A plastic-molded-type semiconductor device having a high degree of integration encases a plurality of semiconductor chips in a package unit with each chip situated perpendicular to the substrate for mounting. On a surface of each chip containing circuits or on a reverse surface of the same, a lead frame is attached with an insulating material interposed therebetween. The chip and lead frame are connected with each other by using wire. The lead frame is arranged perpendicularly to another lead frame provided in parallel and connected therewith by welding. A printed circuit board may be used in place of said latter lead frame. By arranging the chips in projections made of resin, the thermal resistance of the semiconductor device is decreased. The present invention is particularly effective for a memory IC.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plastic-molded-type semiconductor device and a producing method therefor, and in particular, to a plastic-molded-type semiconductor device suitable to attain a higher level of device integration and a producing method therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Encasing a plurality of semiconductor chips in a single packaged unit is directly effective in attaining a higher level of device integration.
It may not be so effective in attaining a higher level of device integration to arrange a plurality of semiconductor chips in a plane, because the outer size of the package becomes rather large. Therefore, it is required to pile a plurality of semiconductor chips one upon another in a package in order to achieve a high integration of the device.
There are disclosed several methods of piling a plurality of semiconductor chips one upon another in a package. One of the methods is to mount semiconductor chips on each side of a chips pad, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-8529, No. 62-131555, No. 1-220837, or No. 1-257361.
A method of piling two semiconductor chips having different sizes one upon another is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-295454 or No. 2-15660.
Further, a structure, in which each of a plurality of semiconductor chips is mounted on each of a plurality of lead frames each composed of an outer lead and an inner lead, respectively, and these semiconductor chips are piled one upon another, as forming many layers, so as to seal them, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-124450 or No. 63-220559.
Another method of piling a plurality of semiconductor chips and mounting them in one package unit, in which semiconductor chips are connected with lead frames using a special method, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-59862 or No. 1-99248. Further another method, in which piled lead frames in many layers are electrically connected inside of the package to each other, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-119952.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-260352 or No. 62-293749 discloses a method of mounting a plurality of semiconductor chips on a substrate with each of the semiconductor chips arranged perpendicular to the substrate.
Among the above-mentioned methods of prior arts, the method of mounting semiconductor chips on both sides of a chip pad can not provide a high level integration more than two chips, because the number of semiconductor chips is essentially only two chips. In addition, it is difficult in this method to electrically connect the chips mounted on the both sides of the chip pad with the lead frames through electric wires.
The method of piling a plurality of chips having various sizes one upon another and mounting them thereon can not be adopted when a plurality of semiconductor chips each having the same size such as memory chips, for example, are to be mounted for achieving a high level integration. Further, when the height differences between the semiconductor chips and the lead frames are greater, there is caused a disadvantage that the wires are apt to contact with the corners of the semiconductor chips.
The method performed using a plurality of lead frames makes impossible a plastic-molding method utilizing a transfer-molding method, which is widely used at the present time, because several layers of outer leads project on the package surface form. Therefore, this method is unsuitable to a mass-production.
The method performed using a special method of electrically connecting the chips with the lead frames is difficult to be brought in practice, because the reliability of connection according to this method is judged insufficient when compared with the conventional connection through wires on the base of the data as far as disclosed in the known references.
The method of arranging semiconductor chips perpendicular to the chip pad adopts a special method for electrically connecting the chips with the substrate, and therefore, as mentioned above, is difficult to be brought in practice. These methods require to arrange the electrodes of the chips unevenly near one side of the device, thereby causing a disadvantage that the degree of design freedom for chips is decreased.
In the method of connecting a plurality of lead frames piled up in several layers with one another inside of the package unit, since the inside leads connected with the outside leads are arranged in parallel to the chips, the number of the semiconductor chips to be encased in a package unit is limited below three chips in the structure.
Further, the above known methods include a common disadvantage that no consideration is paid to the discharge of the heat, which is generated in a great amount when the number of chips increases, towards the outside of the package unit.

Plastic-molded-type semiconductor device and producing method therefor


Biocompatible composites comprising peptide amphiphiles and surface modified substrates and related methods for attachment thereon.

Techniques of tissue engineering employing biocompatible scaffolds provide viable alternatives to prosthetic materials currently used in prosthetic and reconstructive surgery (e.g., craniomaxillofacial and spinal surgery). These materials also hold promise in the formation of tissue or organ equivalents to replace diseased, defective, or injured tissues. Compatible, biodegradable materials may be used for scaffolds which initiate and sustain tissue or bone growth, but which are naturally degraded over time within the body. Such materials may also be used for controlled release of therapeutic materials (e.g., genetic material, cells, hormones, drugs, or pro-drugs) into a predetermined area. Polymers, such as polylactic acid, polyorthoesters, and polyanhydrides, used to create these scaffolds are difficult to mold and, result in, among other things, poor cell attachment and poor integration into the site where the tissue engineered material is utilized. With some exceptions, they also lack biologically relevant signals.
Self-assembled peptide-amphiphile nanofibers have been used to direct the growth of biominerals such as hydroxyapatite. These nanofibers are comprised peptide-amphiphiles, that are comprised of a hydrophobic aliphatic tail coupled to a relatively hydrophilic peptide head group. The peptide head group may include at least two segments: a structural segment and a functional segment. Structural segments may include between 2 and 4 cysteine residues may be used to covalently stabilize the self-assembled peptide amphiphile structures via disulfide bond formation between individual peptide amphiphile molecules within a fiber. Alternatively, the structural segment may contain other residues, such as serine, leucine, alanine, or glycine for example. Though these residues may not promote covalent stabilization of the nanofibers, they may participate in structural organization, such as beta-sheet formation, in the assembled nanofibers. The functional head group may be composed of different amino acid combinations and include moieties such as carboxyl, thiol, amine, phosphate, and hydroxyl functional groups located near the end of the molecule most distant from the molecule's aliphatic tail. Examples of carboxyl group-containing residues include aspartic acid or glutamic acid. Examples of amine or guanidinium-containing residues include lysine or arginine respectively. When the peptide amphiphiles are self-assembled under aqueous conditions, it is expected that these functional residues will be displayed near the self-assembled micelle (generally a nanofiber) surface where they may be available for reaction with other moieties to bind the peptide amphiphile.
The versatility and functionality of these self-assembling nanofibrous materials may prove to be useful in tissue repair, cell growth, or organ reconstruction. The term tissue includes muscle, nerve, vascular, and bone tissue and other common understandings of tissue. The present invention may also find application in regulation, inhibition or promotion of axon outgrowth in neurons as well as the regulation, inhibition or promotion of cell-substrate adhesion among nerve cells. Coating these peptide amphiphile compositions on surfaces of scaffolds and implants, for example stainless steel stents, electrodes for electrical stimulation of nerves, or metal-based orthopedic implants, may furthermore enhance existing tissue engineering strategies. Importantly, multiple peptide signals may be used in the same supramolecular self assembled peptide amphiphile to accomplish different and potentially synergistic effects.
The peptide amphiphile composition(s) of such a system may include a peptide component having residues capable of intermolecular cross-linking. The thiol moieties of cysteine residues can be used for intermolecular disulfide bond formation through introduction of a suitable oxidizing agent or under physiological conditions. Conversely such bonds can be cleaved by a reducing agent introduced into the system or under reducing conditions. The concentration of cysteine residues, when utilized, can also be varied to control the chemical and/or biological stability of the nanofibrous system and therefore control the rate of therapeutic delivery or release of cells or other beneficial agent, using the nanofibers as the carriers. For example, enzymes could be incorporated into such nanofibers to control their biodegradation rate through hydrolysis of the disulfide bonds. Such degradation and/or the concentration of the cysteine residues can be utilized in a variety of tissue engineering applications. The thiol functionality of such peptide amphiphiles may also be useful for binding the supramolecular structures to surfaces.
The complimentary nature of the biological portions of the peptide amphiphiles may mimic amino acid sequences found in naturally occurring peptides. Self-assembled gels composed of peptide-amphiphile nanofibers with the RGD peptide sequence mimic the function of collagen fibrils to organize and direct the growth of the hydroxyapatite crystals. Other potentially useful amino acid sequences in such peptides may include the SEQ ID NO:1 YIGSR and SEQ ID NO:2 IKVAV amino acid sequences. Such amino acid sequences in self assembled peptide amphiphiles may have a synergistic effect on cell growth and nerve regeneration. The growth of cells on substrates implanted or delivered to the body would be beneficial to implantation of artificial hearts, restoring nerve function, healing of grafting blood vessels; forming skin grafts and preparing "artificial skin" by culturing epidermal cells on a fibrous laffice.
Damage to the endothelial and medial layers of a blood vessel, such as often occurs in the course of balloon angioplasty and stent procedures, has been found to stimulate neointimal proliferation, leading to restenosis of atherosclerotic vessels. The normal endothelium, which lines blood vessels, is uniquely and completely compatible with blood. Endothelial cells initiate metabolic processes which actively discourage platelet deposition and thrombus formation in vessel walls. Damaged arterial surfaces within the vascular system are highly susceptible to thrombus formation. While systemic drugs have been used to prevent coagulation and to inhibit platelet aggregation, a need exists to treat the damaged arterial surface directly to prevent thrombus formation and subsequent intimal smooth muscle cell proliferation.
Stents made up of metals such as titanium and its alloys have been designed to promote organized endothelial cell growth. Such stents comprise a plurality of depressions in the surface of at least a portion of the stent body, preferably arranged in a regular pattern on at least the interior surface of the stent body, such as a waffle weave. Other stents have surface features which comprise a plurality of pleats, ridges, channels or pores in the stent body wherein at least some of the pores run between the interior and exterior sides of the stent body (i.e., penetrate the stent body) and are sized to promote the organized cell growth.
The directed growth of cells, for example nerve cells and endothelial cells, on implantable surfaces and scaffolds would be desirable for the regeneration and growth of cells, organs, and tissue within the body. It would be desirable to provide surgical implants that may facilitate the growth of tissue, vascular tissues, nerve, and cells on or in tissue surrounding the surgical implant. It would be desirable for new and better scaffolds, implants, stents and electrode for placement into a body that are adapted to promote growth of infiltrating cells into organized cellular structures, such as take place during angiogenesis and/or neovascularization, to aid in repair of damaged body organs and vessels.
As part of a related consideration, titanium and its alloys have been used extensively as skeletal implant materials where the metals' high strength to weight ratio, toughness and the bioinert character of the naturally forming oxide layer have lead to widespread clinical success. As tissue engineering has developed, however, researchers have explored the use of calcium phosphate coatings on titanium-based implant surfaces to introduce an element of bioactivity to the otherwise inert oxidized metal surfaces. In vitro studies have shown that calcium phosphates may form osteoconductive coatings which enhance cellular attachment and proliferation. In vivo models have shown an improvement in implant interfacial strength when titanium surfaces are coated with various calcium phosphate coatings, often hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)2(OH)2). Studies have also shown that degradation of these calcium phosphate coatings at implant-tissue interfaces facilitates the accelerated formation of de novo bone.
Commonly used methods for coating Ti with these calcium phosphate coatings include plasma spraying, electrophoresis, sol-gel, and solution-phase precipitation. Methods such as plasma spraying or sol gel tend to produce dense, often highly crystalline apatitic phases with little or no phase selectivity, and some of these methods are also unable to coat interior surfaces of porous titanium structures. Many of these methods for growth involve extremely long growth times, weeks to months, offer little control over crystal size or shape, and lack any added chemical functionality, such as that afforded by organic macromolecules. Organic macromolecules have been known to play roles in biomineral crystal modification. Additionally, where clusters form on porous surfaces, surface coating is frequently less than 100%. Solution-phase growth, however, enables nucleation of calcium phosphate coatings directly on implant surfaces, even porous surfaces. In addition, this wet chemical approach allows for the formation of not only hydroxyapatite, but also other biologically relevant calcium phosphate phases, such as octacalcium phosphate, (Ca8H2(PO4)6.5H2O), a precursor to hydroxyapatite. Solution-phase growth of these coatings also allows for the introduction of organic macromolecules into the coating, a feature not possible with some of the high temperature coating processes, such as plasma spraying.
Work has been done investigating the interactions of various biological macromolecules with calcium phosphate coatings. The growth of calcium phosphate coatings in the presence of biomolecules such as albumin, fibronectin, and poly(aminoacids), is substantially inhibited. Poly(L-lysine), for example, is a well-established cell adhesion promoter with excellent chemical functionality, but has been shown to inhibit apatite growth on a titanium alloy surface. Poly(amino acids) have been used as nucleating agents and macromolecular tethers to address this problem by growing poly(L-lysine)-containing organoapatite onto poly(amino-acid)-coated titanium-based surfaces. This method uses poly(amino acids) in several of the coating steps and layers; it also produces relatively bulky clusters of organoapatite, which may be disadvantageous in coating structures with fine porous textures. An alternative approach investigated is growing a calcium phosphate coating containing albumin onto a preexisting calcium phosphate layer.
It would be desirable to form polyamine-modified nanotextured calcium phosphate coating on implantable metal surfaces. Grown onto calcium phosphate seeds the new material combines the versatility and simplicity of solution-phase calcium phosphate growth on an implantable surface with the chemical and biological functionality of a poly(amine).
It would be desirable to coat the surfaces of materials with biominerals so that substantially all of the surface is coated, and that the coating provides a favorable surface for chemical modification, attachment of peptide amphiphile nanofibers, cell and tissue growth and adhesion. It would further be desirable if the coating could be applied to a material suitable for implant into a patient and that the coating be degradable under physiological conditions.

Methods and materials for nanocrystalline surface coatings and attachment of peptide amphiphile nanofibers thereon


Embodiments are generally directed to an asymmetric set combined cache including a direct-mapped cache portion and a multi-way cache portion. A processor may include one or more processing cores for processing of data, and a cache memory to cache data from a main memory for the one or more processing cores, the cache memory including a first cache portion, the first cache portion including a direct-mapped cache, and a second cache portion, the second cache portion including a multi-way cache. The cache memory includes asymmetric sets in the first cache portion and the second cache portion, the first cache portion being larger than the second cache portion. A coordinated replacement policy for the cache memory provides for replacement of data in the first cache portion and the second cache portion.

In computer memory, a cache memory (also referred to simply as a cache) may be implemented in various ways, including direct-mapped caches, in which memory locations are mapped to a single location, and multi-way caches, in which memory locations are mapped to a certain set of locations.
A direct-mapped cache has certain advantages resulting from the simplicity of the cache implementation. In operation, in order to determine whether a memory element is present only a single cache location needs to be searched. However, a direct-mapped cache has a disadvantage of low associativity and as result pinning (locking addresses in cache) is also problematic.
In contrast, a multi-way cache can address associativity and pinning issues. However, the multi-way cache is more complex, and requires more searching in order to determine whether an element is present in the cache because each cache location in the set must be searched.
Further, use of multiple caches adds significant complexity to design and operation of components.


An electronic component module has a device-side module A and an antenna-side module B. The device-side module A is equipped with a first dielectric substrate 11 that is formed with a first transmission line 11a and a high-frequency device 13 that is mounted on the first dielectric substrate 11 and is connected to the first transmission line 11a. The antenna-side module B is equipped with a second dielectric substrate 12 that is laid on the first dielectric substrate 11 in such a manner that they are arranged in a lamination direction and that is formed with a second transmission line 12a that is electrically connected to the first transmission line 11, and an antenna element 14 that is provided on the second dielectric substrate 12 and electrically connected to the high-frequency device 13 via the second transmission line 12a and the first transmission line 11a.

The present invention relates to an electronic component module and its manufacturing method and, more particularly, to a technique that is effective in increasing the bandwidth of an electronic component module.
With a recent tendency of miniaturization and functionality enhancement of electronic apparatus, there is demand for electronic component modules in which a module incorporating electronic components such as high-frequency devices is integral with an antenna element. In such antenna-integrated electronic component modules, it is desirable that, to improve their characteristics, a substrate provided with the antenna element be made of a material having low dielectric constant.
Conventionally, as disclosed in JP-A-9-237867, an antenna-integrated electronic component module was proposed in which an antenna is supplied with power via a slot by utilizing electromagnetic coupling.
However, the slot measures ½ (i.e., λ/2) of a wavelength λ used. Therefore, the physical dimensions of the slot and the module are necessarily dominated by a frequency used. This restricts the degree of freedom of miniaturization of the electronic component module.
Further, because of the use of the λ/2 slot, the width of a signal pass frequency band is restricted by the slot dimensions, which is an obstruction to increase of the bandwidth of the electronic component module.

Electronic component module and manufacturing method thereof


A compound is represented by Formula (I) or (II) described below.

In recent years, the number of patients with allergic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and pollinosis has increased. For methods for treating such allergic diseases, symptomatic therapies have been greatly resorted to, and anti-inflammatory drugs and/or the like have been commonly used for the purpose of suppressing inflammation due to allergy.
Perilla frutescens Britton, which is an annual herb belonging to the family Lamiaceae and is considered to be native to southern China, has been widely cultivated in temperate regions in the Orient. In the Orient, Perilla frutescens Britton has been used in folk remedies since olden times, and has also been prescribed as a Chinese medicine. In Japan, Perilla frutescens Britton has also been used as a flavor for a food since around the Heian period.
Lamiaceae plants or ingredients originated from Lamiaceae plants have been reported to have the action of suppressing allergy and inflammation.
Patent Literature 1 discloses an antiallergic food comprising an oil or fat, and a perilla leaf extract as active ingredients. Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses an antiallergic cosmetic composition blended with an extract from the stem and leaf of a Lamiaceae plant. Further, Patent Literature 3 discloses a food for inflammatory bowel disease, comprising a highly unsaturated fatty acid and a perilla leaf extract as active ingredients. Further, Patent Literature 4 discloses a liquid perilla extract that has TNF production inhibitory action and that is effective for improvement of allergy. Further, Non Patent Literature 1 describes that rosmarinic acid, luteolin, and apigenin obtained by extracting perilla leaves contribute to the anti-inflammatory action of a perilla leaf extract. Further, Non Patent Literature 2 and Non Patent Literature 3 disclose that methyl rosmarinate and negletein originated from an extract from green perilla have NO production inhibitory action.

Compound, medicine, anti-inflammatory, cosmetic, food and drink, and method for producing compound

Abstract: A medicine includes, as an active ingredient, a compound represented by Formula (I), (II), or (III) described below.


An ironing board assembly for use with a door. The assembly includes an elongated ironing board and an ironing board support. An upper end of the ironing board support is attached to the top of the door so that the ironing board support extends along and closely adjacent one side of the door. One end of the ironing board is attachable to a lower end of the ironing board support so that the ironing board is movable between a first position in which the ironing board extends horizontally outwardly from the door and a second position in which the ironing board extends vertically and closely adjacent the side of the door and so that a top of the ironing board faces outwardly from the door. A first latch locks the ironing board in its first position while, similarly, a second latch locks the ironing board in its second position.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an ironing board assembly which is mountable to a door.
II. Descriptive of Material Art
Ironing boards have long been used for ironing clothes. While many of the previously known ironing boards are self supporting, a number of the previously known ironing boards are mounted to one side of a door. These door mounted ironing boards, furthermore, are typically pivotally mounted to the door between a first or operational position in which the ironing board extends laterally outwardly from the door and in a generally horizontal plane, and a second or storage position in which the ironing board extends vertically and closely adjacent the door.
These previously known door mounted ironing boards, however, have not proven wholly satisfactory in operation. One disadvantage of these previously known door mounted ironing boards is that they were relatively difficult to pivot between the first or operational position and the second or storage position.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known door mounted ironing boards is that such ironing board assemblies fail to include appropriate latches for locking the ironing board in both the first and second position. As such, these previously known ironing board assemblies were somewhat unstable in use.
A still further disadvantage of the previously known ironing boards is that such ironing boards were unable to accommodate doors of different heights and widths. As such, it was oftentimes necessary to purchase different ironing board assemblies for doors having different heights.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known ironing boards is that, when collapsed to their storage position, the bottom of the ironing board faced outwardly from the door. As such, it presented an unsightly appearance.


In an inverter apparatus, an output voltage of an active filter circuit that steps up and smoothes a DC voltage is converted into an AC voltage by an inverter circuit. The active filter circuit includes a capacitor and a rectifier device connected between an input node and an output node. An inductor, one end of which is connected to the input node and the other end of which is connected the output node through the rectifier device, and a switch device connected between the other end and a low-potential-side line, and a first control circuit for the switch device are provided. The inductor stores energy while the switch device is on and releases the energy while the switch device is off. The rectifier device conducts such that the stored energy of the inductor is released.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inverter apparatus configured to convert an input DC voltage into an AC voltage and output the AC voltage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 61-251480 discloses an AC power supply apparatus provided with two inverter circuits. The AC power supply apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 61-251480 produces a half-wave sine wave voltage by alternately driving the two inverter circuits, outputs a positive voltage from one of the inverter circuits, and outputs a negative voltage from the other of the inverter circuits, thereby outputting an AC voltage. In other words, the AC power supply apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 61-251480 produces the positive half cycles and negative half cycles of the output AC voltage by using the two inverter circuits.
In a general inverter apparatus including the AC power supply apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 61-251480, a smoothing capacitor is provided in the input stage (on the input side) of an inverter circuit. A current flowing through an AC load via the inverter circuits has a full-wave rectified waveform having a frequency of twice a utility power supply, whereby a ripple with the frequency described above is generated in an input voltage input to the inverter circuits. When the input voltage varies, not only does it become difficult to control the inverter circuit, but also it becomes impossible to transmit a sine wave current when the AC load is a power system (grid), thereby causing voltage waveform distortion. The smoothing capacitor is provided to suppress the ripple of an input voltage. The smaller the desired ripple of the input voltage after suppression, the higher the required capacitance of a capacitor, and hence, an electrolytic capacitor will be used, for example. However, since the lifetime of an electrolytic capacitor is short, the lifetime of an apparatus is limited. Hence, instead of using a high-capacitance capacitor, such as an electrolytic capacitor, it is desired to use a capacitor with a low capacitance, such as, for example, a film capacitor with little change over the years as a smoothing capacitor. However, when a capacitor with a low capacitance, such as a film capacitor, is used as a smoothing capacitor, a sufficient ripple suppression effect is not obtained.


A collapsible steering column assembly includes: a mounting bracket having a pair of arms and is configured to be fixed to a vehicle body; a supporting housing which is disposed between the pair of arms to be tiltable about the mounting bracket; a steering column which passes through the supporting housing so as to be able to undergo a tilt motion together with the supporting housing; and a locking device which is configured to be in a locking state or an unlocking state to selectively allow a telescopic motion and a tilt motion of the steering column by selectively applying clamping force to the pair of arms. The steering column comprises an outer jacket, an inner jacket which is slidably inserted into the outer jacket and a tolerance ring which is interposed between the outer jacket and the inner jacket, and the tolerance ring is configured so as to make the inner jacket and the outer jacket move together to realize a telescopic motion in the unlocking state of the locking device and so as to allow the inner jacket to move into the outer jacket by impact in the locking state of the locking device. The tolerance ring is configured to move relative to the outer jacket in a longitudinal direction while the inner jacket collapses into the outer jacket.

A steering column assembly is an apparatus which is connected to a steering wheel to steer in response to a manipulation of a driver. A steering column assembly is generally configured to allow a tilt motion and a telescopic motion for a convenience of a driver. A tilt motion regulates an angular position of a steering wheel, and the telescopic motion regulates a longitudinal position of a steering column. Also, a locking device is provided which selectively allows the tilt motion and the telescopic motion. The tilt motion and the telescopic motion are restricted so as to maintain a position of the steering wheel when the locking device is in a locking state, and the tilt motion and the telescopic motion are allowed when the locking device is in an unlocking state.
A steering column assembly may be configured to be able to be collapsed while absorbing impact energy at the time of impact such a moment of vehicle collision. That is, when a driver crashes into a steering wheel, an inner jacket of a steering column moves into an outer jacket by impact force so that a steering column is collapsed, and during this process impact energy is absorbed. A steering column having this function is generally called a collapsible steering column.
In order to realize such an energy absorption function, various methods such as a method of interposing a tolerance ring between an inner jacket and an outer jacket, a method of using an energy absorption strap, a method of using deformation of locking teeth or the like have been introduced.
A conventional device adopting the tolerance ring has a structure that the tolerance ring is press-fitted between the inner jacket and the outer jacket and slip occurs between an inner surface of the tolerance ring and an outer surface of the inner jacket, and thus jamming and scratch occurs on an outer surface of the inner jacket by friction protrusions formed on an inner surface of the tolerance ring. Such jamming or scratch may deteriorate energy absorption performance of the steering column.


Computer-implemented techniques for preventing garbage object accumulation on minimal runtimes. The techniques include checking whether source code written in a source programming language that does not require the programmer to explicitly program when deallocation happens can run within a runtime that provides little or no support for implicit deallocation. At the same time, the techniques ensure that objects in minimal runtimes are deallocated in a timely manner. In one aspect, the techniques encompass generating a compile-time alert (e.g., an error or warning message) to a programmer of source code or halting compilation of the source code upon detecting a data type definition in the source code with the potential for reference cycles. With the techniques, the programmer is provided with an implicit deallocation experience while producing program fragments that interoperate with minimal runtimes that provide no or only minimal support for implicit deallocation (e.g., provide only reference counting).

Computers are very powerful tools for performing a wide variety of tasks. Computer programs are a common mechanism for accomplishing custom processing tasks using computer systems. A typical program is a set of programmed instructions (source code) that is compiled into an executable form. The executable form is then executed by a computer system to accomplish a task. For example, a set of C programming language instructions may be compiled into a set of x86 processor-executable instructions. The set of processor-executable instructions may then be executed by an x86-compatible processor to accomplish a processing task.
Between the set of programmed instructions as programmed by a human computer programmer and the executable form, a compiler is typically used as a translator. In essence, the compiler shields the programmer from knowing or even caring about underlying executable form details. Typically, all programmed instructions authored by programmers are translated by the compiler. For example, the compiler may perform data type checking, symbol table construction, register allocation, and instruction scheduling, all without programmer knowledge of the underlying compiler implementation. In this manner, the compiler provides programmers with a tool to reason about and express a processing task at a higher-level using a high-level programming language that alleviates the programmer from the cognitive burden of worrying about low-level execution details. The general construction and operation of compilers is well known in the art. See, e.g., Aho, A., Sethi, R., and Ullman, J.; "Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools," Second Edition, 2007.
One purpose of some compilers is cross-compilation. A cross-compiler may be defined as a compiler that produces two or more outputs from one input. For example, a cross-compiler may accept as input source code written a source programming language that is both human and computer-readable and produce one or more executable forms of the source code as outputs. Consider, for instance, a cross-compiler for the C programming language. Such a cross-compiler might produce from C source code an x86 executable (e.g., for execution on computers configured with the MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating system), an ARM executable (e.g., for execution on mobile computing devices configured with the ANDROID operating system), and a WASM executable (e.g., for execution on a virtual stack machine supported by a web browser application).
There are also source-to-source compilers. A source-to-source compiler may be defined as a compiler that accepts as input source code written in a source programming language that is both human and computer-readable and outputs source code for one or more programming language targets that are also both human and computer readable. For example, the HAXE compiler can translate source code written in the HAXE programming language into a handful of structurally similar programming language targets. More information on HAXE is available on the Internet in the haxe.org Internet domain.
Today, many widely used programming languages support implicit object deallocation at runtime. Deallocation may be defined as the runtime operation of freeing up computer memory space occupied by unnecessary objects so that the space can be reused. Deallocation is timely at runtime if the space is eventually freed such as, for example, soon after the object becomes unnecessary or when the executing program determines that the space is needed for other purposes. An object that is not deallocated in a timely manner is sometimes referred to as a memory "leak."
Some programming languages require explicit programmed deallocation while others support implicit runtime deallocation. With explicit deallocation, a computer program is expressly programmed by the programmer to allocate and deallocate memory space for runtime objects using programming language operations such as "new," "malloc," "free," "delete," or the like. With implicit runtime deallocation, the programmer is relieved from the responsibility of expressly programming the program to allocate and deallocate memory space for runtime objects. Instead, a programming language runtime takes care of timely deallocating runtime objects.
To support implicit object deallocation at runtime, programming language runtimes may provide runtime memory management services including garbage collectors that periodically identify objects in memory that can be safely deallocated or cycle collectors that identify groups of objects in memory that mutually reference one another but that are not referenced by other parts of the executing program. The memory space occupied by the objects can then be freed up for other uses.
There are also smart references. A smart reference combines memory address bits with other bits that control how the region of memory will be deallocated. An example of a kind of smart reference is a reference counting reference that keeps a count of the number of program elements that require the referenced object. When the count reaches zero, that object may be safely deallocated. Smart references may be used with some programming languages that do not provide runtime support for implicit deallocation. The modern C++ programming language is one example.
Today, most computer programmers are accustomed to programming in programming languages that support implicit deallocation at runtime. Unfortunately, there are still many widely used programming languages that do not support implicit deallocation at runtime. Examples of such programming languages include C, C++, OBJECTIVE-C, and RUST. A cross-compiler or source-to-source compiler that is designed to support all widely used programming languages cannot assume that all targets provide implicit deallocation at runtime
The techniques disclosed herein address this and other issues.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

Preventing garbage object accumulation on minimal runtimes


A method of maintaining datalink network throughput in a communications channel by delaying lower priority messages is provided. The method comprises receiving periodic channel occupancy data from a radio, and updating channel occupancy status from the channel occupancy data. A determination is then made whether the channel occupancy has reached a first predetermined occupancy threshold. If the first predetermined occupancy threshold has been reached, high priority messages are transmitted, and medium and low priority messages are stored. If the first predetermined occupancy threshold has not been reached, a determination is made whether the channel occupancy has reached a second predetermined occupancy threshold that is less than the first predetermined occupancy threshold. If the second predetermined occupancy threshold has been reached, high and medium priority messages are transmitted, and low priority messages are stored. If the second predetermined occupancy threshold has not been reached, messages of all priorities are transmitted.

Air traffic control (ATC) centers are used at most airports to coordinate take-offs, landings, and general aircraft traffic around the airport. Traditionally, a pilot uses a radio to speak to an ATC center to request permission or to receive instructions therefrom. With increasing air traffic it has become difficult for ATC centers to process all of the oral communications from aircraft. Consequently, datalink applications have been developed to provide textual communication between pilots and air traffic controllers.
An exemplary datalink application is the Aircraft Communications, Addressing, and Reporting System (ACARS), which is a two-way data communications system used for transmission of text messages between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite. A complete datalink communication, which may be generated either manually or automatically, is referred to as a datalink message. Messages from the aircraft to the ground are referred to as downlink messages and messages from the ground to the aircraft are referred to as uplink messages. Services available via datalink include flight plans, weather reports and forecasts, air traffic services, and two-way messaging.
Another datalink application is the Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC), which provides for the direct exchange of text messages between an air traffic controller and a pilot. The CPDLC system enables the pilot to communicate electronically with an ATC center by guiding the pilot through a series of screen configurations or displays that either elicit flight information from the pilot or notify the pilot regarding flight information. The CPDLC system is used to send information between aircraft and air traffic control more safely and efficiently.
The time it takes for a datalink message to transit a network varies with the load (i.e, message volume) on the network. Some applications such as CPDLC require a specific level of performance. If the CPDLC messages are delayed too long (e.g., 30 seconds), the messages become stale. Other high priority messages, such as air traffic control messages and wind shear warnings, may also be very time critical. If such messages are delayed because of high network traffic, serious safety issues can be raised resulting in potentially dangerous situations for an aircraft.

Method for maintaining datalink network throughput by delaying lower priority messages


A textile stuffer box includes a housing having an entrance and an exit, and including cooperating chamber-forming surfaces defining an internal crimping chamber for receiving and accumulating a length of yarn. An adjustable sliding gate defines at least one of the chamber-forming surfaces adjacent the exit of the housing. A set screw releasably locks a position of the gate to selectively enlarge and narrow the exit of the housing, such that selective adjustment of the gate operates to control axial compression of yarn accumulating inside of the crimping chamber.

The invention in its exemplary embodiments described herein relates broadly to a textile processing assembly, stuffer box, and method for texturing yarn. Yarn textured according to embodiments of the present assembly and method may have application in various types of cut-pile carpets—namely, saxony, plush, textured and frieze. Such carpets are manufactured to achieve certain desirable and distinctive surface textures impacting hand, appearance, and wear. As such, a present need exists in the industry for a textile processing assembly, stuffer box, and method applicable to effectively manipulate yarn texture.

Textile processing assembly, stuffer box, and method for texturing yarn


A connector (10) is configured for mounting to a panel (12). The panel (12) has a mounting aperture (18) formed with a keyway (22). The connector (10) has a housing (24) with a front end (26) dimensioned to pass through the mounting aperture (18). However, keys (44, 46, 48) project out in proximity to the front end (26) of the housing (24). At least one of the keys (48) is dimensioned to pass through the keyway (22). A stop flange (50) projects out from the housing (24) rearward of the keys (44, 46, 48). A resiliently deflectable locking finger (60) projects forward of the stop flange (50) and is dimensioned to engage in the keyway (22).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a panel mounted connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A panel mounted connector includes a housing with opposite front and rear ends and a plurality of cavities extending between the ends. Terminal fittings are connected to ends of wires and are mounted in the respective cavities in a rear-to-front direction so that the wires extend from the rear end of the housing. Locks are formed in the cavities and/or on the terminal fittings so that the terminal fittings are locked in specified positions within the respective cavities.
The housing of the panel mounted connector is configured to be mounted to a panel, such as a panel in an automotive vehicle or an apparatus. The panel has opposite front and rear surfaces, and a mounting aperture extends through the panel from the front surface to the rear surface. The mounting aperture is configured to receive the front end of the housing. However, a flange projects out from the housing at a location spaced from the front end to limit the insertion of the front end of the housing through the mounting aperture of the panel. Latches cantilever forwardly on the housing of the typical panel mounted connector. Each latch has a rearwardly facing locking surface spaced forward of the flange by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the panel. The latches deflect as the front end of the housing is inserted into the mounting aperture of the panel. However, the latches return resiliently to engage the front surface of the panel when the flange of the housing abuts the rear surface of the panel. A panel mounted connector of this general type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,759, which is assigned to the assignee of the subject invention.
The above-described panel mounted connectors generally perform well. However, the latch of the prior art connector often is exposed and susceptible to inadvertent contact. Such contact could disengage the connector from the panel, and could affect the performance of the circuit or the environmental sealing of the panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 shows a panel mounted connector without the above-described forwardly cantilevered latch. More particularly, the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 is used with a panel formed with a mounting aperture. Locating slots extend out from the periphery of the mounting aperture and a rotation limiting slot extends out from the mounting aperture at a location spaced rotationally from the locating slots. The connector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 has a housing with opposite front and rear ends. Locating flanges project out from the housing and can pass through the locating slots in a particular rotational orientation of the housing. Stop flanges project out on the housing at locations rotationally offset from the locating flanges and rearward of the locating flanges. The stop flanges are dimensioned limit the insertion of the housing through the mounting aperture. A limiting tab is formed on one of the locating flanges and projects rigidly back towards the rear end of the housing.
The connector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 is used by aligning the locating flanges with the locating slots and inserting the front end of the housing through the mounting aperture in the panel. The stop flanges contact the panel and limit the insertion. The housing then is rotated relative to the panel. Sufficient rotation causes the limiting tab to align with and engage in the limiting slot. U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 explains that the limiting tab is spaced from the stop flanges by a distance slightly less than the thickness of the panel. As a result, the inherent resiliency of the resin of the housing is intended to cause the limiting tab to snap into the limiting slot for holding the connector in a fixed rotational orientation.
The ability of the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 to be held securely on the panel depends on the precise dimensions of the limiting tab relative to the limiting slot and the location of the limiting tab relative to both the stop flange and the panel thickness. Dimensional variations can affect the ability of the connector to lock properly on the panel. Additionally, the connector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,363 requires precision in the formation of the locating slots and the limiting slot on the panel. This need for precision is complicated by the fact that the housing and the panel generally are made at different locations by different companies.
The invention was made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a connector that provides more positive locking on the panel.
Another object of the invention is to provide a connector that can be locked to the panel securely despite minor variations in the dimensions of the housing or the panel.
A further object of the invention is to provide a connector that can be mounted easily on the panel.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a panel-mounted connector that does not require a complex and precisely configured mounting aperture in the panel.


An emission control device for an air induction system of an internal combustion engine having high adsorption capacity, yet low flow resistance is disclosed. The AIS emission control device comprises a first case including an outlet-opening connected to an intake manifold of the engine; a second case including an inlet-opening for the intake air; and an adsorbent element positioned in a plane across the intake airflow, wherein the adsorbent element has an opening area such that the control device has a pressure drop of less than about 1 inch H2O at the air flow rate of about 300 cfm and % reduction in vapor emission of at least about 75% after one day of the vapor generation rate of about 220 mg/day.

An increase in environmental concerns has continued to drive strict regulations of the hydrocarbon emissions from automotives into the environment, even when the vehicle is not operating. The great majority of internal combustion engines in use today are fuel-injected engines. When a fuel-injected engine is switched off after use, a small amount of residual fuel volatilizes and escapes from the injector tips. While a vehicle is sitting over time after use, this evaporated fuel may pass outwardly through the intake manifold, the intake air ducts and air filter, and may escape into the atmosphere, thus contributing to air pollution. Therefore, it would be desirable to minimize this type of inadvertent evaporative emissions leakage.
Several approaches have been used to control the hydrocarbon vapors escaped from the intake manifold after engine shutdown.
An engine's electronic throttle control may be used to close the intake manifold at the engine shutdown, and thereby minimizing the hydrocarbon emission to the atmosphere. However, this approach may impair the desirable option of a so-called "limp-home" mode in which a vehicle may be driven in the event of a partial failure of the engine electronics control system. For systems with mechanical throttle control, it is difficult and expensive to completely seal the intake manifold and thereby preventing the escape of hydrocarbon vapors from the manifold to the atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,417 describes a hydrocarbon trapping device for an engine's air intake system including a conduit pressed fit into the air duct, a carbon adsorbent sheet extending substantially completely around the inner perimeter of the conduit, and a retainer extending from the inner surface of the conduit to retain the side edge of the absorbent sheet. Unfortunately, the approach is only partially successful because the hydrocarbon vapor laden air can escape the manifold without being brought into proximity with a carbon adsorptive surface. As a result, relatively large areas of carbon sheeting are required to ensure that an adequate quantity of the laden air comes into contact with the carbon adsorptive surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,551 discloses an air intake emission control system for controlling the hydrocarbon emission having a rigid carbon monolith adsorbent disposed in a conduit connecting between an air box and an atmospheric air intake port. The carbon monolith is, however, brittle and vulnerable to breakage due to incidental impact during handling and installation. Vibration during engine operation or vehicle travel over non-smooth road surfaces may also result in damage during use. Such damage may dislodge particles that restrict air flow to the engine or are drawn into the intake manifold and potentially adversely affect engine operation. Furthermore, the monolith structure creates a large and undesirable flow restriction (i.e. pressure drop) in the intake air flow path due to a large cross-sectional area of its structure and its relatively small-diameter air passages. It is desirable to have an emission control system for the intake manifold with minimum air flow resistance, since both engine performance and fuel efficiency can be adversely affected by the flow restriction.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,222,612 describes a low-resistance hydrocarbon-adsorptive cartridge for an air intake of an internal combustion engine comprising a structure for being mounted into a portion of an engine air intake system. The structure is adapted to orient and retain one or more thin sheets of activated carbon sheeting in the intake system. The plurality of sheets is oriented such that the leading edge of each sheet is presented to the engine intake air stream, thereby minimizing reduction in total cross-sectional area of the intake system.
Several AIS emission control devices currently used in an automotive industry rely on passing the contaminant-laden air through a carbon adsorbent element with particular limited design. The contaminant-laden air flows through the carbon adsorbent element located in the air box, and the hydrocarbon vapors are adsorbed onto the carbon adsorbent. Unfortunately, these flow-through air intake emission control devices have high flow restriction (i.e., pressure drop) in the intake air flow path, and both engine performance and fuel efficiency can be adversely affected by the high flow restriction. Furthermore, these devices have limited adsorption efficiency for the hydrocarbon vapors.
Accordingly, there is a need for an AIS emission control device capable of reducing the leak of hydrocarbon vapors from the engine's intake manifold into the atmosphere during engine shutdown that has enhanced hydrocarbon adsorption capacity and efficiency; minimum air flow resistance with the device present in the air induction system; and sufficient strength to sustain the structural integrity during installation and operation of the vehicle.

Emission control devices for air induction systems of internal combustion engines


An apparatus is disclosed for allocating processing resources, such as instruction execution which can be measured in MIPs or memory capacity, or other resources of a processor itself or resources used in the process of performing operations, such as memory resources, busses, drivers and the like, to functions in a queue waiting to be executed. This apparatus includes a capacity determining device for determining an amount of the processor resource available to be assigned, a load determining device for determining an estimate of an amount of the resource needed for each function waiting in the queue to execute, a prioritization device for prioritizing each of the functions in the queue waiting to be executed, and an allocating device, which receives information from the capacity determining device, the load determining device, and the prioritization device, for allocating the available resource to the functions based on a hierarchical priority scheme.

A software developer has a limited number of resources to allocate to a processor for use in performing one or more executable functions. These resources may include the memory, processing speed, millions of instructions per second (MIPS), processing time, etc., that can be allocated to one or more functions or multiple states of a function. Because of the limited processor resources, a programmer must attempt to write programming that most efficiently utilizes the resources of the processor.
Another concern for the programmer is the dynamically varying usage of the resources over time. In a real-time embedded system, the signal input characteristics determine which functions will run. Therefore, resource consumption depends on the signal input. Also, adaptive algorithms change the mode of task execution in accordance with the signal environment and the achieved performance, thereby changing the amount of resource consumption. Unfortunately, programmers do not have the benefit of real-time information indicating the dynamic usage of processor resources, when designing and implementing a program function. For example, determining the dynamic utilization of the MIPS resource by a previously known method requires that the software function toggle an output pin of the processor each time the function begins and finishes.
Existing methods for minimizing a processor's performance degradation include time slicing and background processing. For example, when the available memory capacity of a digital signal processor (DSP) is nearly used up or overloaded, processing operations become prioritized. Prioritizing the operations allows those having a high priority to be performed in the foreground and lower priority operations performed in the background. Channels are allocated MIPS for calculations whether the channel uses the MIPS or not.

Apparatus for resource management in a real-time embedded system


A door catch includes a back plate having two laterally symmetric sleeves formed on a front face thereof. A slot is provided on the back plate behind each of the sleeves at a predetermined position to communicate with an inner space of the sleeve, and an insert plate is inserted from a back face of the back plate into the sleeve via the slot to confine a steel ball and a spring in the sleeve, such that the springs not only normally push the steel balls forward to partially project from front open ends of the sleeves for tightly clamping a corresponding stop post between the balls, but also tightly push against the insert plates to hold the latter in place. The insert plates are held down in place in the sleeves by a wall when the back plate is mounted on the wall with fastening elements.

(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door catch, and more particularly to a door catch that includes two insert plates to enable easier assembling and mounting and reduced manufacturing cost thereof.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional door catch as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is included a back plate 1 having two laterally symmetric sleeves 2 formed on a front face thereof. A steel ball 3 and a spring 4 are mounted in each of the two sleeves 2, and a screw 5 is screwed to a rear end of the sleeve 2 to confine the ball 3 and the spring 4 in the sleeve 2, so that the ball 3 is normally pushed by the spring 4 to partially project from a front open end of the sleeve 2. To use the door catch, first fixedly mount the back plate 1 on a wall 10 with fastening elements to correspond to a stop post 6 fixedly mounted on a back of a movable door leaf 20, so that the stop post 6 is clamped by and between the two steel balls 3 partially projected from the front ends of the two sleeves 2 when the door leaf 20 is opened. The use of the screw 5 to confine the steel ball 3 and the spring 4 in the sleeve 2 is labor and time consuming, and it is possible the screw 5 become loosened to finally separate from the sleeve 2. Moreover, the conventional door catch with the above structure must be made of a metal material, and therefore requires a relatively high manufacturing cost.


Provided is a transconductor circuit for compensating distortion of an output current. The transconductor circuit is a differential pair with source degeneration and includes a main circuitry to which a predetermined input voltage is applied, constant current sources which supply the main circuitry with constant bias, an auxiliary circuitry which is connected to nodes of the main circuitry to compensate the distortion of the output current, and a variable current source which controls a depth or degree of a distortion compensation operation for the output current.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-95398, filed on Dec. 23, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transconductor circuit, and more particularly, to a transconductor circuit including metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors so as to prevent an output current from being distorted.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, transconductors are circuits that convert a voltage into a current to process an electric signal. In other words, when a predetermined voltage is applied to the transconductors, the transconductors output a current value. Such a transconductor is generally used in an analog signal processor such as a filter, a gain control amplifier, or the like.
The transconductor is processed by a highly integrated analog signal and includes MOS or complementary MOS (CMOS) transistors that are generally driven at a low voltage. The MOS transistors have merits in that an input gate current does not flow, power consumption is low, and integration is high.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a conventional transconductor circuit. Referring to FIG. 1, a transconductor circuit 10 includes an input unit 20, an output unit 30, and current sources 40.
The input unit 20 is a differential pair and includes first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 and a resistor R1. First and second input voltages Vinn and Vinp are applied to gates of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2, respectively. A source of the first MOS transistor M1 is electrically connected to a source of the second MOS transistor M2 via the resistor R1. Here, the input unit 20 serves as a main circuitry of the transconductor circuit 10. Since the input unit 20 is the differential pair with source degeneration and includes a pair of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 as above-mentioned, the input unit 20 is advantageous to operation speed characteristics. Here, an output current is less distorted when the resistor R1 exists than when the resistor R1 does not exist.
The output unit 30 is a cascode amplifier in which gates of third and fourth MOS transistors M3 and M4 are commonly connected. A source of the third MOS transistor M3 is connected to a drain of the first MOS transistor M1, and a source of the fourth MOS transistor M4 is connected to a drain of the second MOS transistor M2. Predetermined electric loads (not shown) are connected to drains of the third and fourth MOS transistors M3 and M4 so as to allow the output current to flow through the transconductor circuit 10. A power voltage Vdc is applied to gates of the third and fourth MOS transistors M3 and M4.
The current sources 40 are respectively connected between the first MOS transistor M1 and ground and between the second MOS transistor M2 and ground to supply the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 with constant bias.
It preferable that a gate-source voltage Vgs of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 is low and transconductances gm of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 are high in order to drive the transconductor circuit 10 at a low voltage. Also, it is preferable that gate-drain capacitances Cgd of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 are low to improve fast operation characteristics. Moreover, the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 are preferably designed so that channel lengths are short and ratios of channel widths to channel lengths are great.
A transconductance Gm of the transconductor circuit 10 is a variation in the output current with respect to an input voltage and can be represented as in Equation:
                    Gm        =                              d                                      (              Iout              )                                            d                                      (              Vin              )                                                          (        1        )            wherein lout denotes the output current that is a difference (Iop−Ion) between a second current lop and a first current Ion and Vin denotes the input voltage that is a difference (Vinp−Vinn) between the second input voltage Vinp and the first input voltage Vinn.
In the transconductor circuit 10, the first and second input voltages Vinn and Vinp applied to the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 of the input unit 20 vary the first and second currents Ion and Iop. Here, the output unit 30 is connected to an output node of the input unit 20 to increase entire output resistance in the transconductor circuit 10.
The transconductance Gm of the transconductor circuit 10 must be constant regardless of the intensity of the input voltage Vin. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the transconductance Gm of the transconductor circuit 10 gradually decreases when an absolute value of the input voltage Vin increases to a constant voltage or more. This means that the output current lout of the transconductor circuit 10 is distorted.
The distortion of the output current lout is generally caused by the nonlinear characteristics of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 resulting from a power voltage and a bias current value generated from the power voltage. The distortion of the output current lout may be considerably reduced by increasing the magnitude of the resistor R1 of the input unit 20.
However, the increase in the magnitude of the resistor R1 results in increasing the size of semiconductor chips and parasitic capacitance, which deteriorates integration density and operation speed.
Although the magnitude of the resistor R1 increases, the nonlinear characteristics of the first and second MOS transistors M1 and M2 and the current sources 40 do not vary. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, as the input voltage Vin of the transconductor circuit 10 gets close to a maximum input voltage Vmax, the distortion of the output current lout becomes more serious. Furthermore, when the output current lout is distorted, a region in which the output current lout linearly increases is reduced.

Transconductor circuit for compensating the distortion of output current

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A semiconductor device is formed. A first gate dielectric layer is formed over the semiconductor layer. A first conductive layer is formed over the first gate dielectric. A first separation layer is formed over the first conductive layer. A trench is formed in the semiconductor layer to separate the first mesa and the second mesa. The trench is filled with an isolation material to a height above a top surface of the first conductive layer. The first conductive layer is removed from the second mesa. A second conductive layer is formed over the first separation layer of the first mesa and over the second mesa. A planarizing etch removes the second conductive layer from over the first mesa. A first transistor of a first type is formed in the first mesa, and a second transistor of a second type is formed in the second mesa.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to semiconductor devices and more specifically to the formation of semiconductor devices with separately formed layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some integrated circuits, it is desirable to form corresponding layers of different devices at different times and/or of different materials. One example is in the formation of the gates of P-channel type and N-channel type transistors of an integrated circuit. It may be desirable to have the gate of the P-channel type transistor be of one material and the gate of the N-channel type transistor to be of a second material to provide each transistor with a different threshold voltage.
However, there are challenges in forming such structures with conventional methods. What is desired is an improved technique for forming an integrated circuit with corresponding structures of different materials.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates identical items unless otherwise noted. The Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Separate layer formation in a semiconductor device


A headed multi-lobed blank, method of manufacturing a self-tapping screw from the blank, and resulting multi-lobed self-tapping screw for joining thin workpieces provides desirable thread-forming characteristics at the conical tip and body portions, and improved resistance to vibrational loosening near the head. The resulting screw, obtained from the blank and method, incorporates a threaded tapered root portion between the screw head and body portion having a cross section that varies from nearly circular in the area adjacent to the underside of the head to a maximum out-of-round (or lobular) cross section at the intersection of the tapered root portion and the screw body. This shape, combined with a thread profile outer diameter that remains largely constant from the body portion through the tapered root portion, and a multiple coil (lead thread) shape, ensure more secure holding of the screw in a thin anchor materialxe2x80x94with the anchor material extruded axially forward and backward around the root portion.

This invention relates to self-tapping screws, and more particularly to self-tapping screws, blanks for self-tapping screws and methods for forming self-tapping screws using appropriate roll-forming dies.
It is recognized by those skilled in the art that conventional self-tapping screw products, when used to assemble thin sheet metal components, have limited reliability in service due to problems associated with a need to restrain the screw tightening torque to small relative values. This needed restraint on the tightening torque is required to minimize the potential for the anchor to strip during assembly and thereby cause the screw to spin. The anchor material is that part of the joined assembly farthest removed from the underside of the screw head. Stripping and spinning will cause a loss in assembly clamp load and subsequent deterioration of the assembly.
FIG. 1 shows a commonly encountered disadvantage of a self-tapping screw 102 that has a conventional single start thread used to join thin sheet metal components 104 and 106 into a joined assembly. The screw contains a conventional circular cross-section.
When the screw anchor material 106 (also termed a xe2x80x9cnut memberxe2x80x9d), which is the material furthest from the head of the screw, is of a width 108 equal to or less than the axial pitch 110 of the screw (defmed generally herein as a xe2x80x9cthinxe2x80x9d workpiece), the leading face 112 of the coil or thread typically deflects the anchor material 106 such that the material follows the space between adjacent coils, scrolls or threads. This type of anchor material and assembly may not produce the most effective joint clamping load. In addition, inadequate thread mating contact results.
In order to overcome certain disadvantages of the single-start-thread design, when used to join thin materials, a true circular-cross-section screw having multi-lead threads that are generated around a headed blank has most recently been employed. The use of a multi-lead thread tends to better capture the anchor material, preventing the anchor material from becoming trapped between threads by providing more distributed engagement of multiple locations on the perimeter of the anchor material pilot hole.
However, even the use of multiple lead threads is not a complete solution, when taken alone. Notably, FIG. 2 shows a continuing drawback associated with conventional screws for joining thin workpieces, having either single or multi-lead threads (either circular or non-circular in cross section). The exemplary screw 200 maintains a parallel core diameter 202 as close as possible to the underside 204 of the screw head 206. This implementation can cause a reduction in the performance of the assembly. Manufacturing constraints generally create an under-filling of the screw thread crests adjacent to the underside 204 of the screw head 206, thereby creating an unspecified and non-controllable reverse thread taper 208. As such, the thread crests closer to the screw entry point are of a greater diametrical magnitude than the thread crests that are closer to the head. The reverse thread taper 208 has the disadvantage of producing a gap 210 between the internal and external mating threads of the assembly. This gap 210 has the effect of reducing mating thread contact in the essential area of the jointed structure and will result in assembly break down under lower than expected application torque.
The use of a circular cross section screw (as described above) has been heretofore preferred. While certain advantages in thread formation may be achieved using a non-circular cross-section screw, in general, it has been considered detrimental to the assembly to use a non-circular cross sectionxe2x80x94such as a commercially available roll-forming, self-tapping, multi-lobed screw. Such non-circular cross sections are viewed as lacking the necessary resistance strength to applied torque when joined into the assembly.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a self-tapping screw and an associated method for forming such a screw using a non-circular cross-section blank, thus producing a predominately multi-lobe screw with advantageous thread-forming properties, and a desirable multi-lead thread. This screw should, nevertheless, exhibit good resistance to vibrational loosening as the material relaxes between lobes notwithstanding the use of a generally non-circular cross section in the xe2x80x9cjoint clamp zonexe2x80x9d of the joined assembly.
This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a headed multi-lobed blank, method of manufacturing a self-tapping screw from the blank, and resulting multi-lobed self-tapping screw for joining thin workpieces that exhibits desirable thread-forming characteristics at the conical tip and body portions, and improved resistance to vibrational loosening near the head. The resulting screw, obtained from the blank and method, incorporates a threaded tapered root portion between the screw head and body portion having a cross section that varies from nearly circular in the area adjacent to the underside of the head to a maximum out-of-round (or lobular) cross section at the intersection of the tapered root portion and the screw body. This shape, combined with a thread profile outer diameter that remains largely constant from the body portion through the tapered root portion, and a multiple helical coil (lead thread) shape, ensure more secure holding of the screw in a thin anchor materialxe2x80x94with the anchor material extruded axially forward and backward around the root portion.
The headed blank is formed, in one embodiment, by striking a generally circular or lobular-cross-section wire or rod into a die cavity of a header die. As the wire or rod is driven into the header cavity, it is plastically deformed into the desired finished blank having four sectionsxe2x80x94the head, the conical entry section, the body section and the tapered portion. The die cavity has an appropriate cross section so that the body section and conical entry point section of the finished blank is formed with a multi-lobed cross section, while the tapered portion, adjacent to the head, has an essentially circular cross section.
To form the threaded lobular screw, the finished blank is engaged by laterally moving, roll-forming dies that apply sufficient pressure to cause plastic deformation of the blank surface. The dies are maintained at an equal distance, which causes, due to the lobular cross section of the blank, an oscillating rolling rotation in the blank as one of the dies moves laterally relative to the other. This roll-forming process, in the area of the tapered root portion, creates a thread pattern that maintains an approximately constant outer diameter with respect to the body portion, but the inner (root) diameter (the valleys of each of the threads) continually tapers outwardly toward the head. In addition, the tapered root portion is provided, in this manner, with the desired maximum out-of-round near the body section and a near-circular cross-section adjacent to the underside of the head. This out-of-round variation along the tapered root portion results from the reduced forming pressure present in the larger diameter area near the head.
A screw formed in accordance with this invention provides a novel tapered root portion, adjacent to the head, having a varying cross section that creates mechanical resistance to loosening from the effects of vibration or other external forces as the material being joined by the screw relaxes between the lobes.

Self-tapping screw, blank and method for joining thin workpieces and production method for the same


Methods and apparatus are provided to promote interoperability between devices having different user input devices by correlating user input that is provided via one or more input mechanisms of a client device to touch events on the server device. The method may maintain a terminal session between a server device and a client device in which the client device simulates at least a portion of a display generated at the server device. The method may access a mapping between touch events on the server device and actuation of respective input mechanisms of the client device. The method may also interpret one or more control signals provided in response to actuation of an input mechanism based upon the mapping and may then cause a user interface state of the server device to updated based on the actuation of the input mechanism of the client device.

Mobile computing devices continue to evolve such that the computing devices are capable of supporting new and powerful applications. Examples include location and mapping technologies (e.g., via Global Positioning System (GPS)), media player technologies (e.g., audio and video), web browsing technologies, gaming technologies, and the like. Mobile computing devices or mobile terminals, such as mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants are evolving into personal media and entertainment centers in the sense that the devices are able to store and present a considerable amount of multimedia content. Moreover, many mobile computing devices support rich interactive games including those with three dimensional graphics.
However, due to the inherently small screen sizes and form factors of mobile computing devices, the user experience can be compromised when using rich applications. As such, solutions have been developed for interfacing a mobile computing device with a remote environment, such as a vehicle head unit, a meeting room, a home living room, etc., that, for example, includes a larger display or a more convenient user interface. As a consequence, the features and capabilities of the mobile component device may be projected into the remote environment and appear as inherent capabilities of the remote environment. The interfacing between the mobile computing device and the remote environment may occur upon entry of the mobile computing device into the remote environment.
While the interoperability between a mobile computing device and a remote environment is frequently advantageous, difficulties may arise in instances in which one of the mobile computing devices or the remote environment has a touch-based user interface, while the other of the mobile computing device or the remote environment does not include a touch-based user interface, but instead includes other types of user input devices, such as buttons, knobs or the like. For example, difficulties may arise with the interoperability between a mobile computing device that has a touch screen and a remote environment that includes other types of user input devices, such as a rotary knob and one or more buttons, but that fails to include a touch screen. In these instances, difficulties may exist in properly interpreting and responding to the user input provided via one of the mobile computing device or the remote environment, since the other of the mobile computing device or the remote environment is not configured to receive comparable types of user inputs.

Method and apparatus for providing interoperability between devices


The present invention relates to a method of treatment of Parkinson's disease, and to the use of antisense oligonucleotides or triplex oligonucleotides introduced into targeted brain structures to decrease the function of brain circuits known to be overactive in the Parkinsonian brain. Antisense or triplex oligonucleotides are targeted to the internal globus pallidus and/or substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) where the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67, GAD65, or a combination of the two isoforms) is downregulated. The present invention also relates to a method of treatment of Parkinson's disease where antisense or triplex oligonucleotides are targeted to the internal globus pallidus and/or substantia nigra pars reticulata for the downregulation of glutamate receptors. The present invention further relates to a method of treatment of Parkinson's disease where antisense or triplex oligonucleotides are targeted to the thalamic motor nuclei for the downregulation of GABA receptors.

Certain aberrations in the neurochemical circuitry of the brain's basal ganglia are known to result in Parkinson's disease. When dopamine neurons die (the primary pathology in Parkinson's disease), the loss of dopamine to the striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen) sets into motion a series of changes in the neural activity of other brain nuclei located downstream from the striatum. FIG. 1 shows the normal neurochemical circuitry of the brain's basal ganglia.
Current neurosurgical approaches to this problem include either destroying the internal globus pallidus (GPi) by pallidotomy or implanting electrodes for electrical stimulation of this region of the brain. There are major disadvantages to these current neurosurgical approaches. Pallidotomy is permanent; can have serious side effects depending on the precision of the lesion; and can result in dementia and other problems due to destruction of fibers of passage going through the GPi en route to other structures. Electrical stimulation procedures require implantation of electrodes in the brain and a control box under the skin. Over time, a tissue reaction could occur, thereby rendering electrodes useless or dysfunctional. Moreover, chronic electrical stimulation can damage tissue, and epileptic foci kindling may develop as a result of chronic electrical stimulation.
Traditional pharmacotherapies also have serious drawbacks in that the neurochemicals that need to be down-regulated in target structures are ubiquitous in the brain. Systemic administration of inhibitors of these neurochemicals can cause seizures, psychosis, coma, and even death.
The current invention has a number of novel features which represent improvements over the current treatments for Parkinson's disease. In the present invention, molecular neurosurgery is utilized. This approach, through the use of specific antisense or triplex oligonucleotides obviates the problems presented by conventional neurosurgical and pharmacotherapeutic approaches. Via the molecular neurosurgery described more fully below, the current invention selectively alters the functional status of specific groups of neurons without interfering with the functioning of other nearby neurons. This selective approach is made possible by targeting the application of the oligonucleotides to specific neurochemicals in specific neural structures. More precisely, selective targeting occurs by introducing antisense or triplex expression vectors to provide more long-term changes in gene expression. In this way, the result is selective inhibition of the abnormal functioning of certain neural circuits in the Parkinsonian brain without interfering with the normal functioning of these neurochemicals in the rest of the brain. Additionally, by altering the concentration or sequence of the oligonucleotides, the invention makes it possible to titrate the degree to which abnormal activity is inhibited in the target circuits. This ability to titrate further ensures that the treatment only interferes with abnormal functions and does not cause undesirable side effects.
The current invention uses a molecular biological method of treating Parkinson's disease. The antisense oligonucleotides of the present invention are short sequences of phosphorothioate nucleotides, designed in the laboratory. These oligonucleotides block the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein at the ribosome. (FIG. 2).
Another way to prevent or decrease the expression of deleterious genes is to block transcription of DNA. This approach is also utilized in the present invention. Oligonucleotides, designed in the laboratory, form triplex structures and block the transcription site on target DNAs.
Antisense or triplex oligonucleotides are targeted to the internal globus pallidus and/or substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) where the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67, GAD65, or a combination of the two isoforms) is downregulated; Glutamic acid decarboxylase (in the form of GAD67, GAD65, or a combination of the two isoforms) is the synthesizing enzyme for the production of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). As a result of glutamic acid decarboxylase downregulation, a decrease occurs in the abnormally high output of GABA by the GPi and the SNr, and the symptoms of Parkinson's disease are ameliorated.
Other targets for the antisense or triplex oligonucleotide treatment of the present invention are the glutamate receptors on neurons in the GPi and the SNr. Decreased expression of these receptors blunts the response of these neurons to increased levels of glutamate released by projections from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) to the GPi and the SNr. (FIG. 3). Another potential target for the antisense or triplex oligonucleotide treatment of the present invention are GABA receptors on neurons in the thalamic motor nuclei that receive excess inhibitory inputs from the GPi and the SNr.
Overall, the present invention is a treatment for Parkinson's disease, which is carried out by administering antisense oligonculeotides directed to the transcripts encoding the synthesizing enzyme GAD, thereby leading to a highly selective blockade of GABA. Although the actions of the antisense are selective, they will be relatively short-lived. According to the literature, systems return to normal within a few days after cessation of treatment with antisense oligonculeotides. Typically, in order to demonstrate an effect on protein production, antisense oligonucleotides need to be administered repeatedly or by continuous infusion. As a result, the present invention employs RNA expression vectors. These eucaryotic expression vectors producing RNA antisense to GAD65 or GAD67 are injected into the desired brain region to transfect neurons so that when the cells receive a signal to produce GABA, the antisense would be activated and GABA is not produced.

Treatment of Parkinson's disease with oligonucleotides


Provided is a trailing arm riding mower suspension system that includes trailing arms adapted to support hydraulic motor units and having leading ends pivotally coupled to a mower frame by way of leading end spherical joints and trailing ends having hydraulic drive unit mounts, where the trailing arms are adapted to pivot about leading end pivot locations defined by the leading end spherical joints.

A lawn mower (or "mower") is often used to cut (or "mow") grassy areas. A mower typically utilizes one or more rotating cutting blades that cut grass as the mower travels across the ground. A mower often takes the form of a walk-behind mower or a riding mower (or "ride-on" mower). A walk-behind mower is typically designed to be operated by an operator that walks behind and guides the mower. Some walk-behind mowers rely on the operator pushing the mower for propulsion (often referred to as "push" mowers). Some walk-behind mowers have a drive system (or "propulsion" system) that assist in propelling the mower (often referred to as "self-propelled" walk-behind mowers). A riding mower is typically designed to be operated by an operator that rides on and guides the mower along the terrain as it cuts grass. A riding mower normally includes an operator support, such as a seat or platform, and a drive system that propels the mower.
A zero-turn-radius (ZTR) riding mower is a particular type of riding mower. A ZTR riding mower is often identifiable by right and left control handles (or "control arms") that an operator can push or pull to drive respective right and left drive wheels forward or backward. This enables the mower to make sharp turns with ease, even spinning the entire mower in place—hence the label "zero-turn-radius." A ZTR riding mower is often desirable for its agility, speed, and wide mowing coverage. A ZTR mower typically employs drive units, such as hydrostatic (or "hydraulic") transaxles, that selectively rotate the right or left drive wheel forward or backward in response to pushing or pulling of the respective right or left control handle.
ZTR mowers often take the form of sit-on ZTR mowers or stand-on ZTR mowers. A sit-on ZTR mower typically includes a seat and is designed to be operated with the operator seated in the seat. A stand-on ZTR mower typically includes a platform and is designed to be operated with the operator standing on the platform. An operator may prefer a sit-on ZTR mower over a stand-on ZTR mower, for example, for the comfort provided by mowing in a seated position. An operator may prefer a stand-on ZTR mower over a sit-on ZTR mower, for example, for its compact footprint, easy on-and-off access, and the visual perspective provided in the standing position.

Riding mower trailing arm suspension system


An integral spring clip and computer slot cover is disclosed for mounting over an expansion slot of a PC. The cover has an integrally formed spring clip assembly for capturing a ledge of the PC case over an expansion slot therein at one end and means formed at an opposite end of said cover assembly for retaining that end of said cover assembly to the computer case to allow either a slot cover to be mounted over the slot without the use of screws or to mount an expansion card therein by mounting the card through an opening formed in the cover assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting PC (personal computer) expansion cards or covers into computer case slots provided for same and more particularly to clips for easing such mountings by obviating the need for screws to retain the expansion cards or covers on said slot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most PCs are bought with a limited number of functions. Extra functions such as modems, sound cards, math co-processor cards etc. may be added later by inserting an expansion card having the desired function into an expansion slot found at the back of the PC case. This expansion slot may be vertical or horizontal and is usually covered with a blank cover screwed to the PC case.
Referring to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the typical PC case (10) has a series of expansion slots (12) formed at the rear (14) of the PC case (10). These slots (12) extend from a ledge (16) and have a top opening (18) perpendicular to the slots (12). A series of circular holes (20) are centrally located at the end of each top opening (18). The opening (18, 12) are usually covered with blank covers (22) having a narrow tip (24) and a right angle leg (26) with a hole (28) therein. The tip (24) is inserted into a slot (30) with the cover (22) extending over opening (12) and the leg (26) extending over opening (18) and with the hole (28) being aligned with the ledge hole (20). A screw (32) is screwed into the ledge (18) through the hole (28) and may be extended to the hole (20) to positively lock the cover (22) over the expansion slot (12). This procedure is done for all the expansion holes in the initial manufacture of the PC.
When an expansion card (34) is needed, one cover (22) is removed from the conforming expansion slot and the expansion card (34) is located therein. Since the card (34) is typically mounted to a cover plate similar in construction to the plate (22) the prime numbering has been retained for similar parts of the expansion card and the blank cover. The insertion of the card (34) and cover (22xe2x80x2) is as was described earlier for cover (22).
Since the holes (28, 20) are small, as is the screw (28), alignment and threading of the screw (28) into the aligned holes is time consuming and difficult with the screw usually falling into the PC case components and having to be fished out of there.
What the prior art lacked was a simple method of retaining expansion cards and blank covers in the PC case.
The present invention solves the problems associated with prior art cover retaining means and others by providing two different types of clips for retaining an expansion card or a blank cover in the computer case without the use of screws. In one embodiment a clip mountable to the PC case is used for retaining either a prior art screw type blank cover (22) or an expansion card (34) for the PC over an expansion slot by snapping a flexible tip of the PC clip into the screw hole found in both prior art blank covers and expansion cards.
In a second embodiment the clip is made integral with the blank cover or expansion card. The clip includes a spring leg portion formed from the elongated clip body at the top of the clip but below the angled short leg portion of the clip to allow the clip to capture the computer case between the short leg portion and the spring leg portion. The spring leg portion presses against the computer case and is disengaged by pushing it forward from engagement with a tool inserted through a slot in the clip.
In view of the foregoing it will be seen that one aspect of the present inventions is to provide a means for mounting a PC expansion card or expansion slot cover over an expansion slot in the PC without the use of screws.
Another aspect is to provide a clip, which is easily mounted to a PC case to retain either PC expansion cards or blank expansions slot covers during the initial manufacture of the PC.
Yet another aspect is to provide an integral clip and expansion card cover, which is easily mounted to a PC case without the use of screws.
Still yet another aspect is to provide an integral clip and blank expansion slot cover which is easily mounted to a PC case without the use of screws.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood after a review of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the accompanying drawings.

Retaining clip for computer expansion card

Trans Technology Engineered Componenets, LLC