can be realized, but because the structure thereof is such that the four elastic latching pieces 89 which extended outwardly at opposing angles are hooked firmly at the four inner corners of the hole, when inserted into the attachment hole 85 of the body panel 5, a comparatively large force is required. Conversely, with the conventional configuration disclosed in TOKKAI No. 2005-047325 (Gazette), because only two elastic latching pieces are used while no large force is required, adequate strength is not obtained, which is a problem.
An object of the present invention, which was devised for the purpose of solving the problems in the prior art, is to provide an anchor that can be attached with a comparatively small force in fastenings requiring high strength (high holding force).


Biaxially oriented polyester films which have at least one polyester-containing base layer (B) and at least one matt overlayer (A), the overlayer (A) comprising particles, preferably SiO2, which have a median diameter of from 2 to 10 μm and have a SPAN98 of ≦2, and the overlayer (A) comprising a polyester which has isophthalic acid units, feature in particular low opacity, high transparency, low gloss of the overlayer (A) and high processing reliability, and are therefore suitable as flexible packaging films even for use on high-speed packaging machinery.

The packaging industry has a high demand for transparent, highly glossy plastics films, for example biaxially oriented polypropylene or biaxially oriented polyester films. In addition, there is to an increasing degree a demand for those transparent films in which at least one surface layer is not highly glossy, but rather features a characteristic matt appearance and thus, for example, confers on the packaging a particularly attractive and therefore commercially effective appearance.
Typical applications for polyester films having at least one matt surface are outer packagings for coffee, tea, soups or of selected drugstore items. In addition to the commercially effective appearance, the matt side of the film renders the surface nonreflective.
EP-A-0 347 646 describes a biaxially oriented polyester film which has at least one overlayer A which contains a filler in a concentration of from 0.5 to 50%, in which the diameter of this filler is in a certain ratio to the layer thickness of the overlayer A. In addition, the overlayer A has a certain thickness and a certain degree of crystallization which is determined with the aid of Raman spectroscopy. As a consequence of the topography of the overlayer A, the film is especially suitable for magnetic recording tapes. The document gives no information about the gloss of the overlayer A achieved. A film produced according to EP-A-0 347 646 (Example 1) did not have the desired matt surface.
EP-A-0 053 498 describes a multilayer, biaxially oriented polyester film which has a transparent base layer (B) and a further layer (A) having a matt appearance and applied to at least one side of this layer. This layer having a matt appearance consists substantially of a polyethylene terephthalate copolyester which containsH(—OCH2CH2—)nOH orH(—OCH2—CH2—)n-1O—C6H4—O—(CH2—CH2O—)n-1H orH(—OCH2—CH2—)n-1O—C6H4—X—C6H4—O—(CH2—CH2O—)n-1H units(n is an integer from 2 to 140, X is —CH2—, —C(CH3)2— or —SO2—) and inert inorganic particles having an average diameter of from 0.3 to 20 μm in a concentration of from 3 to 40%, based on the layer having a matt appearance. The film features a high degree of mattness (gloss less than 15) and a transparency which is still acceptable for certain applications (greater than 60%). A disadvantage of this film is that it is not printable in the case of an ABA structure and cannot be processed, especially on high-speed machines, in the case of an AB structure. Moreover, it is too opaque for many applications and has deficiencies in the production.
The prior art likewise discloses matt, biaxially oriented polyester films having a milky appearance.
DE-A-23 53 347 describes a process for preparing a single-layer or multilayer, milky polyester film, which comprises forming a loosely blended mixture of particles of a linear polyester with from 3 to 27% by weight of a homopolymer or copolymer of ethylene or propylene, extruding the blend as a film, quenching and biaxially orienting the film by stretching it in mutually perpendicular directions, and heat setting the film. A disadvantage of the process is that the regrind (substantially a mixture of polyester raw material and ethylene or propylene copolymer) which occurs in the production of the film can no longer be reused in the film production, since the film otherwise becomes yellow. This makes the process uneconomic and the yellowish film produced with regrind was not able to become established on the market. When the concentration of the copolymer in the polyester is increased, the film generally loses its milky character and becomes white with high opacity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,461 claims a biaxially oriented film of a thermoplastic (for example polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene), said film having a matt surface and containing incompressible particles (for example calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide) in a size of from 0.3 to 20 μm and in a concentration of from 1 to 25%. However, this film is too opaque for many applications.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a biaxially oriented polyester film which is matt on at least one side and does not have the disadvantages of the prior art films mentioned, and features in particular a high degree of mattness with simultaneously low opacity, in particular low volume opacity, and good transparency, very good producibility and very good processibility. In addition, it should be ensured that the film can also be processed on high-speed processing machines. In the production of the film, it should also be ensured that it is possible to recycle the offcut material occurring in the course of film production back to the production process as regrind, without the physical and optical properties of the film being significantly adversely affected.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Biaxially oriented polyester film which is matt on one side, process for its production and its use


A system and method that, upon connection of a trailer to a tow vehicle, recognizes the trailer and applies a stored trailer configuration in a controller. In one embodiment, tire pressure sensors transmit RF signals that are received by the tire pressure monitoring system. Transmissions from the sensors are decoded in a controller and processed to identify, or create a particular trailer configuration as well as implement tire pressure monitoring automatically calibrated to the particular trailer configuration based on the sensor identifications for the tire pressure sensors. In another embodiment, the trailer configuration includes a pulse width modulated gain control for the trailer brakes.

Various types of pressure sensing systems for monitoring the pressure within the tires of an automotive vehicle or a trailer have been proposed. Such systems generate a pressure signal using an electromagnetic signal, which is transmitted to a receiver. The pressure signal corresponds to the pressure within the tire. When the pressure drops below a predetermined pressure, an indicator is used to signal the vehicle operator of the low pressure.
Sport utility vehicles and other large vehicles are often used to pull a trailer, and it is not uncommon for a vehicle owner to have more than one trailer. Even with one trailer, it is desirable to monitor the condition of the trailer tires as well as the primary vehicle tires for maintenance purposes. A drawback associated with known methods for identifying and tracking trailer information is that driver intervention is required in order to properly configure the system. The driver is required to calibrate an RF receiver with the associated sensors mounted in the tires of the trailer.
It is commonplace for a vehicle to tow several different trailers and there is a need for a method of identifying a trailer that has been attached to the vehicle without driver intervention. Upon identification of the trailer that has been attached to the vehicle, a stored trailer configuration may be selected from the trailer brake controller which will allow the trailer brake controller to track statistics related to the trailer and also apply a customized, or automated gain setting for the identified trailer.


The present invention relates to aryl- or heteroaryl-substituted benzene compounds. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and methods of treating cancer by administering these compounds and pharmaceutical compositions to subjects in need thereof. The present invention also relates to the use of such compounds for research or other non-therapeutic purposes.

In eukaryotic cells DNA is packaged with histones to form chromatin. Changes in the ordered structure of chromatin can lead to alterations in transcription of associated genes. Control of changes in chromatin structure (and hence of transcription) is mediated by covalent modifications to histones, most notably of their N-terminal tails. These modifications are often referred to as epigenetic because they can lead to heritable changes in gene expression, but do not affect the sequence of the DNA itself. Covalent modifications (for example, methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination) of the side chains of amino acids are enzymatically mediated. The selective addition of methyl groups to specific amino acid sites on histones is controlled by the action of a unique family of enzymes known as histone methyltransferases (HMTs).
The orchestrated collection of biochemical systems behind transcriptional regulation must be tightly controlled in order for cell growth and differentiation to proceed optimally. Disease states result when these controls are disrupted by aberrant expression and/or activity of the enzymes responsible for DNA and histone modification. In human cancers, for example, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that dysregulated epigenetic enzyme activity contributes to the uncontrolled cell proliferation associated with cancer as well as other cancer-relevant phenotypes such as enhanced cell migration and invasion. Beyond cancer, there is growing evidence for a role of epigenetic enzymes in a number of other human diseases, including metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), inflammatory diseases (such as Crohn's disease), neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease) and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, selectively modulating the aberrant action of epigenetic enzymes may hold promise for the treatment of a range of diseases.
Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax group (trxG) proteins are known to be part of the cellular memory system. See, e.g., Francis et al. (2001) Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2:409-21 and Simon et al. (2002) Curr Opin Genet Dev 12:210-8. In general, PcG proteins are transcriptional repressors that maintain the "off state," and trxG proteins are transcriptional activators that maintain the "on state." Because members of PcG and trxG proteins contain intrinsic histone methyltransferase (HMTase) activity, PcG and trxG proteins may participate in cellular memory through methylation of core histones. See, e.g., Beisel et al. (2002) Nature 419:857-62; Cao et al. (2002) Science 298:1039-43; Czermin et al. (2002) Cell 111:185-96; Kuzmichev et al. (2002) Genes Dev 16:2893-905; Milne et al. (2002) Mol Cell 10:1107-17; Muller et al. (2002) Cell 111:197-208; and Nakamura et al. (2002) Mol Cell 10:1119-28.
Biochemical and genetic studies have provided evidence that Drosophila PcG proteins function in at least two distinct protein complexes, the Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and the ESC-E(Z) complex (also known as Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)). Otte et al. (2003) Curr Opin Genet Dev 13:448-54. Studies in Drosophila have demonstrated that the ESC-E(Z)/EED-EZH2 (i.e., PRC2) complexes have intrinsic histone methyltransferase activity. Although the compositions of the complexes isolated by different groups are slightly different, they generally contain EED, EZH2, SUZ12, and RbAp48 or Drosophila homologs thereof. However, a reconstituted complex comprising only EED, EZH2, and SUZ12 retains histone methyltransferase activity for lysine 27 of histone H3. U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,589.
Of the various proteins making up PRC2 complexes, EZH2 (Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2) is the catalytic subunit. The catalytic site of EZH2 in turn is present within a SET domain, a highly conserved sequence motif (named after Su(var)3-9, Enhancer of Zeste, Trithorax) that is found in several chromatin-associated proteins, including members of both the Trithorax group and Polycomb group. SET domain is characteristic of all known histone lysine methyltransferases except the H3-K79 methyltransferase DOT1.
In addition to Hox gene silencing, PRC2-mediated histone H3-K27 methylation has been shown to participate in X-inactivation. Plath et al. (2003) Science 300:131-5; Silva et al. (2003) Dev Cell 4:481-95. Recruitment of the PRC2 complex to Xi and subsequent trimethylation on histone H3-K27 occurs during the initiation stage of X-inactivation and is dependent on Xist RNA. Furthermore, EZH2 and its associated histone H3-K27 methyltransferase activity were found to mark differentially the pluripotent epiblast cells and the differentiated trophectoderm, and consistent with a role of EZH2 in maintaining the epigenetic modification patterns of pluripotent epiblast cells, Cre-mediated deletion of EZH2 results in loss of histone H3-K27 methylation in the cells. Erhardt et al. (2003) Development 130:4235-48). Further, studies in prostate and breast cancer cell lines and tissues have revealed a strong correlation between the levels of EZH2 and SUZ12 and the invasiveness of these cancers, indicating that dysfunction of the PRC2 complex may contribute to cancer. Bracken et al. (2003) EMBO J 22:5323-35; Kirmizis et al. (2003) Mol Cancer Ther 2:113-21; Kleer et al. (2003) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:11606-11; Varambally et al. (2002) Nature 419:624-9.
Recently, somatic mutations of tyrosine 641 (Y641C, Y641F, Y641N, Y641S and Y641H, sometimes also referred to as Y646C, Y646F, Y646N, Y646S and Y646H, respectively) of EZH2 were reported to be associated with follicular lymphoma (FL) and the germinal center B cell-like (GCB) subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Morin et al. (2010) Nat Genet 42:181-5. In all cases, occurrence of the mutant EZH2 gene was found to be heterozygous, and expression of both wild-type and mutant alleles was detected in the mutant samples profiled by transcriptome sequencing. It was also demonstrated that all of the mutant forms of EZH2 could be incorporated into the multi-protein PRC2 complex, but that the resulting complexes lacked the ability to catalyze methylation of the H3-K27 equivalent residue of a peptidic substrate. Hence, it was concluded that the disease-associated changes at Tyr641 of EZH2 resulted in loss of function with respect to EZH2-catalyzed H3-K27 methylation.

Aryl- or heteroaryl-substituted benzene compounds


The invention relates to a new method of texturing silicon surfaces suited for antireflection based on ion implantation of hydrogen and heavy ions or heavy elements combined with thermal annealing or thermal annealing and oxidation. The addition of the heavy ions or heavy elements allows for a more effective anti-reflective surface than is found when only hydrogen implantation is utilized. The methods used are also time- and cost-effective, as they can utilize already existing semiconductor ion implantation fabrication equipment and reduce the number of necessary steps. The antireflective surfaces are useful for silicon-based solar cells.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to textured crystalline silicon surfaces and methods of producing them. More particularly, the present invention relates to textured crystalline solar cells and methods of their fabrication.
2. Background Information
A critical step toward an enhanced efficiency in sunlight-to-electricity conversion through photovoltaic action is to minimize the reflection of sunlight from the surface of solar devices. This is of particular importance for solar cells based on silicon [Si] crystals, the dominant material in today's photovoltaic market. Si has a high refractive index, causing the reflection of more than 35% of infrared-to-ultraviolet light from a polished Si surface. There are two major approaches to achieving antireflection of Si solar cells. Most commercial cells are coated with quarter-wavelength thin films, but these quarter-wavelength thin film stacks reduce light reflection only for a narrow range of wavelengths and incident angles. Better performance has been achieved with a higher level of sophistication in thin film deposition and materials processing, as exemplified by a multilayer graded-index antireflection coating. A generally less sophisticated method for enhancing light trapping in solar cells relies on the formation of textured surface structures. Anisotropic wet chemical etching to form pyramids in crystalline silicon is a commonly used method for surface texturing, but it cannot be extended for thin film solar cells due to large dimensions of the created textures. Recent work has shown that the creation of surface structure arrays in the form of inverted pyramids or protruding columns, with sizes comparable of sunlight wavelengths and depths of a few microns, can result in a low reflectivity (<5%) over a broad spectral range. However, the fabrication of such surface texture structures requires multiple materials processing steps involving lithography, masking, thin film deposition and anisotropic etching of Si with chemical solutions, reactive ions and even femtosecond lasers, which are neither adequate for large-volume production nor economically viable.
The high production cost and the low manufacturing capacity in the fabrication of Si solar cells remain the obstacle to their terrestrial applications. Thus, a need exists for a cost-effective method of increasing the efficiency of solar devices.

Fabrication of surface textures by ion implantation for antireflection of silicon crystals

The Research Foundation of State University of New York


Provided is an image forming system including a case that accommodates an ink accommodating body which accommodates ink, a connection tube through which ink within the ink accommodating body can be supplied, and an image forming apparatus that has an ink jet printer that can eject the ink supplied through the connection tube and a reading apparatus which a reading surface on which an original copy G that is arranged on the ink jet printer is read. Then, the case is arranged beside the image forming apparatus in such a manner that an upper surface of the case is matched with the reading surface in terms of height.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming system.
2. Related Art
In the related art, an image forming apparatus has been known that includes a reading unit that reads an original copy (a medium), and a recording unit that records on a sheet of paper an image that is read in the reading unit (for example, refer to JP-A-2005-191929). In the image forming apparatus, the corresponding original copy normally is read by the reading unit in a state where the original copy is placed on the reading surface.
Incidentally, in the image forming apparatus described above, because the original copy protrudes from the reading surface in a case where the original copy is larger in size than the reading surface is read, there is a problem in that the part of the original copy, which protrudes from the reading surface, cannot be supported at all.


A Shoulder Protector Guard harness having a appearance as suspenders with attached shoulder pads to protect each shoulder of a wearer from bruises, lacerations and other injuries caused by heavy construction materials. Each pad is held in place by a vertical suspender strap at its front and back. The vertical straps attach to the wearer's belt or pants with clamps to hold the shoulder protector in place. A horizontal center strap attached to each vertical strap holds each vertical strap in place thereby assisting the secure placement of the shoulder pads on the shoulders of the wearer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to upper body safety protective devices and protector garments. The invention of the Shoulder Guard Harness is for use by the modern day construction worker. Specifically this safety device is intended for use by Re-inforcing rebar steel workers (A.K.A.- Rodbusters), Ironworkers, Carpenters, Laborers, Carpenters helpers, Warehousemen and others, who while engaged in their work activity, transport building material, lumber stocks, rigid steel products and other heavy related objects which would bear directly on the shoulder region between the neck and the deltoid.
The Shoulder Guard Harness is comprised of two identically shaped insulator protector pads which are contoured to fit around either side of the neck resting atop the shoulder, as such with sufficient surface area to cover the weight bearing region of the shoulder. Additionally, the insulator protector pads are indirectly attached to a body harness which can be adjusted to fit a full scope of body sizes, as such the insulator protector pads freely conform to the individual wearer and their body contour. The body type harness is a fully adjustable unit that is comprised of nylon type webbing, elastomeric fabric, hook and loop fasteners, leather and rigid type hardware all of which are embodied and arranged to resemble and function similar to a suspender configuration. The harness can be attached to any craft tool holder belt, trouser belt, safety belt and/or other safety gear adapted to fit around the wearer's waist.
The Shoulder Guard Harness as its main function acts as an accessory utility safety device to act as a weight distributor and/or to insulate the wearer from heat and cold transfer from objects carried on the shoulders that in the past have been unprotected from such exposure. Further, to guard the shoulder from exposure and contact abrading, chafing and muscle irritations imposed when heavy objects or loads are borne by the user in a continuous and repetitive manner. The use of the Shoulder Guard Harness will comfortize and make the transport of the aforementioned products less stressful on the modern day construction worker.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In retrospect, body protectors and body protector devices indeed have a long history in the prior art. And so acknowledged are examples of body protectors and devices which are described and shown in the following United States Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 745,007, to Gamble; U.S. Pat. No. 1,241,025 to Sagerstrom; U.S. Pat. No. 2,014,991 to Synder; U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,377 to Biggs, Jr. et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,801 to Kavanagh et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,789 to Dorm; U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,868 to Christopher; U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,115; U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,488 to Schick, Sr. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,813 to Glaeser. However, it is to be noted that the substantial number of the prior art body protective devices are not designed for or accommodate the related problems encountered by the modern day construction trade occupations referred to above, but rather are specifically designed for use by or related to problems encountered by athletes involved in contact sports, as fire arm recoil protectors, reflective shoulder straps, moisture shields, weight transfer devices, spinal support devices and body injury restraint harnesses. As such the prior art body protectors and garments do not facilitate or address the problems or the functional requirements of movement encountered by the aforementioned modern day occupational trades discussed in the Field of Invention herein.
Further, it is to be so noted that others of the prior art protective devices referred to above, while they are related to a specific use for occupations engaged in shoulder support of receptacles and alike rigid containers in the scope of refuse workers do not encompass the problems encountered by the modern construction workers of today. The configuration of the prior art noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,813 is clearly not an adaptable accessory utility for the tool holder belts and alike safety equipment being worn per OSHA standards for the occupations referred to above in the Field of the Invention.
Yet further, it is to be noted that others in the prior art body protector devices referred to above, while they are related to occupations of similar type discussed in the Field of Invention, are related to occupational problems encountered by workers in a much earlier time in history, as such at the time standards of safety and production performance were much less and slower in contrast to the fast pace and high production performance and safety standards set for the industry in present day.
Still further, it is to be noted that others in prior art body protector devices referred to above, do not directly address the problems encountered by the occupations discussed in the Field of Invention and are not specifically designed for or are an acceptable adaptation to the tool belt holders, safety belts and alike equipment as required by OSHA standards for the day in the industry.
Furthermore, it is to be noted that others in the prior art body protective devices referred to above, do not address the problems encountered by modern construction workers when engaged in the transport of building materials which have been exposed to radiant sunlight and cold extremes. As such, these exposed materials can reach temperatures in excess of 200 degrees F. when exposed steel and iron rebar lay in the sun and are transported by the unprotected shoulder, the resultants range from skin burns, epidermal infections, recurring muscle tumors, calloused skin, blood vessel and capillary breakage, soreness, frostbite and over all damage to their clothing. In addition no evidence is made to claim of the prior art in reference to the insulation of heat and cold transfer as a result of the transporting of the aforementioned building materials and alike objects to the body contact point on the shoulder.
Still, it is to be noted that the prior art body protectors and devices in some cases call out for claims that describe their garments as to be used for cushion to carry loads upon the shoulder and that such devices in the prior art discussions make no claim of their device for use as a tool belt accessory. As such, these devices are not adaptable or would be considered as useful in their present form for utilization by the trades. And in as much of the prior art body protector devices referred to above, it is to be noted that the present invention superceeds all previous claims as a Shoulder Guard Harness specifically engineered and developed for the needs and problems encountered by the modern day construction worker and related occupational industry.


A life safety device includes a smoke sensor and a carbon monoxide (CO) sensor. Smoke sensitivity of the device is adaptively adjusted based upon the smoke sensor signal and the CO sensor signal.

This invention relates to life safety devices that include both a carbon monoxide (CO) sensor and a smoke sensor. In particular, the invention relates to improvements that enhance detection of fires and help to eliminate false alarms.
Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and units that combine both smoke detection and carbon monoxide detection have found widespread use in residences and in commercial buildings. Smoke detectors provide early warning of fires, while carbon monoxide detectors can warn occupants of the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide that may be produced, for example, by a malfunctioning heating system, a wood burning stove or a fireplace.
Two types of smoke sensors are in common use: ionization smoke sensors and photoelectric smoke sensors. Ionization smoke sensors typically work better in detecting fast flaming fires, while photoelectric smoke sensors alarm more quickly to slow smoldering fires. Increasing the alarm threshold of an ionization smoke sensor can yield better sensitivity to slow smoldering fires, but the increased sensitivity tends to result in more false alarms.
There are some conditions under which a smoke detector can generate an alarm when no fire exists. Common examples of these types of false alarms are alarms triggered by cooking particles or smoke generated during the cooking of food. Another example is a false alarm triggered by shower steam that reaches a smoke detector. Alarms generated under these conditions are a nuisance and can also result in alarms being given less attention than they deserve when a real fire occurs.


The invention relates to an automobile floor (1) that comprises two rails (2) symmetrically arranged relative to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, each rail (2) including two metal sheets (3) having a U section and superimposed in order to define a hollow body, one of the metal sheets (3) having a U section extending under the floor (1) while the other metal sheet extends above the floor (1), the ends of the side flanges of each of the metal sheets (3) having a U section being welded to the metal sheet of the floor (1), and each rail (2) including a bent area (2a), characterised in that the upper base (3a) of the U section of the metal sheet (3) extending above the floor (1) includes, in the bent area (2a) and solely in said bent area (2a), at least one reinforcement rib (5) obtained by folding said metal sheet (3).

The invention relates to a motor vehicle floor comprising two rails arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
In known constructions, each rail consists of two U-section plates superposed to form a hollow body, one of the U-section plates being beneath the floor and the other plate being above the floor and the edges of the lateral flanges of each of the U-section plates being welded to the plate of the floor, each rail comprising a bent region.
This bent region is usually situated at the front of the rail in the upwardly curved intermediate region between the floor and the bulkhead of the vehicle.
This region experiences high stresses particularly in a front impact of the vehicle.
To enable the rails to withstand the stresses, one known solution is to use a relatively large plate thickness for the two U-section plates.
This solution however, has the disadvantage of increasing the mass and cost of the rails and therefore of the vehicle.

Motor vehicle floor comprising locally reinforced rails


An imaging apparatus having a function of detecting a face from an image signal on which a focusing frame is superimposed is configured so that a face selected to be a main object can continue being selected to be a main object even if a focusing frame is displayed as superimposed on the face. A central processing unit moves a position of a focusing frame to be displayed by a display unit to a position corresponding to a detected object if a ratio of a size of the detected object to a size of the focusing frame displayed on the display unit is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and does not move the position of the focusing frame to be displayed by the display unit to a position corresponding to the detected object if the ratio is less than the threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an imaging apparatus having an object detection function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-96963 discusses a video camera system that includes a configuration for detecting a person's face from a captured video image and a configuration for tracking a predetermined object included in the video image by using pattern matching.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-5110 discusses a single-lens reflex camera that includes a second image sensor in addition to an image sensor intended for image capturing. Light transmitted through a focusing screen for an object image to be formed on and a display unit for displaying a selected focusing frame is incident on the second image sensor. In the single-lens reflex camera discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-5110, the second image sensor generates a video signal and the acquired video signal can be processed to track a predetermined object.
The foregoing techniques can be combined into the configuration that includes a second image sensor on which light transmitted through a focusing screen and a display unit for displaying a focusing frame is incident, and that detects a person's face from a video signal obtained by the second image sensor.
Since the light incident on the second image sensor has been transmitted through the display unit for displaying a focusing frame, the video image obtained from the second image sensor also includes a display of a selected focusing frame. If the focusing frame overlaps a person's face, the face is partially hidden and may become incapable of precise detection.
FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a problem that occurs when a displayed focusing frame hides a part of a face. The camera can detect the faces of the two persons by using a video signal obtained from the second image sensor in a phase where no focusing frame is displayed.
If a plurality of faces is detected, the camera determines an evaluation value of each of the faces based on the size of the face, the position of the face, and the degree of reliability of the face. The camera then selects a face of the highest evaluation value as a main object. The degree of reliability of a face refers to a value that indicates the probability of an area being a face. The camera determines an area where the probability exceeds a predetermined threshold to be a face area.
The camera determines the right face to be a main object because the right face is greater in size, is closer to the image plane center, and has a higher degree of reliability of a face than the left face. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, the camera selects a focusing frame that lies in a position overlapping the right face, and displays the focusing frame in color.
The focusing frame in color makes the right face undetectable or significantly reduces the degree of reliability of the right face. As a result, the camera may determine the left face to be a main object as illustrated in FIG. 11B.
In other words, if there is a plurality of faces and a focusing frame is displayed over a face that is selected as a main object, it becomes difficult to select the same face to be a main object again.
The foregoing description has been given in the context of the function of detecting a face as an object. A similar problem can occur if a camera has a function of detecting a predetermined particular object (for example, a particular person, or a particular animal or physical object like a dog and a car).

Imaging apparatus having object detection function and method for controlling imaging apparatus


A top launcher includes at least one track segment having a guiding path for translating a rotatable top thereon. Also included is a launching member moveable between a first position and a second position, the launching member resiliently biased toward the first position. Further included is an engagement portion of the launching member for engaging the rotatable top and launching the rotatable top as the launching member moves toward the first position.

Various embodiments of the present invention are related to toy play sets, and more particularly to rotating top assemblies, as well as a method for launching rotating tops.
Toy play sets having tracks for guiding objects have achieved propulsion and guidance of the objects in various manners. Objects, such as race cars or trains, for example, have translated along a predetermined path by an included motor for generating the propelling force. Alternatively, some objects have relied upon a magnetic field for accelerating and guiding the object. Various movement initiator arrangements have been provided to launch objects and have added to enjoyment of users of the toy play sets. Unfortunately, the launchers often lack reliability and pose issues with stability of the launched object upon movement initiation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a rotating top launcher that provides reliable and exciting initiation of movement for the rotating tops.