A transport conveyer includes an upstream side conveyer portion and a downstream side conveyer portion. The upstream side conveyer portion is provided such that an upstream side imaginary path line which is circular-arc-shaped is connected to a downstream side imaginary path line such that the tangent line at the downstream side end of the upstream side imaginary path line and the tangent line at the upstream side end of the downstream side imaginary path line are at the same angle. Provided on the upstream side end portion of the downstream side conveyer portion is a rotating operation transport device for supporting and transporting the article such that the amount of rotation of the article by the downstream side conveyer portion is greater than or equal to the amount of rotation caused by the downstream side conveyer portion.

A transport conveyer such as one described above has a downstream side conveyer portion connected to the downstream side of an upstream side conveyer portion, and is configured to transport articles, while rotating them about vertical axes (axes extending in the vertical direction), in the upstream side conveyer portion along an upstream side imaginary path line which is defined to have a circular-arc shape, and subsequently, to continue transporting the articles in the downstream side conveyer portion. (See, for example, Patent Document 1.)
Incidentally, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a curved roller conveyer device 51, in which the upstream side imaginary path line is defined to have a circular-arc shape, is provided as an upstream side conveyer portion whereas a linear roller conveyer device 1, in which the downstream side imaginary path line is defined to have a linear shape, is provided as the downstream side conveyer portion. And the articles are transported in the downstream side conveyer portion without rotating them about the vertical axes. In addition, such a transport conveyer is provided with a guide body which contacts peripheral surface of articles for guiding the articles so that the articles would stay within a range of a predetermined lateral width defined with respect to the transport conveyer when the articles are transported along the upstream side imaginary path line and the downstream side imaginary path line.

Transport conveyer and transport facility


A lawn assay is described for determining compounds that affect enzyme activity or that bind to target molecules. Compounds to be screened are cleaved, and diffused from solid supports into a colloidal matrix. Enzymatic catalysis or binding to target molecules by the compounds is carried out in the matrix. Active compounds are found by monitoring a photometrically detectable change in a substrate, coenzyme, or cofactor involved in the enzymatic reaction, or in a labeled ligand bound to the target molecule, that produces a zone of activity associated with the compounds.

To find lead compounds for drug discovery programs, large numbers of compounds are often screened for their activity as enzyme inhibitors or receptor agonists/antagonists. Large libraries of compounds are needed for such screening. As a result of developments in this field, it is now possible to simultaneously produce combinatorial libraries containing hundreds of thousands of small molecules for screening. With the availability such libraries, however, has come a need for large scale, rapid screening methods.
The use of microtiter plates has significantly improved screening of combinatorial libraries. The plates allow assays to be miniaturized and have provoked the development of automated liquid handling and detection instruments to improve throughput and reproducibility. Robotics have allowed integration of compound arraying, microtiter plate handing, liquid handling, data acquisition and data processing. Even when facilitated by robotics, however, the steps of weighing, distributing, dissolving and serially diluting compounds in microtiter plates are time consuming.
The availability of combinatorial libraries on polymer beads have simplified these processes. By synthesizing sufficient compound on each bead for a few assays, compound handling is reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, thousands of beads can be arrayed in a given assay, and the compounds on the beads detached by photolysis, or other cleavage methods, into the assay in the concentration desired. Assaying library beads in standard microtiter plates therefore results in substantial improvement over the conventional assaying of bulk synthesized compounds.
The advantages of the bead format, however, have not been fully realized. In particular, scanning thousands of microtiter plate wells for positive results can be time consuming. Also, when beads are assayed in a microtiter well, only low concentrations of compounds are obtained since each bead contains only a small amount of compound. There is a need, therefore, for a more efficient method of screening large combinatorial libraries on beads, or other solid supports. There is also a need for a method which can assay higher concentrations of compounds on beads.
WO94/02515 describes screening a library of beads immobilized on a substrate, such as agarose. Molecules are partially cleaved from the beads and diffuse through the substrate, where they contact receptors on the surface of melanocytes. This causes pigment aggregation or dispersion within the cells, providing a signal that indicates where molecules have bound. WO94/02515 also describes determining immunological binding by diffusing labeled molecules in a gel, and contacting the molecules with antibodies on a plate below the gel, or in a second gel. Unbound molecules must be washed away, and the label detected. WO 94/02515 does not describe any method for detecting molecules that affect the activity of enzymes. It also does not describe any method for detecting binding to proteins without washing steps, which are particularly difficult to perform when using gels. In addition, it does not describe any method for screening compounds for binding to receptors that is not dependent on a biological response within a cell.

Lawn assay for compounds that affect enzyme activity or bind to target molecules


An arylisonitrosoalkanone is hydrogenated in the presence of a noble metal catalyst and a weak carboxylic acid to form an arylalkanolamine which is then hydrogenated in the presence of a strong mineral acid and the transition metal catalyst to form an arylalkylamine. When the arylisonitrosoalkanone is an isonitrosoacetophenone, the isonitrosoacetophenone is prepared by one of two methods.. In the first method, a substituted or an unsubstituted isonitrosoacetophenone is prepared from a corresponding substituted or unsubstituted acetophenone by oxidizing the acetophenone to form a substituted or an unsubstituted phenylglyoxalacetal in a reactor, hydrolyzing the phenylglyoxal acetal in the same reactor to form a corresponding substituted or unsubstituted phenylglyoxal, and condensing the phenylglyoxal with hydroxylamine or a salt thereof in the same reactor to form the substituted or unsubstituted isonitrosoacetophenone. Alternatively, the substituted or unsubstituted isonitrosoacetophenone is prepared from the corresponding substituted or unsubstituted acetophenone by reacting the substituted or unsubstituted acetophenone in water with a source of a nitrosonium ion in the presence of a strong acid to form a corresponding substituted or unsubstituted phenylglyoxal, and condensing the phenylglyoxal with hydroxylamine or a salt thereof to form the substituted or unsubstituted isonitrosoacetophenone. In either method, any strong acid that might be present in the reaction mass following the condensation to the isonitrosoacetophenone shall be removed therefrom prior to initiating the hydrogenation of the isonitrosoacetophenone to the arylalkanolamine.

Unless stated otherwise, as used herein, the terms "arylalkylamine", "arylalkanolamine", "arylisonitrosoalkanone" and "acetophenone" shall mean an unsubstituted or substituted arylalkylamine, arylalkanolamine, arylisonitrosoalkanone and acetophenone, respectively.
Arylalkylamines are well known compounds which are useful and important chemical intermediates. They are used in the preparation of pharmacologically active compounds and, in some instances, are themselves pharmacologically active. For example, phenethylamine and hydroxyphenethylamine (tyramine) have sympathomimetic (adrenergic) action. Tyramine also is a moiety in opiates, and is useful as an intermediate or substituent in the preparation of other physiologically active compounds or compositions. Hydroxyltyramine (dopamine) is a physiologically important neural inhibitory transmitter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,609 discloses a method of preparing arylalkylamines. An arylalkylketone is reacted with a lower alkyl nitrite in the presence of hydrogen chloride in a dipolar aprotic solvent to produce a reaction mixture which includes an aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkyl ketone. Water is added to the mixture and the aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkyl ketone is extracted from the aqueous reaction mixture with an organic solvent to produce a water free solution of the aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkyl ketone. The water free solution is combined with a supported metal hydrogenation catalyst, a carboxylic acid and a strong inorganic acid. Then, hydrogen is added to produce a salt of the strong acid and an arylalkylamine derived from the aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkyl amine.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/630,127 (now abandoned) discloses a method for the preparation of the ammonium salt of an arylalkylamine. An aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkyl ketone is reacted with hydrogen in an aqueous reaction medium comprising hydrochloric acid and a noble metal catalyst to produce a reaction product comprising the salt of an arylalkylamine as its major component.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/698,504 discloses a method of preparing an arylalkanolamine by hydrogenating an arylisonitrosoalkanone in the presence of a supported noble metal catalyst in a reaction medium comprising a weak carboxylic acid. The arylalkanolamine is obtained in the amine acylate salt form thereof which can then be converted to the hydrochloride salt thereof by reacting the same with hydrogen chloride in a reaction medium comprising an alkyl alcohol.
Tyramine is described in the literature as produced by the sodium in ethanol reduction of p-hydroxyphenylmethylcyanate, J. Chem. Soc. v. 95, p. 1127 (1909); by the platinum catalyzed hydrogenation of p-hydroxyphenylmethylcyanate, Buck, J. S., J. Am. Chem. Soc. v. 55, p. 3389 (1933); and by a lactobacillus decarboxylation of 1-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-aminopropionic acid, Umezi, M. et al., Hakko Kogaku Kaishi v. 55(2), pp. 68-74 (1977). Other roots for obtaining phenylethylamines via reduction of either vinyl nitro groups, N-N-dibenzylamino groups, or alkylcyanides are known. The reagents used are hydrazine, NaBH.sub.4 and hydrogen over platinum.
One disadvantage of some or all of the above processes is that the starting materials are waste intensive, unsafe, and expensive. Another disadvantage is the conversion rates are not very high. Still another disadvantage is that they require the use of large amounts of catalysts.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,995,709 ("U.S. Pat. No. '709") and 2,517,906 ("U.S. Pat. No. '906") disclose a multi-operations procedure for the preparation of substituted phenyl propanol amines, and, more particularly, the preparation of 1-(p- or m-hydroxyphenyl)-2-amino-1-propanol (in U.S. Pat. No. '709), and 1-(p-aminophenyl)-2-amino-1-propanol (in U.S. Pat. No. '906). In U.S. Pat. No. '709, p- or m-hydroxypropiophenone is reacted with a lower alkyl nitrite in ether in the presence of hydrogen chloride to produce p- or m-hydroxyisonitrosopropiophenone, which then is separated from the reaction mixture by alkaline extraction and recovered from the alkaline solution by precipitation induced by acidification of the extract, after which the precipitate is recrystallized. The p- or m-hydroxyisonitrosopropiophenone thus separated is then reacted with hydrogen in the presence of palladium on charcoal in absolute alcohol containing dry hydrogen chloride until reduction stops, after which the amino ketone is recovered as a filtrate. The filtrate is dried and purified by recrystallization. Then, the amino ketone is dissolved in water and reacted with hydrogen in the presence of palladium on charcoal. The reaction product is recovered as the hydrochloride of the amino alcohol, for example, the hydrochloride of 1-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-aminopropanol (in U.S. Pat. No. '709) and the hydrochloride of 1-(p-aminophenyl)-2-aminopropanol (in U.S. Pat. No. '906).
U.S. Pat. No. 2,505,645 employs the acidic catalytic hydrogenation process described in U.S. Pat. No. '709 and U.S. Pat. No. '906 in a method of preparing .alpha.-phenyl-.beta.-hydroxyphenyl-.beta.-hydroxyethylamine. U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,228 describes a partially aqueous process for the catalytic reduction of .alpha.-oximino ketones using alkaline solutions instead of acidic solutions to obtain a desired amino alcohol.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,028,429 describes a process for the hydrogenation of isonitrosopropiophenone to produce 1-phenyl-2-aminopropanol. The process is a modification claimed to improve the yields of the general process described in U.S. Pat. No. '709 and U.S. Pat. No. '906.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,813 discloses a process for preparation of 1-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-aminoethanol, otherwise referred to as octopamine, by reacting a hydroxyacetophenone with a lower alkyl nitrite in a dipolar aprotic solvent in the presence of a hydrogen chloride catalyst to form isonitrosoacetophenone, and, then, catalytically hydrogenating the isonitrosoacetophenone in the presence of palladium to reduce the isonitroso- and keto-moieties on the isonitroso-acetophenone molecule. The dipolar aprotic solvent is relatively expensive. The yields are about 70 to 80 percent. That patent provides several examples for the preparation of both m-hydroxyisonitrosoacetophenone and p-hydroxyisonitrosoacetophenone. Example 4 describes the hydrogenation step for the conversion of a hydroxyisonitrosoacetophenone to a 1-(hydroxy-phenyl)-2-aminoethanol. That example pertains to hydrogenation of the meta-substituted hydroxyisonitrosoacetophenone.
The present invention discloses improved methods for the preparation of arylalkylamines from corresponding arylisonitrosoalkanones and acetophenones. The methods involve fewer steps for the addition of reactants, avoid the use of toxic materials and complicated extraction procedures, and result in higher conversions than the prior methods.
These and other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

Process for preparing substituted and unsubstituted arylalkylamines


Disclosed are a session management method and apparatus, wherein same are applied to a mobile network. The method comprises: determining a registration mode of a terminal sending a session establishment request or an interoperation capability supported by a network side device; and when the registration mode is a single-registration mode or when the network side device supports the interoperation capability, determining the completion of the mapping of QoS parameters between different systems when a session connection is created for the terminal. The present invention solves the technical problems in the prior art that an SMF cannot determine whether QoS mapping needs to be performed when a terminal is establishing a session connection in a mobile network and that an unnecessary signalling process will be caused for a terminal with a dual-registration mode if the SMF always performs QoS mapping.

An Nx interface between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and an Access Control and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile network system is optionally supported, and when the Nx interface is supported in the mobile network, a handover between the 5G system and an Evolved Packet System (EPS) can be supported, and at this time, context information of user equipment including a mobility context and a session connection context shall be passed between the MME and the AMF. When the user equipment accesses the network supporting the Nx interface, the network may configure its registration mode as a single-registration mode which is an operating mode currently required to be supported by the user equipment.
When the Nx interface is not supported by the mobile network, a handover between the 5G system and a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system is not supported, and at this time, in order to support interworking, the user equipment is required to be registered with the mobile network in a dual-registration mode, that is, it is registered with both the 5G system and the EPS. In order to support service continuity in the dual-registration mode, a Session Management Function (SMF) of a control-plane in the network shall also support the function of a Packet Data Network Gate Way-Control (PGW-C) so that a session connection of the user equipment moving between the EPS and the 5G system can be anchored on the same user-plane anchor all the time through handover registration.
Dually-registered user equipment is further categorized into Single-Radio (SR)-enabled and Dual-Radio (DR)-enabled user equipment. The SR user equipment can only maintain its session connection with one of the sides at a time, that is, it is can only maintain its session connection in either the EPS or the 5G system, so that if the UE moves between the EPS and the 5G system, then a packet will be lost inevitably, thus failing to guarantee seamless service continuity. The DR user equipment can be connected in both the EPS and the 5G system, so the connection of the DR user equipment moving between the different systems in the mobile network can be switched in a make-before-break manner, that is, the user equipment receives data from a source network while receiving data from a destination network so that a service access can be guaranteed.
Since the user equipment can negotiate with the network about the single-registration mode or dual-registration mode to be applied, there may be user equipment operating in different registration modes in the same network; and even if a uniform interworking mode is supported in the network, then the network may be really deployed so that the SMF with the PGW-C function can perform a control function of a gateway anchor, so it can serve both the network of the present operator, but also can serve a visited network of another operator in a roaming scenario, and the operator network and the visited network may support different interworking modes.
In order to serve user equipment operating in the single-registration mode, the SMF supporting the PGW-C function shall performing mapping between Quality of Service (QoS) parameters in different systems while establishing a session; and in order to serve user equipment operating in the dual-registration mode, the SMF supporting the PGW-C function will not perform mapping between QoS parameters in different systems.
Accordingly there is such a problem in the prior art that the SMF supporting the PGW-C function cannot identify the registration modes of the user equipment, and treat the user equipment differently, or the SMF cannot determine whether the AMF receiving a session request sent by the user equipment supports the interworking, so when the user equipment establishes a session connection in the mobile network, the SMF cannot determine whether to perform mapping between QoS parameters in different systems, and if the SMF performs mapping between QoS parameters in different systems by default, then there will be an unnecessary signaling procedure of the user equipment operating in the dual-registration mode.

China Academy of Telecommunications Technology


A method includes mixing first and second alloys to form a mixture, pressing the mixture within a first magnetic field to form a magnet having anisotropic particles of the first alloy aligned with a magnetic moment of the magnet, and heat treating the magnet within a second magnetic field to form elongated grains from the second alloy and align the elongated grains with the moment.

Neodymium-iron-boron (Nd—Fe—B) alloy magnets have been utilized in permanent magnet electric machines, such as motors, generators, or combination motor/generators. In order to meet the high temperature demand for operation of a permanent magnet electric machine, especially electric machines used in electric and hybrid vehicles, high temperature stability of the permanent magnets is desired. However, the coercivity of the Nd—Fe—B magnets decreases with increasing temperature. Coercivity is the ability of a magnet to withstand an external magnetic field without becoming demagnetized.

Permanent magnet and method of making permanent magnet


An automatic shut-off valve for regulating the flow of beer or other liquid from its container, whereby a float is kept away from the outlet by directing some of the liquid upwardly against the float while most of the liquid is being discharged. The discharge of liquid is usually accompanied by a suction about the outlet which tends to suck the float downwardly to seal the outlet prematurely. By the present valve and the location of the float during discharge of liquid, premature sealing is minimized.

This invention relates to automatic shutoff valves, particularly of the type used for beer dispensers.
The dispensing of beer, as well as similar operations for soft drinks and other liquids, employs compressed gases, carbon dioxide in the case of beer and soft drinks. Typically there is a large container, such as a beer keg, containing liquid. A tube extends from the top of the container to near the bottom thereof. There is a special coupling at the top of the container which admits the pressurized gas and allows the liquid to be discharged from the tube. In the case of beer, the coupling is typically connected to a tap at the bar by means of a long hose.
Problems are encountered however when the container is empty or near empty. Eventually the level of liquid drops below the bottom of the tube in the container. This causes gas to be forced out the tube, through the hose and to the tap at the bar. The container is then replaced with a full keg of beer or the like, but foaming occurs until the hose has been purged of gas by a fresh supply of liquid. This causes a considerable loss of time at the bar in pouring out the foam and wastage of beer which has been converted to the foam.
Automatic shutoff valves has been devised to stop the flow of fluids from the container once the supply of beer or other liquid in the container has been exhausted. An example of such a valve is found in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,927 to Stott. These valves include a chamber, typically a transparent one, which has a float therein. There is a valve member on the bottom of the float. There is an opening in the chamber for admitting liquid from the container. The valve has an outlet for the liquid which is connected to an opening located in a valve seat at the bottom of the chamber. When the chamber is full of liquid, the float rises above the bottom of the chamber, allowing the liquid to be discharged through the opening at the bottom of the chamber toward the outlet. However, when gas is received from the container into the chamber, the float is no longer supported and drops, allowing the valve member to close the opening and preventing further fluid (gas or liquid) from being discharged from the valve.
However, certain problems have been encountered with prior art automatic shutoff valves of this type. Often these valves seem to work satisfactorily when used only intermittently. However, under some conditions they have been found to stop functioning satisfactorily, preventing an outflow of liquid from the container even when the container is not empty. These problems usually arise when the liquid is dispensed quickly and repeatedly. This occurs, for example, in bars dispensing high quantities of beer.
One reason why this has occurred is that, under the conditions discussed above, the float can be sucked down towards the valve seat, causing the valve member to close off the valve seat and stopping the flow of liquid. This can occur, for example, when the flow of liquid is repeatedly stopped and started, for example due to turning the tap on and off at the bar in the case of beer dispensers. It is believed that this practice causes the float to bob up and down. The inertia of the float in the downward direction, together with the suction created by the liquid being discharged from the bottom of the chamber, can bring the float close enough to the valve seat so the valve member becomes jammed therein. Once this occurs, the pressure of liquid entering the chamber from the container keeps the valve member in place and prevents a further outflow of beer or other liquid.
In order to alleviate this problem, it has become a practice to make the chambers of the valves vertically elongated such that the float floats well above the valve seat and the discharge opening during normal operation. In this way, the valve member does not come close enough to the valve seat to be sucked into it.
However this has lead to another problem. These relatively long automatic shutoff valves are then too high to fit under many counters, for example, when installed on the top of a beer keg. Moreover, they are subject to damage when connected to a keg of beer, or other container, if installed thereon. Accordingly, many such automatic valves are mounted at a position remote from the container, such as on a wall, and connected to the container by a hose. This is disadvantageous because it means that gas can fill this hose before the flow of liquid is stopped by the automatic shutoff valve. When the keg of beer, or other container, is replaced, the gas in this hose must still be purged before normal dispensing can recommence.


An electrical junction and joint box for a solar cell module having solar cells and an associated method. The junction and joint box and solar cell module are connected by conductor strips. The junction and joint box includes a housing having electrical and/or electronic means and a connection device located in the housing. The connection device is arranged to directly, without manual alteration, receive thin conductor strips routed out of the solar cell module from underneath when the junction and joint box is seated on the solar cell module. In this way reliable and efficient connection of the individual solar cells of the solar cell module can be easily achieved, and faulty contact-making can be avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an electrical junction and joint box for use with a solar cell module having solar cells. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an electrical junction and joint box with a housing and electrical and/or electronic means and a connection device provided in the housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Since an output voltage associated with individual solar cells is generally too low to operate electrical devices, such as household appliances or the like, several solar cells are normally interconnected into solar cell modules. On one hand, there is the possibility of series connection of individual solar cells and, on the other, there is the possibility of parallel connection of the solar cells in the solar cell module. The individual currents of the solar cells in parallel connection are added to one another to create an overall current. The solar cells should have essentially the same physical properties so that current required is not increased. In practice, however, parallel connection of solar cells is not normally used, since an individual solar cell can already deliver a current of a few amperes.
When solar cell modules are assembled having multiple solar cells, the solar cells are often series connected. However, a problem can arise when a series connected solar cell module is partially shadowed or obstructed from sunlight, so that a solar cell or individual solar cells of the solar cell module receive less solar radiation, or none at all. The reason for reduced solar irradiation can be, for example, fouling of the solar cells or shadows cast by trees, building facilities or buildings.
In contrast to shadowing of the solar module uniformly over its entire surface, which leads only to a reduction in power, a specific problem arises when a solar cell is subjected to partial shadowing. In normal operation, a common current flows through the series-connected solar cells of the solar cell module, and each individual solar cell, with its respective voltage, contributes to the overall voltage of the solar cell module. However, if one solar cell is shadowed, it no longer generates any voltage and in practice acts as a diode, in the reverse direction, and opposes the current flow in the solar cell module. As a result, the entire module can no longer deliver current, so that the entire operation of the solar cell module is adversely affected.
Moreover, on the shadowed solar cell, a voltage is dependent on the position of the shadowed solar cell in the series circuit. If the voltage is greater than its blocking voltage, a breakdown occurs in the solar cell, and thus, the solar cell is permanently damaged. Even if the solar cell should not be damaged by the breakdown, in the partially shadowed solar cell, a large power loss is converted so that the shadowed solar cell heats up. This heat-up can lead to damage on the shadowed solar cell, as well as surrounding solar cells.
In order to avoid problems associated with partially shadowed solar cells, diodes (e.g., bypass diodes) are often used and are connected antiparallel to the solar cells. This results in that a shadowed solar cell no longer delivers any portion to the total voltage of the solar cell module, but the current flow is nevertheless maintained. The solar cell module thus shows only a reduced operating voltage, but does not break down completely. Moreover, in the shadowed solar cell, power is no longer converted so that damage to the shadowed solar cell can be avoided.
A diode could be assigned to each solar cell of a solar cell module. However, often a plurality of solar cells connected in succession is protected by a common diode. Generally electrical junction and joint boxes, which are used for solar cell modules, thus houses a plurality of bypass diodes. Moreover, in electrical junction and joint boxes there can be other electrical and/or electronic means so that the conductors fed to the electrical junction and joint box are properly connected to electrical and/or electronic means, such as bypass diodes.
The solar cells in a solar cell module are generally connected to one another with thin conductor strips (so-called strings). These conductor strips typically have a thickness of a few tenths of a millimeter (roughly 0.3 mm) and a width of a few millimeters (roughly 3-8 mm). These conductor strips, which connect the individual solar cells of the solar cell module to one another, are routed out of the solar cell module so that the thin conductor strips can be used directly for connection purposes.
To do this, the conductor strips are typically routed into a junction and joint box from underneath. The box includes a removable cover so that contact can be made with the individual conductor strips by hand in an electrical connection device, which is provided in the housing of the junction and joint box. The thin conductor strips which come from the solar cell module, from underneath relative to the housing of the junction and joint box, are generally bent (manually) by 180° in order to then be connected coming from the top in the connection device. This bending is easily possible since the thin conductor strips, which typically consist of metal have low thickness, are very flexible. However, this approach is very complex and time-consuming, and connection faults cannot be easily avoided.

Electrical junction and joint box for a solar cell module


A disk drive system that functions at various different power supply voltage levels includes a reset generator for resetting the disk drive in response to a predetermined reset condition dependent upon a drop in the power supply voltage. An adapter circuit coupled to the reset generator produces the reset condition by applying a multiplier to the supply potential of the system to establish a predetermined voltage at a reset node. The adapter circuit includes a switching means for selecting the multiplier based upon the particular mode of operation desired. The mode of operation is selected based upon an expected operating range of the power supply potential. A logic device is coupled to the adapter circuit to determine the particular mode of operation and for monitoring the current operating supply potential. The logic device is coupled to the switching means to change the multiplier in accordance with the particular mode of operation selected, as the supply potential varies through an expected operating range.

The clear trend in the computer industry today is toward the further development of portable computer systems. For example, notebook computers, laptop computers, and pen-based portable computers are becoming increasingly popular and have already enjoyed widespread success in the marketplace. In many cases, these computer systems are designed to operate utilizing a power supply potential generated by a battery. Because of the continuous power drain associated with battery-powered systems there has been an emphasis on developing circuits and systems which are either capable of operating at reduced power levels, or which feature a low-power mode of operation. Disk drive systems are presently manufactured to operate at voltages of either 3.0 or 5.0 volts.
One of the problems that arises in disk drive systems is that the performance of the drive changes radically as the power supply voltage fluctuates. Typically, when the power supply voltage level drops, the amount of current that can be supplied to the actuator decreases correspondingly. This results in longer access times due to the shortage of available power when performing a seek operation. Even though many servo circuits in a disk drive are capable of operating within a power supply voltage range of 3.0 to 5.0 volts, most disk drive systems are generally limited to operating under a specific power supply voltage matched to a predetermined set of seek and reset parameters.
For example, if a rigid-disk drive is intended to be operated with a 5.0 volt power supply voltage, the seek and reset parameters of the drive will normally be specified based upon the amount of current available with a 5.0 volt supply level. If the supply voltage drops below a certain minimum level (e.g., 4.2 volts) a reset condition is generated to disable the drive. This places a serious limitation on portable computer systems since it is often desired to continue computing--albeit with reduced performance parameters--even though the voltage of the drive has dropped below the normal reset voltage associated with the 5.0 volt supply potential. In other words, it is desirable to have a disk drive system adaptable to multiple supply voltages, or that could adjust its performance dynamically in accordance with variations to the operating power supply potential. Such a drive would be able to sense supply potential changes within an expected operating range and adjust its seek and reset parameters accordingly. This would enable the disk drive to continue operating under power supply conditions that would normally cause prior art drives to either malfunction or experience destructive breakdown.

Disk drive adaptable for multiple operating voltages


This invention relates to a stabilized honey bee pheromone and methods of stabilizing the honey bee brood pheromone, thereby enabling the production and sustained use of commercial products based on that pheromone. The stabilized pheromone can be used to manipulate the behavior and improve the performance of worker honey bees, resulting in overall increased vigor of the hive. The pheromone composition comprises two or more of ethyl linoleate, ethyl linolenate, ethyl oleate, ethyl palmitate, ethyl stearate, methyl linoleate, methyl linolenate, methyl oleate, methyl palmitate and methyl stearate and an antioxidant.

A colony of honey bees, Apis mellifera, consists of a single queen, who is usually the mother of all other colony members, 10,000-30,000 semi-sterile female workers, and from zero to a few thousand males (drones), depending on the time of year. Eggs, larvae, and pupae are collectively referred to as brood. Female adult workers perform all of the behavioral tasks associated with colony growth and maintenance. Worker honey bees perform different tasks as they age, a phenomenon referred to as division of labor or temporal polyethism (Robinson 1992; Anderson and Franks 2001). When worker honey bees emerge from their cells as adults their first "job" is normally to clean cells. As the workers age they take on a succession of other jobs: feeding larvae, processing and storing food, secreting wax and constructing comb, and guarding the entrance to the hive. The most obvious change in behavior occurs when worker bees are about three weeks old, and they begin foraging (Lindauer 1952; Seeley and Kolmes 1991). Foraging labor is also divided, whereby some workers return to the colony carrying only nectar, some carry only pollen, and some return carrying both nectar and pollen. Pollen and nectar are sources of protein and carbohydrate, respectively.
Honey bee foragers collect pollen from available plant sources. They then return to the nest and deposit their loads of pollen directly into cells. Stored pollen is consumed by young nurse bees that use the proteins derived from the pollen to produce proteinaceous hypopharyngeal gland secretions that are fed to developing larvae (Crailsheim et al. 1992). By consuming pollen in this manner, nurse bees reduce the quantities of stored pollen. The presence of young larvae affects the proportion of foragers collecting pollen. The more larvae in a colony, the more pollen is collected by foraging workers (Al-Tikrity et al. 1972; Barker 1971; Free 1967, 1979; Jaycox 1970; Todd and Reed 1970).
The hypothesis that larval honey bees produce a pheromone that stimulates foraging (Filmer 1932: Free 1967) was tested and verified by Pankiw et al. (1998), who found a 2.5 fold increase in the number of pollen foragers when colonies with 1,000 larvae were provided with hexane extracts of 2,000 honey bee larvae. Pankiw et al. (1998) also found that the same hexane larval extract stimulated pollen foraging in colonies with no larvae, i.e. the extract replaced the larvae as a source of pheromone. Thus, bees apparently determine the number of larvae in a colony by sensing the concentration of chemicals in brood pheromone produced by the larvae.
Pankiw and Page (2001) and Page and Pankiw (2002) tested a synthetic pheromone blend that comprised ten esters of fatty acids (LeConte et al. 1990) in the following percentages: ethyl linoleate 1%, ethyl linolenate 13%, ethyl oleate 8%, ethyl palmitate 3%, ethyl stearate 7%, methyl linoleate 2%, methyl linolenate 21%, methyl oleate 25%, methyl palmitate 3% and methyl stearate 17%. This blend was found to lower the neurosensory response threshold to sucrose in worker bees, which is a measure of propensity to forage for pollen. Worker honey bees with low sucrose response thresholds are most likely to forage for pollen, and those with high response thresholds are most likely to forage for nectar (Pankiw and Page 2000; Pankiw 2003; Pankiw et al. 2004a). Within one hour of being placed in the center of a colony, larval extract or the synthetic brood pheromone blend increased the ratio of pollen to non-pollen foragers of colonies in an almond orchard. Based on their results, Pankiw and Page (2001) suggest that "brood pheromone modulates response threshold in pre-foragers, primes them to be pollen foragers, and releases pollen foraging behavior."
In a subsequent study, Pankiw et al. (2004b) exposed honey bee colonies to 2,000 larval equivalents (1.12 mg) of synthetic brood pheromone daily for 28 days. As well as increasing the number of pollen foragers, as predicted by earlier studies, brood pheromone had several other important effects. Compared to untreated control colonies, the weights of pollen loads returned to the hive were significantly greater in colonies treated with brood pheromone. Pheromone-treated colonies reared significantly more brood, as measured by the area of comb housing eggs, larvae and pupae. The number of adult honey bees that emerged from this brood was significantly greater in colonies treated with brood pheromone than in untreated control colonies. Thus the overall size of colonies was increased.
Brood pheromone can have dose-dependent effects (Pankiw 2004a; LeConte et al. 2000). At a low, biologically realistic dose of 2,000 larval equivalents, brood pheromone recruited honey bee workers to become foragers at an earlier age than in control colonies (Pankiw et al. 2004), whereas at a much higher dose of 6,200 larval equivalents, brood pheromone delayed the recruitment of workers to become foragers (LeConte et al. 2000).
Pankiw et al. (2004) found that although exposure to brood pheromone generally lowered the age of first foraging, the onset of foraging was delayed in a specialized cohort of worker bees that had a very high content of protein in their hypopharyngeal glands. This high protein level is an indication of increased probability of brood rearing behavior and a correspondingly higher quality of protein fed to larvae compared to that in control colonies.
Pankiw (2004b) found that the ratio of pollen foragers to non-pollen foragers increased within one hour of placement of 2,000 larval equivalents of synthetic brood pheromone into a honey bee colony. Foragers from pheromone-treated colonies returned with heavier pollen loads than foragers from control colonies, and this pollen was 43% more likely to originate from the target crop within which colonies were placed to ensure pollination. Non-pollen foragers, that may visit and pollinate more flowers than pollen foragers while searching for the best nectar sources, had more pollen grains on their bodies than non-pollen foragers from untreated control colonies. Similar to pollen foragers, these non-pollen foragers bore pollen that was 54% more likely to originate from the target crop than pollen borne by non-pollen foragers from control colonies. By increasing the activity of both pollen foragers and non-pollen foragers, brood pheromone has the potential to greatly increase the effectiveness of colonies used in custom pollination of target crops.
Another potential use for brood pheromone is stimulating the consumption of dietary protein supplements. Beekeepers commonly provide a protein supplement in winter or early spring to promote colony growth (Herbert 1992). Often an antibiotic is blended with the protein supplement as a prophylactic against larval bacterial diseases. However, because larvae are absent or at their lowest levels in late winter and early spring, there is very little, if any, brood pheromone being produced within the colony that might stimulate the consumption of protein and antibiotic dietary supplements, as well as hypopharyngeal gland development and protein biosynthesis. Administration of synthetic brood pheromone within a colony could provide the necessary stimulus.
Although the 10-component synthetic brood pheromone mimics natural pheromone extracts with respect to function, it lacks the potency of the natural pheromone (Pankiw 2004). This deficiency suggests that one or more components of the natural pheromone blend are yet to be identified.
Despite the practical promise of brood pheromone (Pankiw 2004b), no commercial products have been developed that incorporate its ten components, apparently because of their instability at room temperature. In fact, Page and Pankiw (2002) teach that the "synthetic brood pheromone is easily oxidizable, and must be stored in low-oxygen conditions, preferably at −20° C., and most preferably at −70° C. if it will be stored for any long period of time." Even freezing may not stabilize the pheromone. For example, crude honey bee larval extract lost all pheromonal activity after only three months in a laboratory freezer (T. Pankiw, Texas A&M University, unpublished observation). Thus any commercial product that incorporated either the natural or synthetic pheromone would have almost no shelf life, and would potentially lose all potency during storage and shipping. Freezing would be prohibitively expensive, and would probably not prolong the shelf life for an acceptable duration. Recognizing the instability of the synthetic pheromone, researchers have invariably provided their experimental bees with fresh pheromone each day, usually on glass plates (Pankiw et al. 1998; Pankiw and Page 2001; Page and Pankiw 2002; Pankiw and Rubink 2002; Pankiw et al. 2004b). In commercial operational use, daily application of pheromone would be impractical and expensive, and would not eliminate the need to freeze the pheromone during storage.

Stabilized brood pheromone for manipulating the behavior and physiology of honey bees


An electronic mail system and method enabling a recipient of electronic mail to intuitively and easily perform the processing requested by the sender in the electronic mail. The sender of the electronic mail with the system of the present invention generates information including icons information representing processing functions and operations to be performed by the recipient of the electronic mail and attaches the generated information as added information to the message of the electronic mail to be sent so that appropriate processing is effected by the recipient.

For systems for supporting the processing in electronic mailing, a system has been known which supports the execution of a series of processing operations such as sending mail along a circulation path, for example. Associated with the above-mentioned known electronic mail system are an electronic mail system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-268226 (1993) and a mail system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-68053 (1993).
The mail system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-68053 adds voice and image data, operator guidance, a format for reply entry and the like to electronic mail information to allow a recipient to follow the operator guidance and format entry operational procedure intended by a sender. With the electronic mail system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-268226, its host computer is provided with mail boxes which allow senders to sequentially transfer circulation destination list information and main between the mail boxes by following a circulation order included in the circulation destination list information added to the mail, thereby enabling electronic mail circulation processing between the users.
However, the electronic mail system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-268226 directs attention only to the method of electronic mail circulation and the method of circulation state confirmation, without considering the method in which an electronic mail recipient performs the processing in electronic mailing. That is, the above-mentioned conventional technique does not consider the ease of operation for the recipients of electronic mails.
The mail system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-68053 allows an electronic mail recipient to make operations by following the preset operator guidance and reply entry format, but the method in which a sender creates an operator guidance and reply entry format is not considered. That is, this conventional technique does not consider the ease of operation for the senders of electronic mails.


In a speech recognition system, a method of nonvisual enrollment comprising playing an audio representation of an enrollment script. As the enrollment is playing, shadowed speech from a user can be received, wherein the shadowed speech can lag the enrollment script. The received shadowed speech can be recorded for enrolling the user into the speech recognition system.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of speech recognition, and more particularly, to enrolling users in a speech recognition system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Speaker-dependent speech recognition systems (SRS) utilize a process called enrollment for processing user speech with improved accuracy. During enrollment, the user is asked to provide a speech sample to the SRS. Typically, the speech sample is derived from the user speaking a known body of text, called an enrollment script, into a microphone. The user speech sample can be processed to develop acoustic models tailored to the user. The acoustic models then can be used by the SRS to more accurately process subsequent speech from the user.
Users can be enrolled in a SRS using one of several different enrollment techniques. One enrollment technique involves the SRS presenting the user with text from an enrollment script. The user then reads the text aloud into a microphone. The SRS can record the speech for processing against the known enrollment script. Asking the user to read an enrollment script aloud, however, does have disadvantages. One such disadvantage is that reading can be difficult for users who have learning disabilities or for users who may not be proficient in reading. Additionally, reading an enrollment script requires a visual interface.
Another enrollment technique is to play portions of the enrollment script phrase by phrase through an audio interface. After each phrase is played, the user repeats the phrase back to the SRS. Thus, the user speech sample can be collected phrase by phrase until the user has dictated the entire enrollment script. The enrollment technique of iteratively playing a phrase and receiving user speech can be useful for users who are unable to read effectively or for users who must interact through an audio only interface. Still, in many cases, this enrollment technique increases the already significant enrollment time by a factor of two.

Method of nonvisual enrollment for speech recognition

International Business Machines Corporation


A media cartridge autoloader is disclosed that includes a rotation transmission path forming device. The rotation transmission path forming device includes a drive shaft unit, a drive shaft unit shifting mechanism, and a magazine drive motor module. A mechanism that rotates a turntable of a media cartridge picker is also used to move and selectively couple the drive shaft unit with either one of media cartridge transport magazines positioned near the cartridge picker. A drive shaft of the drive shaft unit is driven by a magazine drive motor of the magazine drive motor module, so that the coupled magazine is driven. A swing pinion meshes with a rack section such that the lock of a door for a mail slot is released with a driving force generated by the magazine drive motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a media cartridge autoloader, and particularly relates to a mechanism that selectively moves either one of first or second media cartridge transport magazines in a media cartridge autoloader serving as a data storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical media cartridge autoloader includes a media cartridge picker in the center, a mail slot at the front side, a read/write media drive, and one or more media cartridge transport magazines.
The media cartridge picker is configured to transport a media cartridge between the mail slot, the media drive, and the media cartridge transport magazines.
Each media cartridge transport magazine comprises plural media cartridge storage cases that store the media cartridges therein. A selected one of the media cartridge storage cases can be moved next to the media cartridge picker.
To store many media cartridges, a plurality of the media cartridge transport magazines can be provided.


One or more dynamically updated measures are generated for an audio stream. Processing is performed using the measures to distinguish silent periods from non-silent periods in the audio stream and the audio stream is encoded, wherein the silent periods are encoded differently from the non-silent periods. The processing is re-initialized during the encoding of the audio stream, if certain conditions are met. In a preferred embodiment, the processing is re-initialized if either of the following two conditions is met: (1) one of the non-silent periods is longer than a duration threshold or (2) an energy measure for the silent periods of the audio stream exceeds an energy threshold level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital audio processing, and, in particular, to the detection and encoding of silent periods during speech coding.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art to compress digital audio signals for more efficient transmission and/or storage. Speech coding refers to the compression of digital audio signals corresponding to human speech. Speech coding may be applied in a variety of situations. For example, speech coding may be used in audio conferencing between two or more remotely located participants to compress the audio signals from each participant for efficient transmission to the other participants. Speech coding may also be used in other situations to compress audio streams for efficient storage for future playback.
It is also known in the art to distinguish between periods of silence and periods of non-silence during speech coding. Those skilled in the art understand that the term "silence" refers to period in which there is no speech. In fact, the audio environment may have significant levels of background noise. As a result, silent periods typically are not really silent at all. Various schemes have been proposed for determining which sequences of digital audio signals correspond to speech (i.e., non-silent periods) and which sequences correspond to silence (i.e., silent periods).
Traditionally, digital audio processing such as speech coding has been performed on specially designed digital signal processing (DSP) chips. These DSP chips are specifically designed to handle the high processing loads involved in digital audio processing. As general-purpose processors become faster and more powerful, it is becoming possible to shift more and more of such digital audio processing from DSPs to general-purpose processors. What is needed is efficient algorithms for implementing digital audio processing in "software" on general-purpose processors rather than in "hardware" on DSPs.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment which follows.

Re-initializing adaptive parameters for encoding audio signals


A slant top slot machine is described where a raised translucent or transparent housing for light emitting diodes (LEDs) surrounds the main display area of the machine. In the case of a video machine, the raised housing surrounds the video screen. Light from multicolored LEDs in the housing, when illuminated, is emitted downward from the sides of the raised housing to illuminate the front surface of the slant top surface. In one embodiment, the slant top surface is brushed stainless steel so that the LED light reflects off the stainless steel surface and reradiates the light outward toward the player. In an embodiment where the raised housing raises the video screen and the LEDs above the front surface, the screen is optically separated from the rest of the machine, and the player can more easily concentrate on the game since other features on the front surface appear to be in the background. The LED light also illuminates any player-control devices and other features on the front surface, allowing the ambient light to be lower.

Slant top slot machines are designed for long term play. A typical slant top machine is generally shown in design patent Des. 344,296. A seat is provided in front of the machine, a cushioned railing is provided for the player to lean on, the main front face of the machine is slanted for easier viewing, the control buttons are typically on a slanted or horizontal surface for easy access when sitting, and the machine is much lower than a conventional upright slot machine. Slant top machines may be a video type or mechanical reel type.
Gaming machines known to the Applicant do not include any special illumination devices for illuminating the front surfaces of the machines. Illuminating the front surface of a gaming machine, especially a slant top machine, provides many functional advantages, as described herein.

Slant top slot machine with LEDs to illuminate front surface


The invention is directed to a print media registration device. More particularly, and by way of example and not limitation, the invention is directed to a printed media registration arm that sweeps an arc while carrying a document output to a tray or other receptacle to move the document into the corner of the receptacle.

The position of each sheet or bound document output by printers and post print finishing devices often varies according to the output tolerances of the particular device. Where multiple documents are output into a stack in the output tray, the edges of the documents are seldom aligned with one another. It is often desirable and sometimes necessary to align the documents in the output stack. One common alignment technique moves each document in one direction until one edge abuts a mechanical stop in the output tray, typically the side of the tray. A similar alignment technique moves each document in two directions until two edges abut a mechanical stop, typically the back and side of the output tray. These techniques for edge alignment are commonly referred to as registration, or registering the document. The technique for two edge alignment is commonly referred to as corner registration because each document is moved toward the corner of the tray. The present invention was developed in an effort to improve on conventional techniques for corner registering documents output by printers and post print finishing devices.

Print media registration device and method

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for communicating between nodes of a plurality of nodes is disclosed. Each node includes a plurality of processors and an interconnect chipset. The method issues a request for data from a processor in a first node and passes the request for data to other nodes through an expansion port (or scalability port). The method also starts an access of a memory in response to the request for data and snoops a processor cache of each processor in each node. The method accordingly identifies the location of the data in either the processor cache or memory in the node having the processor issuing the request or in a processor cache or memory of another node. A method for requesting data between two directly coupled nodes in a router system is also disclosed. A method for requesting data between three or more nodes in an interconnect system is also disclosed. A method for resolving crossing cases in an interconnect system is also disclosed. An interconnect system for coupling nodes directly or through a protocol engine is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ports for a shared memory node, and more particularly, to scalable ports for connecting two or more nodes together.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional scalable multiprocessors consist of multiple nodes that are connected together using an interconnect system. Each node consists of a processor, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and an input/output (I/O) device. The processor, DRAM, and I/O device couple with a bus. A single chipset also couples with the bus and controls interactions between all of the components.
The single chipset also couples with a conventional interconnect port. A conventional interconnect port is an external interface that allows for physically connecting nodes together in an interconnect system. Connecting multiple nodes together may allow for creation of a shared memory system. An example of a shared memory system is a Cache Coherent, Non-Uniform Memory Access (CC-NUMA) architecture.
In an interconnect system, to connect one node to another node requires an interconnect port. Where there are only two nodes, the interconnect port is optimized for communication between these two nodes only. A dedicated interconnect port in two node systems is more popular and more commonly in use than systems having three or more nodes. However, because the interconnect port is also dedicated for such two node systems, the interconnect port is not scalable beyond two nodes.
Interconnecting more than two nodes requires adding additional hardware between the interconnect port and each additional node. This additional hardware is used to scale the ports. The additional hardware also increases the overall cost of the system. Further, the additional hardware requires additional system space making it less suitable for limited space environments and applications. The additional hardware also increases the number of signal delay points that, in turn, causes a decrease in overall system performance. The additional hardware and the problems it introduces is another reason why such conventional interconnect ports are not desirable for systems with only two nodes.
In summary, some problems with conventional interconnect systems are that there may be a need for up to three different types of interconnect ports when adding or removing nodes from the interconnect system. If there is only one node, no interconnect port is needed. If there are two nodes, a non-scalable interconnect port is needed. If there are three or more nodes, a scalable interconnect port is needed. However, this scalable interconnect port is inefficient for two node systems.
Therefore, there is a need for an interconnect port that (1) is scalable, (2) has high performance in systems having three or more nodes, as well as two node systems, and (3) does not increase system costs when additional nodes are added to the system.

Accessing memory and processor caches of nodes in multi-node configurations


Disclosed is a structure and method for tuning silicide stress and, particularly, for developing a tensile silicide region on a gate conductor of an n-FET in order to optimize n-FET performance. More particularly, a first metal layer-protective cap layer-second metal layer stack is formed on an n-FET structure. However, prior to the deposition of the second metal layer, the protective layer is exposed to air. This air break step alters the adhesion between the protective cap layer and the second metal layer and thereby, effects the stress imparted upon the first metal layer during silicide formation. The result is a more tensile silicide that is optimal for n-FET performance. Additionally, the method allows such a tensile silicide region to be formed using a relatively thin first metal layer-protective cap layer-second metal layer stack, and particularly, a relatively thin second metal layer, to minimize mechanical energy build up at the junctions between the gate conductor and the sidewall spacers to avoid silicon bridging.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to silicide formation processes, and, more particularly, to a structure and method for simultaneously tuning silicide stress and controlling silicon bridging during a self-aligned silicide formation process.
2. Description of the Related Art
As complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices are scaled and, particularly, as channel lengths are scaled, parasitic resistance in such devices increases. To minimize parasitic resistance, silicide regions are formed on polysilicon gate conductors, on silicon source/drain diffusion areas and also as a local interconnects between devices (e.g., between a silicon source/drain diffusion area of one device and the polysilicon gate conductor of another device). These silicide regions provide low resistance and are able to withstand high temperatures. Thus, they can be used to improve CMOS device speed and, therefore, performance.
During a conventional self-aligned silicide formation process, a metal layer (e.g., a 6-10 nm nickel, titanium or cobalt layer) is deposited over a device structure (e.g., over a field effect transistor formed on a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer). Specifically, the metal layer can be deposited over the silicon source/drain diffusion areas, over the polysilicon gate conductor and over the sidewall spacers that are adjacent to the gate conductor. This step is followed by the deposition of a protective cap layer (e.g., titanium nitride) that prevents contamination of the metal layer during subsequent thermal anneals. A first anneal is applied to form silicide regions at the silicon-metal interfaces, including the polysilicon-metal interfaces, in a thermal reaction that results in a significant volume change. Then, the protective cap layer and the remaining metal are removed. A second thermal anneal can be applied to transform any silicides in metal rich phases into monosilicides.
Several factors should be considered during the silicide formation process to ensure optimal CMOS device performance. First, the process should avoid bridging of silicon into unwanted areas to prevent shorts. For example, since there is a significant volume change when metal thermally reacts with silicon to form metal silicide, a protective cap layer with limited flexibility may allow voids to open up to compensate for the volume changes. Such voids can allow silicon to move or bridge into unwanted areas of the device (e.g., over sidewall spacers) and, thus, potentially impair device performance. Second, CMOS device performance can be optimized by tuning the tensile or compressive stress of the silicide regions as they are formed. For example, a more tensile silicide will place the silicon or polysilicon underlayers in compression and, thus, in a better state for n-type field effect transistor (n-FET) performance. Alternatively, a more compressive silicide will place the silicon or polysilicon underlayers in tension and, thus, in a better state for p-FET performance. Consequently, there is a need for a structure and method for simultaneously controlling silicon bridging and tuning silicide stress during a self-aligned silicide formation process.

Air break for improved silicide formation with composite caps


An unsupervised model evaluation computer-implemented method, medium, and system are disclosed. In one computer-implemented method, S node vectors corresponding to S nodes from N node vectors obtained by using an unsupervised model are determined, where both N and S are positive integers. A neighboring node and a non-neighboring node of each of the S nodes is determined. Based on a node vector of a first S node and the neighboring node, a similarity between the first S node and the neighboring node as a positive sample predicted value is determined. Based on the node vector of the first S node and the non-neighboring node, a similarity between the first S node and the non-neighboring node as a negative sample predicted value is determined. The unsupervised model is evaluated based on the positive sample predicted value and the negative sample predicted value.

With continuous development of science and technologies, unsupervised learning algorithms are widely applied. Unsupervised learning models can calculate graph data, and map each node in the graph data to one vector space to obtain a calculated node vector. Supervised algorithms are generally used to evaluate calculated node vectors, and then train a machine learning model. However, training of a machine learning model needs more data and time.

Unsupervised model evaluation method, apparatus, server, and computer-readable storage medium


Methods of treating neuropathic pain in spinal cord injured individuals by administering levetiracetam or brivaracetam are described.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently results in severe or disabling pain. Individuals with a SCI suffer anywhere from between 20 and 77% incidence of some level of severe or disabling chronic pain. Davis et al., Clin Orthop 112:76-80 (1975); Richards et al., Pain 8:355-366 (1980); Siddall et al., Spinal Cord 39:63-73 (2001); Stormer et al., Spinal Cord 446-455 (1997); Woolsey, J Am Paraplegia 9:39-41 (1986). Patients suffering from at least some level of severe or disabling chronic pain show reduced rehabilitation potential and tend to have a significant overall reduction in quality of life.
Central pain has proven notoriously difficult to treat, often proving recalcitrant to modern medical and surgical pain treatment procedures. Surgical treatment of specific dorsal root entry zone(s) (DREZ(s)) of the spinal cord are of particular interest. Surgical treatment of a central pain generating DREZ at the level of an injury is believed to disrupt the neural, i.e., electrical, communication and/or generation of aberrant pain signals that result from the injury. Initially, empirical techniques have been used to target DREZ sites for surgical treatment, resulting in modest outcomes for the patient, i.e., DREZ sites at the site of injury targeted for treatment. Friedman et al., J Neurosurg 65:465-469 (1986); Ishijima et al., Appl Neurophysiol 51:2-5, 175-187 (1988); Rath et al., Acta Neurochir, 138:4, 364-369 (1996); Rath et al., Sterotact Funct Neurosurg 68:1-4, Pt 1, 161-167 (1997). One of the more relevant patient studies using this empirical technique suggests that approximately 50% of patients so treated achieve good relief from SCI associated pain. Friedman et al., J Neurosurg. 65:465-469 (1986). In that series, at-level pain, i.e., pain at the immediate vicinity of the injury, responded best (74% "good results") and below-level pain, i.e., pain below the level of injury, responded poorly (20% "good results").
Anti-epileptic drugs are often suggested for treating neuropathic pain. Two of these commercially approved compounds, levetiracetam and brivaracetam, are 2-oxo-pyrrolidin-1-yl bytanamide derivatives that act by binding to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A). However, this class of compounds has been disparaged as a method of treating pain in SCI individuals. Finnerup et al., Scandinavian Journal of Pain 1, S1 (2009) S3-S11, described levetiracetam as ineffective in treating pain resulting from spinal cord injury. According to Finnerup et al., "levetiracetam does not relieve neuropathic pain or spasm severity following spinal cord injury." Finnerup et al. further pointed out that the lack of efficacy on the postmastectomy syndrome suggests a lack of interference with mechanisms underlying peripheral postsurgical neuropathic pain as well. Finnerup et al. suggested that it is possible that the pharmacological action of levetiracetam is not involved in neuropathic pain mechanisms and that interference with the SV2A in levetiracetam doses used in humans will have no impact on neuropathic pain.
Levetiracetam has been shown to have no analgesic or other benefit in patients with neuropathic pain following SCI. This suggests that the same would be true for any SV2A-affecting compound, including brivaracetam. (Finnerup et al.).

Treating neuropathic pain in spinal cord injured individuals


A basketball storage device (12) for a basket assembly (14) having a stanchion (16) extending upwardly from a court floor (18), a support member (20) on a top end of the stanchion (16), a backboard (22) affixed to the support member (20), a rim (24) attached to the backboard (22) and a net (26) hanging down from the rim (24). The basketball storage device (12) comprises a container (28) for holding at least one basketball (30) therein. A structure (32) is for attaching the container (28) in a vertical position to the stanchion (16) of the basket assembly (14), so that the at least one basketball (30) is available to be utilized in a basketball game.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to sports equipment and more specifically it relates to a basketball storage device. The basketball storage device is mounted to a basket assembly stanchion, to retain basketballs therein for use in a basketball game.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous sports equipment have been provided in prior art that are adapted to be utilized when playing various types of sports. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A removable optical device with at least one lens for releasable attachment to a microscope suited for contact-free observation of an eye, which can be arranged between the objective of the microscope and the eye in the optical axis of the microscope. A drive device is provided, with which the lens can be adjusted along the optical axis of the microscope, whereby an electric drive motor is integrated in the removable device, which, together with the device, can be detached from the microscope and sterilized by suitable methods.

In ophthalmology, and particularly with vitreous body surgery, specific devices in combination with correspondingly suited microscopes are used, in order to makes possible a contact-free, wide-angle observation of the eye. In particular, with operations on the eye, optical devices are used, with which the surgeon can observe the movements performed with the operating implements, whereby, by the adjustment of the lens in the region between the objective of the microscope and the eye, focusing in different planes is made possible.
Such a device is known, for example, from EP 11 99 591 A1. With this device, the driving movement of a drive motor provided on the microscope can be transferred with the assistance of a flexible drive shaft on a linear gear provided on the device.
Since the devices are used in the direct operating area in the eye, sterilization of the devices, for example, by heating and aerating in autoclaves is of the greatest importance. One disadvantage associated with the device known from EP 11 99 591 A1 is that for transferring of the drive movement, a relatively rigid drive shaft is required. Based on the rigidity of the drive shaft, this can be fixed only inadequately flexibly along suitable attachment points, so that an unwanted contamination of the shaft by contact with non-sterilized objects, for example, the housing of the microscope, can occur. A further disadvantage of the drive by means of a drive shaft is that the device can be pivoted relative to the microscope only within determined limits, since the drive shaft can snap off easily. In addition, the maximum distance between the drive motor and the device is limited by the drive shaft.
An object of the present invention, therefore, starting from this state of the art, is to propose a new, optical device for releasable attachment to a microscope, whose manipulation and hygienic qualities are improved compared with the known devices.

Optical device for releasable attachment to a microscope


A method and apparatus for forming a plastic film-protected external siding board in a molding press having an upper normally closed heating box open at its lower end, and a support system below the upper box which supports a board core with a plastic film draped over it to project beyond its side and end edges. The upper clamp box and film are brought into engagement to close the heating chamber with the film which is then billowed upwardly in the heating chamber to prevent it from sagging while heat is applied to raise the film to molding temperature. A differential pressure is then applied to the film to mold it to the core.

It has previously been proposed to provide an exterior building siding of laminate construction wherein a wood core is coated with a protective layer of a Colored synthetic plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride. It has also been proposed to provide a building siding in which a thin synthetic plastic sheet is bonded to the outer surface of a rigid foam plastic layer which in turn is bonded to the outer surface of the core panel. Patents of this character are part of the following list of prior art patents which I incorporate by reference herein.
______________________________________ 2,277,752 Frey 3,350,257 Hourigan et al 3,408,786 Snyker 3,866,378 Kessler 4,146,662 Eggers et al 4,478,415 Shaffer et al 4,788,808 Slocum ______________________________________
In these prior art patents, the plastic outer faces have been either applied in the form of a coating or bonded film which was not, first of all, molded to the configuration of the core. To my knowledge, no one has successfully commercially formed such a product by molding a sheet or film of synthetic plastic to the precise shape of the core, utilizing the core as the mold surface, and differential pressure drawing the plastic sheet to the core with such definition that the grain of the board is defined in the plastic outer covering.

Apparatus for forming synthetic-plastic-covered exterior building siding


A liquid crystal display is provided, which includes: a substrate; a field-generating electrode formed on the substrate; and a slope member formed on the substrate and having an inclination angle smaller than about 45 degrees.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display and a panel therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is one of the most widely used flat panel displays. An LCD includes two panels provided with field-generating electrodes such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the LC layer, which determines orientations of LC molecules in the LC layer to adjust polarization of incident light.
Among the LCDs, a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD, which aligns LC molecules such that the long axes of the LC molecules are perpendicular to the panels in absence of electric field, is spotlighted because of its high contrast ratio and wide reference viewing angle that is defined as a viewing angle making the contrast ratio equal to 1:10 or as a limit angle for the inversion in luminance between the grays.
The wide viewing angle of the VA mode LCD can be realized by cutouts in the field-generating electrodes and protrusions on the field-generating electrodes. Since the cutouts and the protrusions can determine the tilt directions of the LC molecules, the tilt directions can be distributed into several directions by using the cutouts and the protrusions such that the reference viewing angle is widened.
However, the LCDs having the cutouts or the protrusions may have large response time. It is because the tilt directions of the liquid crystal molecules far from the cutouts and the protrusions are determined by push of the liquid crystal molecules on the field-generating electrodes or by collision with them and thus the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is unstable and irregular. Although the response time may be improved by closely spacing the cutouts, it may cause the decrease of the aperture ratio.

Liquid crystal display and panel therefor


A new variety of hybrid lily plant bearing large upfacing to outfacing flowers of excellent form and long persistence, both on the plant and as cut-flowers. The flowers of the new hybrid are particularly characterized by their large size and substance, their "open bell" form, their coral coloration, and their fragrance. This combination is completely new in the Longiflorum hybrid divisions of lilies suited to forcing and to mass commercial cultivation. The variety is highly resistant to fusarium disease and shows tolerance of virus. The bulbs may be precooled and forced for cut-flower production. The clone is vigorous and is a good grower and propagator.

My new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling which first flowered in 1985 in Boring, Ore. The breeding efforts had as their objective the production of colored, fragrant hybrids between Lilium longiflorum (the Easter lily) and Asiatic lilies, suited to forcing into flower out of season, heretofore unknown in the lily breeding art.
I achieved the desired objective by intercrossing a slightly fertile embryo-cultured seedling from (Lilium longiflorum `Ace` (unpatented).times.`Sterling Star` (unpatented)) with `Red Carpet` (unpatented). The seed parent was the diploid form of the Dutch cultivar `Longistar` (unpatented), which had limited commercial distribution in the Netherlands and the United States. This cultivar does not normally produce fertile seed; it can be used in breeding only if its embryos are artificially cultured. The pollen parent, the Canadian hybrid `Red Carpet`, was commercially available in the United States as a garden lily and pot-plant cultivar during the 1970's, but it was not widely grown. The embryo that produced `Coral Fashion` was artificially cultured.
The flowers of my new lily are characterized by an very large, fragrant, deep coral upfacing to outfacing flowers with an "open bell" form with slightly clawed tepals, quite narrow at the base and broadest just below the midpoint of the bud and flower, and with tepal tips flattening but never truly recurving. This unique flower form is intermediate between the trumpet-form of Lilium longiflorum and the "flat-faced" Asiatic hybrid form with recurved tepal tips. The new clone possesses unusually strong, stout, almost woody stems. In addition, the clone possesses to a high degree desirable characteristics of hybrid vigor. The clone is a good grower and propagator, as observed at Boring, Ore.
My new variety of lily plant has been asexually reproduced by me and under my direction at Boring, Oreg. Successive generations produced by natural propagation from bulblets, by bulb scale propagation, and by tissue culturing from bulb scale explants have demonstrated that the novel and distinctive characteristics of my new variety are fixed and hold true under asexual propagation from generation to generation.


A data backup method for a flash memory is provided. After writing of data to a plurality of written pages of a first block of a flash memory is completed, a last weak page of the written pages is determined. A first strong page corresponding to the last weak page is then determined. A plurality of strong pages between the first strong page and the last weak page are then determined. Data of the plurality of strong pages is the coped to a backup area of the flash memory for data recovery.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to flash memories, and more particularly to strong pages and weak pages of flash memories.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many electronic devices store data with flash memories, such as digital cameras and cell phones. A NAND flash memory comprises a plurality of blocks. Each of the blocks comprises a plurality of pages. Pages are divided into strong pages and weak pages. When data is written to a strong page, the strong page requires a shorter programming period to complete data writing. When data is written to a weak page, the weak page requires a longer programming period to complete data writing.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a plurality of pages included by a block 100 of a NAND flash memory is shown. The block 100 comprises a plurality of pages. The pages are divided into strong pages and weak pages. For example, pages 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 are strong pages, and pages 4, 5, 8, 9 are weak pages. In addition, a strong page has a corresponding weak page, and a weak page has a corresponding strong page. For example, the strong page 0 corresponds to the weak page 4, the strong page 2 corresponds to the weak page 8, and the strong page 3 corresponds to the weak page 9.
When data is written to a weak page, data stored in a strong page corresponding to the weak page is affected. When data is written to a strong page, data stored in a weak page corresponding to the strong page is also affected. Because a strong page has a shorter programming period, when errors occur in programming of the strong page, a weak page corresponding to the strong page has little probability to suffer from data damage. On the contrary, because a weak page has a longer programming period, when errors occur in programming of the weak page, a strong page corresponding to the weak page will probably suffer from data damage due to data errors of the weak page. A method for securing pages of a flash memory from data damage is therefore required.

Flash memory apparatus and method for securing a flash memory from data damage


In a line quality monitoring method of detecting a code error rate by identifying a received optical signal using different identification levels and executing bit comparison after identification, an amplitude of the signal and noise power contained in the signal are detected, and a difference between the different identification levels is controlled to be inversely proportional to the amplitude of the signal and to be proportional to the noise power of the signal. Alternatively, the amplitude of the signal is controlled to be constant and the difference between the different identification levels is controlled to be proportional to the noise power of the signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a line quality monitoring apparatus and method for monitoring the quality of a transmission signal in an optical communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical communication system uses the following method of monitoring the quality of a transmission signal. That is, the transmitting side sends a data frame appended with an error detection bit, and the receiving side checks the error detection bit of the received data frame. This method is very effective for quality monitor of a transmission signal with a predetermined transmission rate and transmission format. However, it is not easy for a wavelength multiplex optical transmission apparatus capable of multiplexing and transmitting signals to append an error detection bit on the transmitting side irrespective of the transmission rate and transmission format.
By contrast, as a method of monitoring the quality of a transmission signal on only the receiving side without using any error detection bit, a method shown in FIG. 1 is known. Referring to FIG. 1, a received optical signal is converted into a voltage signal via a light-receiving element 101 and current/voltage converter 102. The voltage signal is input to identifiers (A) 103 and (B) 104 in which different identification levels are set. These identifiers compare their identification levels with the level of the received signal to make identification in a phase of a clock extracted by a timing extraction unit 105. The outputs from the identifiers are input to an EX-OR gate 106, and undergo bit comparison. The output from the EX-OR gate 106 and the clock extracted by the timing extraction unit 105 are input to an error rate calculation unit 107 to calculate an error rate.
FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the input signal level and the identification level in the identifier. Both H- and L-levels of the input signal in an identification phase are respectively distributed about average values μH and μL at a given probability density. If Vth1 and Vth2 respectively represent the identification levels of the identifiers (A) 103 and (B) 104, when the level of an input signal in the identification phase falls within the range between Vth1 and Vth2, the output result of the identifier (A) 103 is H level, and that of the identifier (B) 104 is L level. Hence, the two identifiers output different identification results. FIG. 2 indicates an error detection range in the input signal by hatching.
FIG. 3 shows the bit comparison operation. If the identification results of the two identifiers match, the output from the EX-OR gate 106 changes to L level. However, if the identification results are different, the output from the EX-OR gate 106 changes to H level. Hence, when the bit comparison result of the EX-OR gate 106 is H level, the error rate calculation unit 107 counts that bit as an error bit. The error rate calculation unit 107 counts clocks extracted by the timing extraction unit 105, and divides the count result of the error bits by the clock count, thus calculating an error rate.
As techniques associated with a bit comparison scheme, various techniques are known in addition to the above example shown in FIG. 1. For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2-142247 discloses a fundamental technique, which compares an input signal with a predetermined identification level to identify a code. On the other hand, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-140039 has a function of detecting noise components contained in an input signal by parallelly receiving the input signal by two identifiers (comparators). Also, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-4260 discloses a technique for checking if a bit of an input signal is H or L level using two bit checking circuits by setting a voltage amplifier threshold value and phase threshold value.
For example, with the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, when the level difference between the two identification levels Vth1 and Vth2 is set to be sufficiently smaller than the input signal amplitude, an actual error rate can be monitored to some extent. However, a setting condition of the identification level difference, which is used to eliminate detection errors of an error rate detected by the bit comparison scheme is not defined.
FIG. 4 shows the calculation result of the relationship between an error rate BER upon identifying at an optimal identification level, and a detection error (DET−BER)/BER of the error rate BER detected by the bit comparison scheme. In this calculation, the mark ratio is set to be ½, and both H and L levels are normal distributions having an identical variance. Also, an optimal identification level Vopt (see FIG. 2) is an intermediate value of average values μH and μL of H and L levels. The identification level of the bit comparison scheme assumes a case wherein Vth1 is set as the optimal identification level Vopt, and a level difference ΔV between Vth1 and Vth2 is set in proportion to an input signal amplitude Vpp.
As can be seen from FIG. 4, if ΔV/Vpp is set to be 1%, the detection error is small for a signal with high line quality around an error rate 10−10, but the detection error becomes larger with worsening line quality. If ΔV/Vpp is set to be 2%, the detection error is small around an error rate 10−6, but the detection error becomes larger with changing line quality.
In this way, when the identification level difference ΔV is set in proportional to the input signal amplitude Vpp, line quality cannot be precisely monitored within a broad range (e.g., the error rate range from 10−12 to 10−3).

Line quality monitoring apparatus and method


A damper for controlling air flow into at least one refrigeration compartment of a refrigerator is provided. The damper includes a damper, and a first damper door and a second damper door movably mounted on the frame. The damper frame defines a first gate, a second gate, and a third gate thereon. The first door is positionable to selectively close at least one of the first gate and the third gate, and the second door is positionable to selectively close at least one of the second gate and the third gate. One of the first gate and the second gate facilitates flowing cool air into the refrigeration compartment when the first gate or the second gate is open. The third gate facilitates air circulation within the refrigeration compartment when the third gate is open.

This invention relates generally to dampers for controlling air flow, and, more particularly, to dampers for controlling air flow within refrigerators.
Conventionally, multi-compartment refrigerators include a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment for chilling and preserving food items at respective desired temperatures. Typically, the fresh food compartment is set to a user adjustable setting and is thermostatically controlled to energize a refrigeration circuit (i.e., evaporator, condenser, etc.) to generate cooled air for introduction into the fresh food compartment. When the refrigeration circuit is energized, evaporator air is also introduced into the freezer compartment, and the temperature of the freezer compartment is controlled according to a user adjustable damper located in a flow path between the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment. When the damper is fully closed, air flow from the freezer compartment into the fresh food compartment is substantially prevented, thereby maintaining the cooled evaporator air in the freezer compartment and lowering the freezer compartment temperature. When the damper is fully open, an appreciable amount of air from the freezer compartment flows into the fresh food compartment, thereby increasing the temperature of the freezer compartment.
Typically, the damper is a pivoting plate or baffle located in a flow path, and the plate pivots about an axis in the plane of the plate to obstruct or permit air flow through the flow path. As such, each damper is dedicated to a flow path, and a plurality of dedicated dampers is needed for different air flow paths. The plurality of dedicated dampers undesirably increases the quantity of parts needed, and complicates the mechanical configuration within the refrigerator.


This invention provides the gain equalizer positioned to an optical amplifying transmission line for equalizing gains of said optical amplifying transmission line, comprising a plurality of first optical filters varying transmittance periodically in at least predetermined wavelength range, and one or more second optical filters that their transmittance peaks at a wavelength substantially coinciding to the predetermined transmittance bottom wavelength of the first optical filters and decreases in a predetermined range at both side of the predetermined transmittance bottom wavelength.

In a long-distance optical amplifying transmission system, optical fibers for transmission are connected and repeated by optical amplifiers, for example, erbium-doped optical fiber amplifiers. Gains of an optical amplifier generally have strong dependency on wavelengths and show gain wavelength characteristics of a mountain-shaped curve in the bandwidth of 1,550 nm used for long-distance optical fiber transmission.
As a method for equalizing, namely flattening, these gain wavelength characteristics of an optical amplifier, usually optical filters, for example, etalons, are connected to the optical amplifier in series. The optical filters need to have hollow or M-shaped transmittance characteristics for obtaining the lowest transmittance against the peak of gain wavelength characteristics of the optical amplifier. In short, an optical filter getting the lowest transmittance at the peak wavelength of gains of an optical amplifier has to be prepared.
In gain wavelength characteristics of an optical amplifier, however, both of the gain wavelength characteristics curve and the peak wavelength generally exhibit irregular. In spite of the above-mentioned circumstance, conventional arts try to equalize gain wavelength characteristics of individual optical amplifiers by using optical filters. Therefore, optical filters to be connected in series had to be arranged and adjusted for individual optical amplifiers. The gain peak wavelength of an optical fiber amplifier and the transmittance bottom wavelength of optical filters must be precisely coinciding. Furthermore, the trough depth of transmittance of an optical filter has to be as close as possible to the peak height of gain of an optical fiber amplifier. These arrangements are very difficult and, in addition to that, gain wavelength characteristics of an optical fiber amplifier vary depending to the gains, output power, etc. demanding to redesign optical filters in accordance with the specifications and the usages.
Accordingly, it needed plenty of work to obtain flat gain wavelength characteristics in a certain wavelength width, for example, in a wavelength division multiplexing transmission system.

Gain equalizer and optical amplifying transmission line


A multi-output voltage battery module including a main body, a plurality of battery cells and a power-managing unit is provided. The battery cells are disposed within the main body and respectively provide different supply voltages for a plurality of electronic elements disposed in an electronic device. The power-managing unit is electrically connected to the battery cells for converting an external voltage into a plurality of charging voltages and further correspondingly outputting the charging voltages to charge the battery cells. The magnitude of each charging voltage is equal to that of the corresponding supply voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a battery module, and more particularly to a multi-output voltage battery module and an electronic device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most of the batteries used in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, walkmans, digital cameras, laptop computers and so on, have single voltage output and standard charging/discharging time and lifespan. Take a laptop computer for example. The adaptor of the laptop computer first receives an AC voltage of 100˜240V. The AC voltage is then converted by an AC/DC converter and outputted as a DC voltage of 10˜32V (normally, 18.5V or 19.5V) to the battery of the laptop computer. The battery provides a single voltage to the laptop computer.
As different elements and chips of a laptop computer may require different voltages, the single voltage outputted from the battery needs to be further converted so as to provide these elements and chips with suitable voltages. However, the conversion of voltage usually causes the waste of power from the battery. Furthermore, as the laptop computer is getting thinner, the size of the battery is getting smaller, such that the durability of battery is affected. Thus, how to prolong the operating time of the battery has become an issue to be concerned.

Multi-output voltage battery module and electronic device using the same