A cathode having a groove extending about 10 to about 450 microns into a surface of the cathode. The cathode can also be roughened.

This invention generally relates to battery cathodes.
Batteries are commonly used electrical energy sources. A battery contains a negative electrode, typically called an anode, and a positive electrode, typically called a cathode. The cathode may include a positive active material (e.g., a transition metal oxide such as MnO2) that can be reduced, a conductive aid (e.g., graphite), and a binder (e.g., polyethylene (PE)). The anode can be a gel including an active material (e.g., zinc particles) that can be oxidized. The anode active material is capable of reducing the cathode active material. In order to prevent direct reaction of the anode material and the cathode material, the anode and the cathode are electrically isolated from each other by a separator.
When the battery is used as an electrical energy source in a device, electrical contact is made to the anode and the cathode, allowing electrons to flow through the device and permitting the respective oxidation and reduction reactions to occur to provide electrical power. An electrolyte in contact with the anode and the cathode contains ions that flow through the separator between the electrodes to maintain charge balance throughout the battery during discharge.
Alkaline batteries include cylindrical batteries, for example, the conventional AA, AAA, AAAA, C, and D batteries, commonly sold in stores. These conventional alkaline batteries include a cylindrical container (called a can) containing a central, cylindrical gel anode surrounded by a hollow cylindrical transition metal oxide cathode.
A cylindrical cathode can be made by a number of ways. One method is to place a number of ring-shaped discs in the can to form a tall, loose fitting hollow cylinder. The discs are reformed in the can to provide good contact to the can wall by placing a core rod in the cavity of the cylinder and re-compacting the discs by applying pressure to the top of the discs. The discs can also be made oversized, i.e., the outer diameter of the discs is bigger than the inner diameter of the can, and force fit into the can by inserting them through a tapered funnel. Another method of making the cathode includes placing cathode powder or granules in the can and forming the cathode by driving a central core rod into the powder while restraining the powder on the top surface of the cathode with a punch. Cathodes made by these methods can have shiny, glazed surfaces with closed pores.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A mug assembly comprises an internal mug adapted to be positioned inside an external mug. The external mug comprises a substantially transparent cylindrical container wall having an outer surface and an inner surface. The internal mug comprises a substantially cylindrical container wall made of a non-plastic material and having an outer surface and a mouth. A sealing material is provided to assist in securing the internal mug inside the external mug. Decorative indicia may be provided between the inner surface of the external mug and the outer surface of the internal mug, or on the outer surface of the internal mug.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novelty drinking cup or mug assembly that allows an individual to choose and change the ornamental design of the mug. In particular, the present invention relates to a drinking mug assembly that comprises two mugs, an internal mug and a transparent external mug. A decorative mat or piece or color particles suspended in a liquid may be provided between the internal and the external mugs, or the exterior of the internal mug may be decorated with a desired design or pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is applicable to mugs, cups and beverage containers alike, which shall hereinafter be collectively referred to as "mugs".
Certain conventional novelty drinking mug assemblies are very popular with children and adults alike. Such novelty drinking mug assemblies comprise two mugs, an internal mug and a substantially transparent external mug, with a decorative mat or piece provided in the space between the internal and the external mugs. The internal mug has an overhanging lip portion that is adapted to engage the lip at the mouth of the external mug. The decorative mat or piece may be a sheet of paper or fabric having an ornamental design, words, or a combination thereof, etched, printed or otherwise disposed on it. The decorative mat is fitted inside the external mug against the inside surfaces of the external mug. The internal mug is positioned inside the external mug, and the overhanging lip of the internal mug overhangs and engages the mouth of the external mug to hold the decorative mat in place between the two mugs. Instead of a decorative mat, some novelty drinking mug assemblies have provided particles of different colors that are suspended in a liquid that is captured between the two mugs.
These novelty drinking mug assemblies are popular because they allow an individual to choose or change the ornamental design of the drinking mug assembly. For instance, an individual may provide a decorative piece of paper having a particular ornamental design or written message. At a later time, this same individual may decide to sew an ornamental pattern onto a fabric or other mat, and then substitute this mat for the previous piece of decorative paper. Thus, the individual is provided with an unlimited variety of different ornamental designs and messages that he or she can provide to the same drinking mug assembly.
The internal and external mugs of such conventional novelty drinking mug assemblies are typically made from plastic. In particular, the external mug must be made from a substantially transparent material to allow the decorative mat or suspended color particles to be visible. The internal mug can be any color but preferably a neutral color so as to provide a good background for the decorative mat or suspended color particles. In any case, plastic is typically used for both the internal and the erternal mugs because plastic can be easily molded to form the desired overhanging lip and to ensure an effective snap-fit engagement between the overhanging lip of the internal mug and the mouth of the external mug. This snap-fit engagement is easily accomplished because plastic is a flexible material which can be flexed or deformed to snap the overhanging lip over the mouth of the external mug.
Unfortunately, the use of plastic as a material for a cup or mug has several drawbacks. First, plastic surfaces are often more difficult to clean effectively than surfaces made from other materials such as ceramic, glass or porcelain. Second, people have complained that plastic mugs impart an unpleasant odor, while ceramic, glass or porcelain mugs do not carry such an odor. Third, plastic is not effective in retaining the temperature of the fluid contained in the mug, while ceramic, glass or porcelain mugs are somewhat more effective in retaining the temperature of the fluid. Fourth, plastic mugs are susceptible to leakage due to cracks or other deformities, so that when used with the novelty drinking mug assemblies described above, there is a danger that contaminants or the liquid captured between the two mugs may leak into the drinking liquid if the internal mug leaks or is deformed. For the purposes of the present invention, the term "plastic" is meant to include flexible, lightweight, synthetic materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or similar materials.
Despite these recognized drawbacks of plastic, both the internal and the external mugs of these novelty drinking mug assemblies are still made from plastic because the other materials such as ceramic, glass or porcelain are not flexible enough to provide an effective snap-fit engagement mechanism between the internal and the external mugs. Thus, there is still a need for a novelty drinking mug assembly in which at least the internal mug, and preferably also the external mug, are made of a non-plastic material such as ceramic, porcelain or glass, and which provides a safe, effective, and convenient mechanism for engaging the internal and external mugs to hold a decorative mat or liquid therebetween.


A gas separator includes a porous substrate having fine pores opened on its surface and a metal for separating a gas, the porous substrate having fine pores having an average diameter of 0.4-0.9 .mu.m, and the metal for separating a gas being filled into the pores in the porous substrate to close them. A gas separation film seldom exfoliate from the porous substrate, and the gas separator is excellent in durability in comparison with a conventional gas separator.

The present invention relates to a gas separator for separating a specific gas from a mixed gas by diffusion.
Heretofore, as a technique for obtaining a specific gas from a mixed gas, there is known a separation method by the use of an organic or an inorganic gas separating film. Among the separating films, examples of a hydrogen separating film for use in a film separation method include organic polymeric films of polyimide, polysulfone and the like, and inorganic compound films of palladium, palladium alloys and the like, and examples of an oxygen separating film include films of silver and silver alloys. The palladium film and the palladium alloy films have heat resistance and can obtain extremely high-purity hydrogen.
Palladium and the palladium alloys have characteristics which allow hydrogen to be dissolved therein and which allow hydrogen to permeate therethrough, and by the utilization of the characteristics, a thin film comprising palladium or the palladium alloy has been widely used as a gas separator for separating hydrogen from a mixed gas containing hydrogen. However, the thin film comprising palladium itself is weak in mechanical strength, and so, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-273030, palladium or the palladium alloy is deposited on the surface of an inorganic porous support of a porous glass, porous ceramics, a porous aluminum oxide or the like to increase the mechanical strength of the thin film comprising palladium or the palladium alloy.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 3-146122 discloses a method for preparing a hydrogen separator which comprises first forming a palladium thin film on the surface of a heat-resistant porous substrate by a chemical plating process, and further forming a silver thin film on the palladium thin film by the chemical plating process, followed by a heat treatment. According to this disclosed method, a hydrogen separator having the porous substrate and a palladium alloy thin film covering it can be obtained. In this palladium alloy thin film, palladium and silver are uniformly distributed by the above-mentioned heat treatment.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,705 discloses a silver thin film for separating oxygen.
However, these gas separators have a drawback that a material gas to be subjected to the gas separation leaks into a purified gas through holes (hereinafter referred to as "throughhole-defects") which extend through the gas separating film comprising the metal for separating the gas. Therefore, the concentration of hydrogen in the purified gas deteriorates as much as the leaked material gas.
In order to remove these throughhole-defects, there is a method of thickening the gas separating film comprised of the metal for separating the gas, but this method has a problem that a gas permeability of the gas separating film deteriorates and hence a gas separation efficiency also deteriorates. However, this method prevents a material gas from getting mixed in a refined gas, and therefore, a hydrogen gas with high purity can be obtained.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-277472 discloses that pores are closed by filling a metal having a gas separating ability inside the pores opened on the surface of a porous substrate. According to this method, a leakage of a material gas into a refined gas can be avoided without deteriorating an efficiency of separating a gas.
However, when a thickness of a gas separating film is made thick, the method has a problem that adhesive properties between the gas separating film and a substrate such as a porous film are weak, and when the hydrogen separator obtained by the method is actually used in a gas separation process, the gas separating film peels in a short period of time. In consequence, such a hydrogen separator cannot be used continuously for a long term in order to carry out the gas separation.
When a hydrogen separating film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-277472 is used, it is desired that a frequency of an exfoliation is decreased though a continuous gas separation for a long term in comparison with a separator having a thickened gas separation film.
The present invention is made in light of the background of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas separator which can prevent a material gas to be subjected to a gas separation from leaking into a purified gas and which hardly has an exfoliation of a gas separating film and which has excellent durability in comparison with a conventional gas separator.


A consistent back pressure formulation is introduced into ink-jet simulation models and algorithms to solve an instability problem that occurs as the head of an ink droplet reaches the end of the solution domain during simulation. The consistent back pressure formulation is obtained in a way that is consistent with the idea of interface smearing. Formulas for calculating the pressure boundary condition on quadrilateral grids are disclosed. An ink-jet simulation example is given to demonstrate the improved models and algorithms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to further improvements with respect to models and algorithms to simulate and analyze ink ejection from a piezoelectric print head. More particularly, this invention recognizes and solves an instability that occurs as the head of a droplet reaches the end of the solution domain during simulation. A "consistent back pressure" formulation is introduced into the simulation models and algorithms to eliminate the instability. The improved simulation models and algorithms may be embodied in software, hardware or combination thereof and may be implemented on a computer or other processor-controlled device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) ink-jet simulation have been very useful in the design of piezoelectric ink-jet print heads. FIG. 1 shows how a practical ink-jet simulation may be carried out. An analytical tool such as an equivalent circuit 11 receives as an input the dynamic voltage to be applied to the piezoelectric PZT actuator and simulates the ink behavior under the influence of the ink cartridge, supply channel, vibration plate, and PZT actuator. That is, from the input voltage and an ink flow rate, the equivalent circuit 11 calculates an inflow pressure that drives the CFD code 12. The CFD code 12 then solves the governing partial differential equations, i.e., the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase flows, for fluid velocity, pressure and interface position, and feeds back the ink flow rate to the equivalent circuit. The sequence is repeated as long as needed.

Consistent back pressure for piezoelectric ink-jet simulation


A power transmission unit includes a second coil which contactlessly transmits power, a power reception unit includes a first coil that receives the power transmitted from the power transmission unit, and a medical instrument includes the power reception unit and is embedded in a body. The medical instrument includes a notification unit that is composed of a plurality of light emitting units that provides notification that a relative positional relationship between the power transmission unit and the power reception unit has reached a predetermined state by emitting light using the power received at the power reception unit when the predetermined state is reached by the movement of the power transmission unit. A soft unit into which an injection needle is inserted, the plurality of light emitting units being arranged so as to extend along an outer edge of the soft unit.

A body-implantable medical device in which a body portion of a medical instrument is implanted into a body is used for charging a medicinal solution into the body. This medical instrument reduces the burden on patients who need frequent injections for charging a medicinal solution. Such a medical instrument has a soft portion through which an injection needle is inserted into the body portion. This soft portion is made of, for example, silicone rubber or other materials. With the medical instrument, a medicinal solution is injected into a medicinal solution container through the soft portion. The medicinal solution is transported through a catheter to blood vessels.
In such a medical instrument, since the body portion is implanted in the body, it is difficult to specify the position of the soft portion by way of visual recognition from the outside of the body.
Therefore, a medical instrument is considered which includes a soft portion provided by mixing a luminescent material that emits near-infrared fluorescence by irradiation with near-infrared excitation light with a resin material, by applying the technique proposed in Patent Document 1. In such a medical instrument, there is a possibility of the position of the soft portion being able to be visually specified by converting the near-infrared fluorescence into visible light.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 5958922

Medical device, extracorporeal unit, power transmission sheet, and medical instrument


An elevator comprises a cable-driven car to which vertical guide rails are allocated. The cables are arranged on both sides of the car, each in a housing and acted upon by a common driving wheel.

Usually, an elevator is installed within a vertical shaft, which is part of a building structure or connected rigidly to the building structure, so that it forms one unit with the building structure. The shaft is manufactured from concrete, metal, glass, or a combination of these materials and represents a heavy, as well as expensive, building element. However, the shaft is absolutely necessary in order to protect the cables connected to the car from the effects of weather, especially moisture, because moisture negatively affects the friction between the cables and the associated driving wheel. To avoid an expensive shaft in an elevator being arranged in the open, it is known to move the elevator car with a lifting piston directly, or in connection with, cables under a gear transmission ratio of 2:1 in the vertical direction. In such an elevator, however, the lifting height is greatly limited and the speed of the car may not exceed 1 meter per second.
The problem addressed herein is to create an elevator having a cable driven car and vertical guide rails, so that the elevator may be operated in the open using a simple structure and providing greater safety.


A flash memory storage system includes a memory array containing a plurality of memory cells and a controller for controlling the flash memory array. The controller dedicates a first group of memory cells to operate with a first number of bits per cell and a second, separate group of memory cells to operate with a second number of bits per cell. A mechanism is provided to apply wear leveling techniques separately to the two groups of cells to evenly wear out the memory cells.

A flash memory system implemented as a Multi-Level Cell (MLC) flash memory is provided for storing more than one bit of data on each memory cell. The writing of data into an MLC flash memory is typically slower than the writing of data into a Single-Level Cell (SLC) flash memory that stores only one bit of data per cell. Therefore, a storage system based on an MLC flash memory might not be capable of recording a stream of incoming data transmitted to it at a higher writing rate.
Typically in cases where data is produced at a rate too high to be directly stored, a cache memory mechanism is provided and designed to operate fast enough to handle the incoming data stream. The cache memory utilizing a second (and faster) memory is implemented between the input data source and the main (and slower) memory. The input data stream is first written into the faster cache memory, and at a later stage is copied from this faster cache memory into the main memory. As the copying operation is typically performed in the background, it does not have to meet the strict performance conditions imposed by the input data stream rate, and therefore the lower write performance of the main memory is no longer an obstacle.
However, the implementation of a second memory for caching has its drawbacks. Such implementation requires additional components for the cache memory and its control, and it complicates the design and management of the memory system.
The prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,167 to Lee et al., which discloses a memory method and system for caching write operations in a flash memory storage system while achieving the benefits of caching in MLC flash memories but with less of the disadvantages. The MLC flash memory media is configured to operate as its own cache memory. This is possible since memory cells that store multiple bits can be further implemented to operate similar to SLC memory cells and store only a single bit each, which is an easier task from a technological point of view. As a result, the MLC memory cells can be implemented to achieve the faster write performance characterizing the SLC flash memory. The Lee patent is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Known in the art techniques, such as that of Lee et al., provide a "built-in" faster cache memory embedded within the MLC flash memory storage system. When data bits are received for storage, they are first written into memory cells that are set to operate in SLC mode. This first writing operation can be done relatively fast. Following this operation, in the background and when time permits it, the data bits are copied from the SLC cells into memory cells that are set to operate in MLC mode. Thus, as the system is designed to employ the higher storage density of the MLC flash memory storage system, it further handles the faster input stream than could not be handled without the cache memory mechanism.
There are two possible methods for configuring a flash memory system while utilizing such an SLC caching scheme:
A. A dedicated cache—a specific portion of the memory cells is always allocated to operate in SLC mode, while other cells are allocated to operate in MLC mode only. In other words, while memory cells operating in SLC mode (SLC cells) and memory cells operating in MLC mode (MLC cells) co-exist within the storage system at the same time, each specific memory cell is either allocated to operate in SLC mode or in MLC mode, and cannot be alternately allocated to operate in SLC mode at one point in time and in MLC mode at another point in time.
B. A mixed cache—at least some of the memory cells change modes during the system's operation. That is—a specific memory cell may be allocated to operate in SLC mode at one point in time and utilized for caching data, while at a second point in time the same memory cell may be allocated to operate in MLC mode and utilized for high density data storage in the main memory.
The dedicated cache method is much simpler to manage in flash memory systems than the mixed cache method. Each portion of the memory cells is pre-allocated to operate either in SLC mode or in MLC mode. Therefore, no real-time mode switching is required. Furthermore, there is no need to provide an information management module for storing and detecting the current operation mode of any memory portion.
But even though this advantage is clear, the Lee patent discloses a storing system that applies the more complex mixed cache method, per column 2 line 49:
"Nor is it necessary to dedicate some portion of the flash EEPROM memory to operate only as a write cache . . . . Therefore, portions of the flash EEPROM memory of the present invention that store data with the high density can also be operated as a write cache . . . . The identity of the memory sectors being used for long term, high density storage are maintained, such as by a file allocation table, in order to be able to direct low density incoming data to sectors that are unused."
An explanation for utilizing the more complex mixed cache method is further given in the Lee patent, per column 2 line 51:
"Use of a dedicated portion of the memory as a write buffer would cause the cells within that portion to be used much more than other portions of the memory, contrary to the usual desire to evenly wear the memory."
In other words, because each chunk of incoming data is written twice, once in SLC mode (when being cached) and once in MLC mode (when copied to main memory), and since typically the portion of memory cells allocated to the cache memory is much smaller than the portion allocated to the main memory, then over time on average a memory cell allocated only to the cache memory is written and then erased more frequently than a memory cell allocated only to the main memory.
Flash memory cells are known to wear out during use, i.e. the more write/erase cycles they go through, the more wear they suffer. Therefore, according to Lee, memory cells allocated to the cache according to the dedicated cache method, will wear out much faster than the other memory cells, and might reach the end of their lifetime (i.e. the end of their useful functional capability) while the cells not used for the cache are still functioning well.
Therefore, the Lee patent applies the mixed cache method in order to evenly distribute the wear out over all of the memory cells, as no cell is constantly heavily used in the cache.
Actually, the Lee patent could strengthen its argument against utilizing the dedicated method even further, per column 3 line 2:
" . . . because instances of low density programming can cause more wear than instances of high density programming."
Therefore, not only are the memory cells of the cache memory written more frequently and so tend to wear out more quickly, but also, according to the Lee patent, even under equal number of write/erase cycles—a memory cell configured to operate in SLC mode is worn out earlier than a memory cell configured to operate in MLC mode.
The Lee patent further mentions that there is one case in which the dedicated cache method may be applied, per column 9 line 44:
"Alternatively, in applications where the use of the memory system is not expected to be large enough to require such wear leveling, certain blocks or sectors may be dedicated for the initial two-state data writes."
In other words, if the storage system is written to so infrequently that even without the employing of wear leveling techniques no memory cell is expected to be worn out, then there is place to apply the dedicated cache method.
Techniques for achieving wear leveling in order to evenly distribute the wear out over all of the memory blocks are well known in the art. They include U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,233 to Lofgren et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,339 to Wells, U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,423 to Jou et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,083 to Assar et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,712,819, 6,570,790, and 5,963,480 to Harari, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,831,865 to Chang et al. All of those patents are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
All of the above prior art approaches are based on counting the number of write/erase cycles each block of flash memory cells goes through, and using these counts for deciding on which block to allocate when a new block is needed for writing. Indeed, Lee also uses this approach, going the further step of keeping separate SLC counts and MLC counts for each block.
To summarize, according to the Lee patent—the designer of such a self-cached MLC/SLC flash memory system can select only between the following alternatives:
A. Use the mixed cache method, employ wear leveling techniques, and get a storage system that can stand frequent writing. This is the main and recommended approach.
B. Use the dedicated cache method, do not employ wear leveling techniques, and get a storage system that may be used only where writing of data is infrequent.
However, the main drawback of this approach is that the mixed cache method is much more complex to accomplish and handle, since a real-time mode switching management is required.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a storage system employing a dedicated cache method, while overcoming the wear-out problems caused from frequently writing to the memory cells.


A virtualization computing platform may host a virtual machine. The virtual machine may be hosted by a first set of resources of the virtualization computing platform. A second set of resources for hosting the virtual machine may be identified. The second set of resources may comprise resources of the virtualization computing platform that are distinct from the first set of resources. At least a portion of a plurality of files associated with the virtual machine may be copied from the first set of resources to the second set of resources. A virtual memory swap file may be identified from among the plurality of files associated with the virtual machine. Based on identifying the virtual memory swap file as a virtual memory swap file, the virtual memory swap file may be treated differently from one or more other of the plurality of files associated with the virtual machine.

Virtual machines are widely utilized for both consumer and enterprise applications. Consumers prefer virtual machines because they offer a secure and simple alternative to local customized installations, which may prove technically demanding or vulnerable to malicious software. Administrators often opt to deploy virtual machines due to their scalability, security, and platform-agnostic accessibility.
Like traditional computing platforms, the operating systems of virtual machines often utilize one or more memory-management schemes (e.g., paging). These memory-management schemes allow an operating system to use secondary-storage (e.g., a hard disk) to store data that would otherwise occupy space in memory (e.g., RAM). Many modern operating systems extensively leverage one or more memory-management schemes.
In the context of virtual machines, the extensive use of memory-management schemes has implications. For example, a memory-management scheme may utilize one or more files to store data and/or pointers (e.g., addresses) to data temporarily stored elsewhere. Migrating a virtual machine (e.g., to achieve one or more load balancing goals) may or may not require copying a portion of this data from one set of resources to another. If unnecessary copying is performed, critical resources (e.g., time) may be needlessly consumed.
Accordingly, a need exists for optimized virtual machine migration.

Optimizing virtual machine migration via identification and treatment of virtual memory swap file


A printed wiring board includes a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer arranged at a gap with respective to the first conductive layer, a third conductive layer, a first via conductor and a second via conductor, and a third signal wiring pattern. A first signal wiring pattern is arranged on the first conductive layer, a second signal wiring pattern is arranged on the second conductive layer, and a third signal wiring pattern that is arranged on the third conductive layer. The third conductive layer is arranged between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer via an insulating layer. The first via conductor and the second via conductor, which are arranged to be mutually adjacent, connect the first signal wiring pattern to the second signal wiring pattern. The third signal wiring pattern connects the first via conductor to the second via conductor.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed wiring board including a transmission line and also relates to a printed circuit board including the printed wiring board.
Description of the Related Art
In a printed wiring board, terminals of a plurality of mounted semiconductor integrated circuits are connected to each other by a transmission line to carry out a signal transmission. In the signal transmission, a waveform of the signal transmitted from the semiconductor integrated circuit is preferably transmitted to the receiving-side semiconductor integrated circuit without being distorted while the signal is transmitted on the transmission line. For that reason, a characteristic impedance of the transmission line is preferably set to be uniform as much as possible to avoid a reflection corresponding to a cause of the waveform distortion.
Meanwhile, because of demands for a miniaturization of electronic equipment in recent years, a multilayer printed wiring board including a plurality of conductive layers on which a signal wiring pattern used for the signal transmission is arranged is being used for the printed wiring board. In a case where the signal transmission between the semiconductor integrated circuits mounted on different layers on front and back sides is carried out in the multilayer printed wiring board, wiring is to be laid out by switching the conductive layers on which the signal wiring pattern is arranged by a via conductor.
Since such via conductor is a discontinuous structure with respect to the signal wiring pattern, the setting of the uniform characteristic impedance is obstructed. Up to now, an operating frequency is low, and a time during which the signal passes through the via is short with respect to a rising time of the signal, so that an influence thereof can be ignored.
However, along with realization of a higher speed of a circuit operation in recent years, nonuniformity of the characteristic impedance caused by this via conductor becomes difficult to ignore.
As a method of solving this, a method of setting uniform characteristic impedance by connecting front and back signal wiring patterns to each other by two adjacent via conductors is proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-123742). Whereas the characteristic impedance of the signal wiring pattern is approximately 40[Ω] to 60[Ω], the via conductor is approximately 120[Ω] in terms of the characteristic impedance which is higher than the signal wiring pattern, and these characteristic impedances are not uniform.
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-123742, the connection is realized by the via conductors where the characteristic impedance is effectively approximately halved by arranging the via conductors at the characteristic impedance of 120[Ω] in parallel. For this reason, it is possible to set the characteristic impedances of the two via conductors to be close to the characteristic impedance of the signal wiring pattern.
The characteristic impedance of the transmission line preferably has a low value of a difference (variation width) between a maximum value and a minimum value. For example, the variation width of the characteristic impedance of the transmission line is preferably suppressed to be 20[%] or lower (or more preferably, 10[%] or lower).
However, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-123742, the characteristic impedance at the part corresponding to the two via conductors is set to be close to the characteristic impedance of the signal wiring pattern, but the variation width of the characteristic impedance of the transmission line still exists, and this variation width is preferably decreased further.
In view of the above, the present invention provides a printed wiring board and a printed circuit board with which it is possible to further set the characteristic impedance of the transmission line to be uniform.


The present invention relates among other things to antibodies that immunospecifically bind to at least one agent of interest (e.g., an immunosuppressive agent), methods for producing such antibodies, and immunoassays that employ said antibodies. Additionally, the present invention also relates to methods for selecting an antibody for use in a diagnostic immunoassay and methods for selecting an antigen for use in a diagnostic immunoassay. The present invention further relates to the improvement of antibody recognition of an active parent drug in the presence of one or more of its major metabolites.

Tacrolimus, also known as FK506, is the generic name for a macrolide immunosuppressant produced by the bacterium Streptomyces tsukabaensis, in the soil (See, Inamura, N., et al., Transplantation, 45(1):206-209 (1988)). The first generation major metabolites of tacrolimus are 13-O-demethylated tacrolimus ("M-I"), 31-O-demethylated tacrolimus ("M-II"), and 15-O-demethylated tacrolimus ("M-III"). Tacrolimus has been used intravenously and orally for the prevention of organ rejection, particularly in patients receiving liver, kidney or bone marrow transplantation.
Cyclosporine ("CsA") is an immunosuppressive drug obtained from certain soil fungi. While primarily used to prevent organ rejection after transplant, CsA also has been used to treat other illnesses, such as aplastic anemia, or to prevent graft versus host disease (GVHD).
Tacrolimus has an in vivo potency 50-100 times greater than cyclosporine CsA (See, Murthy, J. N., et al., Clinical Biochemistry, 31(8):613-617 (1998)). The immunosuppressive effect of tacrolimus is similar to CsA and is thought to be through the selective inhibition of the generation of cytotoxic T cells. Id. At the molecular level, tacrolimus appears to selectively block the early transcriptional activities in the T-cell response. Id. This action of tacrolimus is attributed to the binding of drug to specific cytosolic proteins called immunophilins to form a complex. Id. This complex interacts with calcium dependent calcineurin-calmodulin translocation pathways and inhibits the nuclear translocation of a transcriptional factor ("NF-AT"), which binds to an enhancer polynucleotide sequence of the IL-2 genes needed for the transcription of IL-2 mRNA.
Clinically, tacrolimus is known to reduce rejection episodes in transplant patients. Although therapeutically beneficial, tacrolimus exhibits some toxicity similar to that of CsA, which includes nephrotoxicity, gastrointestinal tract complications and neurotoxicity. Id. Unlike CsA, tacrolimus does not cause hirsutism or hypercholesterolemia. Id. In view of the toxicity issues related to tacrolimus, immunoassays are used to monitor the blood concentrations of tacrolimus in patients receiving treatment with this drug.
A variety of different diagnostic immunoassays are commercially available for monitoring the blood concentrations of tacrolimus. Several of these immunoassays use organic solvents to extract the tacrolimus from whole blood samples. The organic solvent increases the equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) and/or lowers the functional activity of the antibody used in the assays. The reduced activity of the antibody leads to lower assay sensitivity and potentially lowers accuracy and robustness. Attempts have been made to increase assay sensitivity by reducing the amount of organic solvent used during the extraction process. However, reducing the amount of the solvent was found to impact the extraction efficiency and hence the assay reproducibility.
Likewise, a variety of different diagnostic immunoassays are commercially available for monitoring the blood concentrations of CsA, e.g., utilizing an anti-cyclosporine antibody. Current literature suggests that the generation of CsA metabolites can mask the concentration of active parent drug (CsA). The appropriate dosage of CsA immunosuppressant is critical for organ transplantation patients.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for new antibodies that have improved binding characteristics (such as affinity and specificity) that can be used in such diagnostic immunoassays. There also is a need for methods of screening for and obtaining such antibodies.

Immunosuppressant binding antibodies and methods of obtaining and using same


A method and system are provided for code normalization and byte construction. A plurality of subsets of bits is extracted from a first input. Each of the subsets of bits has a bit width equaling a number of leading zeros from a second input variable. Further, a consecutive sequence of the plurality of subsets is stored in a memory. In addition, the consecutive sequence of the plurality of subsets is read from the memory if a third input release flag is established.

1. Field
This disclosure generally relates to the field of video data processing. More particularly, the disclosure relates to Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding ("CABAC") for digital video encoders.
2. General Background
Video signals generally include data corresponding to one or more video frames. Each video frame is composed of an array of picture elements, which are called pixels. A typical color video frame having a standard resolution may be composed of over several hundreds of thousands of pixels, which are arranged in arrays of blocks. Each pixel is characterized by pixel data indicative of a hue (predominant color), saturation (color intensity), and luminance (color brightness). The hue and saturation characteristics may be referred to as the chrominance. Accordingly, the pixel data includes chrominance and luminance. Therefore, the pixel data may be represented by groups of four luminance pixel blocks and two chrominance pixel blocks. These groups are called macroblocks ("MBs"). As a video frame generally includes many pixels, the video frame also includes a large number of MBs. Thus, digital signals representing a sequence of video frame data, which usually include many video frames, have a large number of bits. However, the available storage space and bandwidth for transmitting these digital signals is limited. Therefore, compression processes are used to more efficiently transmit or store video data.
Compression of digital video signals for transmission or for storage has become widely practiced in a variety of contexts. For example, multimedia environments for video conferencing, video games, Internet image transmissions, digital TV, and the like utilize compression. Coding and decoding are accomplished with coding processors. Examples of such coding processors include general computers, special hardware, multimedia boards, or other suitable processing devices. Further, the coding processors may utilize one of a variety of coding techniques, such as variable length coding ("VLC"), fixed coding, Huffman coding, blocks of symbols coding, and arithmetic coding. An example of arithmetic coding is Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding ("CABAC").
CABAC techniques are capable of losslessly compressing syntax elements in a video stream using the probabilities of syntax elements in a given context. The CABAC process will take in syntax elements representing all elements within a macroblock. Further, the CABAC process constructs a compress bit sequence by building out the following structure: the sequential set of fields for the macroblock based on the chosen macroblock configuration, the specific syntax element type and value for each of the fields within this field sequence, and the context address for each of the syntax elements. The CABAC process will then perform binarization of the syntax elements, update the context weights, arithmetically encode the binarizations of syntax elements ("bins"), and subsequently pack the bits into bytes through the syntax element processing component.
The components of the CABAC process include: the CABAC weight initialization mode selection module, the macroblock syntax sequence generator, the binarization engine, the context address generator, the context weight update engine, the arithmetic coder, the bit packetizer, and the Network Abstraction Layer ("NAL") header generator. The CABAC engine within a video encoder may accomplish two goals within the encoding process: (1) to carry out compressed data resource prediction for mode decision purposes; and (2) to losslessly compress the data for signal output delivery. The compressed data resource prediction task predicts the amount of bits required given a set of specific encoding modes for a given macroblock. Potential mode decision implementations may have up to eight modes to select from. The computational demand on the CABAC engine to support the mode decision task is significant.
The weight update, arithmetic encoder and the bit packing components of the CABAC engine may require a significant amount of non-trivial computational and processing resources in a sequential processor implementation. Given that high performance encoding systems require multiple macro block rate distortion iterations of encoding per macro block, the CABAC process may impose an unreasonable resource demand on a processor-based solution. Prior implementations typically compromise on mode decision CABAC resource estimation accuracy by limiting the CABAC to bin level accuracy.
A system capable of processing one binary symbol per clock cycle requires a matching back end-receiving engine capable of also processing the results on every cycle. The back end tasks consist of a value normalization task, which may generate up to eight bits of data, and a bit packing task, which groups the bits into bytes. The implementation solutions for the normalization and bit packing tasks are complex and computationally demanding.
Current implementations of the normalization function for the CABAC arithmetic coder fall into two categories. The first category includes routines that can generate at most one bit per cycle. This approach may utilize up to eight cycles to process one binary symbol as a single binary symbol may generate up to eight bits. The second category includes routines that achieve single cycle per binary symbol using a method that does not optimally handle all cases of the carry from the input data and the adder.

Method and system for providing arithmetic code normalization and byte construction


A contact spring clip for a cartridge fuse blown fuse light indicator wherein the spring clip is manually squeezable for the installation and removal of the clip on the barrel of a cartridge fuse. The spring clip is provided with a track for holding an electrical contact assembly connected to the ferrules of the cartridge and which can either be connected to a blown fuse light indicator positioned at a location remote from the fuse, or connected to a blown fuse light indicator mounted on the electrical contact assembly.

Various spring clips have been provided for securing a blown fuse light indicator to a cartridge fuse as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,432,789 dated Mar. 11, 1969, and 3,457,535 dated Jul. 22, 1969. These types of clips are characterized by the blown fuse light indicator being integrally connected to the clip which is either snapped onto the ferrules of the fuse, or onto the fuse barrel with the light indicator being connected to the fuse contacts by "pigtail" conductors.
While these clips have been satisfactory for their intended purpose, they have been restricted for use on predetermined sized fuse cartridges. The conductors have been integrally connected between the light indicator and the fuse contacts, thus precluding the positioning of the light indicator at a remote location from the cartridge fuse.

Contact spring clip for a cartridge fuse blown fuse light indicator


Disclosed is a multilayered structure that includes no less than 8 resin-layers, the resin-layer including a layer A constituted with a resin composition containing a gas barrier resin, and a layer B constituted with a resin composition containing a thermoplastic resin, at least one of the resin compositions included in the layer A and the layer B that are adjacent with each other containing a metal salt, the content of the metal salt being no less than 1 ppm and no greater than 10,000 ppm in terms of metal element equivalent, and an interlayer adhesive force between the layer A and the layer B being no less than 450 g/15 mm. The layer A and the layer B may be alternately laminated. Moreover, the average thickness of single layer of at least one selected from the layer A and the layer B is preferably no less than 0.01 μm and no greater than 10 μm.

Nowadays, laminated films having an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer layer have been used in applications such as packaging materials for food and medical applications, taking advantages of their superior gas barrier properties, stretchability, thermoformability and the like. Recently, for the purpose of improving various types of performances such as gas barrier properties, various multilayered structures have been proposed in which a plurality of resin-layers are laminated, each layer having a thickness of micron or submicron order.
Conventional multilayered structures developed so far in which a plurality of resin-layers of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer are laminated include, for example: (1) an elastomeric barrier film in which at least ten layers of a microlayer polymer composite formed from a fluid barrier material such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, and an elastomer material such as thermoplastic polyurethane are alternately laminated (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Translation of PCT Application), Publication No. 2002-524317); (2) multilayer film alternately including layers of a hard polymer material such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and flexible polymer material (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Translation of PCT Application), Publication No. 2003-512201), and the like.
However, according to the aforementioned conventional multilayered structure (1), adhesiveness between a fluid barrier material such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and an elastomer material such as thermoplastic polyurethane is not in any way considered. In addition, also according to the aforementioned conventional multilayered structure (2), the hard polymer material per se such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, and combination of the same with the flexible polymer material, and the like are not investigated in connection with the interlayer adhesiveness, but only a technique of strengthening the adhesiveness between each layer using a joining layer merely consisting of a hot melt adhesive is disclosed. Therefore, according to these conventional multilayered structure (1) and multilayered structure (2), the interlayer adhesiveness is insufficient, and due to delamination between layers and the like, cracks are likely to be generated on the barrier layer, whereby durability may be deteriorated. As a result, in the conventional multilayered structure (1), gas barrier properties may be insufficient for use in food packaging and the like.

Multilayered structure and method for producing the same


A control circuit for a switched mode power converter is adapted to receive a current sense signal reflecting the output current of the power converter and a feedback signal reflecting the output voltage of the power converter. The control circuit includes a first over-current protection circuit adapted to shut off operation of the switched mode power converter if a sum of the current sense signal and the feedback signal exceed a first predetermined limit, and a second over-current protection circuit adapted to regulate operation of said primary side power switch responsive a comparison of the sum of the current sense signal and the feedback signal to a second predetermined limit. The second predetermined limit is less than the first predetermined limit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to switching mode power converter circuits. More particularly, the invention relates to dual mode over-current protection circuit for a switching mode power converter that provides cycle-by-cycle mode over-current control during normal operating conditions and hiccup mode over-current control during short circuit or over-load operating conditions.
2. Description of Related Art
Switching mode DC-to-DC power converters are commonly used in the electronics industry to convert an available direct current (DC) level voltage to another DC level voltage. A switching mode converter provides a regulated DC output voltage to a load by selectively storing energy in an output inductor coupled to the load by switching the flow of current into the output inductor. An isolated forward converter is a particular type of switching mode converter in which an input DC voltage is periodically switched across the primary side of a transformer using one or more power switches, typically provided by MOSFET devices. The transformer provides isolation between the voltage source on the primary side and a load on the secondary side. Two diodes on the secondary side rectify the switched and isolated input voltage, including a forward diode connected in series with secondary winding that conducts current to the load when the input voltage is present across the secondary winding and a free-wheeling diode connected in shunt with the secondary winding that conducts current to the load when the input voltage is not present across the secondary winding.
In order to improve the efficiency of the forward converter circuits, it is known to replace the rectifying diodes with power switches (e.g., MOSFET devices). The operation of the power switches may be controlled so that they are turned on and off in synchronism with the switched input voltage. The control signals applied to the power switches must be synchronized as closely as possible to the current inflection points of the output inductor. This synchronous rectification provides higher efficiency over the foregoing forward converter configuration since the forward voltage drop of the power switches is much lower than that of diodes.
It is known to provide switching mode power converters with specialized circuits that protect against over-current conditions. An over-current condition occurs when the output current delivered to a load exceeds a predetermined limit. The over-current condition can damage the power converter and/or the load. The protection circuits detect an over-current condition and take corrective action to reduce the output current. A first type of current control circuit provides cycle-by-cycle protection by holding the power switch on the primary side in an off state temporarily when the sensed output current reaches an over-current voltage reference. Notably, the power converter is not turned off when the over-current condition is detected. Instead, by keeping the primary side power switch in an off state, the output current will decrease to an acceptable level, whereupon the power converter resumes ordinary operation by periodically activating the primary side power switch. This type of cycle-by-cycle mode current control is advantageous for conditions in which the over-current condition is transient and not particularly severe.
A second type of current control circuit provides hiccup protection by shutting off the power converter entirely when the sensed current signal reaches an over-current limit threshold. This type of hiccup mode current control is advantageous for conditions in which the over-current condition is sustained and presents a significant risk of damage to the power converter and/or load. A drawback of this second type of current control circuit is that it may activate a complete shut down of the power converter at times when the over-current condition is not actually that severe. For example, during a start-up process of a power system in which two or more power converters are operating in parallel, an imbalanced load sharing condition may cause the power converters to become stuck in a cycle of alternatingly activating the hiccup mode current control.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an over-current protection circuit for a switching mode power converter that has the benefits of both cycle-by-cycle and hiccup mode current control.

Dual mode over-current protection for switching mode power converter


A novel composition and process are disclosed for forming crosslinked gels at elevated temperatures utilizing a novel crosslinking agent system containing hexamethylenetetramine, a water dispersible aminobenzoic acid compound or phenol, an acrylamide-containing polymer, and water.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that gelled or crosslinked water-soluble polymers are useful in enhanced oil recovery operations. They have been used to alter the permeability of underground formations in order to enhance the effectiveness of water flooding operations. Polymers along with an appropriate crosslinking system are injected in an aqueous solution into the formation. The polymers then permeate into and gel in the regions having the highest water permeability. A conventional crosslinking system consists of phenol and formaldehyde. Any fluids injected into the formation in subsequent water flooding operations, will then be diverted away from the regions in which the gel formed to areas containing unswept oil.
Although this technique is effective in enhancing hydrocarbon production, it does have problems. One of the primary problems facing the use of conventional crosslinking system is that formaldehyde is carcinogenic and is not environmentally acceptable.
It would therefore be a valuable contribution to the art to develop an organic crosslinking system which is more environmentally acceptable and forms comparable or better gels, compared with the phenol-formaldehyde crosslinking system, for oil field operations.

Gelation of acrylamide-containing polymers with hexamethylenetetramine and an aminobenzoic acid compound or phenol


A balance-plug cage style control valve has substantially reduced body-bonnet bolt loading with an elastic seal. The elastic seal assembly includes an annular seal having an elastic region, a compression surface, and at least one sealing surface positioned in a channel within a valve cage mounted inside the valve body. At least one shoulder on the valve bonnet engages the elastic seal to deform the elastic region to place the sealing surface of the seal in contact with at least one of the valve bonnet or the valve cage to form a fluid seal.

Control valves are commonly used to control the fluid flow through a pipe. As known to those skilled in the art, a control valve regulates the rate of fluid flow as the position of the valve plug within the control valve is changed by an actuator. Two important features of a control valve, such as a globe valve, are that it must contain the fluid without external leakage and it must be capable of withstanding the temperature influences of the process. Typical globe valves are used in numerous applications ranging from simple level control to boiler feedwater systems and superheated bypass applications. Globe valves characteristically have a linear moving valve plug contained within a globular-shaped cavity to control flow. Due to the broad application of globe valves, there are a large variety of styles and sizes. Generally, large globe valves are defined as having a flow control orifice or port greater than 6-inches in diameter and are known to suffer from seal failures.
For example, large port globe valves are frequently used in process applications encountering temperatures in excess 300 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure drops exceeding 150 psi. These extreme operating conditions create valve assembly leakage problems due to differences in the thermal expansion of materials of construction and subsequent relaxation of typical gaskets and seals. Leaks are addressed in conventional globe valve assemblies by applying excessive stress or loading in the bonnet bolting. As known to those skilled in the art, excessive bonnet bolting stress increases cost by requiring special materials of construction and increases the probability of failure of the valve in extreme operating conditions by increasing physical stress across the valve bonnet assembly.

Balanced-plug cage style control valve and bonnet seal assembly


Provided are a block copolymer including a polymer block containing acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile as a principal constituent, which is excellent in heat resistance, weatherability, oil resistance, flame retardancy, and low-temperature resistance and which can be economically produced; and a thermoplastic resin composition and an elastomer composition each containing the block copolymer. The block copolymer is produced by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization in the presence of a thiocarbonylthio group-containing compound.

Materials in which acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile is polymerized have been widely used because of their excellent heat resistance, weatherability, oil resistance, flame retardancy, etc. Commonly known examples thereof include acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylic rubber copolymer resins (AAS), acrylonitrile-ethylene-styrene copolymer resins (AES), acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer resins (AS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resins (ABS), acrylonitrile-chlorinated polyethylene-styrene resins (ACS), acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer rubber (NBR), and hydrogenated nitrile rubber.
However, all of these materials are formed by random copolymerization of acrylonitrile and other monomers or by graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile onto polymer chains. With respect to block copolymers including polymer blocks containing acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile as principal constituents, although research has been conducted on the laboratory level, no production has been performed industrially.
In general, in an acrylonitrile-containing polymer, as the acrylonitrile content is increased, oil resistance, wear resistance, heat resistance, and strength are improved, while low-temperature resistance tends to be degraded. In contrast, in a block copolymer in which a polymer block containing acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile as a principal constituent and a flexible polymer block composed of other constituents, low-temperature resistance is considered to be improved while maintaining excellence in heat resistance, oil resistance, etc.
As the methods for synthesizing block copolymers, living polymerization methods are usually used. Examples of living polymerization methods include living cationic polymerization methods, living anionic polymerization methods, and living radical polymerization methods. Among them, living radical polymerization methods are most useful because of the applicability to a wide variety of monomers and also because of the applicability to water-based polymerization. Commonly known examples of the living radical polymerization methods include a method using nitroxyl radicals, such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) radicals, described in Junpo He et al., Polymer, 2000, 41, p. 4573; and an atom transfer radical polymerization method described in Matyjaszewski et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1995, 117, p. 5614. However, in the method using nitroxyl radicals, little has been reported about the polymerization of monomers other than styrene, and no example has been known about the polymerization of acrylonitrile. Furthermore, in general, since the polymerization temperature must be 120° C. or more, this method is not economical for industrial production. On the other hand, in the atom transfer radical polymerization, since nitrile groups coordinate to a metal complex which is a catalyst, polymerization does not proceed satisfactorily. Furthermore, a complicated purification step is required in order to remove the metal complex from the polymer, thus being uneconomical. Additionally, in the living radical polymerization methods described above, it is generally difficult to perform water-based polymerization, such as emulsion polymerization or suspension polymerization. In the living radical polymerization methods described above, there are cases in which it is difficult to perform water-based polymerization, such as emulsion polymerization or suspension polymerization.


The disclosure relates to method and system for performing real-time monitoring of a container containing a non-gaseous fluid substance. The method includes receiving, from a sensing device installed in the container and by a monitoring device, a dataset corresponding to the container and to a non-gaseous fluid substance in the container. The dataset may be acquired and transmitted by the sensing device at a preconfigured time-interval and may include level data corresponding to a level of the non-gaseous fluid substance in the container, temperature data corresponding to a temperature inside the container, and movement data corresponding to movement of the container or a lid of the container. The method further includes performing, by the monitoring device, a time-series analysis on the dataset for determining an anomaly; and generating, by the monitoring device, a graded alert based on the anomaly.

Tanks and containers are commonplace in various sectors such as oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical industry, food and agriculture industry, remote well sites, and industrial farming sites. A large number of containers are commonly used in these sectors for storing oils, chemicals, and other non-gaseous fluids as raw materials or end products. The containers used in these sectors are often equipped with level gauge systems in order to assess condition of the containers by sensing level of content (e.g., non-gaseous fluid) in the containers. Conventional sensing techniques may include an image capturing technique (e.g., using camera) and/or a radio wave ranging technique (e.g., using ultrasonic sensor).
The conventional sensing techniques may provide the level of content in the container with fair accuracy. However, these conventional sensing techniques may fail to provide result with a desired accuracy in certain disruptive conditions. Examples of the disruptive conditions may include external contamination, tampering, and leakage due to wear and tear and/or due to chemical reactions, and so forth. Thus, the conventional sensing techniques may not be efficient enough in assessing the disruptive conditions as they capture information corresponding to the level of content in the container. Additionally, even level information is captured with a certain set of assumptions/conditions such as floating container lid must be visible to the camera (e.g., satellite camera) in order to capture its image, or the content in the container must be in a range of radio signals generated by the ultrasonic sensors. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a robust, efficient, and cost-effective mechanism that eliminates problems existing in the conventional techniques and provides accurate results even under such disruptive conditions.

Method and system for performing real-time monitoring of a container containing a non-gaseous fluid substance


A method is disclosed for measuring distance from a camera to parts of a scene using a characterization of perspective distortion in a photograph of the scene. In one example embodiment, a first distance measurement is obtained from the camera to a first point in the scene, the perspective distortion is characterized, and the distance to at least one other point on a plane in the scene is computed based on the first distance measurement and the perspective characterization.

It is useful for a photographer to know the distances from a camera to various locations in a scene to be photographed. For example, a photographer may wish to choose an aperture setting and focus distance so that certain objects in the scene are sharply focused in the resulting photograph. Or a photographer may wish to choose an amount of supplemental flash illumination such that distant objects receive an effective amount of supplemental light while near objects are not illuminated too brightly.
Distance information is useful for post-processing of a photograph as well.
For example, objects in a photograph taken with flash may be digitally brightened or darkened based on their distance from the camera so that the scene appears evenly illuminated.
An automatic camera may exploit distance information in similar ways, choosing photographic settings automatically based on known distances.
Typically, a camera focuses on only a small region or single subject in a scene. The distance from the camera to the subject of focus can be derived from the positions of elements in the camera lens, but this method gives no information about distances to other objects in the scene. Some cameras provide a "depth of field mode", wherein the photographer can direct the camera to focus on multiple scene locations one at a time, and the camera uses the multiple focus measurements to select settings for taking a photograph. This technique adds to the time required to take a photograph.
Other methods of measuring distances to multiple scene locations may add cost and complexity to a camera.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A boat lift supported completely from land adjacent to water in which a boat is to be operated for movement between storage and launching positions by the use of parallelogram linkage powered by pairs of hydraulic actuators arranged at opposite sides of the boat lift. A walk and handrails are formed between the hydraulic actuators for use by passengers boarding the boat in the boat launch position.

Boat lifts of various kinds have been developed but most are limited in one way or another because they rely on supporting underwater structures for installation and require special permits because they occupy submerged land owned by other than the riparian owner.
One structure which avoids many of these problems is disclosed in the patent to Voegeli U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,549 issued Jul. 29, 2003. In that patent the boat lift is supported from land adjacent to the water such as a bulkhead or seawall without relying on any underwater support. The Voegeli boat lift has many advantages but is limited to smaller boats because of the maximum weight of the boats that can be handled. This limitation is believed to result from the arrangement of hydraulic actuators which are disposed so that one actuator expands and the other simultaneously contracts between adjacent points on a parallelogram linkage and more widely spaced points on the land supported base structure.


A needle for use as part of a fastener dispensing tool adapted for dispensing plastic fasteners of the type typically used to attach tags to products for marking and identification. In one embodiment, the needle is made from a single sheet of metal by a stamping and/or rolling technique, and comprises an elongated, generally cylindrical, hollow, slotted member having a stem portion and a base portion. The stem portion terminates at its front end in a relatively sharp tip. The base portion, a portion of which is sized and shaped for insertion in an opening in the nose of the tool, includes a pair of upwardly extending, spring tabs bent outwardly away from each other. A first portion of one of the tabs is sized and shaped to releasably engage a recessed area formed in the nose of the tool to prevent unintended removal of the base portion from the opening and to limit rearward insertion of the base portion into the opening. A second portion of the same tab is sized and shaped to engage another wall of the nose to prevent upward movement of the base portion in the opening. The other tab, serves as a registration member to align the base portion in its desired longitudinal, vertical and angular orientations.

The present invention relates generally to tools for use in dispensing plastic fasteners and more particularly to needles which are used in such tools.
Plastic fasteners are widely used in commerce to attach tags or other items to articles in a manner which minimizes the risk of inadvertent detachment therefrom. One type of plastic fastener is manufactured in the form of fastener stock comprising a pair of continuously connected, elongated side members which are interconnected by a plurality of thin transverse cross links. Typically, one side member comprises a plurality of end-bars or T-bars joined together by severable connectors. The fastener stock is usually produced by molding or stamping from flexible plastic materials, such as nylon, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Additional information pertaining to fastener stock may be obtained from the following commonly assigned U.S. patents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,475, issued Sep. 11, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,161, issued Jun. 26, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,487, issued Oct. 24, 1978; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666, issued Sep. 17, 1963.
The above-described fastener stock is typically loaded into a dispensing tool, often referred to as a "tagger gun." A tagger gun normally includes a hollow needle having a longitudinal slot extending over its length. The fastener stock is inserted into the tagger gun behind the needle. Upon actuation of a trigger mechanism in the gun, an individual fastener is separated from the fastener stock and is inserted into the desired article of commerce through the needle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,279, which is incorporated herein by reference, a typical needle having a single part construction is described. The needle includes a shank or "stem" portion which has a relatively sharp tip to permit penetration into the article to be attached and an integrally formed substantially cylindrical base portion. The shank portion is hollow to permit the T-bar end of the fastener to pass therethrough and has a longitudinal slot to permit the filament of the fastener to extend therefrom as the T-bar end moves through the needle. The base portion includes a central bore with an inner diameter equal to the inner diameter of the hollow shank. The base portion also has a longitudinal slot aligned with the slot in the shank. The needle is made by machining the shank portion and the base portion from a single piece of metal. As can readily be appreciated, however, machining metal into a desired shape can be a rather arduous and time-consuming task which allows little margin for error.
Also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,279 is a needle assembly having a conventional two part structure. The needle assembly includes a shank portion stamped from a piece of a steel and a base portion which is formed of plastic and is molded around the shank portion. One disadvantage with this type of needle, however, is that the molding process is rather expensive, accounting for an overwhelming percentage of the total cost of manufacturing the needles.
Because needles used in tagger guns tend to break frequently and require replacement, they are typically removably mounted in an opening formed in the front end or "nose" of the tagger gun and are releasably secured therein by means of a locking mechanism in the tagger gun.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,161, the needle locking mechanism includes a locking pin, which engages a corresponding recessed area formed in the needle. The locking pin is also provided with a cut-out slot which provides a passageway for insertion and removal of the needle. The locking pin is biased in its locking position by means of a spring mounted in the tagger gun. When the locking pin is pushed towards the spring to compress it, the slot on the locking pin aligns with the needle to free it for removal. Preferably, that portion of the locking pin engaging the recessed area of the needle in locking position is rectangular or square in cross-section.
Unfortunately, the above-described needle locking mechanism suffers from certain disadvantages. For example, the needle may be inserted into the opening in the tagger gun in any one of an infinite number of angular orientations. An inherent problem with this mounting procedure is that it is not intuitively obvious or readily apparent as to what angular orientation is correct. If the angular orientation of the needle is incorrect, the locking pin will not properly engage the recessed area in the needle, frequently resulting in needle breakage or in the jamming of the needle in the tagger gun, or in an ineffective locking of the needle. Moreover, one or more components of the locking mechanism may break or require replacement after repeated or prolonged use.
Another patent of interest to the present invention is the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,661, issued Mar. 12, 1991 and incorporated herein by reference. In this patent, a needle assembly adapted for removable mounting on the front end of a tagger gun is disclosed. The needle assembly comprises a needle encased in a holder which may be easily secured to and removed from the front end of the tool, the holder defining in conjunction with the remainder of the tool at least a major portion of the feed track. In a preferred construction of the needle assembly, the needle is a hollow slotted metal structure and the holder is comprised of plastic which is injection molded around the needle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,172 there is described and illustrated in FIG. 4 the use of a tapered needle locking screw for locking an inserted needle in place. Although the needle locking screw provides a secure, snug engagement of an inserted needle, it still requires precise alignment of the needle before locking.

Needle for use as part of a plastic fastener dispensing tool


A four-wheel industrial truck with a swing axle for the rear wheels, a drive, and a control device for said drive that generates an actuating signal for the drive in response to a transducer signal. A stop is provided on the bodywork of the industrial truck that cooperates with the body of the swing axle, wherein a switch is arranged on the axle stop and the switch is coupled to the control device so as to reduce the drive torque of the drive when the switch is actuated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a four-wheel industrial truck with a swing axle.
2. Technical Background
When narrow curves are cornered the lateral moment of tilt which results from the centrifugal force may become larger for such vehicles than is the righting moment, and the vehicle topples over. It has become known from EP 0 483 493 to provide an alerting device for the industrial truck that includes a monitoring device for the condition of load. The load moment acting on the vehicle and the actual constellation of the vehicle are sensed. Unstable conditions are determined by means of this data and are signaled to the driver.
It is known from EP 0 796 749 to block the swing axle when unstability is impending. Such blockage is dependent on the angular velocity rate sensed or calculated for the vehicle.
It has become known from DE 101 18 442 A1 to provide a sensor, preferably on the vehicle frame or bodywork, which senses the distance of the vehicle frame from the swing axle. When this distance reaches a predetermined lower or predetermined upper value a relevant correction or alerting signal is produced. When a sensor is arranged on either side of the swing axle the threshold of response is formed by a lower distance value each. Additionally, the document has it made known to provide another sensor on the vehicle frame, preferably adjacent to the front axles, that measures the distance of the frame from the underlying ground.
When the ambient conditions are satisfactory a distance measurement of the type described can be readily performed by means of non-contacting optical, inductive or acoustic sensors. An industrial truck, when in operation, is subjected to harsh conditions. Therefore, sensors of the type described are exposed to hazards and there is a danger of a message not being made in case of impending unstability.
It has become known from WO 79/00330 to detect the inclination of a pole relative to the underlying ground by the use of a load-carrying means, e.g. with the aid of a potentiometer. The driver is signaled the angle measured and the driver of the industrial truck will be able to correct the position of the load-carrying means by tilting the pole accordingly. DE 199 19 655 A1 further has made it known for an industrial truck to associate at least one wheel with a load sensor. A safety device has a comparing facility which provides a signal to an alerting signal transmitter when one or more of the loads measured on a wheel fall below a predetermined value. This is intended to recognize an unstability or an approach to an unstability of the vehicle on time in order to counteract it. The sensor signals can act upon one or more functions of an industrial truck, namely on the height of load, steering angle, speed of the vehicle, pole inclination, shift of the load-carrying means in the direction of the longitudinal axis or also transversely thereto, height adjustment of one or more shock absorbers or the like. Further, a stabilizing device may be provided and may be activated accordingly.

Four-wheel industrial truck with a swing axle


Methods for producing a transparent conductive film and transparent conductive pattern having superior in-plane uniformity of resistance, by a printing method of slit coating or roll coating of metal nanowire ink. The methods include applying a metal nanowire ink containing metal nanowires, a binder resin containing more than 50 mol % monomer units derived from N-vinylacetamide, and a solvent, to at least one surface of a transparent resin film and drying to form a transparent conductive layer, the application of the metal nanowire ink to the transparent resin film being application by slit coating or roll coating performed using a transparent resin film and metal nanowire ink with which the advancing angle (θa) of the dynamic contact angle of the metal nanowire ink relative to the transparent resin film satisfies 10.0°<θa≤25.0°, and the difference (θa−θr) between the advancing angle (θa) and the receding angle (θr) is 10.0° or higher.

Recently, metal nanowire has drawn attention as a material for a high transparent/high conductive thin film which can be used in place of the ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film used for a transparent electrode for a touch panel, etc., In general, such metal nanowires are produced by heating a metal compound under the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone and a polyol such as ethylene glycol, etc. (Non-Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 discloses an ink for forming a transparent conductive film, comprising silver nanowires, an aqueous solvent, a cellulose-based binder resin, and a surfactant. Patent Document 2 discloses a silver nanowire ink useful as a material for forming a transparent conductive body. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a composition for forming a conductive layer, comprising metal nanowires, polyvinyl acetamide, and a water/alcohol solvent.

Methods for producing transparent conductive film and transparent conductive pattern


A fire safety device for controlling the spread of fire in a structure. The invention comprises a base plate, a smoke detector, a syringe, and a cover. The syringe has a reservoir containing a fire retardant chemical. A fuse link holder has a melting fuse link that maintains a plunger assembly in position, and a spring is loaded behind the plunger. The syringe also has a nozzle in open communication with a supply line, which is in open communication to the reservoir. When a sufficiently high ambient temperature is reached, the fuse link melts, releasing the piston rod from the fuse link and allowing the coil spring to urge the plunger toward the other end of the syringe, and forcing the fire-retardant chemical from the nozzle. When smoke is present, the smoke detector sounds an audible alarm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for containing fires and, more particularly, to a device that sprays a fire-retardant chemical upon the melting of a heat-sensitive fuse link.
2. Description of Related Art
Fire control devices have been widely used in the past to save lives and property. Such devices are well known in the art. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,747 which issued to M. A. Romero et al. on Mar. 7, 1969. This invention is a fire extinguisher having a normally closed discharge valve that is maintained in the closed position by a loaded spring, and opens upon the melting of a fusible link. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,780 which issued to W. J. Zehr on Feb. 8, 1977 discloses a device for rupturing a pressurized cylinder containing a fire-extinguishing product. A fusible link maintains a spring-loaded punch in loaded position, and when the temperature is high enough to melt the fusible link, the spring urges the punch forth to rupture the cylinder, thereby discharging the contents therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,192 which issued to L. Lamond on May 9, 1978, discloses a heat-activated plunger. The plunger is slidably mounted in a passage, and slides forward upon the melting of a fusible link to release the contents of a fire extinguisher.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,289 which issued to K. Kato on Nov. 10, 1981, discloses a fire extinguisher having a heat fusible member under compression. When the room temperature rises above a predetermined value, the heat fusible member releases a striker that breaks the seal on a tank containing a fire extinguishing solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,182 which issued to S. Tsubouchi on Mar. 8, 1988 discloses a combination heat-sensing fire detector. The detector has a differential diaphragm and a contact which operates at a predetermined temperature. Also included is a shape-memory alloy coil. When the ambient temperature rises rapidly, the contact is closed by deformation of the diaphragm, and when the ambient temperature rises slowly, the shape memory alloy coil extends to close the contact, thereby generating an alarm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,701 which issued to G. S. Mountford on Feb. 21, 1989, discloses a fire extinguisher and alarm apparatus for use with a container of combustible materials. The apparatus has a temperature sensitive device which softens in the presence of heat and a valve responsive to the softening of the temperature sensitive device. Upon sensing heat, the apparatus is actuated in order to eject fire extinguishing liquid from the apparatus in order to extinguish the fire without sufficient velocity to blow burning materials from the cavity of the container, and simultaneously to actuate an audible alarm to warn of fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,292 which issued to M. K. Prior on May 24, 1994, discloses a ceiling mountable smoke detector and fire extinguisher combination having a heat-sensing switch. Upon sensing heat, this switch closes to allow the activation and opening of a valve, at which point fire retardant is dispersed in the immediate area. This device is unreliable in that it relies on AC power, and may not function if electricity has been interrupted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,517 which issued to J. A. Arsenault et al. on Sep. 3, 1996, discloses an automatic fire extinguishing valve capable of attachment to a fire extinguisher to enable the automatic discharge of the fire extinguishing chemical therefrom. The valve is controlled by a temperature sensitive trigger mechanism in opposition to a loaded spring that is in turn attached to a puncturing device. When the mechanism is triggered, the spring urges the puncturing device, thereby releasing the contents of the fire extinguisher.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A light-emitting diode driving circuit includes a control circuit, a transistor switch and a compensating circuit. The control circuit receives an oscillating signal to generate a pulse drive signal. The transistor switch is activated by the pulse drive signal such that an inductor is charged by an input voltage, in which the inductor is arranged to deliver an inducting current to at least one light-emitting diode when the transistor switch is deactivated. The compensating circuit is coupled between the control circuit and a capacitor provided for reducing ripples of an output voltage corresponding to the inducting current. The compensating circuit performs a charging and discharging operation along with the capacitor when controlled by a dimming control signal provided to control brightness of the light-emitting diode.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) driving circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a light-emitting diode (LED) driving circuit, provided for display applications, converts an input voltage into an output voltage required to drive one or several connected light-emitting diodes. The brightness of the light-emitting diodes can vary when using the pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming method.
However, when the PWM dimming method is applied, ripples are generated in the output voltage of the light-emitting diode driving circuit. In addition, a diode current flowing through the light-emitting diodes varies according to the PWM dimming method and also causes the ripples, so a closed-loop transfer function of the light-emitting diode driving circuit is affected by the ripples and cannot be changed quickly. Moreover, the closed-loop transfer function is also affected by a slew rate of an error amplifier that is often employed in the light-emitting diode driving circuit, such that the voltage of a compensating capacitor cannot be changed quickly enough to reduce the ripples. Therefore, the ripples of the output voltage cannot be minimized and the light-emitting diode driving circuit cannot be stably operated.


It is an object to provide a composition used for formation of a coating film which simultaneously attains water repellency as well as heat resistance and light resistance.

In various display devices, optical elements, semiconductor elements, building materials, automobile components, and nanoimprint techniques, adhesion of a liquid droplet onto a surface of a substrate may cause a problem of contamination and corrosion of the substrate, or further deterioration in performance due to the contamination and corrosion. Therefore, in these fields, the substrate surface is required to have satisfactory water repellency. Heat resistance and light resistance are also required to withstand outdoor use.
For the purpose of enhancing the water repellency or the like of the substrate surface as mentioned above, Patent Document 1 proposes a transparent film which is formed by applying a precursor solution prepared by cohydrolytic polycondensation of an organosilane and a metal alkoxide onto a substrate surface of the substrate. Patent Document 2 proposes a silicon-containing organic fluorine-containing polymer having a perfluoroalkyl group.

Abstract: The composition of the present invention includes an organosilicon compound (a) which has at least one trialkylsilyl group and has two or more hydrolyzable silicon groups, and a metal compound (b) in which at least one hydrolyzable group is bonded to a metal atom.


A backlight module includes a light guide plate, at least one mixed light apparatus, a first light source and a second light source. The light guide plate includes a body including at least one recess provided at a bottom surface thereof. The mixed light apparatus is disposed partly in or adjacent to the recess. The mixed light apparatus includes a body, a first light reflecting element and a second light reflecting element. The body of the mixed light apparatus has a light emitting surface. Each of the light reflecting elements extends from the light emitting surface. Each of the light reflecting elements has an emanating point and a focal point. The emanating points overlap at the light emitting surface. One of the light sources is disposed at one of the focal points.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a backlight module and, particularly, to a backlight module typically used in a liquid crystal display.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, because liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are thin, lightweight, long lasting, and consume little power, they are extensively used in a variety of electronic devices. However, because LCDs are not self-luminescent, backlight modules are typically required. Generally, the backlight modules can be categorized as either direct-type backlight modules or edge-type backlight modules. Because direct-type backlight modules can provide high illumination in comparison with edge-type backlight modules, direct-type backlight modules are more widely employed in numerous applications.
Referring to FIG. 8, a conventional direct-type backlight module 10 includes a substrate 11, a light source 12 and a diffusion plate 14. The light source 12 is disposed on the substrate 11. The light source 12 can employ a plurality of point light sources (e.g. light emitting diode, LED) or a linear light source (e.g. cold cathode fluorescent lamp, CCFL). An LED array is extensively employed as the light source 12 for LCDs because the LED is resistant from mercury pollution, while exhibiting qualities of high color saturation and longevity. The diffusion plate 14 is disposed above the substrate 11 for allowing light emitted from the light source 12 to be uniform and providing light for an associated display panel.
The LED array consists of a plurality of red LEDs 12a, green LEDs 12b and blue LEDs 12c. The LEDs 12a, 12b, 12c are uniformly distributed on the substrate 11 according to the color of emitted light. Particularly, rows of red LEDs 12a, green LEDs 12b, and blue LEDs 12c are arranged in alternating fashion. Red, green, and blue light, is emitted from the light source 12 and mixed continuously until reaching the diffusion plate 14 to produce white light. A predetermined distance between the light source 12 and the diffusion plate 14 is required for mixing the emitted light and providing uniform illumination.
Because of a recent increase in demand for thin and lightweight LCDs, the distance provided for mixing emitted light has shortened, resulting in poor mixing, thereby producing a yellowish-blue light rather than the intended white light.
In addition, when a large number of red, green and blue LEDs are utilized for a large-scale LCD production, the white light emitted from such an LCD has low energy and color saturation. Moreover, the color of the mixed light in such manner cannot be adjusted as desired.
What is needed, therefore, is a backlight module that can effectively display compact applications and which provides adjustable color light with improved color saturation, improved uniformity, and high energy.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate at least three preferred or exemplary embodiments of the present backlight module, in various forms, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.


In one embodiment, an electronic device to be worn on a user's forearm includes a display and a set of one or more sensors that provide sensor data. In one aspect, a device may detect, using sensor data obtained from a set of sensors, that a first activity state of a user is active. The device may determine, while the first activity state is active, that the sensor data matches a watch check rule associated with the first activity state. Responsive to the detected match, the device may cause a change in visibility of the display.

Many electronic devices, such as watches, activity trackers, biometric sensor devices, and the like, can be worn on the wrist. For convenience of operation, these wrist worn devices can include displays to interact with the users, such as rendering user interfaces that show, for example, a time, a data, metrics, environmental data, menus, setting, etc. In some cases, the display may only turn on for a limited time based on an explicit user input, such as pressing of a button (virtual or physical), tapping on the display, or the like. Alternatively, the display may always be on so that the user can easily glance at the screen of the device for information.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses to update screen content responsive to user gestures