A system, method and device may be used to monitor fluid levels in a drill pipe in borehole. The system includes an electromagnetic (EM) generator to generate a traveling wave of electromagnetic energy to propagate along a linear path through the drill pipe towards a surface of the fluid, a detector to detect a portion of the electromagnetic wave reflected from the surface of the fluid and propagated through the drill pipe towards the detector, a processor to analyze detected signals to determine a level of the surface of the fluid. In an embodiment, the system includes a pump controller to control the operation of a pump located in the wellbore or at the mudline based on the fluid surface level.

In resource recovery, it may be useful to monitor the fluid level within a pipe at any level of a borehole that has been drilled either for exploratory or production purposes, for example, in dual gradient drilling applications. For instance, the fluid level within the pipe can be an indicator of the pressure seen by the lower end of the borehole. Generally, pressure will lift, or stabilize, the fluid within the pipe to a level such that the hydrostatic column of fluid balances the pressure being applied to the lower end of the pipe. Knowing the actual height of the fluid and the density or weight of the fluid allows a user to readily determine the hydrostatic pressure of the system. Typically, if the hydrostatic pressure is greater than the pressure exerted by the surrounding formations then positive hydrostatic pressure occurs. When a well is drilled using rotary drilling methods, it is customary to maintain the weight of the drilling fluid at a weight that gives positive hydrostatic pressure. The advantage of positive hydrostatic pressure is that the formation fluids do not escape.
During production, the fluid level of the well is typically measured using a device such as an echometer. Generally, the echometer sends a pressure pulse generated by a compressed air source or by an explosive charge into a pipe. The sound wave that is generated travels through the pipe and is reflected at the fluid interface. However, the use of the echometer generally requires that the pipe be filled with a gas that can transmit sound waves. In some drilling applications, having a pipe downhole filled with gas is not a feasible option since the pipe may be sealed from the environment and may only contain a vacuum, thus rendering the echometer unusable.

Systems and methods for sensing a fluid level within a pipe


A method of selling season tickets is disclosed in which unrelated purchasers may reserve a seat ticket for one or more selected events in a related series of events. When enough seat tickets have been reserved, a season ticket for that seat is sold, and the individual tickets reserved for each purchaser are paid for and delivered to the purchasers. Provisions for canceling previously made reservations are included. The method is effectuated on one or more computers, and the computers may be connected to a computer network, including the internet, to allow use of the system by prospective purchasers at remote locations.

In recent years, sports and cultural exhibition events have become increasingly popular throughout the world. Such popularity is due, in large part, to the widespread broadcasting of sports and cultural events worldwide, and to the marketing and offering of such events as a series of performances, or "packages" to be purchased in advance of the series. The selling of a series of events as a "season ticket" package benefits the sponsoring organization by relieving it of the work associated with selling individual tickets for each event in the series, and by assuring advance payment for each event regardless whether the season ticket holder actually attends each event. The season ticket package also benefits the purchaser of the package by ensuring the purchaser of a specific seat, and of a date and time certain, for viewing each of the performances in the series. Thus, the offering of season ticket packages is a widespread common feature of the environment for viewing sports and cultural events. Unless the context indicates otherwise, "season ticket" refers to a specific seat that is available for use by one or more individuals during a season to attend all related events in a series performed at a facility during the season.
Because tickets in good viewing locations are the most popular, and often are the highest priced, event sponsors may attempt to sell most of the tickets for desirable viewing areas as season tickets. For events having a large number of performances during a season, and also having a relatively large ticket price, it has become problematic for ordinary spectators to afford the total cost associated with purchasing a season ticket, or to attend each event in a season. Yet, the drawbacks to the individual for not purchasing a season ticket include having to purchase individual tickets to those performances the spectator wishes to see; having to accept a less desirable viewing area for each event, depending upon the overall availability of tickets that have not been sold as season tickets; and taking the risk that a ticket for a highly desired event may not be available if the event should be sold out. For the business that sponsors the events, the loss of early season ticket revenue in advance of the season, and the lack of certainty in anticipating the number of overall sales are drawbacks that this invention is intended to remedy.
A popular method for eliminating these risks has been for one person to purchase a season ticket package consisting of one seat (or two or more adjacent or closely proximate seats), and for that person to share the total number of events among two or more persons, each person choosing the individual events that he or she wishes to attend, and paying the season ticket holder for them on a per-event basis. The primary difficulty associated with the sharing of a season ticket package, however, is that people who participate in the sharing arrangement for one season may move away, or otherwise choose not to participate for the next season, leaving the season ticket holder with the problem either of having to find another participant, or of having to pay for more events than the holder wishes to attend. When the number of participants becomes too few, it is common for the season ticket holder to relinquish the season ticket rather than incur the substantial costs of maintaining it.
What is needed is a method for season ticket holders to offer and sell some of their unwanted event tickets to third parties, and for persons who are not season ticket holders to join with a season ticket holder in order to purchase one or more of the event tickets from a season ticket holder, and to view those events from a location that is reserved to season ticket holders. Businesses in the business of offering seats also need a method of selling its season tickets to groups of unrelated persons who want access to the season ticket areas but each of whom is interested in purchasing only a portion of the available tickets.

Method of creating season ticket package


An electronic assembly includes a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) circumferentially disposed around a motor and a thermal management assembly (TMA) thermally connected to the flexible PCB. One or more switching semiconductor devices are disposed on a first surface of the flexible PCB. The TMA includes a cooling jacket, at least one jacket manifold formed through the cooling jacket and a thermal compensation base layer thermally coupled to the cooling jacket. The cooling jacket is mounted around a circumference of the motor and has a mounting surface concentric with the circumference of the motor. The mounting surface is coupled to the first surface of the flexible PCB. The at least one jacket manifold has a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet defining a fluid flow area therebetween. The thermal compensation base layer is thermally coupled to the cooling jacket and the one or more switching semiconductor devices.

As electronic assemblies are designed to operate at increased power levels, they generate high heat flux due to the demands of electrical systems. This means that the printed circuit board (PCB) and the active and passive components disposed on the PCB in the electronic assembly should be able to withstand higher temperatures and thermally induced stresses. Conventional heat sinks may be unable to adequately remove sufficient heat to effectively lower the operating temperature of the electronic assemblies to acceptable temperature levels. Further, conventional heat sinks and cooling structures may require additional bonding layers and thermal matching materials (e.g., bond layers, substrates, thermal interface materials). These additional layers and other factors add packaging size and substantial thermal resistance to the overall electronic assemblies and make their thermal management challenging.
Further, due to technological advancement over the years, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) have become the chosen power electronic device in electronic assemblies for a wide range of industrial power conversion applications, such as inverters used in electrified vehicles. The packaging technology for commercial IGBTs is based on wire-bonding technology used to connect dies and terminal leads. Stray inductance is a major concern in the design and layout of IGBT packages and power stages with both high switching speed and high power handling requirements. Moreover, since the power electronic device(s) and the gate drive device(s) used to control them are separate modules within the packaged power conversion assembly, the package design has an undesirably large size and suffers from parasitic inductance. Accordingly, compact electronic assemblies having both power electronic device(s) and gate drive device(s) integrated with thermal management assemblies for cooling the electronic assemblies may be desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thermal management assemblies for electronic assemblies circumferentially mounted around a motor using a flexible substrate

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.


A plasma display panel includes a first substrate, and a second substrate facing the first substrate. The first substrate includes a transparent substrate, a scanning electrode and a common electrode both formed on the transparent substrate, and a dielectric layer covering the transparent substrate, the scanning electrode and the common electrode therewith. The second substrate includes an electrically insulating substrate, data electrodes formed on the electrically insulating substrate, partition walls formed on the electrically insulating substrate, and a phosphor layer covering the electrically insulating substrate and the data electrodes therewith between adjacent partition walls. The phosphor layer includes a blue-phosphor layer composed of phosphor which emits a blue light. The blue-phosphor layer is composed of a mixture of two or more phosphors each of which emits a blue light and has an initial brightness and variation of brightness with the lapse of time both different from one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly to a phosphor layer as one of parts constituting a plasma display panel, in particular, a phosphor layer which emits a blue light.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) is recently popularized as a flat display because of its advantages that a plasma display panel is thin, a big screen can be readily fabricated with a plurality of plasma display panels, a plasma display panel has a broad viewing angle, and a plasma display panel has a high response speed.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display cell in a conventional three-electrode surface-discharge AC type plasma display panel 300.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the display cell includes a front substrate 351 and a rear substrate 352 arranged in parallel with each other. In use of the plasma display panel 300, the front substrate 351 is directed to a viewer.
The front substrate 351 is comprised of an electrically insulating substrate 302 composed of transparent material such as glass, a plurality of scanning electrodes 303 and common electrodes 304 (only one of them is illustrated in FIG. 1) formed on a surface of the electrically insulating substrate 302 facing the rear substrate 352, trace electrodes 305 formed on the scanning electrodes 303, trace electrodes 306 formed on the common electrodes 304, a dielectric layer 312 formed on the electrically insulating substrate 302, covering the scanning electrodes 303, the common electrodes 304 and the trace electrodes 305 and 306 therewith, and a protection layer 313 formed on the dielectric layer 312.
The scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304 are alternately arranged and spaced away from each other by a certain distance in parallel with each other.
The trace electrodes 305 and 306 reduce electrical resistances of the scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304.
The protection layer 313 protects the dielectric layer 312 from discharges, and is composed of magnesium oxide (MgO), for instance.
The rear substrate 352 is comprised of an electrically insulating substrate 301 composed of transparent material such as glass, a plurality of data electrodes 307 (only one of them is illustrated in FIG. 1) formed on a surface of the electrically insulating substrate 301 facing the front substrate 351 such that the data electrodes 307 extend perpendicularly to the scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304, a dielectric layer 314 formed on the electrically insulating substrate 301, covering the data electrodes 307 therewith, a partition walls 315 formed on the dielectric layer 314, and a phosphor layer 311 formed on both an exposed surface of the dielectric layer 314 and sidewalls of the partition wall 315.
In the display cell illustrated in FIG. 1, through the rear substrate 352 is designed to include the transparent substrate 301, it is not always necessary for the electrically insulating substrate 301 to be transparent.
The partition wall 315 defines a discharge gas space and a display cell (a pixel) 308.
When viewed perpendicularly to the electrically insulating substrate 301, the partition wall 315 is in the form of a grid. The partition wall 315 is comprised of vertical partition walls 315a extending in parallel with the data electrodes 307, and horizontal partition walls 315b extending perpendicularly to the vertical partition walls 315a.
The vertical and horizontal partition walls 315a and 315b are equal in height to each other. A height of the vertical and horizontal partition walls 315a and 315b from a surface of the electrically insulating substrate 301, that is, a total thickness of the dielectric layer 314 and the partition wall 315 is 120 micrometers, for instance.
The display cell 308 is filled with a discharge gas composed of a mixture of helium, neon, xenon or other noble gases singly or in combination. The phosphor layer 311 receives ultra-violet rays resulted from discharge of the discharge gas, and resultingly, emits a visible light 310 towards a viewer.
FIGS. 2A to 2F illustrate steps to be carried out in a method of fabricating the plasma display panel 300. FIGS. 2A, 2C and 2E are plan views of the rear substrate 352, and FIGS. 2B, 2D and 2F are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 2B—2B, 2D—2D and 2F—2F in FIGS. 2A, 2C and 2E, respectively.
Hereinbelow is explained a method of fabricating the plasma display panel 300 with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2F.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304 are formed on the electrically insulating substrate 302 such that they are alternately arranged and extend in parallel with each other.
Then, the trace electrodes 305 and 306 are formed on the scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304, respectively.
Then, the dielectric layer 312 is deposited on the electrically insulating substrate 302 such that the scanning and common electrodes 303 and 304 and the trace electrodes 305 and 306 are fully covered with the dielectric layer 312.
Then, the protection layer composed of MgO is formed on the dielectric layer 312.
Thus, there is completed the front substrate 351.
With respect to the rear substrate 352, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of the data electrodes 307 are formed on the electrically insulating substrate 301 so that they extend in a common direction.
Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2D, the dielectric layer 314 is formed on the electrically insulating substrate 301 so as to cover the data electrodes 307 therewith.
Then, as illustrated in FIGS. 2E and 2F, the partition wall 315 is formed on the dielectric layer 314.
The partition wall 315 may be formed by sand-blasting or printing. For instance, the partition wall 315 is formed by sand-blasting, as follows.
First, there is made partition-wall paste comprised of a mixture of filler, glass powder, binder and solution.
Then, the partition-wall paste is coated onto the dielectric layer 314. Then, solution contained in the partition-wall paste is evaporated. Thus, there is formed a paste layer (not illustrated).
Then, a dry film is adhesively put on the paste layer, and then, is patterned.
Then, the paste layer is sand-blasted with the thus patterned dry film being used as a mask. Thus, the paste layer is patterned in accordance with a pattern of the dry film.
Then, the dry film is removed, and the paste layer is baked.
Thus, binder contained in the paste layer is evaporated, and simultaneously, glass powder is melted and solidified again. As a result, there is formed the partition wall 315 composed of filler and glass.
The partition wall 315 is formed in the form of a grid such that the vertical and horizontal partition walls 315a and 315b are equal in height to each other.
Then, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the phosphor layer 311 is formed on an exposed surface of the dielectric layer 314 and sidewalls of the partition wall 315.
Thereafter, the electrically insulating substrate 301 is caused to overlap the electrically insulating substrate 302 such that the protection layer 313 formed on the electrically insulating substrate 302 makes contact with the partition wall 315 formed on the electrically insulating substrate 301, and that the data electrodes 307 extend perpendicularly to the scanning and common electrodes 305 and 304.
Then, thermal treatment is applied to the electrically insulating substrates 301 and 302 overlapping each other to thereby adhere them to each other at their ends by virtue of flits. Thus, a space defined by the electrically insulating substrates 301 and 302 and a seal layer (not illustrated) comprised of the flits is hermetically sealed.
Thereafter, the space is evacuated of air, and then, filled with discharge gas.
Thus, there is completed the plasma display panel 300 illustrated in FIG. 1.
When the plasma display panel 300 is fabricated as a color plasma display panel, RGB phosphor layers which emit red (R), green (G) and blue (B) lights are arranged in every three display cells. Specifically, a phosphor layer composed of phosphor which emits a red light, a phosphor layer composed of phosphor which emits a green light, and a phosphor layer composed of phosphor which emits a blue light are vertically and horizontally arranged in this order.
Among those three phosphor layers, a phosphor layer which emits a blue light is accompanied with a problem that an initial brightness and a lifetime collide with each other, and this problem remains unsolved. Specifically, if a phosphor layer emitting a blue light is composed of a material providing a desired initial brightness, the phosphor layer could not have a sufficient lifetime, and in contrast, if a phosphor layer emitting a blue light is composed of a material providing a desired lifetime, the phosphor layer could not have a sufficient initial brightness.
Hence, many attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problem in a phosphor layer emitting a blue light.
For instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-332481(A) has suggested phosphor composed of silicate and being excited by ultra-violet rays in vacuum condition, as a material of which a phosphor layer emitting a blue light is composed.
Specifically, the Publication suggests the phosphor composed of mM1O.nM2O.2M3O2 containing at least one of Eu and Mn as an additive, wherein M1 indicates at least one of Ca, Sr and Ba, M2 indicates at least one of Mg and Zn, M3 indicates at least one of Si and Ge, m is equal to or greater than 0.5, but equal to or smaller than 3.5 (0.5≦m≦3.5), n is equal to or greater than 0.5, but equal to or smaller than 2.5 (0.5≦m≦2.5), and M1 indicates at least two of Ca, Sr and Ba, or Sr, or Ba when m and n are equal to one (m=n=1).
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-84911(A) has suggested a plasma display panel including a phosphor layer composed of a mixture of phosphors emitting different-colored lights.
Specifically, at least one of a phosphor layer emitting a red light, a phosphor layer emitting a green light, and a phosphor layer emitting a blue light is composed of a mixture of phosphor emitting a red, green or blue light and phosphor emitting a different-colored light.
The phosphor suggested in the firstly mentioned Publication has an advantage that variation in a brightness with the lapse of time is small, but is accompanied with a problem that an initial brightness is low.
The firstly mentioned Publication has an object of suppressing variation in a brightness wit the lapse of time, caused by thermal treatment or exposure to plasma. The object can be performed by selecting phosphor composed of silicate and excited by ultra-violet rays in vacuum condition, as a material of which a phosphor layer emitting a blue light is composed. However, the suggested phosphor is accompanied with a problem that it can suppress variation in a brightness wit the lapse of time, but it unavoidably sacrifices an initial brightness.
The secondly mentioned Publication has an object of controlling a color coordinate (color temperature) when a white light is to be emitted, that is, when red, green and blue lights are emitted. This object can be performed by composing a phosphor layer of a mixture of first phosphor emitting a certain color light, and second phosphor emitting another color light. However, the suggested plasma display panel is accompanied with a problem that a color degree is unavoidably reduced when a blue light is singly emitted.


The present invention provides a coating phosphor comprising phosphor particles, heat resistive coating films which coat the phosphor particles and moisture proof coating films which coat the heat resistive coating films.

The present invention relates to a highly bright coating for phosphor having improved heat resistivity and moisture resistivity, a field luminescent panel with a luminescent layer using coating phosphor for obtaining high brightness and long life time, and a method for applying a coating onto a phosphor for improvement in moisture proof and keeping a high brightness for a long time.
The conventional field luminescent panel has the following structure. A reflective insulation layer is laminated on a back plate. A luminescent layer is further laminated on the reflective insulation layer. A transparent conductive sheet is laminated on the luminescent layer. Leads are provided on the transparent conductive sheet and the back plate. The back plate comprises a metal foil such as an aluminum foil. For the reflective insulation layer, high dielectric powders such as barium titanate are dispersed into an organic binder such as cyanoethylpullulan. For the luminescent layer, phosphor particles are dispersed into an organic binder such as cyanoethylpullulan. The phosphor particles are prepared by activating zinc sulfide with copper, silver and halogen. The transparent conductive sheet may be made of ITO. The above electro-luminance device is further sandwiched between outer coating films such as nitflone having a moisture proof property and further provided with a sheet of nylon having a hygroscopic property between the pane and the outer coating film.
The provisions of the nylon sheet and the outer coating films makes the total thickness of the device increased, whilst it is required to reduce the thickness of the panel.
It is possible to use fleon as a moisture resistive material but is not preferable to use them in view of an environmental pollution control measure. There has not been found out any high moisture resistive material in place of fleon. If the fleon is replaced by other materials but having a lower moisture resistivity than the fleon, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the moisture proof sheets whereby the total thickness of the panel is increased contrary to the requirement for reduction in thickness of the panel. Further, the increase in the thickness of the panel makes the brightness lower.
In order to have the luminescent panel free from any problems as described above, it was proposed to do a direct moisture resistive treatment to the phosphor. Namely, the phosphor is coated with a coating film having a moisture proof. For example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,673, it is disclosed to form a moisture proof coating film such as aluminum oxide on outer surfaces of the phosphor by a thermal chemical vapor deposition method using a reaction chamber illustrated in FIG. 1.
A cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 1 is placed so that a center axis is directed vertically. The cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 1 has a cylindrically shaped body 1a and a funnel-shaped portion 1b connected with the bottom of the cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 1. A filter 2 is provided at a boundary between the cylindrically shaped body 1a and at the funnel-shaped portion 1b. A first pipe 3 is provided at the bottom of the funnel-shaped portion 1b for supplying a first source gas. The first source gas is supplied to the chamber after heated. A second pipe 4 is provided at an upper position of the cylindrically shaped body 1a of the reaction chamber 1 for supplying a second source gas into the chamber. The second pipe 4 has an expanded nozzle having many discharge holes provided in a peripheral area thereof so that the second gases are injected widely and uniformly. A heater 5 is provided around the cyrindrically shaped body 1a for heating up the phosphor and the first and second source gases. The heater 5 is designed to allow setting various temperatures over time.
The method for applying a coating film onto the phosphor by use of the above reaction chamber will be described as follows.
The reaction chamber 1 is heated by the heater 5 up to a temperature in the range of 60.degree. C. to 150.degree. C. before the phosphor particles 6 are supplied into the reaction chamber 1.
The first gas is supplied through the first pipe 3 into the reaction chamber 1 wherein pressure is adjusted so that the first gas are fluidized over the filter 2. The second gas is supplied through the second pipe 4 and mixed with the first gas. The phosphor 6 is also fluidized over the filter 2 and in the mixed first and second gases. The phosphor 6 is made into contact with the mixed gases and further heated by the heater 5 up to a predetermined temperature but lower than 450.degree. C. which is a critical temperature that the first and second gases are decomposed and reacted. The phosphor 6 is then heated up to a temperature over the above crystal temperature of 450.degree. C., for example, 550.degree. C. or 650.degree. C. to cause the decomposition and reaction thereof so that the phosphor particles 6 in fluidizing state are coated with uniform moisture proof coating films. The supply of the first and second gases and the heating are then discontinued to obtain the moisture proof coating phosphor.
In the Japanese laid-open patent publications Nos. 63-278990 and 1-129090, there is disclosed other method for forming coating films on the phosphor particles, This method will be described with reference to FIG. 2.
A cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 7 is placed so that a center axis is directed vertically. The cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 7 has a cylindrically shaped body 7a and a funnel-shaped portion 7b connected with the bottom of the cylindrically shaped reaction chamber 7. A filter not illustrated is provided at a boundary between the cylindrically shaped body 7a and at the funnel-shaped portion 7b. A pipe 8 is provided at the bottom of the funnel-shaped portion 7b for supplying a first source gas. A high frequency coil 9 is placed in the reaction chamber 7 and connected to a high frequency power source not illustrated. The reaction chamber is contained in a sealed chamber 10 which makes a reduced pressure. A pipe 10 is provided to the sealed chamber and connected to a vacuum pump. The phosphor 11 is supplied in the reaction chamber 7. An infrared lamp not illustrated is further provided to heat the phosphor particles 11 in the reaction chamber 7 up to about 200.degree. C.
The method for applying a coating film onto the phosphor by use of the above reaction chamber will be described as follows.
The sealed container 10 is opened to introduce the phosphor particles 11 into the reaction chamber 7. Subsequently, the sealed container 10 is closed to make the sealed container reduced in pressure at 1.3 to 2670 Pa, preferably 6.7 to 667 Pa.
Via the pipe 8, source gases, for example, mixed gases of nitrogen gas and silane gas are supplied to the reaction chamber 7 to make the phosphor particles 11 fluidizing so as to have entire surfaces of the phosphor particles 11 contact with the source gases.
A high frequency current is applied to the high frequency coil 9 to make nitrogen-containing gas plasma in the coils 9 so as to set the phosphor particles 11 at a predetermined temperature so that moisture proof coating films made of silicon nitride are formed on the phosphor particles 11.
The phosphor particles 11 are then maintained in the above states for a predetermined time in the range of 1-500 min. before the high frequency current application is then discontinued. The supply of the gas via the pipe 8 is discontinued. The sealed chamber is opened to pick up the treated phosphor particles.
If the phosphor particles are coated by the oxide such as aluminum oxide in the manner as described with reference to FIG. 1, it is necessary to rise the temperature of the phosphor particles up to more than 450.degree. C. Zinc sulfide is activated with copper to prepare phosphor which will subsequently be coated with the coating film in the manner as described with reference to FIG. 1. In this case, sulfur may be eliminated from the particles due to the high temperature. There may appear migration or elimination of copper as an activator whereby changing composition of the phosphor and damaging the same. As a result, the brightness is considerably reduced.
If, however, the phosphor particles are coated with silicon nitride in the manner as described with reference to FIG. 2, a high temperature heat treatment over 400.degree. C. is necessary for forming fine coating films over the phosphor particles whereby the phosphor particles receive damages and the brightness thereof is considerably reduced.
In general, the phosphor particles have rough surfaces, for which reason it is difficult to remove pin holes by coating the nitride film such as silicon nitride film.
In the manner described with reference to FIG. 1, the phosphor particles 6 are fluidized by the pressure of the first gas. But this pressure of the first gas provides influence to the proper concentration of the second gas. Namely, the gas pressure for having the phosphor particles has to be adjusted in consideration of not only the amount of the phosphor particles supplied but also the weight of the phosphor particles, wherein the weight is increased due to adhesion of the reaction product. Namely, a complicated adjustment for the amount of the source gases supplied is needed.
On the other hand, if undecomposed source gases are heated at a high temperature over 400.degree. C., the brightness and the coloring quality are deteriorated even the moisture resistivity is not deteriorated.
In the manner as described with reference to FIG. 2, the decomposition and reaction of the source gases appear only in the coil 9, whilst at a position distanced from the coil 9 the phosphor particles are not coated with the reaction product at a sufficient thickness and are even subjected to a high temperature whereby the luminance property is deteriorated. The above local reaction near the coil 9 needs a long time. If the phosphor particles pass through the coil 9 but are biased, then it is difficult to keep constant a distance between the individual particles and the coil 9. This makes it difficult to obtain uniform thickness of the moisture proof coating film even the time of treatment is sufficiently long.
If the diameter of the coil 9 is enlarged to settle the problems, a high frequency power source of a large capacity is needed thereby increasing the cost of the treatment.
As described above, even it is possible to form moisture proof coating films on the phosphor particles, the phosphor particles are heated thereby the brightness is reduced and the life-time is shortened.
Further, the phosphor particles are fluidized by the balance of the gas upstream and the gravity of the particles. If a large amount of the phosphor particles is treated, a high pressure of the source gas is needed to have the large amount of the phosphor particles. A sudden gas pressure application may cause a dispersion of the phosphor particles. In order to prevent this dispersion of the particles, a large reaction chamber is needed and the accessory thereof is also needed to be enlarged.


Methods are provided for utilizing a modular server architecture for processing requests for services, such as authorization and authentication, in a web server. The modular server architecture includes self-contained modular components that can be plugged in and out of the web server, as needed, to provide requested web services. The modular server architecture is also extensible in that it provides set of server APIs for processing requests for supporting built-in server functionality as well as functionality provided by third party modular components. The modular server architecture also supports the integration of request processing tasks for both native and managed modular components, such as ASP.NET modules, by virtue of a managed module host component. The modular server architecture also optimizes server performance by only providing modular component functionality when needed. By utilizing the modular server architecture, server functionality is extended, duplication of request processing tasks is eliminated and performance administrative overhead is reduced.

In computer networks, such as the Internet, web servers receive and fulfill requests for data made by a data client such as a web browser running on one or more client computers. Once a request has been received by a web server, the web server processes the request according to a protocol such as HyperText Transfer Protocol ("HTTP"). HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web servers and clients should take in response to various commands. For example, when a URL for a web page is entered in a browser, an HTTP command is sent to a web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web resource. Web servers are capable of sending data to many client computers at the same time, thus allowing multiple client computers to obtain the same web resource simultaneously. The functionality of web servers is provided by software applications installed on computers connected to a network.
Existing web servers are highly specialized software programs that provide a large set of features necessary to serve a wide variety of resource types, and support various aspects of the HTTP protocol, such as request authentication and caching of resources. These features are normally tightly integrated inside the web server implementation for performance reasons, and provide little extensibility to the end consumer. This makes it difficult to customize the behavior of the web server by removing unneeded features, or replacing them with custom implementations. The provided extensibility model is normally restrictive, difficult to use due to the highly specialized nature of the system, and exposes few aspects of the server operation. The development of extended functionality for such systems traditionally incurs high costs due to their complexity and cost of development.
The need for more control over the responses served by web servers and ability to rapidly develop web applications for serving rich dynamic content has led to the creation of many scripting or application development layer implementations (such as Active Server Pages ("ASP"), Hypertext Preprocessor ("PHP"), and ASP.NET). These platforms provide richer interfaces as well as utility functionality to aid in developing dynamic web applications, and utilize higher level languages to simplify the task of application development. However, these application development layer implementations have traditionally been limited due to being layered on top of web server products and the resulting inability to provide low level control over request processing. Additionally, these platforms frequently duplicate processing tasks that are already implemented by the web server and that power the application development layer, resulting in reduced performance due to increased runtime and memory demands of the application development layer, and administrative overhead in managing each duplicated feature twice.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the various embodiments of the present invention have been made.

Modular server architecture for multi-environment HTTP request processing


A projection display device is provided with a main body cabinet; a projection port which is formed in the main body cabinet to guide modulated light to an outside of the projection display device; an air outlet which is formed at least in one of two surfaces of the main body cabinet facing each other across the projection port; and an exhaust unit which discharges, to the outside, air that has been warmed by heat exchange with a member to be cooled which is disposed in the main body cabinet through the air outlet. In this arrangement, the exhaust unit includes an exhaust fan, and a deflection member which deflects air discharged from the exhaust fan in a direction away from the projection plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection display device for modulating light from a light source by an imager, and enlarging and projecting the modulated light onto a projection plane.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
Conventionally, a projection display device (hereinafter, called as a "projector") such as a liquid crystal projector is configured such that light (hereinafter, called as "image light") modulated by an imager such as a liquid crystal panel is projected onto a projection plane by a projection lens. In such a projector, heat is generated in e.g. a light source, an imager, and a power source unit. In view of this, it is required to cool these heat generating members.
In such a projector, there may be used an arrangement that air drawn from the outside of the projector is supplied to the heat generating members, and air that has been warmed by heat exchange with the heat generating members is discharged to the outside of the projector to thereby cool the heat generating members. In this case, for instance, an exhaust fan is disposed in a main body cabinet, and air sucked by the exhaust fan is discharged to the outside of the projector through an air outlet formed in the main body cabinet.
The air outlet of the main body cabinet may be formed in various surfaces (upper and lower surfaces, left and right surfaces, and front and rear surfaces) of the main body cabinet in positional relation to components such as a light source and an imager.
In recent years, a so-called short focus projector operable to project an image onto a projection plane (such as a screen) with a shorter distance has been commercialized. In such a projector, the divergence angle of image light is relatively large. Further, air discharged through the air outlet spreads to some extent as it propagates. As a result, the discharged air may overlap with image light, depending on the position of the air outlet. Since the discharged air has a relatively high temperature, if such a high-temperature air overlaps with image light, an image projected onto the projection plane may become obscure.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for determining operation compatibility between field devices for example, between a first field device and a second field device. The first and second field devices are for use in an industrial process and the second field device may be a candidate for replacing the first field device, the first and second field devices being configured to communicate using the same communications protocol.

Field devices are generally used in a plant for detecting physical quantities such as temperature, pressure and flow rate inside piping; and to transmit the detected signals to control equipment installed at a distant location or to receive signals transmitted from the control equipment. Such field devices may include intelligent field devices with digital communication functions such as for example, Foundation Fieldbus (FF) enabled devices and Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) enabled devices. Foundation Fieldbus and HART are examples of digital communication protocols or standards used in enabling digital data transfer among intelligent field devices. For example, Foundation Fieldbus is a standard defined by the Fieldbus Foundation which defines "Fieldbus" to be a digital, two-way, multi-drop communication link among intelligent measurement and control devices. A Fieldbus serves as a Local Area Network (LAN) for advanced process control, remote input/output and high speed factory automation applications.
In standard maintenance procedures in a plant, field devices may need to be replaced due to device failure, calibration or modifications to include additional functionality. To determine if a new field device is compatible with an existing field device to be replaced, the user first obtains a Device Tag of the existing field device to be replaced and looks for a new field device that has the same Device Tag as the existing field device. A Device Tag is a logical name assigned to an equipment module or control module is assigned or which it implements and may be assigned according to the placement of an equipment module or control module in a plant. If the placement of the equipment module is changed, for instance when the equipment module or control module is replaced, the Device Tag of the replacement or new equipment module will also change. To configure a new field device, it is required to connect a new or a spare field device to the same path or segment where the existing field device was previously connected.
FIG. 1 is a process diagram illustrating a known process 1 for exchanging field devices in an industrial process. The existing field device is removed by a user from a path or segment in step 2 and the new field device is connected to or installed in the path in step 3. A path may refer to a group of process units that are configured in series or parallel and used, or planned to be used in a batch production operation. After physical removal and installation of the existing and new field devices, the user may activate some external tools or applications available from an asset management system 4. The asset management system 4 is a system for managing field devices in real-time. The asset management system 4 may be configured to perform intelligent operations such as, remote access, device parameter management, device diagnostics and tuning for devices that have field communication function including devices compatible with communication protocols including Fieldbus, HART or the like. The asset management system 4 may be configured for enabling devices with or without field communication capability to be registered together for centralized device management. For example, in a device exchange process, the user may access the asset management system 4 to do one of or all of the following device-related tasks to:                1) Configure the new field device in step 5 by modifying the Device Tag and other parameters related to the existing field device;        2) Detect the new field device and register/update its information in step 6 to a database server (not shown) connected to the asset management system 4;        3) Download the existing parameters in step 7 to the new field device;        4) Associate the new and existing field devices by virtue of the new field device inheriting device information of the existing field device in step 8;
After everything has been set and configured, the user uploads the parameters and device information of the new field device in step 9 to the database server. A disadvantage of the above process is that the process relies heavily on the knowledge of the user to remember all the device-related tasks and may not be adequate to complete an exchange of devices in order for the new field device to be operable in the path or an industrial process. Further, heavy reliance on user experience may result in several unintended mistakes if for example, the device exchange process is performed by an untrained operator. Still further, the tasks to be performed on the new field device in order to replace the existing field device could be tedious and confusing because there may be several procedures to be performed on the new field device before the new field device can be operational. As a result, there is tremendous burden on the user who must know each and every method to execute, as well as the proper sequence of the tasks in order to avoid mistakes.

Apparatus and method for determining operation compatibility between field devices


An assembly of two coaxial pipes of the PiP type, having at least two coaxial pipe unit elements each with an inner pipe and an outer pipe, defining an annular space, filled with an insulating material, and assembled end to end by welding, including a sleeve with a hollow tubular wall made of rigid or semirigid material, preferably of plastics material or composite material, surrounding the pipe in register with the welded junction zone between the two coaxial pipe unit elements, the hollow tubular wall of the sleeve having an outer casing and an inner casing connected together at their longitudinal ends in leaktight manner, thereby defining an internal volume that is completely filled with a quasi-incompressible thermally insulating material.

The present invention relates to a coaxial pipe assembly including a thermally insulating sleeve, and more particularly a sleeve for insulating the connection zone between two coaxial pipe strings, in particular undersea pipes for conveying hot and cold fluids, and preferably undersea pipes for use in great depths.
In most industrial fields, high performance insulation systems are sought after in order to maintain the fluids that are conveyed by pipework at constant temperature so that transfer between pieces of equipment can be made possible over considerable distances, e.g. reaching as much as several hundreds of meters, or even several kilometers. Such distances are commonplace in industries such as oil refineries, liquefied natural gas installations (at −165° C.), and undersea oil fields that extend over several tens of kilometers. Such oil fields are being developed in ever-increasing depths of water, which depths may exceed 3000 meters (m).
The present invention relates in particular to coaxial pipe elements for fabricating undersea pipes installed over oil wells at great depths, in particular bottom-to-surface connection pipes in suspension between a surface ship anchored on said oil field and the sea bottom.
Such coaxial pipes are referred to as pipe-in-pipe (PiP) assemblies, with an inner pipe serving to convey the fluid and an outer pipe arranged coaxially around the inner pipe, also referred to as the "outer casing", that comes into contact with the surrounding medium, i.e. sea water. The annular space between the two pipes may be filled with an insulating material, or all gas may be evacuated therefrom.
Such systems have been developed to achieve high levels of thermal performance and specific versions have been developed to be better adapted to great depths, i.e. in order to withstand pressure at the sea bottom. Water pressure is substantially 0.1 megapascals (MPa) i.e. about 1 bar, for every 10 m of depth, so the pressure that needs to be withstood by the pipe is about 10 MPa, i.e. about 100 bars, at a depth of 1000 m, and about 30 MPa, i.e. about 300 bars, at 3000 m.
Such coaxial pipe assemblies are fabricated by butt-welding together unit lengths referred to below as "coaxial pipe unit elements" or by assembling together "coaxial pipe strings", where each string is itself made up of a plurality of pipe unit elements, and generally has a length lying in the range 10 m to 100 m, more particularly each presenting a length of 12 m, or 24 m, or 48 m.
In the context of installing undersea pipes at great depths, these unit length elements or these strings are fabricated on land. They are then transported out to sea on a laying ship. While they are being laid, the coaxial pipe assembly strings or unit elements are connected to one another on board the ship while they are being laid at sea. It is therefore important that such connection can be integrated in the method of constructing and assembling the pipe and laying in on the sea bottom.
To do this, it is general practice to use "junction pieces" or "connection forgings" that are made of steel and that are assembled to the ends of said coaxial pipe assembly elements for assembling together. The junction piece at the downstream end of a first coaxial pipe assembly element that has not yet been assembled is connected by welding to the free junction piece at the upstream end of a second coaxial pipe assembly element that has already been assembled at its downstream end.
These junction pieces also serve to reinforce the strength of pipes subjected to high levels of bending during laying, in particular in connection zones between two said successive unit lengths, and more particularly with bottom-to-surface connections, in order to give them very great resistance to fatigue throughout the lifetime of the installations.
More particularly, said junction pieces comprise two branches in the form of bodies of revolution, an outer branch and an inner branch together forming a fork defining said annular space, the free cylindrical ends of the fork being assembled directly to the cylindrical ends respectively of the outer and inner pipes. Coaxial pipes and junction pieces or pieces of this type are described in particular in FR 2 873 427 and GB 2 161 565.
FR 2 786 713 and FR 2 897 919 describe another embodiment in which a junction piece is not used to close the annular space between the inner and outer pipes at their ends, but rather the ends of the inner pipe are caused to project relative to the ends of the outer pipe and a terminal portion of the outer pipe is deformed around the terminal portion of the inner pipe by constricting its diameter until the two pipes come close together so as to close the annular space, in particular by welding together the ends of the outer and inner pipes. This type of closure of the annular space and of junction between the ends of the coaxial pipes is referred to as "crimping". It is advantageous since it allows a welding machine to have access to the ends of the inner pipes of both successive coaxial pipe elements that are to be assembled together in order to butt-weld them without being impeded by the associated outer pipes. The space between the ends of the two outer pipes of the two coaxial pipe elements assembled end-to-end is generally covered by a tubular sleeve providing insulation and mechanical reinforcement to the junction, in particular a sleeve that slides over said outer pipe.
The object of the present invention is thus to provide PiP type coaxial pipes, in which the pipe strings or unit elements present over their entire length, apart from at their ends, a level of insulation that is extreme because of the presence of an insulating material in the annular space between their inner and outer pipes, preferably associated with pumping out a high vacuum so as to limit phenomena of heat being transmitted by convection. In contrast, at the ends of said strings, the solid metal connection between the outer pipe and the inner pipe, whether via a junction piece or by crimping, eliminates thermal insulation between the ambient medium, generally water at 3° C.-5° C. at very great depth, and the oil being conveyed, generally at a temperature lying in the range 40° C.-45° C. to 80° C.-100° C., or even higher. It therefore follows that a particularly large amount of heat transfer takes place via said junction zone, whether provided by welding together two said junction pieces or via "crimped" coaxial pipe unit elements, with a consequent loss of heat from the oil being conveyed, thereby running the risk of giving rise to plugs of paraffin or to the formation of gas hydrates, should the temperature drop below 30° C.-35° C. at any point along the bottom-to-surface connection. Thus, it is desirable locally to restore a level of insulation at each of the junctions between strings that is sufficient to enable oil to be conveyed between the well heads and the surface with minimum loss of heat.
This thermal bridge problem is even more critical in the event of production being stopped, since the crude oil column is then stationary and although heat losses from the main portion of the string remain low, given the extreme level of insulation due to the PiP principle, the same does not apply at the connections between strings because of the thermal bridges created thereby. A PiP string having a unit length of 48 m presents a level of insulation over its main portion that is better than 1 watt per square meter per kelvin (W/m2/K), with its mean value being degraded by 10%-12% as a result of the thermal bridge existing at each of its ends, when said ends are not insulated. If the unit length is half that, i.e. 24 m, then the degradation due to non-insulated ends is doubled, i.e. 20%-25%. Similarly, for strings having a length of 12 m, the degradation can be as much as 40%-50%, thereby depriving PiP technology of any advantage, given the great complexity and cost involved in fabricating it.
The term "mean degradation value" is used herein to mean the overall loss of heat from the length of a string, including the junction pieces or the crimped zone at each of its two ends, divided by the length of said string.
External pipe insulation means are known that withstand high hydrostatic pressures and that are therefore suitable for being used at great depths, said means being constituted by:                coatings of quasi-impressible solid polymer materials based on polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc., that, where appropriate, are in the form of a solid tubular sleeve. However such materials present fairly mediocre thermal conductivity and thermal insulation properties, i.e. properties that are not sufficient to overcome the drawbacks in the event of production being stopped in undersea pipes conveying hydrocarbons; or        coatings of synthetic materials constituted by hollow beads containing gas and capable of withstanding external pressure, the beads being embedded in binders such as concrete, epoxy resin, etc. . . . presenting thermal insulation properties that are better, but that are considerably more expensive and more difficult to install. In practice, recourse is made to half-shells that are assembled around the welded junction that needs to be protected after the welding has been performed.
Furthermore, insulating materials are known that present superior thermal insulation properties, i.e. lower thermal conductivity, and in some cases associated with phase-change properties, in particular materials in gel form.
Materials of this type are described in particular in the following patents: FR 2 800 915; FR 2 820 426; FR 2 820 752; WO 2004/003424; and WO 00/40886. Nevertheless, because of their insufficient mechanical strength and because they are obtained by physical and chemical or physicochemical reactions between a plurality of components, such insulating gels need to be injected in liquid form immediately after their various components have been mixed together and inserted or injected between the outer and inner pipes of a PiP type coaxial pipe assembly.
The mechanical strength of such a gel is insufficient on its own for withstanding the mechanical stresses to which pipes resting on the sea bottom are subjected, so they are not implemented on the outsides of the outer pipes of PiP pipe assemblies. That is why they are not suitable for insulating junction zones between two PiP pipe sections assembled together by butt-welding, possibly via junction pieces constituting bodies of revolution.
Document WO 2008/053251 describes various means for insulating a thermally insulating sleeve for the junction zone between two pipe unit elements, said thermally insulating sleeve being constituted by PiP pipes of steel connected together at their ends by crimping, with the annular space thereof containing a thermally insulating material.
In WO 2008/053251, in its FIGS. 3 and 4, the inside volume between the two walls of the sleeve is partially filled with an insulating material (see page 13, lines 14 to 22) and partially filled with a gas such as air.
In that document, on page 13, line 20, it is stated that the steel PiP structure provided the insulation for the junction zone is expensive and heavy. That is why, that document proposes an improvement using an insulation system as described in FIG. 5, in which the sleeve is replaced by a lighter casing together with a single steel pipe element (see page 18, lines 26 et seq.), which element is covered in multilayer insulation (see page 19, lines 5 et seq.) of expanded polypropylene foam or polyurethane syntactic foam.
However, such a steel sleeve is counterproductive in terms of thermal insulation, given the high thermal conductivity of steel.

Coaxial pipe assembly including a thermally insulating sleeve


A light source driving apparatus and method of driving a light source are provided. The light source driving apparatus includes a light source configured to generate light, a power source configured to generate power; an inductor which is connected in series between the power source and the light source; a switch which is connected in parallel to the light source and between the inductor and the light source; and a controller configured to turn on the switch at a point of time when a resonance voltage applied between opposite terminals of the switch is zero in a resonance circuit formed by the inductor and the switch after turning off the switch.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to a light source driving method for operating a light source driving apparatus of a display apparatus with high efficiency, and more particularly, to a light source driving apparatus that reduces energy to be consumed in operating a light source driving apparatus employing a tapped-inductor boost converter (TIBC).
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) television (TV) or the like display apparatus includes a light emitting diode (LED) or the like light source as a backlight for illuminating an image. The display apparatus includes a light source driving circuit as a means for driving the light source, in which the light source driving circuit controls an electric current supplied to the light source to emit a desired quantity of light.
A method of controlling the quantity of light from the light source, i.e., a dimming method, includes a pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming method where a duty rate of the electric current supplied to the light source is adjusted, an analog dimming method where a peak value of the electric current is adjusted, and so on.
The light source driving circuit may be, for example, a general boost converter (BC) type light source driving circuit, or a general tapped inductor boost converter (TIBC) type light source driving circuit.

Light source driving apparatus, light source driving method, and display apparatus


A lightning protection element is incorporated into the portion of an aircraft signal distribution system which connects an antenna to flight critical equipment. The lightning protection element rejects surge currents associated with direct lightning strikes on the antenna, or its surrounding radome, while passing communication signals without significant interference with those signals. In a preferred embodiment, the lightning protection element comprises an optical fiber isolator element. A segment of optical fiber in the isolator prevents surge currents associated with the lightning strikes from reaching the equipment while passing communications signals transmitted on the signal distribution system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to aircraft electrical systems. More particularly, it relates to an improved method and apparatus for protecting aircraft electrical systems from lightning strikes.
2. Description of Related Art
Aircrafts typically include some form of antenna and electronic communication system for receiving and distributing throughout the aircraft, electronic communications such as navigational and air-traffic control information. In addition to traditional aircraft communication systems, the assignee of the present invention has developed aircraft communication systems that allow direct broadcast satellite television signals to be received and distributed on-board an in-flight aircraft. The above-referenced system includes generally an in-flight entertainment system that incorporates a satellite signal receiver station. The in-flight receiver station receives television signals broadcast from a satellite, and the aircraft's signal distribution system distributes the received television programming to passengers. Various aspects of the above-referenced system are disclosed in several co-pending U.S. patent applications, including application Ser. No. 08/667,222, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Aircraft Satellite Television System for Distributing Television Programming Derived From Direct Broadcast Satellites" having a patent number 5,790,175 application Ser. No. 08/667,225, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Distribution Of A Large Number Of Live Television Programs To Individual Passengers In An Aircraft"; now U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,819 and application Ser. No. 08/662,224, filed Jun. 19, 1996, entitled "Distribution Of Satellite Television Programs To Passengers In An Aircraft When It Is Out Of Range Of The Satellites" now U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,751. The entire disclosures of the above-referenced co-pending patent applications are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.
Antennas connected to an aircraft, including specifically antennas of the above-referenced communication systems, are typically enclosed in a protective plastic shell housing known generally as a "radome". Radomes are made from a plastic material that protects the antenna from environmental elements while passing the frequencies of the signals being received or transmitted by the antenna. Radomes, however, are susceptible to lightning strikes. A lightning strike hitting the radome could result in damage to equipment within the radome, as well as other downstream equipment connected to the radome-enclosed equipment by wires. In many cases, the downstream equipment is a flight-critical component such as navigational equipment.
One approach to protecting radomes from lightning strikes is to attach lightning protection strips or rods to the radome. The lightning protection strips tend to divert the energy of the lightning strike away from the radome and into the aircraft structure. This approach, however, is not always practical when the equipment enclosed within the radome is a communication antenna because the lightning protection strips tend to degrade the transparency of the radome to the frequencies being received and/or transmitted by the antenna.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that protects radomes and associated equipment from the effects of lightning strikes without degrading antenna performance.

Method and apparatus for protecting aircraft electronics from lightning


It is an object of the invention to provide an engine cooling apparatus that cools an engine according to an operation state of an engine driven work machine. The invention provides an engine cooling apparatus that is adapted to, in an engine drive work machine including an engine and a work machine driven by the engine, cool a radiator of the engine with an electric fan, the engine cooling apparatus including: at least one sensor that senses an operation state of the engine; and a control device that has an inverter, which uses a detection signal of the sensor as an input and the electric fan as a load, and performs operation control for the electric fan according to the operation state of the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine driven work machine that is driven by an engine to generate an output of a desired form and, more particularly, to an apparatus that appropriately controls cooling of the engine to form a desired output.
2. Related Art
Examples of an engine driven work machine, that is, a work machine using an engine as a drive source include for example a generator, a welding machine, and the like. These are used in urban areas and the like and work day and night, which necessitates provision of anti-noise measures.
There is an engine cooling apparatus in which an engine, a work machine, and other auxiliary machines, and the like are mounted on a common frame and housed in a sound proof case and the engine is cooled by an electric fan provided in the sound proof case (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-020740).
There is also an engine cooling apparatus in which, in order to improve engine cooling efficiency, a circuit for generating a voltage signal having frequency-voltage characteristics is incorporated in an automatic voltage regulator to operate an electric fan at the time of rated operation and idling operation (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-020741).
Engine cooling apparatuses including electric fans are classified into three types as shown in FIG. 5. There are two types that do not use an inverter (FIGS. 5A and 5B) and one type that uses an inverter (FIG. 5C). In the engine cooling apparatuses that do not use an inverter, an electric fan M is operated at a fixed number of revolutions whether electric power is supplied from a generator G together with an external load L or supplied from a battery B separately from the external load L (FIGS. 5A and 5B). When electric power is supplied from the generator G (FIG. 5A), low-speed operation sufficient for maintaining rotation of the electric fan M is performed at the time of idling of the engine E.
On the other hand, in the engine cooling apparatus that uses an inverter (FIG. 5C), an output of an inverter unit IU can be switched to 50 Hz and 60 Hz such that the engine cooling apparatus can be used throughout Japan. However, since the engine cooling apparatus is designed on the basis of 50 Hz at which an amount of cooling wind is small due to low rotational speed of the electric fan and there is no allowance in continuous operating conditions, it is inevitable that the engine cooling apparatus has allowance when the engine cooling apparatus is used at 60 Hz. The inverter unit IU includes a converter CV, an inverter IV, and a control unit CC.


A fishing hook enclosure apparatus includes a first container portion which includes exterior rod ring/reel attachment means and a first line access notch. A second container portion is attached to the first container portion by first-to-second attachment means which may include a hinge. The exterior rod ring/reel attachment means and the first line access notch are located at opposite ends of the first container portion. Preferably, the exterior rod ring/reel attachment means are in the form of a first attachment portion and a second attachment portion which define a push-through clip. Once a fishing lure and fishing hooks are contained inside the closed container formed by the first container portion and the second container portion in a closed condition, the fishing lure and the fishing hooks are prevented from snagging or hooking into any person or object in the environment surrounding the closed container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for preventing fishing hooks from harming people, and, more particularly, to devices that prevent fishing hooks from harming people and that permit fishing hooks or lures to remain attached to a fishing line that is supported by a fishing rod without harming people.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that fishing hooks may harm people when they are stored while being left on a fishing line that is wound on a reel attached to a fishing rod. It is also well know that fishing hooks may harm people when they are displayed in a retail environment unless they are packaged to protect persons from contacting the hooks. It would be advantageous if a single fishing hook enclosure were provided that could serve dual purposes, one purpose being to store fishing hooks while being left on a fishing line that is wound on a reel attached to a fishing rod, and another purpose being for display in a retail environment.
A conventional way to put away fishing rods or poles that retain a fishing hook attached to the fishing line is to attach the hook to an eyelet ring on the rod or pole and then tightening the line so that the hook remains in a fixed position on the eyelet ring. However, this technique leaves sharp hooks dangerously exposed. Such exposed hooks can harm people, pets, and adjacent articles, such as car seats. In this respect, it would be desirable if an enclosure were provided for hooks that are attached to lines such that the attached hooks will not cause harm to people, pets, or nearby articles even when the fishing line and hooks are in a tight condition.
Throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to enclosing a fishing hook or lure in a protective container so that the hook will not cause damage to persons or objects when the hook remains attached to a fishing line on a fishing rod. For example, each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,056,256 and 5,220,742 discloses a container that receives a hook which is attached to a fishing line. With each of these containers, the respective container is attached to a fishing rod by clamps which are clamped onto the fishing rod. To avoid the need for extraneous clamps, it would be desirable if a container for a fishing hook or lure were provided that can be attached to a fishing rod without the use of extraneous clamps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,538 discloses a fish hook protector that allows a protected fishing hook to swing freely from a fishing line. The hook protector is not secured to the fishing rod. Rather than permitting a protected fish hook from swinging freely from a fishing line, it would be desirable if a fish hook protector were provided that is secured to a fishing rod so that the protector does not swing freely from the fishing line.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,014 discloses a lure protector made of a flexible sheet material that is applied to the lure and its hook to cover up the hook and an eyelet ring on a fishing rod to which the hook is fixed. The flexible material is subject to hook penetration. In this respect, it would be desirable if a lure protector were provided that has rigid walls to protect a hook that is attached to an eyelet ring on the fishing rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,831 discloses an enclosure that form fits over a single hook to protect the hook from damaging people or objects. Often a plurality of hooks are provided on a fishing lure. Also, it is often desirable to protect a fishing lure from damaging its environment or from being damaged by its environment. Therefore, it would be desirable if a fishing hook and lure protector were provided that encloses and protects all of a plurality of hooks and a lure at the same time.
Still other features would be desirable in a fishing hook enclosure apparatus. It would be desirable if a fishing hook enclosure apparatus could be used as a marketing tool in a large public forum, such as a Bass Masters fishing competition.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use fishing hook enclosures for safety purposes, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a fishing hook enclosure apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) provides a single fishing hook enclosure that can serve dual purposes, one purpose being to store fishing hooks while being left on a fishing line that is wound on a reel attached to a fishing rod, and another purpose being for display in a retail environment; (2) provides an enclosure for hooks that are attached to lines, such that the attached hooks will not cause harm to people, pets, or nearby objects even when the fishing line and hooks are in a tight condition; (3) can be attached to a fishing rod without the use of extraneous clamps; (4) is secured to a fishing rod so that the protector does not swing freely from the fishing line; (5) has rigid walls to protect a hook that is attached to an eyelet ring on the fishing rod; and (6) provides a marketing tool in a large public forum, such as a Bass Masters fishing competition. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique fishing hook enclosure apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


A first network device includes a first physical layer device with a first autonegotiation circuit. A bypass timer determines a predetermined period. A second network device includes a second physical layer device. The first network device enables autonegotiation bypass and establishes a link with the second network device after the predetermined period during which a link between the first and second network devices is not up, a receiver of the first physical layer device is in sync, and an ability detect state of the first autonegotiation circuit is true. The first autonegotiation circuit resets the predetermined period of the bypass timer when configuration code groups are received from the second network device. When the first network device receives idle code groups followed by data code groups, the first autonegotiation circuit does not return to an autonegotiation enable state.

Communications between computers, peripheral devices, Internet appliances and other network devices increasingly require higher data transfer rates to handle multimedia and other rich content. Communication media such as twisted pair cable, fiber and wireless links with increased data carrying capacity are now being used to meet the increased data carrying demands.
The network devices have varying communication abilities and may use different types of media. For example, a first network device or link partner may be able to communicate wirelessly with a second link partner at a first rate such as 10 Megabits per second (Mbps). A third network device or link partner may communicate with a fourth link partner at Gigabit per second rates over fiber. A fifth network device or link partner may communicate over copper media with a sixth link partner at Gigabit or sub-Gigabit speeds. Because of the variable types of media that are used and the different communication speeds, accommodation must be made for situations where the prospective link partners have different communication abilities.
The physical layer device (PHY) of some network devices includes an autonegotiation circuit, which initiates an exchange of information between two link partners. The autonegotiation circuit automatically configures the link partners to take maximum advantage of their respective abilities. During auto-negotiation, the link partners advertise their abilities using configuration code groups, acknowledge receipt, identify common modes of operation, and reject the use of operational modes that are not shared or supported by both link partners. When more than one common mode of operation exists between the network devices, an arbitration function of the autonegotiation circuit identifies and selects a single mode of operation. After auto-negotiation is complete, the devices establish a link and exchange data.
Auto-negotiation on some media types such as fiber requires that both of the link partners support auto-negotiation functionality before a link between the link partners can be automatically established. If one link partner implements auto-negotiation and the other link partner does not, two-way communications cannot be established without manual intervention. A user must disable auto-negotiation and manually configure both link partners to work in the same operational modes.

Method and apparatus for fiber autonegotiation


According to the present invention, there are provided a file search method and a system therefor with which it is possible to display files including a keyword specified by a user in an importance descending order by monitoring a file operation by the user, creating reference relation between files, and arranging search results on the basis of the importance calculated from the reference relation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a file search method of searching for a file with high relevance to a file which a user desires to obtain, and a system therefore. In particular, the invention relates to a file search method of searching for a file which a user desires to obtain among an enormous number of files stored in a user terminal device or a file server, and a system therefore.
2. Description of the Related Art
In consequence of the spread of the network environment including information devices and the Internet, a user has a large number of electronic files such as documents and images stored in a user terminal device or a file server. When the user tries to find out a desired file from the great number of files, a keyword is input to perform a search. In such a search, all the files including the keyword are displayed as the search results. Thus, the user searches for the desired file among the many search results.
Up to now, various techniques have been proposed for instantly finding out a desired file when the user performs a search.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-147936 discloses a system for assigning a relevant value indicating the degree of relevance between documents in terms of citing and cited relation for the respective documents to search for a document on the basis of the assigned relevant value.
In addition, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-206631 discloses a system for registering a value in a database (DB) as the importance and performing a search on the basis of the importance. The value is obtained by setting information indicating the number of appearing times of a certain word in a document to be reflected by the characteristic amount as a weight based on the appearing status of the certain word in a document group.
According to the above-mentioned conventional search systems, for document files on which a cited document such as a patent document is described, a citation relation between document files is extracted by analyzing the description of the cited document to calculate the importance of each document file on the basis of the citation relation. When a file, in which the conventional search system is locally employed, is used as a search target, a description for performing the association in the document file is required. However, no citation description generally exists in the file in which the search system is locally employed, and thus such search systems cannot be applied to many files. Furthermore, as the citation relation depends on the description method, it is difficult to automatically extract the citation description.


A system, an apparatus and a method for configuring a display ID are provided. The system comprises a setting unit, a plurality of displays and a plurality of switches. Wherein, the displays are electrically coupled to the setting unit, and the switches are configured in between the setting unit and its corresponding display. Each of the switches corresponds to one of the displays, and is turned on or turned off by its corresponding display. When the setting unit issues a setting ID instruction, all of the switches is turned on by its corresponding display. Thereafter, the setting unit issues a plurality of identification configuration instructions. By sequentially turning off each of the switches, the ID of the corresponding display can be configured by each of the ID configuration instructions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, an apparatus and a method for configuring identification (ID) of a display, and more particularly, to a system, an apparatus, and a method for configuring identification for a plurality of displays forming a TV wall.
2. Description of Related Art
With the progressive advancement of new technologies, different types of advertisement are frequently renewed. Wherein, the display is a commonly used device in the related fields. By combining multiple displays to form a single large screen TV wall, an image originally displayed on a general display is divided into a couple of images, and each of these images is then displayed on each of the displays composing the TV wall, such that the TV wall looks like a large screen TV. Therefore, each display composing the TV wall must have a unique identification (abbreviated as ID hereinafter), thus the image can be transmitted in considering the image signal related to specific display, and the TV wall can show them into a large image after receiving all specific images. In order to conveniently extend or reduce the quantity of the displays based on the real requirement when building up the TV wall or other purposes, the ID code of the displays are configured as the same code or an empty code when they are being manufactured. However, because of this limitation, the method for configuring a display ID has become a signification topic in building up the TV wall.
In the conventional art, in order to configure different IDs for several displays, the computer is electrically coupled to one of the displays first, and after the configuration is completed, to unplug the cable connecting the computer and the display and to plug the cable connecting the computer and the connection port of another display, and repeatedly unplug and plug other displays. Thus, if the TV wall is composed of several displays, the process of plugging in and unplugging the cable is elaborate. Accordingly, this requires great efforts and is also time consuming.
In summary, the method for configuring different IDs to several displays has following disadvantages: (1) the conventional method requires repeatedly plugging in and unplugging of the connection cable connecting the computer and the displays, and which is no doubt a time consuming and laborious work.

System, apparatus and method for configuring identification of a display


Mobile radio systems are known in which base stations receive radio signals from a mobile station in parallel over different radio paths and forward the user data contained in the radio signals as data blocks to a central station. Transmission is in the form of data frames. In the receiver of the central station, erroneous data blocks are replaced with data blocks received correctly over another radio path. An erroneous data block is detected by means of an entry in an associated check field. To increase the reading of the check fields and access to the data blocks, a newly structured data frame is proposed. The data blocks are arranged immediately side by side, with each data block containing a number of bits divisible by 8 and all check fields are written into a check block provided for this purpose. This byte-oriented structure permits faster access to individual data blocks.

This invention relates to a method of transmitting data blocks from at least two radio base stations employing macrodiversity over at least two diversity links to a central station.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a data frame, a mobile radio system, a central station, and a base station for carrying out the method.
There are mobile radio systems with base stations which receive radio signals from a mobile station in parallel over different radio paths and which forward the user data contained in the radio signal to a central station. At the receiver of the central station, the erroneous user data received over one of the radio paths can be replaced with user data received correctly over another radio path. In other words, the user data are transmitted in parallel over separate diversity links in order to obtain at the receiving end as many correct user data as possible, i.e., to achieve the highest possible diversity gain.
In this connection, the document with the designation xe2x80x9cTS 25.427, V 0.2.1xe2x80x9d should be mentioned, which is part of the technical specification of the future mobile radio system UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system), and which was published by the standardization body 3 GPP (3rd Generation Patnership Project) under the title xe2x80x9cUTRAN Iub/Iur Interface User Plane Protocol for DCH Data Streamsxe2x80x9d on the home page xe2x80x9chttp://www.3gpp.orgxe2x80x9d in June 1999. Chapter 7 of that document describes a method of transmitting data blocks, namely so-called transport blocks, which contain user data and are transmitted from base stations, the so-called Nodes B, to a central station, the so-called Radio Network Controller, RCN. As described in Chapter 7 with reference to FIG. 1 and Table 1, the data blocks are inserted into a data frame, with each data block being preceded by an associated check field, the so-called checksum indicator. The contents of the check field indicate whether the subsequent data block is correct or not. The base stations transmit the-data blocks in parallel over different diversity links to the central station, which then analyzes the check fields for each diversity link and which replaces an erroneous data block received over one diversity link with a corresponding correct data block received over another diversity link. Accordingly, that 3 GPP document describes a method of transmitting data blocks from at least two base stations employing macrodiversity over at least two diversity links to a central station wherein each of the base stations transmits the data blocks together with check fields within data frames to the central station, with each of the data blocks being assigned one of the check fields, wherein the central station analyzes the check fields for each of the diversity links to identify those data blocks which were correctly received, and wherein the central station replaces erroneous data blocks received over one of the diversity links with correct data blocks received over another one of the diversity links. Besides the method and the structure of the data frame, the 3 GPP document describes a mobile radio system, a central station, and a base station for carrying out the method.
The invention is predicated on recognition that, if the prior-art method is carried out using the conventional data frame structure, each data frame must be read in its entire length, i.e., from the first to the last bit, to find the individual check fields. Particular difficulties are caused during the read operation by the arrangement of the check fields, which results in the beginning of each data block being shifted backward by one bit, namely by the length of the preceding check field. Accordingly, reading the data blocks using byte-oriented addressing is not possible, and the data processing speed is reduced.
Starting from this recognition, the invention has for its object to improve the method referred to at the beginning and propose a newly structured data frame in order to expedite the analysis of the check fields and the access to the data blocks. Furthermore, a mobile radio system for carrying out the improved method, a central station, and a base station are to be provided.
The object is attained by a method of transmitting data blocks from at least two radio base stations employing macrodiversity over at least two diversity links to a central station, comprising: transmitting the data blocks from the base stations to the central station together with check fields within data frames, with each of the data blocks being assigned one of the check fields; analyzing the check fields for each of the diversity links at the central station to identify those data blocks which were correctly received; and replacing, at the central station, erroneous data blocks received over one of the diversity links with correct data blocks received over another one of the diversity links, characterized in that in each data frame, the data blocks are arranged immediately side by side, with each data block containing a number of bits divisible by 8, and that each data frame contains a check block into which the check fields are inserted and by a data frame, a mobile radio system, a central station, and a base station.
Accordingly, it is proposed to arrange the data blocks in each data frame immediately side by side, with each data block containing a number of bits divisible by 8, and to write the bits of the check fields together into a check block provided therefor. Thus, use is made of a data frame with a new structure that is characterized by an immediate succession of data blocks each comprising one byte or a multiple thereof. This results in a byte oriented structure which permits fast access to individual data blocks. With the data frame structure according to the invention and the novel method adapted thereto, a substantial increase in the speed of the digital signal processing in the receiver at the center is achieved.
Further advantageous features of the invention are apparent from the subclaims.
Particularly advantageously, each of the check fields contains at least one bit, and all bits of the check fields are written into the cheek block together, with the check block being filled with padding bits if necessary, so that the check block, too, contains a number of bits divisible by 8. This allows the check block to be addressed as a whole and to be read at a high rate.
It is also particularly advantageous to form for each data frame a check word from the bits of the check fields, to compare the check word with a first reference word for one of the diversity links in order to detect an erroneous data block received over this diversity link, and to subsequently compare the corresponding check word with a second reference word for another one of the diversity links in order to determine whether the corresponding data block was correctly received over this diversity link. Through these measures, only as many check words as necessary are analyzed and the correct data blocks are collected in a very short time by selective access.
In this connection it is particularly advantageous to produce a first result by ANDing the check word with the first reference word, to obtain a first intermediate value by ORing this first result with the negated first reference word, and to obtain the second reference word by negating this first intermediate value.
If at least one erroneous data block cannot be replaced with a corresponding correct data block, a particular advantage accrues if the process is terminated after expiration of a predeterminable period of time.

Macrodiversity transmission in a mobile radio system


Techniques are disclosed for secure and efficient communication from a source to a destination through an intermediary. The disclosed techniques employ a source-to-intermediary encryption algorithm to encrypt the communication from the source to the intermediary. The disclosed techniques also employ an intermediary-to-destination encryption algorithm to encrypt the communication from the intermediary to the destination. Thus, a more optimal encryption algorithm may be employed for communication between the intermediary and the destination, even if the more optimal encryption algorithm is not supported by the source. Also, a more optimal encryption algorithm may be employed for communication between the source and the intermediary, even if the more optimal encryption algorithm is not supported by the destination.

Many conventional communications systems employ an intermediary to improve efficiency of communications between a source and a destination. As a common example, a load balancer may be employed as an intermediary to evenly distribute a communications traffic load across a number of destination components. In addition to employing such intermediaries, another increasingly common characteristic of conventional communications systems is that such systems may often employ "end-to-end" encryption techniques, which require that data transmitted from a source to a destination remain encrypted throughout its complete path from the source to the destination. In particular, if an intermediary is employed, end-to-end encryption may require encryption of a communication both from the source to the intermediary and from the intermediary to the destination. Some conventional techniques accomplish such end-to-end encryption by employing a single encryption technique supported by both the source and the destination. The single encryption technique is used across the complete communications path from the source to the destination through the intermediary.

Secure and efficient communication through an intermediary