A curable composition having enhanced cure speed which includes a curable component, a cure system and an additive for enhancing cure speed. The additive includes an alkali metal halide salt and the reaction product of: (a) a polyfunctional isocyanate and a member selected from the group consisting of an hydroxy and an amine; or (b) a phosgene or phosgene derivative, and a compound having 3 to 7 polyethylene glycol ether units terminated at one end with an ether group and at the other end with a reactive functional group selected from the group consisting of an amine, an amide, a thiol and an alcohol; or (c) a monohydroxy compound, a diisocyanate and a polyamine. Alternatively, in place of or in combination with the cure speed enhancing additive, an aromatic substituted (meth)acryl functionalized component may be incorporated into the curable component to achieve enhanced cure speed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to anaerobically curable compositions, their use and method of preparation. More particularly, this invention relates to anaerobically curable compositions which exhibit rapid curing irrespective of the type of surface, thereby rendering them surface-insensitive.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Anaerobic adhesive compositions are well known for their ability to remain in a liquid, unpolymerized state in the presence of oxygen and to cure to a solid state upon the exclusion of oxygen. Early work on anaerobic adhesive compositions concentrated on developing a cure system which improved the speed and/or bond strength of the adhesive composition. Various cure systems for anaerobic adhesive compositions have been developed to efficiently perform the redox reaction, which is the basis for anaerobic chemistry. Hydroperoxides were found to serve as a catalyst for the generation of a free radical. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,950 to Krieble, discloses the inclusion of hydroperoxides in amounts of 0.10 to 10% by weight in anaerobic adhesive compositions to achieve faster cure times. Amines, used in amounts up to about 10 percent by weight, are also disclosed in the '950 patent as accelerators to generate free radicals of the peroxide.
In many thread-locking applications, it is desirable for the composition to have a relatively low viscosity to permit penetration and wicking into the thread-engaging spaces. Viscosities which are too high to exhibit sufficient flow characteristics, may not sufficiently fill the voids in this area.
Many anaerobic threadlocking applications, such as in the electronics industry, require compositions which require relatively low strength to permit disassembly and replacement parts. Low strength anaerobic compositions, typically have less reactive monomer content than those anaerobic compositions where reaction products exhibit higher strength. As a result, the cure speed of low strength anaerobic compositions is slower than that of higher strength anaerobic compositions containing a greater level of reactive monomer component.
On surfaces, such as stainless steel, zinc, dichromate, and cadmium, which are considered "slow" or relatively inactive materials for anaerobic cure, primer compositions have been considered necessary for quick fixture and cure times required of many applications. The cure speed on these materials is significantly slower when compared to typical ferrous-containing surfaces, regardless of the reactive monomer content.
To enhance the cure speed of anaerobic compositions, and particularly low and medium strength threadlocking compositions, various surface preparations and primers have been used. While such primers are often very effective, their use requires the additional step of applying the primer with a certain degree of care to prevent migration and contamination of surrounding parts. This requires considerable attention in applications where small and/or sensitive components are involved. Additionally, many primers contain undesirable solvents which may be harmful to component parts and/or the surrounding environment.
Currently, the addition of viscosity modifiers, such as thickeners or fillers, are added to control the viscosity and curb the tendency of adhesive to migrate. This is usually accomplished, however, at the loss of a certain amount of cure strength, since the addition of viscosity modifiers usually replaces a portion of the reactive monomer component.
Other (meth)acrylate-based curable compositions have used a combination of uv curable components to achieve the desired cure properties. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 10-130601 and 10-130602 reportedly assigned to Nippon Kayakuco, Ltd., disclose uv curing adhesive compositions for use as protective coatings on optical discs which employ a uv curable ethylenically compound, such as a (meth)acrylate compound, a photoinitiator, an organic peroxide and an amino accelerator compound. Among the disclosed curable compounds are 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, benzyl (meth)acrylate, isobornyl (meth)acrylate and phenyl oxyethyl (meth)acrylate. Another example of a uv curing (meth)acrylate-based composition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,873, which contains an aliphatic urethane acrylate oligomer, a reactive (meth)acrylate monomer, a release agent and a photoinitiator. This composition is used to affix coated and inked optical fibers in a ribbon configuration.
There is a need for curable compositions which can fulfill applications requiring a range of cure strengths, i.e., low to high strength, and cure more rapidly without the use of surface treatments, such as primers. There is also a need for a curable composition that can achieve rapid cure on inactive of surfaces and reach a high percentage of its final cure strength in a relatively short time.


An ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer with a high degree of cross-linking and a method of preparing the same are provided, by controlling a temperature and polymerization heat in an autoclave reactor during polymerization, even when a reduced amount of a cross-linking agent is used.

Ethylene vinyl acetate is a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate, has a very wide range of use up to a soft material such as a hot melt adhesive from a hard material depending on a content of the vinyl acetate, and has low crystalline properties and excellent low temperature properties as well as excellent impact resistance compared with polyethylene.
Ethylene vinyl acetate is a thermoplastic polymer but has rubber-like properties, excellent electrical insulating properties and voltage withstanding properties, and excellent transparency, barrier properties, adhesive properties, ultraviolet (UV) properties, and the like, and thus is being widely used in a tube, a packaging material, a coating material of electric wire, an electrical insulating product, tape, adhesives, and various sheets, and recently, its use has gradually increased in a number of fields such as a for a protection film or a sealing material of a photoelectric element, i.e., a solar cell.
In general, an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer is capable of being prepared in an autoclave or tubular reactor, and ethylene vinyl acetate prepared in an autoclave reactor has a wide molecular weight distribution and ethylene vinyl acetate prepared in a tubular reactor has a narrow molecular weight distribution, and it is usual to select a reactor and prepare ethylene vinyl acetate depending on uses thereof.
However, there is an advantage in using an autoclave reactor with back-mixing occurring because it is possible to maintain a uniform and high reaction temperature, thereby producing an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer with a higher content of vinyl acetate when compared using a tubular reactor wherein mixing occurs based on a turbulent plug flow.
Meanwhile, it is known that an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer has high transparency and adherence but has low mechanical strength compared with polyethylene.
Recently, there have been many attempts to use an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer product as a sealing material for protecting a cell of a solar module from moisture and dust, and in this case, as mechanical strength is better, higher performance of a sealing member is achieved.
Accordingly, there has been a need for research into a method for enhancing mechanical strength of an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer.

Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer and method of preparing the same


A portable computer, such as a tablet personal computer, is provided having a display screen, a transparent input panel, and a hinge. The hinge can secure the input panel over the display screen when in a closed position, or secure the input panel away from the display screen when in an opened position. At least one of the opposed first and second planar surfaces of the input panel are contact-sensitive. At least one of the first and second surfaces can also include a resistive film or a capacitive film. Transceivers can be mounted on the computer near the lateral extents of the input panel for measuring acoustic, magnetic, electromagnetic, or optical signals transmitted across a surface of the input panel to detect where an object is placed upon or near the input panel. The input panel can also accommodate a template containing a QWERTY keyboard. When the input panel is opened and the keyboard template is inserted thereon, the input panel can receive keyboard input; when closed, the input panel can receive a stylus or fingertip input.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers and, more particularly, to a portable computer having a flip keyboard that presents itself to a user when opened from the portable computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
A typical computer generally has an input device on which information can be entered into the computer by a user. There are different forms of input devices available in the marketplace, depending on the amount of information being entered and the overall form factor (size) of the computer itself.
The most common form of input device is a keyboard. The desktop or portable computers generally have a QWERTY keyboard on which a user can depress keys and receive tactile feedback on which keys are being depressed. There are instances in which a keyboard can be displayed on a screen and the surface of the screen can be contact-sensitive.
A contact-sensitive screen, or touch screen, can be manufactured in various ways, and the overall operation of that screen can vary depending on the technology used. For example, a resistive touch screen generally includes a touch panel, with a resist film placed beneath a transparent film. A grid of dots or spacers are disposed between the films. When the uppermost film is depressed by an object, a spacer is contacted and resistivity is measured depending on where the object depressed the screen within the two-dimensional, x-y coordinates of that screen. An example of a resistive touch screen device is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,269, herein incorporated by reference.
While its operation is somewhat similar to a resistive touch panel, another type of touch screen may include a capacitive touch screen. Capacitive touch screens, or panels, typically sense the location of an object on or near the surface of the touch panel based on capacitive coupling between the surface of the touch panel and the object. An example of a capacitive touch panel is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,521,336 and 5,943,044, herein incorporated by reference.
While the display can be contact-sensitive and can either yield slightly to pressure from the object, or not, many touch pad surfaces are too small to accommodate all keys of a QWERTY keyboard. In this instance, the display screen will display output from the computer not as a keyboard, but as various icons which can be selected by a user's fingertip, or stylus, brought to bear upon that icon. One example of a computer that primarily utilizes a stylus is a tablet-like personal computer. Other examples might be a cellular telephone, two-way pager, or personal digital assistant (PDA). A tablet personal computer (PC) has grown popular as a keyboard-less device, which allows entry of handwriting upon the tablet. The handwritten information can be stored and sent to a destination, known as "digital ink."
However, if large amounts of data are to be entered upon the tablet surface, tablet PC software sometimes lacks sufficiently accurate handwriting recognition tools for converting the handwriting to alphanumeric characters. Thus, when entering significant amounts of alphanumerical information, the standard QWERTY keyboard reigns supreme.
It would be desirable to implement a computer, preferably a portable computer, having the benefits of a tablet-entry mechanism while at the same time also allowing entry upon a QWERTY keyboard. The portable computer, such as a tablet computer, PDA, or other computing devices which have a display, should preferably maintain its portability and small dimension. A truly portable computer will avoid having to plug into a docking station or receive an external keyboard. Allowing a user to enter information into the portable computer, preferably a portable tablet PC, either as handwriting across a screen, objective (i.e., fingertip or stylus) activation of an icon displayed on a screen, or entry upon a QWERTY keyboard present a significant improvement over conventional portable computers which cannot accommodate all of these various input mechanisms.


A method is disclosed for controlling a diesel engine equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF). The method includes detecting steady state operation of the engine generating a first flow rate of particulate matter (PM) directed into the DPF. The method also includes, during the steady state operation, triggering exhaust gas recirculation to the engine and thereby directing a second PM flow rate that is greater than the first flow rate into the DPF. The method additionally includes detecting a PM flow rate exiting the DPF in response to the second PM flow rate directed into the DPF. The method also includes comparing the detected PM flow rate exiting the DPF with a PM flow rate threshold. Furthermore, the method includes regulating injection of fuel to regenerate the DPF, if the detected PM flow rate exiting the DPF is greater than the PM flow rate threshold.

Various exhaust after-treatment devices have been developed to effectively limit exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines. An after-treatment system for a modern diesel engine exhaust typically incorporates a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for collecting and disposing of the sooty particulate matter emitted by the diesel engine prior to the exhaust gas being discharged to the atmosphere.
Generally, a DPF acts as a trap for removing the particulate matter from the exhaust stream. A typical DPF contains precious metals, such as platinum and/or palladium, which serve as catalysts to further oxidize soot and hydrocarbons present in the exhaust stream. The DPF may be regenerated or cleaned using superheated exhaust gas to burn off the collected particulate.

Engine control for diesel particulate filter efficiency assessment


The valving element is positively tied to the diaphragm, through a diaphragm-carried insert which has a flow-accommodating groove formed therein to facilitate instant outlet pressure following a gas supply shut off. Too, the valving element cooperates with internal structures to define spaced apart seating and sealing areas which boundary between high and low pressures of the natural gas, and the magnitudes and directions of the differential pressures are balanced at the seating and sealing areas, and maintained in balance regardless of how inlet and outlet gas pressures vary.

This invention pertains to regulators for safely reducing high pressure natural gas to pressure levels which are usable in vehicular engines. There is a need for automobile makers to provide an alternative fuels capability in a percentage of their vehicles in this decade. Concomitantly, then, there is a need for a pressure-reducing regulator which can accommodate the high pressure natural gas, which is stored in vehicular storage tanks, and reduce it down to usable pressure levels, to facilitate the production of the alternative fuels automobiles.
A majority of pressure-reducing regulators for compressed natural gas, as are known in the prior art, lack a balanced valve design. Accordingly, the output pressure can fluctuate widely, as the using vehicle consumes the fuel. To overcome this drawback, typically two of such regulators are employed to provide an acceptable regulation. Exemplary of this type of regulator is the Type P NGV Regulator, or the Type P NGV Regulator with Enviro-Cap, manufactured and sold by Modern Engineering Company, Inc. of Gallman, Miss. Other prior art regulators use pistons to sense and track the outlet pressure and control the regulator. Such pistons, which carries seals, usually O-rings, manifest a response lag arising from the frictional drag of the seals. Regulators of this latter type are offered by the Tescom Corporation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,333, issued to Albert L. Semon, on Jan. 23, 1973, for a Fluid Pressure Compensating Regulator, sets forth a valving element of square cross section, which requires that the corners of the same slidably and frictionally translate through a housing. Too, it has a diaphragm-carried insert which, when the diaphragm bottoms, has no gas flow accommodation provided therein.
It is a purpose of this invention to set forth a pressure-reducing regulator which, by itself, is usable in vehicular applications, and is of efficient and uncomplicated structure, the same having a balanced valving element arrangement which has minimal frictional drag.

Pressure-reducing regulator for compressed natural gas


A connector device comprises a housing having an internal storage space for inserting one or more storage devices therein. A shallow guide member is coupled along one of the inner side walls of the housing to define upper and lower storage spaces within the housing without substantially interrupting the overall storage space of the housing. A connector section coupled to one end of the housing has upper and lower contact arrays disposed respectively in the upper and lower storage spaces. At least one of the contact arrays is adapted to interchangeably connect to either a memory card or a hard disk drive package. A single hard disk drive package may be connected to the connect device, thereby occupying the entire storage space of the house, or alternatively, a memory card may be inserted into each of the upper and lower storage spaces. The connector device may further comprise upper and lower ejection mechanisms for ejecting storage devices from the respective storage spaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device which can be used for both a memory card and a hard disk drive package serving as a data storage device to be connected to a personal computer, a laptop computer or a Notebook-PC.
2. Description of the Related Art
The recent development in personal computers has created what has become known as the laptop computer which is substantially portable and consumes little power. A further advancement on the laptop computer is the so-called Notebook-PC.
As the size reduction of the computer device such the personal computer, the laptop computer or the Notebook-PC is promoted, demand has arisen for increasing its data storage capacity at low cost. To increase the processing speed of stored data and to increase the capacity, it is preferable to use a memory card or a hard disk as a data storage medium rather than a floppy disk.
The memory card is advantageous as it is detachably mounted in a computer device and is portable.
Although a low-profile, portable hard disk drive (HDD) package incorporating a hard disk is available, it is comparatively expensive. Accordingly, when an HDD package is integrally assembled in each individual computer device, the cost of the computer device is increased.
Furthermore, if the computer device incorporates the HDD package, even a third person can start the operating system. Therefore, data stored in the hard disk can be illegally used or misused.
For these reasons, it is demanded that an HDD package is detachably connected to a computer device in the same manner as a memory card, so that the single HDD package can be compatible used with a plurality of computer devices, and separated from the computer device and stored or carried. To detachably connect the HDD package to the computer device is preferable to allow an end user with a wide choice of the operating system, as specifications of hard disks differ from each other depending on operating systems.

Block 341, Bukit Batok Street 34, #08 50


The present invention provides an absorbent article preferably being a sanitary napkin that comprises a longitudinal centerline, a transverse centerline, a pair of longitudinal edges, two end edges, a first end region extending from one of the end edges toward the transverse centerline, and a second end region extending from the other end edge toward the transverse centerline. Also, there is a central region positioned between the first and second end regions. The sanitary napkin further comprises a first surface, a second surface that is faced opposite to the first surface wherein the flexure-resistance of the sanitary napkin as measured through the first and second end regions is greater than the flexure-resistance of the sanitary napkin as measured through the central region.

This invention is concerned with absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, pantiliners, and incontinence pads that are designed to absorb and retain liquid and other discharges from the human body and to prevent body and clothing soiling. The present invention is particularly concerned with sanitary napkins that have reduced roll-over at their end regions, particularly their end edges.
Disposable absorbent articles are designed to contain body exudates and to keep such body exudates from soiling adjacent clothing and undergarments. Thus, numerous improvements have been directed towards providing better containment of such body exudates within the sanitary napkin and reducing the occurrence of soiling of garments worn over the sanitary napkin. Soiling of garments resulting from the roll-over of the end edges of sanitary napkins is particularly a problem with catamenials. Soiling at the end edges is caused by a lack of stability in the end regions and/or end edges of a pad. It is therefore desirable to provide a sanitary napkin having a limited range of motion at its ends to prevent soiling caused by roll-over. Additionally, this restricted range of motion will enhance the body-conforming capability of the pad overall.
Additionally, the roll-over of the end of the pad increases the level of discomfort or noticeability of the product by a wearer. Roll-over reduces the effectiveness of the catamenial pad by reducing the effective length of the pad, which may thereby increase the amount of fluid which may directly flow from a wearer to their undergarment.
There have been a number of recent efforts to provide catamenial pads with improved body-conforming characteristics in order to improve the leakage performance of these products. In particular, sanitary napkins have been developed which are relatively thin and flexible to better conform the sanitary napkin to the wearer. Commercially successful sanitary napkins of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,264, issued to Osborn, on Aug. 21, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,653 issued to Osborn, on Apr. 23, 1991. While these ultrathin and flexible absorbent articles work quite well, there remains a need to improve the end soiling performance of these products and to further improve their fit characteristics.
U.S. application Ser. No. 08/665,959 entitled "Generally Thin, Flexible Sanitary Napkin With Stiffened Center", filed on Jun. 18, 1996 by Osborn describes a sanitary napkin that has a stiffened central absorbent core region. Additionally, the napkin comprises flexural-resistance means in its longitudinal side regions. This application also states that this sanitary napkin has a flexure-resistance as measured through the first and second end regions which is less than the flexure-resistance as measured through the central region.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,025 issued on Nov. 26, 1996 to May describes a sanitary napkin having stabilizing members joined along it's sides to reduce soiling and improve fit. In one embodiment herein May describes a napkin having stabilizing members extending about the entire periphery of the sanitary napkin, i.e., including end edges. However, May does not disclose or otherwise suggest having stabilizing members or any sort of stiffened and/or absorbent members positioned only at the end regions and/or end edges of the sanitary napkin as in Applicant's embodiment. May's invention is concerned then with providing an entirely stiffened periphery and not just providing stiffness at the end edges.
While the sanitary napkins disclosed in the Osborn patents and application and the May application work quite well, the search for improved sanitary napkins, i.e., sanitary napkins specifically designed to reduce roll-over at their ends, has continued.
As products have become progressively more flexible it has been observed that there is a tendency for the products to roll-over at their end regions and specifically their end edges. This phenomena of end roll-over contributes to both soiling and wearing discomfort.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide the sanitary napkin herein with stabilizing members at its end regions and/or end edges to reduce the tendency of roll over of the product at its ends.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide unitary disposable sanitary napkins herein with improved end region/edge soiling containment performance.
It is an additional object of the present invention to improve the fit of such sanitary napkins during use such that their surface conforms better to the corresponding shape of the human body.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Sanitary napkin having stabilized members in the end regions


A diagnostic system for an oven chamber, an oven system, and a method of wirelessly monitoring item temperature in an oven chamber are disclosed. In some embodiments, a temperature sensor used for sensing the temperature of an item is moved or transported with the item by a conveyor system. Also, in some embodiments, a wireless transmitter coupled to the temperature sensor can transmit a temperature signal to a receiver located outside of the oven chamber, and can also be moved or transported with the item. Data representative of item temperature can be stored, displayed, and/or used to modulate operation of the oven in some embodiments.

Numerous automated and semi-automated systems exist for treating parts of all types, shapes, and sizes, including without limitation parts used in automotive, household goods, machinery, and electronics industries. Such systems can be used to paint (e.g., liquid coating, powder coating, electrocoating, and the like), heat treat, dehydrate, clean, and perform a wide variety of other processes upon parts. As used herein, the term "treat" in its various forms refers to any of these processes.
Any of these systems can operate by conveying parts to locations within the system at which the parts are treated singularly or in batches. The systems can convey parts in any known manner, such as by conveying individual parts suspended upon hooks, brackets, wires, or other fixtures, or by conveying multiple parts in baskets, buckets, racks, pallets, and the like. The parts can be conveyed using any combination of chain, belt, cable, tabletop, bucket, and other conveyors, systems employing hydraulic or pneumatic pistons, slides, rails, vibration conveyors, and the like. As used herein, the term "conveyor" refers to any device or system adapted to move parts before, during, and/or after treatment.
In many cases, it is highly desirable to measure one or more parameters of a part or a part's environment before, during and/or after treatment of the part. For example, it may be desirable to measure the temperature of a part being exposed to heat for any purpose. In such cases, it may also be desirable to measure the temperatures of two or more locations of the part. As another example, it may be desirable to measure any other property (e.g., strain, chemical composition, weight, density, and the like) of a part. As yet another example, it may be desirable to measure one or more properties of the environment around the part, such as the temperature, fluid flow, humidity or pressure around the part, the acidity of the environment around the part, the presence and/or amount of one or more chemicals or substances in the environment around the part, and the like.
In all such cases, the ability to take accurate part or part environment measurements can be quite limited based upon a number of factors, such as the environment itself (e.g., an extremely hot, cold, caustic, toxic, or other environment) or movement of the part, treatment system, or conveyor system. Also, many treatment systems employ one or more partially or fully enclosed chambers that can render precise and accurate part or part environment measurements difficult.


While applying a square wave voltage to the ion electrode (21) so that ions already captured in the ion trap (20) do not disperse, the frequency of the square wave voltage is temporarily increased at the timing when the ions generated in response to the short time irradiation of a laser light reach the ion inlet (25). This decreases the Mathieu parameter qz, and the potential well becomes shallow, which makes it easy for ions to enter the ion trap (20). Although the ions that have been already captured become more likely to disperse, the frequency of the square wave voltage is decreased before they deviate from the stable orbit. Thus, the dispersion of the ions can also be avoided. Accordingly, while the number of captured ions is not decreased, new ions are further added, and thereby the amount of ions can be increased. By performing a mass separation and detection after that, the signal intensity in one mass analysis can be increased. Thereby, the number of repetition of the mass analysis for summing up the mass profiles can be decreased, and the signal intensity can be increased while decreasing the measuring time.

One conventionally known type of mass spectrometer uses an ion trap for capturing (or trapping) ions by an electric field. A typical ion trap is a so-called three-dimensional quadrupole ion trap, which has a substantially-circular ring electrode and a pair of end cap electrodes placed to face each other across the ring electrode. In such an ion trap, conventionally, a sinusoidal radio-frequency voltage is applied to the ring electrode to form a capture electric field, and ions are oscillated and trapped by this capture electric field. In recent years, the digital ion trap (DIT) for trapping ions by applying a square wave voltage in place of a sinusoidal voltage has been developed (refer to Non-Patent Document 1 and other documents).
In the case where the sample is biological, a laser desorption ionization (LDI) source such as the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) source is often used as an ion source for generating ions to be trapped in the ion trap as previously described.
In an ion trap mass spectrometer in which the MALDI and the DIT are combined, a pulse of laser light is delivered to a sample, and ions generated thereby from the sample are injected into the ion trap. In this process, in order to increase the ion capture efficiency, an inert gas is introduced inside the ion trap in advance to make the entering ions collide with the inert gas to decrease the kinetic energy of the ions. This operation is called a cooling. After stably capturing the ions inside the ion trap in this manner, an ion or ions having a specific mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) are excited and ejected from the ion trap to be detected by a detector. A mass scan is performed by scanning the mass-to-charge ratio of the excited ion, and a mass spectrum is created based on the detection signal obtained through scanning.
In a general MALDI, a single pulse of laser light irradiation often fails to generate a sufficient amount of ions, and in such a case, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the mass spectrum data obtained by one mass analysis as described above is low. Given this factor, in conventional apparatuses, a mass spectrum data with a high S/N is obtained by the following manner: ions are generated by a shot of laser light irradiation; the ions are injected into the ion trap; the ions are cooled (and captured); and mass separation and detection of the ions are performed, where these processes are repeated for a predetermined number of times (ten times, for example), and the mass profiles obtained from each process are summed up on a computer.
The more the number of repetitions of the series of processes is increased, the more the S/N of the mass spectrum data is improved. However, this causes a problem in that the measuring time to obtain a measurement result, i.e. a final mass spectrum, is elongated. For example, the apparatus that the inventors of the present application used for the experiment requires a measuring time of about 1.1 seconds for one process. Therefore, about 11 seconds are required for a total of ten times, and about 33 seconds for a total of thirty times. Accordingly, the throughput of analysis decreases and the cost of analysis increases.
[Non-Patent Document 1] Furuhashi, Takeshita, Ogawa, and Iwamoto, et al. "Digital Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer no Kaihatsu," Shimadzu Review: Shimadzu Hyoron Hensyubu, Mar. 31, 2006, vol. 62, nos. 3·4, pp. 141-151.


A hole transport material for an organic electroluminescence (EL) device, and an EL device including the same, the hole transport material being represented by Formula 1, below:

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a hole transport material for an organic electroluminescence device, and an organic electroluminescence device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, organic electroluminescence (EL) displays are one type of image displays that have been actively developed. Unlike a liquid crystal display (or the like), the organic EL display is so-called a self-luminescent display that recombines holes and electrons injected from an anode and a cathode in a light-emitting layer to thus emit light from a light-emitting material including an organic compound, thereby displaying an image.
An example of a light-emitting device (hereinafter referred to as an organic EL device) may include an organic EL device (that includes an anode, a hole transport layer on the anode, a light-emitting layer on the hole transport layer, an electron transport layer on the light-emitting layer, and a cathode on the electron transport layer). Holes injected from the anode may be injected into the light-emitting layer via the hole transport layer. Electrons may be injected from the cathode, and then injected into the light-emitting layer via the electron transport layer. The holes and the electrons injected into the light-emitting layer may be recombined to generate excitons within the light-emitting layer. The organic EL device may emit light generated by radiation and non-activation of the excitons.

Substituted carbazoles as hole transport materials for organic electroluminescence devices and organic electroluminescence devices comprising the same


The current disclosure provides microorganisms, such as lactic acid bacteria (e.g., Lactococcus lactis) containing an exogenous nucleic acid encoding an IL-10 polypeptide and an exogenous nucleic acid encoding a T1D-specific antigen (e.g., a proinsulin) polypeptide, wherein both exogenous nucleic acids are integrated into the bacterial chromosome. Such microbial strains are suitable for human therapy. The disclosure further provides compositions (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions) methods of using the microorganisms and compositions, e.g., for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D), including those with residual beta-cell function, e.g., recent-onset T1D. The microorganism may be administered orally, delivers the microorganism into the gastrointestinal tract, where it is released and expresses the bioactive polypeptides, The methods of the present disclosure are particularly well suited for subjects possessing residual beta-cell function, e.g., for subjects with recent-onset T1D.

Genetically modified microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) have been used to deliver therapeutic molecules to mucosal tissues. See, e.g., Steidler, L., et al., Nat. Biotechnol. 2003, 21(7): 785-789; and Robert S. and Steidler L., Microb. Cell Fact. 2014, 13 Suppl. 1: S11.
Interleukin 10 (IL-10) producing lactic acid bacteria have been previously described and mucosally administered IL-10 and/or insulin or proinsulin have been described for the treatment of type-1 diabetes (T1D). See e.g., International patent application publication WO 2007/063075; Robert S. et al., Diabetes 2014, 63: 2876-2887; Steidler et al., Nat. Biotechnol. 2003, 21(7): 785-789; and Takiishi T. et al., J. Clin. Invest. 2012, 122(5): 1717-1725.
However, there is still a need in the art for genetically modified bacterial strains that are stable, constitutively express more than one bioactive polypeptide and are suitable for clinical usage, e.g., for the treatment of T1D. The present disclosure addresses these needs.

Genetically modified bacteria stably expressing IL-10 and insulin


A scope zoom lever has a lever having a first lever attachment facility and a second lever attachment facility, an elongated strap having a first end having a first strap attachment facility adapted to connect to the first lever attachment facility, and an opposed second end having a second attachment facility adapted to connect to the second lever attachment facility, the second attachment facility having a plurality of alternative attachment locations to accommodate a range of adjustment ring diameters, the first attachment facility having a tensioning feature operable to snug the strap after the second attachment facility is connected. The first attachment facility may include a threaded fastener. The threaded fastener may be connected to one of the lever and the strap, and wherein the other of the lever and the strap includes a bore adapted to receive the fastener.

Scope zoom levers are handles that make it much easier for a shooter to change the level of magnification on a rifle or spotting scope. Scope zoom levers attach to the power adjustment ring of any rifle or spotting scope. Instead of having to pinch the power adjustment ring and turn it to adjust the level of magnification, a shooter can simply push on the lever with a finger. This enables the shooter to adjust the scope's power setting without leaving the shooting position (dismounting the rifle) or losing his or her sight picture. Furthermore, the power adjustment ring can be easily adjusted even while wearing gloves or in slippery or wet conditions. Additionally, in cold climates, the grease used by the scope manufacturer thickens, making the scope adjustment more difficult. The ability to quickly adjust the scope's power setting is particularly appealing to 3-gun competitors, military and law enforcement snipers, and hunters, who must rapidly switch from a low power with a wide field of view to a high power setting with a much narrower field of view.
A variety of prior art scope zoom levers have been created for several existing rifle scopes. However, most of these have the disadvantage of being highly customized to fit a specific rifle scope model's power adjustment ring. As a result, the manufacturer must make, and a retailer must stock, many different precisely machined scope zoom levers at considerable expense in order to comprehensively address the market. As a result, even scope zoom levers that are made of plastic rather than aluminum still cost a substantial percentage of the cost of a rifle scope.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved scope zoom lever that provides a handle for the power adjustment ring of any rifle scope. In this regard, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill at least some of these needs. In this respect, the scope zoom lever according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a handle for the power adjustment ring of any optical equipment with an adjustable power setting.


A method for purchasing a securities bundle indexed to entertainment revenue comprises selecting a securities bundle offered by a special-purpose entity. The securities bundle comprises a first security and a second security and the securities bundle is associated with a closing date. The first security is associated with a first entertainment event and the second security is associated with a second entertainment event. The method continues by identifying a return value associated with the securities bundle, and by identifying a purchase price associated with the securities bundle. The method concludes by purchasing the selected securities bundle at least partially based on the purchase price and the return value.

Current entertainment companies are typically corporations or partnerships that fund, produce, or otherwise participate in the creation or organization of many entertainment events. These entertainment events normally require various amounts of funding based on a number of criteria. For example, if the entertainment event is a movie, then the level of funding may be based on the chosen director for the film, the selected actors, the special effects or Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), locations desired for the film, appropriate advertising, and many other factors. In another example, if the entertainment event is a concert, then the level of funding may be based on an arena, security at the arena, transportation costs for the performing artists, and such. Occasionally, funding for one of the events may be more difficult to obtain because of poor public or industry perception of the project, lack of information about or knowledge of the project, inaccessibility to the funding process by interested investors, possible exclusivity of the particular entertainment industry, the particular funding needs being too great for one or a few investors, or for any other reason. Once funding is obtained and the event is produced, created, hosted, or otherwise premiered, the entertainment company receives at least portion of the revenues. Typically, as in the case of movies, this portion is based on the ticket sales of the movie, less distributor fees.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for purchasing a financial instrument indexed to entertainment revenue


A method for transmitting uplink response signals, base station, mobile station and communication system, includes judging whether to use a downlink secondary component carrier to transmit data to a mobile station; if the judging result is positive, allocating resources according to the number of transmission blocks for transmitting the downlink data in the secondary component carrier, accordingly the mobile station is able to use the resources corresponding to a preconfigured primary component carrier and the resources allocated to the secondary component carrier to select uplink resources for transmitting response signals.

In a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a user equipment (UE) receives downlink data transmitted by a base station, decodes the downlink data and obtains a response signal of the downlink data based on the decoding result, then transmits uplink control information containing the response signal in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), so that the base station can judge whether the data transmission is correct or wrong according to the uplink control information and hence judge whether data retransmission is needed. Wherein, the uplink control information comprises response signals for downlink data, such as acknowledgement (ACK)/negative acknowledgement (NACK)/discontinuous transmission (DTX), and channel state information (CSI), etc., wherein the ACK denotes that the data are correctly received, NACK denotes that the data are wrongly received, and DTX denotes that the UE receives no downlink control data, that is, receives no control signaling for scheduling downlink data transmission.
The response signals transmitted in the PUCCH correspond respectively to a physical channel resource, a time domain sequence and a frequency domain sequence, these three resources being associated with two parameters. One parameter is parameter N1 configured by a high layer of the system and is the same for all the UEs in all cells, and the other parameter is associated with an index of a first control channel element (CCE) contained in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) used for scheduling the downlink data to which the response signals correspond. In particular, N1 determines a starting position of the PUCCH used for transmitting the response signals, in the frequency domain in an uplink subframe, and this parameter is shared by all the UE or mobile stations in the cells; and the index of the first CCE of the PDCCH, together with the starting position, determine the physical resources and sequence resources actually used by the UE scheduled in the PDCCH in transmitting uplink control signaling, as shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the timing sequence of response signal transmission of an LTE FDD (frequency division duplexing) system. For an LTE FDD system, uplink subframes correspond to downlink subframes one by one. Namely, for any one of the UE in the system, in an uplink subframe, only a response signal value of the data in a downlink subframe corresponding to the uplink subframe is transmitted. The data transmitted in a downlink subframe contains at most two transmission blocks (TBs), that means, there exist response signals with two bits. The response signals with two bits need to be modulated into QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) symbols before transmission, and then are mapped into corresponding physical resources and sequence resources. The timing sequence of ACK/NACK transmission of an LTE FDD system is as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the timing sequence of response signal transmission of an LTE TDD (time division duplexing) system. In LTE TDD system, 7 types of uplink and downlink subframe configuration are defined. In most of the subframe configuration, one uplink subframe corresponds to multiple downlink subframes in many cases; that is, for any one of the UE in the system, in an uplink subframe, response signal values of the data in multiple downlink subframes corresponding to the uplink subframe need to be transmitted. The timing sequence of transmission of ACK/NACK to which certain uplink and downlink subframe configuration corresponds of an LTE TDD system is as shown in FIG. 3.
Currently, a method called channel selection is used in an LTE TDD system to transmit response signals, to which the data in multiple downlink subframe correspond, in an uplink subframe. The method comprises: if two TBs are contained in the downlink subframe, bundling the response signals of the two TBs; for example, when all the response signals are ACK, the result is still ACK after bundling, otherwise, the result is NACK; and then determining modulated symbol values and corresponding physical resources and sequence resources by looking up a table based on the bundled response signals.
Table 1 shows a response signal feedback method when two downlink subframes correspond to one uplink subframe. As shown in Table 1, if the response signals detected by the UE in the two subframes are (ACK, ACK), the lowest CCE index n1 of the PDCCH used for scheduling the UE to perform downlink signal transmission, in the first subframe is chosen for uplink physical resources and sequence resources mapping, with a value of modulation symbol being −1, and if the response signals to which the two subframes correspond are (ACK, NACK/DTX), the lowest CCE index n0 of the PDCCH in the 0th subframe is chosen for uplink physical resources and sequence resources mapping, with a value of modulation symbol being j, and other channel selection schemes may be deducted by analogy according to Table 1. In general, the number of resources needed in channel selection is equal to the number of bits of the response signals; for example, if the numbers of the response signals are 2, 3 or 4 bits, 2, 3 or 4 resources are needed respectively.
TABLE 1A channel selection scheme for responsesignals with 2 bits in an LTE systemResponse signal 1, Response signal 2Resourcesb(0), b(1)ACK, ACKn1−1  ACK, NACK/DTXn0−j  NACK/DTX, ACKn11NACK/DTX, NACKn1jNACK, DTXn0jDTX, DTXN/AN/A
It can be seen from above that in an LTE TDD system, as bundling of response signals is used, an available resource may be obtained from each downlink subframe containing data transmission. Hence, the resources are sufficient when the response signals values fed back are mapped to the resources.
In an LTE-advanced (LTE-A) system, carrier aggregation (CA) is used in data transmission, in which the uplink and downlink containing multiple component carriers (CC), and uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission may be scheduled in each component carrier for a mobile station in the system. The system configures each UE with a downlink primary component carrier (PCC) and multiple secondary component carriers (SCCs). The data transmitted in the PCC and SCCs is scheduled respectively.
In the LTE-A system, for any UE, control information, such as response signals of the data of each downlink component carrier and channel state information (CSI) of the downlink component carrier, etc., to which all the configured downlink SCCs of the UE correspond, is fed back in the uplink PCC of the UE. This is similar to the LTE TDD, that is, the mobile station needs to feed back response signals values of the data in multiple downlink subframes in an uplink subframe of one PCC, the downlink subframes belonging to different downlink component carriers (CCs).
However, in the implementation of the present invention, the inventor found following defects existing in the prior art of an LTE-A system, when carrier aggregation scheme is adopted, as resources to which a PCC corresponds are pre-configured, when a base station transmits data by using SCCs, a case of insufficient resources exists because bundling is not adopted in accordance with the requirement of a single carrier.
For example, when a mobile station is configured with 2 CCs, that is, a PCC and a PCC, and 2 TBs are transmitted in each of the CCs, 4 response signals values are needed to be fed back and 4 resources are needed for selection; while in a general case, resources to which a PCC corresponds are normally pre-configured, in this case, if mapping is performed by using only the lowest CCE index of the PDCCH in each CC, the number of the available resources is only 2.
There is no effective solution for the case of resources insufficient till now.
Following documents are listed for the easy understanding of the present invention and conventional technologies, which are incorporated herein by reference as they are fully stated in this text.
1) CN101594211A, published in Dec. 2, 2009, and entitled Method for sending correct/wrong response message in multicarrier system with big bandwidth;
2) CN101588226A, published in Nov. 25, 2009, and entitled Terminal in large bandwidth multi-carrier system and a sending method of response message; and
3) WO2010/050688A2, entitled Method of HARQ acknowledgement transmission and transport block retransmission in a wireless communication system.

Method for transmitting uplink response signals, base station, mobile station and communication system


Connector for releasably attaching two fluid transfer lines, includes a flow connector with a first and second connector assemblies (3, 6) each having a fluid passage, a valve rotatably seated in the passage for opening or closing off the fluid passage. The flow connector also including a normal connection/disconnection system and an emergency disconnection system both located at the same interface and each one having its own dedicated actuating system characterized in that the flow connector is combined with a structural disconnectable load diverter (11, 4, 59) diverting the loads and moments created by the transfer line (2) away from the valves and the flow connector.

Such a connector is known from the international patent application WO2009/071591 filed by the applicant, where there is provided a multi purpose connection system by integrating a Quick Connect Disconnect Coupling (QC/DC) suitable for normal operations, an Emergency Release Coupling (ERC) for controlled emergency disconnections and, alternatively a Break Away Coupling (BAC) for uncontrolled emergency scenarios. The QC/DC activation mechanism may be power-operated both ways, open and closed. The activation of the ERC mechanism is done via a "triggering device" which releases stored energy and can break ice formed thereon. By having a passive release system, disconnection is possible even in case of a power failure. In this way, upon emergency disconnection, hazardous fluids will not be lost. This is especially important in case of transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for instance between a loading and unloading terminal and a shuttle tanker.
In the US patent application no. 2004/0244846, an arrangement for connection and disconnection of two end sections of pipelines for transfer of liquefied natural gas is shown. The known arrangement comprises a butterfly valve with a circular disk mounted inside the pipe sections and with articulated arms, driven by a shaft that is rotated by means of a rotating drive member on the outer perimeter of the valve housing. The pipe segments are interconnected via a two ring segments that can be moved apart in a radial direction in case of an emergency disconnection. In case of disconnection, the ring segments remain attached to one of the pipe sections.
In EP1710206 there is disclosed a guide for the free end of the pipe which leads it into the receptacle end of the pipe on the connection unit. This comprises a guide peg entering a cone providing location as connection is approached. This specially developed targeting system enables the safe connection and disconnection of the arms to the LNG carrier's manifold in dynamic conditions caused by wave-induced motions. A winch is provided on the connection unit which can reduce the load applied on the connector.
However, with such a design, the peg is not locked into the cone and hence, from time to time, the valves of the connector are taking on the loads such as the bending loads, the shear loads and the axial loads due to the movement of each vessel, the environment etc. . . .
The connector according to the present invention provides a fluid flow connector combined with a structural load diverter comprising a load bearing structure and a synchronized locking mechanism. Therefore, the present invention avoids a situation where the structural load diverter gets unlocked while the fluid connector is still locked. The connector according to the present invention has a compact design and ensures a safe connection and disconnection, avoiding the valves to be subjected to loads they are not designed for.
A further advantage of the connector according to the present invention is that it is reusable and can be tested in situ after connection. The emergency disconnection system can be rearmed without external action.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the transfer line end part assembly of the connector and the carrier end part assembly of the connector both have a conical shape for a cone-in-cone connection for which no particular orientation is hence required. The connection is facilitated.

Structural connector diverting loads away from the cool connector


A remote copy system includes a plurality of first storage systems and a plurality of second storage systems. Each first storage system assigns a sequential number to write data received from the host and sends the write data with the sequential number to the second storage system. One of the first storage systems defers the processing of the write request received from the host and instructs each of the first storage systems to create a marker, whereupon each of the first storage systems defers the processing of the write request, creates a marker including a sequential number and having a marker number, and sends the marker to the second storage system. Each of the second storage systems, when receiving a marker from the first storage system, stores the marker number included in the marker. One of the second storage systems reads the marker number stored by each of the second storage systems and reports to each of the second storage systems the marker number of smallest value of the marker numbers which were thus read. Each of the second storage systems writes to a logical volume in sequential number order write data, of the write data received from the first storage system, that includes a sequential number of a value smaller than the sequential number of the marker including the marker number reported from one of the second storage systems.

The present invention relates to a storage system that stores data that is employed by a computer and that receives updating of data from a computer, and in particular relates to processing for maintaining copies of data between a plurality of storage systems.
In Laid-open European Patent Application No. 0672985, a technique is disclosed whereby the data that is employed by a computer is stored by a storage system and a copy of this data is stored in a separate storage system arranged at a remote location, while reflecting the write sequence of the data. In the processing indicated in Laid-open European Patent Application No. 0672985, the source storage system that has received the write data from the primary host computer reports completion of reception of the write data to the primary host computer only after reception of the write data. After this, the primary host computer reads a copy of the write data from the source storage system. A write time, which is the time at which the write request in respect of the write data was issued, is applied to this write data and, when the write data is read by the primary host computer, the write time is also transferred to the primary host computer. In addition, the primary host computer transfers the write data and the write time to the secondary host computer. After receiving the write data and the write time, the secondary host computer writes information including the write time to a control volume in the storage system on the secondary side and, in addition, writes the write data in the target storage system in the write time sequence, with reference to the write times at which the various items of write data were presented. By writing the write data in the target storage system in the write time sequence, it is possible to maintain consistent data in the target storage system.
If write data were to be reflected to the target storage system neglecting the write sequence (the operation of storing write data in the target storage system will hereinbelow be referred to as "reflecting" the data), for example in the case of a bank account database, in processing to transfer funds from an account A to an account B, it would not be possible to reproduce the debiting of the account A and the crediting of the account B as a single transaction and it would be possible for example for a period to occur in the target storage system in which the balance of the account B was credited before debiting of the balance of the account A. If, in this case, some fault occurred in the source storage system rendering it unusable prior to debiting the balance of the account A in the target storage system, mismatching data would be left in the target storage system, with the result that incorrect processing would be performed if business were to be subsequently continued using the secondary host computer. Consequently, by storing the write data in the target storage system preserving the write sequence, consistent data can be maintained, making it possible to guarantee correctness of a sequence of related operations in respect of related data.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,066 discloses a technique whereby the data that is used by a computer is stored in a storage system and, by copying the data that is stored in this storage system to a separate storage system arranged at a remote location, the data can be maintained in the separate storage system even if the first storage system has become unusable due to for example a natural disaster or fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,002 discloses a technique whereby data employed by a computer is stored in a storage system and, by copying the data that is stored in this storage system to a separate storage system arranged at a remote location, and additionally copying the data that has been received by this separate storage system to a third storage system, a high level of redundancy can be obtained in respect of data.


An optical recording medium having a plural number of recording layers includes a n-th recording layer (23) (n≧1), made up by a substrate (20) and a semi-reflective layer (21) carried by the substrate (20) and adapted for partially reflecting and partially transmitting the incident light, a (n+1)th recording layer (28), made up by another substrate (25) and a reflecting layer (26) carried by the substrate (25) and adapted for reflecting the incident light, and a light condensing layer (24) for condensing the light incident via the n-th recording layer (23) on the (n+1)th recording layer (28).

The conventional recording medium, such as an optical disc, is mostly formed by a sole recording layer. Recently, a recording medium having plural recording layers, stacked together, within the disc, has made its debut. In reproducing the optical disc, having plural recording layers, such a method is used that consists in reading out data from one recording layer to another (see for example the Japanese Laid-pen Patent Publication No. 2003-59091).
However, the optical disc, having multiple recording layers, is aimed to improve the recording capacity, and simply data is recorded in each recording layer. Thus, in reproducing the optical disc, data is reproduced from one recording layer to another.

Apparatus and method for producing optical recording medium, optical recording medium, apparatus and method for reproduction and apparatus and method for recording


A toy flashlight formed in a configuration including a strobe module. The flashlight includes a handle housing and a releasably mounted transparent enclosure with the strobe module enclosed therebetween. The strobe module is provided to switch a light source between ON state and an OFF state to create a rapidly blinking light. Further, a strobing circuit is provided to control the switching mechanism of the strobe module. In this manner, the strobe module with strobing circuit can be inserted into a conventional flashlight to enhance its play value.

This invention is directed to a novel toy flashlight module and, in particular, to a toy flashlight having a strobe module which rapidly emits beams of light t provide distinct types of play value.
Toy flashlights have taken many shapes, forms and styles over the years. In fact, toy flashlights are known in the prior art as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,346. U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,346 is directed to a toy flashlight having a color filter assembly which is mounted to a handle housing and contains a variety of colored filters. Light beams are then transmitted through the colored filters. A globe is attached to the colored filter assembly of the flashlight and includes reflective objects in a variety of colors and shapes. Therefore, when the child moves the flashlight, colored beams of lights are reflected off the objects enclosed in the globe. Although such a flashlight can provide considerable enjoyment for a child, such flashlights do not necessarily offer a futuristic appeal and play value.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a toy flashlight that has a futuristic and a high technology-like special effect. More specifically, the toy flashlight module of the present invention includes a strobe module which produces a rapidly blinking beam of light. Accordingly, an improved toy flashlight module which emits rapidly blinking lights and, hence, provides enhanced play value is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally speaking, in accordance with the instant invention, a toy flashlight module assembly is provided. The toy flashlight includes a handle housing for receiving a power supply. A light source is releasably mounted within the handle for emitting a beam of light. A strobe module is mounted to the handle for controlling the output of the beam of light. A transparent enclosure is secured to the handle housing so that the light is rapidly emitted through the transparent enclosure.
In an exemplary embodiment, a strobe module is formed with a strobing circuit for switching the beam of light between an ON state and an OFF state. The strobing circuit is formed with a Darlington circuit having a master transistor and a slave transistor coupled to a light source for producing a beam of light. An RC circuit is coupled to the base of the master transistor and the collector of the slave transistor. The power supply is coupled to the master transistor and the light source. In this manner, a circuit is formed which rapidly switches the beam of light between an ON state and an OFF state to provide enhanced play value to a flashlight.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an improved amusement device in the form of a toy flashlight having a strobe module.
A further object of the invention is to provide a flashlight toy which can provide rapidly blinking light to create a futuristic effect.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a strobing circuit which is inserted into a conventional toy flashlight and rapidly switches a beam of light of the flashlight between an ON state and an OFF state.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.


A highly thermal-conductive and thermal-resistant electrically insulated coil with less outflow of a thermosetting resin composition can be produced, to provide a small-scale, light-weight rotating machine with high power. The thermosetting resin composition comprises (a) a polyfunctional epoxy resin containing three or more p-(2,3-epoxypropoxy) phenyl groups and a group represented by the Chemical formula 1; or an epoxy resin with a naphthalene backbone, represented by the Chemical formula 3, 4 or 5 or an epoxy resin with an anthracene backbone, such as diglycidyl ether of anthracene diol and triglycidyl ether of anthracene triol; (b) a bifunctional epoxy resin containing two p-(2,3-epoxypropoxy) phenyl groups; (c) an acid anhydride curing agent; and (d) a metal acetonate curing catalyst represented by the Chemical formula 2 at 0.1 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the epoxy resins.

The present invention relates to an electrically insulated coil, having a high shear strength and a high heat resistance and a high withstand voltage, wherein a thermosetting resin composition of a repeatedly usable one-component epoxy resin is used, and to an electric rotating machine using the coil. The invention also relates to a method for producing a totally impregnated rotating coil.
Demands for making high-voltage rotating machines, such as electric vehicles and induction motors for general industries, with a small scale, a light weight and a low cost have increasingly escalated. The methods for manufacturing the stator coil and rotor of such high-voltage rotating machines are broadly grouped as follows: (1) in a single prepreg process, after prepreg mica tapes are wound around a stack of insulated conductors, the prepreg mica tape wound around a conductor stack is heated and the resin is hardened. Then, the cured electrical insulating coil is placed into an iron core slot; in a single impregnation process a after insulating mica tapes have been wound around a stack of insulated conductors, the stack is impregnated with a thermosetting resin composition in a tank, and the resulting stack is heated and the resin is hardened. Then, the cured electrically insulated coil is placed into an iron core slot; and (3) in an total impregnation process, after the insulating mica tapes have been wound around a stack of insulated conductors, the stack is placed into an iron core slot, a wedge is inserted into the external circumferential groove of the iron core slot to connect the electrical insulating coil to the external end part of the iron core, followed by impregnating the assembly with a thermosetting resin composition in a tank, and then curing the electrical insulating coil and the iron core slot in their integrated state with a thermosetting resin composition. In the stator of the total impregnation type, the iron core and the electrically insulated coil are integrated together because the cured material of the impregnating thermosetting resin composition is filled in the space between the electrically insulated coil and the iron core slot. Therefore, the heat conductivity between the electrically insulated coil and the iron core is so high that good cooling performance can be procured and the process can be simplified, advantageously from the aspect of production of small-scale and light-weight equipment at a low cost. Thus, such a process is now being pursed as a first choice as the insulating process for small scale to medium scale high voltage electric rotating machines of high-pressure.
Thermosetting resin compositions for impregnating electrical insulating coils to be used for the single impregnation process or total impregnation process are required to satisfy the following conditions: 1. the compositions should have a low viscosity (at 10 poise or less during impregnation) so as to readily impregnate such electrically insulated coils; 2. the compositions should never generate volatile substances so as to avoid the occurrence of a void (space) at a course of heating and curing; 3. the pot life, namely the usable time, should be as long as 25 days or more; 4. the heating and curing time should be short; 5. the electrical and mechanical performance needs to be great; 6. the compatibility with the insulating tape base material should be comfortable; and 7. the cured compositions should be highly thermally resistant, in other words, the cured compositions should have short-term and long-term thermal deterioration characteristics above 155.degree. C.
A thermosetting resin composition principally comprising an acid anhydride and an epoxy resin has been used from the aspect that, as a thermosetting resin composition for impregnating electrically insulated coils of rotating machine, the composition has a low viscosity with ready workability and handleability during impregnation and exerts a variety of great performance characteristics after curing.
The manufacture of electrically insulated coils requires more than 1000 kg of impregnating thermosetting resin composition in order to immerse the whole coils.
However, the amount of consumption at one impregnation is at most about several %, so the remaining amount should be recovered, followed by fresh addition thereof in an amount corresponding to the consumption, so as to use the composition efficiently.
Although such a thermosetting resin composition of an acid anhydride-hardening epoxy resin has a longer usable time, the resin composition requires a catalyst because of its poor curing profile. Generally, however, direct addition of a curing catalyst into a thermosetting resin composition elevates the viscosity of the thermosetting resin composition during the impregnation and storage. Thus, the composition reached an unusable state in several days.
Therefore, a so-called coating process to deposit a curing catalyst onto an insulating tape base material, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-1124452, has been selected generally.
If an electrically insulated coil is prepared by the coating process of a curing catalyst, there tends to be a smaller amount of the curing catalyst in the thermosetting resin composition impregnated into the space between an iron core slot and the electrically insulated coil, in the thermosetting resin composition at a part spaced from the insulating tape base material layer and with a lower curing catalyst level, and in the thermosetting resin composition on the surface layer of the electrical insulating coil, the curing therein is insufficient. Therefore, satisfactory performance cannot be attained. Because the variation of the curing catalyst level is large in the insulating tape base material, the variation of the performance of the insulating layer cannot be reduced.
Research into so-called latent curing catalysts, which are stable at ambient temperature but rapidly effect curing on heating, have been conducted actively; therefore, proposals have been made for use of metal imidazolate, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 48-79300; tetra-onium salt, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 50-110500; an addition product of imidazole and a first transition metal coordination compound, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 50-11298; arsonium salt, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 50-117898; chromium (III) chelate, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 51-8400; metal acetylacetonate, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 52-130899; organosiloxane compounds and aluminium acetylacetonate, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. Sho 53-125500 and 56-4625; a reaction product resulting from the reaction of a metal acetylacetonate and an acid anhydride with polyethylene glycol monoalkyl ether; a reaction product resulting from the reaction of a metal acetylacetonate and an acid anhydride with polyethylene glycol monoalkyl ether , as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 60-108418; a reaction product resulting from the reaction of a metal acetylacetonate and an acid anhydride with an aliphatic alcohol, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 61-4722; occult hydrazine curing catalysts as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-270616; an latent curing catalyst produced by the reaction of an epoxy resin compound with dialkylamine to prepare an addition compound, which is then pulverized in powder, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 64-40516; and the use of a borotrifluoride complex compound and a microcapsule-type latent curing agent in combination, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 3-281625.
However, these catalysts have not necessarily been satisfactory in a practical sense, because not any of these catalysts can have both a desired stability and curing performance together.

Thermosetting resin composition, electrically insulated coil, electric rotating machine and method for producing same


A method of scaling a desired velocity of a tool of a surgical robot with a processing unit includes receiving an input signal, determining a position of the tool relative to a boundary of a surgical site, and scaling a desired velocity of movement of the tool when the tool is within a predetermined distance of the boundary of the surgical site. The input signal includes the desired velocity of movement of the tool.

Robotic surgical systems have been used in minimally invasive medical procedures. During a medical procedure, the robotic surgical system is controlled by a surgeon interfacing with a user interface. The user interface allows the surgeon to manipulate an end effector that acts on a patient. The user interface includes an input controller or handle that is moveable by the surgeon to control the robotic surgical system.
Robotic surgical systems typically use a scaling factor to scale down the motions of the surgeon's hands to determine the desired position of the end effector within the patient so that the surgeon can more precisely move the end effector inside the patient. As the surgeon moves the input handle, a surgical robot moves the end effector within the patient. As the end surgical robot moves the end effector, an arm of the surgical robot and/or the end effector may approach a boundary of movement. This boundary of movement may be artificial, e.g., a virtual wall, or may be an actual boundary, e.g., a joint limit of the surgical robot, a physical edge of a surgical space, or a collision with another object. Typically as the end effector or surgical robot reaches the boundary, the end effector or robot arm abruptly stops. This deceleration may be accentuated when the end effector or surgical robot is moving at a high velocity towards the boundary. This sudden deceleration of the end effector or surgical robot may damage the surgical robot and/or result in unintended movement of the surgical robot.


Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, and devices for fault detection in a Lidar system. A fault detection system obtains incoming Lidar data output by a Lidar system during operation of an AV system. The incoming Lidar data includes one or more data points corresponding to a fault detection target on an exterior of a vehicle of the AV system. The fault detection system accesses historical Lidar data that is based on data previously output by the Lidar system. The historical Lidar data corresponds to the fault detection target. The fault detection system performs a comparison of the incoming Lidar data with the historical Lidar data to identify any differences between the two sets of data. The fault detection system detects a fault condition occurring at the Lidar system based on the comparison.

Lidar is a radar-like system that uses lasers to create three-dimensional representations of surrounding environments. A Lidar unit includes at least one laser emitter paired with a detector to form a channel, though an array of channels may be used to expand the field of view of the Lidar unit. During operation, each channel emits a laser signal into the environment that is reflected off of the surrounding environment back to the detector. A single channel provides a single point of ranging information. Collectively, channels are combined to create a point cloud that corresponds to a three-dimensional representation of the surrounding environment. The Lidar unit also includes circuitry to measure the time of flight—i.e., the elapsed time from emitting the laser signal to detecting the return signal. The time of flight is used to determine the distance of the Lidar unit to the detected object.


A reactor water clean-up system is provided with a first filter demineralizer having a filter resin containing an alkali substance and a second filter demineralizer with a filter resin not containing an alkali substance. The reactor water is supplied to the first filter demineralizer during the term from the starting operation of the preoperating test of the nuclear reactor and of each fuel cycle to 2000 EFPH. The alkali substance contained in the filter resin is guided into the nuclear reactor to change the pH of the reactor water in the nuclear reactor to the weak alkali side. The Cr quantity which is taken in the oxide film of the fuel cladding tube surface is reduced. After 2000 EFPH from the starting operation, the supply of the reactor water to the first filter demineralizer is stopped, and then, the reactor water is supplied to the second filter demineralizer.

This invention is related to a method of operation of a nuclear power plant, and particularly to a method suitable for operation of a boiling water reactor power plant.
Generally, corrosion products, such as metallic ion components and insoluble components (clad) and the like, are dissolved little by little into water from structural materials, such as piping, pumps, heat exchangers, etc., of a boiling water reactor power plant (hereinafter referred to as BWR power plant). Most of the corrosion products formed in a turbine system on an upper side of a clean-up system for condensate water are removed by the clean-up system. But, the corrosion products formed in a feed water system at a downstream side of the clean-up system for condensate water are not removed. These corrosion products enter into the nuclear reactor together with the feed water. Most of the corrosion products which enter into the nuclear reactor deposit on the surface of the fuel rods. The corrosion products which are deposited on the surface of the fuel rods are transformed into radioactive nuclides by irradiation with neutrons. For example, Ni and Co contained in the corrosion products are transformed into .sup.58 Co and .sup.60 Co, which have a long half life, respectively, by neutron irradiation. A part of the corrosion products, being a radioactive substance, dissolves from the surface of the fuel rods into the reactor water, or exfoliates from the surfaces of the fuel rods. The dissolved or the exfoliated corrosion products deposit on the inner surfaces of equipment and pipings of a primary loop recirculation system or the clean-up system for the reactor water. Therefore, the dosage rate of the equipment and the pipings of the primary loop recirculation system, or of the reactor water cleanup system, increases. In the case where NiFe.sub.2 O.sub.4 and CoFe.sub.2 O.sub.4 are composite oxides of the corrosion products of Ni and Co that deposit on the surfaces of the fuel rods, the speed of re-dissolution of the composite oxides into the reactor water, or the speed of their exfoliation from the surfaces of the fuel rods, becomes very slow. The composite oxides stay on the surfaces of the fuel rods for a long time after they have deposited. As a result, re-deposition of the corrosion products, which are radioactive substances, on the equipment and pipings is suppressed. Ni and Co in the reactor water form stable composite oxides by setting a weight ratio of Fe/Ni in the feed water to 2 or more (actually, about 3). In order to obtain the Fe/Ni weight ratio, a technique for controlling the iron concentration in the feed water has already been adopted in the BWR. However, even when the Fe concentration is controlled, as mentioned above, a new phenomenon was observed wherein the concentration of the radioactive substances, such as .sup.60 Co, in the reactor water changes. The reason is that the concentration of the radioactive substances in the reactor water does not stabilize due to an increase of the quantity of Cr dissolving from stainless steel pipes used for heat transfer pipes of the feed water heater. The increase in the dissolution quantity of Cr accelerates re-dissolution of clad deposited on the fuel rods. Several measures are described in Japanese patent Laid-open Print No. 5-288893. These measures suppress a fluctuation in the concentration of radioactive substances in the reactor water, to control the Cr quantity in the deposit on the fuel rods in addition to controlling the Fe quantity. The Laid-open Print describes a method for reducing the Cr content in clad deposited on the fuel rods by methods such as a method for properly managing the concentration of an oxidizing agent in the feed water, a method for substituting a material having a high Cr content for a low Cr content material, a method for making alkali ions coexistent with Cr ions in the reactor water, and a method for efficiently operating the clean-up equipment for cleaning the reactor water. Japanese Patent Publication No. 68914 describes a technique that controls the pH of the reactor water to a weak alkali state. This is the technique that suppresses an uptake of radiation to the main pipe and is applied only at the time of the starting operation of the nuclear reactor when the uptake speed is fast. But, Japanese Patent Laid-open Print No. 5-288893 does not pay attention to the injection time of an alkali metal. The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-8914 is applied only to controlling the weak alkali state at the time of starting, but this technique cannot suppress Cr loading on the fuel rods in new fuel assemblies to be loaded during every operating cycle.

Boiling water reactor and its operating method


A lighting device (132) includes a circuit having a power supply and a plurality of light emitting diodes (120) connected in series with the power supply. The plurality of light emitting diodes (120) includes at least two groups of series-connected light emitting diodes, the groups of series-connected light emitting diodes being connected in series. A different optically isolated field effect transistor (U3-U5) is connected in parallel with each group of series-connected light emitting diodes, for selectively shunting around the group of series-connected light emitting diodes. A different capacitor (C8-C10) can also be connected in parallel with each group of series-connected light emitting diodes. A controller (U2) is connected to a gate of each of the optically isolated field effect transistors (U3-U5) for selectively turning the optically isolated field effect transistors (U3-U5) on and off. Thus, the controller U2 is electrically isolated from the power supply by the optically isolated field effect transistors (U3-U5). The light emitting diodes (120) can be driven and controlled using pulse width modulation methods.

1. Field of the Invention
Our invention relates generally to lighting devices having a circuit including a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs), and to methods of controlling and calibrating lighting devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lighting devices such as electric lamps, and light bulbs used therein, are well known and have been widely used for years. These lamps and bulbs are generally of the incandescent-, halogen-, and fluorescent-types. More recently, lighting devices using LEDs have entered the market. LED lighting devices have the advantages of low power requirements, high efficiency and long life. While LEDs themselves are quite efficient, the circuits that have been used to drive LED lighting devices have tended to be inefficient. For example, because readily available voltage sources tend to have much higher voltages (e.g., 12 or 24 volts DC for vehicular applications, and 120 or 240 volts for standard mains voltage from a wall socket) than the voltage required to drive an LED (2-4 volts, depending on the color), resistors and other semiconductor components have conventionally been used to regulate the voltage. In the process of regulating the voltage supplied to the LEDs, these resistors and semiconductor components convert large amounts of energy into heat, which is inefficient and potentially damaging to the LEDs and other circuit components.
Various attempts to minimize these inefficiencies have been made. For example, lighting devices are known in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in series, so that the LEDs can be driven by a higher voltage source of power. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,716 B1 describes, with reference to FIG. 2, a circuit having a plurality of series-connected LEDs usable in an automotive application. Each LED can be short-circuited over a switch, so that in the event of a failure of one LED, the other LEDs may continue to operate by short-circuiting the corresponding LED by means of logic circuit, or dimming of the LEDs can be performed by short-cutting the LEDs by means of circular variation. Another control circuit, which is connected to logic circuit, is connected in series with the LEDs. The logic circuit is also connected to the input of the control circuit. A constant current through the LEDs is set as current adjust by means of the logic circuit via the control circuit, regardless of how many LEDs are in operation. The voltage across all the LEDs must be adjusted upward to 60 volts, for example, in comparison with a lower on-board voltage of 12 volts or 20 volts, due to the series connection of the LEDs.
The configuration of the '716 patent requires a separate switch in parallel with each LED. Thus, if a large number of LEDs is used, a large number of switches is also required, consequently increasing the cost of the circuit. Also, as shown in FIG. 2 of the '716 patent, the control logic and control circuit are run off of approximately the same voltage as the series LED string, i.e., 60 volts, in order to close the switches. The control circuit and LEDs also share the same reference or ground. Control circuits capable of handling such relatively high voltage tend to be larger, more expensive, and to generate more heat than lower voltage (e.g., 3.3-16 volt) controllers and processors.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a lighting device, which is efficient and cost effective to manufacture and operate.

Lighting device having a circuit including a plurality of light emitting diodes, and methods of controlling and calibrating lighting devices


A SRAM device includes at least one memory cell having a source line for receiving an internal supply power, and a voltage management circuit coupled to the source line for generating the internal supply power that varies in at least two different voltage levels, depending on various operation modes of the memory cell.

The present invention relates generally to static random access memories (SRAM), and more particularly to a circuit implementation for providing various voltages to an SRAM core array, depending on the mode of operation.
SRAM devices are used in a wide variety of applications. SRAM devices provide one or more randomly accessible memory array where the data contents can be written and re-written at any time. FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a conventional SRAM cell 100 that includes six transistors. A cross-coupled inverter pair, which is constructed by transistors 102, 104, 106, 108, and access transistors 110, 112 make up the SRAM cell 100. A supply voltage VCC powers the SRAM cell 100. The SRAM periphery power supply voltage (VDD) powers the word line (WL), bit line (BL) and complementary bit line (BLB). During write operation, a write data state is set by forcing complimentary voltages (0 and 1) on the BL and BLB, and forcing a high signal on WL to turn on the access transistors 110 and 112. This allows the data state to be forced into the cross-coupled inverter pair. The access transistors 110 and 112 are then turned off. The positive feedback of the cross-coupled inverter pair will ensure that the new data state is maintained. Typically, a plurality of memory cells is implemented on the SRAM device to form a large array of SRAM memory cells 100 powered by one supply voltage.
As the process used for semiconductor manufacturing moves towards the 0.13 um generation, the design rules continue to shrink for high density and high performance SRAM devices. As a result, the supply voltage VCC, of these devices must be reduced to below 1.0V. However, as the supply voltage VCC is reduced to below 1.0V, static noise margin (SNM) gets adversely affected, thereby leading to cell instability. SNM is defined as the minimum noise voltage at the cell storage nodes that is needed to flip the state of the cell. One method to improve SNM is by increasing the beta-ratio (β) of the SRAM cell. Beta-ratio (β) is the ratio of the width of the pull-down transistor to the access transistor. Increasing "beta-ratio" results in larger cell size of SRAM and hence is not desirable. Another method to improve SNM is by increasing the voltage supplied to the SRAM core array. Increasing the voltage supplied to the SRAM core array improves the SNM during read operation, but has an adverse effect on the write margin (WTM) during the write operation. While using two power supplies producing two different voltages, one for read and another for write operation, can improve both SNM and WTM, it makes the SRAM design more complex.
As such, what is needed is a single dynamic power supply for an SRAM core array that can provide multiple voltages during multiple operation modes such that the SNM and WTM issues can be addressed.

Circuit implementation of a dynamic power supply for SRAM core array

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A call processing method, system and communication device for providing call authorization features. Generally described, the present application relates to authorizing communications between devices during call setup time. In one illustrative embodiment, communications within a telephone network configured within a private branch exchange or carrier are filtered using an authorizing device. The authorizing device can be activated using different procedures including, but not limited to, feature access codes and pin numbers. When a call is received from a calling device, the telephone network can reserve a line for the call to the intended restricted device. The authorizing device can thereafter be alerted about the call. A user of the authorizing device can answer the call or direct the telephone network to block the call, connect the call with the restricted device through the reserved line, or forward the call to a third device.

A telephone system, in its most basic form, includes one individual dialing a telephone number assigned to another individual. With such a system, there is a one-to-one relationship between the dialed number and the destination. Time, however, has increased the sophistication of these systems as well as the relationships between a caller and the individual to be called. As an added complexity, the number of devices associated with any individual is no longer limited to one device.
Call routing services provided within many telephone systems allow these devices to be interconnected. Call routing systems have nevertheless resulted in unintended consequences. When a user forwards their calls from their home to a cell phone, for example, calls can be erroneously forwarded even though some calls were intended for their home. Call routing decisions in routing systems are handled by static routing tables in a carrier or private branch exchange. U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,074 to Miloslaysky et al. has been devised to update these routing tables using computer telephony integration controls. Other solutions use presence based concepts, such as an agent login, to update routing tables. These solutions are persistent, and the changes to the routing table remain fixed until a similar event occurs to cause the route to be removed or updated.
The most basic example of call routing decisions would be Call Forward Always which provides a private branch exchange or public switched telephone network extension with the ability to forward calls to another destination device. A problem arises, however, when the destination device again forwards the number back to the original phone. Because this is blocked in private branch exchanges and carrier environments as it is considered a forwarding loop, it simply cannot be done. A console attendant can be placed in the middle and tasked with answering and redirecting calls. In this scenario, calls are billed as soon as they are answered.
As a result, there is a need for providing call features that overcome the challenges provided above. The present application addresses these issues encountered in a call routing system and provides other, related advantages.


A zoom lens system has a first lens unit located closest to an object side and moves in an optical axis direction during both zooming and focusing and a light shielding plate which moves in a same direction and by same amount as the first lens unit during zooming, while the light shielding plate being stationary during focusing. As a result, adequate light is secured for peripheral areas when the lens system is in focus on a close-range object and the occurrence of flaring is prevented when the lens system is in focus on an object located at infinity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a zoom lens system, and more particularly to a zoom lens system suited for a silver halide film cameras and a digital cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
A zoom lens systems in which the first lens unit located closest to the object has a positive refractive power and said first lens unit moves during zooming and focusing are conventionally known. This conventional zoom lens system, however, has a problem that it is difficult to ensure adequate light for peripheral areas when it is in focus on a close-range object. Because of this problem in, light for peripheral areas have been conventionally secured while the lens system is in focus on a close-range object by means of increasing the effective diameter of the first lens unit.
However, with a conventional zoom lens system, flaring occurs when the lens system is in focus on an object located at infinity.