A pixel electrode is connected to a drain electrode of TFT via a first aperture formed on a second interlayer insulating film, a second aperture, which includes a bottom portion of the first aperture and is formed on a common electrode, and a third aperture, which is included in the bottom portion of the first aperture and is formed on a first interlayer insulating film and a third interlayer insulating film. The common electrode is connected to a common wiring via a fourth aperture formed on the second interlayer insulating film, and a fifth aperture that is included in a bottom portion of the fourth aperture and is formed on the first interlayer insulating film, and a contact electrode that is formed in the fourth aperture and the fifth aperture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array substrate to be used in a liquid crystal display device and the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, major examples of liquid crystal display devices have a structure having a TFT array substrate (hereinafter an "array substrate") formed with a pixel electrode and a thin film transistor (TFT) for supplying a display signal to the pixel electrode, a counter substrate formed with a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer held between the TFT array substrate and the counter substrate. The liquid crystal display devices have a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode for driving liquid crystal through an electric field of a vertical direction (direction vertical to a surface of the array substrate and the counter electrode) generated between the pixel electrode and the common electrode, and a VA (Vertical Alignment) mode. Further, in recent years, liquid crystal display devices which employ an IPS (In-Plane Switching) mode ("IPS" is a registered trademark) and an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode have been put to practical use. In these modes, both a pixel electrode and a common electrode are disposed on an array substrate and liquid crystal is driven by an electric field of a lateral direction generated between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-128397, for example, proposes a structure where in a liquid crystal display panel of the FFS mode, a thick insulating film (flattening film) is formed on a source wiring (display signal line) and a portion above the source wiring is covered with a common electrode. With this structure, a source wiring type common electrode shields an electric field from a pixel, and simultaneously reduces a parasitic capacitance between the pixel and the source wirings so as to be capable of reducing power consumption of the liquid crystal panel.
In the liquid crystal display panel of the FFS mode, the pixel electrode and the common electrode are formed on different layers. For this reason, a dry etching process needs to be executed at least twice in order to form a first aperture (contact hole) for connecting a common electrode to a wiring (common wiring) for supplying a potential to the common electrode, and a second aperture for connecting a pixel electrode to a drain electrode of TFT for supplying a display signal to the pixel electrode.
Further, when a flattening film on the drain electrode of TFT is removed at the step of forming the first aperture before the step of forming the second aperture, the surface of the drain electrode is damaged twice by dry etching for forming the first aperture and dry etching for forming the second aperture. This occasionally causes an increase in contact resistance between the pixel electrode and the drain electrode. On the other hand, when the first aperture and the second aperture are formed simultaneously, one more aperture should be formed in order to connect the common electrode to the common wiring, and thus an area ratio of the contact hole within a pixel region increases.
Further, when a flattening film (organic flattening film) whose material is organic resin is used, the organic flattening film remains on a region other than the apertures of terminal portions. For this reason, a new countermeasure against the reduction in adhesion of packaging is necessary.


A device worn upon a carpet installer's lower leg, provides an impact hammer for installation tools, including carpet stretching devices, the device protecting the knee of the installer during use and also optimizing the amount of horizontal impact which can be delivered to the installation tools. The device may be adjusted to fit the lower leg of a variety of installers and the device also provides an adjustable weight suited to the comfort and needs of the particular carpet installer. The device, having a smooth lower surface, is also provided to assist in the seaming process of carpet installation, providing a smooth, flat vertical force required for proper flooring seam adherence.

1. Field of Invention
A device worn upon a carpet installer's lower leg, provides an impact hammer for installation tools, including carpet stretching devices, the device protecting the knee of the installer during use and also optimizing the amount of horizontal impact which can be delivered to the installation tools. The device may be adjusted to fit the lower leg of a variety of installers and the device also provides an adjustable weight suited to the comfort and needs of the particular carpet installer. The device, having a smooth lower surface, is also provided to assist in the seaming process of carpet installation, providing a smooth, flat vertical force required for proper flooring seam adherence.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to devices worn on the lower leg of a laborer.
A first group of prior art patent address concrete laborers and knee float devices worn on the leg of the concrete laborer to allow the laborer to trowel concrete with a hand trowel while in a kneeling position, with the knee float devices worn to prevent disruption of the finished concrete surface from the knees and toes of the user. A first patent within the concrete float device category is U.S. Pat. No. 2,627,301 to Emmett, which discloses a lower flat float, a knee pad which provides knee protection in a vertical plane, a padded shin support with a strap to connect the device to the knee and calf of the carpet finisher, and an elevated toe holder. A second patent within this category is U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,784 to Hammond, which also discloses knee support apparatus having a lower flat float, a front knee stop, a quantity of cushion material along the entire upper surface of the lower flat float in contact with the leg of the concrete finisher, and an adjustable soft roller between two upright supports provided for the concrete finisher's foot to rest against while using the float, the apparatus sliding forward and backward by the user's leg without leaving an impression in the finished concrete surface. Other prior art patents in this category include U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,404 to Iskra, D255281 to Breitenstine, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,470 to Fernandez. None of these categorically related devices provide a forward impact area for use as a horizontally deployed hammer attached to a leg of a laborer for the delivery of a horizontal impact to a knee actuated carpet installation device, nor do they define a device which protects the front portion of the knee from a horizontal forces, nor do they define the same or similar elements as the present knee hammer.
A second category of device actually do relate to the installation of carpet or flooring. In a first U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,198 to Brock, a seam skate for carpets is disclosed, providing a knee board for being pushed along a carpet seam of a carpet behind a hot melt seaming iron, the lower surface of the board being flat with beveled edges to slide along a carpet surface, and an upper surface providing an upstanding padded block to support the foreleg and an upward extending cup fitted with a thick pad extending down the inner surface of the cup and across a portion of the upper surface to protect and support the knee, as indicated in FIG. 2 of that patent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,055 to McElroy provides a knee pad which is strapped onto the knee for vertical support of the knee while kneeling. It also discloses an air cushion as the cushioning material. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,774 to Legenstein, a rolling knee pad is disclosed, strapped on and worn by a laborer when installing rolled flooring materials and U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,494 to Ferguson discloses a lower leg support, strapped to an entire foreleg, having wheels. None of these disclosed patents are intended for, nor supplied with components for use as a horizontal knee hammer for knee actuated impact tools for carpet installation.
A third category discloses a single U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,691 to Wiegers, which is a knee pad, strapped onto the knee of a laborer, with an adjustable strap also attaching the knee pad to a belt, the knee pad having a frontal contact surface which engages the kicking pad of a carpet stretcher during the installation of carpets. This device actually provides and discloses a use similar to the carpet installer's knee hammer of the present invention, except for the obvious lack of other significant elements disclosed in the present knee hammer to distribute the horizontal impact forces incurred by the device over repeated uses as a hammer over the entire leg. Wiegers does not disclose the flat contact surface with the carpet, does not provide for a contoured foreleg and foot support features and does not provide an inner cavity within the device containing additional weight to enhance the mass force of the knee hammer.


This reinforcement comprises a first piece and a second piece which are assembled with one another, said first piece comprising a longitudinal edge of corrugated shape, level with which said second piece is fixed.

The present invention relates to an anatomical wall reinforcement for the treatment of an inguinal hernia, in particular by using laparoscopy.
An inguinal hernia results from the passage of the peritoneum, accompanied or not by certain viscera, through the inguinal canal that is taken by the spermatic cord (a hernia which is then referred to as indirect or oblique external) or through the femoral canal that is taken by the iliac vessels (a hernia which is then referred to as femoral), or through a weak zone of the inguinal abdominal wall located medially in relation to the epigastric vessels (a hernia which is then referred to as direct).
For the treatment of such a hernia, it is known to use an anatomical wall reinforcement formed by one or more porous prosthetic pieces made of a biocompatible openworked material, this reinforcement being placed around the internal orifice of the inguinal canal, between the peritoneum and the abdominal muscles.
A known "anatomical" reinforcement comprises a first piece and a second piece which are assembled with one another.
The first piece has an inverted "L" shape comprising a main part intended to rest against the muscle wall, in particular the rectus and transverse muscles, and a secondary part, which is smaller in area, intended to cover the upper end of the pubic bone and the Cooper's ligament. The longitudinal edge of the main part, from which said secondary part projects, has a more or less corrugated shape suited to that of the lower inguinal structures, namely in particular the spermatic and iliac vessels and the psoas muscle.
The second piece is assembled with the first piece along a part or all of this longitudinal edge and the side edge of said secondary part consecutive to this longitudinal edge, and is intended to match the overall shape of said lower inguinal structures, that is to say the iliac vessels and the psoas muscle laterally.
In certain surgical techniques, the spermatic cord needs to pass through this reinforcement and, in order to permit this passage, an existing reinforcement comprises a hole formed in said first piece and a cutout joining this hole to a peripheral edge of this first piece; this cutout may be bounded by two flaps that overlap. When said second piece is joined to said first piece over only a part of said longitudinal edge, the spermatic cord can be engaged between said first piece and said second piece until it occupies a notch formed in said first piece or in said second piece, or in both of these pieces.
These holes or notches entail cutting the openworked material forming one and/or other of said pieces, so that they have the drawback of forming a relatively loose zone around the spermatic cord, and therefore around the internal orifice of the inguinal channel. This leads to limited reinforcement of the abdominal wall at this position, which may make recurrence of the hernia possible.
Furthermore, these holes or notches require that the reinforcement be fitted in a specific position, defined by the position of the spermatic cord, which may cause difficulties for carrying out this fitting.
The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an anatomical wall reinforcement for the treatment of an inguinal hernia which makes it possible to effectively prevent any recurrence of the hernia, particularly around the spermatic cord in the case of split prostheses.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a reinforcement which does not require specific positioning of this reinforcement in order to allow the spermatic cord to pass through this reinforcement.
It is additionally an object of the invention to make it easier to engage the spermatic cord through the reinforcement.

Anatomical wall reinforcement for the treatment of an inguinal hernia

Abstract: In this reinforcement, said first piece comprises a cutout forming a zone, located at a distance from said longitudinal edge, for the spermatic cord to pass through it, and comprises a flap which is joined to it and is dimensioned so as to extend close to said longitudinal edge and to broadly cover the zone of said first piece extending between said longitudinal edge and said passage zone, this flap being raisable in relation to said first piece in order to engage the spermatic cord between said first piece and itself and being foldable against said first piece in order to hold this cord between this first piece and itself.


An object of the present invention is to provide an iron base Si--Mn alloy or an iron base Si--Mn--Ni alloy which can be easily crushed and can be manufactured in large quantity, and alloy powder thereof.. An iron base Si--Mn--Ni alloy having good crushability and alloy powder thereof, comprising:. C: 0.40 to 1.20% by weight, PA1 Si: 5.0 to 12.0% by weight, PA1 Mn: 19.0 to 42.0 % by weight, or Ni: not more than 30% by weight, and the balance being Fe, with the following equations satisfied: Si.gtoreq.11.89-2.92 C-0.077 Mn, Vickers hardness (Hv).gtoreq.550, and area ratio of dendrite structure .ltoreq.50%. PA1 C: 0.40 to 1.20% by weight, PA1 Si: 5.0 to 12.0% by weight, PA1 Mn: 19.0 to 42.0% by weight, or Ni: not more than 30% by weight, and the balance being Fe, with the following equations satisfied: Si.ltoreq.8.3 C+0.14 Mn, and relative permeability (.mu.).ltoreq.1.10.. An iron base Si--Mn--Ni alloy having good crushability and alloy powder thereof, comprising:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an iron base Si--Mn alloy or an iron base Si--Mn--Ni alloy, particularly having good crushability and alloy powder thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicon-manganese which have been conventionally used mainly as a deoxidizing agent, a desulphurizing agent, a slagging agent and an alloying component addition agent when iron and steel are manufactured, as stipulated in the Japanese Industrial Standard (hereinafter referred to as JIS") (G2301, G2302, G2304--1986), contain large amounts of alloying components (for example, Mn.gtoreq.73%, (Mn+Si).gtoreq.74%) and also have an extremely high carbon content (for example, FMnM2: C.ltoreq.2.0%, SiMnO: C.ltoreq.1.5%). And these ferroalloys are usually supplied as alloy powder or alloy particle according to a particle size stipulated for use. That is to say, these ferroalloys, as shown in a method for making a lot in JIS, have a feature in the properties thereof that they are supplied in large quantity and in powder form or in particle form, which is realized by the fact that they have the high contents of alloying components and carbon and that they are easily made into powder form or particle form after they are molt en and cooled. On the other hand, in recent years, as the variety of steel products has been increased, there have been more demanded ferroalloys in powder form which have the lower contents of Si, Mn and C than those stipulated in the JIS. For example, the flux of a flux cored wire for arc welding applied to the welding of a steel structure contains various kinds of powder materials such as a slagging agent, a deoxidizing agent, an alloying addition agent, iron powder and the like according to the object and, to be more specific, it contains dozens % total of above described ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicon-manganese in powder form and iron powder. The segregation of the components caused by these mixed flux has a bad effect on the quality of the welded steel products in some cases.
Therefore, it is strongly desired that the simple ferroalloy powder having the same composition as the composition made by blending some kinds of powder materials described above is made in advance and used for the flux. But, in general, as the contents of Si, Mn and C are reduced in a ferroalloy, the ductility and the toughness of the ferroalloy are gradually improved and thus it is difficult to manufacture a product in powder or particle form by using conventional manufacturing equipment. If the composition of the ferroalloy is adjusted so as to solve the problems, the ferroalloy powder is apt to bear magnetism. When a flux cored wire is manufactured, for example, by using the flux mixed with the ferroalloy powder bearing magnetism and by continuously forming a steel strip, filling the flux and performing seam welding as proposed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4-72640, the segregation of the components and incomplete fusion in the seamed portion and the like might occur in some manufacturing conditions and thus have a bad effect on the manufacturing yield of the flux cored wire and the quality of the welded steel products. Moreover, for example, the flux of the flux cored wire for arc welding applied to the welding of a steel structure made of high-tensile steel or low-temperature steel usually contains Si, Mn, Ni, iron powder and the like together. The above described ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, silicon-manganese, ferronickel in powder or particle form and the like are mainly used as these raw materials in addition to simple raw materials (Si powder, Mn powder and Ni powder). These alloying components of Si, Mn, and Ni strongly react with each other to decrease the quality of the welded part. Therefore, it is desirable that the flux blended and mixed with the raw materials does not have the segregation of components which is apt to be caused by the lot-by-lot compositional variations of the raw materials and the kind-by-kind difference in particle diameter of the raw materials and that the flux has a flux composition containing the predetermined amounts of Si, Mn and Ni. As a result, this requires simple iron base Si--Mn alloy powder containing Ni.

Iron base Si--Mn alloy or iron base Si--Mn--Ni alloy having good crushability and alloy powder thereof

Nippon Steel Welding Products & Engineering Co., Ltd.


An electronic camera of the present invention includes an imaging element that forms an image of an object, a display device that displays the formed image; a memory that stores the image formed by the imaging element; and a designating device that designates arbitrary positions on a display screen of the display device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic camera.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of electronic cameras for converting a photographed image into a digital image and recording the digital image on a recording medium, such as a memory card, there is widely known a camera in which information related to photographing, such as date, can be recorded with respect to each photographic film frame.
In the conventional electronic camera, however, the information related to photographing is generally entered using a switch, command dial or the like, which does not necessarily ensure a high operating efficiency. Further, the switch, command dial or the like needs to be additionally provided, or a switch having other function needs to be shared for the above purpose.

Electronic camera having pen input function


A piston-type accumulator has a cylindrical outer case, a piston slidably fitted in the cylindrical outer case, and a cap mounted in an open end of the outer case. The piston-type accumulator includes a cap attachment structure in which said cap has two larger- and smaller-diameter steps on an outer circumferential surface. The cylindrical outer case is deformed by staking on said larger- and smaller-diameter steps. The piston has an annular recess defined in an outer circumferential surface thereof axially between two seals thereon. The annular recess communicates with the atmosphere through a collapsible tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cap attachment structure for an accumulator of the type having a piston slidably fitted in an outer case.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Accumulators are widely used as energy sources in a variety of fluid pressure operated devices. The accumulators are largely classified into bladder-type accumulators and piston-type accumulators.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-30929 published Sep. 25, 1973 discloses a piston-type accumulator. The disclosed piston-type accumulator comprises a cylindrical accumulator casing and a piston slidably fitted therein, the piston dividing the interior space of the cylindrical accumulator casing into a gas chamber and a working fluid chamber. Caps are fitted and threaded over the respective opposite ends of the cylindrical accumulator casing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,494,378 and 4,793,381 show bladder-type accumulators. According to the former U.S. patent, a cap on the fluid chamber side is either welded to or staked on and welded to an end of an accumulator casing. According to the latter U.S. patent, caps are inserted and threaded in respective opposite ends of an accumulator casing.
With the accumulator disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-30929, the caps may possibly be loosened or dislodged due to vibration or the like either after the accumulator components are manufactured and before the accumulator is assembled or after the accumulator is assembled. The same problem arises with the accumulator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,381.
The caps are prevented from being loosened or detached if they are welded as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,378. However, the heat generated when the caps are welded to the accumulator casing is liable to adversely affect rubber components of the accumulator, such as packings, seals, or the like. The process of manufacturing the disclosed accumulator is complex because the caps are required to be cooled when welded.
The accumulator casing of the piston-type accumulator tends to be broken if a large pressure buildup is developed in the accumulator casing. This also holds true for the accumulators shown in the above U.S. patents. Another problem with the piston-type accumulator is that the piston may pop out of the casing under unduly high pressure before or at the same time the accumulator casing is broken.
The present invention has been made in an effort to effectively solve the aforesaid problems of the conventional accumulators.

Cap attachment structure for accumulator


A MOS capacitor has a p-type silicon substrate, an n-type impurity diffusion area formed by implanting an impurity into a region of the silicon substrate, a silicon oxide layer formed on the diffusion area, and a polysilicon electrode formed on the silicon oxide layer. An impurity profile is formed in the region such that the concentration of the impurity increases from a surface common to the diffusion area and the silicon oxide layer towards the inside of the silicon substrate. The concentration of the impurity at the interface is less than or equal to 1.times.10.sup.20 cm.sup.-3, and a peak concentration lies at a depth of more than 0.05 .mu.m under the interface. This controls accelerated oxidization during the thermal oxidization and also controls the dependence of the capacitance on the voltage.

This invention generally relates to a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor which is, together with a MOS transistor, formed on a semiconductor substrate and to an associated MOS capacitor fabrication method. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a space-saving MOS capacitor.
Small, portable information/communication devices have been developed and commercialized and many of them deal with both digital signals and analog signals. Usually, digital signals and analog signals are processed by separate semiconductor devices because processing of analog signals requires a high-performance capacitor. In circuits which have MOS transistors and which deal with digital signals, a MOS capacitor structure is employed. A MOS capacitor, however, has the disadvantage that its capacitance depends much on the applied voltage. If a MOS capacitor is used to form a part of an analog circuit, this results in causing signals to be distorted badly and, hence, practical applications of the MOS capacitor become difficult.
Japanese Patent Application, published under Pub. No. 61-272963, shows a MOS capacitor. The fabrication of this MOS capacitor is explained. A selected region of a semiconductor substrate is lightly-doped with an impurity, to form a diffusion area of low concentration. Thereafter, the semiconductor substrate is placed in a vacuum at a temperature of 1100 degrees centigrade for about 40 seconds, whereupon implanted impurity atoms present in the vicinity of the surface of the lightly-doped diffusion area are diffused outwardly. As a result, a region of lower concentration in comparison with the lightly-doped diffusion area comes to exist extending from the surface up to a predetermined depth. Subsequently, a thermal oxide layer is formed. A polysilicon layer is formed on the thermal oxide layer. In this way, a MOS capacitor, composed of the polysilicon layer that acts as a top electrode, the lightly-doped diffusion area that acts as a bottom electrode, and the oxide layer that acts as a capacitance section, is fabricated. In accordance with this technique, a region of very low concentration, which extends from the surface of a lightly-doped diffusion area to a predetermined depth, is formed, with a view to holding MOS capacitor leakage current as low as possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,751 shows a MOS capacitor. This MOS capacitor has an impurity profile such that the impurity concentration at an impurity diffusion area of a semiconductor substrate that acts as a top or bottom electrode for a MOS capacitor, continuously decreases from a surface common to the impurity diffusion area and an oxide layer towards the inside of the semiconductor substrate. In the fabrication of this MOS capacitor, a selected region of a semiconductor substrate is heavily-doped with an impurity, to form a diffusion area having a high concentration of about 10.times.10.sup.20 or more. A thermal oxide layer is formed on the heavily-doped diffusion area. Thereafter, a polysilicon electrode is formed on the thermal oxide layer.
When forming a MOS capacitor that depends less on the applied voltage and a MOS transistor on a semiconductor substrate at the same time, a 2-level polysilicon process has been used. In this 2-level polysilicon process, an oxide layer is placed between two polysilicon layers. Alternatively, a monolevel polysilicon process may be used. In the monolevel polysilicon process, a first oxide layer is placed between a polysilicon layer and a first-level metallization layer and a second oxide layer is placed between the first-level metallization layer and a second-level metallization layer.
In the 2-level polysilicon process, an interlayer film, e.g., a silicon oxide layer, is formed between first- and second-level polysilicon layers, to act as a capacitance section. Although such an interlayer film of silicon oxide may be formed at a step of forming a gate oxide layer for a MOS transistor by thermal-oxidizing a semiconductor substrate, the film thickness of the interlayer film becomes about three to four times the film thickness of the gate oxide layer, because the semiconductor substrate and the heavily-doped polysilicon layer have different oxidation rates.
In the monolevel polysilicon process, a step of forming a polysilicon layer acting as a gate for a MOS transistor, first- and second-level metallization layers, and first and second interlayer dielectric films is utilized. As a result, the first interlayer dielectric film, formed between the polysilicon layer and the first-level metallization layer, has a film thickness of hundreds of nanometers, and the second interlayer dielectric film, formed between the first- and second-level metallization layers, has a film thickness of hundreds of nanometers. The film thickness of the oxide layers (i.e., the capacitance oxide layers) is that thick, which means that a capacitor, made in accordance with a monolevel polysilicon process, is about 50-100 times as large as a capacitor made in accordance with a 2-level polysilicon process.
The 2-level polysilicon process has advantages and disadvantages. While the dependence of the capacitance on the applied voltage is reduced, the number of masks, the number of fabrication steps, the period of processing, and the cost of production all increase in comparison with a conventional monolevel polysilicon process. Additionally, an oxide layer is formed on a polysilicon layer, having a greater film thickness in comparison with a thermal oxide layer grown on a silicon substrate. This is space-consuming and leads to poor capacitor reliability.
Likewise, the monolevel polysilicon process has its advantages and disadvantages. This process achieves a capacitor capable of depending less on the applied voltage; however, it presents the problem that, since an interlayer film of a MOS transistor is used also as a capacitance oxide, the film thickness of the capacitance oxide inevitably increases. This is space-consuming, and larger capacitance requires larger area.
Japanese Patent Application, published under Pub. No. 61-272693, shows a MOS capacitor structure. In accordance with this structure, a diffusion region is formed by a low-dose implantation and a second diffusion region is formed on the first diffusion by a lower-dose implantation. This MOS capacitor structure, however, may present the following drawbacks.
For example, suppose a case where a region is lightly implanted with an n-type impurity to form a lightly-doped diffusion area. In this case, if a voltage applied to a polysilicon electrode is a positive bias, then the polysilicon electrode stores positive electric charges while on the other hand the lightly-doped diffusion area stores negative electric charges. Because of such a light doping, the stored electric charges are not allowed to exist locally on the surface of a semiconductor substrate and space electric charges result. The distribution depth of such space electric charge changes with the applied voltage value, which increases the applied voltage dependence.
On the other hand, if a voltage applied is a negative bias, then the polysilicon electrode stores negative electric charges while the lightly-doped diffusion area stores positive electric charges. As a result, a depletion layer whose depth varies with the applied voltage spreads in the lightly-doped diffusion area. The combined capacitance, C, of the capacitance of the depletion layer, Csc, and the capacitance of the gate insulating layer, Ci, Csc and Ci being in in-series relationship, is given by: C=1/{(1/Ci)+(1/Csc)}. Because the spread of the depletion layer varies with the applied voltage, Csc is voltage-dependent. Additionally, as the depletion layer spreads, the degree of the dependence of Csc upon the applied voltage increases. As a result, the dependence of C upon the applied voltage increases. The capacitance value itself becomes lower. Further, because of the above-described MOS capacitor structure, the spread range of the depletion layer becomes wider.
It is difficult for this prior art MOS capacitor to reduce the dependence of the capacitance upon the applied voltage.
In accordance with the above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,751, the impurity concentration at an impurity diffusion area surface is about 1.times.10.sup.20 cm.sup.-3, to prevent a depletion layer from widening. Such arrangement makes it possible to reduce the dependence of the capacitance upon the applied voltage. However, a too-high impurity concentration at the diffusion area/dielectric layer interface produces some problems. When a gate oxide layer is simultaneously formed with a dielectric layer for a MOS capacitor by thermal-oxidizing a silicon substrate surface, accelerated oxidization of silicon occurs and the resulting oxide layer becomes thick. For example, FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,751 shows an oxide layer having a film thickness of 400-500 nm. Such an oxide layer, which has undergone accelerated oxidization, is thick, in other words, the capacitance per unit area becomes poor, resulting in an increase in the MOS capacitor area. Further, voids are generated in such an oxide layer, which may increase the amount of leakage current therefore decreasing the reliability of gate oxide layers.
As described above, it is hard for the prior art techniques to provide a highly reliable MOS capacitor while at the same time reducing the size of chips. Therefore, the 2-level polysilicon process, which is an expensive process, has been used when mounting MOS capacitors on LSIs.

MOS capacitor and MOS capacitor fabrication method


The invention provides a method, system, and computer program product to control the access, copying, and/or transfer of a digital asset by mobile, wireless devices using a digital voucher. The digital voucher references a primary content that contains all of the expression for that particular asset and a secondary content that contains information that can be distilled out as a preview. The information in the primary content can be limited to a specified duration or a specific number of viewings. The author, owner, or possessor of the digital asset specifies the terms and conditions for distribution of the digital asset. The digital voucher authorizes the mobile, wireless device to access a specified primary or secondary content that may be located elsewhere in the network. The mobile, wireless device can download a copy of portions or all of the content depending on the terms specified in the voucher.

Digital technology dramatically impacts the creation, distribution, sale, marketing, and consumption of copyrighted digital content. Recent developments indicate that producers of digital content are under pressure and have a desire to profit from these new developments and reduce their vulnerability to the risk. The risks are more obvious to content producers than the potential benefits of the new technologies.
Copyright protection systems of the pre-digital age consisted of legal mechanisms to prosecute individuals and groups that ran large-scale illegal reproduction facilities for profit. Since intellectual property pirates in the pre-digital age needed physical assets to reproduce the physical media of the books, music, or video, they were subject to traditional law enforcement techniques. The added complications imposed by distribution of these contraband copies made these pirates even more vulnerable to detection. From the consumer's perspective, the illegal copies produced by these pirates were less interesting because quality suffered and the copies were not always promptly available as legitimate copies.
The digital age introduced new risks because flawless copies are now infinitely reproducible and may be transmitted instantly anywhere in the world. There has been a shift from a paradigm where a large number of individuals made a few copies to one where relatively few individuals can make many copies.
When cassette tapes were first introduced, record companies had similar concerns as demonstrated by the record jackets printed in the early 1980s including the slogan "Home Taping Is Killing Music". Eventually this lead to cassette tape manufacturers paying mandatory licensing fees to the holder of the property rights to the work.
Content producers are rightfully concerned with this new capacity to cheat them of a fair return on their intellectual property and, therefore, have been reluctant to take advantage of digital commerce opportunities. Yet digital commerce offers the potential to increase earnings while cutting the high overhead costs of production, distribution, warehousing their goods while presenting new business opportunities. It is believed that if content producers were sufficiently confident in their ability to protect their assets in digital form, they would gladly take part in such a system.
Legal and regulatory means exist to protect digital content, however a deterrent is necessary to make the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted content difficult and traceable. For this reason, the deployment of a trusted end-to-end solution for the management of digital rights is a necessary precursor to digital production, dissemination and consumption of copyrighted content.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) involves the description, layering, analysis, valuation, trading, and monitoring of an owner's property rights to an asset. DRM covers the management of the digital rights to the physical manifestation of a work (e.g., a textbook) or the digital manifestation of a work (e.g., a Web page). DRM also covers the management of an asset whether the asset has a tangible or an intangible value. Current DRM technologies include languages for describing the terms and conditions for an asset, tracking asset usage by enforcing controlled environments or encoded asset manifestations, and closed architectures for the overall management of the digital rights.
The Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) provides the semantics for implementing a DRM architecture in an open or trusted computing environment. ODRL defines a standard vocabulary for expressing the terms and conditions over an asset. ODRL covers a core set of semantics for these purposes including the identification of the property rights to the work and the expression of permissible uses for manifestations of a protected asset. Rights can be specified for a specific asset manifestation or format or could be applied to a range of manifestations of the asset. ODRL does not enforce or mandate any policy for DRM, but provides the mechanisms to express such a policy. ODRL does not, however, assume the existence of mechanisms to achieve a secure architecture. ODRL complements existing rights management standards by providing digital equivalents and supports an expandable range of new services that can be afforded by the digital nature of the assets in the Web environment. In the physical environment, ODRL can be used to enable machine-based processing for DRM. The web site "http://odrl.net" contains electronic ODRL resources including the ODRL Specification Format version 1.0, ODRL Expression Language version 1.0, and ODRL Data Dictionary version 1.0.
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a standard for exchanging data and metadata electronically. Metadata is data that describes data. For example, the term "author" is metadata that describes the data "William Shakespeare". XML is an outgrowth of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that allows the author of an XML document to separate the logical content of the document from the presentation of the content. An author of an XML document adds metadata to a document as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) tags in the document. A document type definitions (DTD) file is the mechanism that adds shared content to the XML document. The web site "http://www.w3.org/XML/1999/XML-in-10-points" provides an overview of XML.
Extensible Rights Markup Language (XrML) is an XML conforming language definition that specifies rights, fees, and conditions for using digital content. XrML also describes message integrity and entity authentication rules. XrML supports commerce in digital content such as publishing and selling electronic books, digital movies, digital music, interactive games, and computer software. In addition, XrML supports the specification of access and use controls for secure digital documents in cases where financial exchange is not part of the terms of use. The web site "http://www.xrml.org/faq.asp" provides an overview of XrML.
Digital communications networks can be categorized in terms of their geographic coverage, their transmission media, their protocols, their transmission speeds, the types of equipment that they interconnect, and other criteria. An example of geographic coverage categories includes wide area networks (WANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), local area networks (LANs), and personal area networks (PANs). An example of transmission media categories includes fixed station wireline networks, mobile wireless networks, and hybrid combinations of fixed station wireline networks communicating through wireless access points with wireless networks. There are many digital wireless, wide area network architectures. Most of them are connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to provide access to wireline telephones and digital computers. A short list includes Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), IS-136 TDMA-based Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (DAMPS), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), IS-95 CDMA-based cdmaOne System, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and broadband wireless systems such as W-CDMA, and Broadband GPRS. For more information on these digital wireless, wide area network architectures, see the book by Yi-Bing Lin, et al. entitled Wireless and Mobile Network Architectures, John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
Wide area networks can include communications satellite links that interconnect nation-wide digital networks located on different continents. Nation-wide digital networks typically include backbone networks, regional distribution hubs, and routers, which interconnect access subnetworks serving local routers, servers, and service providers. The Internet is a familiar example of a wide area network. For more information on the Internet as a wide area network, see the book by Daniel Minoli, et al. entitled Internet Architectures, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
At the other end of the range for geographic coverage are short-range wireless systems. Short-range wireless systems have a typical range of one hundred meters or less. They often combine with systems wired to the Internet to provide communication over long distances. The category of short-range wireless systems include both a wireless personal area network (PAN) and a wireless local area network (LAN). Both of these networks have the common feature of operating in unlicensed portions of the radio spectrum, usually either in the 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band or the 5 GHz Unlicensed-National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band. Wireless personal area networks use low cost, low power wireless devices that have a typical range of ten meters. The best-known example of wireless personal area network technology is the Bluetooth Standard, which operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. It provides a peak air link speed of one Mbps and a power consumption low enough for use in personal, portable electronics such as PDAs and mobile phones. Wireless local area networks generally operate at higher peak speeds of from 10 to 100 Mbps and have a longer range, which requires greater power consumption. Wireless local area networks are typically used as wireless links from portable laptop computers to a wired LAN, via an access point (AP). Examples of wireless local area network technology include the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard and the HIPERLAN Standard, which operates in the 5 GHz U-NII band. For more information on wireless LANs, see the book by Jim Geier entitled Wireless LANs, Macmillan Technical Publishing, 1999.
An ad hoc network is a short range wireless system composed primarily of mobile wireless devices, which associate together for a relatively short time to carry out a common purpose. A temporary network such as this is called a "piconet" in the Bluetooth Standard, an "independent basic service set" (IBSS) in the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard, a "subnet" in the HIPERLAN Standard, and generally a radio cell or a "micro-cell" in other wireless LAN technologies. Ad hoc networks have the common property of being an arbitrary collection of wireless devices, which are physically close enough to be able to communicate and which are exchanging information on a regular basis. The networks can be constructed quickly and without much planning. Members of the ad hoc network join and leave as they move into and out of the range of each other. Most ad hoc networks operate over unlicensed radio frequencies at speeds of from one to fifty-four Mbps using carrier sense protocols to share the radio spectrum. The distance over which they can communicate ranges from ten meters for Bluetooth piconets to over one hundred meters for wireless LAN micro-cells in an open environment. Ad hoc networks consist primarily of mobile wireless devices, but can also include one or more access points, which are stationary wireless devices operating as a stand-alone server or connected as gateways to other networks.
Bluetooth is a short-range radio network, originally intended as a cable replacement. It can be used to create ad hoc networks of up to eight devices operating together. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, "Specification Of The Bluetooth System", Version 1.0B, Volumes 1 and 2, December 1999, describes the principles of Bluetooth device operation and communication protocols. The devices operate in the 2.4 GHz radio band reserved for general use by Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) applications. Bluetooth devices are designed to find other Bluetooth devices within their ten-meter radio communications range and to discover what services they offer, using a service discovery protocol (SDP). The SDP searching function relies on links being established between the requesting Bluetooth device in a client role and the responding Bluetooth device in a server role. Once a link has been established, it can be used to find out about services in the responding Bluetooth device and how to connect to them.
A connection between two Bluetooth devices is initiated by an inquiring device sending out an inquiry message searching for other devices in its vicinity. Any other Bluetooth device that is listening by means of conducting an inquiry scan, will recognize the inquiry message and respond. The inquiry response is a message packet containing the responding device's Bluetooth Device Address (BD_ADDR). A Bluetooth device address is a unique, 48-bit IEEE address that is electronically engraved into each Bluetooth device.
The inquiring device uses the information provided in the inquiry response packet, to prepare and send a paging message to the responding device. To establish a connection, the inquiring device must enter the page state. In the page state, the inquiring device will transmit initial paging messages to the responding device using the access code and timing information acquired from the inquiry response packet. The responding device must be in the page scan state to allow the inquiring device to connect with it. Once in the page scan state, the responding device will acknowledge the initial paging messages and the inquiring device will send a paging packet that provides the clock timing and access code of the inquiring device to the responding device. The responding device responds with a page acknowledgment packet. This enables the two devices to form a connection and both devices transition into the connection state. The inquiring device that has initiated the connection assumes the role of a master device and the responding device assumes the role of a slave device in a new ad hoc network piconet.
Each piconet has one master device and up to seven slave devices. All communication is directed between the master device and each respective slave device. The master initiates an exchange of data and the slave responds to the master. When two slave devices are to communicate with each other, they must do so through the master device. The master device maintains the piconet's network clock and controls when each slave device can communicate with the master device. Members of the ad hoc network piconet join and leave as they move into and out of the range of the master device. A piconet supports distributed activities, such as collaborative work projects, collaborative games, multi-user gateways to the Internet, and the like. A user's device that joins a particular piconet does so to enable its user to participate in the currently running collaborative activity.
A Bluetooth-enabled laptop computer can send information to a Bluetooth-enabled printer in the next room. A Bluetooth-enabled microwave oven can send a message to a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone announcing that the meal is ready. Bluetooth will become the standard in mobile phones, PCs, laptops and other electronic devices, enabling users to share information, synchronize data, access the Internet, integrate with LANs or actuate electro-mechanical devices, such as unlocking a car. A passenger can use a laptop or handheld computer to compose an electronic mail message while flying in an airplane and then, after landing, the messages can be automatically forwarded to the Internet by Bluetooth devices that are ubiquitously located around the airport terminal. In another example, while waiting in an airport lounge, the passenger can receive interesting duty-free offers directly on the laptop or handheld computer or play multi-player games with friends.
The IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard defines at least two different physical (PHY) specifications and one common medium access control (MAC) specification. The IEEE 802.11(a) Standard is designed for either the 2.4 GHz ISM band or the 5 GHz U-NII band, and uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to deliver up to 54 Mbps data rates. The IEEE 802.11(b) Standard is designed for the 2.4 GHz ISM band and uses direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) to deliver up to 11 Mbps data rates. The IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard describes two major components, the mobile station and the fixed access point (AP). IEEE 802.11 ad hoc networks have an independent configuration where the mobile stations communicate directly with one another, without support from a fixed access point. The IEEE 802.11 standard provides wireless devices with service inquiry features similar to the Bluetooth inquiry and scanning features. IEEE 802.11 ad hoc networks support distributed activities similar those of a Bluetooth piconet, except that they have ten times the communications range.
In order for an IEEE 802.11 mobile station to communicate with other mobile stations in an ad hoc network, it must first find the stations. The process of finding another station is by inquiring. Active inquiry requires the inquiring station to transmit queries and invoke responses from other wireless stations in an ad hoc network. In an active inquiry, the mobile station will transmit a probe request frame. If there is an ad hoc network on the same channel that matches the service set identity (SSID) in the probe request frame, a station in that ad hoc network will respond by sending a probe response frame to the inquiring station. The probe response includes the information necessary for the inquiring station to access a description of the ad hoc network. The inquiring station will also process any other received probe response and Beacon frames. Once the inquiring station has processed any responses, or has decided there will be no responses, it may change to another channel and repeat the process. At the conclusion of the inquiry, the station has accumulated information about the ad hoc networks in its vicinity. Once a station has performed an inquiry that results in one or more ad hoc network descriptions, the station may choose to join one of the ad hoc networks. The IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard is published in three parts as "IEEE 802.11-1999", "IEEE 802.11a-1999", and "IEEE 802.11b-1999". All three of these publications are available from the IEEE, Inc. web site at http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11.
The HIPERLAN standard provides a wireless LAN with a high data rate of up to 54 Mbps and a medium-range of 50 meters. HIPERLAN wireless LANs provide multimedia distribution with video quality of service (QoS), reserved spectrum, and good in-building propagation. There are two HIPERLAN standards. HIPERLAN Type 1 is a dynamic, priority driven channel access protocol similar to wireless Ethernet. HIPERLAN Type 2 is a reserved channel access protocol similar to a wireless version of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). Both HIPERLAN Type 1 and HIPERLAN Type 2 use dedicated spectrum at 5 GHz. HIPERLAN Type 1 uses an advanced channel equalizer to deal with intersymbol interference and signal multipath. HIPERLAN Type 2 avoids these interference problems by using orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) and a frequency transform function. The HIPERLAN Type 2 specification offers options for bit rates of 6, 16, 36, and 54 Mbps. The physical layer adopts an OFDM multiple carrier scheme using 48 carrier frequencies per OFDM symbol. Each carrier may then be modulated using binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) formats of 16-QAM or 64-QAM to provide different data rates. The modulation schemes chosen for the higher bit rates achieve throughput in the range 30-50 Mbps.
The HIPERLAN Type 1 is a dynamic, priority driven channel access protocol that can form ad hoc networks of wireless devices. HIPERLAN Type 1 ad hoc networks support distributed activities similar those of the Bluetooth piconets and IEEE 802.11 independent basic service sets (IBSS). The HIPERLAN Type 1 standard provides wireless devices with service inquiry features similar to those of the Bluetooth inquiry and scanning features and the IEEE 802.11 probe request and response features. An overview of the HIPERLAN Type 1 principles of operation is provided in the publication "HIPERLAN Type 1 Standard", ETSI ETS 300 652, WA2 December 1997.
HIPERLAN Type 2 is a reserved channel access protocol that forms ad hoc networks. HIPERLAN Type 2 ad hoc networks support distributed activities similar to those of the HIPERLAN Type 1 ad hoc networks, Bluetooth piconets and IEEE 802.11 independent basic service sets (IBSS). HIPERLAN Type 2 provides high speed radio communication with typical data rates from 6 MHz to 54 Mbps. It connects portable devices with broadband networks that are based on IP, ATM and other technologies. Centralized mode is used to operate HIPERLAN Type 2 as an access network via a fixed access point. In addition a capability for direct link communication is provided. This mode is used to operate HIPERLAN Type 2 as an ad hoc network without relying on a cellular network infrastructure. In this case a central controller (CC), which is dynamically selected among the portable devices, provides the same level of QoS support as the fixed access point. Restricted user mobility is supported within the local service area. Wide area roaming mobility can also be supported. An overview of the HIPERLAN Type 2 principles of operation is provided in the Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN), "HIPERLAN Type 2; System Overview", ETSI TR 101 683 VI.I.1 (2000-02) and a more detailed specification of its ad hoc network architecture is described in "HIPERLAN Type 2, Data Link Control (DLC) Layer; Part 4. Extension for Home Environment", ETSI TS 101 761-4 V1.2.1 (2000-12).
Other wireless standards support ad hoc networks. Examples include the IEEE 802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) standard, the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standard, the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard, the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) standard, the Japanese 3rd Generation (3G) wireless standard, and the Multimedia Mobile Access Communication (MMAC) Systems standard of the Japanese Association of Radio Industries and Businesses.
Thus, there is a need for a method, system, and computer program product for integrating digital rights management into a mobile computing environment. The mobile computing environment can include any wireless wide area network such as a cellular network or short range wireless system such as a wireless LAN or a wireless personal area network. The method, system, and computer program product disclosed herein would provide a light-weight and efficient DRM architecture that can promote the growth of electronic commerce in the mobile computing environment.

Digital rights management in a mobile communications environment


A clamping device a sanding tool is comprised of a fixing body, a spring, a clamping plate, a pressing block and a buffer body; wherein, the fixing body is a rectangular base on the proper position of the center of which is installed with a high projected handle, while grooves are installed on the two sides of the base near the edge portion, a fixing stud is installed between the handle and the grooves, a buffer body is adhered on the bottom of the base, a spring and a clamping plate are attached on the stud; the distal end of the fixing stud is installed with a pin for engaging with said pressing block; by the upwards or downwards pressing force of the pressing block, the sand paper may be fixed.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a clamping device for a sanding tool especially to a clamping device for a sanding tool which is fitted to be used in the wood products and in decoration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In finishing the wood product for deriving a beautiful and smooth appearance, in generally, the surface must be smoothed, and then by other preceding process, such as painting, adhering texture paper, etc.
But in conventional smoothing process, it is generally punishing to apply the sandpaper by hand. In this method, the hand is directly located on the sand paper. If the area to be sanded is small, it is a convenient way. But if the area is large, such as in decoration, the door plate, wine cabinet and book case, etc., and the hand is located directly on the sand paper, the heat energy will be induced be induced by friction and will be painful, thus the time required may be increased.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is intended to invent a brand new clamping device for emery cloth table wherein the drawbacks in the prior art is improved, the components thereof has a simple structure; by the upward ejecting and downward pressing of a pressing block, a clamping plate will be tightened or released so that the sand paper is fixed.


A head assembly is provided for use with adzer machine. The head assembly may have a lift frame, and a cutting head rotationally connected to the lift frame. The head assembly may also have a skid, and a single-acting hydraulic cylinder connecting the skid to the lift frame. The head assembly may further have a spring connecting the skid to the lift frame.

An adzer machine is used in the rail industry to resurface worn cross ties, which are the base components of railroad tracks. Over time, support plates that connect rails to the cross ties are forced into the cross ties by the weight of the trains traveling along the tracks. And depending on a differing hardness of individual cross-ties, the support plates are forced deeper into some cross ties than into other cross ties. In order to maintain a straightness of the rails and ensure that the rails are adequately supported along their lengths, the support plates are periodically reset using the adzer machine.
To reset the support plates, one of the rails is separated from the corresponding support plates and the support plates are removed from the cross ties. A head assembly of the adzer machine is then moved along the cross ties at the locations from whence the support plates were removed. The head assembly includes a series of cutters mounted to a rotating hub. As the head assembly is moved along the cross ties, the cutters create a smooth level surface at each cross tie, the smooth level surface of all cross ties being set at a common height. The support plates and rail are then reconnected to the newly resurfaced cross ties.
An exemplary adzer assembly is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0094624 of Lee, Jr. et al. that published on Apr. 28, 2011 ("the '624 publication"). Specifically, the '624 publication discloses an assembly having a frame, a base plate attached to a center of the frame, an adzer unit rotatably connected to the base plate, and two skids connected fore and aft to the frame via a linkage system. Double-acting hydraulic cylinders are connected between the frame and the linkage system and used to raise and lower the skids relative to the adzer unit as the skids are pushed forward along cross ties of a railroad track.
While the adzer assembly of the '624 publication may perform adequately in some applications, the assembly could be problematic during a hydraulic failure condition. In particular, during a failure condition associated with the double-acting hydraulic cylinders (e.g., when the cylinders suddenly lose pressure), it may be possible for the skids to drop downward into the cross ties or into a space between adjacent cross ties during a transport operation. This uncontrolled movement could result in gashing of the cross ties and/or damage to the skids or adzer unit.
The head assembly of the present disclosure is directed at solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.

Adzer machine having failsafe head assembly


A closure for the end of a male quick disconnect fluid coupling has an innal plug that displaces the plug normally provided in the male quick disconnect coupling, and the closure also has an outer plug wall with balls that can be radially cammed inwardly by a rotatable sleeve on the closure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to fluid couplings and more particularly to a self-sealing, quick disconnect (QD) cap for a male coupling to isolate it from external pressures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Standard self-sealing couplings for fluids are designed to seal themselves from internal pressures only. However, in a Vertical Launch System (VLS), the missile tube has a quick disconnect coupling located therein. When a Capsule Launch System (CLS) is loaded into the missile tube, a sensing line from the CLS is connected to the QD coupling forming a path from the missile tube's differential pressure transducer to the CLS. However, when a ballast cam is loaded into the missile tube in place of a CLS, no sensing line is connected to the missile tube's QD coupling and the QD coupling's self-sealing plunger could be subjected to an external pressure. This situation can arise in the event of a flooded tube. If the plunger is opened under this circumstance, it would subject the different pressure transducer to sea pressure which would destroy it. There is thus a need for a pressure cap on the coupling which protects the differential transducer and the QD coupling against an external pressure.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A device for controlling the operating state of a system for the automatic starting/stopping of a heat engine of a vehicle. The invention is characterized in that the device comprises at least one operating state indicator (F1, F2) which is associated with an operating mode of the system and which can adopt a first position (B1, P1) in an operating mode inhibition state, a second position (B2, P2) in an operating mode activation state and a third position (B3, P3) in an operating mode intermediate state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a device for controlling the operating state of an automatic starting/stopping system for a thermal engine of a motor vehicle.
The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the field of the automotive industry, and more especially in that of vehicles equipped with an automatic starting/stopping system, such as the system known by the English term "Stop and Go".
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles able to function according to "Stop and Go" mode are equipped with a reversible electrical machine, or alternator/starter, coupled to the thermal engine, by means of a belt for example. In general terms, a reversible electrical machine of a vehicle combines two distinct functions, namely on the one hand the conventional function of alternator when the shaft of the thermal engine drives the rotor of the machine so as to produce an electric current at the stator and on the other hand the starter function when conversely a current applied to the stator of the machine causes the rotor to start to rotate, which then drives the shaft of the thermal engine in a similar manner to a conventional starter.
The application of an alternator/starter to the "Stop and Go" operating mode consists, under certain conditions, of causing the complete stoppage of the thermal engine when the vehicle is itself at rest, and then restarting the thermal engine following for example an action by the driver interpreted as a request for restarting. A typical situation with "Stop and Go" is that of stopping at a red light. When the vehicle stops at the light, the thermal engine is automatically stopped and then, when the light becomes green, the engine is restarted in particular by means of the alternator/starter following the detection by the vehicle starting control system of the pressing of the clutch pedal by the driver or any other action that may be interpreted as the intention of the driver to restart his vehicle. The advantage of the "Stop and Go" mode in terms of energy saving and pollution reduction, in particular in an urban environment, will be understood.
It is however necessary to emphasize that the functioning of such an automatic starting/stopping system is in general relatively complex because in particular of the implementation of many conditions that must be verified before any decision on automatic starting or stopping is taken, and because of the existence of intermediate operating modes, such as degraded modes, to which the system is subject under certain circumstances.
However, the decisions relating to automatic starting or stopping are by hypothesis made by the system unknown to the driver. The latter is therefore in total ignorance of the unfolding of the actions controlled by the automatic starting and stopping system concerning the functioning of the thermal engine of his vehicle, while, for reasons of safety and driving pleasure, he should be informed of this as precisely as possible.

Device for controlling an automatic start/stop system


A polyamide acid solution and/or gel film is subjected to at least any one of the following processes: addition of a semiconducting inorganic filler, addition of a conductivity imparting agent, and formation of a conductive film. Thereafter, the polyamide acid contained in the polyamide acid solution or gel film is imidized. Thus, the obtained semiconducting polyimide film has surface and volume resistances satisfactorily controllable and less dependent on voltage, excellent mechanical properties, and a high elongation rate.

A conventionally known method of improving the conductivity of polyimide is to mix a conductive filler in the polyimide (for convenience, the method will be referred to as "method I"). The "conductive filler," or simply "filler," is typically one of a variety of base materials coated with carbon, graphite, metal particles, indium tin oxide, or another conductive material to provide conductivity.
Improvement of conductivity by method I, however, raises following problems. First, most polyimide films obtained are of inferior mechanical properties. Next, conductive fillers (filler) obtained by method I show a very low resistivity (no more than about 103 Ω·cm in resistance) and present extreme difficulties in controlling the resistance value in the semiconducting region. Especially, the fillers are difficult to enhance reproducibility of surface resistivity and volume resistivity and reduce their in-plane irregularities. Also, polyimide films obtained by method I show a resistivity which has relatively large dependence on measurement voltage.
As a similar technique, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application 1-146957/1989 (Tokukaihei 1-146957; published on 8 Jun. 1989) discloses a resin composition filled with metal oxide fine powder (filler) and carbon black (for convenience, the technique will be referred to as "method II").
Method II however is designed specifically to manufacture a semiconducting resin composition suitable for a sleeve of a developing roll for use in electronic photographic image forming apparatus of a single component developing system. In other words, the technique aims to obtain a semiconducting resin composition which exhibits desirable properties as a sleeve. Such properties are hard to achieve using either one of a highly conductive filler or carbon black; both of them are therefore used.
In fact, in method II, emphasis is only on adjustment of the volume resistance, which makes it difficult to properly adjust the surface resistance when a film is made of the resin. When method II is applied to a polyimide film, the resultant polyimide film has poor surface resistivity reproducibility as was the case with method I.
As a technique successfully addressing problems of these methods, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Applications 8-259810/1996 (Tokukaihei 8-259810; published on 8 Oct. 1996) and 8-259709/1996 (Tokukaihei 8-259709; published on 8 Oct. 1996) disclose a method whereby polyaniline is polymer-blended with polyimide to impart conductivity (for convenience, the method will be referred to as "method III").
Method III have following problems. First, polyaniline's conductivity is ion conductivity, and its resistance value therefore is largely susceptible to environmental conditions. In addition, polyaniline has yet to establish industrially sufficient manufacturing productivity and is very costly to use as a polymer blend.
Apart from method III, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Applications 11-279437/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-279437; published on 12 Oct. 1999), 2000-207959 (Tokukai 2000-207959; published on 28 Jul. 2000), and 2001-2954 (Tokukai 2001-2954; published on 9 Jan. 2001) discloses preparation and use of a coating liquid in the formation of a conductive metal oxide film on a non-conductive base to provide conductivity (for convenience, will be referred to as "method IV").
Method IV however only forms a conductive film on the base surface and is unable to reduce the base's volume resistance.
These conventional methods thus present difficulties in precisely controlling the surface and volume resistance of the polyimide film, making resistance less dependent on voltage, and enhancing its elongation rate and mechanical properties.

Semiconductive polymide film and process for production thereof


The present invention generally relates to a method for forming a smooth gap of a damascene write pole. An opening having a side wall with a first angle with respect to vertical is formed in a fill layer, and a first non-magnetic layer is deposited into the opening by ion beam deposition. The ion beam is delivered to the side wall at a second angle with respect to vertical. The ratio of the first angle to the second angle ranges from about 250 to about 3.5.

Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods of making side gap layers of a damascene write pole.
Description of the Related Art
The heart of a computer is a magnetic disk drive which typically includes a rotating magnetic disk, a slider that has read and write heads, a suspension arm above the rotating disk and an actuator arm that swings the suspension arm to place the read and/or write heads over selected circular tracks on the rotating disk. The suspension arm biases the slider into contact with the surface of the disk when the disk is not rotating but, when the disk rotates, air is swirled by the rotating disk adjacent an air bearing surface (ABS) of the slider causing the slider to ride on an air bearing a slight distance from the surface of the rotating disk. When the slider rides on the air bearing, the write and read heads are employed for writing magnetic impressions to and reading magnetic signal fields from the rotating disk. The read and write heads are connected to processing circuitry that operates according to a computer program to implement the writing and reading functions.
In order to meet the ever increasing demand for improved data rate and data capacity, researchers have developed perpendicular recording systems, which record data as magnetizations oriented perpendicular to the plane of the magnetic disk. The magnetic disk has a magnetically soft underlayer covered by a thin magnetically hard top layer. The perpendicular write head has a write pole with a very small cross section and a return pole having a much larger cross section. A strong, highly concentrated magnetic field emits from the write pole in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic disk surface, magnetizing the magnetically hard top layer. The resulting magnetic flux then travels through the soft underlayer, passing back through the magnetically hard top layer and returning to the return pole where the magnetic flux is spread out and too weak to erase the signal recorded by the write pole.
At the ABS, the write pole is surrounded by side gap layers. The side gap layers prevent the write pole from writing to adjacent data tracks and magnetic write field from leaking out. Sometimes the side gap layers have a bumpy surface adjacent to the write pole, causing the bevel angle measurement to be very difficult. The bumpy surface of the side gap layers may also impact magnetic properties of films subsequently grown thereon.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved method for forming the side gap layers.

Method for producing a smooth Ru side gap of a damascene writer pole


A post sleeve provides a substantially permanent base for supporting a post for a fence or sign, and from which one post can be removed and replaced with another post. The sleeve includes a rigid, elongate body and a cavity extending within the body and configured to receive an end of a post of a selected size and shape. A unique identifier is provided that differentiates the post sleeve from other post sleeves. The unique identifier can be in the form of a string of characters or symbols affixed to the post sleeve, or can be in a machine readable format, such as a bar code or a radio frequency identification tag. The unique identifier can include elements denoting additional information, such as a manufacturer's serial number, a model number, a date of manufacture, a name of a manufacturer, or a place of manufacture.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments of the present disclosure are related in general to the field of installation of supports for uprights of fences, traffic signs, real estate signage, etc., and in particular to post supports that can be permanently installed, and from which one post can be removed and another emplaced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Posts of various lengths and compositions are used in a wide range of applications, including supporting fences, traffic control signs, temporary structures, etc. Where a post is intended to be substantially permanent, it is often placed in a hole and anchored in a concrete footing to increase its cross section and hold it firmly in place. One problem that is commonly encountered in such situations is that posts, especially wooden posts, are subject to breakage, warpage, and decomposition. Replacing a post that has been anchored in concrete is difficult, wasteful, and unfriendly to the environment for reasons that include excessive use of natural resources and the generation of landfill material. The concrete footing must be removed from the ground in order to make room for the new post. This requires that a much larger hole must be dug around the concrete footing. In turn, this requires a much larger volume of concrete or re-compaction of the surrounding soil, to fill the hole around the new post and create the new footing in proper contact with undisturbed or adequately compacted soil.
One of the most common causes of deterioration in wooden posts is water trapped around the end of the post inside the concrete. For example, when the post is damp or wet for an extended period of time, the wood absorbs water and draws it by capillary action downward into the concrete footing. Water becomes trapped between the wood and the inside wall of the concrete, so that the end of the post remains wet even while the upper portion is dry. This is especially true in cases where the end of the post is completely encapsulated in concrete, preventing water from escaping through the bottom of the footing, in which case the majority of the water escapes only through the wicking action of the end grain of the post.
To reduce this problem, installers often pour several inches of gravel into the bottom of a post hole and place the post directly on the gravel before they pour concrete around it. This prevents the concrete from completely sealing up the bottom of the post by flowing under it, and thus provides a channel for water to escape into the gravel. However, this is only a partial solution. Often the drainage gravel is not fully compacted and settles, causing more need for repair and replacement. Furthermore, with this common method, it takes substantial time for water, once having entered the footing, to work its way all the way through the footing and out the bottom. If the post is subjected to frequent or extended wet periods, the end of the post inside the footing may remain constantly wet even though water continues to drain out the bottom. Additionally, because of the direct contact with the ground on the end of the post, water can move upward into the footing when the ground is wet due to the capillary or wicking effect of the end grain. This constant dampness encourages the growth of organisms that digest the wood fiber and eventually destroy the post, or in the case of steel, rusts the post away. Additionally, the bottom of the footing is substantially open to insects, which can enter unobstructed from the gravel below to attack and eat the post.
Furthermore, direct contact between concrete and some species of wood generates a reaction that promotes deterioration of the wood. This limits the species of wood that can be used for fence or sign posts where concrete footings will be used in direct contact with the post.
Another approach that is used to protect wood posts and other lumber in direct contact with the ground or with concrete is commonly referred to as pressure treating. In this process, protective chemicals are forced into an outer surface of the post under high pressure. The chemicals provide the post with protection from common funguses and other organisms that cause deterioration. Pressure treatment generally extends the useful life of a post by a factor of five to ten. However, the chemicals used in pressure treatment are often toxic to humans and non-target organisms, and can leach into the water supply. In other cases, the chemicals are highly corrosive, tending to cause corrosion in fasteners and structures that are attached thereto. An additional problem with pressure treatment is that the wood cannot generally be recycled when it is replaced, and should not be composted, because of the chemicals still present. This means that it must be deposited in a landfill which in turn is a result of the need to install a post in direct contact with the ground and or concrete.
A third approach to this problem is the use of prefabricated anchors or sleeves, i.e., pockets that are placed in the ground or anchored in a concrete footing. These anchors permit a post to be removed and replaced without requiring that the pocket itself be replaced. Some examples of such anchors are disclosed in the following U.S. patents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,632,464; 6,098,353; and 7,325,790.


An apparatus, method and computer program product for controlling wirelessly controlled equipment, such as a ductless air conditioning system. A control module is provided comprising an optical source for generating an optical control signal. The control module enables a smartphone to control wirelessly controlled equipment of the type which is controlled by a remote-control device generating an optical signal. An electrical circuit generates electrical control signals to be coupled to the optical source, wherein the electrical circuit generates the electrical control signals depending on information received from a network connection. A wireless communications module communicates with the smartphone. A mobile application stored in a memory of the smartphone communicates user selections from the smartphone over the network connection to the apparatus to implement transmission of electrical control signals to the control module to cause the control module to cause the optical source to generate the optical control signals to control the operation of the wirelessly controlled equipment.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the inventions disclosed below. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Three principal types of air conditioners predominate in the world today. Perhaps the most familiar of these is the window air conditioner, which is mounted in a window and includes a condenser facing into the room to be air-conditioned and a compressor facing the outside. These devices work by pumping a refrigerant in a circuit including the condenser and compressor. More particularly, refrigerant is pumped by a compressor into the input of a fan cooled pipe usually configured in a serpentine configuration in order to efficiently be cooled by a cooling fan. The fan cooled pipe forms the condenser.
The output of the condenser is sent to an expansion valve, which functions to meter the amount of refrigerant ejected from the condenser into the evaporator, which comprises another heated exchange tube. When the refrigerant is ejected into the evaporator, because of the low pressure in the evaporator the refrigerant evaporates, cooling the heat exchange tube which forms the evaporator. A second fan, in turn, blows air to be cooled over the heat exchange tube which forms the evaporator, thus cooling the air in the room. This results in warming the refrigerant in the evaporator.
The warmed, still gaseous, refrigerant in the evaporator is then sent to the compressor where it is compressed into a hot liquid in the condenser, in which it is cooled sufficiently to be ejected into the evaporator to repeat the cycle. In the steady-state, the expansion valve is always open to some extent, and it functions to meter the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator. Depending on the pressure in either the condenser or the evaporator, the expansion valve regulates the flow of refrigerant by varying the size of the passage in the expansion valve through which refrigerant flows from the condenser to the evaporator.
With room air conditioners, a thermostat is generally included and located on the room side of the air-conditioning unit.
A second type of system commonly used in the United States is the central air-conditioning system. In this system, one also employs an evaporator and a condenser. However, the condenser is located outside the home, or other facility to be air-conditioned, and the evaporator is located inside the home. Air is blown over the evaporator and circulated through a duct system, which carries air into the rooms of the house through input vents, while collecting warmer air from the rooms of the house through exhaust fans which are connected by ducts to the central evaporator.
Refrigerant is carried to the evaporator by a first refrigerant pipe, which may be, for example, three meters long. The warmed refrigerant, in turn, is returned to the compressor by a second refrigerant pipe. The advantage of the system is that it allows central control of temperature. The ductwork in such a system may be divided into zones, for example a sleeping zone and a living zone.
With central air conditioners, a thermostat is generally placed in a room inside the living space of the building.
The third approach to implementing an air-conditioning system is to condition a single room by putting the evaporator in the room, for example on a wall near the ceiling with the condenser outside the building (e.g., on the roof or on the ground) while running a pair of refrigerant tubes for circulating refrigerant between the condenser and evaporator. In this case, the expansion valve is placed in the evaporator unit. Such systems are known as ductless systems, or sometimes as mini-split systems.
In a ductless system, a thermostat is generally included with the unit and is thus located inside the room being air-conditioned. In many cases, ductless systems may be controlled by a remote control, using infrared (IR) communication. In addition, the remote control may include a thermostat.
In the case of all three approaches, use of a heat pump, which reverses the cycle, is theoretically possible. However, in practice heat pump capabilities are usually limited to central and ductless systems.

Networked thermostat control for ductless HVAC


A core tube for mounting in the axial bore of the body of cross-head die apparatus through which a filamentary member is drawn as a layer of flowable coating material is applied thereto. The coating material is injected through a radial bore having an axis intersecting an annular groove extending 360 degrees around the core tube. The annular groove communicates with a flow passage leading to the die orifice both through an annular space surrounding the forward end of the groove and through three axial grooves, two of which are of the same size and the other larger. The larger groove is positioned 180 degrees from the axis of the radial bore in the die body and 100 degrees from each of the small grooves.

The present invention relates to cross-head die apparatus for applying a continuous layer of coating material to a filamentary member as the latter is moved axially through the apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved core tube for distributing the coating material evenly about the filamentary member.
Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,031,568, 5,316,583, 5,540,775 and 5,544,403, and application Ser. No. 08,881,576 all disclose cross-head die apparatus including an element known as a core tube which assists in even distribution and axial flow through the apparatus of a flowable coating material which is injected radially into the die body. At least some embodiments of the core tubes of all the aforementioned patents and application include axial grooves through which at least some of the coating material flows from an annular groove in the core tube forwardly toward the die orifice.
In application no. (Model 99B), a pair of axial grooves are positioned at 180 degree intervals and are specified to be optional; when provided, the axial grooves are relatively small with the majority of the coating material flowing through the space between a lip adjoining the annular groove in the core tube and the surrounding portion of the axial bore in the body. No particular number of axial grooves is specified in the referenced patents, although the grooves are of equal dimensions and spaced at equal intervals about the periphery of the core tube. Also, the axial grooves in the referenced patents are described as large in cross section relative to the space between the lip and bore, whereby all or most of the coating material flows through the axial groove.


A multi-part piston for a brake saddle of a hydraulically and/or mechanically and/or electromechanically actuated disk brake is described herein. The piston is a pot open on one side and including a base and a wall attached thereto in one piece. The base can be impinged by brake pressure coming from the inside of the pot so that an outward-facing abutting surface of the base can be pressed against a brake lining. The inside of the pot receives at least one pressure piece associated with a parking brake mechanism. For simplified manufacture in the form of a modular piston system for use in various applications, it is proposed that the pressure piece and the base comprise conical surfaces facing one another for transferring braking pressure.

A brake caliper which is actuatable hydraulically and mechanically in combination and includes a piston is known from EP 0 396 231 A1, which is incorporated by reference. In this case the wall has a conical surface which cooperates with a separate cone and with a separately provided threaded nut which is driven by a threaded spindle. Through its basic principle, the known arrangement makes possible a compensation of brake pad wear for use in a disk brake having a parking brake device. Indications of an especially cost-effective construction of a disk brake are not to be found in this document.
Furthermore, known arrangements lack an adaptation to electromechanically actuatable brake actuator systems wherein a parking brake device acts on the brake piston by means of a transmission, the transmission converting a rotary motion of an actuator system into a translational motion, causing an actuation of the brake piston in order to execute parking brake operations and holding the brake piston in the actuated position, and wherein the transmission comprises a threaded spindle and a threaded nut.
Independently of the above it is necessary, of course, to specify a solution for the structure of a motor vehicle disk brake which is entirely without a parking brake function.
Accordingly, differently configured motor vehicle brakes and their actuator systems require in principle differently configured components, which requirement incurs increased complexity and cost both in the production of the vehicle brakes and in subsequent logistics, such as the supply of replacement parts. The same applies in principle to motor vehicle brakes with or without compensation for brake pad wear.
It is an object of the invention to make possible a supply of identical parts as comprehensive as possible in the manufacture and subsequent logistics of all vehicle brakes, and to reduce the manufacturing complexity and cost. This goes hand-in-hand with the question of making available an advantageous modular system.

Multi-part piston construction for a brake caliper of a disk brake


A removable battery pack for powering a pen-based or portable computer system in which the battery pack blocks its terminals when inserted into an unknown system. The known system includes a power supply microcontroller which passes battery charge data back and forth between a memory located in the battery pack and the power supply microcontroller. A battery microcontroller, located in the battery pack, eavesdrops drops on the communication between the power supply microcontroller and the memory, and when it validates a known signature of this communication, the battery microcontroller then enables the terminals of the battery pack. A trickle discharge current flows from the battery pack whenever the battery pack is out of the known system to allow the power supply microcontroller to power up in the case of a dead auxiliary battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a removable battery pack for providing power to a known system, and more particularly to a removable battery pack which blocks charge from entering or leaving the battery pack until the battery pack is inserted into the known system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers are often needed in locations where AC power is not available. Rechargeable batteries are typically used as an alternative source of power, such as nickel-based batteries and lithium ion batteries, which are capable of providing power to a portable or pen-based computer system for several hours. For providing power to a computer system, these batteries are typically arranged in a battery pack containing four series banks of two parallel cells in each battery. Although the battery pack may be charged in an external charger, the battery pack of a computer system is typically charged by the power supply of the host computer system. Since rechargeable batteries have a limited cycle life, it is desirable to maximize the life of and to obtain the maximum power from each battery during every discharge cycle. Thus, in order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to fully and efficiently charge the battery pack in a system designed to accomplish these objectives.
The primary design challenge confronting the earlier nickel-based battery chargers arose from the difficultly in determining the charge level of a nickel-based battery since the terminal voltage of the nickel-based battery is substantially the same regardless of the charge level. This characteristic also holds true for lithium ion batteries. This problem was addressed by placing a microcontroller circuit and a memory inside a battery pack as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,228 entitled "Battery Charge Monitor and Fuel Gauge," which is hereby incorporated by reference. In that disclosure, the battery pack recalculates the remaining capacity of the battery pack over time; provides a fuel gauge to continually measure the remaining charge level at any given time; and measures the discharge of the battery pack during periods of non-use, often referred to as the self-discharge of the battery pack.
A further modification of this arrangement is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 033,821 entitled "Battery Pack Including Static Memory and a Timer For Charge Management," filed Mar. 3, 1993 and allowed on Jul. 28, 1995, which is hereby incorporated by reference. A battery pack is disclosed in which the microcontroller is moved to the host computer system, thereby reducing the size and cost of the battery pack and increasing the battery pack shelf-life. The battery pack includes a small read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a real time clock. The operating parameters of the battery pack are contained in the ROM memory which includes a family code and battery type, the maximum charge temperature, low voltage set points, initial rated total capacity, and self-discharge rates for several time periods. The RAM includes such information as the remaining charge on the battery and the total capacity of the battery. Furthermore, the real time clock timestamps the RAM, thereby providing a measure of the elapsed time of removal of the battery pack from the host computer system. Thus, the host computer system has the appropriate information to provide optimal charge to the battery pack and to monitor the charge left in the battery pack.
One fundamental requirement of lithium ion batteries is that they be charged or discharged only when they are inserted in a known computer system or special charger designed to accommodate lithium ion batteries. This requirement is predominently due to potential for a lithium ion battery to possibly explode if improperly charged or discharged.
Thus, it is desirable to have a lithium ion battery pack which disables itself, by blocking charge entering or leaving the batteries, if the battery pack is not inserted into a known system. If the battery pack is inserted into an unknown system, (such as a short circuit), an unknown battery charger, or an unknown computer system, the battery pack will minimize the harm to the computer system, charger, or batteries of the battery pack. It is further desirable to have a battery pack which permanently disables itself should the terminal voltage of any battery cell of the battery pack drop below a deeply discharged voltage threshold which indicates a deeply discharged battery cell, thereby not allowing any recharging or discharging of the battery pack, as this would be dangerous as known to those skilled in the art.