An emulator controls two single port memories by switching to exclusively connect the single port memories to a target microcomputer and a control microcomputer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an emulator, and particularly to an emulator having a real-time RAM monitor function. The term real-time RAM monitor function is a function for monitoring data stored in a memory (RAM), corresponding to respective addresses accessed by a microcomputer, a distinction between a read and write operations and the presence or absence of the read or write operation after the initiation of an emulating operation of the microcomputer without influencing on the speed of execution of a program upon emulating the microcomputer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration for implementing a real-time RAM monitor function of a conventional emulator. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 indicates a target microcomputer whose operation is emulated. Reference numeral 7 indicates a dual-port memory (corresponding to a memory having two pairs of buses used for an address signal, data and a control signal and a configuration accessible from the two pairs of buses respectively) for storing therein data indicative of data stored in a memory, a distinction between read and write operations of the target microcomputer and the presence or absence of the read or write operation thereof from the initiation of an emulating operation thereof. Reference numeral 2 indicates a write control circuit for controlling the writing of data into the dual-port memory 7. The write control circuit 2 is activated based on a control signal outputted from the target microcomputer 1 and a write operation inhibit signal outputted from a control microcomputer 5.
Reference numeral 8 indicates an address bus electrically connected to an address bus of the target microcomputer 1. Reference numeral 9 indicates a data bus electrically connected to a data bus of the target microcomputer 1. Reference numeral 10 indicates a control bus electrically connected to a control bus of the target microcomputer 1. The respective buses are electrically connected to their corresponding buses of the target microcomputer 1 and a customer system (not shown) with the target microcomputer 1 such as a rice boiler mounted thereon.
Reference numeral 11 indicates a signal line for transmitting a write control signal for controlling the writing of the data into the dual-port memory 7 from the write control circuit 2. Reference numeral 5 indicates a control microcomputer for reading measurement data stored in the dual-port memory 7. The stored measurement data may include data read or written by the target microcomputer, data indicative of whether the target microcomputer performed a read or a write operation, and data indicative of the presence or absence of read or write operations performed by the target microcomputer. The dual-port memory 7 is a memory provided to implement the real-time RAM monitor function. States of data on the data bus 9 and a control signal on the control bus 10 are written into the dual-port memory 7 under the control of the write control circuit 2. The write control circuit 2 and the dual-port memory 7 are electrically connected to the address bus 8, data bus 9 and control bus 10 so that a program developer may be unconscious of program coding and to avoid the influence exerted on the speed for the execution of a program by the target microcomputer 1.
The operation will next be described.
When the target microcomputer 1 is emulated, the write control circuit 2 generates a write control signal for the dual-port memory 7 from an address signal on the address bus 8 and the control signal on the control bus 10. Next, if the address signal on the address bus 8 indicates an address to be measured for the dual-port memory 7, then the write control circuit 2 outputs a write control signal to the signal line 11 to write the states of the data on the data bus 9 and the control signal on the control bus 10 into the dual-port memory 7 during write and read cycles of the target microcomputer 1. Thus, the data indicative of the result of measurements, which has been written into the dual-port memory 7, is read by the control microcomputer 5, using another port of the dual-port memory 7.
Owing to such an operational property, as the dual-port memory 7, a memory capable of performing only the write operation on the side thereof connected to the target microcomputer 1 and performing the read and write operations on the side thereof connected to another control microcomputer 5 is used in addition to a memory capable of performing the read and write operations from both ports thereof (the write operation on the control microcomputer 5 side is required upon initialization of the dual-port memory 7). As a modification of FIG. 2, a conventional example is known which adopts a configuration (cycle steal configuration) wherein the dual-port memory 7 is used as a normal single port memory and the result of measurements recorded in the single port memory is read out during a cycle in which the writing of data into the single port memory is not produced.
Since the real-time RAM monitor function of the conventional emulator is constructed as described above, a mass storage and high-speed memory is required to implement the real-time RAM monitor function with an increase in memory size of a microcomputer intended for development and evaluation of a program and the speeding up of a memory access operation of the microcomputer. However, since the high-speed dual port memory is small in capacity and high in cost as compared with the single port memory having the same access time as the high-speed dual port memory, it becomes hard to implement the real-time RAM monitor function. Since the achievement of high performance of the microcomputer as well as the adoption of a pipeline structure has increased the frequency of utilization of buses by the microcomputer, a problem arose in that the cycle steal configuration using the single port memory became also hard to realize the real-time RAM monitor function. This invention relates to an emulator.

Emulator having single port memories for simultaneous recording and reading of measurement data

Mitsubishi Electric Semiconductor Software Co., Ltd.


A method produces adhesive closure parts, where a partial segment of the surface of a support element (10) is provided with adhesive closure elements (3) which stand out from its plane by applying a plastic material that forms adhesive closure elements on the support element (1). The adhesive closure elements (3) are formed without any forming tools, at least in a given area, by depositing the plastic material in successively delivered droplets using an applicator (9).

DE 198 28 856 C1 discloses a conventional process for producing adhesive closure parts which is relatively expensive, especially if adhesive fastener elements produced are applied in very high packing density and are small in size. For example, in production of so-called microfasteners, the adhesive fastener elements are provided in the form of stems thickened at the ends or with side projections in very high packing densities (for example, 200 or more adhesive fastener elements per square centimeter). Form tools, such as dandy rollers, are required for shaping the stems as desired on the end side. Very high production costs are occasioned by the very large number of sieve openings, which openings may be produced by etching, electroplating, or laser treatment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing adhesive closure parts


The present invention is directed to a pedicure boot having a forward end of an upper member detachably secured to the forward end of the sole member to enable the toes of the user to be exposed and then covered as needed without having the forward end of the upper member detached from the pedicure boot.

Pedicure salons are well known and are frequented predominantly by women. In warm weather, it is commonplace for the procurer of a pedicure to arrive at the pedicure salon in open toe sandals which can be easily removed or remain on the user during the pedicure. When the pedicure is completed, there is often a period of time, typically up to one hour in which the polish applied to the toes must have ample time to dry.
Accordingly, it is commonplace for the procurer of a pedicure to arrive at a pedicure salon in open toe sandals. The sandals may be removed during the pedicure and then placed again on the feet after the pedicure is completed without adversely affecting the nail polish applied to the toes. The user can then wear the open toe sandals when leaving the pedicure salon even if the nail polish is not completely dry because the toes and particularly the nail polish applied thereto do not come into contact with any portion of the open toe sandals. This system works well in warm temperatures and under good weather conditions.
However, when the outside temperature decreases (e.g. from early to mid-Fall through early-Spring and particularly during the Winter) or during inclement weather such as rain or snow the use of an open toe sandal especially after leaving a pedicure salon is problematical. Once the pedicure is completed, the user must remain in the pedicure salon until the nail polish is completely dry which can take up to an hour. Because the open toe sandal provides no protection against cold or inclement weather, any attempt to leave the pedicure salon with an open toe sandal can result in significant discomfort to the user and can adversely affect the pedicure itself. Exposure to cold becomes very uncomfortable for the user and may even expose the user to a chill resulting in sickness because of the complete exposure of the lower portion of the foot that takes place when wearing open toe sandals.
Examples of pedicure sandals are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,751,693; 5,946,823; and 6,678,971. Each of these pedicure sandals show significant exposure of the foot in order to allow the polished toes ample opportunity to dry. In each case, not only are the toes exposed, but a substantial part of the foot and upper ankle are exposed to the elements as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,823 shows a pedicure sandal system in which the toes are protected by a removable cover assembly that can slip over the forward end of the sandal and is completely removable therefrom. A problem with pedicure sandal systems of this type is that the cover assembly must be completely removed to expose the toes and therefore forms an entirely separate unit from the sandal itself. Thus, there is always the possibility of losing or misplacing the toe cover assembly rendering the sandal useless for protecting the toes.
It would be a significant advance in the art of pedicure systems to provide a pedicure boot which minimizes exposure of the toes after completion of the pedicure and provides protection to the user, particularly when having to leave pedicure salons in cold or inclement weather.
It would be a further advance in the art of pedicure systems to provide a pedicure boot in which exposure of the toes can be occasioned by adjusting the forward end of the boot in a manner which does not cause complete detachment of the forward end such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,823.


A unitary magnesium frame for a notebook computer includes a planar card support that isolates the planar card from external stresses applied to a base cover assembly that is engaged with the frame. A keyboard bezel assembly can cover the frame opposite to the base cover assembly. Various component-supporting structures of the frame are disclosed.

Notebook computers such as the device marketed under the trade name "Thinkpad" must have frames that support the various components in the computer. As critically recognized herein, owing to the portable use of such computers, the frame should accommodate several design considerations, including being sufficiently rugged to support planar computer cards in a way that any shock or flexure of the computer will not unduly harm the cards. Also, because of the way such computers are used the present invention understands that fluid drainage from the top, or keyboard side, of the computer through the frame is desirable, since users tend to spill liquids on notebook computers during use. Additionally, the present invention recognizes that ease of replacing various internal components such as hard disk drives (HDD) is desirable, as is the use of different housings that cover the frame.


A display device is disclosed. In one aspect, the display device includes a first substrate including a display area and a non-display area surrounding the display area and a display unit formed over the first substrate in the display area and configured to display an image. The display device also includes a plurality of first reinforcing members formed over the first substrate in the non-display area, wherein the first reinforcing members are spaced apart from each other. The display device further includes a second substrate formed over the first substrate with the display unit interposed therebetween, and a sealant formed in the non-display area and substantially sealing the first and second substrates, wherein the sealant is interposed between the display area and the plurality of first reinforcing members.

1. Field
The described technology generally relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device including frit as a sealant.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays have recently received attention due to their distinguishing characteristics compared to traditional display devices.
OLED displays are self-luminous and do not require a separate light source, unlike liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and thus, can be manufactured to have a reduced thickness and weight. Further, OLED displays have favorable characteristics, such as low power consumption, high luminance, and fast response speeds.


An operating mechanism for a Bowden cable comprises a support bracket, an operating lever, a hub mounted on the support bracket for rotation about a first axis by the operating lever, a transmission lever connectable to the Bowden cable and mounted on the support bracket for pivoting about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, and an actuating arm connected at one end to the hub and connected at its end remote from the huh by a sliding ball and socket joint to the transmission lever so that rotation of the hub about said first axis causes rotation of the transmission lever about the second axis to extend and retract the Bowden cable. In the invention, sliding axis of the ball and socket joint is inclined relative to both the first axis and the second axis.

There are several applications in which an operating mechanism is connected to a remotely located device by means of a Bowden cable. One example of such an application is a steering column mounted lever for selecting forward and reverse gear in a tractor. In this case, the opposite end of the Bowden cable would be a mechanical control lever on the gearbox or to a remotely located hydraulic selector valve. It is important in such an application that the lever movement should be positive, i.e. with minimal free play, so as to provide a firm feel to the operator.
EP 0 560 645 discloses a gear lever mechanism remotely connected to a gearbox by two Bowden cables, one for transmitting the left to right movements in the neutral position of the gear lever and the other for transmitting the front and rear movements that engage the different gear ratios. To transmit the left to right movement in the neutral position, an actuating arm is secured to the gear lever in such manner that it rotates with the gear lever during left to right movements but rotates about a transverse pin relative to the gear lever during front and rear movements. The free end of the actuating arm is coupled to one arm of a bellcrank lever of which the other arm is connected to one of the Bowden cables.
The coupling between the actuating arm and the bellcrank lever comprises a sliding ball and socket joint. Such a joint, in addition to allowing the relative inclination of the actuating arm and the bellcrank lever arm to change, allows the distance between them to vary. This is implemented in EP 0 564 645 by a pin that projects from the bellcrank lever and extends parallel to its axis of rotation. The pin carries at its end a ball that slidably engages in a cylindrical socket mounted on the actuating arm. In this construction, the sliding axis of the joint is the axis of the cylinder in which the ball is received.
Because the sliding axis in EP 0 564 645 extends parallel to the axis of the bellcrank lever, the coupling only works because, as earlier mentioned, the actuating arm is pivotable relative to the gear lever and can therefore move towards and away from the pivot point of the bellcrank lever as it rotates. In the absence of such an additional degree of motion of the actuating arm, the coupling between the actuating arm and the bellcrank lever would lock in one position.
The requirement for an additional pivot makes the cable operating mechanism more bulky and complex, and there is a need for more moving parts that are all prone to wear.


A load lifting apparatus comprises a first housing, a second housing and a mechanical obstruction structure(s). The first housing is sized to slide over an upset tubular having a given diameter, wherein the first housing comprises the mechanical obstruction structure(s) that is designed to move radially inward when engaged with the second housing. The compressed internal diameter of the mechanical obstruction structure(s) can contact the upset tubular, wherein the upset tubular can then be supported by the mechanical obstruction structure(s) and the second housing, for safely lifting the upset tubular.

Tubular goods, whose use includes, but is not limited to, use in drilling for, and production of oil and gas, experience a considerable amount of handling and a certain degree of mishandling and abuse on their journey from the steel mill to the final well destination. As a result, screw on cylindrical thread protectors, with a full compliment of threads, are placed on such tubular goods to protect the threads from any harm prior to installation. However, because the removal of such protectors often requires an expenditure of time that cannot be tolerated during the installation of tubular strings in wells, the original protector is often removed at the well site and is replaced with a different protector with quick release and installation capabilities. The tubular good subsequently rides from rack to rig with the new thread protector, which is eventually removed when the joint is to be threadedly attached to the downwardly continuing string. During the interval that the protector is on the threads, a last bore drift test is usually done, and it is desirable that the protector does not interfere with the drift passage. Once the string is pulled out of the hole, the quick install capabilities of such a thread protector ensure protection for the threads on tubular goods whose threads have not been damaged in the drilling activity.
A considerable amount of development work has been done in efforts to improve the bands and related tensioning gear to keep the casing protectors from being knocked off the threads during the rack to well trip.
The body of protectors in rig site use are currently made of elastomer, sometimes polyurethane, but may sometimes be made of other material, such as black rubber. The elastomer is formulated and cured to serve the skid and bash protection function and does not always favor thread gripping. In order for the elastomer to adequately grip the threads on the tubular goods to be protected, a sufficient amount of hoop force must be applied, which is often accomplished through the tensioning of bands around the elastomer. However, such securing bands are designed to be tensioned by hand and consequently, seldom have enough energy to drive the elastomer into the thread grooves sufficiently to prevent the occasional slipping of the protector.
Furthermore, the thread protectors on the rig site are currently designed so that the elastomer is pulled apart to accommodate the threads to be protected and subsequently tightened around such threads when the protector is in place. The net effect of repetitive pulling apart is that the elastomer would eventually deform due to the repetitive yielding, causing the elastomer to lose its memory characteristics.
There have been many attempts in this art to provide improved protectors for male threads on the pin end of oilfield tubulars. U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,672 to Mosing, et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,805 to Mosing, et al, each having been assigned to Frank's Casing Crew and Rental Tools, Inc., are two such prior art patents. The prior art has typically used components which are in intimate contact with the male threads, and while they oftentimes have been used with a great deal of success, these components have sometimes failed to protect the threads when the tubular is dropped or banged against hard surfaces, such as rig floors of ramps and truck bodies. This is especially true when such prior art protectors are used with two-step threaded oilfield tubulars having premium threads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,894 to Samuel P. Hawkins, assigned to Frank's International, Inc., the assignee of this present invention, shows a device for suspending various downhole tools below the device, for repair and maintenance purposes. Moreover, there have been many attempts to provide lifting surface on the exterior of smooth surfaced oilfield tubulars to which elevators can be attached to either raise, lower, or otherwise move said oilfield tubulars.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0061528 discloses a gripping device for engaging a tubular with a collet structure to receive a tubular. The collet has a plurality of elongated blades, with each blade having a gripping structure at the unsupported end. Because the device requires a gripping surface to establish resistance, the device will not work with tubulars (e.g., casing) that has a tapered or swaged connection or tubulars (e.g., casing) that has an integral box end. Such upset tubulars or casing therefore comprise varying diameters, which are not controlled generally by the American Petroleum Institutes' specifications; and as such, it is difficult to design and engineer a gripping device(s) and/or a gripping surface(s) that can handle one or more of the varying upsets of the tubulars. In addition, sufficient frictional forces are required in order to enable a gripping surface to work; however, if the frictional forces are too high (e.g., intense), then the intense frictional force can cause damage to the tubulars. Accordingly, there is a need for a load ring lifting device that can be suitable for casing or upset tubulars, which have a tapered or swaged end or connection, and/or include an integral box end. In addition, there is a need for a load ring lifting device that does not require the use of intense frictional forces for forming a gripping surface. The embodiments of this invention satisfy these needs.
The objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in this art from a consideration of this specification, including the attached claims, the included Abstract, and the appended drawings.

Load ring for lifting by elevator, of casing having an upset


A device for receiving and fluidically contacting a container for fluid, in particular a microfluidic device, includes a receiving unit configured to receive the container. The receiving unit includes at least one first hollow needle extending toward the received container, and at least one fixing element configured (i) to fix the received container at a predetermined distance from the needle, and (ii) such that the container is released in response to a force exceeding a predetermined threshold acting either (a) on the container in the direction of the needle, or (b) on the receiving unit in a direction toward the container. Release of the container enables the container and receiving unit to undergo a predetermined movement relative to each other such that the needle penetrates a shell of the container to fluidically contact the container.

Lab-on-a-chip systems are microfluidic devices in which multiple functionalities of a macroscopic laboratory are accommodated on a plastic substrate which is for example the size of a credit card, and complex biological, diagnostic, chemical or physical processes can take place in a miniaturized form and in an at least partially automated manner. Here, the liquids and reagents required for this purpose may be introduced into a cartridge of the lab-on-a-chip system during operation or may already be pre-stored on the cartridge.
For example, DE 10 2012 222 719 A1 discloses a microfluidic cartridge in which a film bag, also referred to as a tubular bag, is pre-stored filled with fluid.

Device and method for storing and emptying containers filled with fluid in microfluidic devices


A top closure for a rectangular box includes a tarpaulin having one edge connected to one top edge of the box, and having the opposite edge wound around an elongated shaft. A reversible motor is connected to the shaft for winding and unwinding the tarpaulin to open and close the top closure. A remote transmitter is adapted to send either a wind or an unwind signal to a receiver which is connected through solenoids to the reversible motor. By pressing one button on the remote transmitter it is possible to rotate the motor in one direction, and by pressing the other button on the remote transmitter it is possible to rotate the motor in the opposite direction.

The present invention relates to a remote control for a box top closure.
Various attempts have been made to provide a top closure for an elongated box having an upper open end. Tarpaulins or other flexible sheet members can be rolled across the open upper end of the box to provide a cover. Such a cover has application for covering the tops of truck trailers, for covering the upper ends of bins, or for covering such things as solar collectors.
Typical prior art top closures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,193 dated May 21, 1985 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,098 dated Jul. 16, 1985. These prior patents show a top closure comprised of a flexible sheet member sized to fit in covering relation over a top opening of a box. One edge of the sheet member is attached to the upper edge of one of the box walls. An elongated shaft extends between the two opposite ends of the box. The flexible sheet member is rolled around the shaft. The shaft is capable of rolling from an open position wherein the tarpaulin is wound completely around the shaft to expose the top opening of the box to a closed position wherein the tarpaulin is unwound from the shaft and is completely covering the top opening of the box. Reversal of the rotational direction of the shaft permits the shaft to roll back to open and uncover the box. In prior devices the shaft may be rotated either by an electrical motor or by a manual crank.
A primary object of the present invention is the provision of an improved remote control for causing the tarpaulin to be rolled and unrolled to open and close the upper end of a box.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a remote control which can be operated with a separate remote transmitter held by an operator who is standing in spaced relation to the truck trailer or other box which is being covered.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a remote control for a box top closure which is simple in construction, efficient in operation, and reliable to use.


A wall plate adapter for coupling home network control signals to AC power wiring, where the wall plate adapter includes built-in signaling circuitry. The wall plate adapter includes a plate with a receptacle face with slots that are aligned with slots of an underlying AC receptacle. When prongs of a plug are inserted into the slots of the wall plate adapter, they touch contacts that are located in the slots of the receptacle face. The contacts are, in turn, coupled to the signaling circuitry, which may be located in an enlarged region of the wall plate. The signaling circuitry is only coupled to the AC power when a plug is inserted. The plug may be coupled to a transformer and a network device.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to a wall plate adapter that replaces existing wall plates of electrical outlets and, more particularly, to a wall plate adapter that includes circuitry for interacting with a home network via the AC power wiring of the electrical outlets.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of home automation networks are currently available for controlling different functions in the home, such as heating and cooling, lights, home entertainment, kitchen appliances, computers, sprinklers and security devices. In particular, networks such as those conforming to the X10 standard use the existing alternating current (AC) power lines in a home or other structure as a network media to carry data. Such networks can include transmitter units, receiver units, and bidirectional units that can receive and transmit commands. X-10 transmissions are synchronized to the zero-crossing point of the AC power line. A binary 1 is represented by a 1 ms burst of 120 KHz at the zero-cross point and a binary 0 by the absence of a burst. The receiving units may perform various functions such as turning the power on or off to an appliance such as a lamp, or adjusting the amount of power provided to the appliance, such as to provide a dimming function for a lamp. Transmitter units may send predefined commands to a specified receiving unit automatically, such as based on a timer, or based on a manual user command, such as the activation of a switch on a control panel. Bidirectional units may send their current status (e.g., on or off) upon request. Furthermore, an address can be associated with each device so that individual devices can be controlled.
Typically, control signals are coupled to the power lines in a home or other structure using either standalone adapters or low-voltage transformers with the coupling circuitry built in. However, when a separate adapter is used, a typical system uses two AC receptacles, causing inconvenience to the end user. Moreover, if the coupling circuitry is built into the low-voltage transformer, multiple versions of the transformer are needed for use with different output voltages. This results in additional design time and cost.

Wall plate adapter for coupling home network control signals to AC power wiring


An x-ray cassette having a shell, an x-ray grid disposed within the shell, and a photographic element removably disposed within the shell. The photographic element is supported substantially independently of the shell.

The invention relates to cassettes for photographic elements and, more particularly, to a cassette for an x-ray phosphor film plate of the kind used in computed radiography.
In computed radiography, a photographic element has an image formed thereon by x-rays, and the element is subsequently provided to a reader where the photographic element is stimulated to emit a radiation pattern that is captured for storage and use. Cassettes of the kind used in computed radiography may comprise a container having upper and lower parts that are hinged together so that they can be opened for insertion of a thin, flexible film sheet or rigid film plate comprising the photographic element. The cassette is closed and latched so that the cassette with the element therein can be used with an x-ray apparatus to produce an image on the photographic element. Then the cassette is taken to a reader where the cassette must be opened and the photographic element extracted by suitable feeders, such as suction feeding devices. The photographic element separate from the cassette is transported through the reader where it is stimulated to emit a radiation pattern and subsequently erased before being returned to the cassette for re-use. The cassettes and photographic elements as described above have generally been satisfactory, however, the cassettes can be relatively expensive, and flexible photographic elements require special feeding devices for extracting them from the cassette and returning them to the cassette. A cassette disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 728,432 filed Jul. 11, 1991 by Jeffrey C. Robertson, minimizes cost of the cassette and simplifies delivery of the photographic element to the reader for image processing. An extractor having a series of hooks can enter that cassette and engage and extract a removable photographic element assembly. That cassette has the shortcomings, that the photographic element assembly is difficult to remove from the cassette manually for cleaning and the like, that the cassette does not include an x-ray grid and that the x-ray film element forms the bottom of the cassette.

X-ray cassette having removable photographic element


An image forming apparatus including a photoconductive drum, a charger which charges the photoconductive drum, an exposing device which irradiates light to the charged photoconductive drum for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive drum, a developing device which has two component developer which includes magnetic toner and magnetic carriers and a transfer charger to transfer the developed image to a sheet of paper. The bias voltages of the charger, the developing device and the transfer charger are applied from a common high voltage power source. A developing starting voltage of the developing device is higher than a residual voltage of the photoconductive drum.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a developing device for an image forming apparatus such as copier, a printer, a facsimile machine or similar electrophotographic image forming apparatus. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a small image forming apparatus which has a single power source for applying a bias voltage to a charging device, a developing device and a transferring device.

Developing device for image forming apparatus


A new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant named ‘Balcebink’, characterized by its single type light pink-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, compact, and mounded growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balcebink'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Arroyo Grande, Calif. during September 2003. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Impatiens cultivars with numerous large flowers, excellent basal branching, and a compact, mounded growth habit.
The new Impatiens cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Impatiens hawkeri breeding selection designated 7934-1, not patented, characterized by its single type medium pink-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and compact growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is Harmony Pastel Rose, not patented, characterized by its single type medium pink-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and compact growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during July 2004 in a controlled environment at Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since July 2004 at Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


Method for quickly establishing a dial-up connection by using a data card, which comprises: when a mobile terminal initiates the dial-up connection from a computer, performing both a process of initiating a wireless connection establishment through a Unified Messaging (Um) port and a process of initiating a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server through a Remote Messaging (Rm) port at the same time.

As the coming of the 3G mobile communication era, with respect to fixed network access, the wireless data card attracts huge demand of users on wireless Internet access due to its high-speed and mobility, and dial-up time delay for Internet dial-up access of a wireless data card also becomes an important user experience index.
TE+MT application mode is employed in the data card to realize dial-up Internet access, Terminal Equipment (TE) is generally a PC or laptop, Mobile Terminal (MT) is a wireless data card or mobile phone terminal. The interface between TE and MT is called Rm interface, and the interface between MT and wireless network is called Um interface. The dial-up Internet access process of the data card comprises of two processes: Rm interface connection establishment and Um interface connection establishment.
In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol, two bearing ways are defined for the upper application data of the data card, namely, IP and PPP. In practical application, the data card usually employs IP bearing way to perform data transmission. The following two dial-up ways described in the disclosure are both based on IP bearing way.
Point-to-point (PPP) data link protocol or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) data protocol may be employed for Rm interface connection establishment. Due to different connection establishment protocols employed by the Rm interface, the dial-up of the data card may be divided into two ways: RAS dial-up and NDIS dial-up. For NDIS dial-up, the Rm interface employs DHCP to establish the data connection; and for RAS dial-up, the Rm interface employs PPP to establish the data connection.
Um interface connection establishment comprises wireless bearing establishment and PDP activation processes. For RAS and NDIS, the processing flow of the Um interface is the same.
As shown in FIG. 1, the dial-up connection establishment flow diagram of the NDIS dial-up comprises of the following steps:
Step S101: A user initiates a dial-up: TE sends a QMI dial-up message to MT;
Step S102: MT receives the dial-up message: MT initiates a dial-up connection process;
Step S103: Um port of MT establishes a wireless connection with the access network: MT sends information requesting for activation of the Packet Data Protocol context (PDP Context) to a Servicing GPRS Support Node (SGSN), SGSN authenticates the CHAP or PAP authentication information from TE, after authentication is successful, it allocates a dynamic IP address, a DNS address and a NBNS address for the user. These parameters are sent to MT through reception information activating the PDP context. The largest duration for PDP activation is specified as 40 s in the 3GPP protocol.
Step S104: The Rm port finishes DHCP negotiation: MT receives the PDP activation message, the status of the Um interface becomes UP, then the DHCP server is initiated, and the activation status of PDP is notified to TE, finally TE sends a DHCP discover message; after MT receives the DHCP discover message from TE, TE and MT start the DHCP negotiation process, MT sends information such as IP address and DNS address allocated by the GGSN to TE according to specifications of the DHCP protocol.
Step S105: The Rm interface finishes the ARP negotiation: TE initiates the ARP process, and MT and TE finish the ARP negotiation;
Step S106: The dial-up connection is established, and the dial-up process is ended.
It can be seen from above flows that, in step S104, MT side has to wait TE to establish DHCP service and sends DHCP discover, if TE side is based on the WINDOWS operating system, the time for establishing DHCP service generally needs about 3 s, the whole process is complicated and takes relatively long time, the user experience is poor.

Data card and method for quickly establishing dial-up connection thereof


The present invention relates to a method for time base correction during generation of a digital video signal from an analog input video signal, and to an apparatus having means for digitizing an analog input video signal using such method.

Digital storage devices such as a HDD-recorder or a DVD-recorder usually have an analog video input for receiving analog audio/video signals from different kind of sources, and an analog video output for displaying the analog video signal on a television set. A typical processing flow of a HDD-recorder or a DVD-recorder is as follows: Analog video input→Video Decoder→MPEG Encoder→MPEG Decoder→Video Encoder→Analog Video Output. After decoding by the Video Decoder the analog video signal is first digitized by means of an Analog-to-Digital converter before any digital processing or compression is performed. The digitized video signal normally conforms to the ITU R-656 standard. The MPEG stream may be stored on a recording medium such as for example a DVD disc or a DVHS tape.
Some problems arise when the video source is a VCR or an un-tuned channel. In case the source is an un-tuned video channel, the video decoder may provide fields with incomplete lines or an incomplete number of lines per field. When the video source is a VCR, and the VCR operates in a trick mode such as fast forward/backward mode, the frame frequency is variable. There are less or more lines per frame than in the normal mode. In addition, in case of an edited tape, the field sequences may be reversed. A normal field order has Upper-Lower-Upper-Lower field ordering. An abnormal field ordering occurs when a consecutive field is the same as the previous field, i.e. Upper-Lower-Lower-Upper-Lower or Upper-Upper-Lower-Upper-Lower. In pause mode, stop mode or double speed mode of the VCR, only Upper fields or Lower fields are provided, i.e. the field ordering is Upper-Upper-Upper . . . or Lower-Lower-Lower . . . .
In all of the above problematic cases the video decoder provides abnormal frame data to the MPEG Encoder chip in the ITU-R BT.656 4:2:2 format. This will make the MPEG Encoder chip choke and lose sync, the pictures become un-smooth, will pause and even freeze.
In this context JP 2002-010217 discloses a video signal processing device capable of solving the above freezing and block noise issue when a non-standard signal is input to a MPEG encoder. A time-axis amendment circuit transforms the input signal into a near-standard signal, and a reset circuit generates a reading synchronization when the field length deviates. A field distinction circuit amends the Upper and Lower order when a non-interlaced signal is input.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,717 describes a time base corrector apparatus for removing time base errors from video signals. Time base correction is accomplished by lengthening or shortening each video line in sub-pixel increments by using an interpolator circuit to interpolate consecutive pixels. The interpolator compensates for too few pixels per line by compressing the stretched pixels to the proper size and by creating new pixels from a portion of the pixels immediately before and after the created pixel. The interpolator compensates for too many pixels per line by incorporating the values of the input pixels into the proper number of pixels by an interpolation technique.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,203 discloses a digital time base corrector, which is capable of correcting time base errors from video sources operating in trick mode. The corrector has a memory and a dropout detector. When a dropout is detected, the dropout portion of the video signal is replaced by previously stored values.

Time base correction for digitized video signal

Abstract: According to the invention, the method includes the steps of:                receiving an analog video signal;        generating a digital video signal from the analog video signal with a video decoder;        storing at least a part of the digital video signal in a memory;        detecting a portion of corrupt data having an abnormal field ordering in the digital video signal;        either discarding the portion of corrupt data or replacing at least a part of the portion of corrupt data with previous data stored in the memory; and        outputting the digital video signal.


Provided is a display device including a display panel having a plurality of pixel regions, a first insulating layer on the display panel, having a first refractive index, and having a plurality of first openings defined in regions which overlap the plurality of pixel regions, a second insulating layer directly on the first insulating layer and having a plurality of second openings defined in regions which correspond to the plurality of first openings, and a third insulating layer covering the display panel, the first insulating layer, and the second insulating layer and having a second refractive index higher than the first refractive index, wherein the third insulating layer may overlap the plurality of pixel regions on a plane.

A display device may be classified into a self-light-emitting display device in which a light-emitting element emits light by itself, or a light-receiving display device which controls transmittance of received light. The self-light-emitting display device may be, for example, an organic light-emitting display device. Light generated in a light-emitting layer of the organic light-emitting display device may be emitted not only in a front direction but also in a lateral direction. Light efficiency may be determined based on the light emitted in the front direction. That is, light emitted in the lateral direction may cause a decrease in light efficiency.

Display device and method of manufacturing display device


A two stroke engine of a particular configuration can have its power output increased by running bigger pistons and using ports in the piston skirt through which to conduct compressed air within the skirt through short passages in the cylinder housing that conduct the air from within the skirt to above the piston. As a result a larger piston can be used for the same spacing and opening size in the block to save the need to redesign the block and the crankshaft. A position adjuster for the piston moves it axially without rotation of the piston ports out of alignment with inlet ports in the housing. The piston rod is held in the crosshead using a flat to prevent rotation while an adjuster nut that is turned creates axial movement in the piston rod with a lock nut securing the final piston position.

The field of this invention is two stroke engines and, more particularly, relates to an air intake porting configuration that allows an increased cylinder bore and facilitates a corresponding power increase for a given exterior cylinder dimension.
In an effort to get more power out of a given frame size for a two stroke engine, one readily apparent way is to simply increase the bore of the cylinders. As a result, the power output increases by the square of the ratio of the new bore divided by the previous bore. The problem with doing this is that the throws on the crankshaft have given spacing, and the enlargement of the bore forces an increase in external dimensions of the cylinder. The existing block may also define limits to any desired increase of the bore, depending on the available spacing between the existing bores, for instance. The problem with expanding the bore size of two stroke engines is that air intake passages to the cylinder require a fair amount of space, because of their location. In the past, air was introduced through passages extending from the crank end of the power cylinder to the intersection of the intake ports with the main bore of the cylinder. Another way was to build an air chest into the engine block around the intake ports for the cylinder. However this method would substantially increase the size of the engine block, which increases the weight of the engine and may not be compatible with the given engine bay, for instance.
While a wholly new engine could be designed, such a process can be expensive and time consuming. It is clearly desirable if the bore size can be increased without major changes to the basic engine structure. In accordance with certain embodiments, the present invention provides methods and apparatus to increase the bore sizes of a given engine design without significant changes to the frame or crankshaft. The invention is put into perspective by a quick review of two stroke engine basics, shown in FIG. 1, and a comparison of the intake porting of a known design with that of the present invention shown in a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3.
Referring to FIG. 1, a piston 10 having a rod 12 is disposed in a cylinder housing 14. The piston 10 also has a skirt 16 that defines a volume 18 around the rod 12. An inlet valve housing 20 includes a reed valve 22 that operates like a check valve. In the view of FIG. 1, the piston 10 is descending after a power stroke. Air that previously was drawn into housing 20 and past reed valve 22 is forced out of volume 18 as shown by arrows 24. That air that had been compressed under the skirt during the decision from the power stroke can, after the piston descends enough to expose the inlet ports 26, exit from under the skirt 16 to a passage 28 in the cylinder housing 14. The release of the pressurized air through passage 28 and through ports 26 scavenges out the remaining exhaust gasses in the cylinder 30 to exit through the exposed exhaust ports 32. After this happens, the piston 10 rises to close off intake ports 26 and exhaust ports 32. At that point, gas is injected through the gas injection valve 34, and the spark plug 36 ignites the mixture when the piston has nearly reached top dead center. Again the upward movement of the piston while the ports 26 and 32 are closed by the piston opens the reed valve 22 to allow more air to get sucked in. The cycles just described simply repeat as the engine operates.
FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 and is placed on the same sheet as FIG. 3 to allow for an easy comparison of the differences therebetween. Referring first to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the presence of passage 28 leading to ports 26 along the outside of skirt 16 directly defines the size of the surrounding cylinder housing 14. In a given engine, any increase in the bore size B1 necessarily increases the size of the cylinder housing 14 and necessitates a redesign of the crank and engine frame, for example. These and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the description of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawings and the claims which define the full scope of the invention.

Air intake porting for a two stroke engine


A device includes a sealing ring that clamps around facing ends of two tubes, and that has first and second free ends, each of which is provided with a sealing arrangement suitable for coming into leaktight contact. First and second tightening lugs are fastened to the sealing ring in the vicinities of the first and the second free ends. The device has a bridge covering the sealing arrangements, the bridge being mounted to be stationary relative to the first free end of the ring and suitable for sliding relative to the second free end of the ring.

The present invention relates to a clamping device for coupling together in leaktight manner two smooth tubes that are disposed end-to-end, the device comprising a sealing ring that is suitable for clamping around the facing ends of the two tubes, and that has first and second free ends, each of which is provided with a sealing arrangement, the sealing arrangements being designed to procure leaktight contact between said free ends when the ring is in a tightened state, the device further comprising first and second tightening lugs suitable for being moved relative to each other in order to bring the ring into the tightened state.
In general, such a device is made of metal.
A device of this type is known from Patent Application WO 00/75548. In such a known device, the sealing ring is disposed inside a sleeve on which tightening lugs are provided. The sleeve is relatively rigid and forms a shell for the ring, which is more flexible, the sealing arrangements provided at those free ends in the form of a tongue and of a notch deforming when said ends come into contact in order to procure leaktight contact.
That device is satisfactory, but it requires a large quantity of material, which is detrimental, in particular for devices of large diameter, e.g. of diameters as from about 200 millimeters (mm).
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,109 also discloses a clamping device for coupling two smooth tubes together in leaktight manner, that device comprising a ring to which a tightening assembly is fastened that comprises an hourglass-shaped lug and bolts. In that device, the ring is not surrounded over its entire periphery. However, that ring is not a sealing ring having its ends provided with sealing arrangements procuring leaktight contact between the free ends of the ring in a tightened state. Said free ends never come into contact, but rather a deformable rubber sealing gasket or the like is disposed between them. In addition, that ring is more rigid than the tightening lug, since a portion of the strip that carries said lug must be flattened during the tightening so that the separate sealing gasket performs its function. Thus, that device uses a large quantity of material because a thick ring must surround almost the entire peripheries of the tubes. It also suffers from the drawback of implementing a separate gasket, made of a material of the rubber type, that can wear prematurely.

Clamping device for coupling smooth tubes together in leaktight manner


An electronic weighing device includes a lower electrically conductive plate, an upper electrically conductive plate, a load cell coupled to central portions of the upper and lower plates such that the load cell responds to weight on the upper plate, and a flexible, conductive band coupling the periphery of the upper plate to the periphery of the lower plate. An electronic circuit is coupled to the load cell. The circuit is provided on a board which is mounted on the lower plate close to its center. A pair of bores are provided in the lower plate extending from the circuit board to an edge of the lower plate. A pair of non-conductive rods are coupled to potentiometer on the circuit board. The non-conductive rods extend through the bores from the circuit board to the peripheral edge of the lower plate. The lower plate is provided with a shielded electrical socket which is coupled by shielded cable to the circuit board. A conductive cover is provided over the upper plate, the load cell, and the band. The weighing device provides a conductive envelope which substantially encloses the load cell and associated circuitry. Preferably the band is formed with metallic cloth tape which is applied to the edges of the upper and lower plates in a sideways-.OMEGA.-shaped configuration. The band does not interfere with the movement of the plates, yet provides an RF/EM shield around the space between the plates.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electronic weighing devices. More particularly, the invention relates to an electronic weighing device which is shielded to prevent EMI/RFI emission and to provide EMI/RFI immunity.
2. State of the Art
Electronic weighing devices are widely known in the art and there are many different technologies utilized in these electronic weighing devices. Generally, the electronic weighing technologies utilize a transducer of some type which generates an electrical signal which is proportional to the weight being measured. Most electronic weighing devices use load cell technology. In load cell scales, the applied weight compresses an elastic member which has strain gauges bonded to its surface. The strain gauge is a fine wire or etched foil which undergoes a change in electrical resistance when it is either stretched or compressed. A measurement of this change in resistance yields a measure of the applied weight. Regardless of the technology used, all electronic scales rely on some type of circuit to convert the electrical signal generated by the transducer to a signal which can be used to operated a weight display.
All electronic circuits generate a certain amount of electromagnetic (EM) radiation or radio frequency (RF) radiation and all electronic devices can be adversely affected by this type of radiation. Undesirable radiation of this type is referred to as noise or interference. Thus, the terms EMI and RFI refer to electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference. EMI and RFI can be classified in three categories: atmospheric noise, galactic noise, and man-made noise. Atmospheric noise is generally the result of thunderstorms and lightening discharges. Sensitive electronic equipment can be affected by a thunderstorm more than one thousand miles away. Galactic noise which reaches earth is primarily the result of solar activity such as sun spots and sun flares. Solar storms can severely affect sensitive electronic equipment. The most preponderant source of EMI and RFI, however, is man-made noise. Every electrical device, including a simple light bulb, is capable of generating a certain amount of noise. Given the ever increasing proliferation of electrical devices throughout the world, man-made EMI and RFI has now been recognized as a serious environmental problem which can adversely affect the operation of all electronic devices.
Society now relies greatly on the accurate function of electronic devices. A malfunction in an electronic device can result in economic loss, can cause a health hazard, or can damage property. For this reason, various industrial standards committees and governmental agencies have adopted specifications for permissible levels of EMI and RFI. These specifications apply to many different electronic devices and provide for EMI and RFI emissions as well as immunity. The emissions specification indicates the maximum permissible amount of interference an electrical device may generate and the immunity specification indicates the amount of ambient interference that an electrical device must tolerate while continuing to function accurately.
There are many situations in which electronic weighing devices should or must comply with EMI and RFI emissions and immunity specifications. Generally, whenever an electronic weighing device is used in the vicinity of other electrical equipment, the emissions and immunity specifications should apply. In some of these situations, interference generated by the electronic weighing device can cause nearby devices to malfunction. For example, in a laboratory where many sensitive electronic devices may be near an electronic weighing device, emissions from the electronic weighing device must be controlled. In other situations, interference generated by nearby devices can cause an electronic weighing device to become unreliable. For example, there are situations where an electronic weighing device is used to constantly monitor the contents of a liquid or gas cylinder. The output of the weighing device is used to determine when the cylinder is near empty, or to determine the rate at which the liquid or gas is dispensed. Ambient RF or EM interference can cause errors in these determinations. Such errors can be costly and/or hazardous. Electronic weighing devices are commonly used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to monitor gases used in the manufacturing process. An error in monitoring these gases can result in damage to many thousands of dollars worth of semiconductors. Moreover, electronic weighing devices can be used to monitor liquids and gases used in medicine or in environmental control. An error in monitoring these fluids can be hazardous or fatal.
Shielding an electronic weighing device for RFI and EMI is challenging. The weighing devices have moving parts which must not be inhibited and the circuits used in the weighing devices must be accessible to adjust the zero setting and sensitivity of the electronic weighing device.


An electrical apparatus has a number of units (1 to 6), each of which is capable of presenting a transfer function of a different value to an input signal. It also includes control circuitry (7, 9) whereby a desired selection of units (1 to 6) can be made so as to present to the input signal a total value of desired transfer function. The values of the units are chosen such that the ratio (B) between a function value and the next smaller value is less than 2:1.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical apparatus.
More particularly the invention relates to electrical apparatus of the kind (hereinafter referred to as the kind specified) comprising a number of units, each of which is capable of presenting to an input signal a transfer function of a different value and control means whereby a desired selection of said units can be made so as to present to the input signal a total value of desired transfer function value within a predetermined range.
2. Description of the Related Art
In such an apparatus the control means typically provides a binary control signal, each digit of which determines whether or not a different one of the unit is selected according to the value of that digit i.e. whether that digit has a value `0` or `1`.
The control signal is suitably produced by an analogue to digital convertor which produces a binary digital output signal in response to an analogue input signal representing the desired total value of said transfer function to a resolution, i.e. number of digits, equal to the number of said units.
One example of such an apparatus is a phase shifter which comprises a number of units each of which imposes a different phase shift on the input signal. In such an apparatus the values of the transfer functions presented by the different units are chosen so that any desired value within the given range of values of the transfer function can be obtained with at least a predetermined accuracy i.e. resolution. To this end in a known form of apparatus of the kind specified the values of the transfer functions presented by the units are chosen so that the available settable total values of the transfer functions are equally spaced through the desired range. In such an arrangement the unit presenting the largest value of transfer function presents a transfer function equal to half the desired range, a second unit presents a transfer function of half this value and so on, the unit presenting the smallest value of transfer function presenting a value equal to or less than the desired resolution. For example for a phase shifter settable in the range 0.degree. to 360.degree. using five units and have a five digit binary number as the control signal the phase shifts of the different units are 180.degree., 90.degree., 45.degree., 22.5.degree. and 11.25.degree.. With such an arrangement any desired value within the range 0.degree. to 360.degree. can be obtained with a maximum resolution of 11.25.degree.. However, in practice the actual phase shifts presented by the different units are likely also to be subject to error. As a result the actual maximum resolution is larger than 11.25.degree.. For example if each unit is subject to the same percentage error and the unit giving the largest phase shift is high and the other units are all low a large gap in obtainable values exists between that obtained when all but the highest phase shift unit is selected (i.e. control signal 01111) and that obtained which only the unit giving the largest phase shift (MSB) is selected (i.e. control signal 10000).

Electrical apparatus with digitally set transfer function


A scalable method for the production of highly purified plasmid DNA in Escherichia coli is described, which method includes growing plasmid-containing cells to a high biomass in exponential growth and lysing the cells by raising the pH of the culture to a carefully controlled pH value in which chromosomal DNA is denatured but plasmid DNA is reversibly renatured. The method has been developed for the production of pharmaceutical grade DNA for use in in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy.

A variety of methods are available for isolating and purifying plasmid DNA. In general, these methods take advantage of the physical differences between chromosomal DNA and plasmid DNA. In terms of size, chromosomal DNA is larger than plasmid DNA. When cells are lysed, the larger chromosomal DNA becomes linearized and entangled in the cellular debris and may be separated from the cell lysate.
Prior art methods of isolating and purifying plasmid DNA include lysis by boiling (Holmes and Quigley, Anal. Biochem. 114, 193 (1981)), lysis with alkali (Birnboim and Doly, Nuc. Acids Res. 7, 1513 (1979)), and lysis with detergent (Godson and Vapnek, Biochem. Biophys. Acta 299, 516 (1973)). PCT publication no. 95/21250 discloses a method of isolating plasmid DNA using detergent in combination with alkali treatment. Prior art methods also use highly toxic chemicals to extract and isolate the plasmid DNA; such as ethidium bromide, cesium chloride, phenol, and chloroform. Moreover, these methods are most effective with smaller plasmids; e.g. plasmids less than approximately 8-10 kb. As plasmid size increases, plasmid DNA isolation becomes more difficult using the existing prior art methods.
In general, methods that employ alkali quickly add a standard amount of sodium hydroxide to the cellular suspension (Birnboim and Doly, supra). The pH of the resulting solution rises rapidly, in some cases, to over 13, which results in much degradation of the plasmid DNA. In addition, the concentration of the cells in suspension is dilute (i.e., of the order of an optical density (OD) of 1-3 units at a wavelength 600 nm for a 1 cm light path) to maximize recovery of plasmid DNA.
An object of the invention is to provide a method of preparing pharmaceutical grade DNA.
Another object of the invention is to provide a plasmid DNA preparation which is substantially free of bacterial host RNA.
Another object of the invention is to provide a plasmid DNA preparation which is substantially free of bacterial host protein.
Another object of the invention is to provide a plasmid DNA preparation which is substantially free of bacterial host chromosomal DNA.
Another object of the invention is to provide a plasmid DNA preparation which is substantially free of bacterial host endotoxins.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of isolating and purifying relatively large plasmid DNAs.
Another object of the invention is to provide a scalable method of isolating large amounts of plasmid DNA in sufficiently pure form for use in gene therapy.
Another object of the invention is to maximize the yield of plasmid DNA from a host cell/plasmid DNA combination.

Method of plasmid DNA production and purification


A composition curable to a thermally reversible rubber comprises. (i) a strong acid catalyst having a pK.sub.a of less than about -9, PA1 (ii) at least one polycyclosiloxane containing at least one polyfunctional siloxane unit, and PA1 (iii) at least one polysiloxane selected from the group consisting of a linear polydimethylsiloxane; a polydimethylcyclosiloxane containing from about 6 to about 50 silicon-oxygen bonds; a linear or cyclic block copolymer of polydimethylsiloxane and a non-siloxane organic polymer; and a linear or cyclic random copolymer of a siloxane of the formula Si(R)(R.sup.1)O wherein R and R.sup.1 are different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C.sub.1 -C.sub.18 hydrocarbon and C.sub.2 -C.sub.18 hydroxyalkyl,. wherein the catalyst comprises from about 0.05 to about 0.5 wt % of the composition, and the concentration of polyfunctional siloxane units is at least about two times the catalyst concentration in the composition, but no more than about 0.27 molar. Novel compounds useful as the polycyclosiloxane component of the composition are also provided.

Thermally reversible networks were reported by Frye, J. Org. Chem., 34 (9), 2496-9 (1969) for the base catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of spirocyclotetraalkoxysilanes. The thermal reversibility was attributed to the relatively high stability of the spirosiloxane rings, that is, the polymerization exhibited a positive enthalpy and a positive entropy. The network was not a rubber since the cross-linking density was too high. In other spiroalkoxysilane systems, thermally reversibility was not observed. See, e.g., Kipping et al., J. Chem. Soc. 81-84 (1944). The spriosiloxanes are generally difficult to prepare in high yield.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,222 (Kantor et al.) describes the production of organopolysiloxane elastomers by incorporating into a polymerizable organopolysiloxane mixture the cross-linker 1,2-bis-heptamethylcyclotetrasiloxanylethane ("ditetramer"), which is a dimer of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane. The acid catalysts described by Kantor et al., ferric chloride and sulfuric acid, are too weak to result in formation of a living rubber.
Bis-heptamethylcyclotetrasiloxane-yl-methane and bis-heptamethylcyclotetrasiloxane-yl-ethane were prepared by Gilbert and Kantor, J. Polym. Sci. 40, 35-38 (1959), by the action of peroxides on octamethylcyclotetrailoxane. The resulting yield was poor and the only cross-linking functionality which may result is tetrafunctional. Networks could be prepared, but thermal reversibility was not reported. The copolymerization of ditetramer in the presence of a base catalyst, tetra-n-butylphosphonium hydride is described. A base catalyst will not result in formation of a living rubber.
Mayo et al., J. Polymer Sci. 55, 65 (1961) discloses a tetrafunctional cross-linker which, under the appropriate conditions, could result in living rubber formation. However, the reference recites polymerization in the presence of a base catalyst. A living rubber therefore did not result.
An improved synthesis for certain polycyclosiloxanes via hydrosilation chemistry was later reported. For example, the trifunctional polycyclosiloxane1,3-di-(2-heptamethylcyclosiloxane-yl-ethyl)-1,1,3,3-tetr amethyldisiloxane was prepared in high yield and purity from vinylheptamethylcyclotetrasiloxane and tetramethyldisiloxane (Andrianov et al., Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR. Ser. Kim., 1975, 9, 2055-8). The polymerization of this compound and its use as a cross-linker in a rubber composition are unreported.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,710 (Buese) describes bicyclosiloxane imides which may be cured in the presence of an acid catalyst to a hard network, or optionally cured with a cyclic siloxane to effect the formation of a flexible network. Living behavior was not reported since the networks were too highly cross-linked.

Highly functionalized polycyclosiloxanes and their polymerization into thermally reversible living rubbers

Temple University-Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Education


An electrical connection unit for electrically interconnecting two electronic boards, is disclosed. The connection unit includes at least one electrical pin for electrically interconnecting the two boards, a mechanical link part for mechanically interlinking the two boards, where the electrical connection unit is disposed to enable concomitantly the electrical connection of the two boards via the pin and the mechanical link of the two boards via the link part, and a body which simultaneously carries the electrical pin and the mechanical link part, the body including a support portion for receiving and supporting one of the electronic boards, the support portion and the link part being disposed in such a way that the electronic board is held in place by being wedged between the support portion of the body and a point at which the mechanical link part is secured to the board.

An inverter is known for controlling an electric machine installed on-board a vehicle. An inverter of this type may include an electronic module having a housing; a power board including components through which the energy supplying the electric machine flows; and a control board including components to control the components of the power board.
The two boards may be positioned facing one another with an electrical link between them. Notably, a first board is positioned in a base of the housing; the second board is positioned above the first board by resting on one wall of the housing. The electrical link between the two boards can be established by electrical connection pins having each end soldered onto a board. However, the electronic module may be subjected to vibrations, due to the operation of the electric machine or its application in an automobile environment. These vibrations may weaken the soldered joints between the pins and the boards. One solution consists in attaching the power board onto a base of the housing and maintaining the control board to limit these vibrations, and thus preventing vibrations from accelerating the wear on the solder joints. However, the provision of the electrical connection and the holding of the boards may result in a plurality of steps which complicate the manufacture of the electronic module.
EP2685566A2 discloses an electric connector between two boards. This connector does not allow maintaining the board to limit vibrations.
The problem therefore arises of obtaining in a simple manner an electrical connection between two boards that is resistant to vibrations.
In order to solve this problem, the invention relates to an electrical connection unit intended to electrically interconnect two electronic boards, the connection unit including:    1. at least one electrical pin intended to electrically interconnect the two boards,    2. a mechanical link part to mechanically interlink the two boards,    3. the electrical connection unit being disposed to enable concomitantly the electrical connection of the two boards via the pin and the mechanical link of the two boards via the link part.

Electrical connection unit between two electronic boards


A method and apparatus employing a dynamic encryption interface between a processor and a memory. The interface of the present invention dynamically encrypts the contents of the memory. A determination is made whether a memory access request is active. If yes, a further determination is made whether the address associated with the memory access request is greater than a POINTER. If yes, encrypting or decrypting the memory access using a first key. If no, encrypting or decrypting the memory access using a second key. Processing then proceeds to the decision block that determines whether or not the memory access request is active. If the memory access request is not active, data is read from a memory location identified by the POINTER. The read data is decrypted using the first key. The data is encrypted using the second key. The encrypted data is written back to the memory location point identified by the POINTER.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to secure processing and in particular to a method and apparatus employing a dynamic encryption interface between a processor and a memory.
2. Background Art
In the area of secure processing, it is important to protect the system from outside threats such as a "record and decode" threat and a "record and playback" threat. The "record and decode" threat occurs when an interloper decodes sensitive information by watching and recording a transaction that occurs on a pin of an integrated circuit (e.g., a microprocessor integrated circuit). The "record and playback" threat occurs when an interloper attempts to repeat a transaction by recording the transaction and playing the transaction back to the device (e.g., the microprocessor integrated circuit).
For example, with the advent of electronic cash that is stored in "smart cards", an interloper can record a "deposit" transaction and, without any knowledge of exactly what the encoded sequence means, could replay this "deposit" transaction back to the smart card. If someone observed a transaction involving $X and one involving $Y, the interloper can replay the transaction by changing only the dollar amount and tamper with the balance in his account or another's account.
Conventional schemes of encrypting data between a processor and a memory provide protection against some threats but not against others. For example, one approach to protect against security threats is to employ physical protection to prevent access to the pins of the device. Consider a system having a first device and a second device that are each packaged in its own package. In order to protect the interface between the first device and the second device, this conventional approach encapsulates the first and second devices so that the interface between the first device and the second device is not accessible to an interloper.
This approach suffers from several disadvantages. First, the cost to encapsulate the first and second device is high due to the packaging materials employed and the labor involved in encapsulating the first device and the second device. Second, this approach precludes the use of standard devices in systems. Since the interface between the devices is hidden from view, standard pin-outs are unavailable, precluding a system integrator from sourcing the first or second device from different manufacturers.
A second approach to reduce security threats is to encrypt data that is being communicated between the first device and the second device. Conventional encryption schemes suffer from several disadvantages. First, conventional encryption schemes require non-standard encryption synchronization and logic in both the first device and the second device. This additional and non-standard logic in the first and second device increases the cost of the system and further delays the access time to the second device by the first device. Second, as with the first approach, conventional encryption precludes the use of standard devices since the manufacturer of the first device and the manufacturer of the second device must agree a priori the encryption and synchronization protocol between the first and second device. Third, although this approach reduces the exposure to the record and decode threat, this approach does not address the record and playback threat.
In general, the conventional encryption schemes make it difficult for memory data to be observed and understood, but do not protect the system from being tampered with. Specifically, the conventional schemes fail to protect a system from the "record and playback" threat.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved interface between a processor and a memory that protects data communicated between the processor and the memory from the above-noted threats.

Method and apparatus employing a dynamic encryption interface between a processor and a memory


An elevator energy conservation system is disclosed comprising an elevator motor driven by generator having two power supplies. A primary power supply provides electricity to the generator when the elevator motor is in use, while a smaller power supply using significantly less electricity powers the generator while it is idling. The two power supply system has been shown to cut the electricity usage for standard elevators by fifty percent or more over extended periods of use. Moreover, the present invention in a preferred embodiment discloses a shaft which extends from the generator which can be used to power other local machines such as air conditioners, blowers, heaters, and DC motors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to energy systems for powering elevators, in particularly an energy system utilizing a primary and an auxiliary motor for reducing the required power of the system.
2. Description of Related Art
Elevators are a standard fixture of practically every multi-story edifice on the globe. Elevators not only provide access to disabled of otherwise inaccessible areas but provide a modem convenience to those who work and live in buildings having more than one floor. Since the inception of the elevator, a simple method has been used to power the system which is reliable and safe, and provides the greatest convenience to the user. Most elevators operate by means of a tried and true system whereby a large DC (direct current) motor is used to lift a cabin suspended by cables. The DC elevator motor is necessarily large in order to generate the great power required to lift the cabin from a stand still with its maximum load capacity, further accounting for overloads and factors of safety. While such a motor could be operated directly from the AC (alternating current) source supplied directly from the power company, for several reasons it is more efficient to have a localized direct current supply available from which to draw the current needed for the elevator motor. First, there is a large surge in the current when such a motor is started resulting a spike, which is dangerous to the system and its components. The spike also results in a peak current, which in most areas determines the supplier's rate at which a designated period of usage costs the user. That is, if the pre-set interval that the power company charges a customer is four hours, the large spike at the ignition of the DC motor during the four hour period sets the rate for the entire period (even if the spike lasts only a few seconds). For this reason, most systems employ a DC generator which provides a ready source of DC current for the DC motor which operates the elevator.
The presence of the DC generator solves the problem of a spike occurring when the elevator motor is started, but the generator itself requires a source of power. Typical systems employ a large AC motor to run the DC generator, and usually this combination is sold as a single motor/generator unit. With the AC motor running continuously, the generator provides a constant source of power to the elevator motor eliminating all but the most minor spikes in the current draw. However, the problem lies in the continuous running of large AC motor. A large AC motor running under a no load condition, i.e., with the elevator motor not drawing power from the generator, will still require a current of up to 40% of the maximum load current. When this current is projected over a twenty four hour period, as many elevators require, and then over a 365 day year, the cost of simple powering the elevator is staggering. This is true especially when one considers that the elevator is actually being used in the neighborhood of 20 percent of the time during peak hours.
To date, the inventor knows of no solution which has been attempted to reduce the power in elevator systems while meeting the safety requirements and operational parameters of existing elevator systems. A solution should ideally be adapted for use with existing systems with little modification, and should be applicable to different sizes and capacity elevators.


A refrigerant heating type air conditioner operable in a cooling mode and a heating mode includes a first external heat exchanger which works as a condenser in the cooling mode and a second external heat-exchanger which works as an evaporator. Bypass means is disposed between a discharge side of a compressor and the second external heat-exchanger. An expansion valve is connected to an inner heat-exchanger, which works as a condenser in the heating mode, and to both the first and second external heat-exchangers. A control valve is disposed between a suction port side of the second external heat-exchanger for preventing the refrigerant from flowing to the second external heat-exchanger in the cooling mode. Pressure of the refrigerant which is trapped between the control valve and the expansion valve is increased by applying heat, by heating means, to the second external heat-exchanger. The heated refrigerant is released to the bypass means when its pressure exceeds to the pressure of discharged refrigerant from the compressor.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerating apparatus, and more specifically to the improvement of a refrigerant heating type air conditioner.
2. Description of the prior art
A refrigerant heating type of air conditioner is generally known. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,894 discloses an air conditioner provided with heater means for heating refrigerant in an external heat-exchanger.
FIG. 1 is a schematic iiiustration of a conventional refrigerant heating type air conditioner. A detailed description of the conventional apparatus forms part of the description of the corresponding features of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which are identified by the same reference characters in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The conventional air conditioner includes heating means employed when an air conditioner operates in a heating mode. A compressor discharges refrigerant to a closed circuit known as a refrigerant circuit. In the heating mode, the refrigerant, which has been condensed in an inner heat-exchanger is supplied to the external heat-exchanger serving as an evaporator through an expansion valve. The refrigerant in the evaporator absorbs heat from the heating means and is vaporized. The vaporized refrigerant then returns to the compressor. A two-way valve is disposed at a suction port side of the compressor and the evaporator that the refrigerant in the heating mode returns to the compressor if the two-way valve is opened. When the air conditioner operates in a cooling mode, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor first flows to another external heat-exchanger or a condenser in which the refrigerant is condensed. The condensed refrigerant is then supplied to the inner heat-excahnger through the expansion valve. The two-way valve prevents the refrigerant flowing through the first external heat-exchanger to the compressor in the cooling mode. A check valve is provided to shutdown the fIow of the refrigerant to another heat-exchanger or the condenser in the heating mode.
The air conditioner desoribed above has a disadvantage in that a state may exist in which both the two-way valve is closed for and the expansion valve is closed during the heating mode. In such a state the refrigerant is trapped in the evaporator. The trapped refrigerant is heated and the pressure of the trapped refrigerant will greatly increased thereby damaging various parts of the air conditioner.

Refrigerant heating type air conditioner


A vertical semiconductor device is formed in a semiconductor layer having a first surface, a second surface and background doping. A first doped region, doped to a conductivity type opposite that of the background, is formed at the second surface of the semiconductor layer. A second doped region of the same conductivity type as the background is formed at the second surface of the semiconductor layer, inside the first doped region. A portion of the semiconductor layer is removed at the first surface, exposing a new third surface. A third doped region is formed inside the semiconductor layer at the third surface. Electrical contact is made at least to the second doped region (via the second surface) and the third doped region (via the new third surface). In this way, vertical DMOS, IGBT, bipolar transistors, thyristors, and other types of devices can be fabricated in thinned semiconductor, or SOI layers.

Semiconductor power devices have been in use since the early 1950s. They are specialized devices used as switches or rectifiers in power electronics circuits. Semiconductor power devices are characterized by their ability to withstand high voltages and large currents as well as the high temperatures associated with high power operation. For example, a switching voltage regulator will comprise two power devices that constantly switch on and off in a synchronized manner to regulate a voltage. The power devices in this situation need to sink system-level current in the on state, withstand the full potential of the power supply in the off state, and dissipate a large amount of heat. The ideal power device is able to operate in high power conditions, can rapidly switch between on and off states, and exhibits low thermal resistance.
A standard power device structure implemented using Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) technology is the Vertical Diffused Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (VDMOS) structure. The VDMOS structure is also known as Double-diffused MOS (DMOS). The "vertical" term is used because current flows vertically through the device, and the "diffused" term is used because the channel and source regions are produced through a diffusion processing step. The structure can be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 displays a cross-section of a VDMOS power device 100. The power device 100 includes one or more source electrodes 101, a drain electrode 102, and a gate electrode 103. Source regions 104 are N+ doped in an n-type VDMOS device. In contrast to a standard MOSFET configuration, the source regions 104 are located on either side of a gate 105 below a gate insulator 106. Channel regions 107 are P+ doped in an n-type VDMOS device, and they are disposed between a drain region 108 and the source regions 104. In an n-type VDMOS device a high voltage applied to the gate electrode 103 will invert the channel regions 107 between the source regions 104 and the drain region 108. This configuration allows the power device 100 to withstand both a high voltage in the off state and a high current in the on state as compared to a standard MOSFET implemented using the same amount of die area. The channel width of the power device 100 is double that of a traditional MOSFET with the same die area thereby allowing the power device 100 to withstand large currents. In addition, the dimension that would usually be the channel length in a traditional MOSFET does not affect the breakdown voltage. Instead, the thickness and doping of the drain region 108 determines the breakdown voltage of the power device 100. The drain region 108 is usually the device substrate when a VDMOS device is implemented in a regular bulk semiconductor process.
The VDMOS power device 100 has certain disadvantageous aspects that limit it from performing as an ideal power device. For instance, there is a large junction capacitance formed by the boundary between the drain region 108 and the channel region 107. This capacitance is generally due to an area component set by a dimension 111 and a depth component set by a dimension 110. Since the junction formed by the drain region 108 and the channel region 107 must be charged or discharged when the power device 100 switches state, the capacitance of this junction degrades the performance of the power device 100. In addition, since the area component is limited, it is not possible to contact the source regions 104 and the channel regions 107 separately, since electrodes such as source electrode 101 can often consume a large amount of area. Furthermore, the power device 100 suffers from very poor thermal performance, since it is implemented on bulk semiconductor. Power devices implemented in bulk semiconductor typically have a minimum wafer thickness of approximately 200 μm due to the high incidence of wafer breakage when handling large-diameter wafers thinner than that. Since the thermal resistance of a silicon substrate is proportional to the thickness of the silicon substrate, the implementation of power devices on bulk semiconductor is problematic in terms of thermal performance. A high level of heat in an integrated circuit can shift the electrical characteristics of its devices outside an expected range causing critical design failures. Left unchecked, excess heat in a device can lead to permanent and critical failures in the form of warping or melting materials in the device's circuitry.
Additionally, layer transfer technology typically involves a pair of semiconductor wafers at various stages of processing that are bonded together using direct, molecular, or adhesive bonding. If one of the wafers is a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-insulator wafer with the substrate removed to expose the buried oxide, the resulting structure comprises a device layer that is upside-down with respect to its original orientation and that has been transferred from an SOI wafer to a new handle wafer.
A layer transfer structure 200 is shown in FIG. 2. The layer transfer structure 200 includes a handle wafer 201 and an SOI wafer 202. The handle wafer 201 comprises a handle wafer substrate 203 and a handle bond layer 204. The SOI wafer 202 comprises an insulator layer 205 and a circuitry layer 206. The layer transfer structure 200 illustrates the finished product of a layer transfer process. However, before layer transfer begins, the SOI wafer 202 additionally comprises another layer of substrate material below the insulator layer 205. The substrate layer is typically a semiconductor material such as silicon. The insulator layer 205 is a dielectric which is often silicon-dioxide formed through the oxidation of the substrate silicon. The circuitry layer 206 includes a combination of dopants, dielectrics, polysilicon, metal layers, passivation, and other layers that are present after structures 207 have been formed therein. The structures 207 may include metal wiring; passive devices such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors; and active devices such as transistors. Layer transfer begins when the handle bond layer 204 is bonded to the top of the SOI wafer 202. At this point, the handle wafer 201 provides sufficient stability to the SOI wafer 202 such that the aforementioned layer of substrate material below the insulator layer 205 can be removed. As a result of this process, the layer transfer structure 200 provides a device that can be contacted through a bottom surface 208. This means that external contacts to the structures 207 in the circuitry layer 206 are extremely close to the structures 207 themselves. In some situations this distance is on the order of 1 micro-meter (μm).
As used herein and in the appended claims, the "top" of the layer transfer structure 200 references a top surface 209 while the "bottom" of the layer transfer structure 200 references the bottom surface 208. This orientation scheme persists regardless of the relative orientation of the circuitry layer 206 to other frames of reference, and the removal of layers from, or the addition of layers to the SOI wafer 202. Therefore, the circuitry layer 206 is always "above" the insulator layer 205. In addition, a vector originating in the center of the circuitry layer 206 and extending towards the bottom surface 208 will always point in the direction of the "back side" of the layer transfer structure regardless of the relative orientation of the SOI wafer 202 to other frames of references, and the removal of layers from, or the addition of layers to the SOI wafer 202.

Double-sided vertical semiconductor device with thinned substrate


A method and apparatus for retrieving, accessing, and storing medical data relating to a patient during a medical procedure. The invention provides a single interface to many disparate forms of medical data, which is accessible over a local area network; wide area network, direct connection, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, an operating room control system for use during a medical procedure on a patient includes an input device, a display device, and a controller that is coupled to the input device and the display device. The controller receives one or more user inputs, transmits a command to a server located outside of the operating room to retrieve medical data, receives the medical data from the server, and displays the medical data on the display device. Medical data can be captured by the controller using, for example, a camera and a video/image capture board, keyboard, and microphone during surgery or examination of the patient. The captured medical data can be stored on one or more remote servers as part of the patient records.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to control systems, and specifically, to information control systems for accessing and integrating medical data for medical purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many surgical procedures are performed with multiple instruments. For example, some laparoscopic procedures are performed utilizing a robotic arm system produced by Computer Motion, Inc. of Goleta, Calif. to hold and move an endoscope. The surgeon may also use a laser to cut tissue, an electrocautery device to cauterize the tissue, and lights to illuminate the surgical site.
Often, it is necessary for a surgeon or doctor to read and study patient information before performing a surgical procedure or examination. The patient information may include patient's medical history, reactions to medication, viewing X-rays and other images and video, etc. This requires the surgeon to review files of the patient, which may located in disparate places, study the files, and copy documents to take to the operating room. The doctor may also have to memorize the patient information since access to such information in a sterile environment is difficult. Alternatively, the doctor can utilize a nurse to look up the information during the surgery, medical procedure, etc. It is imperative that the information obtained regarding the patient is accurate in order to make correct decisions quickly and efficiently.

Method and apparatus for accessing medical data over a network