The invention provides a process for producing a high-precision reflector and its coating. A reflector is produced from a solid material using a material-removing process and is coated with a cold-light mirror layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for producing a high-precision metal reflector and to a metal reflector. A projection system also forms the subject matter of the invention.
2. Description of Related Art
In practice, reflectors have a wide range of applications; mention may be made in particular of headlamp reflectors, in particular in the automotive industry, and of reflectors as used for projection systems, for example digital projectors.
DE 100 29 905 describes a reflector for a motor vehicle, in which a cold-light coating has been applied by means of a deposition process. The reflector has a base body made from plastic.
Plastic reflectors of this type have the drawback of not being particularly heat-resistant. In particular if the reflector is provided with what is known as a cold-light mirror coating, i.e. a layer which transmits and partially absorbs infrared radiation, high thermal stresses are produced in particular in the case of high-power projection systems.
Deep-drawn metal reflectors, which are likewise often used in practice, often do not have the required accuracy. Furthermore, these reflectors are relatively thin. On account of this small volume of material, it is difficult to sufficiently dissipate the heat, in particular in a projection system, and consequently the reflector reaches very high temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,320 discloses a cold-light mirror with an enameled coating. A particular drawback of enameled coatings of this type is that it is impossible to achieve a very high level of accuracy, which has an adverse effect on the optical quality of a projection system. Furthermore, the enamel layer is highly temperature-sensitive, and consequently a mirror of this type cannot be used for high-power projectors.
To achieve good optical properties, reflectors with a base body made from glass are primarily used for high-power projectors. Reflectors of this type are distinguished by a relatively high accuracy. However, one drawback is that glass is a relatively poor conductor of heat, and consequently it is difficult to dissipate the heat in particular in high-power projectors, which leads to high temperatures, in particular at the reflector surface. This applies in particular if the reflector has a cold-light mirror coating, i.e. a layer which preferably transmits infrared radiation and is reflective in at least a partial region of the visible spectrum. Since a certain proportion of the infrared radiation which passes through the glass body is absorbed by the latter, the glass body is considerably heated. Therefore, glass reflectors in high-power projection systems usually have only a limited service life.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Metal reflector and process for producing it


An active matrix liquid crystal display having first and second substrate portions, a liquid crystal layer (#107) held therebetween, and a light-shielding metal film (#401) arranged in the second substrate portion in a matrix pattern and split into a plurality of film pieces (#401a and #401b) electrically isolated from one another. The matrix pattern is partitioned into each frame defined by two pairs of opposite ones of the film pieces. A nonconductive opaque resin (#402) is formed in a gap between the metal film patterns.

This invention relates to an active matrix liquid crystal display and, in particular, to an active matrix liquid crystal display of an IPS (In-Plane Switching) type.
In a liquid crystal display, an electric field is applied to a liquid crystal layer. To apply the electric field, various driving systems are known in the art. One such system is a static driving system in which a constant voltage signal is applied for each individual pixel to activate liquid crystals corresponding thereto. However, if the liquid crystal display has a large display capacity, the static driving system requires an enormously large number of signal lines and is not practically applicable.
Instead, a multiplex driving system is applied to the liquid crystal display of such a large display capacity. In the multiplex driving system, a signal voltage is supplied through a common signal line in a time division fashion. The multiplex driving system is classified into several types. Among others, an active matrix type using an active element in each pixel is known for its excellent display quality. The active matrix type is further classified into two types according to directions of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer. Specifically, one type is to apply the electric field in a direction perpendicular to glass substrates between which the liquid crystal layer is interposed. The other type is to apply the electric field in a direction parallel to the glass substrates and is therefore called an in-plane switching type (hereafter abbreviated to an IPS type). Such an IPS type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication (JP-B) No. 21907/1988. The IPS type is particularly adapted to a large-scale monitor because of its wide viewing angle.
At first, description will be made about the structure of a conventional active matrix liquid crystal display of an IPS type.
The conventional liquid crystal display comprises a first substrate portion with thin film transistors (sometimes abbreviated to TFT) formed therein, a second substrate portion opposite to the first substrate portion, and a liquid crystal layer held between the first and the second substrate portions.
The first substrate portion comprises a first glass substrate. A common electrode layer is formed or patterned on an inner surface of the first glass substrate that faces the liquid crystal layer. An insulator film is formed over the inner surface of the first glass substrate and the common electrode layer. On the insulator film, a video signal line layer and a pixel electrode layer are formed in a predetermined pattern. A protective insulator film is formed over the insulator film, the video signal line layer, and the pixel electrode layer. Over the protective insulator film, a first orientation film is formed to cause orientation in the liquid crystal layer. The first orientation film is prepared by rubbing treatment in a predetermined rubbing direction.
On the other hand, the second substrate portion comprises a second glass substrate. A light-shielding opaque metal film is formed in a matrix pattern on an inner surface of the second glass substrate that faces the liquid crystal layer. A second orientation film is formed over the inner surface of the second glass substrate and the opaque metal film. The second orientation film serves to cause orientation in the liquid crystal layer and is prepared by rubbing treatment in the predetermined rubbing direction like the first orientation film. The opaque metal film formed in the matrix pattern serves to prevent leakage of light in the liquid crystal display and is often called a black matrix.
Liquid crystals are confined between the first and the second substrate portions to form the liquid crystal layer. Finally, a first polarization plate is attached to an outer surface of the first glass substrate with its transmission axis coincident with the predetermined rubbing direction. On the other hand, a second polarization plate is attached to an outer surface of the second glass substrate with its transmission axis perpendicular to that of the first polarization plate.
Next, description will be made as regards operation of the liquid crystal display having the above-mentioned structure.
The first substrate portion further comprises a scanning signal line layer and a plurality of thin film transistors including a semiconductor layer. The scanning signal line layer comprises a plurality of scanning signal lines extending in a first direction. On the other hand, the video signal line layer comprises a plurality of video signal lines extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The pixel electrode layer comprises a plurality of pixel electrodes connected to the thin film transistors in one-to-one correspondence. Each of the thin film transistors is connected to one of the scanning signal lines and one of the video signal lines. In response to an ON/OFF signal from the scanning signal line layer, each of the thin film transistors including the semiconductor layer is turned on and off. When a particular one of the thin film transistors is turned on, electric charges flow from a corresponding one of the video signal lines to a corresponding one of the pixel electrodes. In response, those liquid crystals in a corresponding part of the liquid crystal layer are activated. Even after the thin film transistor is turned off, the electric charges flowing into the corresponding pixel electrode are maintained to keep a certain electric potential. Therefore, the liquid crystals are kept activated. On the other hand, the common electrode layer is continuously applied with a predetermined d.c. voltage.
The above-mentioned conventional liquid crystal display is disadvantageous as described in the following.
By way of example, consideration will be made about the case where a white window on a middle tone background is displayed. In this event, nonuniformity in luminance is caused in the middle tone background. Specifically, local difference in luminance is caused to occur although the uniform luminance is intended throughout the middle tone background. Such nonuniformity in luminance occurs in the manner which will hereafter be described.
Due to capacitive coupling present between the video signal line layer and the opaque metal film, the opaque metal film is subjected to potential modulation following potential variation of a video signal. This results in disturbance of a horizontal electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer. Since the opaque metal film is formed in the matrix pattern, the potential modulation concentrically spreads around a modulation point. Because of presence of capacitive coupling between the opaque metal film and the pixel electrode layer, the pixel electrode layer is subjected to potential modulation in response to the spread of the potential modulation of the opaque metal film. This again results in disturbance of the horizontal electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer. Such disturbance of the transversal electric field causes the nonuniformity in luminance to occur.
In view of the above, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 230074/1995 discloses the use of a nonconductive resin film as a light-shielding film formed in the second substrate portion. In other words, the above-mentioned opaque metal film is replaced by the nonconductive resin film in order to avoid the occurrence of the capacitive coupling. However, in order to achieve a light-shielding effect equivalent to that obtained by the opaque metal film, the resin film must have a thickness on the order of ten times that of the opaque metal film. Such a thick resin film provides a large unevenness between the surface of the resin film and the surface of the second glass substrate without the resin film. This brings about disclination of the liquid crystals and resultant occurrence of an afterimage.

Liquid crystal display with light shield containing discontinuous metal pattern and nonconductive opaque resin


A method to retrieve and display technical data for an industrial device supervised by a computer program for control, configuration or condition monitoring in an industrial or commercial plant. The method can use a substantially static and easily visible large sized display member to provide a graphical user interface for retrieving data about, and/or controlling, one or more industrial devices. A computing device or mobile computing device send a copy of its graphical user interface to the large display for ease of information retrieval and access.

In the area of industrial process control, and the area of supervision of industrial devices generally, the use of mobile devices has improved access to information concerning specific equipment located in various sections of an industrial or commercial plant. While mobile devices ease and support many kinds of tasks and activities that stationary computers do not normally support, there are certain features and/or functions that are not optimal. However the small display screens and hand-held use typical for mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones make them very individual in their character, and controls, buttons and graphic interfaces etc vary somewhat from supplier to supplier. Clumsy or hard to operate controls or graphic user interfaces and small input devices may limit the amount of user input the user can, in practice, supply.

Method and system to retrieve and display technical data for an industrial device


There are provided an inspection apparatus and method that can locally perform sample temperature regulation, so that the sample drift can be suppressed. There are included a sample stage 109 that holds a semiconductor sample 118, multiple probes 106 used to measure electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device on the semiconductor sample 118, a power source that applies voltage and/or current to the probe 106, a detector that measures electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device on the sample with which the probe is brought into contact, and an electromagnetic wave irradiating mechanism that irradiates electromagnetic wave on a measurement section of the semiconductor sample 118.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and method that inspects electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device by use of a probe.
2. Background Art
As an inspection apparatus used to inspect electrical defects of a microscopic electrical circuit formed on a semiconductor chip, there are known inspection apparatuses including: an electrical beam tester that irradiates an electrical beam and detects electrically defective sections of an LSI, using the fact that the discharge rate of secondary electron from a measurement point varies according to the voltage value at the measurement section; and a probe apparatus in which multiple mechanical probes (exploring needles) arranged in a manner adjusted to the position of a characteristic measuring pad formed on an LSI is brought into contact with the measuring pad, so that electrical characteristics of the LSI are measured. Examples of the techniques related to such probe apparatus include ones described in Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3.
Patent Document 1 describes a defect inspection apparatus in which a probe (exploring needle) is arranged in a sample chamber of SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), and the tip end of the probe is brought into contact with a desired section of an electrical device being the test sample while the electrical device is observed using the SEM, so that electrical characteristics of the microscopic electrical device are measured.
Patent Document 2 describes a defect inspection apparatus using a scanning electron microscope, the apparatus including: separate drive apparatuses which respectively drive a probe and a sample table on which a sample is placed; and a base stage drive apparatus which drives the probe and sample table in an integrated manner, wherein there is used a CAD navigation system which uses data of scanning electron microscope images and wire layout, so that scanning electron microscope images at a desired contact section are acquired to perform probe contact.
Patent Document 3 describes a defect inspection apparatus including GUI (Graphical User Interface) used to easily control the position, operation and the like of multiple probes which can be driven separately.
[Patent Document 1] JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-326425A
[Patent Document 2] JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2005-210067A
[Patent Document 3] JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-125909A

Inspection apparatus having a heating mechanism for performing sample temperature regulation


A steam turbomachine valve includes a valve body having an inlet portion, an outlet portion, and an interior portion. The interior portion includes an inner wall. A valve member is slidingly disposed within the interior portion of the valve body. The valve member includes an outer surface. A seal element is mounted to, and extends about, the outer surface of the valve member. The seal element is spaced from the inner wall by a gap. A seal assembly is mounted to the inner wall. The seal assembly spans the gap and is configured and disposed to contact the seal element of the valve member.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of steam turbomachines and, more particularly, to a steam turbomachine valve having a valve member and seal assembly.
Steam turbomachine systems generally include multiple turbine sections each of which extracts work from a flow of steam. The multiple turbine sections may include a high pressure (HP) steam turbine portion, an intermediate pressure (IP) steam turbine portion, and a low pressure (LP) steam turbine portion. One or more valves control the flow of steam passing from one of the turbine sections to others of the turbine sections and, in some cases, to a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Each of the one or more valves includes a valve body that supports a valve member. The position of the valve member is selectively controlled to block passage of the steam flow or allow the steam flow to pass. The valve includes a seal between the valve member and the valve body. In most cases, the seal is provided on the valve member and is positioned to prevent the flow of steam from passing through a gap between the valve member and the valve body and to maintain a lower pressure upstream of the valve.

Steam turbomachine valve having a valve member and seal assembly


The present invention relates to layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanoparticles containing a non-polar compound of plant origin, which provide said non-polar compounds with higher stability and photodegradation resistance, in order to increase their shelf and storage life. Furthermore, it is described a simple and economical method for separating a non-polar compound from a plant material that contains it, as well as a method for selectively releasing the non-polar compound of plant origin contained in the LDH nanoparticles, with a high purity.

Chemical substances found in plants are of great interest in the technological field due to their beneficial properties for human beings in several applications, ranging from applications in the medicine field and the cosmetic, food and chemical industries, among others. An example of these types of compounds is carotenoids, which can be found in several plant sources such as fruits and vegetables or other green vegetables. Carotenoids are mainly known as being responsible for the coloring in some vegetable foods and by performing a role as anti-oxidants in the protection of an organism from free-radicals, which has caused an increasing research for these types of compounds especially in the pharmaceutical industry, in order to treat certain diseases.
Several separation and extraction techniques have been developed in order to obtain these substances from their plant source in the most pure possible way so as to make the most of their use, wherein the most commonly known and utilized involve organic solvents, ultrasound devices, enzymes, or supercritical fluid extraction. However, the stringent conditions to which the plant source is subjected to in order to achieve the extraction or separation of the compound of interest through these means compromise the stability and properties of said compound of interest, especially with carotenoids which can seriously be affected by the simple light contact, i.e., because they undergo photodegradation. Likewise, the high temperatures and pressures involved in some known methods cause the loss of the compound or a low purity thereof, which has negative effects in the efficiency of the separation carried out.
On the other hand, encapsulating techniques to protect these compounds of plant origin have been developed, wherein one of the most currently common is the use of cyclodextrines. However, said cyclodextrines are difficult to obtain and purify, which makes the separation or extraction method a complex method. In addition to the use of cyclodextrins, some encapsulating techniques further involve the use of supercritical gases or fluids with the purpose of speeding the extraction. However, the required stringent conditions puts at risk the stability of the plant source compound (Itaciara Larroza Nunes; Adriana Zerlotti Mercadante "Encapsulation of lycopene using spray-drying and molecular inclusion processes", Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. vol. 50 no. 5 Curitiba September 2007; Hazuki Nerome et al "Nanoparticle formation of lycopene/β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex using supercritical antisolvent precipitation", The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, Volume 83, November 2013, Pages 97-103).
Currently, other techniques to separate plant compounds via encapsulation include the use of gelatin and glutamic acid, as described by Chiu Y. et al "Encapsulation of Lycopene extract from tomato pulp waste with gelatin and poly(gamma-glutamic acid) as carrier". Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 2007, Jun. 27; 55(13):5123-30, or by means of liposomes or polymers as described by Padma Venkitachalam Devarajan et. al., in patent document WO2012059936A1. However, it is likewise necessary to use supercritical fluids, even with a previous purification of the plant compound, which compromises the separation efficacy, and the costs increase due to the used conditions, fluids and polymerizations. Further, the thermal stability of the compound is compromised, since the compound of interest is encapsulated within an organic compound, being thereby encapsulated in a medium similar to the plant source from which it becomes, and remaining susceptible to thermal degradation.
An additional problem following the encapsulation of the compounds of plant origin is the release of the compound of interest from said capsule. Currently, organic solvents are used to release the compound from the capsule (Tatiana Calvo, "Encapsulación de licopeno empleando polielectrolitos. Influencia del secado y congelado sobre su estabilidad", Biblioteca Digital de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Dec. 9, 2012). However, the use of organic solvents limits the subsequent applications of the compound, particularly in medical fields, or on the contrary, subsequent purifications or additional processes are required to remove the remaining organic solvent.
On the other hand, layered double hydroxides (LDH) have been synthesized in the last years, also referred to as synthetic clays, which are synthetic compounds having structures formed by positively-charged metal hydroxide laminates, which are stabilized by inter-laminar anions. These compounds have been exploited in order to obtain new materials in the nanometric scale encompassing a wide range of applications, and to prepare functionalization or hybridation products with organic molecules (Martinez, David R., Carbajal, Gregorio G. "Hidróxidos dobles laminares: arcillas sintéticas con aplicaciones en nanotecnología", Avances en Quimica, 7(1), 87-99 (2012)).
In view of the above, the main feature of the layered double hydroxides is their capacity of interspersing and interchanging anions for those anions already present within the structure (for example: CO32−, NO3−). Anions that may be interspersed are diverse, such as oxo-anions, anionic complexes, organic anions, surfactants, monomers, polymers, amino acids, peptides, organic complexes, vitamins, enzymes, genetic material and drugs such as anti-cancer, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulants, anti-hypertensive, sun-blockers, all them with anionic features. In the case of organic molecules, those being polar and having —COOH, —SO4H, —PO3H2 groups can be interspersed, since when carrying out the interspersing, they are converted into their respective anions: —COO—, —SO4—, —PO3═. This technique is known as ionic interchange. However, from the experimental point of view, it is very complex to make such replacement, or it is time consuming due to the required conditions to make the ionic interchange.
On the other hand, the use of the layered double hydroxides with organic molecules is disclosed in the state of the art, for example in application WO 2007/067043 A1, wherein a preparation conceived to treat the mineral deficiency disorder was made, involving the synthesis of layered double hydroxides via ionic interchange in the presence of an anti-oxidant, wherein carotenoids are mentioned as one option. However, although carotenoids are mentioned, this document does not show any experimental evidence using the non-polar plant compounds, and for this reason, such compounds stayed out of the scope of said document. In addition, the document describes that the interspersing method is ionic interchange, which necessarily involves an anion as already explained, and thus, it is not possible to intersperse non-polar compounds. Moreover, in said application WO2007067043A1 it is taught that the presence of the anti-oxidant is to prevent the undesired oxidation of bivalent to trivalent cations in the layered double hydroxides, i.e., it does not show the anti-oxidant interspersing in any way. Thus, the application WO2007067043A1 is limited to describe the use of anionic or polar compounds as anti-oxidant additives in the synthesis of layered double hydroxides, but it does not describe the encapsulation of non-polar neutral compounds.
Accordingly, it has been sought to overcome the drawbacks of the separation, release and production methods for the compounds of plant origin currently used, and to increase the stability of these compounds sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, pressure, humidity, sun-light, microbial attack, oxidation, and others, by developing layered double hydroxides nanoparticles containing non-polar compounds of plant origin, a method for separating and selectively releasing said compounds which, besides of providing a significantly higher thermal stability and a protection to the non-polar compounds of plant origin from environmental factors, allows to provide simpler separation/extraction methods, significantly economical and which improve the properties of the non-polar compounds of plant origin for subsequent applications.

Nanoparticles of layered double hydroxides containing non-polar compounds of plant origin, and method for the separation and selective release of said compounds


Footwear construction having a comfort cradle device disposed in a midsole socket for support above the outsole contact with a walking or running surface and in which the cradle device is shaped to afford self centering and position stability for the wearer's foot. The cradle device is interlocked with the midsole through a system of fingers that move in response to the shift in applied load to return energy to the cradle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to improvements in a comfort cradle system for footwear construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art of footwear construction in the period from 1985 to the present time has included:
Graham et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,930 of Nov. 12, 1985 sole construction for footwear which included an integral midsole/wedge or a wedge for use as a midsole in which combined a shell and an encapsulated core resulting in shock dispersion and a memory system depending on the characteristics of material used.
Tonkel et el U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,760 of Apr. 14, 1987 for cushioning and impact absorptive means for footwear having the characteristics of encapsulation of a cellular insert of woven material having voids or cavities in wound strands of a polymer having a hardness exceeding that of the foamed or other polymer composition for cushioning forces of impact exerted upon a shoe sole.
Stubblefield U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,114 of May 3, 1988 for shoe sole construction including an outer sole of uniform thickness and a midsole having peripheral portions that are relatively thick compared to the central portion which is relatively thin.
Stewart et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,136 of Jul. 26, 1988 for an athletic shoe with dynamic cradle of a lightweight midsole of compressible material with portions of differing hardness which limit over-pronation and effectively absorb shock while conforming to a foot shape.
Yung-Mao U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,863 of Jul. 11, 1989 for shoe having a transparent window for viewing cushion elements in which a preselected cushionability selected according to the wearer's weight or cushion preference is insertable.
Barry et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,130 of Oct. 1, 1991 for a spring plate shoe in which the spring plate is combined with a viscoelastic midsole and has multiple layers of carbon fibers embedded in polymer, with the fibers being at acute angles in successive layers, in symmetry.

Comfort cradle system for footwear construction


A semiconductor device where delay or distortion of a signal output to a gate signal line in a selection period is reduced is provided. The semiconductor device includes a gate signal line, a first and second gate driver circuits which output a selection signal and a non-selection signal to the gate signal line, and pixels electrically connected to the gate signal line and supplied with the two signals. In a period during which the gate signal line is selected, both the first and second gate driver circuits output the selection signal to the gate signal line. In a period during which the gate signal line is not selected, one of the first and second gate driver circuits outputs the non-selection signal to the gate signal line, and the other gate driver circuit outputs neither the selection signal nor the non-selection signal to the gate signal line.

1. Field of the Invention
The technical field of the present invention relates to semiconductor devices including gate driver circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
An active-matrix display device includes a pixel portion which includes a plurality of pixels provided with elements functioning as switches (e.g., transistors) and a driver circuit which includes a source driver circuit and a gate driver circuit. The source driver circuit outputs a video signal to a pixel provided with an element functioning as a switch when the element is on. The gate driver circuit controls switching of the element functioning as a switch.
The gate driver circuit is provided close to the pixel portion. In the case where the gate driver circuit is provided close to one side of the pixel portion, the region of the pixel portion might lean to one side of the display device. Thus, a display device which has a structure in which a gate driver circuit is separated into right and left in the pixel portion has been proposed.
FIG. 58 illustrates the structure of a display device disclosed in Reference 1. In the display device illustrated in FIG. 58, a first gate driver circuit 5108 and a second gate driver circuit 5110 are symmetrically provided in right and left peripheral regions of a display region.
The first gate driver circuit 5108 is provided in the left peripheral region of the display region. The first gate driver circuit 5108 includes a plurality of shift registers (SRC1 and SRC3 to SRCn+1) whose output terminals are connected to odd-numbered gate lines (GL1 and GL3 to GLn+1). The second gate driver circuit 5110 is provided in the right peripheral region of the display region. The second gate driver circuit 5110 includes a plurality of shift registers (SRC2, SRC4, . . . and SRCn) whose output terminals are connected to even-numbered gate lines (GL2, GL4, . . . and GLn).
The first gate driver circuit 5108 controls an electrical connection between a source driver circuit 5112 and a pixel which is provided in an odd-numbered row in the pixel portion 5102. The second gate driver circuit 5110 controls an electrical connection between the source driver circuit 5112 and a pixel which is provided in an even-numbered row in the pixel portion 5102.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The straw designed for the intake of water based drink from a container. In the lower part of the flexible straw there are holes that are connected to the main tube of the straw. Above the holes and attached to the straw, there is a floating device which allows for the intake of the drink from the container only from fixed depth ranges, preferably from 5-15 mm from the surface of the water. The straw allows for the protection of the organism of the user from negative effects of the drink on the body's cells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a drinking instrument. Particularly, this invention describes the construction of the straw as it pertains to the sucking in (extracting) of a water based drink from a container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In modern science it is known that water may have different properties in different layers and depths. Thus there may be a need for a drinking straw device, which may allow for the extraction of a drink consistently from a certain predetermined depth.
In previous art there exists a straw with a number of holes along its length (U.S. Pat. No. 2,570,366, 1951). The holes in this straw can open and close before the straw is submerged in a liquid. When one of the holes is opened the liquid will be sucked from that point, however since this intake of liquid will affect the levels of the entire liquid, it will be impossible to take all or majority of the liquid from a certain depth.
There exists in previous art a straw that has a bobber attached to it. The lower end of the straw is bent to a certain angle (JP 2005013684, 2005). The liquid is sucked up through the straw using the intake opening at the end of the straw. Based on these parameters it is clear that the liquid can only be sucked in through one opening and therefore it will result in the creation of a turbulent flow, which in turn will cause layers of liquid located above and below the opening of the straw to be sucked in as well. Because of that, this design of the straw cannot be used effectively to suck in liquids from a certain depth or layer as determined by the placement of the lower end of the straw.
There exists in previous art a straw with a bobber-filter on its end (DE 20 2006 000 080 U, 20 Apr. 2006). When this type of straw is used, the intake flow that enters the straw collects the liquid from a conical area that has a top at the end of the straw, therefore also making it ineffective to take in liquids from a certain depth level based on the placement of the lower end of the straw. There exists in previous art a straw with an ice catcher at the end of the straw (US 2004118769, 2004). The liquid enters the straw through the ice pieces in the catcher. Like with the previous two types of straws the drink liquid cannot be consistently taken in from a specific and predetermined depth.
3. Background of the Invention
This invention was created based on the results of experiments performed to study the properties of water and how they affect the living cells of an organism.
Water is the principle component of any water based drink (including cocktails). It is known that molecules of water have the shape of tetrahedron there are two positive and two negative charges (the magazine Chemistry and Life, No. 11, 1991). In liquid form the molecules of water (based on the laws of interaction of charged particles) form connections, called clusters (Schwartz Cl. E. Unusual Physics of Common Phenomena M. Nauka, 1986). Clusters are constantly being formed due to the opposing charges in the molecule and are broken (Schwartz Cl. E. Unusual Physics of Common Phenomena M. Nauka, 1986; patent RU 2124681 C1, 1999) due to the effects of outside forces (molecules with energy that exceeds the energy of the hydrogen bonds: quanta of light, electromagnetic radiation, etc). Clusters of water molecules form chains similar to the chains formed by iron fillings in a magnetic field. In a chain of water molecules (formed on the electrical connections of the charged dipoles) the more electrically active areas are located at the ends of such a chain. Therefore the shorter chains are more electrically active as there are more active ends present in the water. The reverse is also true, that the longer the chains are, the less electrically active they are as there are less ends available and therefore the volume of water is less electrically active as well. These active ends are the things that affect the living cells when the cells are in contact with water. And as experiments show, more active water may accelerate cells growth or other forms of cellular development. While in some cases such acceleration of cellular processes may be advantageous, for example as it discussed below in relation to a seed germination, for a developed human tissue, such acceleration may not be advantageous as it may lead to the premature ageing. Hence, it may be beneficial to find ways to minimize the external electrical stimulation effect of active water when it is consumed in drinks, thus creating a situation where the cells can develop without external effect from the water, so as to prevent any type of accelerated growth that would cause a premature aging within the cell.


An accelerator pedal effort adjusting apparatus can easily adjust the elasticity of an elastic member by changing the length of the elastic member according to a simple rotation of a movable plate, thereby easily adjusting the accelerator pedal effort as desired. The apparatus can be commonly used with various types of accelerator pedals. The apparatus includes: a guide rod installed such that it is mounted to the bottom surface of the inner space of a pedal arm housing and is directed toward a pedal aim; a movable plate movably fitted over the guide rod such that the movable plate can be moved along the guide rod; and an elastic member installed in such a way that the elastic member is supported by both the pedal arm and the movable plate at opposite ends thereof, and applies a reaction force to a pedal pad.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a pedal effort adjusting apparatus of an accelerator pedal, which can adjust the pedal effort of an accelerator pedal in response to a simple manipulation of a user.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of conventional accelerator pedals of vehicles. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional accelerator pedal includes: a pedal housing 1 that is fixedly mounted to a body panel placed below a driver's seat; a pedal arm 2, a first end of which is provided with a pedal pad 2a, and a second end of which is inserted into the pedal arm housing 1 and is mounted such that the pedal arm 2 can be rotated relative to the pedal arm housing 1; a spring plate 3 that is mounted to the second end of the pedal arm 2 placed inside the pedal aim housing 1; a friction shoe 4 that is mounted to the end of the pedal arm 2 placed in the pedal arm housing 1 and comes into frictional contact with the inner surface of the pedal arm housing 1 when the pedal arm 2 is rotated; and an elastic member 5 that is installed in such a way that a first end thereof is supported by the spring plate 3, and a second end thereof is supported by the inner surface of the pedal arm housing 1 which faces the spring plate 3, wherein the elastic member 5 comprises an inner spring 5a and an outer spring 5b.
When the pedal arm 2 of the conventional accelerator pedal having the above-mentioned construction is rotated around the hinge shaft 2b, the sum of a reaction force of the friction shoe 4 that comes into frictional contact with the inner surface of the pedal arm housing 1 and a reaction force that is generated by elastic compression of both the inner spring 5a and the outer spring 5b forms a pedal effort that is applied to the pedal arm 2.
However, the conventional accelerator pedal is problematic in that, when the pedal effort is too high, a driver is required to apply a high level of force to the pedal arm 2, and so the driver may easily feel fatigue from repeated manipulation of the accelerator pedal, and when the pedal effort is too low, the driver may not efficiently sense the feeling of accelerator pedal manipulation. In an effort to solve the problems, vehicle manufacturing companies in various countries manufacture vehicles in which the accelerator pedals have been completely assembled with fixed pedal effort characteristics so as to meet the respective safety laws and regulations of the various countries.
However, the conventional accelerator pedal that has been completely assembled with fixed pedal effort characteristics is problematic in that it is impossible to adjust the pedal effort, and so the accelerator pedal having the fixed pedal effort characteristics may not be used ubiquitously.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Pedal effort adjusting apparatus of accelerator pedal


A gasket cutter with changeable and reversible dies and punches including a body having upper and lower opposed arm members, a cylindrical member slidingly engaged within said upper arm member to be raised and lowered by rotation of a handle attached to the cylindrical member, and a platen releasably secured to the lower arm member. A cylindrical punch and a ring die surrounding the punch are attached to the platen. The ring die includes a first and second inner diameter at first and second ends thereof creating with said punch a first and second gap, respectively. A reversible punch die having first and second opposed cutting edges is releasably attached to the cylindrical member so that the first or second cutting edge of the punch die descends into the first or second gap, thereby cutting a ring gasket of a desired size from a sheet of gasket material.

This version of the invention is concerned with the field of gasket cutters. More specifically, this version of the invention is concerned with a gasket cutter having changeable and reversible dies and punches so as to form gaskets with a variety of thicknesses and diameters.
1. Prior Art
A variety of tools and devices are available for creating gaskets from a sheet of gasket material. The means and methods of forming a gasket usually involve a multi-step process whereby a hole pattern is first formed in the gasket material. The gasket material is then removed from the tool or device after the pattern is formed, and the hole is then punched as indicated by the pattern. This process is time-consuming, laborious, and subject to errors. For instance, if the pattern and punching are not formed carefully, errors and misaligned or incorrectly-sized gaskets may be formed, resulting in a waste of time, effort, and gasket material.
This process becomes especially cumbersome when it is necessary to form gaskets having a variety of diameters and thicknesses as various patterns must first be formed with subsequent holes being punched to form the gaskets. Inevitably, this demand for gaskets of varying size only increases the chance for error and incorrectly sized gaskets.
What is needed then to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of forming and creating gaskets is the provision of a portable gasket cutter employing a variety of changeable and reversible dies and punches in order to accurately create gaskets having an assortment of thicknesses and diameters, i.e. inner and outer diameters. The gasket cutter that is the subject of the instant invention is able to produce said gaskets by employing a series of punches, ring dies, and combination punch dies having cutting edges of varying size and diameter.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Numerous designs for gasket cutters and similar devices have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present version of the invention as such designs are elaborate in design, cumbersome to use, and are limited in ability to create gaskets of varying size, thickness, and diameter. These designs are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,652, Screw Press, issued to Yonezawa et al. on 22 Oct. 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,730, Straddling Gasket Cutter, issued to Picone et al. on 8 Nov. 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,399, Double-Action Screw Press, issued to Bocharov et al. on 21 Nov. 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,905, Device And Method For Forming A Gasket Hole, issued to Stack et al. on 11 Aug. 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,237, Cutting And Flanging Tools, issued to Johansson on 27 Jul. 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,925, Punch Having Changeable Punching Member, issued to Chen on 24 Apr. 2001; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,216, Tool For Making Circular Cuts, issued to Braun on 11 Sep. 2001.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved gasket cutter with changeable and reversible dies and punches, said punches, ring dies, and combination punch dies having cutting edges of varying size and diameter. In these respects, the present version of the invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus that substantially fulfills this need. Additionally, the prior patents and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects, and advantages through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing only readily available materials.

Gasket cutter with changeable and reversible dies and punches


A technique for preventing replay attacks on digital information distributed by network service providers. At the beginning of a subscription period for a service, a network service provider sends entitlement messages to the subscriber which provide the subscriber for the service with a session key and authorization information. The authorization information specifies a service and a period of time. When an encrypted instance of a service is distributed on the network, it is accompanied by a series of entitlement control messages. Each of the messages includes a value which can be used with the session key to obtain a control word for decrypting the encrypted instance and a time specifier. The subscriber equipment which decrypts the instance of the service does so only if the time specifier in the entitlement control message specifies a time within the time period specified by the authorization information.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally concerns protecting digital information that is provided to users of a network by network service providers and more specifically concerns protecting the information against the class of attacks termed replay attacks, that is, attacks which work by replaying decryption information that the user received while he was subscribed to a service to decrypt information from the service after he has dropped his subscription.
2. Description of the Prior Art: FIG. 1
FIG. 1 shows how network service providers currently protect information which they distribute as part of a service from being viewed by network users who have not paid for the service. A service provider 105 employs network 111 to provide instances of services to a device 113 which is in the possession of a service subscriber who has subscribed for a period of time to one or more services provided by service provider 105. Device 113 may take many forms. For example, if service provider 105 is a Community Antenna Television (CATV) broadcaster and network 111 is a CATV network, device 113 may be a set-top box; if service provider 105 is providing the service over the Internet, the device 113 may be a personal computer. As used here, an instance of a service is a single one of the items provided by the service. For example, if the subscriber has subscribed for a service that offers a series of baseball games, each of the games is a single instance of the service.
Service provider 105 ensures that only subscribers to a service are able to view instances of the service by using encryption techniques as shown in FIG. 1. The techniques require two transactions: a first transaction 101 takes place at the beginning of each subscription period, typically at the beginning of each month; the second transaction 103 takes place each time an instance of a service is distributed over network 111. In transaction 101, service provider 105 reads a subscriber data base 107 to determine for each subscriber which services the subscriber is to receive in the coming subscription period. When service provider 105 has determined what services the subscriber is entitled to, service provider 105 makes at least two entitlement messages (EMMs) and sends them to the subscriber's device 113. There are two kinds of EMM: a decryption EMM (DEMM) 108 which contains a session key (SK) 10 that will be used later to decrypt instances of one or more services to which the subscriber is entitled, and an authorization EMM (AEMM) 109 which contains a specification of the services the subscriber is entitled to. The specification appears in FIG. 1 as AL 112. Each subscription period, the subscriber receives DEMMs 108 and AEMMs 109 as required for the services the subscriber has subscribed to. Service subscriber device 113 stores the session keys 110 and the authorization information (AI) 112 received in the EMMs in secure memory 114. The saved information from the EMMs appears in FIG. 1 as SEMI 115.
A transaction 103 occurs each time service provider 105 sends an instance of the service to subscribers. What service provider 105 sends is of course an encrypted instance 117 of the service. In association with encrypted service instance 117, service provider 105 sends a series of entitlement control messages (ECMs) 119. Each ECM 119 corresponds to a part of encrypted service instance 117. An ECM 119 contains two kinds of information: one kind identifies the service that encrypted service instance 117 is an instance of; the other, shown in FIG. 1 as decryption information (DI) 120, is information which, when combined with the session key 110 stored in SEMI 115, permits decryption of encrypted service instance 117 in service subscriber device 113. When service subscriber device 113 receives ECM 119, it provides it to secure processor 116, which takes ECM 119 and SEMI 115 and uses the information contained therein as inputs to entitlement check module 121. Entitlement check module 121 first determines whether service instance 117 is an instance of one of the services currently authorized in SEMI 115 for the user. If it is, entitlement check module 121 employs decryption information 120 and session key 110 to obtain instance key (IK) 123. Instance key 123 is often termed a control word in the arts to which the invention pertains. IK 123 is then used in decrypter 125 to decrypt encrypted service instance 117. Decrypted service instance 127 is thereupon provided to the user. The use of a series of ECMs 119 with a single service instance 117 ensures that instance key 123 will change repeatedly while the service instance 117 is being broadcast and thereby reduces the incentive to a subscriber to make a copy of instance key 123 and distribute it electronically to others who would like to watch service instance 117 but have not paid for it. For further details on the kinds of systems just described, see Specification des systemes de la famille MAC/paquets, Document Technique 3258, Bruxelles: Centre technique de l'UER/EBU, October 1986.
As is the case with any encryption scheme, the encryption scheme of FIG. 1 may be subject to various attacks by users who want access to an instance of a service but do not want to pay the subscription price for it. One such attack is the replay attack outlined above. There are two variants of the attack. In the first variant, the pirate orders all services for the first month. The result is a transaction 101 in which the pirate receives EMMs for month one authorizing the full set of services. The pirate saves the AEMM 109 for that month. The second month, the pirate orders just enough services to receive a DEMM 108 with a session key 110 for the desired service. The pirate allows session keys 110 to be processed by his subscriber device 113, but instead of providing the new month's AEMM 109, he provides the saved AEMM 109. At this point SEMI 115 has the session key for the second month together with the authorization information for the first month, and the pirate can thus decrypt instances of services in the second month even though he has not paid for them for that month.
In the second variant, the pirate has the minimum subscription for the first month. He records instances of an encrypted digital service that he has not subscribed to together with the ECMs 119 belonging to the instances. He also saves the current month's DEMM 108. The next month the pirate orders a subscription that includes the service that provided the copied instances. When the pirate receives the AEMM 109 for the next month, he provides it together with last month's DEMM 108 to subscriber device 113. Having done this, the pirate also provides one of the saved instances of the digital service together with its ECMs 119 to subscriber device 113. Since SEMI 115 in subscriber device 113 now has both a session key 110 for the digital service to which the saved instance belongs and an authorization for that service, subscriber device 113 is able to use the ECMs 119 to decrypt the saved instance. It is an object of the invention disclosed herein to provide apparatus and methods for preventing such replay attacks.

Preventing replay attacks on digital information distributed by network service providers


A semiconductor memory provided, in addition to the regular components essential for a memory, with a unit employable for more accelerated burn-in test or an insulation test applicable to a semiconductor memory to be conducted by application of a voltage higher than the normal voltage at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature, to every other one of the word lines or the bit lines or to every word lines of which the numbers are odd or even, while the potential of the other lines are kept at the ground level.

It is well known that the failure rate for an electronic device such as a semiconductor memory is largest during a short period just after the commencement of employment thereof and decreases exponentially following the period in which it is employed thereafter. A burn-in test or an acceleration test is a test to selectively exclude electronic devices having initial faults by applying an electronic device such as a semiconductor memory with an electric voltage higher than the rated voltage of the electric device to impose the electric device to be tested with conditions severer than the ordinary conditions at which the electric devices are ordinarily employed. In other words, the burn-in test or the acceleration test is a test to cause an electronic device to endure intentionally produced virtual employment conditions equivalent to those which cause results as if the tested electronic devices are employed for a long period.
For example, an electronic device of which the rated power supply voltage is 5 V and which is employable under an ambient temperature of zero through 70.degree. C. is applied, under a burn-in test, 7 V at an ambient temperature of 125.degree. C. When successfully passing such a burn-in test, the electronic device is determined to be a good product employable for a guaranteed period under rated conditions.
In a burn-in test applicable to a semiconductor memory available in the prior art, each word line is selectively applied a voltage higher than the rated power supply voltage in turn and during the period, all of the bit lines are applied the same higher voltage off and on simultaneously with the application of a higher voltage to the word lines. This means that the period required for a burn-in test is equivalent to a period calculated by a formula (the period of application of voltage to all the bit lines and the period of pause) multiplied by (the quantity of the word lines). Supporting a four Mega-bit RAM being 2048 word lines and 2048 bit lines, and supposing the period of application of voltage to all the bit lines and the period of pause is one minute, an approximate period of 34 hours is required to finish a burn-in test for one four Mega-bit RAM. Since this period is long, it is required to shorten the period required for conducting a burn-in test applicable to a semiconductor memory. In this sense, development of a semiconductor memory having a built-in circuit employable for conducting a burn-in test or an acceleration test is a remarkable advantage for the industry.


A board-like connector, a dual-ring bridge of a board-like connector, and a wafer testing assembly are provided. The board-like connector includes a plurality of dual-ring bridges spaced apart from each other and an insulating layer. Each of the dual-ring bridges includes two carrying rings, two cantilevers respectively extending from and being coplanar with the two carrying rings, two abutting columns respectively extending from the two cantilevers along two opposite directions, and a bridging segment that connects the two carrying rings. The insulating layer connects the two carrying rings of the dual-ring bridges, and the two abutting columns of the dual-ring bridges respectively protrude from two opposite sides of the insulating layer. The two abutting columns of each of the dual-ring bridges are configured to be respectively abutted against two boards.

A conventional wafer testing device includes a testing circuit board electrically coupled to a testing apparatus and a signal transmission board that is disposed on the testing circuit board. In the conventional wafer testing device, the signal transmission board is soldered and fixed to the testing circuit board. However, when the signal transmission board is soldered to the testing circuit board, the conventional wafer testing device is easily damaged from thermal shock. Moreover, the signal transmission board and the testing circuit board are not suited to inspection and maintenance due to their being fixed to each other.

Board-like connector, dual-ring bridge of board-like connector, and wafer testing assembly


A subscriber profile access management system for a telecommunications service provider or telecommunications operator provides technical solutions to providing a single point of access to telecommunications subscriber profile information. As the products and services offered by the service provider grow, and given the many different access mechanisms through which a subscriber connects to services, the single point of access eliminates the inefficient proliferation of custom interfaces between the many support systems and applications which need access to subscriber profile information. The single point of access provides a universal and personalized access to telecommunications services. Access may be made to the subscriber profile regardless of the particular type of access mechanism (e.g., WiFi, or DSL access), while the personalized access allows services to be customized based upon static and dynamically maintained information in the subscriber profile.

1. Priority Claim
This application claims the priority benefit of EPO Application No. 05425821.5 filed Nov. 21, 2005, and Italian Application No. BS2005A000143 filed Nov. 21, 2005, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
2. Technical Field
This invention relates to telecommunications service provider and telecommunication operator system architectures. In particular, this invention relates to maintaining and providing efficient access to both static and dynamic telecommunication subscriber profile information.
3. Related Art
Rapid advances in computer system and telecommunications technology have lead to a vast array of telecommunication services available to the consumer. Such telecommunications services include traditional telephone service, Internet service, cable television service, cellular phone service, messaging service, paging service, combined voice and data delivery service, and many other services. Furthermore, many services may be either wireless or wireline based.
Telecommunications subscribers access their services through a wide range of connections. The hardware underlying the connections implements circuit switched connections, packet switched connections, and other types of connections. In addition, a wide range of communication protocols and access technologies further govern the transfer of data on the connections. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and other technologies are several examples of a wide array of access technologies for telecommunications services.
Growing support of new and existing telecommunications services and the wide range of access mechanisms for those services have led to an extensive dispersal of subscriber profile information between many different telecommunication support systems which support the services and access mechanisms. The dispersal leads to the inefficient proliferation of custom interfaces between systems and applications which need to obtain profile information to authorize or authenticate access, determine which services are subscribed, determine how the subscriber connects to the services, and for many other reasons. Thus, in the past there was no sufficiently secure, flexible, and efficient mechanism which provided a single point of access to telecommunication subscriber profile information and which maintained the subscriber profile information.
A need has long existed for an enhanced system architecture for a telecommunications service provider or telecommunications operator which efficiently provides access to and maintains subscriber profile information.

Unified directory and presence system for universal access to telecommunications services


A mast apparatus that includes a cross member assembly that permits an operator to see through portions of the assembly is provided. The cross member assembly includes upper and lower horizontal members that are slanted for general alignment with the line of sight of the operator. Moreover, some vertical stiffener members are removed thereby allowing a line of sight between the upper and lower horizontal members. To maintain structural strength, vertical stiffener members are added in the center portion and at the location of couplers or mounts for attachment to the lift hydraulic jacks.

In the use of machinery for moving or lifting loads, it is desirable to have high operator visibility through and about the structure while using a relatively simple design. For example, a common application of such machinery involves the mast assembly for a forklift truck or other material handler. Mast assemblies often contain one or more fixed uprights attached to a vehicle with a movable upright mounted on the fixed uprights by rollers. A carriage carrying, load-engaging fork is mounted for movement on the movable uprights. The movable uprights and carriage can be selectively elevated to retrieve or place loads as desired.
In such mast assemblies the forward visibility of the operator can be restricted by the uprights and the carriage. Machinery design involving the addition of hydraulic jacks and chains which can control the movement of the uprights and carriage can be critical in that it is undesirable to further restrict the visibility or to add an additional complicated structure or weight to the vehicle.
Marina style forklifts are used for storing relatively small boats on storage racks at several lift heights. These forklifts have vertically-oriented masts that are adapted to move or tilt between a vertical orientation and a second orientation wherein the mast is tilted slightly toward the operator thereby positioning the boat more securely in a forklift. Hydraulic jacks can be attached to the mast portion of the forklifts and used to move the masts between the vertical and second orientations.
These tilt hydraulic jacks are attached to the mast portions of the forklifts by the use of structural cross members. On many marina style forklifts, there is a blind spot when the boats are raised to elevations of a certain height. This blind spot is caused by the structural cross member where the tilt hydraulic jack is attached to the mast, and can hinder an operator's view of critical portions of the boat and the fork as the operator attempts to position the boat or other loads on storage racks.


A reconfigurable radio frequency circuit is arranged for receiving at least one carrier in a wireless communications terminal arranged to receive at least two carriers, each of the two carriers being transmitted in a different one of a plurality of operating frequency bands, and each of the plurality of operating frequency bands occupying a part of a first or a second frequency range. The circuit includes a combiner for connecting the output of a first receiver filter at a first operating frequency band within the first frequency range to the input of an amplifier and for connecting the output of a second receiver filter at a second operating frequency band within the second frequency range to the input of the amplifier. The amplifier has a selectable operating frequency range, the operating frequency range being selectable at least between the first frequency range and the second frequency range.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced is a mobile telecommunication standard proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and first standardised in 3GPP Release 10. In order to provide the peak bandwidth requirements of a 4th Generation system as defined by the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication (ITU-R) Sector, while maintaining compatibility with legacy mobile communication equipment, LTE Advanced proposes the aggregation of multiple carrier signals in order to provide a higher aggregate bandwidth than would be available if transmitting via a single carrier signal. This technique of Carrier Aggregation (CA) requires each utilised carrier signal, that is to say radio frequency signal, to be demodulated in a receiver at a wireless communications terminal, whereafter the message data from each of the signals can be combined in order to reconstruct the original data. Carrier Aggregation can be used also in other radio communication protocols such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA).
Carrier Aggregation may involve aggregation of radio frequency signals, that is to say carriers that are transmitted in the same operating frequency band, or aggregation of radio frequency signals that are transmitted in different operating frequency bands. An operating frequency band may be a range of radio frequencies allocated to an operator as a contiguous block, or part of a contiguous block, and typically a radio receiver for receiving a radio frequency signal will have a receiver filter, such as a front end band pass filter, arranged to encompass the operating frequency band, but reject signals transmitted in other bands. The receiver filter serves to protect the receiver from saturation, blocking and interference by out of band signals, which may be at a high power level and beyond the operator's control.
If data is transmitted using carrier aggregation of radio frequency signals that are transmitted in the same frequency band, typically a single receiver filter may be used to receive the carrier aggregated signals, and a receiver chain for each of the radio frequency signals may be arranged to receive signals that have passed through the receiver filter. However, if data is transmitted using carrier aggregation of radio frequency signals that are transmitted in different frequency bands, more than one receiver filter is typically required to receive the carrier aggregated signals, and each receiver chain typically needs to be arranged to receive signals that have passed through the appropriate receiver filter.
A wireless communications terminal may be required to be reconfigurable between a configuration for receiving data that is transmitted using carrier aggregation of radio frequency signals in the same operating frequency band, and a configuration for receiving data that is transmitted using carrier aggregation of radio frequency signals in different operating frequency bands. A reconfigurable radio frequency circuit is required for use in such a wireless communications terminal, to allow appropriately filtered signal paths having required radio frequency performance to be configured between one or more antennas and receive chains used to receive respective radio frequency signals, which may have been transmitted in the same or different operating frequency bands.
Furthermore, a wireless communications terminal may be required to be configured to receive signals from different base stations in different operating frequency bands simultaneously for use in handover, and may also be required to receive services other than cellular radio, for example satellite navigation and or signals of an alternate radio access technology in further operating bands. The terminal may also be required to be configured for use in multi-SIM (Subscriber Information Module) operation, in which data or paging signals may be received using several carriers, each carrier typically relating to a SIM or USIM (Universal Subscriber Information Module), the carriers being in either the same or different operating frequency bands.
Conventionally, a receiver may be arranged to receive signals in a selected one or more of several operating frequency bands by the provision of a variety of receiver filters, one or more of which may be selected according to the operating frequency band in which signals are to be received. Conventionally, each receiver filter is connected to a respective amplifier such as a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) which is designed to operate in the pass band of the receiver filter. As a result, in a system with a large number of selectable receiver filters, there may also be a large number of amplifiers provisioned, not all of which may be required to operate simultaneously for the reception of an expected set of signals. The provision of such amplifiers may lead to an increase in the number of circuit elements and complexity of a radio frequency circuit, and to increased demands for area in a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) implementation.
It is an object of the invention to address at least some of the limitations of the prior art systems.

Reconfigurable radio frequency circuits and methods of receiving


Immunization platforms, immunization regimes and medicaments useful for inducing an immune response in a mammal and preventing or treating a pathogenic infection in a mammal, wherein said immunization platforms and medicaments comprise a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) of one serotype and a rVSV of another serotype and are used in a prime-boost immunization regime. In aspects of the invention one VSV serotype is Indiana and the other VSV serotype is New Jersey.

Throughout this application, various references are cited in square brackets to describe more fully the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of these references is hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure.
The best way to prime CD8+ CTL is to synthesize the target antigens by DNA transfection or infection using viral or bacterial vectors. The requirements as viral vaccine vectors are a broad range of hosts and good expression of gene of interests. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infects most mammalian cells and expresses viral proteins up to 60% of total proteins in infected cells [Kim, G. N., and C. Y. Kang. Virology 357:41, 2007]. In nature VSV infects pigs, cattle, and horses, and causes vesicular disease around the mouth and foot. Although human infection by VSV has been reported, VSV does not cause any serious symptoms [Fields, B. N., and K. Hawkins. N Engl J Med 277:989, 1967; Johnson, K. M. et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg 15:244, 1966].
VSV is a negative stranded RNA virus which encodes five proteins, nucleocapsid protein (N), phosphoprotein (P), matrix protein (M), surface glycoprotein (G), and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (L). The N, P, and L proteins of VSV are required for synthesis of positive sense and negative sense genomic RNAs and mRNA, which are necessary for the synthesis of VSV proteins, as well as gene of interest such as Human Hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins.
Since the development of VSV reverse genetics system [Lawson, N. D., et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:4477, 1995; Whelan, S. P. et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:8388, 1995] to generate recombinant VSVs from cDNA, VSV has been studied as a viral vaccine vector for the immunization of various pathogens [Brandsma, J. L., et al. J Virol 81:5749, 2007; Daddario-DiCaprio, K. M., et al. J Virol 80:9659, 2006; Kohl, W., et al. J Gen Virol 88:157, 2007; Kuate, S., et al. Virology 362:26, 2007; Palin, A., et al. Vaccine 25:741, 2007; Schwartz, J. A., et al. Virology 366:166, 2007].
Although VSV is a rapidly replicating virus, eventually humoral and cellular immune responses against VSV will be elicited in the animal host, like any other viral vectors [Yewdell, J. W. et al. J Exp Med 163:1529-1938, 1986; Puddington, L. et al. J Virol 60:708-717, 1986; Kalinke, U. et al Immunity 5:639-652, 1996]. Animals infected with VSV develop immune responses in one or two weeks including a neutralizing antibody [Kalinke, U. et al Immunity 5:639-652, 1996], which hinders the efficacy of boost immunizations for vaccination with the same vector. VSV is neutralized by serotype specific antibodies against viral surface glycoprotein G. Two different serotypes of VSV, VSV-Indiana (VSVInd) and VSV-New Jersey (VSVNJ) show 50% amino acid identity in the glycoprotein [Gallione, C. J., and Rose, J. K. J. Virol. 46:162-169, 1983]. Antibodies raised against one serotype of VSV do not neutralize the other serotype of VSV [Cartwright, B., and Brown, F. J. Gen. Virol. 16:391-398, 1972]. Therefore, others have used VSVInd as a vaccine vector in which the glycoprotein was replaced with that of VSVNJ to minimize the problems arising from this immune response against the viral vectors [Rose, N. F. et al. J. Virol. 74:10903-10910, 2000; Rose, N. F. et al. Cell 106:539-549, 2001].
Although the VSVInd with G protein of VSVNJ serotype is useful in evading the humoral immune response, it will not prevent the cellular immune response which can be triggered by other VSV proteins including N, P, M, and L proteins. The cellular immune responses against VSV proteins other than the G protein may result in incomplete immune responses against the antigen of interest. Therefore, generation of additional recombinant VSV from another serotype can increase the efficacy of using VSV as a live viral vaccine vector.
Interestingly, it has been previously suggested that generation of a complete rVSVNJ serotype vector was not attempted due to the potential for cross-reactive cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses between the Indiana and New Jersey serotypes [Clarke et al., Springer Semin Immun 28:239, 2006].
In view of the above background, it would be advantageous to provide an approach for immunoprophylaxis and immunotherapy utilizing both humoral and cellular immune systems. As such, the Applicant has developed a system comprising a combination of vaccines that elicits a response against infectious agents.

Different serotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus as expression vectors for immunization regimens


An ornamental hanger having a scroll shape with an upper open loop that is sufficiently large to accommodate an edge of a mantle therein. The hanger includes a lower open loop from which an item can be hung so that the lower open loop can swing under the edge of the mantle and be located generally under the upper open loop. The upper open loop terminates in a partial loop having a bottom curved surface for resting on the mantle. The lower curved portion of the partial loop is covered with a non-slip material to prevent movement of the hanger on the mantel surface.

Ornamental hangers are frequently used to hang or suspend items therefrom for displaying the same. The items are often ornamental to express special holiday atmospheres around the home and office. For example, during the Christmas holiday, stockings, Christmas tree ornaments and other items are often hung from mantles, window sills, and the like. Thanksgiving holiday ornaments are often displayed in houses to express the atmosphere of the holiday.
Ornamental hangers can be of many designs, and may often themselves be ornamental. As noted above, it is a common practice to hang ornaments such as Christmas stockings, and the like, on a mantle or ledge to display the same. Rather than using a nail or other hanger that is permanent, temporary ornament hangers are used so that they can be placed on the mantle, shelf or ledge to hang the items therefrom, and thereafter remove the hanger without marring or leaving a hole in the woodwork. Temporary ornament hangers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,819 by Ronia; U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,827 by Kacines; U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,116 by Kacines; pending design application serial no. 29/370,683, filed Aug. 21, 2010 by Kacines; and D447,936 by Kacines. Other ornament hangers are available which include various types of metal, glass and resin figurines attached to respective hook-like devices.
Many ornamental hangers are constructed and otherwise shaped to accommodate a particular type of mantle or edge on which it rests. A common problem with many hangers is that when a weighty item is suspended therefrom, the hanger tends to be moved outwardly toward the edge of the mantle. This is because the position of the weighty item tends to move the hanger so that the item is positioned vertically under the point of contact of the part of the hanger that rests on the mantle. Often, the hanger rotates or adjusts until this position can be achieved, or more often, other parts of the hanger engage the edge of the mantle and prevent further rotation of the hanger. It is at this point that the hanger tends to slide toward the edge of the mantle.
The shape of the hanger can be made to accommodate the edge of the mantle, shelf or window edge, but the resulting utilitarian shapes would often not be decorative and thus not aesthetically pleasing.
From the foregoing, a need exists for an ornamental hanger that is self-adjusting with respect to the shape of the edge of the mantle on which it rests. Another need exists for an ornamental hanger that resists movement on a mantle while weighty or other items are suspended therefrom. Another need exists for an ornamental hanger that is itself ornamental, but yet includes a portion that extends outwardly away from the edge of the mantle to rotate according the shape or thickness of the mantle.


Intramedullary pin with self-locking end for metadiaphyseal fractures, constituted by a proximal stub provided with means for fixing to the cortices; the ends of at least two curved and elastically deformable stems are axially rigidly associated with the stub, and the stems are adapted to expand elastically and to press with their tips the walls of the bone from the inside of the medullary canal.

The present invention relates to an intramedullary pin for metadiaphyseal fractures of long bones.
It is known to intervene with intramedullary pins or the like to reduce metadiaphyseal fractures, i.e. fractures involving the intermediate part of long bones; the ends of said pins can or must be fixed with screws to both the intact cortices of the bone (i.e. the proximal cortex and the distal cortex), and fixing by means of screws to both of the cortices entails some disadvantages due, among other things, to the fact that additional surgical time is required and that it is often necessary to resort to radiological means for rather long times in order to determine the fixing position of the screws in the pin, with consequent exposure to the surgeon, to the assistants and to the operating-theater personnel of ionizing radiation even for prolonged periods of time.
Besides this, when the pin is to be removed at the end of the treatment, it is necessary to intervene not only in the region of the bone from which the pin is to be extracted but also distally, where the fixing screws must be removed.

Intramedullary pin with self-locking end for metadiaphyseal fractures of long bones


Input device has a touch sensitive input surface with a sensor for detecting the position of an object touching the input surface, an interface for transferring sensor data and a device for producing haptically detectable feedback, which is designed to move the input surface, which is mounted so as to be movable along an axis.

The invention relates to an input device with a touch sensitive input surface.
Input devices with touch sensitive input surfaces are being increasingly used in electronic equipment. Examples of this are portable media playback devices, mobile telephones etc. In addition, such input devices with a touch sensitive input surface are also used as user interfaces in motor vehicles. By the touch sensitive input surface, the user can carry out operating inputs, e.g. he can select a menu item from a menu with a plurality of selection options and thereby trigger a defined action. The input process takes place thereby in the simplest case by the user tapping the input surface with a finger; in addition he can carry out a sliding movement on the input surface with a finger in order to trigger a defined action. The user thus carries out a defined pattern of movement, wherein a special meaning or function is associated with a pattern of movement.
Conventional touch sensitive input surfaces comprise sensors, e.g. capacitive sensors, which are capable of detecting the position of an object in contact with the input surface. The sensor or the sensors can be of a matrix form here, so that the coordinates of the current position of the object can be obtained as sensor data. The object is e.g. a finger of a user touching the input surface. Said sensor data can either be processed directly in the input device or in an evaluation device connected thereto, for which the input device comprises an interface via which it is connected to another device.
A generic input device is known from US 2011/0141052 A1. The input device comprises a touch sensitive input surface, force sensors, which produce a corresponding signal in the event of an operation, being provided for detecting a user input. The input device is capable of producing haptically detectable feedback for the user.
An input device is known from US 2007/0057927 A1, especially for a vehicle, with a touch sensitive input surface and with an actuator that can displace the touch sensitive input surface, which is in the form of a touch screen, reciprocally along an axis.
An input device with haptically detectable feedback and a suitable actuator is known from WO 2010/055234 A1.
Similarly, WO 2010/046494 A1 also discloses an input device with haptic feedback. In the event of a user input the input surface is moved by an actuator comprising an electromagnet.
A touch sensitive input surface is known from DE 10 2008 008 921 A1, with which besides detecting the position of the object touching the input surface, the triggering of a switch contact can also be provided. For this a switch is disposed under the touch sensitive input surface so that a switching process is triggered if the user exerts a sufficiently strong perpendicular force on the input surface, which thereby carries out a tilting movement. The input surface can comprise a device for producing haptically detectable feedback, which can take place as a vibration or by "clicking". By said haptically detectable feedback it is conveyed to the user that an input process has taken place.
However, investigations have shown that input devices in which the input surface is tapped are not optimal, because the perception of an unsteady device is conveyed to the user.

Input device comprising a touch-sensitive input surface


The invention provides conjugated polymers that have good solubility and semiconductivity, and that display high photoluminescent and electroluminescent efficiency. Representative polymers containing monomer units having the general structure of formula (I)

"Conjugated" polymers are polymers containing a π-electron conjugated system along the main chain (or "backbone"), and have been known for some time to have utility as organic semiconducting materials. See, e.g., Organic Conductors, ch. 11, J. P. Farger, Ed. (New York, N.Y.: Marcel Dekker, 1994). Conjugated polymers include, for example, cis and trans polyacetylenes, polydiacetylenes, polyparaphenylenes, polypyrroles, polythiophenes, polybithiophenes, polyisothianaphthene, polyphenylenevinylenes, polythienylvinylenes, polyphenylenesulfide, and polyaniline. More recently, conjugated polymers have also been discovered to be useful as electroluminescent materials, i.e., as materials that emit light when excited by application of an electric current (Burroughs et al. (1990) Nature 347:539–541; May (1995) Phys. World 8(3):52–57). Accordingly, these polymers have been proposed for use in a variety of applications. For example, conjugated polymers may be used as the active material in semiconductor thin film devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), transistors, photodetectors and solar cells. Conjugated polymers may also be used in electrochemical devices such as rechargeable batteries and light emitting electrochemical cells (both as thin films and in solution), as electrochemical sensors, and as electrical conductors (after being heavily doped).
The most promising application for conjugated polymers is in electroluminescent displays. Red, green, and blue emissions from conjugated polymers have all been demonstrated. Currently, red and green polymer LEDs are sufficiently bright, efficient, and stable for a number of display applications, whereas blue polymer LEDs lag in power efficiency and lifetime. Blue light emitting polymers are for the most part based on poly(paraphenylene) (PPP) and poly(fluorene), which is itself a type of poly(paraphenylene) except that every two neighboring phenyl rings are locked in one plane. Other blue light emitting polymers include alkoxy-substituted PPP, as disclosed by Yang et al. (1996), "Efficient Blue Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes from a Series of Soluble Poly(paraphenylene)s," J. Appl. Phys. 79(2):934–939. Polyfluorenes with 9,9-dialkyl side groups are currently the best performing blue polymers, and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,327 to Pei et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,163 to Woo et al. Compared to red- and green-emitting polymers, however, blue-emitting polymers still lag in power efficiency (thus requiring a high operating voltage) and lifetime (i.e., the spectrum is not stable and tends to red-shift with time, heat, and operation). The problems stem from the dialkyl side groups, which reduce the polymers' glass transition temperature. The fluorene rings tend to aggregate, forming intraband defects that cause the color shift toward red.
There is accordingly a need in the art for blue-emitting polymers that have high blue luminescence, decreasing the required operating voltage for a blue polymer LED. Ideal polymers would also be conjugated, semiconductive polymers that are soluble in common organic solvents, particularly those used in semiconductor processing, but nevertheless retain semiconductivity, photoluminescence and electroluminescence efficiency, tensile strength, and thermal, chemical and photochemical stability. It would also be desirable to provide such polymers that may be easily modified so as to emit light in the red and green wavelength ranges.

Electroluminescent polymers and use thereof in light-emitting devices

Abstract: wherein: Ar1 and Ar2 are independently selected from the group consisting of monocyclic, bicyclic and polycyclic arylene, heteroarylene, substituted arylene and substituted heteroarylene groups; L is alkylene, alkenylene, substituted alkylene, substituted alkenylene, heteroalkylene, heteroalkenylene, substituted heteroalkylene, substituted heteroalkenylene, arylene, heteroarylene, substituted arylene, substituted heteroarylene, or a combination thereof; Q is a heteroatom; m is zero or 1; p is zero or 1, and q is zero or 1, with the proviso that when p is zero, then q is zero; x is zero or 1; Q1 and Q2 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, aryl, heteroaryl, substituted aryl, substituted heteroaryl, alkyl, substituted alkyl, heteroalkyl, and substituted heteroalkyl, and Q3 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, substituted alkyl, heteroalkyl, and substituted heteroalkyl, with the proviso that when m is 1, Q1 and Q2 are other than H; and A− is a negatively charged counterion. Electroluminescent and other devices containing a polymer of the invention are also provided.


This method includes: a supporting process of supporting a worm wheel in a first supporting section of a supporting body; an engaging process of engaging a jig gear which corresponds to a worm with the worm wheel; a measuring process of measuring a distance between the centers of the worm wheel and the jig gear; a gear processing process of processing the worm based on the measured distance between the centers; and a supporting process of supporting the worm in a second supporting section of the supporting body after releasing the engagement between the worm wheel and the jig gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a gear device for use in an electric power steering apparatus for a vehicle or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
An electric power steering apparatus for a vehicle includes an electric motor for assisting steering and a gear device which transmits a rotational force of the electric motor to steering means, and assists movement of the steering means corresponding to operation of a steering wheel by rotation of the electric motor, thereby reducing a driver's labor and burden for steering.
The gear device includes a worm interlockingly coupled to an output shaft of the electric motor via a shaft joint, a worm wheel engaged with the worm and connected to the steering means, and a housing for rotatably supporting and accommodating the worm and the worm wheel (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-21943).
The worm, having helical teeth integrally formed on an outer peripheral part of a right circular cylinder member made of metal material, is disposed so as to be intersected with the axis core of the worm wheel and is supported in the housing via a pair of rolling bearings.
The worm wheel is engaged with and fixed into a rotational shaft of the steering means and the rotational shaft is supported in the housing via the pair of rolling bearings.
The housing has a first supporting section into which the rolling bearing is fitted and in which the worm is rotatably supported, and a second supporting section into which the rolling bearing is fitted and in which the worm wheel is rotatably supported.
The worm and worm wheel of the gear device are combined so that any movement in each radial direction is not permitted; however, since there are dimensional errors in each processed worm, worm wheel, and housing, a backlash amount at the engagement part between the worm and the worm wheel varies from small to large when they are combined neglecting their dimensional errors. When the backlash amount is large, rattling noise is generated when steering, and the rattling noise leaks into an automobile compartment. Further, torque increases when the backlash amount is small, thus the worm and worm wheel cannot be smoothly rotated.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a layered assembly process of the gear device. Conventionally in order to have a proper backlash amount and torque in engagement parts between articles, processed worm wheel 100, worm 101, housing 102, and the like are classified into a plurality of dimension groups with respect to design dimensions so that a distance between the centers of the worm wheel 100 and worm 101 is set within an allowable range by selectively combining one set of the worm wheel 100, worm 101, and housing 102 from the thus-classified dimension groups (a so called layered assembly).
However, in the conventional gear devices, the worm wheel 100, worm 101, and housing 102 are individually measured and the layered assembly is then performed; and therefore, measurement errors generated at each measurement are accumulated when assembling; further, measurement errors due to the atmospheric temperature also largely affects. Consequently, there has been a problem in that the backlash amount and torque are not stable between articles. Further, stocks of products in process for layered assembly increase and the increased stocks cause high cost, and therefore, countermeasures are required.


A blade assembly for use with a food processor includes a hub configured to be coupled to a drive shaft of the food processor, a first blade rotatably coupled to the hub and configured to rotate with respect to the hub at least up to a predetermined angle with respect to a second blade, which is fixedly coupled to the hub. The first blade is rotatable between a first position in which it is in phase with the second blade for receiving a blade guard protecting both blades, and a second position, in which the first blade is out of phase with the second blade for optimally processing a food item in the food processor, the blade assembly also including a biasing member for returning the first blade to the first position after use.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is generally related to food processing devices, and more particularly, to a blade assembly for a hand-held food-processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hand-held, hand-powered food processors are known and all basically rotate a spindle to which is connected some form of cutting, beating, or mixing arms. Some of these processors use a hand crank for the drive to rotate the spindle. The Yip patent 5,996,483 is an example. These types of drives for the spindle are often expensive, lack torque, or do not give a long enough pulse of rotation to the spindle for effective action on the food to be processed.
The Yip patent, mentioned above, shows a garlic peeling and peanut shelling processor that uses a rigid beater to throw garlic at a series of vertical ribs spaced along the circumference of a retaining cylinder to break the skin of the garlic.
Application Ser. Nos. 09/839,027 and 11/361,061 provide hand-held food processors with improved drive mechanisms; however, these devices typically comprise a blade arrangement that is suboptimal with respect to gaining maximum momentum before confronting a food item. Furthermore, the blade is typically exposed after use.
Accordingly, there is a need for a hand-held food processor and a blade assembly that maximizes blade momentum for more effective processing of food items, and permits automatic rearrangement of blades into a configuration in which the blades can be covered without a user having to touch the blades.

Hand-held food processor and blade assembly


A control apparatus includes a synchronization state transmission/reception unit configured to transmit and receive a synchronization state to and from another control apparatus via a network, and a state data transmission/reception unit configured to transmit and receive state data to and from the another control apparatus via the network. Thus, the control apparatus can grasp the synchronization state of the another control apparatus. Further, even when the control apparatus is restarted due to a failure, the control apparatus receives state data from another control apparatus that has been synchronized with the control apparatus and is in operation so that the control apparatus can recover without stopping the entire system.

Hitherto, in control apparatus to be used in a vehicle, two control apparatus are provided as a dual system in preparation for occurrence of a failure in one of the control apparatus. There has also been proposed a system in which calculation results obtained by the two control apparatus included in the dual system are compared with each other, and when the calculation results differ from each other, fail-safe processing is performed so that output is performed safely.
For example, in Patent Literature 1, there is described an information processing apparatus configured to cause two processors to operate in synchronization with each other. In Patent Literature 1, when an internal failure occurs in any one of the two processors and consequently outputs from the two processors do not match, one of the processors in which the failure has occurred is identified. Then, through use of internal information on the processor in which no failure occurs and with a dual configuration, processing that has been performed at the time of occurrence of the failure is continued. This operation is implemented by the following configuration. First, in addition to the two processors, a main storage and a dual-system control circuit are provided. Further, the dual-system control circuit and the two processors are connected to each other by dedicated signal lines, and the two processors are reset in synchronization with each other. Then, information on a state before the occurrence of the failure is obtained from the main storage.

Control apparatus and recovery processing method for control apparatus