A wind power generator has an arcuate converging-diverging flow passage and a support body that is prolate in shape and is located in the flow passage. The support body is rotatably supported and a plurality of rotor blades are mounted on the support body. The support body and the flow passage define a converging-diverging flow area through which wind passes to drive the support body via the rotor blades.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of power generation, and to the particular field of wind power generators.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Wind power generators have been known for centuries. Windmills have been used to operate machinery, produce power and the like for many years.
Recently, interest in wind power generators has increased because wind is a cheap natural resource. Therefore, the technology associated with wind power generators has developed many systems that are more effective in producing power than the windmills of past generations.
It is well understood that the amount of power that a wind power generator using a propeller can generate is proportional to the velocity of the wind flowing past the propeller. In fact, some relationships make this proportionality a cube of the wind velocity.
Therefore, there is a need for a wind power generator which increases the velocity of air passing a propeller of the wind power generator.
The air flowing through the wind power generator should not create turbulence as it flows through the device. Such turbulence may decrease the efficiency of the generator. Many known wind power generators have elements that may create turbulence in the fluid flowing through the device.
Therefore, there is a need for a wind power generator which increases the velocity of air passing a propeller of the wind power generator without creating an undue amount of turbulence in the flowing fluid.


A photovoltaic (PV) solar concentration structure having at least two troughs encapsulated in a rectangular parallelepiped optical plastic structure, with the troughs filled with an optical plastic material, the troughs each having a reflective internal surface and approximately parabolic geometry, and the troughs each including photovoltaic cells situated so that light impinging on the optical plastic material will be concentrated onto the photovoltaic cells. Multiple structures can be connected to provide a solar photovoltaic collection system that provides portable, efficient, low-cost electrical power.

The present invention relates to solar trough concentrators for photovoltaic electrical power generation and more particularly, to an encapsulated plate of multiple solar trough concentrators.
Solar trough concentrators comprise a reflective surface and a receiver, such as a photovoltaic cell. Large parabolic trough concentrators, with widths on the order of meters, and a variety of designs are well known. More recently, smaller trough concentrators have been designed to provide for portable, lightweight solar energy systems. Variations in the trough geometries, the reflecting surfaces and the types of receivers have been described.
Useful would be a lightweight, inexpensive, portable solar concentration structure that is flexible in use and efficient in solar energy generation.

Solar photovoltaic reflective trough collection structure


The present invention is a method for analyzing diffraction data obtained using a crystal structure analysis sample, the sample comprising a single crystal of a porous compound, and a compound for which a structure is to be determined. The method comprising: a step (I) that selects a space group that is identical to a space group of the single crystal of the porous compound, or a space group that has a symmetry lower than that, to be a space group of the crystal structure analysis sample; a step (II) that determines an initial structure of the crystal structure analysis sample using diffraction data with respect to a crystal structure of the single crystal of the porous compound as initial values; and a step (III) that refines the initial structure determined.

X-ray single crystal structure analysis is known as a method for determining the molecular structure of a compound. According to X-ray single crystal structure analysis, it is possible to obtain a three-dimensional image of a molecule at an atomic level. Therefore, X-ray single crystal structure analysis is very useful for the research of a functional substance such as a physiologically active substance, for example.
When implementing X-ray single crystal structure analysis, X-rays are applied to a single crystal to detect the diffracted X-rays, and diffraction data is collected and analyzed to determine the molecular structure.
Since the diffracted X-rays thus detected normally do not have phase information, it is impossible to determine the molecular structure (electron density distribution) directly by Fourier synthesis. Therefore, a crystal structure model is formed, and refined to obtain a crystal structure that conforms to the diffraction data, and the molecular structure is determined.
For example, an ordinary X-ray single crystal structure analysis process (see FIG. 1) collects diffraction data, determines the space group, and determines the initial phase to form a crystal structure model. The crystal structure model is refined to obtain a crystal structure that conforms to the measured diffraction data, and the molecular structure is determined (see Non-Patent Literature 1).
As described above, it is necessary to determine an appropriate space group and an appropriate initial phase when analyzing diffraction data. However, since special crystallographic knowledge is required to determine an appropriate space group and an appropriate initial phase, these steps impose a significant burden on researchers and the like who are unfamiliar with crystallography.
Therefore, a method that can more conveniently and efficiently analyze diffraction data has been desired.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of analyzing diffraction data obtained from a single crystal of a porous compound and a compound for which a structure is to be determined


A cart for transporting and moving die sets having an air powered/hydraulic fluid drive system to move the cart and die sets thereon. A hydraulic pump is driven by an air pressure powered motor and different hydraulic motors move the cart and move the die sets on the cart. A laterally movable die set transfer device is connected to one die set in one adjacent stamping press and to a second die set positioned on the cart to move the first die set from the one press and to move the second die set off the cart and into a second press.

1. Field of the Invention
This application concerns a system and apparatus to efficiently and rapidly change die sets in a stamping press line which typically includes more than one stamping press. To form a stamped part, a sheet of steel is moved successively through several presses each utilizing a die set until a desired part is formed. For efficient operation of the press line, more than one different set of dies need to be available so that different parts can be produced at different times. When a new part needs to be made, a new set of dies must be substituted for the dies presently in the presses. The subject die change system and apparatus greatly facilitates this die change procedure.
2. Description of Related Art
The current practice in a stamping press rooms is to position a number of presses in a row. A part moves from one press to an adjacent press as it is progressively formed in to a finish vehicle body part, for example. An overhead travelling crane is typically used to move heavy equipment such as dies. The depending portions of the crane are selectively moved both along the row of presses and laterally therebetween. To change a die set in a press, the heavy die set is dragged horizontally out from each press. The crane is moved between the presses so that it can lift the die set and move it from between the presses. The die set is then taken to a storage area where a new die set is attached and moved back to the press. Typically, the new die set is positioned on a platform or the like so that it can be dragged into the press. This same procedure is repeated for each press. It can take many hours to change all the dies in a press line with six presses using the above described method.

Cart for dies with pneumatic and hydraulic powered devices


A vehicle including a bumper assembly includes a bumper reinforcement beam that extends generally in a vehicle lateral direction. The bumper reinforcement beam has a front face, a rear face opposite the front face and a top extending between the front face and the rear face. A bumper cover is located above the bumper reinforcement beam in a vehicle vertical direction. A bumper cover reinforcement includes an anchor portion supported on the bumper reinforcement beam and a bumper cover support portion extending outwardly from the anchor portion toward the bumper cover. The bumper cover support portion is arranged and configured to resist a downward force applied to the bumper cover in the vehicle vertical direction.

Vehicles may be equipped with bumper assemblies and impact protection structures that elastically and plastically deform to absorb energy in the event of an impact. A number of standards and tests currently exist. Various organizations are introducing a number of pedestrian regulations and rating criteria for automotive vehicles. As one example, test methods have been developed to assess the protection of an adult pedestrian by simulating leg-impact conditions during a car-to-pedestrian impact. Such criteria can affect the rigidity or feel of the bumper assemblies. Accordingly, bumper assemblies are desired that allow for static subjective rigidity, particularly in the vertical direction, while maintaining pedestrian performance.

Bumper assemblies including a bumper cover reinforcement

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A depositing step and an irradiating step are repeated alternately so as to pile solid layers to produce a laminated mold for casting an alloy melt. In the depositing step there is formed a deposited layer of sand coated with a thermosetting resin capable of forming a solid layer upon being irradiated with a laser beam. In the irradiating step, the deposited layer is irradiated with a laser beam to form a hardened solid layer. The irradiating step includes the operations of: distinguishing an outer skin portion from an inner portion of the deposited layer, and emitting a thick laser beam having a large diameter to harden the inner portion of the deposited layer, and emitting a thin laser beam having a diameter smaller than the thick laser beam to harden the skin portion of the deposited layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for producing a three-dimensional laminated object such as casting molds by piling solid layers formed by use of a laser beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique has been developed recently for producing a three-dimensional laminated object. It is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No.3-183,530 and U.S. Pat. No, 4,247,508. This technique emits a laser beam to material such as resin-coated sand to form a solid layer, piling a plurality of solid layers in a thickness direction to produce the three-dimensional laminated object.
This technique emits the laser beam to the material so as to obtain a target shape, forming convex portions 101a being equivalent to a diameter of the laser beam in a skin portion 101 of the solid layer 100, as appreciated in FIG. 16. Since the diameter of the laser beam influences shape-accuracy of the skin portion 101 in such a way, the diameter is set to be small. So, this technique has a limit in increasing an irradiation area, requiring a long irradiation time for forming one solid layer, thereby generating a limit in productivity of the three-dimensional laminated object.


Catheters which utilize a flexible tube that has been modified at one end or both ends. Such modifications involve modifying a tube end to increase rigidity and strength (while maintaining some flexibility), or involve special placement of an intraluminal cord within the tube. One such catheter has a tube (20) with a cord (26) running therethrough wherein a portion of the tube's proximal end has been reinforced (30), preferably, in such a manner that the reinforced portion of the tube remains flexible. Similarly, another catheter includes a tube having an associated intraluminal cord, wherein the cord is affixed to the interior of the tube's proximal end. Another catheter has a tube and intraluminal cord with an enlarged end (e.g. a ball (28)) extending from the tube's distal end, and is modified by incorporating, within the tube's distal end, a spring (30). The thus placed spring (30) acts to increase the rigidity of the tip of the device, and interacts with the ball if need be to collect a portion of the tube which may break off from the remainder of the tube after placement.

Among other things, U.S. Pat. 5,490,845 to Racz (Feb. 13, 1996) discloses a flexible catheter which includes a catheter tube containing an intraluminal cord member (cord) extending along the tube's length and protruding out of the tube's distal and proximal ends. The thus placed cord helps to prevent collapse of the tube during fluid administration, and the portion of the cord extending out of the tube's distal end also aids in the retention and removal of parts of the tube which might break off during use of the catheter.


A method of processing data in a system having a host and a storage node may include performing a shuffle operation on data stored at the storage node, wherein the shuffle operation may include performing a shuffle write operation, and performing a shuffle read operation, wherein at least a portion of the shuffle operation is performed by an accelerator at the storage node. A method for partitioning data may include sampling, at a device, data from one or more partitions based on a number of samples, transferring the sampled data from the device to a host, determining, at the host, one or more splitters based on the sampled data, communicating the one or more splitters from the host to the device, and partitioning, at the device, data for the one or more partitions based on the one or more splitters.

A system having a host and one or more storage nodes may utilize a shuffle operation, for example, to rearrange data between partitions and/or nodes.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

Systems, methods, and devices for storage shuffle acceleration


This disclosure describes a method of transmitting media data from a source device, the method comprising establishing, with the source device, a first communication session between the source device and a sink device comprising a vehicle head unit, wherein the first communication session conforms to a communication protocol. The method also comprises discovering, with the source device and by the first communication session, the sink device. The method further comprises, during operation of the first communication session, establishing with the source device a second communication session between the source device and the sink device, wherein the second communication session conforms to a wireless display protocol. The method also comprises transmitting, using the second communication session, media data from the source device to the sink device for output to an interface of the sink device.

Wireless display (WD) systems include a source device and one or more sink devices. A source device may be a device that is capable of transmitting media data. A sink device may be a device that is capable of receiving and rendering media data. The source device and the sink devices may be either mobile devices or wired devices. As mobile devices, for example, the source device and the sink devices may include mobile telephones, portable computers with wireless communication cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, digital image capturing devices, such as a camera or camcorder, or other flash memory devices with wireless communication capabilities, including so-called "smart" phones and "smart" pads or tablets, or other types of wireless communication devices. As wired devices, for example, the source device and the sink devices may comprise televisions, desktop computers, monitors, projectors, printers, audio amplifiers, set top boxes, gaming consoles, routers, and digital video disc (DVD) players, and media servers.
A source device may send media data, such as audio video (AV) data, to one or more of the sink devices participating in a particular media share session. The media data may be played back at both a local display of the source device and at each of the displays of the sink devices. More specifically, each of the participating sink devices may render the received media data for presentation on its screen and audio equipment. In some cases, a user of a sink device may apply user inputs to the sink device, such as touch inputs and remote control inputs.
The Wi-Fi Display (WFD) standard (also known as Miracast™) is an emerging standard for wireless display systems being developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance and based on Wi-Fi Direct. The WFD standard provides an interoperable mechanism to discover, pair, connect and render media data sourced from a Wi-Fi Display Source at a Wi-Fi Display Sink.

Establishing a wireless display session between a computing device and a vehicle head unit


Embodiments of a multiphase generator with duty-cycle correction are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the multiphase generator comprises controllable delay stages arranged in series and dual-edge phase detector circuitry. The dual-edge phase detector circuitry may generate a control signal to adjust the delay provided by the delay stages based on corresponding rising edges and corresponding falling edges of same-state signals operated on by the delay stages. Other circuits, systems, and methods are described.

Advances in technology result in digital circuitry operating at continually higher speeds. As the speed of operation increases, more distortion results as higher frequency clock signals are distributed to the various components of an integrated circuit (IC). Some conventional techniques regenerate the clock signals within the IC; however these techniques are sometimes affected by duty-cycle variations in the input clock signal.
Thus, there are general needs for circuitry and methods for distributing clock signals. There are also general needs for circuitry and methods for regenerating clock signals.

Multiphase generator with duty-cycle correction using dual-edge phase detection and method for generating a multiphase signal


The present invention discloses an extracellular/epidermal growth factor polypeptides and polynucleotides encoding such polypeptides. Also provided is a procedure for producing such polypeptides by recombinant techniques and therapeutic uses of the polypeptides which include induction of DNA synthesis, stimulating wound healing, treating neurological disorders, treating ocular disorders, treating kidney and liver disorders and stimulating embryogenesis and angiogenesis. Also disclosed are antagonists against such polypeptide and their use as a therapeutic to treat neoplasia. Also disclosed are diagnostic assays for detecting altered levels of the polypeptide of the present invention and mutations in the nucleic acid sequences which encode the polypeptides of the present invention.

Cellular growth and differentiation appear to be initiated, promoted, maintained and regulated by a multiplicity of stimulatory, inhibitory and synergistic factors and hormones. The alteration and/or breakdown of the cellular homeostasis mechanism seems to be a fundamental cause of growth related diseases, including neoplasia. Growth modulatory factors are implicated in a wide variety of pathological and physiological processes including signal transduction, cell communication, growth and development, embryogenesis, immune response, hematopoiesis cell survival and differentiation, inflammation, tissue repair and remodeling, atherosclerosis and cancer. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα), betacellulin, amphiregulin, and vaccinia growth factor among other factors are growth and differentiation modulatory proteins produced by a variety of cell types either under normal physiological conditions or in response to exogenous stimuli and are members of the EGF family.
These peptide growth factors influence epithelial and epidermal cells through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. They also play important roles in normal wound healing in tissues such as skin, cornea and gastrointestinal tract and all share substantial amino acid sequence homology including the conserved placement of three intra-chain disulfide bonds. In addition, all the factors of this family bind to a 170,000 molecular weight transmembrane glycoprotein receptor and activate the tyrosine kinase activity in the receptor's cytoplasmic domain (Buhrow, S. A. et al., J. Bio. Chem., 258:7824-7826 (1983)).
The receptors are expressed by many types of cells including skin keratinocytes, fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and epithelial cells of the gastro-intestinal tract (GI) tract. These peptide growth factors are synthesized by several cells involved in wound healing including platelets, keratinocytes, and activated macrophages. These growth factors have also been implicated in both the stimulation of growth and differentiation of certain cells, for example, neoplasia, and the inhibition of other types of cells.
Betacellulin is a 32-kilodalton glycoprotein that appears to be processed from a larger transmembrane precursor by proteolytic cleavage. The carboxyl-terminal domain of betacellulin has 50% sequence similarity with that of rat transforming growth factor a. Betacellulin is a potent mitogen for retinal pigment epithelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells.
Amphiregulin is a bifunctional cell growth regulatory factor which exhibits potent inhibitory activity on DNA synthesis in neoplastic cells, yet promotes the growth of certain normal cells. A wide variety of uses for amphiregulin have been assigned including the treatment of wounds and cancers. For example, amphiregulin has potent anti-proliferative effects in vitro on several human cancer cell lines of epithelial origin. Amphiregulin also induces the proliferation of human foreskin fibroblasts as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,096.
TGFα has pleiotropic biological effects. The production of certain members of TGFα is synthesized by a number of oncogenically transformed fibroblasts (Ciardiello et al., J. Cell. Biochem., 42:45-57 (1990)), as well as by a variety of tumors, including renal, breast and squamous carcinomas, melanomas and glioblastomas (Derynck, R. et al., Cancer Res., 47:707-712 (1987)). There is direct evidence that TGFα expression can be a contributing factor in the conversion of a normal cell to its tumorigenic counterpart by analyzing transgenic mice in which tumor cells express high levels of TGFα. TGFα transgenic animals display a variety of neoplastic lesions, depending on the strain of mouse and the choice of promoter regulating TGFα expression (Sandgren, et al., Cell, 61:1121-1135 (1990)).
TGFα also plays a role in normal embryonic development and adult physiology (Derynck, R. Adv. Cancer Res., 58:27-5 (1992)). TGFα has been expressed in many tissues including skin, brain, gastrointestinal mucosa and activating macrophages. Accordingly, TGFα is an important factor in controlling growth of epithelial cells and has a role in wound healing. TGFα has also been found to be angiogenic (Schreiber, et al., Science, 232:1250-1253 (1986)).

Extracellular/epidermal growth factor like protein


In one embodiment, a method of configuring multiple per user access connections includes receiving, by an access gateway (AG) from an access point (AP), a first extensible authentication protocol (EAP) message including a first capability of a user equipment (UE) and transmitting, by the AG to an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server, a second EAP message including the first capability of the UE and indication second capability of the AG. The method also includes receiving, by the AG from the AAA server, and an AAA message including a negotiated connection capability version and AAA message parameters and transmitting, by AG to the AP, a third EAP message including the negotiated connection capability version.

In a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), there is a connection oriented access to multiplex several packet data network (PDN) connections over a single physical radio interface. A default PDN connection is set up during the initial attachment of a user equipment (UE). Additional connections to PDNs may be initiated based on the access point name (APN) for a corresponding application. Each PDN connection has a connection setup from the UE to the PDN. Some UE operating systems, such as Symbian, treat each different PDN as a virtual node inside the UE. Other UE operating systems, such as Android, use traditional IP routing tables with a policy driven layer on top. The policy layer decides the route and preferences for each application.

System and method for configuring multiple IP connections


A positive electrode for an all-solid battery including a positive active material; a conductive material; and a binder, wherein the positive electrode further includes a cyano compound represented by Formula 1:M[A(CN)x]  Formula 1wherein in Formula 1, A is at least one selected from boron, gallium, aluminum, fluorine, phosphorus, and carbon, M is at least one alkali metal, and x is an integer of 1 to 4.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to positive electrodes for all-solid batteries and all-solid batteries including the positive electrodes, and more specifically to positive electrodes for all-solid batteries having excellent battery characteristics and all-solid batteries including the positive electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among lithium-ion secondary batteries, all-solid batteries using solid electrolytes are known. An all-solid battery includes an electrolyte layer including a solid electrolyte, electrodes (positive and negative electrodes) formed on opposite sides of the electrolyte layer, and a current collector attached to each electrode. As the solid electrolyte, a sulfide-based, i.e., a sulfide-containing, solid electrolyte having high ion conductivity is known.
For a lithium-ion secondary battery, a carbon material that does not include lithium is used as an active material in a negative electrode and a transition metal oxide including lithium, such as a lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), a lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2), or a lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) is used as a positive active material. Furthermore, because the positive active material has low lithium-ion conductivity, a solid electrolyte is generally included in the positive electrode.
As a solid electrolyte included in the positive electrode, a sulfide-based solid electrolyte having excellent lithium-ion conductivity is used; however, due to high reactivity of sulfide, the sulfide-based solid electrolyte reacts with the electrode active material, more specifically, with the positive active material, to form a highly resistive layer of an oxide at an interface of the solid electrolyte and the positive active material, and increases interfacial resistance. Thus, a lithium-ion secondary battery formed therefrom does not have good charge and discharge characteristics.
In one method known in the art to solve the above-described problems, a lithium-ion conductive oxide is coated on a surface of a positive active material particle to inhibit counter diffusion between the positive active material and the solid electrolyte, which inhibits the formation of the highly resistive layer on the interface of the positive material and the solid electrolyte, to thereby improve output characteristics of an all-solid lithium secondary battery formed therefrom. Coating the lithium-ion conductive oxide on the surface of the positive active material particle is performed by a method such as electro-spraying; however, processes for the coating can be difficult or complicated and thus, the processes are difficult to use on a commercial scale that would allow production to keep up with the increase in demand for lithium-ion secondary batteries.

Cathode and all-solid battery including the same


A controller and method for controlling output of a rechargeable battery that prevents the life span of the rechargeable battery from being shortened while ensuring starting of the engine. The rechargeable battery controller is mounted on a vehicle including an engine functioning as a power source. The controller includes a control unit for instructing a vehicle ECU, which is installed in the vehicle, to stop discharging the rechargeable battery when an index indicating the charged state of the rechargeable battery satisfies a discharge suspension condition. The control unit includes a monitor unit for changing the discharge suspension condition so as to continue discharging the rechargeable battery continues when the rechargeable battery is expected to supply power to the starter motor of the engine.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for controlling the output of a rechargeable battery mounted on a vehicle.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) using an engine and a motor as a power source has been put to practical use and is becoming popular. An HEV includes a rechargeable battery functioning as a power supply for supplying power to the motor.
When the engine outputs more power than necessary to drive the vehicle, the HEV drives its generator using the excessive power to charge the rechargeable battery. When the vehicle is braking or decelerating, the HEV drives the motor with the vehicle wheels and charges the rechargeable battery using the motor as a power generator. When the engine outputs less power than necessary, the HEV compensates for the lack of power by discharging the rechargeable battery and driving the motor.
In this way, the HEV accumulates energy in the rechargeable battery. Conventional automobiles release such energy into the atmosphere as heat. The energy efficiency of an HEV is higher than the energy efficiency of a conventional automobile. Thus, the HEV greatly improves fuel efficiency as compared with conventional automobiles.
An HEV supplies power to a starter motor, which is used to start the engine, with the rechargeable battery that supplies power to the drive motor. However, in the rechargeable battery, the discharge voltage or state of charge (SOC) greatly decreases at low temperatures of zero degrees Celsius or lower. The HEV may not be able to start the engine under such circumstances. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-195138 describes a controller (hereinafter referred to as "battery ECU") for a rechargeable battery that limits the output of the discharged power to ensure starting of the engine under low temperatures.
Specifically, the battery ECU sets the minimum voltage of the rechargeable battery for driving the starter motor. If the discharge voltage that was greater than or equal to the minimum voltage when activating the starter motor becomes lowers than the minimum voltage, the battery ECU temporarily stops the supply of power. As discharge current generates heat in the battery and increases the discharge voltage, the battery ECU allows power to be supplied again to the starter motor. The battery ECU performs such a process before the engine starts. Therefore, in the above publication, the battery ECU ensures the starting of the engine under low temperatures by repeatedly stopping and starting discharge of the rechargeable battery.
The rechargeable battery mounted on the HEV is normally formed by connecting a plurality battery cells in series. If the capacity of each battery cell varies, the discharge capability of each battery cell also varies. As a result, excess discharge of a battery cell having a lowered capacity causes polarity inversion. Repeated starting and stopping of discharge within a short period of time also results in a tendency for polarity inversion to occur. Thus, in the invention of the above publication that repeatedly activates and inactivates the starter motor, the possibility of rise in the frequency of polarity inversion increases. This shortens the life span of the rechargeable battery.

Device and method for controlling output of rechargeable battery


An easy-peel laminated food can, comprising a can body (100) made by punching a laminated metal sheet, and a cover body (200) made of a laminating film. The can body (100) comprises a cavity (110) provided with an opening (112) and an annular bonding body (120) circumferentially arranged at the edge of the opening (112), and the cover body (200) and the annular bonding body (120) may be thermally pressed and bonded to be sealed.

Currently, the metal food cans are sealed in a manner of double seaming, whether they are two-piece cans or three-piece cans, or their lids are easy-open lids, easy-peel-off lids, or common lids. Therefore, the strength of the can bodies can be increased to ensure that the contents would not be contaminated by secondary pollution. However, there are some disadvantages as described below in the manner of double seaming for sealing: the sealing machines are complicated and difficult to be adjusted, so skilled technicians are required to operate them, and metal lids and cover rings are needed when sealing, which result in high production cost of metal cans; it is easy to cut consumer's fingers during opening the sealing.

GUANGZHOU JORSON FOOD TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A gesture-based human machine interface, for example, a user interface for controlling a program executing on a computer, and related method are provided. Gestures of the user are monitored and a response is provided that is based upon the detected gestures. An object is used to point to information displayed on a screen. The information displayed on the screen is modified in response to a determination of the position on the screen to which the object is pointing and in response to the distance of the object from the screen.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a gesture-based human machine interface, for example a graphical user interface for controlling a program executing on a computer. Although applicable to many types of programs, programs controlling the flight of one or more unmanned air vehicles are of particular interest.
2. Background
Human machine interfaces have evolved substantially over the past decades. Even within the narrower field of control of computers, interfaces have evolved from command lines to graphical user interfaces requiring the use of a mouse or similar type of pointing device for selecting graphical icons displayed to a user.
More recently, touch screen devices have gained popularity. Touch screen devices allowing multiple points of input are particularly advantageous as they open up the possibility of gesture-based control. Apple's iPhone™ is a good example where touches may be used to select items, scroll up or down, zoom in or zoom out and to rotate items. Touch screen devices suffer several disadvantages. For example, the screens tend to have slow reaction times, poor accuracy and poor reliability, while frequent use of a touch screen leads to the accumulation of residues and dirt resulting in further deterioration of performance.
Systems that avoid some of the problems of touch screen devices have been proposed by avoiding contact with the screen. Instead, the gestures of the user are monitored and a response is provided that is based upon the detected gesture. For example, systems that monitor the hands of a user have been proposed, such that gestures made with the hands are used to select, scroll, zoom, rotate, and the like, akin to current systems that rely upon touching the screen.
It would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.


Sodalite is synthesized in the presence of a stoichiometric quantity of Permanganate ion. After thorough washing to remove trace salts the resulting pigment may be encapsulated with amorphous silica using the Iler process. The resulting pigment has enhanced acid stability and provides excellent corrosion protection on reactive metal substrates such as Aerospace Aluminum or Coil grade Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel.

Chromium in the form of Chromate (CrO4—) is a widely employed and highly effective corrosion preventive pigment. It is the de facto standard for corrosion prevention in primers applied to aluminum, particularly aerospace aluminum stock (2024-T3, and certain 7000 series alloys for instance). In addition hexavalent chromate in the form of Strontium Chromate is the benchmark for corrosion prevention in coil coating primers (whether based on Epoxy-Melamine, Polyester or other binder systems) when applied to Zinc, Zinc-Aluminum or similar galvanized or electro-galvanized coil stock.
There has been extensive activity to eliminate hexavalent chromium from these primer systems, which efforts are driven by two related impeti. First, Hexavalent Chromium is toxic, thus efforts to identify a performance equal substitute to Strontium Chromate are easily understood. Secondly, there are directives promoted in Europe that require a limit on Chromium content, such that a manufactured article may more readily be recycled.
For the foregoing reasons there have been numerous academic research projects (Progress in Organic Coatings 47 (2003) 174-182—Buchheit et al.), and an untold number of industry product development exercises devoted to finding a replacement for Strontium Chromate. There is also a substantial patent literature history describing some of these efforts by industry.
In almost every case examined, however, there appears to be one or more flaws in the touted benefits of the inventive compounds. Typically, the claimed chromate-free inhibitor is in fact not demonstrated in a coating system, but rather in a primer alone. This may disguise a performance flaw, e.g., that the inhibitive pigment leads to blistering. Sometimes, the touted composition is offered based on data for a coating system that is applied only to ferrous metal surfaces. Though it may be free of chromium, the anti-corrosive pigment provides insufficient electrochemical over-potential to prevent corrosion of highly reactive metals such as Aluminum or Zinc.
Finally, it is often the case that the benefit of a chrome-free anti-corrosive pigment is made on the basis of unrealistically short accelerated testing, which is deemed unreliable by those skilled in the art. Indeed, many patented offerings, when independently tested, fail to deliver the long duration of outstanding corrosion prevention expected of Strontium Chromate in benchmark accelerated tests.
The present invention overcomes these deficiencies in previous chrome-free anti-corrosive pigments. It provides proof that the inventive compositions are able to deliver performance on a par with Strontium Chromate when evaluated directly alongside the same in realistic coating systems, appropriate for the substrate and end-use application. The present invention in one preferred form does use a ratio of elements in its composition that is previously disclosed, though in an entirely different field of application. It differs from the prior disclosed systems in that this ratio of elements is used to make a highly crystalline Alumino-Silicate which crystallizes in the Sodalite form, and contains as charge balancing interior anions Permanganate (MnO4−). This general composition of matter has been widely reported in peer-reviewed journals, and is typically represented by the following formula, Na8Al6Si6O24(MnO4)2-xOHx where x is from 0.1 to 0.9, and is typically 0.5. All reports on the synthesis of such Permanganate balanced Sodalite compositions have focused on the color properties of the finished pigment. None have looked at the utility of such pigments as anti-corrosive pigments. See Weller, J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans., 2000, 4227-4240.
The present invention affords finished compositions within the above ranges that are, by virtue of the synthetic method employed, essentially free of soluble salts. In addition, the disclosed compositions are made more suitable for use in anti-corrosive applications by adjustment of their acid stability through the employment of partial or complete silica encapsulation. Furthermore, due to the lack of trace salt contaminants, their resistance to blistering in typical coating systems is greatly improved.

Non-chromate corrosion inhibitor formulas based on permanganate sodalite compositions


An improved fastener stock comprised of a pair of longitudinal and continuous side members which are coupled to a plurality of equidistantly spaced cross-pieces. The pair of longitudinal and continuous side members are extended in a parallel spaced relationship, and the series of cross-pieces are arranged at spaced intervals between the side members so as to connect the side members. Along at least one of the side members, a series of engagement notches are present at spaced intervals between each of the cross-pieces members, and the engagement notches are rectangular or square in shape. A method of applying a fastener to an article is provided. The method includes initially feeding substantially continuous fastener stock from a supply, engaging at least one engagement notch, urging the fastener stock forward, feeding the fastener stock to a needle assembly, cutting a fastener from the fastener stock, and inserting the fastener into an article.

Plastic fasteners or elastic staples having a flexible filament connecting enlarged side members thereof are becoming increasingly popular alternatives for attachment and securing a variety of different articles, particularly in retail and other, similar applications. For example, it has now become common for plastic fasteners to be used to attach product labels, price tags or other materials to fabric materials such as garments and apparel items. Alternatively, plastic fasteners are used as a means of securing a product or item to a hang tag or similar packaging without having to fully encapsulate the product within the packaging. Plastic or elastic fasteners can enable the products to be securely fastened to product packaging or tags without the risk of injury or damage to the product from the use of metal staples having sharp edges. In addition, the cost of the plastic fasteners typically is substantially less than other packaging methods such as metal staples, cable ties and/or twist ties.
Such plastic fasteners generally are applied or inserted using a fastener dispensing tool or system. Such fastener dispensing systems include hand operating tools, often referred to as "tagging guns," and automated stapling equipment which feed and cut the fasteners from a continuously connected fastener stock supply to a needle assembly for insertion of the fasteners into an article, such as an article of clothing, etc. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,039,078 and 4,121,487 illustrate continuously connected fastener stocks and systems for dispensing plastic fasteners from such fastener stock. As indicated in these patents, the fastener stock generally is formed with a ladder-like structure including elongated side members with filaments extending therebetween at spaced intervals. The fastener stock generally can be fed or wound about a supply roll and will be fed by a feed mechanism to the needle assembly of the fastener dispensing system, whereupon the fasteners will be separated or cut away from the stock and inserted into the article.
In conventional systems, the feed mechanism for feeding the fastener stock to the needle assembly of the fastener dispensing system generally comprises a feed wheel or similar rotary mechanism that engages the filaments extending between the side members and pulls or urges the fastener stock forwardly to feed a next fastener into the needle assembly for cutting and insertion. Such rotary feed systems, however, typically can be somewhat bulky and can create variation in a cut location. The filaments of the fastener stock typically have a desired amount of elasticity or flexibility and thus can stretch or expand by varying amounts as the filaments are engaged by the feed wheel, causing a variation or difference in the distance that the fastener stock is pulled forward. Thus, a variation or inconsistency is created in the cut location for successive fasteners cut from the fastener stock. These inconsistencies or variation in the location at which the fasteners are cut or severed from their fastener stock leads to inconsistent and reduced sizes of the side members of the plastic fasteners that in turn can lead to improper retention of the fastener in use. Such rotating feed wheel systems also can be somewhat complex and expensive in operation.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a fastener and fastener stock system that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.

Method of applying notched fastener stock


A method and apparatus for approximating a sigmoidal response using digital circuitry for neural network computations. The digital circuitry in processing element (16) produces the neuron output signal (110) by performing a squashing operation which determines an approximation of a sigmoid function. In one form, the present invention uses digital circuitry (16) in data processor (10) to approximate a sigmoid function of a neuron (100) using a plurality of parabolas. In an alternate embodiment, the sigmoid function of neuron (100) is approximated using a quasi-log.sub.2 function.

The use of artificial neural networks is becoming more common today in a variety of applications. In a neural network array, each neuron receives a plurality of input signals. Typically, each neuron then performs a weighted summation of the input signals to generate an intermediate result. A "squashing" operation is then performed on the intermediate result in order to produce a digital output signal which has a value that falls within a predetermined range of values. That is, the intermediate result is "squashed" to fit within a smaller, predetermined range of digital output values. For example, if eight digital data bits are available to represent the digital output value, then the intermediate result must be "squashed" to fit within the range of decimal numbers-128 to 127, which can be represented by eight binary bits.
The "squashing" operation involves approximating a sigmoidal response using digital circuitry. One prior art approach approximates the sigmoid function using piecewise linear approximations. The sigmoid function is divided into a plurality of linear segments, where each linear segment can be described by an intercept value and a slope value. The digital circuitry selects the particular line segment which corresponds to a given intermediate value. The digital output value is then calculated using the intermediate value and using an intercept value and a slope value for the selected line segment.
Unfortunately, using the piecewise linear approximation approach, one or more upper and lower boundary checks (e.g. using a window comparator) must be performed in order to select which line segment should be used. Also, this approach requires a significant number of line segments in order to achieve the accuracy required by some applications. And if a large number of line segments are required, a large number of intercept values and slope values must be stored, for example in a table in memory. A more efficient approach was needed for approximating a sigmoidal response in a digital data processor.

Method and apparatus for approximating a sigmoidal response using digital circuitry


Methods of forming a microelectronic packaging structure and associated structures formed thereby are described. Those methods may include attaching a patterned die backside film (DBF) on a backside of a die, wherein the patterned DBF comprises an opening surrounding at least one through silicon via (TSV) pad disposed on the backside of the die.

As semiconductor technology advances for higher processor performance, advances in packaging architectures may include coreless bumpless build-up Layer (BBUL) package architectures and other such assemblies. Current process flows for BBUL packages involve building of the substrate on a temporary core/carrier capped with copper foil, which may then be removed after the package is separated from the core.

Forming die backside coating structures with coreless packages


A temperature control assembly controls the temperature of parts of a printing machine. A plurality of assembly-side sub-circuits, the temperature of which is to be individually controlled, each comprises a temperature control fluid outlet and a temperature control fluid inlet. An external temperature control sub-circuit, can be connected to each assembly-side sub-circuit to form a respective temperature control circuit. The assembly-side sub-circuits are coupled to a common feed line, which conducts temperature control fluid, in a thermal and/or fluidic manner on the feed side to control the temperature of the assembly-side sub-circuits and to a common return line on the return side. The feed line is connected to a fluid store, which provides temperature control fluid to supply the feed line. The temperature control assembly comprises the common feed line, the fluid store, and an assembly which controls the temperature of the temperature control fluid of the fluid store.

DE 10 2007 003 619 A1 discloses a sheet-fed printing machine having a temperature control device, wherein a primary circuit which is cooled by a central temperature control device is provided, to which primary circuit individual temperature control circuits are thermally coupled in the printing couples in such a way that fluid is exchanged with the primary circuit via a valve in order to control the temperature of the individual temperature control circuits.
EP 1 862 310 A2 discloses a printing machine comprising a plurality of printing couples, to which a peripheral device, embodied substantially in the form of an equipment cabinet with front doors, is allocated for the purpose of providing wetting agent and controlling temperature. The peripheral device can be used both to process wetting agent conducted within the circuit and to control the temperature of temperature control medium in a temperature control medium circuit for collectively controlling the temperature of forme rollers.
WO 2006/072558 A1 discloses a printing machine with printing towers, wherein one printing tower is assigned a supply device for supplying temperature control fluid to temperature control circuits of the printing tower, wherein primary circuit fluid from said circuits can be metered in alternately from two primary circuits for the purpose of cooling or preheating.
From EP 1 644 901 B1, a machine for processing sheets and comprising a plurality of modules is known.
DE 100 08 210 B4 discloses an oil temperature control device, wherein the temperature-controlled oil is first used in the printing couple for controlling the temperature of distribution rollers, and is then fed as lubricant to lubricating points in the printing couple. In this case, the oil temperature control device is integrated into a modular body, and is connected to the printing couple via a supply line and a return line. A plurality of modular devices can be connected to one another, in which case the coolant lines can be connected via interfaces. A cooling medium circuit and an oil circuit, which is temperature controlled by the cooling circuit via a heat exchanger, is provided for each modular device. Each cooling circuit is configured to be connected to a cooling system, which is in turn configured for connection via the cooling medium lines, in a manner not described in detail, to a central cooling device, which is not described in detail.
DE 10 2009 001 597 A1 relates to a temperature control concept, wherein modular secondary circuits are provided in a printing tower, one above the other at the end face of said printing tower. These temperature control circuits are coupled or can be coupled to a primary circuit, from which primary circuit fluid can be metered into the secondary circuits. In the simplest embodiment, the primary circuit can be formed by an end face circuit, in which a cooling assembly is provided. However, the end face circuit can also represent a primary circuit branch of a primary circuit which supplies one of a plurality of printing towers, and in which the cooling assembly is provided.

Temperature control assembly for controlling the temperature of functional parts of a printing machine, printing system with a printing machine and a temperature control assembly, and set of modules for forming a temperature control assembly


A real time system to televise sporting events from amongst the players on the playing field is disclosed. Sports paraphernalia that are ordinarily used by the players on the playing field are instrumented with a variety of TV cameras, microphones, and bi-directional communication electronics. Sports paraphernalia like footballs, ice hockey pucks, baseball first bases, baseball second bases, baseball third bases, baseball home plates and baseball pitcher's rubbers are disclosed. The instrumentation is built into and contained within the sports paraphernalia themselves. The instrumented sports paraphernalia televise signals to an antenna array relay junction, which relays the signals to a remote base station where they are processed and finally broadcast to a TV viewing audience. The cameraman in the remote base station exercises command and control over the functions of the instrumented sports paraphernalia.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to television broadcasting, and in particular to the television broadcasting of sports events from a system of instrumented sports paraphernalia on the playing fields/rinks of sports stadiums.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many sports are played in sports venues including stadiums, arenas etc. Examples of these sports are football, baseball and ice hockey. Football, baseball and ice hockey are televised in these venues for entertaining TV viewing audiences, training players; and for doing instant replays.
A prior art system for capturing video and audio of these sporting events within these venues involves positioning video cameras at ground, roof and balcony locations within the sporting arena or sports stadium, around the periphery of the sporting event and outside of the actual playing field. U.S. Pat. No. 8,194,135 (James) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,184,169 (Ortiz) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,059,152 (daCosta) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,013,899 (Gillard) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,376,388 (Ortiz) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,906 (Auffret) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,934,510 (Katayama) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,355 (Thompson) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,398 (Verna)) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,513 (Morisaki) are examples. Another prior art system for capturing video and audio of these sporting events involves mounting cameras at various mobile or fixed overhead positions on cable rails deployed over the playing field. U.S. Pat. No. 8,199,197 (Bennett) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,239,106 (Rodnunsky) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,189 (Kneller) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,819 (Brown) are examples. Yet another prior art system for capturing video and audio of these sporting events involves the use of hand held cameras carried around the periphery of the sporting event and outside of the actual playing field. U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,419 (Harris) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,168 (Brown) are examples. Still yet another prior art system for capturing video and audio of these sporting events involves cameras mounted on blimps deployed in the air space above the playing field. U.S. Pat. No. 7,173,649 (Shannon) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,476 (Fussell) are examples. Other prior art systems for capturing video and audio of these sporting events involve cameras mounted on helmets and caps used by the players on the playing field. U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,354 (Foster) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,044 (Foster)) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,627 (Helmsderfer) are examples. Also, in prior art fields unrelated to television sports broadcasting, cameras have been carried aloft by sport's projectiles et al, where the cameras are used and specifically adapted to measure the path of travel of the projectiles in their flight. These projectiles concentrate on getting pictures without sound, while the projectiles are in the air, for the purpose of determining the path of the projectile. U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,849 (Kurokawa) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,995,787 (Adams) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,116 (Petrov) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,791,808 (French) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,085,188 (Tuxen) are examples. Projectiles in the prior art do not address the needs of broadcast television for the TV viewing audience.
It should be noted that an important consideration in meeting the needs of televising sporting events is to routinely provide high quality entertaining pictures and sounds to the TV viewing audience which contain significant aspects of the game. Prior art projectiles like those cited above have not been designed or intended or made practical or useful as suitable platforms from which to televise sporting events.

Instrumented sports paraphernalia system


A medical electrical lead for establishing an electrical connection with a tissue of the body, the lead having a lead body and a semi-cylindrical cuff. In the preferred embodiment the semi-cylindrical cuff features one or more electrodes. The semi-cylindrical cuff having a long flap which wraps about the cuff and a short flap which wraps about the long flap. The semi-cylindrical cuff is relatively stiff as compared to the short flap. The short flap, in turn, is relatively the same stiffness as the long flap. The stiffness of each flap may be varied, however, so that one is more or less than the other, and in turn, than the cuff. Through such a multi-flap construction the electrodes may be positioned proximal to a nerve in such a manner that the mechanically induced damage may be minimized or even entirely eliminated. Finally, a method of implanting such an electrode is also disclosed.

Modern electrical therapeutic and diagnostic devices, such as pacemakers or nerve stimulators for example, require a reliable electrical connection between the device and the body. In cases of nerve stimulators, in particular, chronically reliable electrical connections have been difficult to attain. In a chronic setting it has been found many medical electrical leads may damage a nerve either mechanically or electrically or both.
Mechanically induced damage includes thickened epineurium due to accumulation of connective tissue between the electrode and the nerve, increased subperineural and endoneural connective tissue, endoneural edema, demyelinization, axonal degeneration and frank axonal loss. Such damage may be caused in several ways. First, if the lead and in particular the electrode which interfaces with the nerve does not move with the nerve, then abrasion may result. Second, the presence of the lead and in particular the electrode, a foreign object, may cause edema or swelling of the nerve. As the nerve swells it may be constricted by the lead. A compressive force may thereby be induced upon the nerve. In the past a so-called "self-sizing" nerve electrode was fashioned to avoid such damage. Such an electrode may be seen in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,979 to Bullara entitled "Bidirectional Helical Electrode for Nerve Stimulation and assigned to the Huntington Medical Research Institute. To date, however, such electrodes have not been wholly satisfactory. Electrically induced damage may also be caused by a chronic nerve electrode. Such damage results in, among other injuries, axonal degeneration as well as nerve edema. While it has been shown that the type of electrical stimulation, e.g. frequency, waveform, amplitude, may be a significant factor, the actual electrode design may also affect the degree of electrically induced damage. In particular a medical lead which provides the optimal electrical characteristics for the desired therapy is needed.


A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprising an LCD panel on which an electrode pad is provided; a driving part connected to the electrode pad and applying a driving signal to the LCD panel; a light source part providing light to a rear surface of the LCD panel; and a circuit board comprising a driving circuit part applying a driving control signal to the driving part and an inverter providing a light source driving voltage to the light source part. Accordingly, the LCD may improve work efficiency in a modular assembly process and decrease voltage overload of a voltage converter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display comprising an inverter providing a light source driving voltage to a light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as 'LCD') is a device displaying an image, with liquid crystal cells aligned in a matrix form where the light transmittance of the cells is adjusted according to an image signal. The LCD forms an image on an LCD panel using light radiated from a backlight unit.
The LCD comprises an LCD panel on which liquid crystal cells formed in a pixel unit and aligned in a matrix form are formed, a driving part driving the liquid crystal cells, a driving circuit part provided with a circuit pattern to control the driving part, a backlight unit uniformly providing light to the LCD panel, a bottom chassis accommodating the above and an inverter providing a voltage to the backlight unit.
Here, the driving part comprises a driving chip and a FPC (flexible printed circuit) on which the driving chip is mounted and the driving circuit part comprises a voltage converter converting inputted voltages into needed voltage values and a circuit pattern generating a signal to control the driving part. The driving circuit part is connected to one side of the FPC and disposed on rear of the bottom chassis.
The inverter generates a light source control signal controlling and driving a light source and provides a light source driving voltage to a light source part according to the light source control signal. The inverter is manually screwed on one side or the rear surface of the bottom chassis.
However, since the driving circuit part and the inverter are respectively disposed on the predetermined places by hand work and it takes a long time in a modular assembly process of the LCD, working efficiency becomes low. Accordingly, mass-production of the LCD is adversely affected.
Moreover, the driving circuit part comprises a voltage converter converting inputted voltages into at least one of voltages needed to drive the LCD, such as a gate-on voltage, a gate-off voltage, a reference voltage (AVDD) and etc. However, as the voltage converter generates a high reference voltage so as to improve high image quality and response time, the voltage converter is disadvantageously overloaded.

Liquid crystal display device including a circuit board including an inverter with a driving circuit part


A method for writing data into a flash memory, wherein the flash memory includes a plurality multi-level cells, and each of the plurality of multi-level cells is capable of storing a plurality of bits. The method includes: storing a first bit into each of the plurality of multi-level cells respectively; determining if each of the plurality of multi-level cells stores the first bit respectively; and when each of the plurality of multi-level cells stores the first bit respectively, storing a second bit into each of the plurality of multi-level cells respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and control device for reading data in a flash memory, and more particularly, to a method and a control device for increasing the service life and operating speed of a flash memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, when a flash memory control circuit writes data into a memory unit in a flash memory, the flash memory control circuit will erase the data previously stored in the memory unit, and then begin to write the data into the memory unit. However, this slows the data writing speed of the flash memory, because the flash memory control circuit has to spend additional time on erasing the data previously stored in the memory unit. Further, in general, the service life of a flash memory is limited by the writing and erasing times of the flash memory. More writing times and erasing times of the flash memory result in a shorter service life of the flash memory. On the contrary, less writing times and erasing times of the flash memory result in a longer service life of the flash memory. Hence, how to increase the data writing speed and service life of the flash memory is an important issue.

Method for writing data into flash memory and related control apparatus


A mobile cart for serving food and/or beverages is described. According to various implementations, the cart is equipped with a removable mission module. The mission module includes equipment that is used by the cart to perform its designated mission, such as an oven (for a hot food service mission module), a cooling unit (for a cold food service mission module), a beverage dispenser (for a beverage service mission module), a point of sale terminal (for duty-free service mission module), appropriate branding (for a franchising mission), or a custom equipment (for a customized mission). The mission module also includes a processor and a memory. The mission module is removable, and may be one of several mission modules available to the cart. Thus, for each type of mission, there may be a different mission module. This enables the cart to be quickly and easily “customized” for each mission by replacing an unneeded module with a required one.

Ideally, when a business needs to serve food and beverages, the customers are conveniently located at tables, a large kitchen with a staff is located nearby, and there are enough servers to deliver the food quickly and efficiently to the customers. However, there are many scenarios in which such conditions do not exist. In such scenarios, many businesses end up using carts to serve food and beverages. One example is a sidewalk food concession cart. Another example is a room service cart in a hotel. Still another example is a galley cart on an airline, bus, or cruise ship. On an airline, for example, food and beverages need to be selected that are appropriate for the length of the trip and delivered to the aircraft just prior to flight time. On the aircraft itself, there are additional obstacles to overcome when serving food and beverages, including limited space and few personnel available to serve. Furthermore, the food has to be heated or chilled during the flight. This requires that the aircraft have enough ovens and refrigerators to heat and/or store food. On flights that are not full, some of the oven and refrigeration equipment goes unused, and simply takes up space and weight, and wastes fuel. Another challenge for serving food and beverages on a plane is all of the appropriate regulations must be complied with. For example, galley carts on airlines have to be sanitized after use according to the standards set forth by the governmental agencies worldwide. Also, regulations require that airline food be stored at certain temperatures from the time of preparation to the time of service. Failure to do so can result in civil liability if passengers get sick.
To summarize, serving food and beverages using serving carts presents its own set of challenges. These include properly outfitting and stocking the carts for missions to which they are assigned, keeping track of where carts are, knowing what kind of food they are carrying, tracking when they were last sanitized, and keeping a record of the temperature at which the contents of the carts are maintained. It can thus be seen that there is a need for a serving cart that addresses these challenges.

Mobile serving cart and system incorporating same


The application relates to a pixel compensation method, a pixel compensation circuit and a display device. The pixel compensation method includes: recording a working time of a display device and determining gate and source voltages of a TFT in an active area within the working time; finding a voltage compensation value from a look-up table according to the working time and the gate and source voltages; and performing voltage compensation to a scan signal according to the voltage compensation value. The gate and source voltages in a time period of the display device are counted, the pre-stored look-up table is searched according to voltage statistical values of gate, source and drain to determine voltage adjustment values for adjusting voltage values of the scan signal, so that a problem of image ghost or flicker in the display device caused by the drift of I-V characteristic curve is overcome consequently.

A thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) device is one kind of active matrix liquid crystal displays (AM-LCD), and is the sole display device that fully exceeds cathode ray tube (CRT) display devices in terms of brightness, contrast, power consumption, life, volume and weight. It has properties of excellent performance, large-scale production characteristics, high automation for manufacturing, low cost of raw materials and broad development space.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a TFT in an active area in related art, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing I-V characteristic curves of a certain TFT in the active area in related art. For properties of an amorphous silicon TFT itself, as long as a gate and a source/drain have a voltage difference for a long time, the I-V characteristic of the TFT would be changed, that is, a drain current ID would drift under a same gate-source voltage VGS. For pixels of a liquid crystal panel, the amorphous silicon TFT is used in such a manner that a gate voltage is kept at a low level and source and drain voltages are kept at high level for a long time in practical applications. It will cause charging ability of the pixels to be changed, and thereby affecting display effect of the liquid crystal panel, for example, phenomena of image ghost and flicker may appear.

Pixel compensating method, pixel compensating circuit and display device

XIANYANG CAIHONG OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


Featured is a data storage back-up system for replication, mirroring and/or backing-up data including one or more first and second data storage devices that embody iSCSI, FC or alike principals and that are operably coupled to each other preferably via a WAN. The first data storage device is configured and arranged so there are two writes of data, one write to a persistent storage device from which reads are done and another write to a SAPS device wherein the data is saved using log-structured file system (LSF) techniques. After saving data to the First storage device, the data logs in the SAPS device are communicated to the second data storage device whereat a de-staging process is conducted so as to de-stage the data logs and write the de-staged data to a persistent storage device in the second data storage device.

The information or data of a company are important assets of the company's business. Also important is making such data or information of the company continuously available. Therefore, and is known to those skilled in that art, storage replication, mirroring and/or back-up systems are desirable so as to make such data or information continuously available; in particular in the event such data or information becomes lost or corrupted as a result of a failure of a computer system or primary storage system. In addition, there also is a need to maintain back-ups of such data and information at locations that are remote from the place of business in order to prevent a catastrophe, whether natural (e.g., weather) or man-made, from causing a loss of such data or information.
Thus, remote data mirroring has become increasingly important as organizations and businesses depend more and more on digital information. It has been widely deployed in the financial industry and other businesses for tolerating failures and disaster recovery. Since the occurrence of events over the last several years, replicating data to a far-away back-up site has taken on new urgency with the heightened awareness of business resiliency requirements. The federal government also has made indications about requiring companies in some industries to back up data to an out-of-region location, although exact distance requirements were delayed until recently.
There are many remote replication/mirroring products in the market today. These products can generally be classified into two broad categories. One category is block-level remote mirroring for data storages in an FC-SAN (Fiber Channel-Storage Area Network). The other category is file-based remote mirroring over the Internet, which product is generally used for small to medium size businesses.
Traditional block-level remote mirroring has been done using and through dedicated/leased network connections and is managed on a storage area network based on Fibre Channel protocol (FC-SAN). Such leased network connections are usually very costly. For example, the cost of leasing a WAN connection with speed of 155 Mbps could cost about $460,000/year, which is in addition to the high cost for hardware/software installations and management of FC-SAN. Consequently, large companies such as Fortune 500 and similar businesses have adopted such remote mirroring, but as a practical matter it has not been adopted by small to medium size businesses. Mirroring products in this market sector include EMC's SRDF (Symmetrix Remote Data Facility), IBM's XRC (Extended Remote Copy) HP's XP arrays and CASA (continuous access storage appliance), Veritas' Volume Replicator, and NetApp's SnapMirror, to list a few.
These products differ from each other depending on how closely synchronized the mirrored data copies are, how to propagate file changes, and when to acknowledge the host, etc. For example, EMC's SRDF prefers synchronous mode while allowing a certain degree of asynchrony for better performance, and HP's CASA and NetApp's SnapMirror use an asynchronous mode that allows mirrored copies to be different from primary copies for a controllable short period of time. There also are different variations for such products targeted to this market sector.
Besides high bandwidth network connections and specialized network protocol, remote data mirroring requires high-speed data buffers to ensure adequate performance. Cache (e.g., flash memory/NVRAM, battery backed DRAM/SRAM) has been traditionally used in data storage systems that have the functionality of asynchronous remote mirroring. Because of traffic fluctuations on WAN networks, the cache has to be sufficiently large to allow a smooth mirroring without affecting application server performance. In one product for example, tens of Gigabyte of battery backed RAM is provided to cache the data to be mirrored.
Such large RAM caches are generally prohibitively expensive and consequently increase the storage cost dramatically as compared to storage systems that embody hard disk drives. As a result, they are suitable only to large corporations such as Fortune 500 companies. One company has recently released some products to meet the storage needs of small to medium size companies. The manufacturer has indicated that as to the mirroring functionality, however, there could be a significant performance impact with the write-intent-log and for this reason the use of the write-intent-log is not enabled by default.
In addition to being expensive, using RAM as a cache for the write operations raises reliability issues because RAM is a volatile memory. In contrast, disks such as hard magnetic disks are nonvolatile memories and the technologies have developed very rapidly in the past two decades making disks highly reliable and very inexpensive with extremely high density. The speed of disk operations, however, is limited by necessary mechanical operations including seek-time (5-10 ms) and rotation latency (5-10 ms) for each block access. Attempts have been made to make disk operations faster by changing the data layout on disks.
Although storage products that use disk as a write cache have not been seen in commercial applications, there does exist research and studies that are directed to speeding up disk operations. One of the more important works in this area is the Log-Structured File system (LSF) that buffers small writes in a RAM to form large logs of data that is to be subsequently and sequentially written into a disk (sometimes referred to as the log disk), thereby eliminating many random seeks and rotation latency. While the LSF system has a great potential to improve write performance, it has not been commercially successful to date and is limited to only academic research because of its requirements of operating system (OS) change, expensive cleaning algorithm, and limited read performance.
There has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,258 to Hale et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,888 to Yang et al., and published US application No. 2002/0103983 to Page to use the LSF as an intermediate stage between the CPU and the disk. While the specific approaches are different, the final objectives and achievements are the basically the same: speeding-up write operations of the disk subsystem in a computer without changing the host OS. The basic premise of these patents/published patent application is that the computer can find idle time to de-stage or move the data from the LSF disk or log disk to the disk that has the host OS layout. For example and referring specifically to U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,888; a smart algorithm is provided to find idle time and to de-stage data from the cache to the data disk. While presumably advancing the art, all of the described disk caching technologies; however, suffer from read performance penalty because of the lengthy process to locate and read data.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,795 to Yang et al proposes an asymmetric and redundant cache architecture that reduces the read performance penalty mentioned above and increases the reliability of the storage subsystem using redundant low cost disks. The objective of this invention is to provide a redundant and backup copy of cached data in a disk or disk array system using inexpensive disks. This architecture is not a complete mirror solution that mirrors data in its entirety, however; instead this architecture just backups the cached portion of data.
US Patent Publication No. 2002/0103983 to Page proposes an inexpensive solution that mirrors data in high speed disks using a large capacity and inexpensive disk. The objective is to replace the high speed mirror disk in a RAID-1 configuration using a large capacity and low cost disk that is partitioned into different zones. Some zones implement LSF data layout to allow quick writes and other zones use the same data layout as the disks being mirrored. This structure is similar to the logical cache disk in described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,754,888 and 6,243,795.
None of the inventions and technologies described in these patents/patent publications addresses the issue of real-time, asynchronous remote mirroring for data storage systems. US patent publication 2004/0117344 to Yang et al. describes a device driver algorithm that is inserted between the file system and the block device in a computer to allow write operations to be backed up in a remote computer. The invention and technology described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,888 also is used inside the device driver in an attempt to improve backup performance. Recent performance studies, however, has tended to show that the caching function described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,888 has severe performance limitations. Thus, it appears users will experience significant delays if remote mirroring is to be performed even using the cache technology mentioned above.
Because of performance impact and high cost of block level, real-time, asynchronous remote mirroring, many companies have been providing low cost backup solutions for companies that have limited bandwidth budget, or less demanding replication requirements. These solutions/services, however, are generally based on file system level data backup at predetermined time intervals such as weekly, daily, or hourly. With these solutions/services, a specialized backup application program is invoked or executed at the designated backup time point to collect file changes and to also transfer the changes to a remote site.
For example, products offered by one company (i.e., Connected) use their proprietary program that starts, at the scheduled backup time, runs by examining metadata to find changes made since the last backup, and creates a delta file. This delta file is then transmitted to the server program through a TCP/IP socket and the server program in turn then updates the changes in the backup file. There are variety of variations and improvements of file-based backup solutions including reducing the size of the delta file, using byte-patching that sends only the changed bytes and so on. Although these solutions/technologies have better efficiency and network performance than blindly backing up entire files, the data is vulnerable between scheduled backup times and also because it takes several minutes or longer to do the backups.
In sum, the main challenge facing the storage vendors, particularly vendors whose products are for small to medium size businesses, is providing high performance and full featured storage systems with low cost. As such, it is not appropriate in these cases to use tens of Gigabytes of battery backed RAM as a cache to implement asynchronous remote mirroring. As a practical matter, this is why iSCSI vendors do not have remote mirroring functions in their product offerings [e.g., see Storage Magazine, January 2004]. The approaches of most low-end to medium storage vendors are to offer snapshot and backup solutions for disaster recovery.
It thus would be desirable to provide a new device, system and methods for providing data storage replication, mirroring and/or back-up for low-end to midsize storages that can provide asynchronous, remote mirroring without affecting application performance as is experienced by conventional low-end to medium storage products. It would be particularly desirable to provide such devices, systems and methods that also would provided a mechanism by which such data replication, mirroring and/or back-up can occur essentially in real time. It also would be particularly desirable to provide such devices and systems that use a caching technique that is less expensive than conventional devices and systems that use an all NVRAM cache.

Adaptive cache engine for storage area network including systems and methods related thereto


In a V-type six-cylinder engine, turbo-superchargers are provided for compressing intake air and feeding the compressed air into combustion chambers, and an ECU is operable to switch the combustion mode from a non-supercharged stoichiometric combustion mode to a supercharged lean combustion mode, depending on the engine operating conditions. When switching from the non-supercharged stoichiometric combustion mode to the supercharged lean combustion mode, the ECU retards the ignition timing, and keeps the retard amount of the ignition timing at a constant value if the increasing actual boost pressure becomes equal to or higher than a pre-set target boost pressure.

A general direct injection type engine is able to switch its combustion mode between a lean combustion mode in which the engine operates at a lean air/fuel ratio to achieve homogeneous combustion, and a stoichiometric combustion mode in which the engine operates at the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio to achieve homogenous combustion. In this case, a controller for the engine stores a combustion mode map used for setting the combustion mode based on the engine speed and the engine load, and controls switching between the lean combustion mode and the stoichiometric combustion mode, depending on the engine operating conditions.
When the engine capable of switching the combustion mode is controlled to change the air/fuel ratio between a lean air/fuel ratio and the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio in accordance with the operating conditions, the engine produces different amounts of torque if the air/fuel ratio is largely changed, and a large stepped change (e.g., an abrupt reduction) in torque may occur at the time of change of the air/fuel ratio, resulting in deterioration of the driveability.
In order to prevent the occurrence of a stepped change in torque at the time of change of the air/fuel ratio, it has been proposed to perform control for retarding the ignition timing. For example, when the combustion mode is switched from the stoichiometric combustion mode to the lean combustion mode, the controller controls operation of the engine at the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio during the switching control, and then changes the air/fuel ratio from the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio to a lean air/fuel ratio after the switching control. More specifically, when a command for switching from the stoichiometric combustion mode to the lean combustion mode is issued in response to the current engine operating conditions, the controller increases the throttle opening so as to increase the intake air amount, and also increases the fuel injection amount, thereby to keep the engine operating at the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. During this operation, the controller retards the ignition timing so as to restrict or inhibit an increase of torque produced by the engine. After a lapse of a predetermined period of time, the controller advances the ignition timing so as to establish the ignition timing suitable for the engine operating conditions, and reduces the fuel injection amount so as to change the air/fuel ratio from the stoichiometric ratio to a lean air/fuel ratio. An example of the internal combustion engine controlled in this manner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-114166 (JP-A-08-114166).
In the case where the engine is equipped with a turbo-supercharger or turbocharger, however, the boost pressure rises to a level higher than necessary due to an increase of exhaust energy when the combustion mode is switched between a non-supercharged stoichiometric combustion mode and a supercharged lean combustion mode, and a stepped change (e.g., an abrupt reduction) in torque occurs when the control for changing the air/fuel ratio is finished, resulting in deterioration of the driveability. More specifically, when the combustion mode of the engine switches from the non-supercharged stoichiometric combustion mode to the supercharged lean combustion mode, the exhaust gas temperature rises due to retardation of the ignition timing, and the actual boost pressure produced by the turbo-supercharger rises to a level equal to or higher than a target boost pressure. As the boost pressure increases more than necessary, the torque increases, and a stepped change (e.g., an abrupt reduction) in torque occurs since it is necessary to reduce the increased torque when the control for changing the air/fuel ratio is finished. In this case, as the engine load (or the intake air amount) increases, the amount of reduction of torque relative to the retard amount of the ignition timing increases, and therefore, an apparently large stepped change in torque occurs at the time of switching of the combustion mode, resulting in deterioration of the combustion mode.

Internal combustion engine and internal combustion engine control method


Minilab paper processors are known for giving an exposure to photographic paper, processing the exposed paper and then drying the paper to produce photographic prints corresponding to negative filmstrips. Such processors have a second entry slot to the processing stage thereof through which a test strip can be introduced for processing. Described herein is an adapter for utilizing the second entry slot to supply paper for processing in the processor which has been exposed in apparatus other than that processor. The adapter comprises an elongate portion, which engages with the second entry slot of the processor section, a central slot, and a recess, lined with velvet plush material to ensure that the connection is light-tight, for receiving a cassette containing a roll of previously exposed photographic paper. One end of the cassette has an elongate protrusion having a slot formed therein and through which the paper can pass. The protrusion engages with the recess in adapter so that slot is aligned with slot to allow paper to pass from the cassette and into the processor section. A pair of guides are located beneath entry slot to guide the paper into drive rollers of the processor section.

One type of photographic processing apparatus is known as a "minilab". A typical minilab has three sections. The first section is a printer where negatives are exposed to photographic paper to record latent images on that paper. The exposed photographic paper is then fed into the second section, or processor. In the processor, the paper is treated with processing chemicals to develop the latent images so as to produce stable prints. The stable prints are then fed to the third section of the minilab, the dryer, where excess moisture is removed from the prints. As the exposed paper is being developed in the processor, the processing chemicals are consumed and have to be replenished. Tests are made periodically to check that the correct quantity and concentration of processing chemicals is present in the processor and to ensure that the chemical sections of the minilab are in balance. The tests involve feeding carefully exposed test strips into the processor section through a dedicated slot known as a test strip feed slot. Test strips are commonly about 0.3 m long and can have a series of colored strips exposed onto them. They are held flat in special holder which is attached to the test strip feed slot to ensure that the test strip is not affected by light, prior to it being fed into the processor section. Examination of the test strip after it has been developed in the processor will give an indication of whether the chemical balance in the processor is correct and whether the sections of the minilab are correctly balanced.

Adapter for use with a photographic processing apparatus


An aircraft is disclosed with a fuselage including a cabin delimited by a cabin floor and having crew quarters. The crew quarters include an upper portion above a floor plane defined by the cabin floor and a lower portion beneath the floor plane. The crew quarters include a seat adjustable between a sitting configuration and a berthing configuration. A method of transitioning a crew member of an aircraft to a berthing configuration in a crew quarters is also disclosed.

For long flights, the crew which services passengers may require an area where they can rest and relax. In larger commercial aircraft with wide bodies, crew rest areas may be located above the ceiling liner, either in the forward or aft end of the cabin. However, for smaller aircraft with narrow bodies, such as business aircraft, the crew rest area may be at the level of the cabin floor, and thus occupy valuable cabin volume or add to the fuselage volume. In these arrangements, the crew rest area is typically close to service areas (e.g. lavatory) such that the crew may be disturbed while resting. Furthermore, the rest area may only offer the minimum necessary amenities to provide rest and relaxation for the resting crew member. Crew rest areas for smaller-bodied aircraft may be in high-traffic areas, offer minimal privacy, and be cramped.


Three dimensional wireless pointing device for calculating coordinates and controlling a position of a cursor in a three dimensional space is disclosed, including a transmission side having a plurality of ultrasonic wave generating parts and a single infrared ray emitting part or a single ultrasonic wave generating part and a plurality of infrared ray emitting parts arranged in a certain axis direction at certain angles and a reception side having a plurality of infrared ray receiving sensors and a single ultrasonic wave receiving sensor arranged to cross the ultrasonic wave generating part(s) and the infrared ray emitting part(s) in the transmission side at a right angle, thereby to measure intensities of the infrared ray(s) and the ultrasonic wave(s) varied depending on direction of pointing and calculate a difference of relative traveling time periods of the infrared ray and the ultrasonic wave to obtain coordinate values of a position in a three dimensional space, whereby a position of cursor or menu, which is a control objective, can be controlled using the obtained coordinate values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three dimensional wireless pointing device which can calculate coordinates and control a position of a cursor in a three dimensional space.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In the wireless pointing devices, there are in general an ultrasonic wireless pointing device in which a plurality of ultrasonic generating parts and ultrasonic receiving sensors are arranged to cross each other at a right angle for using a relative phase difference of the ultrasonic signals caused depending on a direction of pointing in calculating coordinates of a pointed position, and infrared wireless pointing device in which a plurality of infrared emitting parts and infrared receiving sensors are arranged to cross each other at a right angle for using a relative intensity difference of infrared signals caused depending on a direction of pointing in calculating coordinates of the pointed position. The ultrasonic wireless pointing device was filed by the same applicant (U.S. Ser. No. 580,757/08), and the infrared wireless pointing device was also filed by the same applicant (U.S. patent Ser. No. 679,644/08).
However, the ultrasonic or infrared wireless pointing device, which is pointing devices for calculating coordinates of a position on a two dimensional plane and controlling a position of a cursor, has a problem that the pointing device can not point a three dimensional spatial position on a display space of a three dimensional display, such as a hologram.


A well testing method and apparatus for reservoir characterization during a drilling operation by making use of conventional drilling facilities. The tests can be performed at various degrees of wellbore penetration in the formation. If the test is conducted as soon as the top of the formation is penetrated by the bit, the effects of formation damage (skin) may be minimized or even eliminated. The proposed technique is particularly suitable for formations displaying weak pore structure, tight formation, and/or relatively low reservoir pressure. The method consists of two major steps; a drawdown test with a variable rate, and a build up test. A computer simulator is necessary and also useful for pressure transient analysis for determination of reservoir pressure and transmissibility. From the data recorded from a single well test utilizing this method and apparatus, fluid mobility and formation thickness can be calculated.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field):
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for predicting reservoir inflow performance and more particularly to a testing method and apparatus for determining horizontal and vertical permeabilities during any stage of a drilling operation.
2. Background Art
The occurrence of heterogeneity in reservoir formations is one of the major problems confronting engineers in the design of well completion configuration and stimulation treatments. Projects undertaken without sufficiently detailed reservoir evaluations, and, in particular, without knowledge of vertical and horizontal permeabilities, are risky. Tests such as drill stem test (DST) and repeat formation test (RFT) may provide useful information for predicting well inflow performance, but require special equipment and are costly. Also, conventional single well pressure transient tests do not provide information on vertical and horizontal permeability.

Pressure-transient testing while drilling