A device and system for controlling current from plural parallel power sources having inrush current hot-swapping capabilities to a load are disclosed. The current controlling device includes a load line for delivering currents from the outputs of the power sources; a current sensor for measuring the load current; and a common sense element for adjusting the load current levels.

A device and system for controlling load currents are disclosed and, more particularly, a device and system for controlling currents to a load from plural parallel power sources having hot swap capabilities.
"Hot swapping" refers to the ability of an electronic system or network of electronic systems to continue operating without interrupting the delivery of power to the system or network of systems after modules or components of the system or network, e.g., a hard drive, a power supply, a CD-ROM drive, and the like, are removed and replaced. Typically, during a hot swapping insertion, current to a load is ramped ON (or, alternatively, during extraction, current to a load is ramped OFF) in a controlled, linear manner to prevent disturbances on the power supply feed. This feature allows modules or components to be inserted into or extracted from a powered system without having to shut off power. Hot swap devices often include a current control function that prevents current to a load from exceeding a programmed maximum level. Thus, hot swapping reduces system down time and improves system availability.
High availability ("HA") systems are particularly desirable, especially in telecommunications. For example, the Advanced Telecom Computer Architecture ("ATCA") provides a common, high availability hardware platform for telecommunications systems. The standardized ATCA hardware platform includes a plurality of interconnected circuit boards and a chassis portion, or card shelf. By convention, each card shelf provides 14 or 16 slots for cards.
A scaled-down and less expensive version of the ATCA is the MicroTCA. MicroTCA supports smaller scale applications and is less powerful than ACTA but, otherwise, is similar in many respects. A major difference between the MicroTCA and the ATCA is that the MicroTCA does not include a carrier board.
Advantageously, both the ATCA and the MicroTCA are compatible with Advanced Mezzanine Cards ("AMCs"). AMCs are designed to be installed and to operate in a MicroTCA chassis or, alternatively, in an ATCA carrier board. AMCs are fully-managed intelligent cards that require hotswap protection. Hotswap circuitry for AMCs, however, is not on the AMC boards but, rather, is part of the MicroTCA power module or, alternatively, is part of the ATCA carrier board.
To improve the reliability of HA systems, redundant, parallel power sources are desirable. However, with plural power sources in parallel, the maximum current available to the load ("load current") is the sum of the output currents of each of the plural power sources. If all power sources are delivering current, the current level, typically, is unacceptably large. As a result, conventional power sources are not coupled in parallel in conjunction with ATCAs, MicroTCAs, and/or AMCs.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system for controlling current levels from plural parallel power sources to a load and a device for the same. It would also be desirable to provide a device for use with plural parallel power sources that controls current rather than load shares.

Device and system for controlling parallel power sources coupled to a load


The invention relates to microparticles incorporating a series of two or more fluorescent dyes having overlapping excitation and emission spectra allowing efficient energy transfer from the excitation wavelength of the first dye in the series, transfer through the dyes in the series and re-emitted as an optical signal at the emission wavelength of last dye in the series, resulting in a desired effective Stokes shift which is controlled through selection of appropriate dyes.

Microparticles labeled with fluorescent dyes have found use in a wide variety of applications. Microparticles are generally considered to be spherical or irregular in shape, and to be less than about 50 micrometers in diameter. They may be prepared by several practical methods from a variety of polymerizable monomers, including styrenes, acrylates and unsaturated chlorides, esters, acetates, amides and alcohols. Microparticles can be further modified by coating with one or more secondary polymers to alter the surface properties of the particles.
Fluorescent microparticles are most commonly used in applications that can benefit from use of monodisperse, chemically inert, biocompatible particles that emit detectable fluorescence and that can bind to a particular substance in the environment. For example, fluorescent particles to which biological molecules have been attached have been used for immunoassays (U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,524 (1989)), for nucleic acid detection and sequencing (Vener, et al. ANALYT. BIOCHEM. 198, 308 (1991); Kremsky, et al., NUCLEIC ACIDS RES. 15, 2891 (1987); Wolf, et al., NUCLEIC ACIDS RES. 15, 2911 (1987)), as labels for cell surface antigens, FLOW CYTOMETRY AND SORTING, ch. 20 (2.sup.nd ed. (1990)), and as tracer to study cellular metabolic processes (J. LEUCOCYTE BIOL. 45, 277 (1989)). The high surface area of microparticles provides an excellent matrix for attaching biological molecules while the fluorescent properties of these particles enable them to be detected with high sensitivity. They can be quantitated by their fluorescence either in aqueous suspension or when captured on membranes.
Fluorescent microparticles can be visualized with a variety of imaging techniques, including ordinary light or fluorescence microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Three-dimensional imaging resolution techniques in confocal microscopy utilize knowledge of the microscope's point spread function (image of a point source) to place out-of-focus light in its proper perspective. Small, uniform, fluorescently labeled polystyrene microspheres have been employed as point sources for these microscopes (Confocal Microscopy Handbook p. 154 (rev. ed. 1990)).
Many luminescent compounds are known to be suitable for imparting bright and visually attractive colors to various cast or molded plastics such as polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate. Uniform fluorescent latex microspheres have been described in patents (U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,697, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,333, 1963; Brit. U.s. Pat. No. 1,434,743, 1976) and in research literature (Molday, et al., J. CELL BIOL. 64, 75 (1975); Margel, et al., J. CELL SCI. 56, 157 (1982)). A recent patent application of the inventor (Brinkley, et al., Ser. No. 07/629,466, filed 12/18/90) describes derivatives of the dipyrrometheneboron difluoride family of compounds (derivatives of 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) as useful dyes for preparing fluorescent microparticles. This family of dyes possesses advantageous spectral data and other properties that result in superior fluorescent microparticles.
Although dipyrrometheneboron difluoride labeled materials are highly fluorescent and photochemically stable, a disadvantage of these fluorescent materials is their relatively small Stokes shift (the difference between the peak excitation and peak emission wavelengths) when only one dye is used. Because the optimum wavelength of the exciting light is close to the peak emission light, fluorescent particles with small Stokes shifts require precise excitation and emission filters to eliminate or reduce interference. The customary use of excitation filters blocks part of the excitation and emission light that would otherwise increase the efficiency of the fluorescence and reduces the intensity of the fluorescent signal. Fluorescent materials that incorporate bright fluorescent dyes with increased Stokes shifts would permit maximum utilization of the available excitation and emission light, resulting in a greater fluorescent signal (see e.g. FIGS. 3A and 3B).
Another advantage of fluorescent materials with large Stokes shifts is that they can be more easily detected in the presence of other fluorescent materials. Immunoassays are typically carried out in body fluids which contain many endogenous fluorescent molecules, such as bilins, flavins and drugs. Since the vast majority of interfering fluorescent materials have relatively short Stokes shifts, the use of a fluorescent label that emits at a wavelength far greater than its excitation wavelength makes the label easier to distinguish from background fluorescence, since its fluorescent signal is emitted at a wavelength at which most background fluorescence is minimal.
A third advantage of fluorescent materials with large Stokes shift is their usefulness in detecting multiple analytes in a single sample using a single excitation wavelength. Using two or more different fluorescent labels, each of which can be excited at a particular wavelength (e.g. the 488 nm argon laser principal emission), the emission peaks of the different labels are detected at different wavelengths, where each emission spectrum is characteristic of a single analyte. In order to successfully accomplish this, the emission peaks of the fluorescent labels must be well-separated from each other so the correction factors between the various dyes are minimized. High photostability of the label is also beneficial. Fluorescent materials with a large Stokes shift can be used in combination with fluorescent materials with a smaller Stokes shift where both materials excite at the same wavelength, but emit at different wavelengths, giving multiple signals that can be resolved using optical filters or monochromators.
Unfortunately, fluorescent compounds useful as labeling reagents that have Stokes shifts of 50-100 nm as well as high fluorescence efficiency and emission wavelengths of greater than 500 nm required for detectability are relatively rare. (Haugland, Fluorescein Substitutes for Microscopy and Imaging, OPTICAL MICROSCOPY FOR BIOLOGY pp. 143-57 (1990). The magnitude of the Stokes shift in fluorescent dyes has been found to be generally inversely proportional to the high absorbance needed to ensure a strong signal. Fluorescent dyes in use as labeling reagents for biological molecules, such as xanthenes, dipyrrometheneboron difluorides, rhodamines and carbocyanines commonly have Stokes shifts of less than about 30 nm.
The lack of suitable fluorescent dyes with large Stokes shifts has led to the development and use of protein-based fluorophores known as phycobiliproteins as labels (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,520,110 and 4,542,104 both to Stryer, et al. (1985)). Like other fluorophores, they have been covalently attached to beads and macromolecules. See, e.g., Oi, et al., J. CELL BIO. 93,981 (1982). These large bilin-containing molecules have the desirable characteristics of very high extinction coefficients and they use internal energy transfer between unlike, covalently-linked fluorophores to accomplish a relatively large Stokes shift. They have the disadvantage of poor chemical stability, instability to photobleaching, limited long wavelength emission capability, bulky molecular size (MW >100,000 Daltons) and relatively high cost. Furthermore, only a few proteins of this type are known and one cannot select or appreciably adjust their spectral properties. In an effort to improve the fluorescent emission efficiency of phycobiliproteins without significantly increasing their molecular size, phycobiliproteins have been covalently coupled to the fluorescent dye Azure A (U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,862 to Chan (1987)).
It is known that covalent coupling of a pair of fluorophores results in a fluorescent dye with a larger Stokes shift than either of the individual dyes (e.g. Gorelenko, et al., Photonics of Bichromophores Based on Laser Dyes in Solutions and Polymers, EXPERIMENTELLE TECHNIK DER PHYSIK 37, 343 (1989)). This approach, although reportedly effective in increasing the Stokes shift, requires complex synthetic procedures to chemically couple the two dyes together and are limited by the number and location of available reactive sites. The process of carrying out the necessary synthetic procedures to attach three, four, or more dyes sufficiently close together and in the proper configuration to undergo substantial energy transfer would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, covalently linked molecules typically have sufficient freedom of movement that significant collisional deactivation occurs, leading to loss of energy by vibrational relaxation rather than by fluorescence. There is a need for a way of combining the spectral properties of dyes by methods other than complex covalent coupling to provide useful fluorescent labels with an enhanced effective Stokes shift.
In studies of energy transfer between pairs of covalently linked dyes, it has been shown that the efficiency of energy transfer between two fluorescent dyes is inversely proportional to the sixth power of the distance between the two interacting molecules, consistent with Forster's theory (Stryer & Haugland, Energy Transfer: A Spectroscopic Ruler, PROC. NAT'L ACAD. SCI. USA 58, 719 (1967)). The reference suggests that the percentage of measurable energy transfer can be used to measure the distance separating the covalently linked fluorophores in the 10 to 60 .ANG. range. A subsequent paper, Haugland, Yguerabide, & Stryer, Dependence of the Kinetics of Singlet-Singlet Energy Transfer on Spectral Overlap, PNAS 63, 23 (1969), reported that intramolecular singlet energy transfer depends on the magnitude of spectral overlap integral.
Energy transfer has been demonstrated between dyes that have been coupled to macromolecules to study intramolecular distances and conformation in biomolecules, e.g., Julien & Garel, BIOCHEM. 22, 3829 (1983); Wooley, et al., BIOPHYS. CHEM. 26, 367 (1987); and in polymer chains and networks, e.g. Ohmine, et al., MACROMOLECULES 10, 862 (1977); Drake, et al., SCIENCE 251, 1574 (1991). Energy transfer with resultant wavelength shifting has also been described for mixtures of dyes in lasing solutions, e.g. Saito, et al., APPL. PHYS. LETT. 56, 811 (1990). Energy transfer has been demonstrated between monomolecular layers of dyes and other organized molecular assemblies, e.g. Kuhn, Production of Simple Organized Systems of Molecules, PURE APPL. CHEM. 11, 345 (1966), abstracted in CHEM. ABSTRACTS 66, 671 (1967); Yamazaki, et al., J. PHYS. CHEM. 94, 516 (1990). Energy transfer between paired donor and acceptor dyes has also been demonstrated in polymer films as a way of studying the energy transfer dynamics, e.g. Mataga, et al., J. PHYS. CHEM. 73, 370 (1969); Bennett, J. CHEM. PHYSICS 41, 3037 (1964). Although the conformity of research results to Forster's theoretical formulation have been widely reported, utilitarian applications of the theory have been limited. The cited references neither anticipate nor suggest fluorescent microparticles incorporating a series of dyes to be used as labeling reagents with an enhanced effective Stokes shift.
It is an object of the invention to provide a more simple method than complex covalent coupling for combining the spectral properties of multiple dyes, while minimizing collisional deactivation, allowing efficient energy transfer and increasing the effective Stokes shift for the purpose of providing more useful fluorescent labeling reagents. It is a further object of the invention to provide materials that have not only an increased effective Stokes shift but materials for which the effective Stokes shift can be selectively controlled by the selection of appropriate dyes with overlapping spectral properties.
Immobilizing fluorescent dyes randomly in a polymeric matrix according to the subject invention provides just such a simple method of providing novel fluorescent materials with controllable, enhanced effective Stokes shifts. Certain fluorescent dyes, such as dipyrrometheneboron difluoride dyes, coumarin dyes and polyolefin dyes, have high fluorescence efficiency when incorporated into polymeric materials and are available in a large number of derivatives with a wide range of excitation and emission maxima, These characteristics allow the wavelength of excitation and the magnitude of the increase in the effective Stokes shift to be easily controlled by carefully selecting dyes with the appropriate spectral overlap for incorporation into the microparticles.

Fluorescent microparticles with controllable enhanced stokes shift


A foot assembly includes a foot including a snap and a first alignment feature, the snap and the alignment feature are coupled to a base, and the first alignment feature extending a greater distance from the base than an engagement of the snap. The assembly also includes a foot socket coupled to the foot, the socket including an undercut and a second alignment feature. In one aspect, the second alignment feature interfaces with the first alignment feature. In another aspect, the socket is coupled to an enclosure of a portable computing device.

Portable computing devices, also referred to as notebook or laptop computers, typically have feet disposed on their bottom surfaces. The feet raise the portable computer off of a supporting surface, such as a desk or table. This may serve several purposes, such as preserving the finish of the bottom surface of the portable computer, or improving cooling of the portable computer, among others. FIG. 1A illustrates a computing device 120, such as a typical portable computer. Portable computing device 120 includes a display housing rotatably coupled to a main housing or enclosure through a hinge. The display housing includes a display screen. The main housing includes a keyboard and a pointing device. Additional aspects of the internal circuitry of a computer such as computing device 120 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,549, which is incorporated by reference herein. The main housing includes a base which is the bottom surface of the main housing. A portable computer 120 typically includes four feet 100 disposed on the bottom of an enclosure 106, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B illustrates a bottom view of the computing device 120 illustrated in FIG. 1A. Each foot 100 is typically positioned at a corner of the bottom surface of an enclosure 106 of the portable computer 120. The foot 100 is part of a foot assembly 110, which includes the foot 100 and a foot socket 104.
FIG. 1C illustrates an exploded view of a prior art foot assembly 110 for a portable computer, such as the computer 120 illustrated in FIG. 1A. Computer 120 includes an internal supporting chassis 108 to which various hardware components of the computer are attached, such as for example a motherboard, memory, and battery. The chassis 108 is typically comprised of a metal or another rigid material. At the point on the chassis 108 where a foot assembly 110 is to be located, the chassis 108 includes an internally threaded screw bore 109 to accommodate a machine screw 102. The screw 102 is fastened through a foot socket 104 into the bore 109 to retain the enclosure 106 to the supporting chassis 108. The enclosure 106, or case, is typically comprised of a rigid material, and houses the components of the computer. The enclosure 106 includes a recessed well 107 to accommodate the socket 104. Once the screw 102 is installed, the head of screw 102 remains exposed within the center portion of the socket 104. To cover the head of screw 102, a foot 100 is installed into the foot socket 104.
FIG. 1D illustrates a perspective view of the prior art foot 100. Foot 100 includes three snaps 150 extending from a cylindrical base 152. The three snaps 150 are positioned radially about the perimeter of the base 152, and are spaced equally from each other. Clearances 101 are positioned between adjacent snaps 150. The snaps 150 are radially symmetrically positioned about the perimeter of the base 152. Foot 100 is radially symmetric about the central axis of base 152. Each snap 150 is attached to the base 152 at a proximal end, and each snap 150 has a substantially wedge shaped cross section. A pawl 153 is an engagement disposed at the distal end of each snap 150 from the base. Pawl 153 includes an edge on the end of each snap 150. Pawl 153 is designed such that when installed into foot socket 104, the pawl 153 catches the snap 150 on the foot socket 104 so as to prevent the foot 100 from disengaging the foot socket 104. FIG. 1E illustrates a top view of the foot 100. FIG. 1F illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the foot 100 taken along the section A—A in FIG. 1E. FIG. 1G illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the foot 100 taken along the section B—B in FIG. 1E.
FIG. 1H illustrates a perspective view of a prior art foot socket 104. Foot socket 104 includes a substantially cylindrical base 111 and a raised center portion 112. Foot socket 104 is radially symmetric about the central axis of base 111. The base 111 is disc shaped, with a bore in the center. The raised center portion 112 has a substantially circular shape, and is coupled to the base 111 by three raised supports 113. The supports 113 are spaced equally about the base 111. The socket 104 is indexed in the well 107 using a ledge 121 so that the socket 104 may only be placed in the well 107 in a single rotational orientation.
FIG. 1I illustrates a top view of the foot socket 104. FIG. 1J illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the foot socket 104 taken along the section A—A in FIG. 1I. FIG. 1K illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the foot socket 104 taken along the section B—B in FIG. 1I. FIG. 1L illustrates a bottom view of the foot socket 104. FIG. 1M illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the foot socket 104 taken along the section C—C in FIG. 1L. The raised center portion 112 includes an aperture 114 to accommodate screw 102. When screw 102 is installed into chassis 108, the head of screw 102 is adjacent to an exterior (or bottom) side 118 of the socket 104, while the interior (or top) side 117 of the socket 104 is adjacent to the surface of well 107 of the enclosure 106. Socket 104 includes three circular cosmetic features 190 on the exterior surface 118 of the base 111. Foot socket 104 includes three undercuts 115 disposed between adjacent supports 113. Undercuts 115 are coupled to the base 111 and extend towards the central axis of the base 111. Undercuts 115 are edges on which pawl 153 catches when foot 100 is installed into the foot socket 104. Foot socket 104 includes three vertical orientation ribs 116. Each vertical rib 116 is disposed on the exterior side 118 of each support 113, and extends along the length of each support 113 between the base 111 and the center portion 112.
The dimensions of the prior art foot 100 are now described. Referring to FIG. 1F, the diameter of base 152 is 8.00 mm with a tolerance of −0.10 mm. The diameter of the snaps 150 about the base 152 is 6.20 mm with a tolerance of −0.10 mm. The angle of pawl 153 is 15.0 degrees from perpendicular of the upper surface of base 152. The overall height of foot 100 from the lower surface of base 152 to the upper surface of the snaps 150 is 3.60 mm. The edge of each snap 150 has a 0.30 mm radius or blend (R0.30) applied to the edge between the upper and side surfaces of the snap 150. The inner diameter between the snaps 150 is 3.00 mm. The diameter of the snaps 150 at pawls 153 is 6.70 mm with a tolerance of +0.05. The height of pawls 153 from the upper surface of base 152 is 0.96 mm with a tolerance of ±0.05 mm. The height of base 152 is 1.84 mm with a tolerance of ±0.010 mm. Referring to FIG. 1G, the edge of the base 152 a 0.50 mm radius or blend (R0.50) applied to the edge between the upper and side surfaces of the base 152. The foot 100 has a volume of about 115.12 mm3.
The dimensions of the prior art foot socket 104 are now described. Referring to FIG. 1I, arc angle 170 between the center of support 113 and the edge of support 113 is 30 degrees. Arc angle 171 of support 113 is 50 degrees. Arc angle 172 between undercuts 115 is 60 degrees. Arc angle 173 between adjacent supports 113 is 70 degrees with a tolerance of ±0.50 degrees. Referring to FIG. 1J, the height of undercut 115 from the lower surface of base 111 is 1.80 mm with a tolerance of ±0.05 mm. The depth of ledge 121 from support 113 is 0.5 mm with a tolerance of +0.05 mm. Referring to FIG. 1K, the interior surface of the three supports 113 at base 111 are positioned about a diameter of 9.50 mm. The diameter of the center portion 112 is 7.89 mm with a tolerance of −0.05 mm. The diameter of aperture 114 is 2.80 mm. The angle of support 113 is 15 degrees from perpendicular of base 111. The center portion has a depth of 0.80 mm with a tolerance of −0.10 mm. The height of the lower surface of undercut 115 from the lower surface of base 111 is 0.50 mm. The height of the lower surface of undercut 115 from the upper surface of undercut 115 is 0.26 mm. The base 111 is 1.20 mm thick, with a tolerance of ±0.05 mm. The upper surface of center portion 112 is 3.00 mm above the upper surface of base 111, with a tolerance of −0.05 mm. The overall height of socket 104 is 4.20 mm. The outer diameter of the base 111 is 15.00 mm. The inner diameter of base 111 is 8.20 mm with a tolerance of +0.10 mm. The diameter of the outer portion of the three undercuts 115 is 7.56 mm. Referring to FIG. 1L, the angle 175 between cosmetic features 190 is 120 degrees. Referring to FIG. 1M, the depth of cosmetic features 190 is 0.5 mm, and the diameter of the cosmetic feature 190 is 1.7 mm.


An object is to provide a mounting structure of a bearing member which enables size and weight reduction of entire apparatus and also contributes to cost reduction thereof. The mounting structure of a bearing member includes: a bearing member for supporting a rotary shaft; a case member to which the bearing member is mounted; and a mounting plate for clamping the bearing member in an axial direction of the rotary shaft in conjunction with the case member, wherein the mounting plate includes a mounting portion of a counter member which is mounted to the case member and clamps the case member in the axial direction in conjunction with the counter member.

Conventionally, as a method for mounting a bearing member that supports a rotating rotary shaft to a case member, etc., there are known, besides a method in which a bearing member is press fitted into a mounting portion, and a method in which a bearing member is formed with a mounting hole, etc. and is fastened to a case member etc., various methods such as a mounting structure in which an outer ring and an inner ring of a bearing member are grasped respectively by a cramp to be fixed as described in Patent Literature 1 to be shown below.

Mounting structure of bearing member and speed reducing apparatus


An image display apparatus includes an image display member having a plurality of light-emitting portions, electron-emitting devices for emitting electrons and causing the light-emitting portions to emit light in accordance with an input image signal, and an adjustment unit for differentially adjusting the light emitting brightness for the plurality of light-emitting portions at different positions of the image display member, when an input image signal designates the same brightness for the plurality of light-emitting portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus, a driving circuit for the image display apparatus, and an image display method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, large flat-screen display apparatuses have extensively been studied and developed. The present inventors have studied a large flat-screen display apparatus using a cold cathode device as an electron source.
Conventionally, two types of devices, namely hot and cold cathode devices, are known as electron-emitting devices. Known examples of cold cathode devices are surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices, field emission type electron-emitting devices (to be referred to as FE type electron-emitting devices hereinafter), and metal/insulator/metal type electron-emitting devices (to be referred to as MIM type electron-emitting devices hereinafter).
A known example of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices is described in, e.g., M. I. Elinson, "Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290-(1965) and other examples will be described later.
A surface-conduction type electron-emitting device utilizes the phenomenon that electrons are emitted from a small-area thin film formed on a substrate by causing a current to flow parallel through the film surface. Surface-conduction-conduction type electron-emitting devices include electron-emitting devices using an Au thin film [G. Dittmer, "Thin Solid Films", 9,317 (1972)], an In2O3/SnO2 thin film [M. Hartwell and C. G. Fonstad, "IEEE Trans. ED Conf.", 519 (1975)], a carbon thin film [Hisashi Araki et al., "Vacuum", Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22 (1983)], and the like, in addition to an SnO2 thin film according to Elinson mentioned above.
FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the device by M. Hartwell et al, described above as a typical example of the device structures of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices. Referring to FIG. 22, reference numeral 3001 denotes a substrate; and 3004, a conductive thin film made of a metal oxide formed by sputtering. This conductive thin film 3004 has an H-shaped pattern, as shown having FIG. 22. An electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by performing electrification processing (referred to as forming processing to be described later) with respect to the conductive thin film 3004. An interval L in FIG. 22 is set to 0.5 to 1 mm, and a width W is set to 0.1 mm. The electron-emitting portion 3005 is shown having a rectangular shape at the center of the conductive thin film 3004 for the sake of illustrative convenience. However, this does not exactly show the actual position and shape of the electron-emitting portion.
In the above surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices by M. Hartwell et al. and the like, typically the electron-emitting portion 3005 is formed by performing electrification processing called forming processing for the conductive thin film 3004 before electron emission. In the forming processing, for example, a constant DC voltage or a DC voltage which increases at a very low rate of, e.g., 1 V/min is applied across the two ends of the conductive thin film 3004 so as to partially destroy or deform the conductive thin film 3004, thereby forming the electron-emitting portion 3005 with an electrically high resistance. Note that the destroyed or deformed part of the conductive thin film 3004 has a fissure. Upon application of an appropriate voltage to the conductive thin film 3004 after the forming processing, electrons are emitted near the fissure.
Known examples of FE type electron-emitting devices are described in W. P. Dyke and W. W. Dolan, "Field emission", Advance in Electron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) and C. A. Spindt, "Physical properties of thin film field emission cathodes with molybdenium cones", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (1976).
FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing the device by C. A. Spindt et al, described above as a typical example of an FE type device structure. Referring to FIG. 23, reference numeral 3010 denotes a substrate; numeral 3011 denotes emitter wiring made of a conductive material; numeral 3012 denotes an emitter cone; numeral 3013 denotes an insulating layer; and numeral 3014 denotes a gate electrode. In this device, a voltage is applied between the emitter cone 3012 and the gate electrode 3014 to emit electrons from the distal end portion of the emitter cone 3012. As another FE type device structure, there is an example in which an emitter and a gate electrode are arranged on a substrate to be almost parallel to the surface of the substrate, in addition to the multilayered structure of FIG. 23.
A known example of MIM type electron-emitting devices is described in C. A. Mead, "Operation of Tunnel-Emission Devices", J. Appl. Phys., 32,646 (1961). FIG. 24 shows a typical example of the MIM type device structure. FIG. 24 is a sectional view of the MIM type electron-emitting device. Referring to FIG. 24, reference numeral 3020 denotes a substrate; numeral 3021 denotes a lower electrode made of a metal; numeral 3022 denotes a thin insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 A; and numeral 3023 denotes an upper electrode made of a metal and having a thickness of about 80 to 300 A. In the MIM type electron-emitting device, an appropriate voltage is applied between the upper electrode 3023 and the lower electrode 3021 to emit electrons from the surface of the upper electrode 3023.
Since the above described cold cathode devices can emit electrons at a temperature lower than that for hot cathode devices, they do not require any heater. The cold cathode device therefore has a structure that is more simple than that of the hot cathode device and can be micropatterned. Even if a large number of devices are arranged on a substrate at a high density, problems such as heat fusion of the substrate hardly arise. In addition, the response speed of the cold cathode device is high, while the response speed of the hot cathode device is low because it operates upon heating by a heater. For this reason, applications of cold cathode devices have enthusiastically been studied.
Of cold cathode devices, the above surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices are advantageous because they have a simple structure and can be easily manufactured. For this reason many devices can be formed on a wide area. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-31332 filed by the present applicant, a method of arranging and driving a lot of devices has been studied.
Regarding applications of surface-conduction type electron-emitting devices to, e.g., image forming apparatuses such as an image display apparatus and an image recording apparatus, electron sources, and the like have been studied.
As an application to image display apparatuses, in particular, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,883 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2-257551 and 4-28137 filed by the present applicant, an image display apparatus using the combination of a surface-conduction type electron-emitting device and a fluorescent substance which emits light upon reception of electrons has been studied. An image display apparatus using the combination of a surface-conduction type electron-emitting device and a fluorescent substance is expected to have improved characteristics over other conventional image display apparatuses. For example, in comparison with recent popular liquid crystal display apparatuses, the above display apparatus is superior in that it does not require a backlight, because it is of a self-emission type apparatus, and it has a wide viewing angle.
A method of driving a plurality of FE type electron-emitting devices arranged side-by-side is disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,895 filed by the present applicant. A known example of an application of FE type electron-emitting devices to an image display apparatus is a flat display apparatus reported by R. Meyer et al. [R. Meyer: "Recent Development on Microtips Display at LETI", Tech. Digest of 4th Int. Vacuum Microelectronics Conf., Nagahama, pp. 6-9 (1991)].
An example of an application of a larger number of MIM type electron-emitting devices arranged side-by-side to an image display apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-55738 filed by the present applicant.
The present inventors have examined cold cathode devices using various materials, methods, and structures in addition to those described above. The present inventors have further studied a multi-electron-source formed by laying out many cold cathode devices, and an image display apparatus using this multi-electron-source.
The present inventors have devised a multi-electron-source using an electrical wiring method shown in, e.g., FIG. 25. That is, the multi-electron-source is formed by two-dimensionally laying out many cold cathode devices in a matrix, as shown in FIG. 25.
Referring to FIG. 25, reference numerals 4001 denote cold cathode devices; numerals 4002 denote row-direction wirings; and numerals 4003 denote column-direction wirings. In practice, the row- and column-direction wirings 4002 and 4003 have finite electrical resistances, which are indicated by resistors 4004 and 4005 in FIG. 25 of the wires. This wiring method is called a simple matrix wiring method. FIG. 25 shows a 6×6 matrix for the sake of illustrative convenience, but the matrix scale is limited to this. For example, in a multi-electron-source for an image display apparatus, devices necessary for desired image display are laid out and wired.
In the multi-electron-source formed by laying out cold cathode devices in a simple matrix, proper electrical signals are applied to the row- and column-direction wirings 4002 and 4003 in order to output desired electrons. For example, to drive cold cathode devices on an arbitrary row within the matrix, a selection voltage Vs is applied to row-direction wiring 4002 on the selected row, while a non-selection voltage Vns is applied to row-direction wirings 4002 on unselected rows. In synchronism with this, a driving voltage Ve for outputting electrons is applied to the column-direction wirings 4003. According to this method, if a voltage drop caused by the resistors 4004 and 4005 is ignored, a voltage (Ve−Vs) is applied to cold cathode devices on a selected row, and a voltage (Ve−Vns) is applied to cold cathode devices on unselected rows. If the voltages Ve, Vs, and Vns are set to proper magnitude values, electrons would be output at a desired strength from only cold cathode devices on the selected row. If different driving voltages Ve are applied to respective column-direction wirings, electrons would be output at different strengths from respective devices on the selected row. If the application time of the driving voltage Ve is changed, the electron output time would be changed. A voltage (Ve−Vs) to be applied to a selected device will be referred to as Vf. According to another method of obtaining electrons from the multi-electron-source having a simple matrix layout, the multi-electron-source is driven by connecting a current source for supplying a current necessary for outputting desired electrons, instead of a voltage source for applying the driving voltage Ve to the column-direction wiring. The current flowing through the current source will be referred to as a device current If, and the amount of emitted electrons will be referred to as an emission current Ie.
The multi-electron-source formed by laying out cold cathode devices in a simple matrix can be variously applied and suitably used as an electron source for an image display apparatus by properly applying an electrical signal corresponding to, e.g., image information.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,361, driving of electron-emitting devices laid out in a matrix is described. Particularly, correction of the driving signal is also described.

Image display apparatus, driving circuit for image display apparatus, and image display method


Apparatus for a gas turbine engine, the apparatus comprising: a core engine casing having a longitudinal axis and including: an inner wall defining at least part of a core airflow path through the gas turbine engine; an outer wall defining an external surface of the core engine casing, a first cavity being defined between the inner wall and the outer wall of the core engine casing; a plurality of guide vanes extending radially from the outer wall of the core engine casing; a torque box defined within the first cavity of the core engine casing and at least partially overlapping axially with the plurality of guide vanes, the torque box defining a second cavity; and an accessory gear box positioned within the second cavity of the torque box.

A gas turbine engine may comprise an accessory gearbox that is wrapped, around and mounted on a core engine casing of the gas turbine engine. The accessory gearbox attachment features may introduce point loads into the core engine casing which may cause distortion and poor performance of the gas turbine engine from poor control of turbomachinery tip clearance.


A method of coloring solder is provided. The method includes providing an aqueous coloring agent solution essentially containing 31-32% wt of copper sulfate, 64-65% wt of water and 3-4% wt of salt and an anti-caking agent, drying a solder seam with a dry cloth to remove excess flux, applying the aqueous coloring agent solution directly onto the solder seam; and wiping away excess amounts of the aqueous coloring agent solution with a second dry cloth.

Solder is a commonly produced as alloy of tin and lead. It melts around 300 degrees and is applied with a soldering gun to seams to fasten materials together including metal parts. It adheres to a variety of metals including silver, copper, and lead. Electronic circuits use solder to attach the individual components to a printed copper pattern on the circuit board. Plumbers use solder to seal copper pipes together. Likewise, metal construction workers use solder to seal and attach together metal plates.
Copper shingles are a durable, cost-effective method of roofing. Copper is also frequently used for the construction of bay windows. Individual copper pieces must be soldered together using traditional solders for sealing and joining the pieces. After liquefied solder hardens, it retains a gun metal gray color. However, a copper roof panel retains a brown color for approximately 70% of its usable life. Many owners are dissatisfied by the resulting and starkly contrasting difference in color between new copper roof panels and the gray solder seams.
There has long been a need in the copper roofing and copper plate industry for a process to inexpensively and to easily add a coloring agent to solder substrate that is applied to surfaces subject to ambient weather conditions. While many patinas exist to impart a copper tone onto non-copper, metal plate substrates, patinas are ineffective for permanently and easily coloring solder.


A method and system for data logging in a listening device is provided. The system includes a digital signal processing (DSP) entity, which performs normal hearing aid audio and system processing, a level translating module, and a non-volatile (NV) memory. The NV memory is used to store logged data. During the hearing aid audio processing, the DSP entity communicates with the NV memory via the level translating module. The level translating module performs voltage-translation during data logging to a communication signal between the DSP entity and the NV memory.

Digital hearing aids have been developed in recent years. For example, in digital hearing aids for "In-The-Ear" (ITE) and "Behind-The-Ear" (BTE) applications, an audio signal is processed according to some processing scheme and subsequently transmitted to the user of the hearing aid through a hearing aid loud speaker (i.e. a hearing aid receiver).
For the signal processing, information such as parameters related to input and output signals or other signals may be stored in non-volatile memory during normal hearing aid operation. Such storing is known as data logging.
Because of current consumption limitations and audio artifacts that can be inadvertently caused, currently available hearing aids cannot perform data logging during the normal hearing aid operation (i.e., when the hearing aid is reproducing audio) without audible side-effects and excessive current drain.
Therefore, there is a need for providing a new method and system, which can execute data logging during normal hearing aid operation without audible side-effects and also provide reduced current drain.

Method and system for data logging in a listening device


The method provides buffer status reporting for the transmission of uplink data from a wireless device to a base station. Uncompressed data is stored in a first buffer of the wireless device. A buffer status report is transmitted from the wireless device to the base station, where the buffer status report contains information indicating an amount of the uncompressed data to be transmitted from the wireless device. The information is dependent on the amount of the uncompressed data stored in the first buffer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packet transmission in a cellular communications network, and in particular to the reporting of buffer status for uplink data packets from a wireless device to a base station. While it is described below in the context of an LTE ("long term evolution") type of cellular network for illustration purposes and because it happens to be well suited to that context, those skilled in the communication art will recognize that the invention disclosed herein can also be applied to various other types of cellular networks.
Discussion of the Related Art
Universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) is a 3rd Generation (3G) asynchronous mobile communication system operating in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) based on European systems, global system for mobile communications (GSM) and general packet radio services (GPRS). The long term evolution (LTE) of UMTS is under discussion by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) that standardized UMTS.
The 3GPP LTE is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3G LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating network structure of an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system (E-UMTS). The E-UMTS may be also referred to as an LTE system. The communication network is widely deployed to provide a variety of communication services such as voice and packet data.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the E-UMTS network includes an evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and one or more user equipment. The E-UTRAN may include one or more evolved NodeB (eNodeB, or eNB) 20, and a plurality of user equipment (UE) 10 may be located in one cell. One or more E-UTRAN mobility management entity (MME)/system architecture evolution (SAE) gateways 30 may be positioned at the end of the network and connected to an external network.
As used herein, "downlink" refers to communication from eNodeB 20 to UE 10, and "uplink" refers to communication from the UE to an eNodeB. UE 10 refers to communication equipment carried by a user and may be also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS) or a wireless device.
An eNodeB 20 provides end points of a user plane and a control plane to the UE 10. MME/SAE gateway 30 provides an end point of a session and mobility management function for UE 10. The eNodeB and MME/SAE gateway may be connected via an S1 interface.
The eNodeB 20 is generally a fixed station that communicates with a UE 10, and may also be referred to as a base station (BS) or an access point. One eNodeB 20 may be deployed per cell. An interface for transmitting user traffic or control traffic may be used between eNodeBs 20.
The MME provides various functions including distribution of paging messages to eNodeBs 20, security control, idle state mobility control, SAE bearer control, and ciphering and integrity protection of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. The SAE gateway host provides assorted functions including termination of U-plane packets for paging reasons, and switching of the U-plane to support UE mobility. For clarity, MME/SAE gateway 30 will be referred to herein simply as a "gateway," but it is understood that this entity includes both an MME and an SAE gateway.
A plurality of nodes may be connected between eNodeB 20 and gateway 30 via the S1 interface. The eNodeBs 20 may be connected to each other via an X2 interface and neighboring eNodeBs may have a meshed network structure that has the X2 interface.
FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram depicting an architecture of a typical E-UTRAN and a typical EPC. As illustrated, eNodeB 20 may perform functions of selection for gateway 30, routing toward the gateway during a Radio Resource Control (RRC) activation, scheduling and transmitting of paging messages, scheduling and transmitting of Broadcast Channel (BCCH) information, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs 10 in both uplink and downlink, configuration and provisioning of eNodeB measurements, radio bearer control, radio admission control (RAC), and connection mobility control in LTE_ACTIVE state. In the EPC, and as noted above, gateway 30 may perform functions of paging origination, LTE-IDLE state management, ciphering of the user plane, System Architecture Evolution (SAE) bearer control, and ciphering and integrity protection of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.
FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) are block diagrams depicting the user-plane protocol and the control-plane protocol stack for the E-UMTS. As illustrated, the protocol layers may be divided into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2) and a third layer (L3) based upon the three lower layers of an open system interconnection (OSI) standard model that is well-known in the art of communication systems.
The physical layer, the first layer (L1), provides an information transmission service to an upper layer by using a physical channel. The physical layer is connected with a medium access control (MAC) layer located at a higher level through a transport channel, and data between the MAC layer and the physical layer is transferred via the transport channel. Between different physical layers, namely, between physical layers of a transmission side and a reception side, data is transferred via the physical channel.
The MAC layer of Layer 2 (L2) provides services to a radio link control (RLC) layer (which is a higher layer) via a logical channel. The RLC layer of Layer 2 (L2) supports the transmission of data with reliability. It should be noted that the RLC layer illustrated in FIGS. 2(b) and 2(c) is depicted because if the RLC functions are implemented in and performed by the MAC layer, the RLC layer itself is not required. The packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer of Layer 2 (L2) performs a header compression function that reduces unnecessary control information such that data being transmitted by employing Internet protocol (IP) packets, such as IPv4 or IPv6, can be efficiently sent over a radio (wireless) interface that has a relatively small bandwidth.
A radio resource control (RRC) layer located at the lowest portion of the third layer (L3) is only defined in the control plane and controls logical channels, transport channels and the physical channels in relation to the configuration, reconfiguration, and release of the radio bearers (RBs). Here, the RB signifies a service provided by the second layer (L2) for data transmission between the terminal and the E-UTRAN.
As illustrated in FIG. 2(b), the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in an eNodeB 20 on the network side) may perform functions such as Scheduling, Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). The PDCP layer (terminated in eNodeB 20 on the network side) may perform the user plane functions such as header compression, integrity protection, and ciphering.
As illustrated in FIG. 2(c), the RLC and MAC layers (terminated in an eNodeB 20 on the network side) perform the same functions as for the control plane. As illustrated, the RRC layer (terminated in an eNodeB 20 on the network side) may perform functions such as broadcasting, paging, RRC connection management, Radio Bearer (RB) control, mobility functions, and UE measurement reporting and controlling. The NAS control protocol (terminated in the MME of gateway 30 on the network side) may perform functions such as a SAE bearer management, authentication, LTE_IDLE mobility handling, paging origination in LTE_IDLE, and security control for the signaling between the gateway and UE 10.
The NAS control protocol may use three different states; first, a LTE_DETACHED state if there is no RRC entity; second, a LTE_IDLE state if there is no RRC connection while storing minimal UE information; and third, an LTE ACTIVE state if the RRC connection is established. Also, the RRC state may be divided into two different states such as a RRC_IDLE and a RRC_CONNECTED.
In RRC_IDLE state, the UE 10 may receive broadcasts of system information and paging information while the UE specifies a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configured by NAS, and the UE has been allocated an identification (ID) which uniquely identifies the UE in a tracking area. Also, in RRC-IDLE state, no RRC context is stored in the eNodeB.
In RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE 10 has an E-UTRAN RRC connection and a context in the E-UTRAN, such that transmitting and/or receiving data to/from the network (eNodeB) becomes possible. Also, the UE 10 can report channel quality information and feedback information to the eNodeB.
In RRC_CONNECTED state, the E-UTRAN knows the cell to which the UE 10 belongs. Therefore, the network can transmit and/or receive data to/from UE 10, the network can control mobility (handover) of the UE, and the network can perform cell measurements for a neighboring cell.
In RRC_IDLE mode, the UE 10 specifies the paging DRX (Discontinuous Reception) cycle. Specifically, the UE 10 monitors a paging signal at a specific paging occasion of every UE specific paging DRX cycle.
FIG. 3 illustrates diagrammatically the buffering of uplink user traffic in Layer 2 on the UE side. U-plane traffic as received from Layer 3 consists typically of IP packets 50 with payload 51 from upper application layers, to be processed by the logic 55 of the PDCP layer. These packets 50 form PDCP service data units (SDUs) transferred from upper layers and stored in a PDCP buffer 56. Each packet 50 has a header 52 which includes an IP header and possibly other header fields from an upper layer protocol such as the real time protocol (RTP) in the case of a voice over IP (VolP) application for example.
The PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) 60, 70 generated by the PDCP layer 55 are transferred to the RLC layer 80 where they are stored in an RLC buffer 81. Each PDCP PDU 60, 70 has a short header 61, 71 including a PDCP sequence number and an indication of a PDU type.
Some PDCP PDUs 60 (indicated in the short header 61) convey user traffic, usually in the form of one IP packet per PDU. The header 52 of this IP packet is compressed in the PDCP layer 55 (compressed header 62 shown in FIG. 3) by a header compression algorithm called RoHC (robust header compression). The PDCP layer may also encrypt the user data and add a message authentication code for integrity protection (MAC-I). The header compression is based on the fact that in an IP header many of the fields do not change dynamically. For example, during a VolP call the target IP address and the source IP address typically remain unchanged. Thus it is only necessary to include this type of information when it changes. RoHC schemes can take advantage of various kinds of redundancy in protocol headers, as is well known in the art. See, for example, the request for comments (RFC) 4995, "The RObust Header Compression (ROHC) Framework", published in July 2007 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Other uplink PDCP PDUs 70 (as indicated in the short header 71) are PDCP control PDUs that convey control information, such as a PDCP status report on missing or acknowledged downlink PDCP SDUs following a handover. Such a status report is used by the peer PDCP layer in the eNodeB servicing the new cell to determine which PDCP SDUs should be retransmitted.
Another example of the control information is header compression control information, such as interspersed RoHC feedback generated by the header compression algorithm in order to secure robustness of the compression process. In order to cope with the scenario where a packet that indicates a change in a header field is missed, the receiver can send such RoHC feedback information to the sender, such that critical information, e.g. updates, is repeated. Thus the sender should compress the header as late as possible in order to make sure that it is possible to react on received RoHC feedback information. In FIG. 3, arrow 82 designates RoHC feedback as received by the UE 10 on a downlink channel and supplied to the RoHC algorithm of the PDCP layer 55 executed for the transmission of uplink user data.
The RLC layer 80 processes the PDCP PDUs to control data transfer in transparent, acknowledged or unacknowledged mode and to execute the relevant automatic repeat request (ARQ) procedures. The RLC PDUs for each logical channel are passed to the MAC layer 85 which adds MAC header information and performs other medium access functions, such as scheduling or hybrid ARQ (HARQ) processes.
One of the MAC signaling procedures implemented in the uplink transport channels is the buffer status reporting procedure. It is used to provide the serving eNodeB 20 with information about the amount of uplink data buffered in the UE 10. Such information, along with other information such as priorities allocated to different logical channels, is useful to the uplink scheduling algorithms run by the MAC layer of the eNodeB 20 to determine which UEs, or logical channels, should be granted radio resources at a given time. The buffer status information indicates the amount of data available for transmission. In UMTS, the scheduling information indicates the data stored in the RLC buffer 81, as illustrated by block 84 in FIG. 3, and the MAC layer requests the RLC layer to report the amount of data available such that the amount of data can be reported to the network in a buffer status report (BSR) included into certain uplink MAC PDUs.
In LTE however, header compression is used in order to reduce the amount of data by applying a specific coding of the IP header as specified by the RoHC algorithm. Thus the amount of data sent to the PDCP peer entity is typically bigger than the amount of data that is sent from the PDCP to the RLC entity. The need to insert PDCP control PDUs from time to time is another source of errors.
When RoHC is used, it does not seem to be possible for the transmitter to indicate the exact size of the data that remains to be transmitted, because it would need to be compressed beforehand. Especially the feedback information from the receiver can affect the size of the data. For the transmitter, it is not possible to know the exact size of the data after compression until the compression is performed and thus it is not possible to indicate the exact size of the buffer.
An object of the present invention is to improve the reliability of the amount of buffered data reported by a wireless device to a network when compression is used.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Wireless device and method of transmitting uplink data and buffer status reports in a wireless communications system


A metallized mesoporous silicate which is obtained by (i) reacting (a) either a metal peroxide obtained by the reaction of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution with at least one metal or metal compound selected from the group consisting of the following 1) to 4) 1) tungsten 2) molybdenum 3) vanadium 4) compounds comprising 4a) any of tungsten, molybdenum, and vanadium and 4b) at least one element selected from Groups 13 to 16 (excluding oxygen) or a solution of the metal peroxide with (b) a silicon compound in the presence of an alkylamine or a quaternary ammonium salt and separating the resultant silicate; and a process for producing the metallized mesoporous silicate. Also provided is a method of organic synthesis with the silicate.

Hydrogen peroxide is a clean and excellent oxidizing agent which is inexpensive, and easily handled, and becomes harmless water after reaction, and an oxidation reaction using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent has been highlighted as one of environmentally friendly production processes. In development of an oxidation reaction using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent, it is important to develop a catalyst for the oxidation reaction. In particular, from the industrial viewpoint, it has been desired to develop a solid catalyst which is advantageous to separation and recovery of a catalyst from a reaction system. For example, regarding a titanium-containing mesoporous silicate which is one of solid catalysts, industrial utilization as an epoxidation catalyst of olefin compounds and as a catalyst for ammoximation of ketone compounds has been studied.
On the other hand, a solid catalyst containing a metal other than titanium and having different catalytic performance and catalytic activity from a titanium-containing mesoporous silicate has also been developed. For example, regarding a tungsten-containing mesoporous silicate, as a catalyst for producing cyclohexanediol by reacting cyclohexene and hydrogen peroxide, Applied Catalysis A, 179, 11 (1999), and Chem. Commun., 241 (1998) report a tungsten-containing mesoporous silicate produced by reacting a tetraalkoxysilane and ammonium tungstate using cetyl pyridinium bromide as a template in a strongly acidic solvent. However, such a tungsten-containing mesoporous silicate alone has low activity and, in order to obtain sufficient activity, acetic acid should be used as a reaction solvent.
For example, regarding a molybdenum-containing mesoporous silicate, as a catalyst for producing phenol by reacting benzene and hydrogen peroxide, Chem. Commun., 979 (1996) reports a molybdenum-containing mesoporous silicate produced by reacting potassium molybdate and a tetraalkoxysilane in a water-ethanol solvent in the presence of dodecylamine, filtering and washing the reaction product, and calcining the resulting crystals at 923K.
For example, regarding a vanadium-containing mesoporous silicate, as a catalyst for producing a quinone compound by reacting phenol or naphthol and hydrogen peroxide, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 2231 (1995), p. 2231, left column, middle paragraph, and J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1059 (1994) report a vanadium-containing mesoporous silicate obtained by reacting a solution obtained by adding vanadium sulfate to tetraalkoxysilane in a mixed solution of ethanol and isopropanol, with an aqueous solution containing dodecylamine and hydrochloric acid, filtering and washing the resulting crystals, and calcining them. In addition, from the results of XRD spectrum measurement, these silicate compounds are reported to be all MCM-41 type.
Further, regarding an oxidation reaction using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent, an oxidation reaction for an olefin compound and a Baeyer-Villiger oxidation reaction for a ketone compound are important, and a method using a solid catalyst has also been proposed. For example, a 2-alkoxyalcohol compound is generally produced by a two-stage method, wherein an olefin compound is once oxidized to convert it into an epoxide compound and then the epoxide compound is reacted with an alcohol compound. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,315 proposes a one-stage process for producing a 2-alkoxyalcohol compound by reacting an olefin compound, hydrogen peroxide and an alcohol compound using two kinds of solid catalysts having different performances of a titania silicate catalyst having oxidation catalytic capability and a ZSM-5 catalyst having alkylation catalytic capability. However, there was a problem that two kinds of the expensive compounds should be used as the catalysts. As a method without using such two kinds of compounds as catalysts, New. J. Chem., 1998, 797–799 reports a method using a titanium-containing β-type zeolite. However, since a diol is produced as a by-product, selectivity of a 2-alkoxyalcohol is not high and, in order to prevent production of a diol as a by-product, anhydrous hydrogen peroxide should be used, which is problematic from the viewpoint of prevention of disasters.
Furthermore, as a method for obtaining a lactone compound or an ester compound by subjecting a ketone compound to a Baeyer-Villiger oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, for example, Nature, 412, 423 (2001), and Chem. Commun., 2190 (2001) report a method using a zeolite-β catalyst carrying tin, and JP 2001-232205 A reports a method using a silica catalyst carrying antimony fluoride. However, these methods use toxic tin and expensive antimony fluoride, and they can not be necessarily said to be industrial catalysts.
Moreover, as a method for obtaining an aromatic ester compound by using an aromatic aldehyde compound, hydrogen peroxide and an alcohol solvent, for example, a method using TS-1 as a catalyst (SynLett, 267 (2002)) and a method of using vanadium oxide and perchloric acid together (Organic Lett., 2, 577 (2000)) are reported. However, in the former, the reaction yield is low and, in the latter, perchloric acid which requires careful handling should be used together. Therefore, these catalysts can not necessarily be said to be industrial catalysts.

Metallized mesoporous silicate and method of oxidation with the same


The hybrid active combiner and circulators serves as a coupler and is a three port network that integrates a directional coupler topology with active devices placed in the coupling paths in order to synthesize a low-loss active combiner circuit or a circulator device with minimal insertion losses. The coupler can have multiple stage amplifiers with transconductance values set according the Pascal's triangle for improved performance, and can function as a low cost and low weight transceiver well suited for various communications systems.

Signal combination can be accomplished by means of passive or active combiners. Passive combiners contain no active or nonlinear elements, such as transistors, while active combiners do contain active devices, such as amplifiers, that provide gain. Scattering or S-parameters often describe combiner performance. A four-port combiner has been used to combine signals. Input signals are input into two ports 1 and 4 and are output from the other two ports 2 and 3 depending on the relative phase of the input signals. The paths between the two inputs ports 1 and 4 and paths between the output ports 2 and 3 are isolated with minimal energy transmission between the ports. The operation of a four-port passive combiner can be described by a generic combiner S-parameter matrix.
      [                            α                          γ                          δ                          β                                      γ                          α                          β                          δ                                      δ                          β                          α                          γ                                      β                          δ                          γ                          α                      ]
The S-parameters can be described with linear magnitudes and phase, rather than in dB and phase where each of the parameters listed is actually a complex number. The input match parameters α for each of the four ports are usually small in magnitude, on the order of 0.1, indicating a good signal match. The isolation parameters β are also relatively small in magnitude, such as 0.03, indicating a good port isolation. The combining parameters γ and δ can have large or small magnitudes, depending on the specific requirements. In a slightly lossy 50% combiner, for example, γ and δ would each be slightly less than 1/√2 in magnitude. The S-parameters also contain phase information. A passive reciprocal combiner requires that Sij=Sji, where i is the output port and j is the input port. Also, the passive combiner cannot produce more RF output power than is input to the combiner. Mathematically, this means that the sum of the squares of the magnitudes of any S-parameter column or row must be less than one for a lossy case or equal to one in an ideal case. The power conservation requirement of passive combiners allows for only limited tradeoffs in combining values.
An active combiner has been built using several field-effect transistors (FETs). The combiner is built by using FETs connected as transmission gates. In the FET active combiner, the signal path is from the source to the drain or from the drain to the source through the transistor. Feedback through other FETs and resistors is used to provide the combiner isolation. By constructing a fully active combiner through the use of FETs, the input and output paths are all made to be non-reciprocal. The FET active combiner does not meet the requirements of some applications, such as source-pull measurements, that require reciprocity in at least one of the signal paths.
Source-pull measurements are often conducted to investigate the stability of power amplifiers. A typical source-pull circuit requires a directional coupler having a variable load at port 1, dummy load at port 3, a signal source at port 4, and a device under test (DUT) at port 2. The directional coupler isolates the input signal and the variable load when applied to the port of the device under test. Ideally, the variable load that should be applied to the DUT source should have a reflection coefficient ρ that varies in magnitude from 1 indicating a short or an open condition, to 0 indicating a matched load. Because of power conservation restrictions between ports 1 and 2, the directional coupler exhibits a small but significant insertion loss that then reduces the range of the reflection coefficient ρ that can be applied to the source port of the DUT. For example, an ideal 10 dB coupler would reduce the maximum applied reflection coefficient ρ to 0.81. The path from the variable load to DUT source port must also be reciprocal. However, well-designed DUTs, such as amplifiers, are generally stable for relatively large values of the reflection coefficient ρ. These active circuits would tend to oscillate for extreme values of the reflection coefficient ρ, such as those larger than 0.8. A passive combiner with 20 dB coupling could be used to extend the range of available the reflection coefficient ρ. However, a ten times more powerful signal source is required for the test setup. These larger power signal sources can be relatively expensive.
Circulators have been used to translate signals from one port to another port. The operation of a three-port circulator can be described by a generic circulator S-parameter matrix.
      [                            α                          β                          γ                                      γ                          α                          β                                      β                          γ                          α                      ]
The input match parameters for each port α are relatively small in magnitude. The forward S-parameters S21, S32, and S13 are relatively large in magnitude and less than one, while the reverse S-parameters S12, S23, and S31 are relatively small in magnitude, similar to the isolation parameters β of the combiner. The passive circulator is a non-reciprocal device, modeled by Sij not equal to Sji, that must still satisfy the same power conservation law as does the passive combiner. However, a realistic circulator also has approximately 0.5 dB of insertion loss at γ=0.944 in each of the forward paths.
Circulators are often used at the front end of a transceiver system that contains only one antenna port. Examples of such systems include radar transceivers, cellular phones, and other wireless devices. The circular can have three ports 1, 2, and 3, where a signal can circulate from port 1 to port 2, or from port 2 to port 3, or from port 3 to port 1. In an exemplar configuration, the circulator port 1 is connected to an antenna, a receiver is connected to port 2, and a transmitter is connected to port 3. The circulator allows the transmitted signal to travel, for example, from port 3 to port 1 and then into the antenna. During transmission, the circulator isolates the sensitive receiver attached to port 2 from the large transmitter signal at port 1. This isolation value is on the order of 0.1 units. The received signal is input from the antenna into port 1 and travels through the circulator to port 2. The received signal is thus isolated from the transmitter port 3. The circulator, while performing a needed operation, degrades the signal strength during transmission and reception. The circulator causes a loss in the outgoing signal from the transmitter amplifier. This signal loss reduces the range that the radar can detect objects, or that a wireless device can communicate. Then, on reception, the circulator introduces a loss in the receiver path. Because this receiver loss is placed before the low-noise amplifiers, the loss value adds directly to the noise value of the receiver path, thus degrading the magnitude of the minimal detectable signal.
Circulators also have a certain size and weight that is determined by the frequency of use. When the circulator is used in a space-based phased array application, the total weight of the circulators can be large. Also, a goal of building wireless devices is to reduce the profile of the circuitry and hence the external packaging as much as possible. The design of active circulators and active quasi-circulators are typically large in size. The active circulator designs are rotationally symmetric, while active quasi-circulators are not. The quasi-circulators have only one orientation that can be used in a transceiver application. Typical circulator architectures add a significant amount of noise in addition to the noise introduced by the low noise amplifier that is usually the first element in the receiver path. The best architecture of a quasi-circulator has a 3 dB noise figure. The output powers in some circulator designs are limited by the presence of active devices at the antenna port. The circulator architectures sacrifice both output power and noise figure to achieve as near as possible circulator function. These circulators operate with high noise figures, low output signal levels, are heavy and have large profiles. These and other disadvantages are solved or reduced using the invention.


A valve device is used to reduce the air pressure in a brake pipe disposed on a railroad car in a train consist at a location in the train consist remote from the locomotive of the train consist. The valve device defines a primary supply passage, a branch supply passage and an exhaust passage. The primary and branch passages communicate with the brake pipe. All of the passages communicate with an elongated bore defined within the valve device. The valve device includes an adjustable first valve, a second valve, an electric motor drive and a pneumatic drive. The adjustable first valve and the second valve are both part of an elongated valve body member that can move reciprocatingly within the elongated bore. The adjustable first valve is used to vent air pressure from the brake pipe via the primary and exhaust passages at various rates of discharge. The rate of discharge is in proportion to the extent the adjustable first valve is commanded open. The electric motor drive responds to a drive signal for a service brake pipe air pressure reduction through which it opens the adjustable first valve, but not the second valve. The second valve is used to quickly vent air pressure from the brake pipe via the branch and exhaust passages. The pneumatic drive responds to an actuating signal for an emergency brake pipe air pressure reduction through which it fully opens the second valve thereby also fully opening the adjustable first valve.

There is currently an ongoing effort in the railway industry to develop electro-pneumatic brakes for railroad freight trains. It is generally acknowledged that such an electro-pneumatic brake control will enhance train operation by achieving a faster brake response, more equalized car retardation and a generally more uniform braking effort throughout a long train of cars.
These improved results are based on the assumption that all of the cars, or at least a majority of the cars, making up a train consist will be appropriately equipped for such electro-pneumatic braking, in which case direct braking cylinder pressure control is envisioned. With the exception of certain unit trains, however, it cannot currently be reasonably expected that any such majority of cars will be immediately implemented with the required electro-pneumatic equipment.
Accordingly, for the present, indirect brake cylinder pressure control is still extensively utilized. In this arrangement, the train brake pipe pressure is controlled at the locomotive and also at one or several remote cars throughout the train consist to accelerate reductions of brake pipe pressure in order to obtain a faster and more uniform brake response.
Presently, railroad trains are required to carry an end-of-train unit on the last car, which, among other functions, may be equipped to independently and remotely initiate a reduction of brake pipe pressure from the rear of the train in response to the operator activation of a special triggering device disposed in the locomotive. This is accomplished by transmitting an emergency brake application command signal from the locomotive to the end-of-train unit via radio communication.

Combination motor/pneumatic driven train brake pipe pressure exhaust valve


A plant control device according to the present invention includes a feedback controller and a reference governor. The feedback controller is configured to determine a control input of a plant by feedback control so as to bring an output value of a control amount of the plant close to a target value. The reference governor is configured to calculate a future predicted value of a specific state quantity of the plant by using a model of a closed loop system including the plant and the feedback controller, and correct the target value that is given to the feedback controller based on the predicted value of the specific state quantity and a constraint that is imposed on the specific state quantity.

An ordinary plant control device is configured to determine the control input of the plant by feedback control so as to cause the output value of a control amount to follow a target value when the target value is given in regard to the control amount of the plant. However, in actual control of the plant, various constraints are often present in hardware or control in regard to the state quantity of the plant. If these constraints are not satisfied, there is a concern of occurrence of breakage of the hardware and reduction in the control performance. Satisfiability of constraints is one of important performances which are requested in control of the plant, as well as followability of the output value to the target value.
A reference governor is effective means for satisfying the above described request. A reference governor includes a prediction model which is obtained by modeling a closed loop system (a feedback control system) including a plant which is a control target and a feedback controller, and predicts a future value of the state quantity on which a constraint is imposed according to the prediction model. Subsequently, the reference governor corrects the target value of the control amount of the plant based on the predicted value of the state quantity and the constraint imposed on the state quantity.
What is considered as important in design of the reference governor is the content of the evaluation function for use in calculation of a corrected target value. If consideration is given to only satisfiability of the constraint, various evaluation functions can be adopted. However, depending on what evaluation function is used to determine the corrected target value, the following characteristic of the output value to the target value of the control amount significantly changes, and the transient response characteristics of the output value to the change of the target value of the control amount also significantly changes. Especially in the case of the plant in which the response characteristics vary in response to the operation conditions as in the internal combustion engine for an automobile, the transient response characteristics of the output value to the change of the target value of the control amount significantly vary depending on the operation conditions. To enable favorable transient response characteristics to be achieved while satisfying a constraint is an important problem for a plant control device, in particular, a plant control device the control target of which is a plant in which the response characteristics change in response to the operation conditions.
As an example of the prior art which applies a reference governor to the control of a plant, the prior art disclosed in Patent Literature 1 as follows can be cited. The prior art relates to tension control of the rolled steel material in a multistage rolling mill. In the prior art disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the target orbit data specifying the temporal change of the tension of the rolled steel material is calculated in advance by the reference governor, and the tension of the rolled steel material is controlled based on the deviation between the actual tension value of the rolled steel material and the target orbit data. However, in this prior art, the control target is not a plant in which the response characteristics change in response to the operation conditions, and calculation of the target orbit data by the reference governor is performed offline. Therefore, even if the prior art is applied to the plant in which the response characteristics change in response to the operation conditions, the prior art cannot solve the problem of achieving favorable transient response characteristics while satisfying a constraint.


Specific mutations in the connexin-32 gene that are associated with X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease are disclosed. Methods of diagnosing X-linked CMT disease are also disclosed. Methods include hybridization analysis, such as Southern or Northern analysis, which use hybridization of mutant connexin-32 nucleic acid probes to connexin-32 genes; direct mutation analysis by restriction digest; sequencing of the connexin-32 gene; hybridization of an allele-specific oligonucleotide with genomic DNA; or identification of mutant connexin-32 proteins. Mutant connexin-32 nucleic acid probes are also disclosed. The mutant connexin-32 nucleic acid probes have a mutation in at least one of the following codons: 13, 16, 20, 28, 29, 41, 75, 79, 80, 85, 86, 94, 106, 124, 131, 158, 161, 169, 178, 180, 189, 191, 193, 219, 220, 230, and 267. Mutant connexin-32 nucleic acid probes having more than one of the mutations described above are also described, as are mutant connexin-32 nucleic acid probes having other mutations in addition to at least one mutation as described above. Isolated, mutant connexin-32 proteins encoded by mutant connexin-32 genes, as well as antibodies specific for the mutant connexin-32 proteins, are also disclosed.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy, also known as hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, is a heterogeneous group of inherited diseases of peripheral nerves. CMT is a common disorder affecting both children and adults, and causing significant neuromuscular impairment. It is estimated that 1/2500 persons have a form of CMT, making it one of the largest categories of genetic diseases.
CMT is traditionally classified by whether the primary pathological defect is degeneration of myelin (CMT1) or of axons (CMT2) in the peripheral nerves. CMT1 is a genetically heterogeneous group of chronic demyelinating polyneuropathies with loci mapping to chromosome 17 (CMT1A), chromosome 1 (CMT1B), the X chromosome (CMTX) and to another unknown autosome (CMT1C). CMT1A mutations are associated with the gene for peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22); CMT1B mutations are associated with myelin protein P zero (P.sub.0) ; and CMTX mutations are associated with the connexin-32 gene (C.times.32). Connexin-32 is a 32-kilodalton protein, located at uncompacted folds of schwann cell cytoplasm around the nodes of Ranvier and at Schmidt-Lanterman incisures. This localization suggests a role for gap junctions composed of connexin-32 in providing a pathway for the transfer of ions and nutrients across and around the myelin sheath.
The clinical features of CMTX include demyelinating neuropathy characterized by progressive distal extremity weakness, atrophy, sensory loss, and areflexia; absence of male-to-male transmission; and a generally earlier onset and faster rate of progression of illness in males. Distinguishing between CMT1A and CMTX based on clinical and family history, or results from motor nerve conduction velocity (NCV) testing, is extremely difficult. Complicating the clinical diagnosis further is the high rate of affected female carriers of the CMTX mutations: the CMTX family pedigrees therefore do not demonstrate an X-linked transmission pattern. CMTX may be present in any families without male-to-male transmission of the disease. Methods to distinguish CMTX from other forms of CMT disease are necessary to facilitate disease diagnosis and treatment.

Mutations relating to X-linked charcot-marie-tooth disease


Some embodiments provide methods of providing access to services comprise: receiving, from over a distributed network, a request from a secondary device to access an account; confirming authorization to access the account; identifying one or more primary devices registered with and corresponding to the account in response to confirming authorization to access to the account, where the one or more primary devices are multimedia playback devices; receiving, from the secondary device, a selection of a first primary device of the one or more primary devices, where the first primary device is separate and distinct from the secondary device; identifying services available to the first primary device and configured to be utilized through the first primary device; and providing access, through the secondary device, to the identified services.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to accessing services, and more specifically to accessing services from remote service providers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The distribution of information and content has dramatically increased. Many devices have been configured to take advantage of this increased distribution. In some instances, devices are configured to access remote sources to acquire content that can be played back through the device.
Further, the content available to these devices is often much greater than was typically available to other devices. Similarly, the content can be acquired on demand.

Methods and systems for use in providing access through a secondary device to services intended for a primary device

Sony Network Entertainment International LLC


An imaging device includes: an image sensor that images an object to be imaged through polarizing plates arranged to have a different polarization direction for each pixel in a pixel group that includes a plurality of pixels corresponding to each of points of the object to be imaged; a pixel selecting unit that selects a pixel having a lowest brightness for each of the pixel group corresponding to each of the points; and an image output unit that outputs a captured image of the object to be imaged that is generated from pixels selected by the pixel selecting unit.

Biometric authentication has become widespread recently. The biometric authentication is used to verify whether an operator of a computer or the like is a proper operator, for example, to authenticate an operator of a cash dispenser at a store. In this case, an imaging device images, for example, palm veins of an individual. When the vein pattern based on the image obtained by the imaging device matches with a vein pattern that has been registered in advance, the individual is verified. The cash dispenser accepts operations of only operators verified by the biometric authentication.
Imaging devices for various purposes including biometric authentication systems emit infrared lights to irradiate a palm held toward an imaging direction of the imaging device to capture an image. A part of the infrared lights is reflected on a surface of the palm, but a part thereof passes through the skin and is absorbed by hemoglobin of veins inside the hand. Therefore, by imaging with an infrared-light sensitive image sensor, a vein pattern inside a palm can be acquired in addition to surface information of the palm.
For example, such a imaging device has a self-illuminating device that emits an infrared light to irradiate a palm through a ring-shaped light guide, and acquire a palm image by an imaging system constituted of a lens and an image sensor. The acquired palm image includes a background image such as of a ceiling and a wall, and this can cause a disadvantageous influence on cutting a palm out of a whole image or signal extraction of a vein pattern in an image processing stage depending on conditions.
Therefore, in an actual situation, a method in which images are taken under two conditions of turning on and off the self-illuminating device, and a difference image thereof is used as a palm image is applied. The respective images taken when the self-illuminating device is on and off include the same background, and the background is canceled in the difference image, thereby acquiring a palm image only.
Ambient light, such as sunlight and room light, not only illuminates a background, but also illuminates a palm. Also the illumination by such ambient light or external light on a palm can cause disadvantageous influence on signal extraction of a vein pattern, but is canceled by the difference image, and an image that is illuminated only by the self-illuminating device can be obtained (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-078857
However, in the above technique, external-light-bearing capacity is limited, and when external light is strong like outside, there are problems as explained below.
Because it is a precondition that the brightness at a palm portion of the respective images of when the self-illuminating device is on and off are not saturated, to obtain an accurate difference image, if the external light becomes intense, the exposure when taking images with the self-illuminating device turned on or off is to be decreased. This results in a decreased difference between the respective images taken with the self-illuminating device turned on or off, and it thus becomes difficult to extract a vein pattern accurately. Therefore, an intensity limit is set for external light as a use environment, there is a disadvantage that some measures are necessary to be taken such as using an appropriate cover to make an artificial shade when used outside.
When the external light intensity is high, using only external light for illumination can be considered as another option, but a locally high brightness region (halation, etc.) can occur depending on an incident angle of the external light to a palm, and it can cause a disadvantageous influence on signal extraction of a vein pattern. Therefore, there is a problem that accurate extraction of a vein pattern becomes difficult.

Imaging device and imaging method selecting a pixel having a lowest brightness


Techniques are disclosed for displaying information to a user on a display device of a computer system. In one general aspect, a first view is displayed on the display device, where the first view has at least a first work area. In response to the receipt of a first input received by the computer system, a second view is displayed on the display device. The second view includes the first work area and a temporary communication area, or “pop-in window,” included within the first work area. The temporary communication area has a defined function associated therewith requiring input from a user. The temporary communication area may close after the user provides the necessary input and the defined function is performed.

A modal dialog box is a dialog box that, at the direction of a user interface program, pops up on a computer user's screen when the user is performing a particular function, and puts the user in a mode where the user is required to work only inside the dialog box. There are many different examples of modal dialog boxes. One example is when a user attempts to exit an electronic document after working on the document, a modal dialog box may pop up on the display asking the user whether the document has been saved to memory. The user is required to interact with this modal dialog box, by either selecting an option in the box that causes the document to be saved, or by selecting a cancel function that allows the document to be exited without being saved. In other examples, modal dialog boxes have an alert message that the user is forced to acknowledge by taking a specified action in the box.
The popping up of a modal dialog box on a user's display may obstruct the user's view of the primary workspace. In some cases, the user can drag the modal dialog box to another area of the screen to see the workspace below the box. In other cases, the modal dialog box cannot be dragged to another area of the screen, and the user must perform the function required by the modal dialog box before the workspace underneath can be seen again.
A modeless dialog box is one that also pops up on a user's screen, but unlike a modal dialog box, does not constrain the user to work only inside the dialog box. Like a modal dialog box, a modeless dialog box may cover up workspace on the display that the user may wish to continue to see. The user may thus be forced to take some type of action to see the workspace below. For example, the user may take an action that removes the modeless dialog box from the display, or that minimizes the box. Many users become irritated by having to take an action in response to a dialog box popping up on a screen and obscuring a portion of the workspace, in order to see the workspace again.

Temporary communication areas for a computer user interface


Provided are a silicon nitride layer etching composition, and more specifically, a silicon nitride layer etching composition, capable of etching the silicon nitride layer at a high selectivity ratio relative to a silicon oxide layer by comprising a polysilicon compound in the etching composition, an etching method of a silicon nitride layer using the same, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.

A silicon oxide layer (SiO2) and a silicon nitride layer (SiNx) are typical insulating layers used in a semiconductor manufacturing process. Of these, the silicon nitride layer is used as a cap layer, a spacer layer, or a hard mask layer in a semiconductor device. The silicon oxide layer and the silicon nitride layer may be used alone, or one or more silicon oxide layers and one or more silicon nitride layers may be alternately stacked to be used. When manufacturing semiconductors, the silicon nitride layers and silicon oxide layers are etched.
The disclosure of this section is to provide background of the invention. Applicant notes that this section may contain information available before this application. However, by providing this section, Applicant does not admit that any information contained in this section constitutes prior art.

Silicon nitride layer etching composition and etching method using the same


A cable positioning device and a charger using the cable positioning device is disclosed to include a cable positioning device mounted in a mounting structure inside the charger to secure a cable. The cable positioning device includes a polygonal column that can be forced by an external pressure to deform non-elastically and to further tightly fit the cable, having at least one surface thereof abutted against an inner wall of the mounting structure in the axial direction of the cable to prevent displacement of the cable positioning device and the internal electric wires of the cable due to accidental twisting of the external part of the cable, improving the cable installation efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to charger technology and more particularly, to a cable positioning device for use in a charger to secure a cable, preventing the cable from rotation due to twisting or rotation of an external part of the cable of the charger upon movement of the charger, and improving cable installation efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cables are known as essential components of many machines for use in transmitting electrical signals. To enhance signal transmission stability, U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,531 discloses a device for reducing vibration of a transmission line, entitled "Transmission line assembly including means for reducing vibrations and method of making same". This design includes an outer tubular sheath having an inner surface and a plurality of protruding wall members mounted along the inner surface of the tubular sheath securing a transmission line by the friction of the abutment between the protruding wall members and the transmission line and lessening the influence of the environmental vibrations. However, the protruding wall members merely use the aforesaid friction to secure the transmission line which is not sufficient to avoid the rotation of the transmission line.
Further, with the development of electric vehicle technology, the market demand for charger keeps increasing. For enabling the plug of a charger to withstand thousands of times of plugging and unplugging operations, the structural design of the charger must enable every component part to withstand a certain degree of stretching force, preventing disconnection between the conducting terminals and the welding points of the cable. Besides, in order to facilitate user operation, the connector body and grip of the charger are designed to curve at a predetermined angle. Therefore, the cable installation worker needs to use an elastic rubber packing member to attach the periphery of the cable and then force the cable with the attached elastic rubber packing member into the inside of the charger along the curving direction of the connector body and the grip, avoiding rotation of the cable in the charger. However, this measure greatly affects the cable installation efficiency.

Cable positioning device and charger using same