The data decoding logic arrangement of the invention provides 3/5 voting on data blocks received (1) in a frame. The decoded data (12) is preferably clocked out during reception of the first data block of the next frame, in synchronism with the clock frequency (2) generated from the received data bit flow. The inventive procedure is used on FOCC and FVC channels in the TACS/AMPS mobile phone system.

The North American TACS/AMPS mobile phone system provides a three out of five voting arrangement on data received by the mobile phone, this data being e.g. the Forward Control Channel (FOCC) data or Forward Voice Channel (FVC) data, which is sent from a base station in frames containing data blocks repeated at least five consecutive times. This 3/5 voting may be performed in a straight forward way, e.g. by a microprocessor which stores five received data blocks in a memory and then performs a voting procedure on all received five data blocks in accordance with a code or algorithm stored in the processor program memory. The voting and coding may also be performed mainly by hardware when the data blocks are stored in at least five registers, and the above mentioned algorithm is performed by logic circuits.
In a copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/823,167, filed simultaneously with this application and titled "Method and circuit for performing 3/5 major voting", the inventors have presented a new and inventive arrangement which performs the voting process in a logic, which in a preferred form contains only two data registers to store relevant data. The present inventive arrangement in its preferred form utilizes this new voting arrangement. The present invention is however not limited to use the mentioned 3/5 voting arrangement, as a person skilled in the art can devise other suitable voting arrangements to operate as the voting block of the present invention.


Disclosed herein are an anisotropically conductive connector, by which positioning, and holding and fixing to a wafer can be conducted with ease even when the wafer has a large area of 8 inches or greater in diameter, and the pitch of electrodes to be inspected is small, and good conductivity is retained even upon repeated use, and applications thereof. The anisotropically conductive connector has a frame plate, in which a plurality of anisotropically conductive film-arranging holes have been formed correspondingly to electrode regions in all or part of integrated circuits on a wafer, and a plurality of elastic anisotropically conductive films arranged in the respective anisotropically conductive film-arranging holes. The elastic anisotropically conductive films each have a plurality of conductive parts for connection extending in a thickness-wise direction thereof and containing conductive particles, and an insulating part mutually insulating them. The conductive particles are obtained by coating core particles exhibiting magnetism with a high-conductive metal, a proportion of the high-conductive metal to the core particles is at least 15% by mass, and the following t is at least 50 nm: t=[1/(Sw·ρ)]×[N/(1−N)], wherein Sw is a BET specific surface area (m2/kg) of the core particles, ρ is a specific gravity (kg/m3) of the high-conductive metal, and N is (mass of the high-conductive metal/total mass of the conductive particles).

In the production process of semiconductor integrated circuit devices, after a great number of integrated circuits are formed on a wafer formed of, for example, silicon, each of these integrated circuits is generally subjected to a probe test that basic electrical properties thereof are inspected, thereby sorting defective integrated circuits. This wafer is then cut, thereby forming semiconductor chips. Such semiconductor chips are contained and sealed in respective proper packages. Each of the packaged semiconductor integrated circuit devices is further subjected to a burn-in test that electrical properties thereof are inspected under a high-temperature environment, thereby sorting semiconductor integrated circuit devices having latent defects.
In such electrical inspection of integrated circuits, such as the probe test or the burn-in test, a probe member for electrically connecting each of electrodes to be inspected in an object of inspection to a tester is used. As such a probe member, is known a member composed of a circuit board for inspection, on which inspection electrodes have been formed in accordance with a pattern corresponding to a pattern of electrodes to be inspected, and an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet arranged on this circuit board for inspection.
As such anisotropically conductive elastomer sheets, those of various structures have heretofore been known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 93393/1976 discloses an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet (hereinafter referred to as "dispersion type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet") obtained by uniformly dispersing metal particles in an elastomer, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 147772/1978 discloses an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet (hereinafter referred to as "uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet") obtained by unevenly distributing conductive magnetic particles in an elastomer to form a great number of conductive parts extending in a thickness-wise direction thereof and an insulating part for mutually insulating them. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 250906/1986 discloses an uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet with which, a difference in level defined between the surface of each conductive part and an insulating part is formed.
In the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet, since the conductive parts are formed in accordance with a pattern corresponding to a pattern of electrodes to be inspected of an integrated circuit to be inspected, it is advantageous compared with the dispersion type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet in that electrical connection between electrodes can be achieved with high reliability even to an integrated circuit small in the arrangement pitch of electrodes to be inspected, i.e., center distance between adjacent electrodes to be inspected.
In such an uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet, it is necessary to hold and fix it in a particular positional relation to a circuit board for inspection and an object of inspection in an electrically connecting operation to them.
However, the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is flexible and easy to be deformed, and so it is low in handling property. In addition, with the miniaturization or high-density wiring of electric products in recent years, integrated circuit devices used therein tend to increase in number of electrodes and arrange electrodes at a high density as the arrangement pitch of the electrodes becomes smaller. Therefore, the positioning and the holding and fixing of the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet are going to be difficult upon its electrical connection to electrodes to be inspected of the object of inspection.
In the burn-in test on the other hand, there is a problem that even when the necessary positioning, and holding and fixing of the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet to an integrated circuit device has been realized once, positional deviation between conductive parts of the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet and electrodes to be inspected of the integrated circuit device occurs when they are subjected to thermal hysteresis by temperature change, since coefficient of thermal expansion is greatly different between a material (for example, silicon) making up the integrated circuit device that is the object of inspection, and a material (for example, silicone rubber) making up the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet, as a result, the electrically connected state is changed, and thus the stably connected state is not retained.
In order to solve such a problem, an anisotropically conductive connector composed of a metal-made frame plate having an opening and an anisotropically conductive sheet arranged in the opening of this frame plate and supported at its peripheral edge by an opening edge about the frame plate has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 40224/1999).
This anisotropically conductive connector is generally produced in the following manner.
As illustrated in FIG. 23, a mold for molding an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet composed of a top force 80 and a bottom force 85 making a pair therewith is provided, a frame plate 90 having an opening 91 is arranged in alignment in this mold, and a molding material with conductive particles exhibiting magnetism dispersed in a polymeric substance-forming material, which will become an elastic polymeric substance by a curing treatment, is fed into a region including the opening 91 of the frame plate 90 and an opening edge thereabout to form a molding material layer 95. Here, the conductive particles P contained in the molding material layer 95 are in a state dispersed in the molding material layer 95.
Both top force 80 and bottom force 85 in the mold respectively have molding surfaces composed of a plurality of ferromagnetic substance layers 81 or 86 formed in accordance with a pattern corresponding to a pattern of conductive parts of an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet to be molded and non-magnetic substance layers 82 or 87 formed at other portions than the portions at which the ferromagnetic substance layers 81 or 86 have been respectively formed, and are arranged in such a manner that their corresponding ferromagnetic substance layers 81 and 86 oppose to each other.
A pair of, for example, electromagnets are then arranged on an upper surface of the top force 80 and a lower surface of the bottom force 85, and the electromagnets are operated, thereby applying a magnetic field having higher intensity at portions between ferromagnetic substance layers 81 of the top force 80 and their corresponding ferromagnetic substance layers 86 of the bottom force 85, i.e., portions to become conductive parts, than the other portions, to the molding material layer 95 in the thickness-wise direction of the molding material layer 95. As a result, the conductive particles P dispersed in the molding material layer 95 are gathered at the portions where the magnetic field having the higher intensity is applied in the molding material layer 95, i.e., the portions between the ferromagnetic substance layers 81 of the top force 80 and their corresponding ferromagnetic substance layers 86 of the bottom force 85, and further oriented so as to align in the thickness-wise direction of the molding material layer. In this state, the molding material layer 95 is subjected to a curing treatment, whereby an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet composed of a plurality of conductive parts, in which the conductive particles P are contained in a state oriented so as to align in the thickness-wise direction, and an insulating part for mutually insulating these conductive parts is molded in a state that its peripheral edge has been supported by the opening edge about the frame plate, thereby producing an anisotropically conductive connector.
According to such an anisotropically conductive connector, it is hard to be deformed and easy to handle because the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is supported by the metal-made frame plate, and a positioning mark (for example, a hole) is formed in the frame plate in advance, whereby the positioning and the holding and fixing to an integrated circuit device can be easily conducted upon an electrically connecting operation to the integrated circuit device. In addition, a material low in coefficient of thermal expansion is used as a material for forming the frame plate, whereby the thermal expansion of the anisotropically conductive sheet is restrained by the frame plate, so that positional deviation between the conductive parts of the uneven distribution type anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet and electrodes to be inspected of the integrated circuit device is prevented even when they are subjected to thermal hysteresis by temperature change. As a result, a good electrically connected state can be stably retained.
By the way, in a probe test conducted for integrated circuits formed on a wafer, a method that a wafer is divided into a plurality of areas, in each of which 16 or 32 integrated circuits among a great number of integrated circuits have been formed, a probe test is collectively performed on all the integrated circuits formed in an area, and the probe test is successively performed on the integrated circuits formed in other areas has heretofore been adopted.
In recent years, there has been a demand for collectively performing a probe test on, for example, 64 or 124 integrated circuits, or all integrated circuits among a great number of integrated circuits formed on a wafer for the purpose of improving inspection efficiency and reducing inspection cost.
In a burn-in test on the other hand, it takes a long time to individually conduct electrical inspection of a great number of integrated circuit devices because each integrated circuit device that is an object of inspection is fine, and its handling is inconvenient, whereby inspection cost becomes considerably high. From such reasons, there has been proposed a WLBI (Wafer Lebel Burn-in) test in which the burn-in test is collectively performed on a great number of integrated circuits formed on a wafer in the state of the wafer.
When a wafer that is an object of inspection is of large size of, for example, at least 8 inches in diameter, and the number of electrodes to be inspected formed thereon is, for example, at least 5,000, particularly at least 10,000, however, the following problems are involved when the above-described anisotropically conductive connector is applied as a probe member for the probe test or WLBI test, since a pitch between electrodes to be inspected in each integrated circuit is extremely small.
Namely, in order to inspect a wafer having a diameter of, for example, 8 inches (about 20 cm), it is necessary to use an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet having a diameter of about 8 inches as an anisotropically conductive connector. However, such an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is large in the whole area, but each conductive part is fine, and the area proportion of the surfaces of the conductive parts to the whole surface of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is low. It is therefore extremely difficult to surely produce such an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet. Accordingly, yield is extremely lowered in the production of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet. As a result, the production cost of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet increases, and in turn, the inspection cost increases.
When the above-described anisotropically conductive connector is used as a prove member for the probe test, the following problems are involved.
Particles obtained by forming a coating layer formed of a high-conductive metal, for example, gold or the like on the surfaces of core particles composed of a ferromagnetic substance, for example, nickel or the like, are generally used as the conductive particles in the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet.
In the probe test, the method that a wafer is divided into two or more areas, and the probe test is collectively performed on integrated circuits formed in each of the divided areas is used as described above. When the probe test is performed on integrated circuits formed at a high degree of integration on a wafer having a diameter of 8 inches or 12 inches, it is required to conduct a step of an inspection process in plural times as to one wafer. Accordingly, in order to conduct the probe test on a great number of wafers, the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet used is required to have high durability in repeated use. However, when a conventional anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is used repeatedly over many times, core particles in conductive particles are exposed to the surface, and the conductivity of the conductive particles is markedly deteriorated. As a result, it is difficult to retain the necessary conductivity.
When the above-described anisotropically conductive connector is used as a prove member for the WLBI test, the following problems are involved.
In the WLBI test, the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet are, at the conductive parts thereof, held with pressure by electrodes to be inspected in a wafer that is an object of inspection and inspection electrodes of the circuit board for inspection, and exposed to an high-temperature environment for a long period of time in this state. However, when the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is used repeatedly under such severe conditions, the ferromagnetic substance making up the core particles in the conductive particles migrates into the high-conductive metal forming the coating layer, so that the conductivity of the conductive particles is markedly deteriorated. As a result, it is difficult to retain the necessary conductivity.
In addition, the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet are, at the conductive parts thereof, held with pressure by the electrodes to be inspected in the wafer and the inspection electrodes of the circuit board for inspection, whereby a base material forming the conductive parts is compressed in the thickness-wise direction, and deformed so as to elongate in a plain direction. As a result, the conductive particles are moved to follow the deformation of the base material, so that the chain of the conductive particles becomes a curved state. Further, when the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is exposed to a high-temperature environment in this state, the base material forming the conductive part greatly expands. As a result, the conductive particles are moved to follow the expansion of the base material, and so the state of the chain of the conductive particles is changed. When the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is used repeatedly in such WLBI test, permanent set occurs on the base material forming the conductive parts, and the chain of the conductive particles is disordered by this permanent set. As a result, it is impossible to retain the necessary conductivity.
The coefficient of linear thermal expansion of a material making up the wafer, for example, silicon is about 3.3×10−6/K. On the other hand, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of a material making up the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet, for example, silicone rubber is about 2.2×10−4/K. Accordingly, when a wafer and an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet each having a diameter of 20 cm at 25° C. are heated from 20° C. to 120° C., a change of the wafer in diameter is only 0.0066 cm in theory, but a change of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet in diameter amounts to 0.44 cm.
When a great difference is created between the wafer and the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet in the absolute quantity of thermal expansion in a plane direction as described above, it is extremely difficult to prevent positional deviation between electrodes to be inspected in the wafer and the conductive parts in the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet upon the WLBI test even when the peripheral edge of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is fixed by a frame plate having an equivalent coefficient of linear thermal expansion to the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of the wafer.
As probe members for the WLBI test, are known those in which an anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet is fixed on to a circuit board for inspection composed of, for example, a ceramic having an equivalent coefficient of linear thermal expansion to the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of the wafer (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 231019/1995 and 5666/1996, etc.). In such a probe member, as means for fixing the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet to the circuit board for inspection, a means that peripheral portions of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet are mechanically fixed by, for example, screws or the like, a means that it is fixed with an adhesive or the like, and the like are considered.
However, in the means that the peripheral portions of the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet are fixed by the screws or the like, it is extremely difficult to prevent positional deviation between the electrodes to be inspected in the wafer and the conductive parts in the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet for the same reasons as the means of fixing to the frame plate as described above.
On the other hand, in the means of fixing with the adhesive, it is necessary to apply the adhesive only to the insulating part in the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet in order to surely achieve electrical connection to the circuit board for inspection. Since the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet used in the WLBI test is small in the arrangement pitch of the conductive parts, and a clearance between adjacent conductive parts is small, however, it is extremely difficult in fact to do so. In the means of fixing with the adhesive also, it is impossible to replace only the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet with a new one when the anisotropically conductive elastomer sheet suffers from trouble, and so it is necessary to replace the whole probe member including the circuit board for inspection. As a result, increase in inspection cost is incurred.

Anisotropic conductivity connector, conductive paste composition, probe member, and wafer inspection device, and wafer inspecting method


An ink-jet recording apparatus, including plural ink-jet head units which are daisy-chain-connected to a control section and eject ink; and the control section which sends serial driving data to the plural ink-jet head units, wherein each ink-jet head unit includes a head drive control section, which includes: a serial/parallel conversion section which converts the serial driving data inputted from a pre-ceding ink-jet head unit to parallel driving data, and sends the parallel driving data to a post-ceding ink-jet head unit; an identification information setting section which sets identification information for selecting a signal essential to drive the ink-jet head unit, a data extracting section which selects the signal essential to drive the ink-jet head unit, based on identification information, and a data processing section which conducts process for driving the ink-jet head unit, by the signal essential to drive the ink-jet head unit selected by the data extracting section.

For example, in an apparatus incorporating plural recording head units, such as an ink-jet recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 5, driving data for jetting ink is sent as serial data or parallel data, from image developing circuit board 101, serving as a host, to head driving circuits (which are slave circuits 102) of each recording head. In this structure, when the number of recording head units increases, the number of connectors is also increased, to connect image developing circuit 101 and slave circuit 102, which results in the increase of transmission lines. Due to this, the scale of the circuit, and the size of the circuit board increase, leading to increased cost.
In recent years, as shown in FIG. 6, a technology is developed in which "n" pieces of recording element circuit boards and head pads, for connecting these recording heads each other and for connecting a printer to these recording element circuit boards, are daisy-chain-connected, which is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-67290. In FIG. 6, concerning heater power supply VH, GND, as well as Latch signal and CLK signal, since the same ones are to be applied onto each "n" pieces of recording element circuits, they are branched in a flexible wiring circuit board from a single head pad, and applied onto each recording element circuit board. The head pads are not illustrated in FIG. 6. On the other hand, DATA being an image data, and Heat signal for defining a conducting time of the heater are applied onto each recording element circuit board respectively, because recording image formation and optimum driving operation is conducted for each recording element circuit board. In order to apply different signals onto each recording element circuit board, two head pads 201 and 202 are provided on each recording element circuit board. Temperature sensor output terminal 124 and memory (which is a element characteristic) output terminal 123 are daisy-chain-connected to temperature sensor input terminal 122 and memory input terminal 121, of each adjoining recording element circuit board, respectively by flexible wirings. Further, concerning a recording element circuit board which has no adjoining recording element circuit board, which is an up-front recording element circuit board, its temperature sensor input terminal 122 and memory input terminal 121 are connected to VSS, and wirings are led out from temperature sensor output terminal 124 and memory output terminal 123 of a lattermost recording element circuit board, and which are connected to two head pads 210 of Memory Out and Temp. Out.
However, as shown in FIG. 6, while recording heads are daisy-chain-connected, the data element characteristic and the temperature sensor output are transferred through a shift register. Due to this, large delay is occurred for transferring them to the latter recording heads, and it is very difficult to transfer them in a real time. Further, since the image data is also transferred through a shift register by the same method as above, the delay occurs, and operation must wait until the data is completely transferred to each recording head. Therefore, it is very difficult to conduct the real time control, and the recording apparatus cannot operate at high speed.

Ink-jet recording apparatus and data transfer apparatus


A disclosed display device includes a display panel including a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines intersecting the data lines, and a pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form, each pixel being divided into a subpixel having a first color, a subpixel having a second color, a subpixel having a third color, and a subpixel having a fourth color. Two adjacent subpixels in a horizontal line of the pixel array share one of the data lines. For at least one of the first, second, third, and fourth colors, subpixels having a same color are arranged in a hexagonal shape on four adjacent horizontal lines or a diamond shape on three adjacent horizontal lines of the pixel array.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a display device in which each pixel is divided into a red subpixel, a green subpixel, a blue subpixel, and a white subpixel.
Discussion of the Related Art
Various flat panel displays, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic light emitting display (OLED), and an electrophoresis display (EPD), have been developed. The liquid crystal display displays an image by controlling an electric field applied to liquid crystal molecules based on a data voltage. An active matrix liquid crystal display includes a thin film transistor (TFT) in each pixel. The pixels of the liquid crystal display may be divided into red (R) subpixels, green (G) subpixels, blue (B) subpixels, and white (W) subpixels, so as to display various colors and to increase luminance. In the following description, the display device in which the pixels are divided into R, G, B, and W subpixels is referred to as an RGBW type display device.
The liquid crystal display includes, among other things, a liquid crystal display panel, a backlight unit providing light to the liquid crystal display panel, source driver integrated circuits (ICs) for supplying a data voltage to data lines of the liquid crystal display panel, gate driver ICs for supplying a gate pulse (or scan pulse) to gate lines (or scan lines) of the liquid crystal display panel, a control circuit for controlling the source driver ICs and the gate driver ICs, and a light source driving circuit for driving light sources of the backlight unit.
The liquid crystal display is driven through an inversion scheme, which sets polarities of the data voltages charged to adjacent subpixels to be opposite to each other and periodically inverts the polarities of the data voltages, so as to reduce image sticking caused by direct current and to prevent degradation of the liquid crystals. Most of the liquid crystal displays employ a horizontal and vertical 1-dot inversion scheme or a horizontal 1-dot and vertical 2-dot inversion scheme. A 1-dot refers to one subpixel.
A charge amount of subpixels of each color may vary depending on a relationship between data of an input image and a polarity pattern of the pixels. In this instance, a line noise of a longitudinal line shape and color distortion may appear in an image displayed on a pixel array due to the color arrangement of the subpixels.

Display device having subpixels of four colors in each pixel


A heater, especially a motor vehicle heater which can be operated independently of the engine, with a burner which is supplied with fuel and air via a binary nozzle (2), a combustion chamber (1), and a multistage compressor (3, 4) for compressing the air. The entire mass flow of air necessary for combustion in the combustion chamber (1) is sent to at least one first compressor stage (3) for compression to a first pressure level, and the air mass flow compressed in this way is divided into a first component flow supplied directly to the combustion chamber (1), and a second component flow which is compressed in at least one second compressor stage (4) to a second pressure level and sent to the binary nozzle (2) as the fuel atomization air mass flow.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a heater, especially a motor vehicle heater which can be operated independently of the engine, with a burner which is supplied with fuel and air via a binary nozzle, a combustion chamber, and a multistage compressor for compressing the air.
2. Description of Related Art
Binary nozzles usually have a concentric arrangement of a hole and an annular chamber, either the hole or the annular chamber being supplied with fuel by means of a metering pump and the fuel being atomized by the mass flow of air which is supplied via the other nozzle passage opening, the annular channel or the hole.
Furthermore, it is known, from published German Patent Application 2 135 093 and its counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,920, that the entire mass flow of air necessary for combustion in the heater is compressed by a two-stage flow machine and is delivered via a nozzle into the combustion chamber. The disadvantage here is that, for a large volumetric flow, a high pressure is necessary which causes correspondingly high energy consumption. The associated high flow speed in a binary nozzle would lead to starting problems, loud noise and high pressure losses.
Moreover, one such heater is known with a burner which has a binary nozzle in which the fuel atomization-air mass flow is compressed via a volumetric compressor to a higher pressure level separately from the other mass flow of air necessary for combustion. Here, the disadvantage is high costs, fault susceptibility, the corresponding maintenance cost of the compressor, and the loud noise of the compressor.

Heater with a burner which has a binary nozzle


A curling iron attachment is provided to assist in storing the electrical cord of a curling iron. The curling iron attachment includes an elongated rod receiving member, a cord wrap member extending upward from the rod receiving member, and a tongue attached to the lower portion of the cord wrap member. The elongated rod receiving member is inserted between the heating rod of a curling iron and the clamp piece of the curling iron. The tongue is capable of engaging the tip of the clamp piece. The electrical cord of the curling iron is then wrapped back and forth between the cord wrap member and the thumb lever of the curling iron. The plug is then tucked into the cord windings.

As a small electrical appliance, a curling iron is typically equipped with an elongated electrical cord having a plug adapted for an electrical outlet. After disconnection from the electrical outlet, the cord may become entangled upon storage.
Typically, the cord is stored by simply wadding the cord in disoriented positions near the appliance, which does not afford neatly organized storage; or by wrapping the cord around the appliance itself, which can cause the cord to be wound so tightly that it remains curled in a spiral when unwound and may cause undue wear on the cord over time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,877 to Yocum shows an electrical utensil cord-anchoring device which holds the cord in place after wrapping it around the body of an electrical appliance. Utilizing this device with curling irons will result in the same problems discussed immediately above.
One storage solution is a product for curling irons in which the curling iron is placed in a porcelain receptacle and the cord is wrapped around a spool near the receptacle. This storage device, however, requires mounting on a wall and is therefore not portable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,878 to Silva shows a curling iron holder which has a pair of cord cleats on the exterior surface. Cleats made out of plastic material, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,878, tend to break off after extended use.
It would be desirable to have a durable, compact device specifically designed for curling irons, which facilitates neat and portable storage of the curling iron cord.


The present invention relates to a system and method for testing a user application using a computing apparatus and a media playback apparatus. According to the present invention, the media playback apparatus tests the user application which is generated by executing a developer application in a computing apparatus, wherein the computing apparatus is connected to the media playback apparatus through a network. Thus, applications stored in a plurality of computing apparatuses can be tested using a single media playback apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for testing a user application using a computing apparatus and a media playback apparatus, and more particularly, to a system and method for testing a user application, which is generated by executing a developer application in a computing apparatus, using a computing apparatus and a media playback apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Blu-ray disc (referred to as "BD" hereinafter) provides not only HD images through a Blu-ray disc player (referred to as "BDP" hereinafter) but also various user applications executed in the BDP.
A user can be provided with a service by selecting a desired user application from various user applications stored in a BD and executing the selected user application. For example, when the user selects and executes a VOD application, a BDP accesses a VOD server to provide video selected by the user in real time.
A user application executed in a BDP is generated by compiling a source code configured in JAVA.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional user application development environment.
Referring to FIG. 1, a user generates a user application using application development software installed in a computing apparatus 10 such as a PC. Specifically, the user generates a source code using the application development software. The user creates a user application by compiling the source code using a compiler included in the application development software.
To test and debug the generated user application, the user stores the user application in a storage unit 20 such as a BD. The user inserts the storage unit 20 into a media playback apparatus 30 to execute the user application stored in the storage unit 20.
The media playback apparatus 30 outputs a debugging message and a log message, which are generated by the user application, through a display unit 40.
The user corrects and compiles the source code with reference to the debugging message and the log message and repeats the above-mentioned procedure.
In the conventional user application development environment, it is necessary to store a corrected user application in the storage unit 20 to test and debug the corrected user application whenever a source code is corrected.
Particularly, to test a user application executed in a media playback apparatus using a disc storage device such as a BD, an additional recording device capable of recording a user application in the disc storage device is required, resulting in additional costs for implementing an application development environment. Even when the disc storage device includes the recording device, the user has to insert the disc storage device on which a user application is recorded into the media playback apparatus, and test and debug the user application whenever the user application is corrected.
Furthermore, the user needs to check a debugging message and a log message, generated during a test and debugging process, through a display unit. Accordingly, if a plurality of debugging messages and log messages are generated, the user may not check some of the messages and may not store the debugging messages and log messages.
To solve these problems, there has been proposed a method of testing and debugging a user application by installing media player simulation software in a computing apparatus.
However, because the simulation software cannot implement the same test environment as a physical media player, even a user application, which is executed without generating an error in the test environment of the simulation software, can frequently generate errors when executed in the physical media player.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for testing a user application using a computing apparatus and a media playback apparatus


A connection device for connecting to a plurality of fluid containers that have openings, and a sample analyzer body for analyzing samples using reagent, is disclosed, which comprises: a plurality of tubular members for passing liquid, the plurality of tubular members being inserted in the fluid containers through the openings of the plurality of fluid containers; a holding member to hold the plurality of tubular members; and a plurality of cover members to be fitted to the opening of the fluid container, wherein the plurality of cover members are arranged in a predetermined positional relationship on the holding member side of the plurality of tubular members; configured with a continuously decreasing cross sectional area toward the fluid container side; and the shape of the cross section of the cover member is substantially the same as the shape of the corresponding opening of the fluid container.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection device and analyzer, and specifically relates to a connection device and analyzer configured for inserting a plurality of tubular members into a plurality of fluid containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that conventional connection devices and analyzers are configured to insert a plurality of tubular members in a plurality of fluid containers (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-163319).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-163319 discloses a blood analyzer comprising: a connection mechanism comprising a plurality of tubular members to be inserted into a plurality of containers accommodating reagent or waste fluid, a plurality of holding members to hold the respective plurality of tubular members, one support member to support the plurality of holding members, and a vertical movement mechanism for individually inserting the plurality of tubular members into each corresponding fluid container; and a blood analyzer body.
In the blood analyzer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-163319, the opening of the fluid container is formed on an upwardly protruding open part, and the opening is blocked by the holding member covering the open part.
In a structure in which a holding member covers an open part, the opening cannot be blocked by the holding member if the holding member is not accurately positioned relative to the opening as in the case of the blood analyzer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-163319. A precisely designed vertical movement mechanism is therefore required.


In a vehicle of the invention, the lower between a first permissive water temperature based on an outside air temperature Tout and an elapsed time since system activation and a second permissive water temperature based on a target air outlet temperature in an air conditioning system is set to an intermittent operation permissive water temperature. When a cooling water temperature of an engine is not lower than the set intermittent operation permissive water temperature, intermittent operation of the engine is permitted. When the cooling water temperature of the engine is lower than the set intermittent operation permissive water temperature, on the other hand, intermittent operation of the engine is prohibited. This arrangement ensures appropriate control of the intermittent operation of the engine and thus effectively improves the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

A proposed structure of a vehicle is equipped with an engine operated to output driving power and with a motor operated to output driving power. The start of the engine is controlled according to a target air outlet temperature of an air outlet of an air conditioning system provided in a passenger compartment and a cooling water temperature of the engine, on a start of the vehicle and during a low speed drive of the vehicle (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H10-278569). The vehicle of this proposed structure refers to the target air outlet temperature and the cooling water temperature of the engine and determines the requirement for heating the passenger compartment in the low cooling water temperature condition. Upon the requirement for heating the passenger compartment, the engine is started even on the start of the vehicle or during the low-speed drive of the vehicle. The cooling water heated by the operation of the engine is used to heat the passenger compartment.


A method and system of selecting antennas and/or equipment for use within a wireless communication system is disclosed. A cell site may have one antenna-arrangement shared between multiple groups of radio equipment that are each operated by respective wireless service providers at the cell site. The cell site may also have a base station controller that may select from the shared antenna-arrangement an antenna for radiating signals from the groups of radio equipment. The base station controller may also select from the multiple groups of radio equipment a group of radio equipment for processing signals received at the shared antenna-arrangement.

A. Field of Invention
The present invention is related to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and system of selecting antennas and equipment for use within a wireless communication system.
B. Description of Related Art
In a typical wireless communication system, an area is divided geographically into a number of cell sites, each defined by one or more radiation patterns created by an emission of radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic (EM) waves from a respective base transceiver station (BTS) antenna. For wireless communications, EM signals are not sent through a transmission line, and therefore antennas are required for the transmission and reception of the signals. A group of antennas or an antenna array may be used. An antenna array is a set of antennas working together to produce a particular radiation pattern. Each antenna in the array is referred to as an antenna element (or simply an element).
An antenna can radiate in a specified direction or directions. An antenna produces a radiation pattern, which may either be uniform or non-uniform. A uniform radiation pattern (i.e., omni-directional pattern) may result due to energy radiating from all parts of the antenna and arriving at a distant point at the same time or in phase. As the antenna becomes larger, the radiated energy is distributed in time and does not always arrive at a distant point at the same time. When the energy arrives at different time intervals, the energy does not always add in phase and the result may be a lower amount of received energy resulting in a smaller non-uniform antenna radiation pattern.
An antenna radiation pattern is also referred to as an antenna-beam or beam. A beam width of an antenna is a measure of directivity of an antenna and is usually defined by angles where the radiation pattern reduces to one half of its peak value or more commonly referred to as 3 db points (i.e., 3 decibel power level).
In the typical wireless communication system, each cell site has a BTS, which physically consists of a tower, antennas, and radio equipment. The tower is a large upright structure that provides a frame to mount the antennas. The tower may house multiple antenna systems, and each antenna system may have multiple antenna-elements.
Cell sites are operated by one or more wireless service providers (WSP). A WSP is a company that provides telecommunications through RF signals rather than (or in addition to) through end-to-end wire communication. Each WSP employs a wireless signaling protocol. For example, wireless signaling protocols such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), etc., can be used by WSPs to provide services such as personal communication system (PCS), personal digital cellular (PDC), personal handy phone system (PHS), and others. Communications from a mobile station to a BTS (i.e., reverse link communications) and from a BTS to a mobile station (i.e., forward link communications) are completed using such protocols.
In existing cell sites, each WSP supplies its own antennas and radio equipment. However, multiple wireless service providers may share one tower due to a lack of geographic sites for telecommunication towers and/or to reduce costs. Therefore, a BTS may have multiple groups of radio equipment (i.e., a group of radio equipment may include a receiver, a transmitter, or other equipment) and multiple antennas. Each group of radio equipment may correspond to a separate group of antennas mounted on the tower and to a respective WSP.
When multiple WSPs are served by a single cell site, a large number of antennas and connecting wires (i.e., feeder cables) are required at the cell site to provide air interfaces between mobile stations and radio equipment corresponding to the multiple WSPs, because each WSP needs its own antenna or antennas. In addition, a WSP itself may operate using multiple radio frequencies, and the WSP may require a separate antenna for each radio frequency.
Unfortunately, however, a significant number of towers were originally built to accommodate only a single set of antennas or were imposed with height limitations that have effectively limited the towers to one or two sets of antennas. In addition, many towers have limited space, thus restricting their ability to host multiple antennas, and therefore restricting their ability to host multiple WSPs. Further, installing a large number of antennas is burdensome and costly. Consequently, a system that overcomes these problems is desirable.

Method and system of selecting antennas and equipment for use within a wireless communication system


The invention relates to a recombinant viral particle capable of delivering a nucleic acid to mammalian cells, the particle including a member of a first specific binding pair capable of binding to a first receptor expressed on the surface of a cell so as to cause infection thereof, and a surface-exposed member of a second specific binding pair capable of binding to a second receptor generally not expressed on the surface of the cell, such that binding of the viral particle to the second receptor via the member of the second specific binding pair inhibits infection of the cell by the viral particle.

Retroviral vectors derived from C-type murine leukaemia viruses (MLVs) have emerged as highly versatile gene delivery vehicles and have been selected for use in many human gene therapy protocols, especially those requiring transduction of normal or neoplastic haemopoietic cells. In the interests of safety and efficacy, particularly for direct genetic modification of target cells in vivo, it is desirable that retroviral gene delivery should be accurate but the clinically approved (amphotropic) retroviral vectors in current use attach to an ubiquitously expressed cellular receptor and therefore infect human cells promiscuously. Cell-selective retroviral gene delivery might be achieved by modification of the viral membrane spike glycoproteins responsible for receptor-mediated virus entry.


A process for drying a wet material in a drying system includes supplying a current of heated gas to a dryer from a combustion chamber. The material is exposed to the current in the dryer. The dried material is separated from the current of heated gas. The current of heated gas is split into a first stream of heated gas and a second stream of heated gas after the dried material has been separated. The first stream of heated gas is introduced into the combustion chamber so that the first stream is further oxidized therein. A third stream of heated gas is removed from the combustion chamber. The third stream includes at least a portion of the first stream. The second stream of heated gas is introduced into the combustion chamber so that it makes up a portion of the current conveyed to the dryer.

This invention relates to a process for use in a drying system where combustion gases are recycled through the drying system to oxidize pollutants prior to the combustion gases being vented to the atmosphere.
Drying systems are important features in the manufacture and processing of many different materials. For example, drying systems are often used to dry wood chips during the manufacture of particle board. Further, drying systems are used during the processing of ethanol. More particularly, after ethanol has been removed from grain during a fermentation process, it is then desirable to dry the grain to allow storage and resale of the grain for animal feed or other uses.
Typical drying systems include a combustion chamber into which natural gas and air are supplied and combusted. The heated combustion gases in the combustion chamber are then induced by a draft fan into a rotating cylindrical dryer. The material to be dried is introduced into the dryer and exposed to the current of heated gases. The dried material is then separated from the heated gas current in a cyclone separator. The remaining heated gases are then vented to the environment. An example of the typical drying system of the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,055, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Numerous problems and disadvantages are associated with these prior art drying systems. A major problem involves the venting of the combustion gases to the atmosphere. More particularly, these combustion gases contain various pollutants. For example, the gases oftentimes contain volatile organic compounds (VOC's), carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2), and nitric oxide (NO). In addition to pollutants that result from the combustion process in the combustion chamber, pollutants can also result from the drying of the material itself. For instance, in the drying of wood chips or other organic material, particulate and VOC's are often contained in the combustion gases as they are vented to the atmosphere. Because governmental standards set the level of pollutants that can be vented to the atmosphere, it is often necessary to add additional pollution control devices to the drying systems to reduce the pollutant levels in the gas stream prior to venting. These devices often are add-on oxidizers which oxidize the VOC's and particulate present in the gas stream to reduce such pollutants to an acceptable level. These pollution control devices are typically expensive to install and operate.
Another disadvantage associated with prior art drying systems and processes involves the fire hazard associated with excessive amounts of oxygen (O.sub.2) in the combustion gases. More particularly to convey the material to be dried to the dryer, a large volume of moving gas is needed. This is especially true when the material contains a large percentage of moisture. Typically, drying systems make up the necessary volume by introducing excess air during the combustion process in the combustion chamber. Although this results in a suitable volume of gas to convey the materials, it also results in an excessive amount of O.sub.2 in the combustion gases. In many instances, the amount of O.sub.2 exceeds the allowable fire and explosion standards. The use of large amounts of excess air also results in other problems with these drying systems. More particularly, increasing the excess air admitted in the combustion chamber results in a decrease in the temperature of the combustion gases exiting the burner.
In order to reduce the amount of O.sub.2 in the combustion gases and increase the temperature levels of combustion gases to a suitable level for drying, attempts have been made to decrease the amount of excess air introduced into the combustion chamber. However, reducing the amount of excess air results in various other inherent disadvantages with the dryer system. More particularly, as is apparent, decreasing excess air results in a lower volume gas flowing through the drying chamber. This can result in ineffective and/or unstable pneumatic conveying of the product through the drying system.
Some prior art drying systems have attempted to address the above-discussed problems. More specifically, in one type of drying system, all of the combustion gases exiting the dryer are recycled back into a combustion chamber for oxidation. Gases are also taken out of the drying system at the combustion chamber and vented to the atmosphere. Recycled gases flowing into the combustion chamber and those flowing out of the combustion chamber are run through a heat exchanger wherein the heat from the gases flowing out of the combustion chamber and to the atmosphere is transferred to the recycled gases flowing into the combustion chamber. This type of drying system suffers from various disadvantages. First, because the entire quantity of combustion gases is recycled to the combustion chamber for oxidation, this drying system operates within very narrow operating parameters. More specifically, the prior art system only operates in an optimal manner at a particular capacity of the drying system. If the capacity of the drying system varies from the particular level, the oxidation temperature of the recycled gases and the inlet temperatures of the gases to the dryer could vary substantially. Because these factors could vary over large ranges, differing levels of pollutants were vented to the atmosphere depending on the capacity at which the prior art system was run. Further, again depending on the capacity, the dryer inlet temperature could vary substantially, thus resulting in inconsistent or incomplete drying of the material.
Therefore, a drying system is needed that oxidizes pollutants within the system so that external pollution control devices are not needed. Further, a drying system process is needed which decreases the amount of O.sub.2 present in the system to a level below fire standards without affecting the efficiency of the dryer due to the lack of available conveying gases. Still furthermore, a drying process is needed which will keep the oxidation temperature and dryer system efficiency all substantially constant throughout a large variance in the capacity of the drying system.

Process for splitting recycled combustion gases in a drying system


This disclosure proposes a liquid crystal cell, a display and an electronic device. The liquid crystal cell comprises a first substrate and a second substrate disposed above the first substrate. The first substrate is configured to be formed with a diffraction phase grating array on a surface thereof close to the second substrate, and the diffraction phase grating array is filled with liquid crystal units. The second substrate is configured to comprise stacked first electrode layer, insulating layer and second electrode layer on a side thereof close to the first substrate.

With the rapid development of stereoscopic display technologies, there is a growing demand for stereoscopic display devices, and among a large number of technologies for implementing three-dimensional 3D (3 Dimensions) stereoscopic display, naked eye 3D display is popular in the field of three-dimensional stereoscopic display since the viewers thereof do not have to wear eyeglasses.
At present, the mainstream naked eye 3D technical measures comprise slit-type liquid crystal grating and columnar prism. The principle of the slit-type liquid crystal grating is to add a slit-type grating in the front of the screen, such that when the image seen by the left eye is displayed on the liquid crystal screen, opaque stripes will shade the right eye, but when the image seen by the right eye is displayed on the liquid crystal screen, the opaque stripes will shade the left eye. By separating the visible pictures of the left eye from those of the right eye, the viewers will see 3D images. The principle of the columnar prism is to, through the refraction principle of the lens in the liquid crystal cell, project pixel points corresponding to the left and right eyes respectively in the left and right eyes so as to realize image separation.

Liquid crystal cell, display and electronic device


A high-strength structural steel material having excellent fatigue crack propagation inhibitory characteristics according to an aspect of the present invention contains, by weight, 0.02-0.12% of C, 1.7-2.5% of Mn, 0.01-0.8% of Si, 0.005-0.5% of Al, and the balance Fe and unavoidable impurities, wherein a microstructure of the structural steel sheet material is divided into a surface layer portion outside and a central portion inside along a thickness direction; the surface layer portion comprises tempered bainite as a matrix structure, fresh martensite as a second structure, and austenite as a residual structure; and the central portion comprises lath bainite.

In structural steel materials used in structures such as buildings, bridges, and the like, repeated stresses are continuously applied because of the nature of a use environment thereof, so it is very important to secure fatigue resistance characteristics of the material in order to secure the overall stability of the structure. In particular, as structures have recently become very large, demands for weight reduction and securing rigidity of the structure are increasing, and accordingly, a use of high-strength materials is increasing. However, as the strength of the material increases, the stress concentrated around the cracks generated in the material increases at the same time, so there is a problem that a rate of crack propagation of the material may also increase. Fatigue cracks of the steel material are that propagation of fatigue cracks occurred in a stress concentration portion of the steel material along the steel material. In particular, in the case of the structural steel material provided to the structure, since it is indispensable to have a welding part, and since there are a large number of defective parts, it is actually impossible to prevent the occurrence of fatigue cracks themselves. Therefore, in order to improve a fatigue life of the steel material provided in the structure, rather than preventing the occurrence of fatigue cracks themselves, it is more important to slow down a propagation rate of fatigue cracks from a state in which the fatigue cracks are already present to the other part.
Regarding to a technology to slow down the fatigue crack growth rate of the steel material, Patent Document 1 discloses a steel sheet having improved fatigue crack growth inhibitory characteristics by crossing a boundary between crystal grains having a direction. Specifically, Patent Document 1 limits the crack crosses the boundary between the crystal grains in which the (100) plane of the ferrite crystal is parallel to the direction (ND) perpendicular to the surface of the steel plate and the crystal grains in which the (111) plane of the ferrite crystal is parallel to the direction perpendicular to the steel plate to at least one place per 30 μm. Alternatively, Patent Document 1 limits the ratio of the (111) and (100) plane fractions of ferrite to 1.25 to 2.0 on the measurement plane parallel to the surface of the steel plate. However, since Patent Document 1 mainly discloses ferrite, there is a technical disadvantage that can correspond only to steel materials having tensile strength of 500 MPa or less.
Although not directly related to fatigue resistance characteristics, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique modifying a structure of a surface layer region of the steel material to improve brittle crack propagation stop characteristics. In particular, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of securing brittle crack propagation stop characteristics by mainly including equiaxed ferrite crystal grains and elongated ferrite crystal grains having fine grained surface layer regions, and having a strength ratio of 1.5 to 4.0 of the (100) plane. However, since Patent Document 2 is also mainly made of elongated ferrite, since it cannot be applied to high-strength steel materials of 700 MPz or more, and it is necessary to perform rolling while a surface layer portion is heated by recuperation to refine the structure, there is technical difficulty in that a precise temperature is not possible during a rolling process.
(Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-017379 (published on Jan. 18, 2000)
(Patent Document 2) Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-020835 (published on Jan. 23, 2002)

High-strength structural steel material having excellent fatigue crack propagation inhibitory characteristics and manufacturing method therefor


Some embodiments of a method may include defining a triggering area, the triggering area having a border with the border being arranged, at least partially, within a positioning zone for observing a multi view content displayed on a display based on a position of a viewer; and when the viewer position is located within the triggering area, triggering one or more incentive effects. Some embodiments of an apparatus may include a processor; and a memory-storing device storing instructions operative, when executed by the processor, to cause the apparatus to: define a triggering area, the triggering area having a border with the border being arranged, at least partially, within a positioning zone, for observing a multi view content displayed on a display based on a position of a viewer; and when the viewer position is located within the triggering area, trigger one or more incentive effects.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
A multi view content (so called Light Field content), still image or video, can be obtained by Light Field acquisition system, such as a fixed camera array composed of a plurality of distinct cameras or a plenoptic camera formed by an array of micro-lenses placed in front of an image sensor. For each frame of a Light Field video or each Light Field image, the Light Field acquisition system is able to provide a set of multi-views, a set of depth maps and associated system acquisition parameters.
When rendering a Light Field content on a known display screen (e.g. a 2D TV screen), a user can benefit from the parallax capability offered by the Light Field content, providing a parallax rendering effect and a Virtual Reality (VR) experience. The parallax effect gives a sense of depth and makes a user feel the volume of objects or characters of a scene.
Depending on the Light Field acquisition system and user's position (in particular his head or eyes), the scene coverage can have some limitations leading the user to perceive holes or black surfaces on the edges.
The present disclosure has been devised with the foregoing in mind.

Method and apparatus for providing information to a user observing a multi view content

Interdigital Madison Patent Holdings, SAS


A communication system including a communication network, an entertainment device connected to the communication network, and an application server connected to the communication network. The entertainment device has a software client adapted to provide real time two-way communication between the entertainment device and a telephony device connected to the communication network. The application server is adapted to communicate with the software client and facilitate the real time two-way communication between the entertainment device and the telephony device.

The present invention is directed to the use of home entertainment devices to provide telephony services, in particular, but not by way of limitation, to the integration of a home entertainment device with a software client in order to provide real time two-way communication services.
The availability of broadband communication networks has proliferated greatly in recent years. Consumers may currently choose from a variety of broadband providers including cable companies, telephone companies, satellite broadband providers, and DSL providers. Due to the increasing availability of broadband communication infrastructures, it has become possible to provide a greater number of entertainment and communication services to consumers. For example, Internet telephony and video conferencing applications currently enjoy great popularity. In addition, there has been an increasing desire towards the integration of entertainment and telephony services in the home. Thus, there exists a need to provide the integration of broadcast communication with real time two-way communications by enabling home entertainment devices with the capability of providing real time communications services.

Integration of home entertainment devices with a software client for telephony


Water-based coating composition comprising: (a) from 0.5 to 90% by weight of at least one epoxy resin, wherein the epoxy resin is solid at 20° C., and wherein the epoxy resin is self-dispersing in water; (b) from 0.5 to 90% by weight of at least one (meth)acrylate of a polyol; and (c) from 5.0 to 99.0% by weight of water; wherein the at least one (meth)acrylate comprises at least two (meth)acrylate groups per molecule, and wherein the Brookfield viscosity of the composition is less than 15000 mPas.

WO-A-00/04106 describes coating systems containing water, epoxy resin and polyacrylates ("functional polyacrylate latex=true polymers"). These systems are contacted with amine hardeners and cured. The coatings obtainable in this way are said to be suitable for metal surfaces, particularly steel, and can be subsequently overcoated with bitumen.
DE-A-195 04 528 describes amine-curable compositions containing a partly acrylated epoxy resin, i.e. a compound in which both epoxy and (meth)acrylate functionality are present in one and the same molecule. These compositions are said to be suitable for the production of coatings, particularly floor underlays. The acrylated resin is a partly acylated epoxide monomer or oligomer and has a molecular weight of 150 to 10,000 and contains at least one epoxide group and at least one terminal (meth)acrylate group. The hardener is a mono-, di- or polyamine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,195 describes curable compositions containing an epoxy resin (with more than 1.2 epoxy groups per molecule) and a poly(meth)acrylate ester of a polyol, this ester containing >1 terminal (meth)acrylic acid group. The compositions are cured with aliphatic polyamines (containing at least 3 amine H atoms per molecule). Examples of the polyester are hexanediol diacrylate and trimethylolpropane triacrylate. The described system is substantially water-free and solvent-free (in the Examples, the water content according to the Table is between 0.1 and 0.3% and the solvent content between 0.04 and 1.55%).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,434 describes curable compositions based on diepoxide, unsaturated polyester and polyamine (containing 2 primary amine groups). The composition cures at low temperatures. The amine is said to react with the C═C double bonds of the polyester to form crosslinked resins. The systems are said to have a short gel time and low exothermy. The polyesters are derived from aliphatic glycols and unsaturated aliphatic dicarboxylic acids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,107 describes water-based epoxy resin compositions for impregnating fibers. The composition is an aqueous emulsion of an epoxy resin, a hardener and an impact modifier. The impact modifiers are polymers which are generally produced by emulsion polymerization.

Water-based coating compositions containing epoxy resin(s) and (meth)acrylate(s), and methods of using the same


An air bag formed from two layers of fabric using a one-piece weaving technique has a peripheral seam at the edge of a region adapted to be inflated. Beyond the seam there are a plurality of chambers and gas escaping from the inflated region through the seam must inflate these chambers thus creating a back pressure to reduce the flow of escaping gas.

1. Field of the Invention
THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an air bag and more particularly relates to an air bag adapted to remain inflated for a relatively long period of time.
2. Description of Related Art
Whilst air bags intended to protect occupants of motor vehicles from a front impact are usually intended to remain inflated for a relatively short period of time, typically much less than half a second, there is a growing requirement for air bags that can remain inflated for a much longer period of time. For example, it has been proposed to provide motor vehicles with so called inflatable curtains which are intended to provide protection in the event that a side impact or, in particular, a roll-over accident should occur. It is desirable for such an inflatable curtain to be capable of remaining inflated for at least five to six seconds, which is the average time period for a roll-over incident.
Present day fabric, coatings and seam portions are relatively gas-tight, as compared with the fabrics, coatings and seams that were conventional several years ago, but it has been found that in many present day air bags, particularly air bags in the form of inflatable curtains, there is an undesirable gas leak through the peripheral seam. This may prevent an inflatable curtain from remaining inflated for a sufficiently long period of time.
Attempts to improve the situation by using coatings or films on the outside of the air bag are extremely costly.