Provided herein are compounds of the formula:

Synthetic esters such as polyol esters and adipates, low viscosity poly alpha olefins (PAO) such as PAO 2, and vegetable oils such as canola oil and oleates have been described for use industrially as biodegradable base stocks to formulate lubricants. Such base stocks may be used in the production of lubricating oils for automotives, industrial lubricants, and lubricating greases. Finished lubricants typically comprise the base oil and additives to help achieve desired viscometric properties, low temperature behavior, oxidative stability, corrosion protection, demulsibility and water rejection, friction coefficients, lubricities, wear protection, air release, color and other properties. However, it is generally understood that biodegradability cannot be improved by using common additives that are available in today's marketplace. For environmental, economical, and regulatory reasons, it is of interest to produce biodegradable lubricating oils, other biodegradable lubricants, and compositions including lubricating oils and/or lubricants, from renewable sources of biological origin.
Estolides present a potential source of biobased, biodegradable oils that may be useful as lubricants and base stocks. Several estolide synthetic processes have been previously described, such as the homopolymerization of castor oil fatty acids or 12-hydroxystearic acid under thermal or acid catalyzed conditions, as well as the production of estolides from unsaturated fatty acids using a high temperature and pressure condensation over clay catalysts. Processes for the enzymatic production of estolides from hydroxy fatty acids present in castor oil using lipase have also been described.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,063, Isbell et al. described estolide compounds derived from oleic acids under acidic conditions and having properties for use as lubricant base stocks, wherein the "capping" fatty acid comprises oleic or stearic acid. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,649, Cermak et al. reported estolides derived from oleic acids and having capping materials derived from C6 to C14 fatty acids. According to Cermak et al., larger capping materials such as stearic acid adversely affect the properties of the estolide, such that having a greater percentage of stearic acid as the capping moiety generally increases pour point temperatures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High- and low-viscosity estolide base oils and lubricants

Abstract: in which n is an integer equal to or greater than 1; R2 is selected from hydrogen and optionally substituted alkyl that is saturated or unsaturated, and branched or unbranched; and R1, R3, and R4, independently for each occurrence, are selected from optionally substituted alkyl that is saturated or unsaturated, and branched or unbranched, wherein compositions comprising the compounds are characterized by particular combinations of values for estolide number, kinematic viscosity, and pour point. Also provided are compositions containing the compounds and methods of making both the compounds and compositions thereof.


A bearing assembly used on cardan universal joint shafts includes a bearing retainer that maintains a plurality of needle bearings at a desired location during shipment. The bearing retainer maintains the bearing assembly on the shaft prior to assembly. The bearing retainer preferably has an inner periphery diameter that is less than the outer diameter of the shaft, and an outer diameter that is less than the inner diameter of the bearing housing. In a method of assembly, the shaft is inserted into the bearing retainer, which locks on the shaft outer periphery at its inner peripheral surface. Clearance is provided at the retainer outer periphery such that it rotates with the shaft within the housing.

This application relates to a unique bearing retainer that has particular utility in supporting a universal joint shaft.
Prior art universal joints have shaft ends which may each be mounted in a bearing cup that receives a plurality of needle bearings. The shafts rotate through limited angular extents relative to the bearing cup as the universal joint operates. Bearing retainers may be used with these bearings to retain the needle bearings in a proper position during shipment. Prior art bearings utilize a plurality of different types of bearing retainers that may not lock the shaft within the bearing cup during shipment.

Bearing retainer for U-joint shaft end and method of assembling bearing assembly


Gas sensors for the detection of rare events consume very little or no power. The sensors include materials that interact with a target gas. Accumulation of the target gas on the sensor materials leads to a change in electrical properties of the sensor. The sensors may have high gain, meaning that a large electrical change is induced upon gas accumulation. The sensor might change from an extremely high resistance (open circuit) to a measurably low resistance, or it might change from a relatively low capacitance to a high capacitance. The gas sensors are connected to electronics that can transmit an alarm signal after gas has been detected. The electronics may be in a low power sleep mode until awakened by a signal from the sensor.

The present disclosure relates to gas sensors that consume very little or no power. The gas sensors are useful for detecting rare events.
There are a number of key defense, civilian, and environmental applications for gas sensors capable of detecting gases indicative of rare events. These include early detection of chemical warfare agents, industrial safety monitoring, detecting leaks from natural gas or petroleum pipelines, detection of oil or gas theft from pipelines or other infrastructure, detecting hydrogen leaks from hydrogen fueling stations and infrastructure, early forest fire warnings, detection of electrolytic hydrogen generation (in submarines, for example), and hazardous gas detection including accidental and deliberate dispersal of chemical warfare agents and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs). Another use is the detection of the presence of vehicles by means of their exhaust gas. For these uses, sensors must be deployed over very large and sometimes diverse areas, often with limited power availability. Hazardous events are extremely rare, and continuous monitoring with conventional techniques is battery-lifetime limited.
It would be desirable to develop new systems and methods for detecting gases, particularly for detecting gases indicative of the occurrence of rare events.


An illumination optic system includes a convex mirror to reflect light from a light source to towards a lens. The light source is at a first focus position and the lens is at a second focus position of the mirror. The system also includes a reflector to reflect light not incident on the lens toward the convex mirror. The reflector has a light guide hole to guide light to the incidence surface of the lens.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to emission of light.
2. Description of the Related Art
A surface inspection apparatus is used to inspect various objects including semiconductor wafers and display panels. In one type of surface inspection apparatus, uniform and parallel light is radiated at a semiconductor wafer or display panel to obtain an image that may be visually inspected for defects or other details. The illumination optic system may also be used to form a desired pattern on a substrate during, for example, semiconductor device manufacturing.
Illumination optic systems of the aforementioned and other types fail to provide light at a desired level and/or fail to provide a sufficient degree of uniformity of light for various applications. Also, a significant amount of light may be lost or otherwise dissipated, which results in inspection or pattern failures.

Reflector structure of illumination optic system


This invention relates to methods and an apparatus for detecting quality induced terminations of media streams of real-time communication sessions within a packet-switched network. To enable the determination of the quality of live media streams passing by the tapping points in a network, and to use this information to determine media transmissions being aborted due to bad quality the invention evaluates quality data records of a terminated media stream to detect, whether the media stream was terminated due to bad quality or another reason. Advantageously, a threshold number of quality data records that were generated for the media stream just before termination thereof are considered in the evaluation. In case each of this threshold number of quality data records yields a bad quality of the media stream, the termination of the media stream may be judged or assumed to be induced due to bad quality.

VoIP Services
Voice over IP ("Voice over IP"—IP denoting the Internet Protocol) networks are packet-switched phone networks. In contrast to their circuit-switched predecessors (e.g. the PSTN) the control plane (signaling information—who calls whom) may use a different path through the network than the media plane (media—the call content). The media plane is sometimes also referred to as the user plane. VoIP services can be considered to consist of a signaling plane and a media plane. On the signaling plane various protocols describe the communication session (call) flow in terms of involved parties, intermediary VoIP entities (i.e. VoIP proxies, routers) and the characteristics of the VoIP service features. The media plane typically carries the media information (i.e. audio and/or video data) between the involved parties. Neither the media plane nor the signaling plane alone is sufficient to implement and provide a VoIP service. On the signaling plane protocols like SIP (see IETF RFC 3261, "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol", available at http://wwwdotietfdotorg) or ITU-T recommendation H.323 (see H.323, "Packet-based multimedia communications systems", Edition 7, 2009, available at http://wwwdotitudotint) are commonly used, whereas protocols like RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol, see IETF RFC 3550, "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications", available at http://www.ietf.org), MSRP (see IETF RFC 4975, "The Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP)", available at http://www.ietf.org) or ITU recommendation T.38 (see T.38, "Procedures for real-time Group 3 facsimile communication over IP networks", Edition 5 (2007) or Edition 6 (2010), available at http://wwwdotitudotint) may be present on the media plane.
In contrast to the traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) network both planes may be on different infrastructure using different protocols and even take different routes through a network.
Quality Monitoring in of Communication Sessions in Packet-Switched Networks
Network operators offering communication sessions, e.g. VoIP calls, need to monitor the service they offer. Typically this is done on the control plane as monitoring the media plane is generally considered more complex. For both of the monitoring methods a multitude of key performance indicators (KPI) are available. The answer seizure ratio (ASR) for instance is one of the most basic control plane KPIs. By comparing the number of call attempts to the number of successful calls an indication on the network performance and availability can be given.
User plane KPIs describe aspects of the conversational quality of a call. For example, a KPI may reflect the IP transport characteristics of the user plane by means of determining a mean opinion score (MOS) value or the rate of standard conformance violations determined by performing media payload in-depth analysis. Analysis of the actual media payload is computationally expensive and may be considered a breach of the confidentiality of the conversation.
To deduct media quality-related information from the control plane (i.e. without actually looking at the user plane) a simple assumption is made: If the call quality is unacceptable the parties will hang up the call. This call hangup can be monitored on the control plane. On the control plane the reason for the call termination cannot be determined as one of the involved parties simply hung up the call—which is also true for calls with acceptable media quality. Providers may use the average call duration (ACD) KPI which monitors the average call duration of calls. This is also known as mean holding time (MHT) or average length of call (ALOC). If the ACD KPI value drops below a certain threshold the service provider may investigate is the reason. However, the average call duration is not solely dependent on media quality. Other influencing factors include time of day, call destination or control plane issues.
Pure control plane solutions fail to identify unacceptable media quality as reason for call termination as there is no means to signal quality-related hangup causes. Features such as the Q.850 Reason code (see IETF RFC 3326, "The Reason Header Field for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)", available at http://wwwdotietfdotorg) are only available during the call setup. The network is not able to distinguish between a call where a party hangs up because the conversation is over and a call in which a party ends the conversation due to bad quality and consequently hangs up.
Some operators try to compensate for this by simply looking at the average duration of the calls (ACD). If the average call duration decreases below an artificial threshold the operator may start troubleshooting in order to locate problematic calls and fix potential network issues. The problem with the ACD calculation is that is requires numerous calls over a longer period of time to for instance calculate the average call duration of calls within a 15 minute interval. This means that any deviation may only be visible after 15 minutes. Legitimate calls which just happen to be very short do have a negative impact on the ACD calculation and may trigger a false alarm. Announcements with less than 10 second call hold time are a good example for this category of calls.
More sophisticated solutions may take the user plane into account. A MOS value may be delivered by the endpoint through an RTCP report. A passive midpoint monitoring solution may determine a MOS value for the media streams of a given call. Active monitoring solutions which conduct artificial calls may also provide information on quality problems of the media plane, though such information need not be valid for individual real calls made by actual service users.
MOS values provided by either endpoints or passive midpoint solutions have to fulfill certain conditions. MOS values provided by endpoints may not be trustworthy as the end customers have an incentive to forge wrong reports and artificially report bad voice quality so that they do not have to pay for their calls. Moreover, MOS values provided by both endpoints and passive midpoint solutions need to have a high granularity in order to be useful for this application. An average MOS value over several minutes would not show a significant impact if only the last few seconds have been impaired. Even a three minute call with a MOS score of 4.41 would only degrade to a MOS score of 4.22 if the last 10 seconds where inaudible (MOS score of 1 assumed). An average MOS score of 4.11 would still be considered very good and would fall in the highest MOS class specified by Recommendation ITU-T G.107, "The E-model: a computational model for use in transmission planning", April 2009 (available at http://wwwdotitudotint).
Active Vs. Passive Monitoring of Communication Sessions in Packet-Switched Networks
VoIP monitoring solutions available in the market fall into two main categories, which are active monitoring system and passive monitoring system. The fundamentally different monitoring approaches have their respective applications, but are not interchangeable.
Active monitoring solutions basically work with a sender and a receiver device, with the network infrastructure to be tested in between. That makes active testing much easier since the information transmitted by the sender device is known. The receiving device can easily compare the received signal with the known sender signal and analyze any differences. It is clear that the network must have introduced any monitored impairments, since sender and receiver device can be assumed to be ideal, standard compliant and free of errors.
Active testing is usually a good choice when pretesting of network infrastructure has to be done, i.e. when there are no other active media stream transmitters in the network deployed yet. Another application for active testing is to perform basic availability testing as well as one-way delay measurements. Active testing can be used to automatically detect the availability of specific segments of a complex network infrastructure, or to test the availability and response times of major infrastructure equipment dedicated to media transmission.
Since network impairments are of transient nature and because active testing does not consider the end user equipment used to transmit and receive media streams, active testing is no option when it comes to 24/7 monitoring of VoIP services at call service providers. This is where passive monitoring solutions play a major role.
Passive monitoring of media streams to assess their quality as well as to determine if problems originate on the sender or network part of the transmission path is different, as neither the sending nor the receiving endpoints are under the control of the monitoring system. All quality evaluation performed by passive solutions must be derived from the packets passing by the tapping point to which the monitoring probe is attached. Passive monitoring system will be decoupled from the network under test and may only receive copies of packets. Passive systems are not actively taking part in the traffic carried over the tested network. No additional traffic is introduced, which provides a straight view on the transmission performance of the monitored network infrastructure.
Drawbacks of passive monitoring solutions are that they have no information about the sender or receiver of the media streams as well as their error correction capabilities. Also quality information is not collected end-to-end but is provided as if the receiver would be located at the tapping point to which the passive monitoring probe is attached. The last point can however also become an advantage if multiple passive probes are installed along the transmission path, because in that case more, fine grained information becomes available. In that case locating network segments introducing impairments becomes more easily possible.

Determination of a quality induced termination rate of communication sessions


Methods and apparatus for acquiring marine seismic data are described. One method comprises selecting tow depth of one or more marine seismic streamers based at least in part on lack of or presence of currents at different depths, and allowing the current to contribute to steering the streamers to desired lateral positions at the selected tow depth. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of marine seismic surveying methods and apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for improved steering of seismic streamers.
2. Related Art
Marine seismic exploration investigates and maps the structure and character of subsurface geological formations underlying a body of water. For large survey areas, seismic vessels tow one or more seismic sources and multiple seismic streamer cables through the water. The seismic sources typically comprise compressed air guns for generating acoustic pulses in the water. The energy from these pulses propagates downwardly into the geological formations and is reflected upwardly from the interfaces between subsurface geological formations. The reflected energy is sensed with hydrophones and perhaps other sensors attached to or integral with the seismic streamers, and data representing such energy is recorded and processed to provide information about the underlying geological features. The streamers may be positioned using steerable birds, deflectors, steerable buoys, and the like.
Previous attempts have not provided optimal acquisition of marine seismic data. While some techniques are improvements in the art, further improvement is desired.

Methods and apparatus for acquisition of marine seismic data


Granular leuco vat-dye preparations containing, as essential components, leuco vat-dye, reducing agents and alkaline metal hydroxide, and the production of said preparations and their use in dyeing cellulose-containing textile materials.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to new leuco vat dye preparations in granule form, comprising as essential constituents leuco vat dye, reductant and alkali metal hydroxide.
The invention furthermore relates to the production of the leuco vat dye preparations and their use for dyeing cellulose-containing textile material.
Last but not least, the invention relates to a process for stabilizing dry hydrosulfite against self-ignition.
2. Description of the Background
Indigoid dyes (in particular indigo itself and its bromo derivatives such as brilliant indigo) and anthraquinoid dyes (in partiuclar nitroviolanthrone (C.I. Vat Green 9)) are vat dyes which have been known for a long time and which are employed for dyeing cellulose-containing textile materials.
For dyeing, the water-insoluble vat dye must first be converted by reduction (vatting) into the water-soluble fiber-reactive leuco form, which is then oxidized again to the water-insoluble vat dye pigment after absorption on the material to be dyed.
In the known dyeing processes, the vat dye is vatted in alkaline medium by addition of inorganic reductants such as hydrosulfite (sodium dithionite) and thiourea dioxide or alternatively organic reductants such as hydroxyacetone in a container placed in front of the dye bath. Additional machine-dependent amounts of reductant are used during dyeing, as a part of the leuco dye is oxidized by air contact in the air ducts and on the surface of the dye bath and must be vatted again, which is why reductant must be added to the dye bath.
A disadvantage in the vatting of vat dye using said reductants is the high pollution of the dyeing effluent by sulfate (about 3500 to 5000 mg/l, measured in the effluent of an indigo dyehouse) in the case of hydrosulfite or by oxygen-consuming substances (COD values of about 8000 mg of oxygen/l, measured in the effluent of an indigo dyehouse) in the case of hydroxyacetone.
In the case of indigo, powdered solid to pasty preparations of the leuco form are also described which, as stabilizers, contain polyhydroxy compounds, such as glycerol and in particular compounds derived from sugars, eg. molasses, mixed with alkali or zinc dust (DE Patents 200 914 and 235 047). GB Patent 276 023 furthermore discloses the preparation of powdered leuco dye preparations by heating a mixture of unreduced vat dye, glycol, alkali, hydrosulfite and sodium sulfate and drying in an open vessel and subsequent grinding.
In the case of the first-mentioned preparations, the sulfate content of the dyeing effluent can be lowered effectively, but as a rule these preparations are difficult to meter, as even the dry preparations tend to form lumps, and only dissolve slowly in the dye bath. In the last-mentioned case, the sulfate pollution is increased even further, as sulfate is additionally added to the preparations, which anyway already contain the sulfate produced by the reduction of the dye in the mixture described above.
WO-A-94/23114 discloses a dyeing process in which indigo is employed in prereduced form as an aqueous, alkaline solution obtained during catalytic hydrogenation. In this way, the effluent pollution by organic substances falls, and the sulfate pollution is reduced to the amount of hydrosulfite necessary as a result of air contact during the dyeing process. A disadvantage, however, is that the leucoindigo solution used is sensitive to oxidation and must be handled and stored with exclusion of oxygen. In addition, the high water ballast of this solution is a hindrance both during storage and during transport.
Finally, German Patent Application 43 27 221, which is not a prior publication, describes leucoindigo preparations in granule form, which contain leucoindigo and alkali metal hydroxide as essential components.

Leuco vat-dye preparations in granule form


There is provided a gas heat exchanger 101 comprising a coolant conduit 102 having a coolant inlet 103 and a coolant outlet 104, a gas cooling conduit 201, and a gas bypass conduit 203. At least a portion of the gas cooling conduit 201 is disposed between at least a portion of the coolant conduit 102 and a portion of the bypass conduit 203. During a first mode of operation, the gas cooling conduit 201 is configured to carry gas. During a second mode of operation, the bypass conduit 203 is configured to carry gas and the gas cooling conduit 201 is configured to reduce a heat exchange between the coolant conduit 102 and the bypass conduit 203.

1. The Technical Field
The present invention relates to gas heat exchangers.
2. The Prior Art
There are many applications in which it is desirable to use gas heat exchangers. These include applications where it is desired to cool down a gas, for example in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers, and applications in which the heat extracted from the gas can be recovered, for example to warm the cabin of a vehicle.
Under some circumstances, heat exchange may be required, but under other circumstances it may be undesirable. For example, at the beginning of operation of a vehicle, heat may be extracted from exhaust gas to assist in warming up the cabin of a vehicle. In this case, heat extraction is required. However, once the cabin reaches the required temperature, further warming could be undesirable. Therefore under these circumstances, heat extraction is not required.
Another example is exhaust gas recirculation. Exhaust gas recirculation is a method of reducing noxious emissions from internal combustion engines. In particular, the presence of exhaust gas in the combustion mixture reduces the tendency to form NOx compounds.
In general it is advantageous to cool the re-circulated exhaust gas. Its reduced temperature helps to lower the combustion temperature within the cylinder of the engine. EGR gas is also more dense when cooled, and therefore for a given mass of gas, a lower volume of air is displaced from the combustion chamber. Cooling the EGR gas is not desirable under all conditions however. When engine temperature is low and under low engine loads it is often preferable to recirculate EGR gas without cooling.
Many applications requiring heat exchange, including EGR systems, therefore require a bypass, to control whether the gas is cooled or not. When it is required for heat losses from the gas to be reduced, the gas is diverted through the bypass channel. When it is required for heat losses from the gas to be increased, that is to say, when the gas is being cooled, the efficiency of the cooler should be high, and the gas is not passed through a bypass channel.
An exhaust gas recirculation cooler typically comprises at least one gas cooling conduit configured to carry gas, at least one conduit configured to carry a coolant fluid, and a bypass conduit. The coolant conduit and the gas cooling conduit are in close proximity, such that gas that is transported through the gas cooling conduit is in proximity to coolant fluid and therefore is cooled down. When gas cooling is required, then the gas is diverted to be carried by the gas cooling conduit. Under circumstances where gas cooling is not required, then the gas is diverted through the bypass conduit. A bypass valve controls whether the gas is carried in the gas cooling conduit or the bypass conduit. For EGR applications, the bypass valve is separate from an EGR valve, which controls whether EGR gas is flowing at all.
When gas is being transported through the bypass conduit, it is undesirable for the gas to be cooled. To achieve this, there should be little or no contact between the bypass conduit and the coolant conduit, as coolant fluid in the coolant conduit would cool gas that is transported through the bypass conduit under bypass conditions. Prior art solutions to minimise contact between the bypass conduit and the coolant conduit are already known.
It is known to use an external bypass channel, for example US2003150434, and WO03085252. The external bypass channel takes up additional space, which is a disadvantage for applications where packaging in the engine space is restricted. However, this solution is used because the bypass conduit is external to the exhaust gas cooling conduit and the coolant conduit and therefore the bypass conduit is not cooled by the coolant conduit.
A solution to this has been provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,956 in which the bypass conduit is disposed within the main housing. The housing comprises a coolant conduit, in which a series of gas cooling conduits are disposed and also in which a bypass conduit is disposed. The bypass conduit is therefore in contact with the coolant in this type of cooler, which is undesirable. Complicated modifications are required to minimise the degree of cooling between the coolant fluid and the bypass conduit when the exhaust gas is flowing through the bypass conduit. These include having a double-walled bypass conduit with a vacuum between the two walls to reduce a heat exchange between the coolant fluid contained in the coolant conduit and the exhaust gas carried by the bypass conduit.
Another disadvantage of a bypass conduit is that the material in the bypass conduit acts as a heat sink when hot EGR gas is diverted through it. A transient period occurs during which some heat is extracted from the gas by contact with the conduit wall.
An alternative to having a bypass conduit is to have a valve that controls whether the coolant fluid flows through the coolant conduit or not. In this instance, a bypass conduit for the gas is not required. If cooling of the exhaust gas is required, then coolant flows through the coolant conduit and the exhaust gas is cooled. If cooling of the exhaust gas is not required then coolant does not flow through the coolant conduit and therefore the exhaust gas is not cooled. However, there are problems with this type of system. For example, when cooling is not required, residual coolant can be left in the coolant conduit. Coolant fluid typically contains volatile additives, which may be given off when the conduit is heated. The formation of steam and volatile substances is not desirable.


The switching point in a high or medium voltage switch contains two stationary switch pieces which are of cylindrical design and led coaxially into one another, to form an annular gap. A movable bridge switch piece constructed in the form of a contact ring fits into the annular gap when the switching point is closed. An electrodynamic drive comprising two coils moves the contact ring in the axial direction. By virtue of the low mass of the contact ring, the single moving part of the switching point can be switched on and off very quickly and efficiently.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7119 and/or 365 to Appln. No. 99 810 596.9 filed in Europe on Jul. 6, 1999; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention is based on a switching point in a high or medium voltage switch.
A switching point of the abovementioned type is described in EP 0 147 036. A bridge switch piece fixed to an electrically conductive disk short-circuits two stationary switch pieces when the switching point is closed. A flat coil is fitted on each of the two sides of the disk in such a way that the disk can be moved between the two coils by means of electrodynamic forces, the bridge switching piece canceling or reestablishing the short circuit between the stationary switch pieces. When the switching point is closed, a current is fed into the first coil and, in the disk, effects an eddy current directed opposite to the current in the coil. The two coils have a repellent action on each other, as a result of which the movable disk is removed from the stationary coil and the bridge switch piece cancels the short circuit between the stationary switch pieces. In order to move the disk back and to bring the bridge switch piece onto the stationary switch pieces again, producing the short circuit, a current is fed into the second coil.
The invention, as is based on the object of specifying a switching point of the type mentioned at the beginning which can be opened and closed quickly and with a low expenditure on energy.
The switching point according to the invention is of axially symmetrical construction. As a result, it is possible largely to avoid undesired stray inductances, which is advantageous in particular in the case of possible commutation of the current onto a parallel path. The induction current necessary to form the forces of an electodymanic contact drive is generated in the movable bridge switch piece which carries the nominal current, as a result of which a disk-like part, which is otherwise provided to guide the induction current, and thus additional mass to be accelerated can be saved. By this means, the drive energy necessary to achieve a specific opening or closing speed of the switching point is minimized. In addition, during the opening operation, two contact gaps are produced, which are in each case bridged by one of two partial arcs connected in series. As a result of this series connection of partial arcs, the arc voltage dropping across a contact arrangement of the switching point is increased, whereby once again, in the event of a possible parallel path, commutation can be carried out particularly quickly and effectively.


A manufacturing method of an electronic part built-in substrate is disclosed, wherein an electronic part is contained in a build-up layer, the manufacturing method including

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a manufacturing method of an electronic part built-in substrate, and specifically relates to a manufacturing method of an electronic part built-in substrate that includes an electronic part, and a build-up layer wherein wiring for connecting the electronic part is formed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years and continuing, the operating frequency of a semiconductor apparatus has been continually increasing; accordingly, it has become increasingly important to ensure that electric supplies are sufficiently stabilized. One method of ensuring stabilization of electric supplies is to use a substrate that contains an electronic part (for example, a capacitor), (henceforth referred to as "an electronic part built-in substrate").
Conventionally, two or more build-up layers are formed on a supporting object, and an electronic part is installed inside of one of the build-up layers as indicated by Patent Reference 1 (a build-up layer in which an electronic part is installed is called a device built-in build-up layer).
Specifically, a supporting object is prepared, and the build-up layers and wiring layers are formed in layers on the supporting object using a build-up method. When laminating a device built-in build-up layer to one of the build-up layers, a cavity forms in the device built-in build-up layer, and an electronic part is arranged in the cavity. Then, a build-up layer and a wiring layer are further formed on the device built-in build-up layer. At this time, vias that connect the layers are also formed.
When the build-up layer that contains the electronic parts is formed on the supporting object, a part of the supporting object is removed. The wiring layer is exposed where the supporting object has been removed. This is the technique used for manufacturing the electronic part built-in substrate.
After mounting a semiconductor device to the electronic part built-in substrate manufactured as described above, the semiconductor device is attached to the site where the supporting object is removed. Thus, an electrode of the semiconductor device is connected to wiring exposed at the part where the supporting object is removed, and the semiconductor device and the electronic part built-in substrate are electrically connected.
At that site, the supporting object reinforces of the build-up layer. Accordingly, the supporting object is entirely removed after the build-up layer is sufficiently strong.
[Patent reference 1] JPA 2003-197809

Manufacturing method of an electronic part built-in substrate

Abstract: a step for arranging an electronic part on a conductive supporting object such that the electronic part is electrically connected to the conductive supporting object,

Abstract: a step for forming build-up layers on the supporting object such that the electronic part is contained in the build-up layers, and

Abstract: a step for forming a wiring layer electrically connected to the electronic part by shaping the supporting object.


The present invention relates to a device for fiber excess length stable control in an optical cable loose tube, which is disposed between a loose tube extruder and a loose tube tractor. The device forms the following structures: an extrusion section connected to the extruder, a traction section connected to the tractor, and a transition section connecting the extrusion section and the traction section, where loose tube displacement generated at the extrusion section is greater than loose tube displacement generated at the traction section. The present invention provides a device for fiber excess length stable control in optical cable loose tube with a simple structure and an excellent excess length control effect.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device for fiber excess length stable control in an optical cable loose tube.
2. Related Art
The excess length refers to a length difference between an optical cable loose tube and an optical fiber generated as the optical cable loose tube contracts during coating and cooling crystallization. The excess length is one of the problems to be solved during the production of optical fibers and optical cables, and it directly impacts the transmission quality of high-frequency signals in the optical fiber. In the conventional process, a loose tube after secondary optical-fiber coating is cooled in a water trough, and is directly pulled by a tractor to a spool (see FIG. 1). During the cooling of the loose tube, the friction between water and the loose tube material causes an internal stress and a molecule (retraction) tendency in the loose tube, which makes the optical fiber generate excessive length with respect to the loose tube, thus affecting the quality of optical fiber products.

Device for fiber excess length stable control in optical cable loose tube

Yangzhou Jinsen Optoelectronics Co., Ltd


A storage bin system for holding luggage or the like has an upper shroud portion secured to a supporting structure and a cooperating lower bucket defining a storage space for items. The lower bucket pivots downwardly to open and has a curved front face with curved inner and outer surfaces. A latch handle is centrally mounted in the front surface and operatively connected to a latch operating mechanism secured to the inner surface. A flat bottom plate is removably mounted on the curved inners surface, covering the latch operating mechanism to from a flat surface to support items inserted into the storage space. A number of the storage bin systems are mounted on opposite sides of a passenger cabin of a single aisle aircraft to provide a cleaner, open passenger cabin look.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to storage bins, and more particularly, to pivotable stow bins for a vehicle, such as an aircraft, and a method of making such stow bins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As more people travel, demand for onboard storage of carry-on luggage has increased, in aircraft, as well as busses, ships, trains and other means of mass transit. The known luggage storage bins take various forms, depending on the size of the vehicle, such as overhead luggage bins in the interior of an aircraft having upwardly swinging doors, or pull-down storage bins.
One type of known overhead stowage bin for an aircraft consists of an upper bin portion ("shroud") adapted to be mounted to supports and a cooperating lower bin portion ("bucket") that opens downward for receiving luggage. The bucket includes means to control motion of the bucket, as well as an operating handle on its exterior surface, near its top-most portion, adjacent the shroud when the overhead storage or luggage bin is closed. When the handle is operated, as by pulling, to open the luggage bin, the bucket moves downward to enable persons to insert luggage or other items into, or remove luggage or other items from the bucket.
The operating handles of these known overhead storage bins may be difficult to open or reach by some passengers because of the placement of the operating handle near the top-most portion. Furthermore, during the assembly or manufacture of the known buckets, small dimples may appear through a covering laminate on the visible front surface of the bucket when an insert is potted on the opposite side of the front of the bucket, thus resulting in the bucket being rejected, causing costly rework and/or replacement.
Additionally, because of the curved interior surface of the front face of the known buckets, and, in particular, latch covers held on the internal surface of the front, problems have occurred in inserting or removing luggage because of the need to "drag" the luggage over the "bump" caused by the latch cover. Also, in some instances, adaptor panels must be added to the curved interior surface of the front face of known buckets when other items, such as emergency or video equipment is mounted in the buckets.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for improved luggage storage bins for aircraft or the like and a method of making the same, which storage bins overcome known problems, are more easily operated and manufactured, and which allow for easier and smoother loading and removal of luggage and other items from the interior of a lowered bucket.

Pivoting storage bin and method of making


A vehicle alarm system includes a receiver transmitter subsystem, a G.P.S. subsystem for locating a position and a control CPU. The CPU performs a log and locate function in which it logs a first position of the vehicle once during an armed state of an alarm system and then, in response to the passage of a certain time interval, locates the position again. If the position of the vehicle has changed during the alarm of the alarm system, the vehicle's position is transmitted via the receiver/transmitter subsystem to a security response center that can then receive tracking information and locate the vehicle.

The present invention relates to car theft systems having the ability to locate cars whose unauthorized movement indicates theft. More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of automatic two-way paging or cellular telecommunications in combination with G.P.S. global positioning systems to provide for automated notification to police agencies of unauthorized movement and the subsequent location of vehicles.
Known are systems for reporting the positions of stolen vehicles, that employ two-way communication using cellular phones. Such systems suffer from the problem of undue expense and imprecision in their self-locating ability. For example, in a patent granted to Sheffer U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,650, there is disclosed a system for determining a location of a selected vehicle from which an alarm signal is generated. The vehicle is located by relative ranging from multiple cellular sites. The vehicle can be located within a cellular zone by arculation of the signals from cell sites that have the highest signal strength. One disadvantage of this system is that the unauthorized movement of a vehicle must be detected using conventional intrusion detection system. When an intrusion is detected, a digital communication is activated to transmit an alarm signal through a cellular transceiver in the vehicle. There is no provision for determining if a movement of the vehicle apart from detectable unauthorized entry of the vehicle has occurred. These systems also suffer from an inability to track the vehicle precisely even after their unauthorized movement has been reported.
Another system that requires unauthorized movement of a vehicle to be detected, and notice to be given, before tracking begins, is a homing system used by police departments. Such systems suffer from costliness, and lack of availability in many locations. They must be triggered by the police after the vehicle's theft or unauthorized movement is detected. The time lag between the detection of unauthorized movement and the ability of police to locate the vehicle may be critical. The vehicle's on-board homing signal has only a 1 mile effective range. The expensive equipment for detecting the homing signal must be purchased by the police department and is therefore not available in all areas. The in-vehicle system does not provide any means for detecting whether a movement of the vehicle has occurred or whether the vehicle's movement is unauthorized. The vehicle must be reported to the police as stolen before tracking begins. This requirement can be time-consuming and lower the chance of recovery.
Cellular phone systems, such as covered by U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 to Mansell are expensive and operable only where cellular service is available. In addition, the system shown by Mansell can not provide for automatic detection of unauthorized movement of the vehicle. Mansell discloses a system in which a vehicle's position is determined by an on-board G.P.S. position detection system. Position data are transmitted via a cellular telephone link to a control center for tracking. Again, as in other prior art systems, the unauthorized movement of the vehicle can not be detected.
With the availability of G.P.S. (available globally) and two-way paging, which uses subchannels of the transmissions of FM radio stations, the control channels necessary to implement the stolen car location and retrieval can be implemented universally using low cost existing technology.


A catheter combination is described using a percutaneous transluminal transmitter for transmitting energy to a localized area. The combination includes a catheter having a hollow tubular member. A transmitter combination for partial insertion into the catheter includes a continuous central conductor terminating in a tip for receiving and transmitting a signal to the tip. A dielectric material surrounds at least a significant portion of the central conductor, and a continuous coaxial conductor surrounds the dielectric material for receiving and transmitting a signal to a point adjacent the tip to form an antenna for transmitting energy to tissue when the transmitter is placed into biologic tissue. A coating around the coaxial conductor covers the coaxial conductor. A signal generator is coupled to the central conductor and the coaxial conductor for applying a signal between the central and coaxial conductors to transmit energy from the tip of the central conductor.

The presence of atherosclerotic plaque on the walls of blood vessels narrows the lumen of the blood vessel and reduces the flow of blood to downstream tissues. This is a particularly serious problem when the narrowing or stenosis is located in the blood vessels which provide nutrient blood to the muscles of the heart. The presence of such coronary stenotic lesions is a major predisposing factor in both acute and chronic heart problems.
Over the last decade the medical procedure known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has become widely accepted as a safe and effective method for treating vascular conditions resulting from plaque formation in the coronary arteries and, to a lesser extent, in other vascular locations. Typically, this procedure utilizes a dilation catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end. Using a fluoroscope and radiopaque dyes for visualization, the balloon is guided into position across the stenosis and inflated for a brief period to collapse or displace the stenotic lesion in order to open the artery and reestablish adequate blood flow. A wide variety of balloon catheter designs have evolved in recent years in order to provide the vascular physician with the ability to access lesions at previously inaccessible locations along the tortuously branched pathways of the coronary arteries. Of equal importance, balloon catheters have been developed which enable the vascular physician to re-cross a vascular lesion following an initial balloon angioplasty in the event it is necessary to reopen a particularly difficult or complicated lesion.
Although relatively uncommon in PTCA, complications do arise which may require further attention by the physician. For example, cases of acute reclosure have been noted where a blood vessel will dramatically restrict or even close completely following balloon angioplasty. Typically, such acute reclosure will result from a portion of the compressed or displaced stenotic lesion breaking free from the vascular endothelium and projecting into the blood flow decreasing blood flow and providing a possible location for blood clot development. Alternatively, muscular spasms within the arterial walls following angioplasty may constrict the blood vessel around the site of the lesion to a point that effectively shuts off blood flow.
Where available, the current procedure for dealing with such cases of acute reclosure involves recrossing the stenotic lesion with a balloon catheter and reinflating the balloon for an extended period of time. In this manner, it is sometimes possible to reattach the atherosclerotic plaque to the wall of the artery and re-establish blood flow. Alternatively, a variety of shunts and stents have been developed for achieving the same purpose with varying degrees of success.
An additional complication that may be experienced in connection with PTCA is a phenomenon known as vascular dissection. In this situation, the tissues forming the wall of the blood vessel split or tear to varying degrees, weakening or perforating the vessel. It is again preferable then to re-cross the lesion with a stent or similar apparatus in an effort to support the damaged blood vessel while facilitating fusion of the dissection. Alternatively, more invasive forms of vascular surgery may be necessary to correct these complications.
Recently, alternative methodologies for opening restricted vascular pathways have been tested utilizing lasers and microwaves to deliver various amounts of energy to the site of stenosis. In laser angioplasty a light guide is inserted along the vascular pathway to the point of the stenosis and laser energy is utilized to vaporize the plaque forming the lesion. Microwave angioplasty utilizes a very flexible transmission line which is advanced along the vascular pathway to the site of the stenosis to deliver microwave energy which heats the atherosclerotic plaque and, theoretically softens the lesion prior to dilation with a balloon catheter. Neither of these techniques has met with much success utilizing existing technology. For example, it has proven difficult to access coronary lesions because the currently available light guides and microwave antenna/transmission lines are difficult to advance along the highly branched and convoluted pathways of the coronary arteries. Additionally, even where the stenotic lesions are readily accessible with existing devices it has proven to be difficult to effectively deliver sufficient amounts of energy to open or soften the lesion without producing unacceptable damage to the surrounding vascular tissues or to the equipment.
There are also other procedures where controlled application of energy promotes treatment of various conditions. For example, in cases of cardiac arrhythmia, localized application of thermal energy to nodal areas can often promote redevelopment of proper node structure. Other situations where delivery of a hyperthermic dose may provide beneficial treatment include treatment of vascular conditions such as other coronary artery disease, ablation of atherosclerotic plaque, and in treatment of conditions in other body cavities such as uterine and vaginal conditions.
Some device implantation procedures could also benefit from application of controlled amounts of energy. A vascular stent may be positioned by inserting the stent into the subject vessel using a catheter to properly locate the stent.
Accordingly, it is an object of present invention to provide an improved transmitter, for example of the microwave type, for use in connection with the opening of vascular lesions and the subsequent treatment of vascular conditions including acute reclosure, vascular dissection, cardiac arrhythmia, other coronary artery complications, treatment of conditions in body cavities such as uterine and vaginal conditions and for insertion of devices. In conjunction with these goals it is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave antenna or transmission cable which can be readily guided along tortuous pathways in order to provide access to lesions located in areas that were previously inaccessible to microwave treatment.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved percutaneous transluminal microwave antenna which is sufficiently stiff in the axial direction to be pushable yet which retains a high degree of radial flexibility to facilitate steering and advancement along tortuous vascular pathways.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved percutaneous transluminal microwave antenna that will effectively deliver controlled amounts of energy to deeply treat target tissues.

Percutaneous transluminal catheter and transmitter therefor


A specialty garment accessory to be used with a hearing improvement device having a pair of external magnetic microphones magnetically attached to opposite sides of a person's head and each external magnetic microphone having a power cord extending from a respective external microphone to a respective driving unit/sound process, each sound and power cord extending through a respective loop in the specialty garment accessory and connected to its driving unit/sound processor which are respectively retained in a respective pocket on a sleeve of the specialty garment accessory and a respective cover which covers each respective pocket so that the sound and power cords are mostly concealed within the specialty garment accessory and the driving unit/sound processors are concealed within a respective pocket.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of devices used to restore hearing loss and in particular, to the field of garments to be worn to at least partially conceal the exterior portion of the device and helps prevent elements of the device from entanglement, dislodgment and snags.
This invention involves a specialty apparel accessory to be used with an innovation which has already been developed. The human ear has an outer drum comprising an ear canal which leads to the eardrum. The middle ear has middle ear bones. The inner ear has cochlea and the auditory nerve. Sound enters the ear canal and travels to the eardrum. The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate sending the bones in the middle ear into motion. Tiny hairs inside the inner ear (cochlea) convert this motion into electric impulses/signals. These impulses/signals go up to the hearing (auditory) nerve to the brain. The brain interprets the impulses/signals as sound and gives meaning to the information. One device that helps treat hearing loss is a cochlear implant.
One disability that people face is that they have a hearing loss either through birth or through an accident where the middle ear is damaged and therefore they cannot hear. People suffering from hearing loss can benefit from cochlear implants. Cochlear implants consist of both internal and external devices where a device is implanted within the cochlea on either side of the skull, bypassing the middle ear to stimulate the auditory nerve. On the outside of the person's head are magnetic microphones which are magnetically attached to an internal implant. The external microphones are connected to sound cords/wires that extend to an external driving unit/sound processor. Each driving unit/sound processor is programmed specifically to its respective internal processor implanted in the cochlea. A specific driving unit/sound processor can not be interchanged between each side of the head of the same person or with another person's implant. These external elements are expensive and unique to the individual cochlea and the design of their respective manufacturers. Therefore, they must be portable. The area of the present invention is to retain and conceal as much of the external portion of the hearing restoration device as possible to help prevent entanglement, dislodgement or snags, and be compatible with different manufacturer designs.
In some devices, the driving unit and the sound processor unit are together in a combined unit. In other devices, the sound processor is a separate unit retained behind the individual's ear and is hard wired to a separate driving unit.
Existing accessories today that hold the eternal portions of the device do not adequately retain and conceal the external driving unit/sound processor and its wires to help protect against inadvertent entanglements, dislodgement and snags particularly during physical activity such as swimming, bike riding, running etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following 15 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art to the present invention.
1. United States Published Patent Application No. 2003/0074712 to Sheng Hsin Liao on Apr. 24, 2003 for "Clothes Having Detachable Hidden Communication Wire" (hereafter the "Liao Published Patent Application");
2. United States Published Patent Application No. 2003/0144039 to Yung Fang Lin on Jul. 31, 2003 for "Communication Cord Pathway Concealed Clothes" (hereafter the "Lin Published Patent Application");
3. United States Published Patent Application No. 2006/0099864 to Scott Crumine et al. on May 11, 2006 for "Life Vest With Integrated Audio Device and Method of Use" (hereafter the "Crumine Published Patent Application");
4. United States Published Patent Application No. 2006/0280322 to Kaho Abe on Dec. 14, 2006 for "Discreet Interface System" (hereafter the "Abe Published Patent Application");
5. United States Published Patent Application No. 2007/0245444 to William Brink on Oct. 25, 2007 for "Specialty Clothing Designed To Hold Portable Electronic Devices" (hereafter the "Brink Published Patent Application");
6. U.S. Pat. No. 7,364,491 issued to Lauren Grace Updyke on Apr. 29, 2008 for "Sports Bra with Secure Pocket and Electronic Device Cord Securing Opening and Loop" (hereafter the "Updyke Patent");
7. U.S. Pat. No. 7,519,192 issued to Logan Laycock et al. on Apr. 14, 2009 for "Wired Clothing and Earphones" (hereafter the "Laycock Patent");
8. United States Published Patent Application No. 2009/0094725 to Stephen Smith et al. on Apr. 16, 2009 for "Clothing For Use With Personal Electronic Listening Devices" (hereafter the "Smith Published Patent Application");
9. U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,348 issued to Herman Williams on Mar. 9, 2010 for "User Wearable Wire Control System" (hereafter the "Williams Patent");
10. U.S. Pat. No. 8,107,653 issued to James Wolfe on Jan. 31, 2012 for "Garment With Built-in Audio Source Wiring" (hereafter the "Wolfe Patent");
11. United States Published Patent Application No. 2012/0060260 to Edmund T. Kochling on Mar. 15, 2012 for "Pocketed Garment" (hereafter the "Kochling Published Patent Application");
12. United States Published Patent Application No. 2013/0044908 to Lawrence Mark Gottlieb on Feb. 21, 2013 for "Apparel With Built-In Headphone Extension Wire Device" (hereafter the "Gottlieb Published Patent Application");
13. U.S. Pat. No. 8,411,891 issued to Anontino Del Prete on Apr. 2, 2013 for "Garment With Integrated Earphones" (hereafter the "Del Prete Patent");
14. U.S. Design Pat. No. D688,849 issued to Edmund T. Kochling on Sep. 3, 2013 for "Shirt with Pocket" (hereafter the "Kochling Design Patent");
15. Chinese Patent No. CN201107863Y issued to Jiang Tao and assigned to Sichuan Micro-DSP Digital Technology Co., Ltd. on Aug. 27, 2008 for "Hearing Aid Concealed in Clothes" (hereafter the "Tao Chinese Patent").
The Liao Published Patent Application discloses the concept of having a communication wire that is protected by being placed in longitudinal channels within a garment such as a jacket or shirt. The shirt or jacket has detachable hidden communication wires.
The Lin Published Patent Application discloses the concept of a communication device concealed within clothing. The patent application discloses:                "Communication cord pathway concealed clothes conceals a communication pathway along a sleeve or other seamed edges of clothes with both ends opened near the user's side and pocket where an earphone and a microphone is connected to the upper end of a communication cord laid in the pathway; while a cellular phone of various brands or other electronic device is connected to the lower end of said cord thereby forming a communication circuit. The user may use the cellular phone or the like conveniently and securely without the fear of the cord to twine around things nearby causing the cellular phone to drop down on the ground."
The Crumrine Published Patent Application discloses:                "A life vest is adapted to retain or hold a waterproof audio playback device so that a wearer of the life vest when engaging in water-related activities can listen to audio playback. The life vest can utilize pockets or device holders to integrate the audio playback device, and can also integrate one or more lead wires of the audio playback device into the vest."
The Abe Published Patent Application discloses:                "The present invention relates generally to a system for interfacing electronic devices with at least one garment. In particular, the invention pertains to a washable system for interfacing electronic devices with at least one garment wherein the system includes at least one connector, a conductive material, and at least one user interface."
The Brink Published Patent Application discloses specialty clothing designed to hold portable electronic devices such as a radio, iPod player, etc. In general, the patent application discloses:                "The present invention relates generally to clothing and more specifically to garments designed and customized to securely restrain portable electronic devices. The clothing has at least one pocket that may be specifically sized to a known electronic device shape or may be adjustable to devices of various shapes to provide a snug, secure and, safe environment for the electronic device and any electronic device accessories. The pocket also may contain a channel leading from the pocket to one or more openings near the top of the garment to allow for access to headphones. Further, channels may lead from one pocket to one or more additional pockets to allow for interconnectivity between an electronic device and an electronic device accessory. The internal channels may also contain a strap to secure wires associated with a portable electronic device or accessory in place."
The Updyke Patent discloses:                "A combination sports bra and secure pocket garment has a front mounted three section pocket with a single zipper closure. A cord hole in the pocket and a cord loop on the bra enables a cord to be retained from an electronic device in the closed pocket to a headset on the wearer."
The Laycock Patent discloses the following key features:                "The present invention provides for various embodiments of a combined garment and earphones. The combined garment and earphones includes a garment having a series of elongate internal passageways. Partially enclosed within the series of elongate internal passageways is a conductive wire assembly. The conductive wire assembly includes a first length of wire leading to at least one earpiece having a transducer for emitting audio into a user's ear, and a second length of wire leading to a connector configured to be communicatively coupled to an audio device. Finally, a retractable dial is coupled to the garment, wherein a portion of the conductive wire assembly travels through the retractable dial. The retractable dial is configured to selectively retract at least a portion of the first end of the conductive wire assembly."
The Smith Published Patent Application discloses:                "An article of clothing for supporting a personal electronic listening device comprised off at least one pocket on the clothing, each pocket having at least one pocket aperture to allow an earpiece cord of the personal electronic listening device to pass from inside the pocket to outside of the clothing, and at least one clothing aperture on the clothing, each clothing aperture allowing the earpiece cord to pass from outside to inside the clothing and to on or near the wearer's head. The pocket can further include a cover flap to temporarily close the opening and the cover flap can further include a fastening member to temporarily secure the cover flap to the body of the pocket."
The Williams Patent discloses a user wearable wire control system. Specifically, the patent discloses:                "A user wearable wire control system and associated processes that can be utilized to control a dangling wire along a user's body. The user wearable wire control system includes a first layer and second layer that are configured to form a sleeve with a hollow portion disposed therein. The sleeve is adapted to encase a least a portion of a wire. The sleeve includes a first aperture at a first end portion configured to allow at least a portion of the wire to enter the sleeve and a second aperture at a second end portion configured to allow at least a portion of the wire to exit the sleeve. As such, a wire that would otherwise dangle loosely along the body of a user may be at least partially encased in the sleeve and may reduce the danger and/or inconvenience of a dangling wire."
The Wolfe Patent discloses a garment with built-in audio source wiring. Specifically, the patent discloses:                "An audio source device may be used with a garment such as a hooded garment by passing the audio wires into a channel in the hood and having them exit the hood inside hollow lanyards with earbuds at the ends. A means to fix the wires and the lanyards to each other inside the hood is shown; and a means is shown to prevent lateral movement inside the hood."
The Kochling Published Patent Application discloses a pocketed garment. Specifically, the patent discloses:                "A pocketed garment dimensioned to cover at least a portion of a torso of a person. According to one embodiment, the garment is a shirt, and a pocket is positioned on the rear exterior of the shirt. The pocket includes a first opening for insertion of a portable entertainment device into the pocket. The pocket also includes a second opening through which headphone wires, connected to the portable entertainment device, may be passed."
The Gotlieb Published Patent Application discloses:                "The present invention provides for the embodiments for a combined apparel and conductive extension wire assembly to bridge connectivity between a portable audio listening devices and transducers that emit audio sounds. The combined garment and extension wire assembly comprises of a garment (such as a shirt, jacket, cap, etc.) having an electrical wire with a connector on one end positioned within the interior of a garment pocket for conductive connectivity to the audio output of a portable listening device held within said pocket. The extension wire assembly shall channel through the interior of the garment through passageways or within garment seams, extending to garment apertures wherein a left and right channel wire shall respectively pass through and exit the apparel fabric having each wire ending with a connector enabling further conductive connectivity respectively to left and right channel transducers emitting audio sounds."
The Del Prete Patent discloses a garment with integrated earphones. Specifically, the patent discloses:                "The invention is a garment with an integrated earphone, headset, and wire. The wire allows an audio signal to travel from an electronic device at one end of the wire to the earphone or earphones, and/or a microphone at the other end of the wire. The wire, or wires, is preferably permanently sewn into the seams of the garment. The earphone may be retractable and/or kept in a small pocket near the collar of the garment to limit the movement of the earphone when it is not being actively used. The integrated earphone and microphone are preferably machine washable and dryable along with the garment with which they are integrated."
The Kochling Design Patent discloses the shape or ornamental features of the device which is disclosed in the published application to Kochling 2012/0060260.
The Tao Chinese Patent discloses:                "The utility model provides a hearing aid which is hidden in a coat and relates to the hearing auxiliary equipment technology field. The hearing aid includes a signal collector, a signal transmission line, a hearing aid processor and a headphone. The signal collector is arranged on the upper part of the coat. The hearing aid processor is arranged on the coat and is communicated with the signal collector through the signal transmission line. The hearing aid is simultaneously provided with the functions of the hearing aid and the coat and is especially applicable to the aged and the disabled with hearing loss and inconvenient action."

Specialty apparel to be used to conceal a hearing device and its wires to help protect against entanglement, dislodgement and snags


A package of an environmental sensitive electronic element including a first substrate, a second substrate, an environmental sensitive electronic element, a flexible structure layer and a filler layer is provided. The environmental sensitive electronic element is disposed on the first substrate and located between the first substrate and the second substrate. The environmental sensitive electronic element includes an anode layer, a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, an organic light emitting layer, a cathode layer and an electron injection layer. The flexible structure layer is disposed on the environmental sensitive electronic element and includes a soft layer, a trapping layer and a protective layer. The material of the trapping layer is the same as the material of the electron injection layer. The filler layer is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and encapsulates the environmental sensitive electronic element and the flexible structure layer.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a package and a method for packing the same, and more particularly to a package of an environmental sensitive electronic element and a method for packing the same.
2. Related Art
Compared with a common rigid substrate, a flexible substrate is more widely used, and has the advantages of being flexible, convenient for carry and satisfactory for safety, and wide product application, and the disadvantages of poor thermal resistance, poor moisture and oxygen barrier property, poor chemical tolerance, and high thermal expansion coefficient. For a typical flexible substrate, because the penetration of moisture and oxygen cannot be prevented completely, the aging of an electronic element on the substrate is accelerated, causing that a fabricated element has a shortened service life, and thus does not meet the demands in commerce. In addition, due to the flexibility of the flexible substrate, when the flexible substrate is warped, the electronic element fabricated on the substrate is easily subjected to delaminating, thereby causing that the electronic element cannot be operated normally.
In the prior art, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,568 and US Patent Publication Document US 2007/0049155, a polymer is used as a package material of an organic electroluminescence element, with which although a good moisture and oxygen barrier property can be obtained, the problem of delaminating encountered by the organic electroluminescence element is not considered in the prior art. Therefore, how to alleviate the delaminating occurred when the organic electroluminescence element is warped has become one of the problems needed to be solved in massive production of the conventional organic electroluminescence element.

Package of environmental sensitive electronic element

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A reference image encoding method is provided, including: encoding sequence, to obtain a reconstructed image of a first and second reference images; determining whether a local area in the second reference image is suitable for updating first reference image; determining whether the first reference image is updated; when the first reference image is not updated, and it is determined the second reference image is suitable for updating the first reference image, replacing a pixel value of a corresponding area or a related area in the first reference image with a pixel value of the local area in the second reference image; and compiling, into the bitstream.

Rapid development of Internet technologies and gradually enriched material and spiritual cultures of people are accompanied with growing application requirements for videos in the Internet, especially application requirements for high-definition videos. However, a data amount of a high-definition video is very large, and to transmit a high-definition video in the Internet with a limited bandwidth, a problem, that is, a high-definition video compression coding problem needs to be resolved first. Internationally, there are two international organizations specializing in formulating video coding standards at present, that is, the Moving Picture Experts Group (Motion MPEG) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO for short)/the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC for short) and the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG for short) of the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). The MPEG that is founded in 1986 is specializing in formulating related standards in the multimedia field, and the related standards are mainly applied to storage, broadcast television, streaming media in the Internet or a wireless network, or the like. The ITU-T mainly formulates video coding standards oriented to the real-time video communication field. For example, the video coding standards are applied to video calls, video conferences, or the like.
Over the past decades, video coding standards oriented to various applications have been successfully formulated internationally, and mainly include: the MPEG-1 standard used for video compact discs (VCD), the MPEG-2 standard used for digital video discs (DVD) and digital video broadcasting (DVB), the H.261 standard and the H.263 standard used for video conferences, the H.264 standard, the MPEG-4 standard allowing encoding of an object of any shape, and the newest High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard.
There is a close time correlation between neighboring images of a video sequence. Therefore, each frame of image of an image sequence may be divided into several code blocks that do not overlap with each other, and it is considered that motion of all pixels in a code block is the same. A motion vector is allocated by code block. When inter-frame prediction is performed on a current code block in a current encoded image, an encoded image that has been reconstructed is used as a reference image, and motion search is performed in a particular search area in the reference image for the current code block, to find a block that satisfies a matching criterion with the current code block, that is, a matching block. A relative offset between spatial locations of the current code block and the matching block in the reference image is a motion vector (MV), and a process of obtaining the motion vector is referred to as motion estimation (ME). When compression coding is performed on a video, reference image information, motion vector information, and a difference (a residual) between a reconstructed pixel value of a matching block and an original pixel value of a current block are encoded and then sent to a decoder side. The decoder side finds, from a decoded reference image, a block at a location to which a motion vector points, and restores the current block after adding the residual to the block. Inter-frame redundancy can be removed from a video sequence by means of motion estimation, so as to greatly decrease a quantity of bits in video transmission.
Due to problems such as mutual blocking of sceneries, entering of new content, scene change, and camera motion, a matching block may not be found for a current block from a neighboring image of the current block. Therefore, a multi-reference image code technology is introduced, thereby greatly improving encoding performance. For a current code block in a current encoded image, motion search may be performed in each of k reference images that are encoded before the current image, to find a matching block.
In the newest formulated international video coding standard, that is, the HEVC standard, there are two types of reference images: a short-term reference image and a long-term reference image. A short-term reference image is generally a reconstructed encoded image that is relatively close to a current image, and the short-term reference image and the current image have a similar scenery. A long-term reference image is generally a reconstructed encoded image that is relatively far from the current image. A reference image is managed by using a reference image list. When a matching block of a current code block is searched for, starting from a first reference image in the reference image list, a motion vector with the smallest matching error is found from a particular search area, and then motion search continues to be performed in a next reference image, until motion search is performed completely in all reference images in the reference image list. Afterwards, an optimal motion vector of the current code block and a used reference image are determined.
In the prior art, in addition to a short-term reference image and a long-term reference image, to improve compression coding efficiency, a background reference image is further introduced. That is, a video sequence is divided into several video segments, and after each video segment is encoded completely, a reconstructed image in the video segment is used to generate a background image, as a reference frame used during inter-frame prediction on each image in a next video segment of the video segment. A background reference image is closely correlated to content of a neighboring video frame. Therefore, inter-frame prediction efficiency is improved, thereby improving coding compression efficiency of a video sequence.
However, in related technologies, a common characteristic of encoded/decoded images in each video segment needs to be analyzed on both an encoder side and a decoder side to obtain a reference image. Consequently, complexity and power consumption of the decoder side are increased. Alternatively, a reference image generated by an encoder side needs to be additionally transmitted to a decoder side, resulting in a sharp increase in a bit rate of a bitstream and causing a transmission delay.

Reference image encoding method, reference image decoding method, reference image encoding device, and reference image decoding device

University of Science and Technology of China


A semiconductor integrated circuit can precisely identify the level of an external input signal by stably supplying an internally stepped down voltage. It comprises a first N-channel MOS transistor having its drain/source connected between an external voltage supply node supplied with an external voltage and a first step-down output node for outputting a first stepped down voltage and its gate supplied with a control voltage higher than the external voltage, a first circuit supplied with the first stepped down voltage as operating voltage from the first step-down output node, a second N-channel MOS transistor having its drain/source connected between the external voltage supply node and a second step-down output node for outputting a second stepped down voltage and its gate supplied with the control voltage higher than the external voltage and having a drive capacity different from that of the first N-channel MOS transistor, the second step-down output node being separated from the first step-down output node and a second circuit supplied with the second stepped down voltage as operating voltage from the second step-down output node.

This invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit and, more particularly, it relates to a large scale integrated circuit (LSI) comprising an internal voltage generating circuit for generating an internal potential lower than an externally applied voltage within the semiconductor chip and using the internal voltage as operating voltage of the semiconductor chip. Such a semiconductor integrated circuit is suitably used for a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
In the current tide of an ever increasing demand for more power saving LSIs, massive efforts are being paid for optimizing the dimensions and the logic of the circuit. In the field of DRAMs, there has been developed a technology of arranging a step-down circuit (a circuit for generating a voltage lower than an externally applied voltage by means of the externally applied voltage) on a semiconductor chip and using the output voltage of the step-down circuit as voltage for operating the semiconductor chip in order to reduce the charging/discharging current of the circuit and hence save the power consumption of the circuit. This technology has effectively been used for 16M DRAMs.
The use of a step-down circuit would not be necessary, if the semiconductor chip per se could be driven by a lower operating voltage supplied from an external voltage source. However, currently available technologies do not allow the use of a low externally applied voltage due to the system to which the semiconductor chip is applied, the components installed on the substrate of the semiconductor chip and other factors. The only possible way of reducing the power consumption rate of a semiconductor chip at present seems to be the use of a step-down circuit arranged within the chip.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a schematic circuit diagram of a known step-down circuit.
Referring to FIG. 1, the step-down circuit comprises an N-channel MOS transistor (NMOS transistor) TN having its drain connected to an externally applied voltage Vext to step down the Vext and its gate connected to a stepped up potential VPPI for generating an stepped down internal potential, the voltage of the source of the transistor being used as stepped down potential Vint.
The voltage of the node connected to the gate of the NMOS transistor TN is stepped up for the following reasons.
(1) There occurs a fall of potential equal to a threshold value Vth due to the operating characteristic of the NMOS transistor TN and hence the gate voltage is stepped up to compensate the fall to make the Vint operable as internal voltage.
(2) When the semiconductor chip is activated, its internal circuit is electrically charged and then discharged to consequently lower the voltage level of Vint that is used as power source voltage of the chip and, therefore, the Vint has to be raised to an intended level because the circuit cannot operate properly with such a lowered level of Vint. Since the electric charge and discharge cycle of the internal circuit takes place as a result of a series of circuit operations, the fall in the voltage of Vint has to be compensated quickly and hence said gate voltage is stepped up for this compensation on the part of Vint.
A step-down circuit of the type under consideration is normally very large and has a circuit size (corresponding to the channel width of the NMOS transistor TN of the circuit) of several centimeters, although the size may vary depending on the power consumption level of the chip. The large step-down circuit is typically divided into several parts that are arranged within the semiconductor chip as shown in FIG. 2.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 91 denotes a DRAM chip and reference numeral 92 denotes a memory cell array, whereas reference numeral 93 denotes a step-down circuit.
An NMOS transistor TN to be used in a step-down circuit as described above is normally also divided into unit NMOS transistors Tr having identical dimensions taking the possible gate delay into consideration, whose equivalent circuits and pattern layout are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B respectively.
As shown in FIG. 4, an NMOS transistor TN to be used in a step-down circuit is not completely turned off when the voltage of the source rises to a certain level because it keeps on operating in a weak inversion zone to allow an electric current to flow therethrough and the source voltage Vint to gradually rise with time until Vint finally gets to the level of the drain voltage Vext (the rise in the Vint being indicated by DV in FIG. 4).
However, a DRAM chip can operate in any of several different modes where Vint dose not operates for a long period of time. Assume a mode of operation where external input signal /RAS has a long precharge time. The DRAM chip starts to become precharged when the signal /RAS moves from an active state (level "L") into an inactive state (level "H") and the precharging operation terminates after a certain period of time, when the operation of discharging the internal circuit of the DRAM also terminates.
Note that, however, the /RAS remains in the precharging conditions after the chip has been precharged to a necessary level if the precharging time is too long, although the chip does not operate according to the /RAS so that the Vint would not be subjected to charging and discharging and hence its voltage level rises.
FIG. 5 shows an external signal input circuit (e.g., a /RAS input buffer circuit) where problems can arise when the Vint rises above a preselected voltage.
FIG. 6A illustrates the relationship between the input voltage VIN and the output voltage VOUT (input/output characteristic) of the external signal input circuit of FIG. 5 when the operating voltage is equal to Vint and when it is equal to Vext.
The curves of the input/output characteristic of the input circuit has respective threshold values where the VOUT dramatically changes relative to the change in the value of VIN and the threshold value is shifted from a lower Vth1 to a higher Vth2 when the operating voltage of the input circuit is raised.
If the circuit threshold value is shifted from Vth1=0.7 V to Vth2=1.0 V, the following problem appears.
As the VIN is raised from 0 V with an operating voltage of the circuit equal to Vint, the VOUT shows a dramatic change at VIN=0.7 V and falls to 0 V at VIN=0.9 V. However, if the operating voltage is Vext, VOUT=Vext at VIN=0.7 and the VOUT is held to level "H" when the VIN is raised to 0.9 V. In other words, the level "H" of the input voltage is equal to 0.7 when the operating voltage is Vint, whereas the operating voltage does not exceed level "H" of the input voltage when the operating voltage is shifted to Vext and VIN=0.7 V so that the input voltage is judged to be at level "L" and the VOUT is not inverted (operational failure).
If the circuit is driven at a voltage higher than Vint, then the power consumption rate rises as a matter of course. Since all the circuits other than the external signal input circuit that are driven by Vint also consume power at an enhanced rate, the overall power consumption rate of the internal circuit would be enormous.
A technique of connecting a MOS transistor to a bleeder resistor is known from various existing documents including Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 7-36557. However, it is a technique of connecting a resistor between the drain of a PMOS transistor to which the output voltage Vint of an internal step-down circuit is applied and a grounding node and hence not effective for suppressing the possible rise in the Vint.

Semiconductor integrated circuit having first and second voltage step down circuits


A switch of a network, which services a contract, for switching frame relay frames having a variable size. The switch includes ports through which frames are received from and sent to the network. The switch includes a memory in which data of the frames is stored, the memory in communication with the ports. The switch includes a processor which sends traffic contract conforming frames within a first time interval having a bandwidth to the network and adds unusable bandwidth from the first time interval to a second time interval in which the processor sends data to the network. A method for switching frame relay frames having a variable size in a network, which services a contract.

Frames of multiple DLCIs within the same FR UNI/NNI interface may be running at different traffic rates. It is very important or desirable to control and shape the per DLCI traffic to a subscription time traffic contract so that one DLCI doesn't take the bandwidth of another DLCI in the FR UNI/NNI. Also, it is desirable to prioritize the per DLCI traffic into different classes. The Frame Shaping technique used in the present invention controls and shapes the per DLCI traffic.


A method of modifying ethylene biosynthesis in a plant comprises inserting into the genome of the said plant a DNA sequence such as SEQ-ID-NO-1 (encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS)) and/or sequence SEQ-ID-NO-2 (encoding an ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE)) which modifies the activity of at least one of ACS or EFE. The method may be used to modify fruit ripening characteristics, especially in bananas.

This application relates to DNAs, isolated from banana (Musa), DNA constructs containing the banana DNA, plant cells containing the constructs and plants derived therefrom. In particular it involves the use of antisense or sense RNA technology to control gene expression in plants.
Many physiological and developmental processes are controlled by ethylene in higher plants, including banana (Genus: Musa). These processes include fruit ripening where ethylene may be involved in both the initiation and rate of continuation of many of the changes involved in fruit ripening. However the exact role of ethylene has hitherto not been fully understood. We have now isolated a DNA involved in the generation of ethylene in bananas. In this invention, we provide such DNA, and methods of using it. One such use is a method for controlling the rate of production of ethylene in ripening bananas. In this way the rate of many of the ethylene-related changes associated with fruit ripening on a plant can be modified to obtain desired ripening characteristics.
The modification of plant gene expression has been achieved by several methods. The molecular biologist can choose from a range of known methods to decrease or increase gene expression or to alter the spatial or temporal expression of a particular gene. For example, the expression of either specific antisense RNA or partial (truncated) sense RNA has been utilised to reduce the expression of various target genes in plants (as reviewed by Bird and Ray, 1991, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews 9:207-227). These techniques involve the incorporation into the genome of the plant of a synthetic gene designed to express either antisense or sense RNA. They have been successfully used to down-regulate the expression of a range of individual genes involved in the development and ripening of tomato fruit (Gray et al, 1992, Plant Molecular Biology, 19:69-87). Methods to increase the expression of a target gene have also been developed. For example, additional genes designed to express RNA containing the complete coding region of the target gene may be incorporated into the genome of the plant to "over-express" the gene product. Various other methods to modify gene expression are known; for example, the use of alternative regulatory sequences.
An object of the present invention is to provide new materials for use in the genetic control of ethylene biosynthesis in fruit, and hence ethylene-induced processes involved in fruit ripening, particularly banana fruit.

DNA encoding enzymes related to ethylene biosynthesis and ripening from banana


A fan structure includes a fan rack including an accommodation open chamber, a center base suspended at the center of the bottom side of the accommodation open chamber and a plurality of connection ribs radially connected between the center base and the inner perimeter of the fan rack, and a fan including a fan body made from a hard plastic or rubber material and rotatably mounted at the center base of the fan rack and a soundproofing molding made from a flexible plastic or rubber material and directly molded on the fan body. Thus, during rotation of the fan to induce currents of air, the flexible material property of the soundproofing molding reduces air resistance and wind noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates electrical fan technology and more particularly, to a fan structure that comprises a fan rack, and a fan that comprises a fan body made from a hard heat-resistant plastic or rubber material, and a soundproofing molding made from a flexible plastic or rubber material and directly molded on the fan body. Thus, the flexible material property of the soundproofing molding can effectively reduce air resistance and wind noise during rotation of the fan.
2. Description of the Related Art
With fast development of computer technology, computer operating speed and processing ability have been greatly improved, and many high-power central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs) and power supply units (PSU) have been created and widely used in different computer products. However, during operation of a high-power CPU, GPU, PSU or other electronic devices, a large amount of waste heat can be produced, increasing the internal temperature of the computer device. Poor air circulation of the computer device can actually endanger the internal component parts of the computer device. Therefore, it is an important work to solve the problem of heat dissipation in a computer device.
Heat sinks are commonly used with electrical fans in computer devices for dissipating heat from heat-generating electronic component parts. An electrical fan can be arranged in a computer device to intake external cold air toward a specific heat-generating electronic component part, cooling down the temperature of the heat-generating electronic component part. Alternatively, the electrical fan can be mounted in the computer device in the reversed direction to draw hot air from the heat-generating electronic component part toward the outside of the computer device.
However, during rotation of an electrical fan in a computer device, much noise is produced as the fan blades are cutting through the air, leading to aerodynamic instability at high speeds.

Aerocool Advanced Technologies Corporation