In a luminous dot sighting instrument: dots of different color are produced using different mirror coatings that differentially reflect different wavelengths of light from a single diode or several diodes of the same color, or from different color diodes; dots at different positions on the image of the target view of the instrument are obtained by spacing apart mirror coatings for reflecting light from a single diode, or by by spacing apart several diodes, or a combination of both; dots of different brightness on the image of the target view are obtained by spacing apart mirror coatings for reflecting light from a single diode so that light reflects from the near side and from the far side of the lens and so the far side reflected light is less bright on the image than the near side reflected light; and some embodiments incorporate more than one or all of these features.

This invention relates to luminous dot sighting instruments and more particularly to such instruments used in connection with a telescope on a firearm as an aid to sighting the firearm on a target.
Optical sighting instruments having a sighting tube that often contains a telescope have used cross hairs to define the optical center of the instrument, and the user, such as a firearm marksman, places the cross hairs on the target in the view to aim the firearm. Clearly, the cross hairs are illuminated by light from the view. At twilight, in haze or fog and at other times when visibility is low, the cross hairs are difficult to see, and at night they cannot be seen at all. One solution to this problem has been the luminous dot sighting instrument.
A luminous dot sighting instrument is used to view a target and may be attached to a rifle or other firearm to sight the rifle on the target. The luminous dot is generated inside the instrument and is superimposed on the view of the target and serves the purpose of cross hairs. It does not depend on light from the view and can be made as bright as desired by the user. Often the luminous dot sighting instrument is used in conjunction with a telescope and along with the telescope is attached to a rifle to aid the marksman in pointing the rifle to hit the target viewed through the instrument and the telescope.
In a reflex type luminous dot sighting instrument, light is projected from a luminous source, such as a light emitting diode (LED) contained in the instrument, onto an inclined lens having a mirror coating so that light from the view passing through the lens is joined by light from the diode that reflects from the mirror coating. The marksman sees the target view with the luminous dot at the center and points the rifle to place the dot on the target in the view and fires the rifle. With a properly mounted and adjusted sighting instrument the marksman can quickly view the target area, put the dot on the target and fire the rifle with great accuracy.
Heretofore, a number of reflex type luminous dot sighting instruments, some with telescopes and some without, have been used with adjustments for range and windage to be made by the firearm marksman. The adjustments for range and windage are adjustments in elevation angle and azimuth angle, respectively, of the instrument with respect to the firearm and are set by the marksman using his estimates of range and windage. In all of these, the target view and the luminous dot are combined by the inclined lens with a mirror coating and light from the target view passes through the inclined lens while light from the LED that forms the luminous dot reflects from the lens mirror coating. The light for the luminous dot is preferably from a point source and is focused by the lens mirror on the same image plane as the target view so that the marksman sees the target view and the luminous dot all in focus at the same plane with the luminous dot precisely at the center of the target view. Often an LED emitting red light is used and it is enclosed by an aperture that directs the red light as a narrow angular cone to the center of the inclined lens. Thus, the luminous dot appears to the marksman the same size, shape and color for all target views, at the center of the target view, whether the target is far or near (long or short range) and whether there is any adjustment for windage, left or right.


A golf bag storing device or a golf bag which can be stably placed on the indoor floor or on the golf cart. The golf club storing device comprises a support frame structure consisting of an upper frame and a lower frame and elongated longitudinal connecting frame means for connecting the upper frame and the lower frame, and a plurality of longitudinal sleeve-like club storing bags which is preferably made of extendible and shrinkable material and bridges the upper frame and the lower frame, each club storing bag having a club head inserting opening at the upper end thereof. Accordingly, the golf clubs can be smoothly inserted into the club storing bags with the club heads thereof ahead so that the gravity of the golf club storing device and the gravity of the golf bag which stores the golf club storing device are positioned at the lower portion thereof. Therefore, the golf club device and the golf bag can be stably mounted on the room floor or on the golf cart so that the damage on the golf club or the club head which tend to occur by tumbling of the golf club storing device and the golf bag or the damage on floors at the time of bumping of the club head on the floors can be effectively prevented.

This invention relates to a golf bag storing device or a golf bag which can be stably placed on the indoor floor or on the golf cart.
The golf bag which stores various kinds of golf clubs differing in ball flying distances or usages is made of a cylindrical body having a bottom thereof closed while an upper end thereof open-ended. The golf clubs are stored in the golf bag, with the club heads thereof protruding upwardly or being exposed from the upper opening of the golf bag.
The conventional golf bag, however, has following problems.
1 Since the golf clubs have centers of gravity at the club heads thereof respectively, the golf bag which stores these golf clubs, as a whole, has the center of gravity at the upper portion thereof. Accordingly, when the bag is placed on the floor or on the golf cart, the golf bag becomes unstable and tends to turn down. In such a case, the club heads strike the hard floor or the club heads bump each other thus injuring the club heads or the floor surface.
2 For preventing the bumping between club heads of the golf clubs, each club head is usually covered with a cap. Accordingly, during the playing, the player must frequently remove the cap from or mount the cap on the club head. Such a behavior is, in general, cumbersome and may give rise to a chance to lose the cap.


A system and a method for observing piglet birth is provided. The method comprises detecting at a first detection zone, infrared electromagnetic radiation from a first radiation zone including at least a first area of a first delivery zone of a first farrowing sow or gilt, identifying a first event indicative variation in the detected infrared electromagnetic radiation, the first event indicative variation being indicative of a piglet birth, and determining a first piglet birth event by means of the identification of the first event indicative variation.

As a consequence of intensive pig breeding, in which breeding programs through generations have resulted in sows producing increasingly large litters, the number of stillborn piglets has increased as well as the number of live-born piglets dying after birth. In Denmark in 2013 it was calculated that 22.3% of the born piglets die within the first three weeks of their lives. A total of 9.9% of the piglets were stillborn (cf. Jens Vinther, "Landsgennemsnit for produktivitet i svineproduktionen 2013", "Videncenter for Svineproduktion", memorandum no. 1422, 19 Jun. 2014). The high piglet mortality is a problem for ethical as well as animal welfare and economic reasons.
Research has shown that the piglet mortality can be approximately halved by intensive supervision of the farrowing sows and providing of obstetric aid when time intervals between subsequent piglet births exceed a given length (Lene J. Pedersen, Peer Berg et al., "Pattegrisedødelighed i DK—Muligheder for reduktion of pattegrisdødeligheden i Danmark", Aarhus University, "Det Jordbrugs-videnskabelige Fakultet", 2010. "DJF Rapport—Husdyrbrug", Vol. 86. ISBN 87-91949-58-0). Intensive supervision of farrowing sows is very labor demanding when carried out manually. Typically, farrowing sows are only inspected a few times during the day, and it is thus difficult to estimate the time intervals between subsequent births and to provide obstetric aid in time.
An automatic birth monitoring system based on visual cameras (SowCam), which measures the time interval between subsequent births, is known from EP 2786655 A1 and disclosed by Big Dutchman Pig Equipment GmbH: http://www.bigdutchman.com/en/pig-production/news/detail/automatic-birth-monitoring-with-sowcam.html
An automatic birth monitoring system based on visual cameras has been proposed by the innovation consortium StaldTek: http://www.teknologisk.dk/projekter/staldtek-overvaagning-af-farende-soeer/32918
An automatic birth monitoring and alarm system based on visual cameras (ScrofaPARTUM) has been proposed by ScrofaTech: http://scrofatech.com/uploads/catalog/ScrofaPartum.pdf
A birth monitoring system for piglets is known from WO 2008/092258 A1. This system use IR thermal sensing of a piglet to turn on a heating lamp. Only the first piglet is detected using an IR point detection.
Thermographic imaging of livestock is known from US 2014/0015945 A1 and US 20040019269 A1, where it is used, e.g., for detection of inflammations, onset of puberty and estrus.
Measurement of the surface temperature of a sow is known from WO 2009/074153, where it is used to predict the time of birth.

System, device and method for observing piglet birth


A frequency-shift keying (FSK) demodulator includes a digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) based frequency estimator to convert a phase signal to a frequency signal, a frequency offset estimator to estimate and track direct current (DC) component of the frequency signal, and an average filter communicatively coupled to the frequency offset estimator to perform an accumulate-and-dump operation to improve a symbol-level signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the frequency signal.

A modem (modulator-demodulator) is a network device that modulates and demodulates signals to facilitate transmission of information. A modem may employ various types of frequency modulation scheme to implement modulation and demodulation. For instance, modems such as Bluetooth modems, ZigBee modems, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) modems and the like may employ a particular type of frequency modulation scheme called frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation. FSK modulation may be configured to facilitate transmission of digital information through discrete frequency changes. It is noted, however, that FSK demodulation techniques currently available may not be able to satisfy some performance requirements.

Frequency estimation, correction and noise suppression for modems


A method and apparatus which measures a particle size distribution of each content of powdery contents. Particle size distributions of a plurality of mixtures are calculated by blending the contents in various proportions, referring to the previously measured particle size distribution of each content, then determining the relationship between particular particle sizes in the plurality of particle size distributions and a mixing proportion. A particle size distribution of a mixture blended with the contents is measured, finding the particular particle size in the previously calculated particle size distributions of the mixture, and an actual mixing proportion of the contents in the mixture is estimated from the found particle size and the relations previously determined.

The present invention relates generally to a system for estimating a mixing proportion of two kinds of powdery solids (hereinafter called "powdery contents" or "contents") present in the mixture thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for estimating a mixing proportion of two kinds of powdery contents present in the mixture so as to ascertain if the mixture contains contents in a predetermined proportion.
By referring to FIG. 5, the background will be described:
FIG. 5 shows an undersize distribution (%) in which two kinds of powdery solids (a) and (b) having particle size distributions of large difference. The size distributions are depicted in dotted lines distant from each other with a flat portion (F) on the relative particle weight curve (c). This instance is advantageous in that the flat portion (F) can be used to estimate a mixing proportion of contents from a relative particle weight (%) corresponding to the flat portion (F).
A disadvantage is that this method cannot be applied to a case where the two different contents have particle size distributions which overlap each other as shown in FIG. 6. At present there is no effective method available to estimate a mixing proportion in such cases.

Method and apparatus for estimating a mixing proportion of different powdery contents


In a composition including a plurality of coated diamond nanoparticles, each diamond nanoparticle may have at least one silane functional group covalently bonded to a surface thereof. A method of forming coated diamond nanoparticles may include functionalizing surfaces of diamond nanoparticles with at least one of a fluorine-containing compound and an oxidant; dispersing the functionalized diamond nanoparticles in a solvent comprising a silane functional group; and forming covalent bonds between the silane functional group and the diamond nanoparticles. A method of forming a diamond coating may include depositing the diamond nanoparticles over a substrate.

To combat the effects of wear-intensive or corrosively inhospitable environments, surfaces of components of tools and other equipment are commonly coated with protective coatings. In particular, hard coatings can be included on these surfaces to improve wear characteristics of surfaces susceptible to abrasion and erosion, and to prolong the lifetime of the components and assemblies of components. Such hard coatings include various ceramics or metals. Polymer coatings may be used to protect from corrosion. However, polymeric coatings can fail at elevated temperatures or under high load, and conventional metal coatings are lacking in certain aspects such as strength-to-weight ratio.
Therefore, coatings having improved mechanical properties that can protect or enhance the performance of components and tools would be beneficial.

Compositions of coated diamond nanoparticles, methods of forming coated diamond nanoparticles, and methods of forming coatings


Stable illumination of uniform color and reduced sensitivity to lamp orientation are achieved by driving a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp with a carrier signal alternated between two VHF frequencies at a modulation rate approximately equal the second longitudinal frequency of the lamp, and feeding the signal through a filter having an inverse amplitude relationship to carrier frequency, to produce an input signal to the lamp that is amplitude modulated in an inverse relationship to the change in carrier frequency at a modulation rate approximately equal to the second longitudinal resonance of the lamp.

This invention relates to a power supply for a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp that requires a modulated input signal for proper operation.
Certain types of electrical lamps operate more efficiently or effectively when driven by an input current signal that is both alternating and modulated in some manner. One example of such a lamp is a high-intensity gas discharge (HID) lamp, of the type used indoors or outdoors for general illumination of parking lots and buildings. Proper operation of such lamps involves driving the lamp with a signal that results in illumination that is both stable, and of uniform color. It is also desirable that such lamps be insensitive to orientation of the lamp, producing stable illumination of uniform color when the lamp is oriented vertically, horizontally, or in some other position.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,633 B1, the operational stability and uniformity of light generated by such HID lamps can be improved by driving the lamp with a swept frequency input signal that is either amplitude modulated, or sequentially alternated with a periodic change in the range of the swept frequency. In particular, an input signal is disclosed that includes a current frequency sweep from 45 to 55 kHz within a sweep time of about 10 milliseconds, in combination with either: a constant amplitude modulation frequency of about 24.5 Hz and a modulation index of 0.24; or a periodic sequential change in sweep frequency to about 12.3 kHz. In the ""633 B1 patent, the swept frequency and amplitude modulating signals are generated separately and combined to produce the signal actually fed to the HID lamp. The modulation frequency is predetermined and maintained as a constant.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/620,357, commonly assigned to the original assignee of the present application, provides additional methods and apparatus for determining the optimum modulation frequency and/or sequential operating frequency, through sequential and periodic measurements of the HID lamp voltage at various amplitude modulating frequencies within a predetermined range of frequencies. Once the appropriate values are determined, the ""357 application utilizes the methods and apparatus disclosed in the ""633 B1 patent for producing the input waveform.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/916,953, commonly assigned to the original assignee of the present application, provides a method for operating a power source adapted to supply an input signal having an alternating current and voltage to an electrical load in a manner providing a desired power spectrum to the electrical load. The method includes calculating a portion of the power spectrum being delivered to the electrical load by the input signal, and modifying the input signal in such a manner that the delivered power spectrum more closely matches the desired power spectrum. The step of calculating a portion of the delivered power spectrum may include monitoring and integrating the alternating current and voltage of the input signal. The method may further include storing a representation of the desired power spectrum in the power source.
Although the teachings of the above referenced patent and applications provide considerably improved performance with HID lamps, the cost and complexity of the power supplies and control methods that they teach may be prohibitive. What is needed, therefore, is an improved power supply and method adapted for driving an HID lamp, which provides the operational advantages of the prior art, but can be produced in a more straightforward manner.
My invention provides such an improved power supply and method, that produces stable illumination of uniform color and reduced sensitivity to lamp orientation, by driving a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp with a carrier signal alternated between two very high frequency (VHF) frequencies at a modulation rate approximately equal the second longitudinal frequency of the lamp, and feeding the signal through a filter having an inverse amplitude relationship to carrier frequency, to produce an input signal to the lamp that is amplitude modulated in an inverse relationship to the change in carrier frequency at a modulation rate approximately equal to the second longitudinal resonance frequency of the lamp. The two VHF frequencies are selected from a range of frequencies over which acoustic resonances are substantially damped and lamp operation is stable.
Driving the lamp in this manner results in stable illumination of uniform color and reduced sensitivity to lamp orientation, without the additional circuitry required in prior power supplies for modulating amplitude of the signal driving the lamp. Elimination of such amplitude modulating circuitry, in a power supply according to my invention, reduces the complexity and cost of the power supply.
One form of my invention provides a method for operating a high-intensity discharge lamp by supplying the lamp with an input waveform having a carrier frequency that is alternated at a modulation frequency between a first carrier frequency and a second carrier frequency higher than the first carrier frequency, and filtered by a filter circuit having an inverse amplitude relationship to carrier frequency, to thereby provide an input waveform that is amplitude modulated at the modulation frequency between a first amplitude at the first carrier frequency and a second amplitude lower than the first amplitude at the second carrier frequency. The method may include exciting a longitudinal acoustic mode in the lamp at a longitudinal resonance frequency by modulating the carrier frequency at a modulation frequency that is approximately equal to the longitudinal resonance frequency of the lamp. Where the high-intensity discharge lamp has a second longitudinal resonance frequency, the modulation frequency may be approximately equal to the second longitudinal resonance frequency of the lamp.
The method may include determining the longitudinal resonance frequencies of the lamp. The method may also include determining values for the first and second carrier frequencies, or a range of values bounded by the first and second carrier frequencies, at which illumination from the lamp is stable. The first and second carrier frequencies may be VHF frequencies.
Another form of my invention provides an apparatus for operating a high-intensity discharge lamp. The apparatus may include means for supplying the lamp with an input waveform having a carrier frequency alternated at a modulation frequency between a first carrier frequency and a second carrier frequency higher than the first carrier frequency, and a filter having an inverse amplitude relationship to carrier frequency operatively attached for filtering the input waveform to provide a waveform for driving the lamp that is amplitude modulated at the modulation frequency between a first amplitude at the first carrier frequency and a second amplitude lower than the first amplitude at the second carrier frequency.
Where the lamp has a longitudinal acoustic mode that is excitable at a longitudinal resonance frequency, the modulation frequency may be approximately equal to the longitudinal resonance frequency of the lamp. Where the high-intensity discharge lamp has a second longitudinal resonance frequency, the modulation frequency may be approximately equal to the second longitudinal resonance frequency of the lamp. The first and second carrier frequencies may be VHF frequencies at which the lamp illumination is stable.
The means for supplying the lamp with an input waveform may include a bridge circuit, and a controller for controlling the bridge circuit to produce the input signal. The filter may be a simple LC circuit, or a higher order circuit providing increased attenuation of the input signal as a function of frequency.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of my invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of my invention rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Color mixing in HID lamp at VHF frequencies


Method for making an electrical machine (10), especially a three-phase generator for vehicles, that comprises a stator (16) and a rotor (20). The rotor (20) comprises a first and a second claw pole (22, 23) from which claw pole fingers (24) respectively extend in the axial direction from claw pole roots (60). A centering point (74) for a tool is located on a rear radius (72) of the claw pole roots (60).

EP 0 783 700 B1 relates to a rotor arrangement for an electric machine. A rotor for an electric machine is disclosed, which rotor comprises a coil core, having a center point, wherein a rotational axis runs through the center point. The rotor comprises radially outwardly protruding first and second walls as well as a wire which is wound around a coil core, between the first and second walls, which wire constitutes the winding. Said wire comprises at least one tab which protrudes radially from the center point, pointing from the first wall of the coil core, wherein each tab is formed bent down onto the field winding in the assembled rotor. A notch is formed in the radially outer end of each tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,672 presents an electric machine which is embodied as a generator and which has a rotor. The electric machine is embodied as a claw pole generator, wherein the claw poles of two claw pole boards engage one in the other. For balancing, notches or drillholes, with which the generator is balanced after completion, are provided arranged distributed with respect to one another along the circumferential direction of the rotor.
FR 2 789 240 A1 relates to a generator for applications in motor vehicles. This generator is also a claw pole generator in which individual claw poles which are formed on claw pole boards engage one on the other. A balancing drillhole is arranged in the region of the claw pole roots which constitute a junction between a plate part of the claw pole board and the individual claw poles which are oriented bent through 90° with respect to said claw pole board.
During the fine balancing of components of an electric machine, for example a generator for use in motor vehicle applications, the rotor must be balanced. This is preferably carried out on the cold-shaped claw poles in the region of the claw pole roots on the back radius by providing fine balance drillholes. The fine balance drillholes constitute a locally concentrated removal of material, as a result of which the rotor of the generator, in particular of a claw pole generator, can be balanced after the mounting. Fine balancing of the rotor of this embodiment of electric machines is thus significant since the rotor in claw pole generators rotates with rotational speeds of the order or magnitude of 18 000 min−1 and higher. The greater the precision with which the balance drillholes, i.e. the fine balance drillholes, can be provided, the greater the quietness of the running of the electric machine which can be achieved. Furthermore, a very long service life of the roller bearings with which the rotor is mounted in the housing, i.e. the stator part of the claw pole generator, can be achieved by extremely precise balancing of the rotor of the claw pole generator.
The provision of fine balance drillholes in the region of the claw pole root on the back radius often leads to misalignment of the drill since drilling occurs at the apex point of the radius of the claw pole root in order to generate removal of material precisely at this point. This can lead to damage to the fan which has already been mounted on the shaft of the rotor or to breaking of the drills.

Method for producing an electrical machine for vehicle claw pole comprising a centering point


A display method and display apparatus are provided. The display method includes: an image to be viewed is activated; an instructing operation from a user is monitored; a Tools menu associated with the activated image is displayed according to a first instructing operation; options in the Tools menu are toggled according to a second instructing operation for the Tools menu; an option from the toggled options is selected according to a user operation; and the activated image is displayed according to the selected option.

An image mosaic technique may include: a group of images that are partially overlapped mutually, are spatially matched and aligned, and a wide-view-angle, complete, high definition new image with information of the group of images is formed after resampling and fusion. Image mosaic is an important research direction in the field of digital image processing and has extensive applications in the fields of photogrammetry, computer vision, remote sensing image processing, medical image analysis, computer graphics and so on.
Since a large-range panoramic medical image can assist a doctor to visualize lesion and surrounding tissues more comprehensively and visually, medical image mosaic has been widely applied in medical image research. A doctor may toggle a plurality of options for a diagnostic image in a diagnostic process to make an accurate diagnosis through the diagnostic image. Relevant options for images may be frequently used by the doctor. The doctor may search for an option by moving a cursor of a mouse to a toolkit including the relevant options. The cursor may be moved to a text or an image and then the mouse may be clicked for operation. When it is required to toggle other options, the above steps will be repeated, and the process may be relatively complicated.
NEUSOFT MEDICAL SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (NMS), founded in 1998 with its world headquarters in China, is a leading supplier of medical equipment, medical IT solutions, and healthcare services. NMS supplies medical equipment with a wide portfolio, including CT, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), digital X-ray machine, ultrasound, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Linear Accelerator (LINAC), and biochemistry analyser. Currently, NMS' products are exported to over 60 countries and regions around the globe, serving more than 5,000 renowned customers. NMS's latest successful developments, such as 128 Multi-Slice CT Scanner System, Superconducting MRI, LINAC, and PET products, have led China to become a global high-end medical equipment producer. As an integrated supplier with extensive experience in large medical equipment, NMS has been committed to the study of avoiding secondary potential harm caused by excessive X-ray irradiation to the subject during the CT scanning process.

Beijing Neusoft Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.


A computer system maintains identifiers that identify changed blocks of virtual machine (VM) storage. The computer system accesses a stable VM checkpoint comprising a restorable VM image at a time, and that stores a representation of data of at least one block as it existed at the time. The computer system converts the checkpoint to a reference point. Reference point information is transferable with the VM, such that if the VM is moved to a different computing system, any data identified by the reference point is recoverable. The conversion includes querying the storage to determine an identifier corresponding to the block of the checkpoint at the time, storing this identifier as a part of the reference point, and releasing the representation of the data of the block from the checkpoint. The computer system then uses the reference point to identify changes in the blocks of the storage since the time.

Computing systems have become ubiquitous, ranging from small embedded devices to phones and tablets to PCs and backend servers. Each of these computing systems is designed to process software code. The software allows users to perform functions, interacting with the hardware provided by the computing system. In some cases, these computing systems allow users to establish and run virtual machines. These virtual machines may provide functionality not provided by the host operating system, or may comprise a different operating system altogether. In this manner, virtual machines may be used to extend the functionality of the computing system. Virtual machines may be backed up on virtual storage devices which themselves may be backed up to physical or virtual storage devices. Virtual machine hosts may also be configured to take snapshots which represent point-in-time images of the virtual machine. The VM snapshots or "checkpoints" include CPU state, memory state, storage state and other information necessary to completely recreate or restore the virtual machine to that point in time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Efficiently providing virtual machine reference points


A semiconductor memory, such as an SDRAM, includes a data bus pair, a first reset circuit, a second reset circuit and a control circuit. The first reset circuit is connected between the buses of the data bus pair and resets the buses at a first potential. The second reset circuit is also connected between the data buses and resets the buses at a second potential. The control circuit is connected to the first and second reset circuits and activates the first reset circuit and deactivates the second reset circuit prior to a write operation. The control circuit further deactivates the first reset circuit and activates the second reset circuit prior to a read operation.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a circuit and a method for resetting a pair of data buses.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a part of a conventional semiconductor memory device 1 comprising a memory cell array 4 including a plurality of memory cells c, a plurality of word lines (not shown) and a plurality of bit line pairs BL1, /BL1 to BLn, /BLn. Each cell c is connected to one of the plurality word lines and also to one of bit lines of any pair BL1, /BL1 to BLn, /BLn. Only three pairs of bit lines, designated as first, second and third line pairs BL1, /BL1; BL2, /BL2; and BL3, /BL3 are shown in FIG. 1.
Sense amps 2a, 2b and 2c are connected between the first, second and third bit line pairs BL1, /BL1; B12, /BL2; and BL3, /BL3, respectively. Each of the sense amps 2a to 2c amplifies a potential difference between the associated one of the first, second and third bit line pairs BL1, /BL1 to BL3, /BL3. The bit lines pairs BL1 to BL3 and /BL1 to /BL3 are also connected to a pair of data buses DB, /DB via pairs of transfer gates 3a to 3c, respectively. Each pair of transfer gates 3a to 3c includes a pair of NMOS transistors having gates which receive a common column select signal col 1 to col3. When the column select signal col 1, for example, goes high, the transfer gates 3a are turned on, thus electrically connecting the first bit line pair BL1, /BL1 to the data buses DB, /DB.
In a write operation, write data from a write amplifier is written in the memory cell c via the data buses DB, /DB, the transfer gates 3a and the first bit line pair BL1, /BL1. In a read operation, data stored in the memory cell c is read via the first bit line pair, BL, /BL1, the transfer gates 3a and the data buses DB, /DB to a read amplifier (not shown).
A reset circuit 50 (60) is connected between the data buses DB, /DB. The reset circuit 50 of a first prior art example is shown in FIG. 2(a) and the reset circuit 60 of a second prior art example is shown in FIG. 3(a). Each reset circuit 50 or 60 receives a reset control signal .phi.eq which transitions in the manners illustrated in FIG. 2(b) and 3 (b). The reset circuit 50 or 60 resets the potential difference between the data buses DB, /DB in response to the high reset control signal .phi.eq applied subsequent to a write operation or a read operation.
As shown in FIG. 2(a), the reset circuit 50 comprises three NMOS transistors Q51, Q52 and Q53. The NMOS transistor Q51 is connected between the data buses DB, /DB, and the NMOS transistors Q52 and Q53 are connected in series between the data buses DB, /DB. A precharge voltage equal to about half of a high potential power supply Vdd (i.e., Vdd/2) is applied to a node between the NMOS transistors Q52 and Q53. The transistors Q51 to Q53 have their gates connected together and receive the reset control signal .phi.eq.
When the NMOS transistors Q51 to Q53 are turned on in response to the high reset control signal .phi.eq, the potentials on the data buses DB, /DB are equalized to Vdd/2 as illustrated in FIG. 2(b), thus resetting the potential difference between the data buses DB, /DB. By the Vdd/2 equalization, a power consumption of the reset circuit 50 is reduced.
As shown in FIG. 3(a), the reset circuit 60 comprises an NMOS transistor Q61, two PMOS transistors Q62 and Q63 and an inverter circuit 61. The NMOS transistor Q61 is connected between the data buses DB, /DB, and the PMOS transistors Q62 and Q63 are connected in series between the data buses DB, /DB. A precharge voltage having a level equal to a high potential power supply Vdd is applied to a node between the transistors Q62 and Q63. A reset control signal .phi.eq is applied to the gate of the transistor Q61. The reset control signal .phi.eq inverted by the inverter circuit 61 is applied to the gates of the PMOS transistors Q62 and Q63.
When the NMOS transistor Q61 and the PMOS transistors Q62 and Q63 are turned on in response to the high reset control signal .phi.eq, the potentials on the data buses DB, /DB are equalized to the high potential power supply level Vdd as illustrated in FIG. 3(b), thus resetting the potential difference between the data buses DB, /DB. Accordingly, if the next cycle is a read cycle, a difference between the potential on any bit line BL1, /BL1 to BL3, /BL3 corresponding to data read from the memory cell c and the potential on the data bus DB or /DB will increase to the supply Vdd level. This improves the charge transfer rate through the associated transfer gate 3a to 3c and reduces the time t1 required until the potential on the data bus DB or /DB is determined. Thus, the read operation is accelerated in the semiconductor memory device 1 using the reset circuit 60.
Since the reset circuit 50 equalizes the potentials on the data buses DB, /DB to the Vdd/2 during the reset operation, a read operation is slow. During the read operation, there is a small difference (Vdd/2) between the potential on any of the first to the third bit line BL1, /BL1 to BL3, / BL3 corresponding to data read from the memory cell c and the potential on the data bus DB or /DB. This slows down the charge transfer rate through the transfer gate 3a to 3c, resulting in a relatively long time t2 until the potential on the data buses DB, /DB is determined, as illustrated in FIG. 2(b).
Since the reset equalizes the potentials on the data buses DB, /DB to Vdd level during the reset operation, power consumption is increased. A write amplifier generally has a greater driving capability than the sense amps 2a to 2c in order to facilitate the charge/discharge process of the data buses and the first to the third bit line pair. An increased power consumption accrues during the reset operation of the write cycle when equalizing the data buses to the Vdd level.

Circuit for resetting a pair of data buses of a semiconductor memory device


A new and distinct apple tree Malus domestica named ‘YCP’. ‘YCP’ is a spontaneous limb mutation of the variety ‘Cripps Pink’ and is distinguished by its bright lime green fruit color, its Yellow-green one-year old shoots, its petals of white-only color, and its pedicel, sepals and balloon blossom all of Yellow-green color.

The present invention is a new and distinct cultivar of apple tree botanically known as Malus domestica and referred to by the cultivar name 'YCP'. 'YCP' was discovered as a spontaneous limb mutation in a commercial orchard of the variety 'Cripps Pink' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,880).
'YCP' was first observed in 2009 in Shepparton East, Victoria, Australia, where it was distinguished by its bright lime green fruit color. 'YCP' is also distinguished from its parent by its lime green current season wood growth on both sunny side and shaded side and its lack of red anthocyanin on the back of the leaf petiole and its lack of red anthocyanin during all stages of blossom where the balloon blossom and petals are lime green in color. Asexual reproduction of 'YCP' was carried out by bud grafting in 2011 and trees of 'YCP' were planted for additional observation at Shepparton East, Victoria, Australia. 'YCP' has since been fruited through successive asexually propagated generations at Shepparton East and has been observed to remain true to type with the distinguishing characteristics retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.


The invention relates to novel proteins from Pseudomonas glumae, having esterase activity, in particular butynol I esterase activity, to nucleic acid sequences coding therefore, to expression cassettes, vectors and recombinant microorganisms; to methods for preparing said proteins and to the use thereof for enzymic, in particular enantioselective enzymic, ester hydrolysis or transesterification of organic esters.

Esterases and lipases are hydrolases which can be employed in industrial processes for synthesizing optically active organic compounds and which are characterized by high substrate specificity. Through a mechanism similar to that of serine proteases, they can transfer acyl groups onto nucleophiles such as, for example, carbonyl groups or hydrolytically cleave ester bonds. Esterases, lipases and serine proteases share the catalytic triad, a sequence motif consisting of the amino acids Ser, His and Asp, where the carbonyl carbon atom is subject to nucleophilic attack by the active Ser, which, with participation of the other two amino acids, leads to a charge distribution. Esterases and lipases may also transfer acyl groups onto other nucleophiles, such as thioether thio groups or activated amines.
Lipases hydrolyze long-chain glycerol esters and are characterized by surface activation, i.e. the active site becomes accessible only in the presence of the lipid substrate. Lipases are stable in nonaqueous organic solvents and are employed in numerous industrial processes for kinetic racemate resolution, i.e. one enantiomer is converted substantially faster than the other. Said enantiomer can be subsequently obtained from the reaction solution owing to different physical and chemical properties.
Nakamura (Nakamura, K. et al., Tetrahedron; Asymmetry 9, (1999), 4429-4439) describes the racemate resolution of 1-alkyn-3-ol by transesterification in hydrophobic solvents with the aid of commercially available lipases (Amano AK, AH and PS; Amano Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.). In this reaction, enantioselectivity increases with the chain length of the acyl donor and sterically large residues (chloroacetate, vinylbenzoate) have an adverse effect on the reaction. Yang (Yang, H. et al., J. Org. Chem. 64, (1999), 1709-1712) describes the enantioselective preparation of optically active acids by transesterification with vinyl esters using lipase B from Candida antarctica as catalyst. In this case, ethyl esters lead to a distinctly lower reaction rate and selectivity. A lipase isolated from Burkholderia plantarii (Pseudomonas plantarii or glumae) DSM 6535 is employed for enantioselective acylation of racemic amines with the aid of ethyl methoxyacetate (Balkenhohl, F. et al., J. prakt. Chem. 339, (1997), 381-384).
Esterases enantioselectively catalyze the formation and breaking of ester bonds (forward and reverse reaction). Preference is given to using vinyl esters in the transesterification for obtaining optically active alcohols, since the alcohol function of the ester is no longer available after the conversion due to tautomerization to the aldehyde or ketone and thus the reverse reaction can be avoided. In contrast to lipases, esterases are not surface-activated and also convert organic compounds of relatively short chain length. Esterases of different substrate specificity have been isolated from various organisms.
Thus the esterase from Pseudocardia thermophila FERM-BP-6275 is used for hydrolyzing optically active chromanacetic esters (EP-A-0 892 044).
An esterase from Bacillus acidocaldarius hydrolyzes with low enantioselectivity esters from a narrow range of substrates (Manco, G. et al., Biochem. J. 332, (1998), 203-212).
Acylase 1 from Aspergillus is used for obtaining secondary alcohols by transesterification with vinyl esters in organic nonpolar solvents, it being preferred to convert secondary alcohols having short side chains (Faraldos, J. et al., Synlett 4, (1997), 367-370). From Pseudomonas fluorescens DSM 50 106
a membrane-bound lactone-specific esterase has been cloned (Khalameyzer, V. et al., Appl. and Environ. Microbiol. 65(2), (1999), 477-482), and from the E. coli malQ mutant an acetylesterase has been cloned (Peist, R. et al., J. Bacteriol. 179, (1997), 7679-7686). However, enantioselectivity and substrate specificity of these two esterases have not been studied in more detail. Rhodococcus sp. NCBM 11216 expresses 4 esterases, RR1 to RR4, which have different specificity. For the ester synthesis from naphthol and an acid, RR1 and RR2 prefer acids with short carbon chains, while RR3 and RR4 specifically convert acids having relatively long carbon chains and sterically relatively large residues (Gudelj, M. et al., J. Mol. Cat. B, Enzymatic 5, (1998), 261-266).
However, esterases which have a wide range of substrates and a high enantioselectivity and which can be employed in industrial processes are not available for preparing small organic molecules, such as optically active alcohols, acids or esters with short carbon chains.


A pressure indicating device, e.g. for securing to a tire valve, is disclosed. The device includes a flexible impermeable diaphragm on one wall of a permanently hermetically sealed chamber is pressurized to a given pressure. A mechanical linkage moves depending on whether the pressure, e.g. in a tire to which the device is attached, is greater or less than that in the chamber, e.g., rotates a bicolored ball so that the color displayed provides a visual signal that indicates if the tire pressure is above or below the given pressure. This enables a puncture or air loss to be detected by a rapid glance.

This invention relates to pressure indicating devices and particularly but not exclusively to such devices for indicating vehicle tyre pressure.
A wide variety of pressure indicating devices have been known for some time, the majority being devices which provide a means to accurately measure pressure, particularly of gases and liquids.
In certain situations, a precise measurement of pressure is not required but rather a simple and clear indication of a change in pressure is desired, for example to detect leakage from a pressurised container. In such situations, a device which provides a highly visual xe2x80x9csee-at-a-glancexe2x80x9d indication that leakage is occurring is more appropriate than a precise numerical measurement of the pressure within the container.
Such devices are well known in the art. For example, a device is known for indicating whether a pneumatic circuit is pressurised, available under the trade mark ROTOWINK (ex Norgren Martonair Limited). This device is adapted to be mounted on a control panel, with the inlet connected to part of a pneumatic circuit, e.g. a pressure vessel, such as a compressor reservoir. The device contains a flexible, impermeable diaphragm that spans the inlet. The diaphragm supports a spring returnable piston.
A rod and crank arrangement extends from the piston, terminating in the head of the device, remote from the inlet, where the rod is attached to a crank within a rotatable ball having its opposite halves different colours, e.g. red and green. The ball is mounted beneath a lens through which one side of the ball is clearly visible from the exterior of the device.
A difference in pressure across the diaphragm, e.g. resulting from a build up of air pressure in a compression chamber to which the inlet of the device is connected, causes the diaphragm to flex towards the head of the device, which pushes the piston and rod towards the head. This movement causes the crank to cause the ball to rotate such that the other side of the ball is then visible through the lens. This other ball side of contrasting colour provides a clear visual signal that pressure has built up in the chamber.
It is highly desirable for vehicle tyres to remain at their optimum pressure for reasons of safety, fuel economy and comfort and to prolong the life of the tyres. Consequently, it is preferable that tyre pressures are checked at regular intervals. However, this mundane task is frequently overlooked since a lower than optimal tyre pressure, such as caused by a slow puncture or an inaccurate gauge on a pump or compressed air supply unit, is only perceived when the tyre looks dangerously flat and/or the vehicle feels uncomfortable, at which stage the tyre pressure is well below its optimum. Clearly, in the period between initial loss of air pressure and detection, any use of the vehicle reduces the life of the tyre significantly and will have put the driver and passengers of the vehicle at some risk.
Although it occurs less often, it is also potentially dangerous to drive a vehicle with one or more of its tyres grossly over inflated rather than under inflated.
Attempts have been made in the past to provide tyre pressure monitoring devices. U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,745 describes a cap for attachment to a tyre valve following inflation and which includes an alarm circuit which is de-energised when the tyre is inflated to proper pressure. The cap, however, must include its own power supply and other circuit members which is undesirably complex, prone to failure and expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,686 discloses a purely mechanical device including a diaphragm in a chamber. The diaphragm may be deflected to give a visual indication of the state of pressure within the tyre. One side of the diaphragm is a so-called reference chamber which, when the device is applied to a tyre valve stem, is pressurised to the pressure within the tyre. Thereafter the reference chamber is sealed while the other side of the diaphragm is exposed to the pressure within the tyre, so that if the latter drops, the diaphragm moves. The construction is relatively complex and the cap provides no indication as to whether the tyre is inflated to the correct pressure. The device is only effective to show a drop in pressure over time. British patent specification 2277802 discloses a similar device but in which an indication of the state of pressure in the tyre is achieved only with the use of a hand held device adapted to be brought into close proximity with the cap on the valve stem. It suffers from the same disadvantage as noted above.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,481 describes a tyre pressure indicating device comprising a housing which may be screwed on to a tyre valve stem and which includes an inlet for air under pressure from the tyre into a transparent walled chamber. The chamber contains a hermetically sealed bellows, the degree of compression of which changes its length to provide, in conjunction with markings on the exterior of the chamber, an indication of tyre pressure.
According to the present invention there is provided a pressure indicating device comprising a housing which includes an inlet for air under pressure, a permanently hermetically sealed chamber including a gas under pressure, a flexible member between the inlet and the chamber, and a signalling device, the signal from which depends on the pressure difference between the inlet and the chamber, and characterised in that the flexible member is a flexible impermeable diaphragm which, as the pressure at the inlet increases, is caused to flex to extend into the pressurised chamber, and in that the device includes connecting means between the diaphragm and the signalling device adapted to actuate the signalling device to provide a signal representative of the inlet pressure relative to that in the sealed chamber. The signalling device is preferably located within the sealed chamber.
When such a device is to be used as a tyre pressure indicating device, the inlet may be adapted to form sealed contact with the valve when the device is fitted to the tyre valve stem in place of the conventional dustcap and, as it is screwed further on, to open the tyre valve so that the pressure in the inlet is the same as that in the tyre.
Preferably the chamber is pressurised to a pressure just below that of the optical tyre pressure for a particular vehicle, (the optimal tyre pressures being taken to be those recommended by the vehicle manufacturers). Consequently, when the device is connected to and opens the valve, the pressure differential between the higher pressure of the tyre and the lower pressure of the chamber causes the flexible impermeable diaphragm to flex, such that it extends into the pressurised chamber, and to actuate the signalling device to provide a signal representative of the tyre pressure relative to that in the sealed chamber.
The diaphragm construction may be a flat disc type or (and this may improve service life and sensitivity of the diaphragm) a rolling diaphragm.
Preferably the signalling device is capable of providing at least two visually distinguishable signals. This is most conveniently achieved by a mechanical means such as a rotatable mounted ball of which one side is one colour and the other a contrasting colour but as will be appreciated, any mechanical means of providing such signals may be substituted. The signal is preferably clearly visible over a wide range of viewing angles, e.g. a viewing angle of 110xc2x0 or more.
The means connecting the flexible impermeable diaphragm to the signalling device are preferably simple mechanical linkages capable of transmitting any movement of the diaphragm, in a manner which actuates the signalling device. Most preferably a spring returnable piston carrying an elongate member is mounted on the diaphragm, the end of the member being pivoted to a crank which is attached to a rotatable ball signalling device. In use, any flexing or flattening of the diaphragm will accordingly rotate the ball in one sense or the other.
In accordance with a particular preferred feature of the invention, the diaphragm may have a weakened section adapted to rupture if the pressure in the tyre exceeds that in the chamber by a predetermined amount. If such a diaphragm is used, when the device is fitted to an over inflated tyre, the indicator will briefly indicate adequate tyre pressure and then on rupture of the diaphragm, that all is not well.
The inlet of the device preferably has a screw threaded bore and at the end of the bore an axial nose which is positioned to depress the central pin of and therefore open, a conventional tyre valve. To ensure that the valve and device are in sealed contact and to prevent the escape of air from within the tyre, the inlet preferably contains an appropriately located O-ring.
A tyre pressure indicating device according to the present invention may thus easily be fitted onto any conventional tyre valve to display a clear visual signal which indicates the air pressure condition of the tyre. It may be mass produced inexpensively in quantity. It is also lightweight, self-contained and provides an indication of self-failure.


A battery separator includes a porous substrate and a thermal fuse material adhered to at least one surface of said porous substrate. The thermal fuse material is adhered to the substrate surface in a predetermined geometric array thereupon so as to establish open areas of the at least one substrate surface to thereby allow ionic migration therethrough. The thermal fuse material forming the geometric array on the substrate surface may itself define open pores to further facilitate such ionic migration. The thermal fuse material melts at or near a predetermined threshold temperature so that the substrate's permeability irreversibly becomes significantly decreased and thus interrupts the chemical reaction in an electrochemical battery. In such a manner, batteries of improved safety may be provided using the separators of this invention.

Electrochemical batteries have for some time been used as a means to power a variety of electronic consumer products. Conventional batteries are usually of the type having an anode, a cathode, a porous separator to maintain physical separation between the anode and cathode, and a suitable electrolyte supplying a source of positive and negative ions which migrate between the anode and cathode during use.
When used correctly (assuming no inherent defect in the battery), there is little risk that the battery will present a safety hazard to its user. However, when used incorrectly (as by a forced short-circuit condition caused by reversing the battery's polarity during use) and/or when a defect in the battery is present (as by a short-circuit condition due to the anode and cathode coming into physical contact with one another), there is a risk that uncontrolled chemical reaction of potentially explosive magnitude may occur within the battery. This risk is particularly acute for batteries employing a highly electropositive anode, for example, lithium, although the risk may still be present for more traditional electrochemical batteries, for example, nickel-cadmium cells. While a battery manufacturer can implement quality control procedures to minimize defectively manufactured batteries and prevent them from reaching consumers, there is little that can be done to ensure absolutely that batteries will be used correctly by their ultimate users.
Various proposals already exist to minimize uncontrolled thermal reactions in electrochemical battery cells as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,730 to Lundquist et al issued on Mar. 17, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,304 to Lundquist et al issued on Mar. 15, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,400 to Fritts issued on Feb. 21, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,888 to Dampier et al issued on Sept. 28, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,910 to Catanzarite issued on Oct. 4, 1983; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,979 issued to Faust et al on May 3, 1988.
The Lundquist et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,730 and 4,731,304, disclose sheet products said to be useful as battery separators, having at least two microporous plies which are coextensively bonded together into a unitary product. When the sheet is subjected to elevated temperatures, as where shorting occurs in an electrical storage battery, one of the plies is intended to melt and transform into a non-porous membrane. This pore closure is intended to shut down the electrical current flow in the battery.
According to Fritts '400, a woven mat assembly contains a plurality of thermoplastic globules which encapsulate a reaction-deactivating "poison". When the internal temperature of the battery reaches a predetermined maximum, the "poison" is released thereby deactivating the chemical reaction.
In Dampier et al '888, the current flow within a battery cell during abnormal operating conditions is limited due to dissolution of an additive material (for example, polyvinyl chloride) in the electrolytic solution. During normal operating conditions, however, this additive material is dispersed throughout the electrolytic solution without adversely affecting current flow within the cell.
The electrochemical cell according to Catanzarite '910 includes an inorganic solid anode-neutralizing agent which, at or near the melting point of the anode, enters into an endothermic, or at most mildly exothermic, reaction with the anode thereby neutralizing the same. At other temperatures, however, the anode-neutralizing agent is non-reactive with all cell components, including the anode.
A battery separator is disclosed in Faust et al '979 as including a porous film (e.g., a microporous film) bearing a porous layer of wax-coated fibers which serves as a thermal fuse. During normal operation, the wax-coated fiber layer does not close the pores of the film.
Notwithstanding these prior proposals in the art, there still exists a need to improve the safety of electrochemical batteries. It is towards satisfying such a need that the present invention is directed.

Battery separator with integral thermal fuse


An aluminosilicate characterized by having a faujasite structure, a silica to alumina mole ratio of at least six and unbalanced tetra alkylammonium ions within the large cages of the aluminosilicate. This composition may be prepared by crystallization from an aged reaction mixture of an oxide of sodium, tetra alkyl or hydroxy alkyl ammonium, salt, water, a source of silica, a source of alumina and sodium aluminosilicate nucleating seeds in specified relative amounts.

Zeolites with high silica to alumina ratios, i.e., of at least six, are desirable because of their particular catalytic selectivity and their thermal stability; the latter is a property particularly important when the zeolite is used as catalyst or in adsorption procedures wherein exposure to high temperatures would be expected. Although zeolites having silica to alumina ratios of less than six can be readily synthesized by a variety of methods, as disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,882,244 and 4,178,352. Methods for preparing faujasite polymorphs of higher ratios generally involve several weeks of crystallization and result in poor yields of product, as reported by Kacirek, J. Phy. Chem., 79 1589 (1975). One successful method results in a high silica faujasite, CSZ-3, that contains CS.sup.+ cations trapped within the sodalite cage subunits of the structure and has a composition (Na, Cs).sub.2 O: Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 : 5-7 SiO.sub.2 ; See U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,859. A similar material is CSZ-1 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,313), having a similar composition, but having a rhombohedral structural distortion (Treacy et al., J. C. S. Chem Comm., p 1211, (1986)).
The use of quaternary ammonium salts as templates or reaction modifiers in the preparation of synthetic crystalline aluminosilicates (zeolites), first discovered by R. M. Barrer in 1961, has led to preparation of zeolites with high silica to alumina ratios which are not found in nature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,859 discloses preparation of a crystalline zeolite thought to have the ferrierite structure (ZSM-21) using a hydroxethyl-trimethyl sodium aluminosilicate gel. A review provided by Barrer in Zeolites, Vol. I, p. 136 (October, 1981) shows the zeolite types which are obtained using various ammonium organic bases as cation. In addition, Breck, Zeolite Molecular Sieves, John Wiley (New York, 1974), pp. 348-378, provides a basic review of zeolites obtained using such ammonium cations in the synthesis thereof, as does a review by Lok et al (Zeolites, 3, p 282 (1983)).
The Si/Al ratios of a variety of readily synthesized NaY materials can be increased by a wide range of chemical or physical chemical treatments. However, these processes usually involve removal of Al from the zeolite framework and creation of a metastable defect structure, followed by filling the defects with Si from another part of the structure by further chemical treatments or hydrothermal annealing. Typical treatments use steam, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,192; acid leaching, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,400; treatments with EDTA, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,560; treatment with SiCl.sub.4 (Beyer and Belenykaja, Catalysis by Zeolites S, p. 203 (1980), Elsevier Press.); treated with CHF.sub.3, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,046; or treated with other chemicals. The products are often called `ultra stable` faujasites (cf. Maher and McDaniel Proceedings Intl. Conference on Molecular Sieves, London, 1967, Ed. R. M. Barrer) because of their very high thermal and hydrothermal stability. However, such chemical processing often yields variable products, requires multi-step processing, often using highly corrosive environments, and usually involves a yield debit in the form of partly collapsed or blocked zeolite product. Few of the modified materials have the product quality of the starting sample because the process of modification involves partial destruction of the lattice and/or deposition of detrital reaction products within the pores of the structure. The existence of a secondary pore structure within the mesopore range has been reported (Lhose et al, Zeolites, 4 p 163, (1984)). Very recently "framework exchange" treatments of NaY using ammonium silicon hexafluoride (Eur. Pat. Appln. No. 008221) have yielded higher silica faujasite materials. However, these seem to contain undesirable residual F.sup.- anions (presumably replacing (OH).sup.-) and are somewhat limited in the degree of possible modifications using single treatments. Any chemical dealumination treatment may be expected to react more preferentially with the crystal exterior surface, giving a chemical concentration gradient from the outside to the center of the crystal, particularly where large sterically hindered molecules are concerned. Such observations have been made by Namba et al (Zeolites, 6, p 107 (1986)). Such preferred chemical distributions may be expected to have significant catalytic effects. Methods of directly synthesizing high silica faujasite would therefore be useful in optimizing both the zeolite product and the process for its production.
Although the disclosed ECR-4 composition is quite chemically and thermally stable in its own right because of its high silica content, that stability makes the inventive composition particularly useful as a starting material for the dealumination processes described above. Since the number of aluminum atoms in the framework of the inventive composition is lower than in zeolite Y, removal of these atoms causes less framework metastability during dealumination.
The use of tetramethyl ammonium cations (TMA) in the synthesis of zeolites A, Y and ZSM-4 (mazzite) is known, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,306,922; 3,642,434; 4,241,036 and 3,923,639. In all these cases the TMA is trapped in the smaller cavities in the structures (sodalite or gmelenite cages), and must be burned out at high temperatures, often leading to lattice disruption and collapse. In most of these syntheses the SiO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 ratio of the zeolites is less than about 6.
In summary, the present invention is seen to provide a novel crystalline aluminosilicate, ECR-4, which has a faujasite structure and a silica to alumina ratio of at least six, and contains alkyl ammonium cations within its structure which can be readily removed at relatively low calcination temperatures. It may be viewed as a major improvement over its chemically modified counterparts, from which it may be differentiated by considering:
o Development of non-selective mesopores PA1 o Occluded detrital Al and Si species PA1 o Residual F.sup.- anions PA1 o Crystal Si/Al composition gradients
all of which are absent in ECR-4. These undesirable features may be readily observed by a variety of instrumental techniques, including sorption measurements, catalytic properties, .sup.19 F, .sup.29 Si and .sup.27 Al-MASNMR, and microprobe analysis.
It is also known that even minor changes in the size or charge distribution of these large organic cations can induce the formation of different zeolite structures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,859 teaches that replacement of one of the methyl groups of the TMA compound with a hydroxy ethyl group causes the formation of a ferrierite-like phase (ZSM-21). Many such examples are enumerated by Barrer (Zeolites, 1981). The objective of the present invention is to develop faujasite preparation methods yielding high silica materials, where the organic templates are not locked into the small cavities in the structure, but are instead present in the large "super cages" from which they can be readily removed without disruption and degradation of the host lattice.

High silica faujasite aluminosilicate, ECR-4, and a process for making it


Compounds corresponding in structure to enkephalin or polypeptide analogues thereof, wherein one or more peptide links of the enkephalin or analogue is represented by a group or groups the same or different selected from dimethylene, hydroxydimethylene, methylene-imino and ketomethylene groups and/or wherein adjacent peptide bond nitrogen atoms are linked by a carbonyl or thiocarbonyl group.

The invention relates to enkephalin analogues or, as they are also referred to herein, isosteres.
Enkephalin, specifically methionine enkephalin, is the pentapeptide EQU H-Tyr.sup.1 -Gly.sup.2 -Gly.sup.3 -Phe.sup.4 -Met.sup.5 -OH
Since its discovery a great deal of work has been done synthesising analogues with a view to elucidation of the mechanism of action of enkephalin itself and clinical use of the analogues.
The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented growth of knowledge in the field of biologically active peptides. The discovery of a new naturally occurring peptide is usually followed by the synthesis of analogues in order to obtain more potent, more selective or longer acting compounds, or antagonists of the parent peptide. Since peptides are synthesized by linking successive amino acids, it is technically easy and therefore tempting to synthesize analogues in which some of the native amino acid residues are replaced by others, sometimes of the unnatural D-configuration. The structure-activity correlations derived in this way reflect the contribution of individual amino acid residues.
We have essentially taken a different approach, and set out to investigate the role the backbone plays in the biological properties of peptides. This backbone, consisting of the monotonous polymer ##STR1## is common to all peptides. Attached to it at the .alpha.-carbon atoms are the amino acid side-chains, and it is the sequence and variety of these that endow the peptide with its peculiar physical, chemical and biological properties. In practical terms, our broad aim has been to synthesize isosteric analogues, in which the amino acid side-chains of the parent peptide are retained but parts of the peptide backbone are replaced with other, stereochemically similar residues.
Since the metabolic instability of peptides resides in the backbone, isosteric substitutions that are resistant to proteolysis may endow the analogue with increased stability and a prolonged duration of action provided, of course, that they are replacing susceptible parts of the backbone. The variations we propose are fully set out below, but for example reduced analogues, obtained by chemical reduction of the amide carbonyl to methylene, introduce a basic centre into the backbone and slightly alter the orientation of the side-chains. Hydrocarbon analogues, in which the peptide bond --CO--NH-- is replaced by --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 -- show a stereochemically very slight change, but the backbone is more lipophilic and is incapable of forming a hydrogen bond at the site of replacement.


An image forming apparatus is provided with a host computer, a copier, and a printer operable in response to instructions from the host computer. Upon receipt of image information from the host computer, the printer forms an image on a first sheet whereas the copier forms on a second sheet an image of a document placed on a document platform. The apparatus is further provided with a document conveying device for conveying to the document platform the first sheet as a document on which the image has been formed by the printer. The apparatus has at least two drive modes: a single drive mode at which all the transcripts are prepared by sole use of the printer and a double drive mode at which the first sheet having the image formed by the printer is conveyed by the document conveying device so that the rest of transcripts are prepared by the copier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an image forming apparatus capable of performing both copying and printing operations, and more particularly to a composite apparatus provided with a host computer, a copier, and a printer operable in response to instructions from the host computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Because laser printers are extremely superior in definition of images, they are in wide practical use today as an output device for word processors or image editing apparatus capable of preparing and editing diagrams, figures, patterns or the like on a CRT display. However, the laser printers used for this purpose are generally small-sized low-speed machines having a printing speed of about 5-6 sheets/min. One reason for this is that manuscripts prepared by word processors or the like are generally not so long and it is quite rare that manuscripts having several hundred pages or more are prepared by the word processors. Accordingly, the time required for printing is relatively short. Another reason is that high-speed laser printers are much more expensive than word processors or the like. When a number of transcripts are required from a manuscript prepared by a word processor or the like, the manuscript is initially printed by the use of any suitable printer, and thereafter, a required number of copies are generally prepared by the use of a high-speed copier, thereby causing an operator trouble.
To solve this problem, a composite apparatus having composite processing functions has been proposed, which is provided with a printer and a copier and in which a document prepared by the printer is conveyed to a document platform of the copier and is copied by the copier.
However, when a plurality of transcripts are required, composite processing cannot always minimize the time required for transcription. In other words, when the required number of transcripts is small, the sole use of the printer can occasionally make such time shorter than the composite processing.
The terms "transcript" and "transcription" are used to denote any of copies and prints and any of copying and printing operations, respectively, unless specified.

Image forming apparatus capable of minimizing time required for transcription


A composition containing 100 parts by weight of a soluble polyimidosiloxane obtained by polymerization and imidation of an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid component and a component comprising a diaminopolysiloxane, an aromatic diamine with a hydroxyl group and optionally another aromatic diamine, 1 to 50 parts by weight of an epoxy resin, and optionally, also 2 to 150 parts by weight of an inorganic filler such as mica, silica or barium sulfate, and an organic solvent. The composition is homogeneously soluble in organic solvents, and when formed into a protective film on a flexible wiring board it has high heat resistance, flexing resistance, adhesion and chemical resistance (against soldering flux and tin plating solutions).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polyimidosiloxane solution compositions which are mixtures of an organic solvent-soluble polyimidosiloxane, an epoxy resin and an organic solvent, and optionally also mica or barium sulfate, as well as to cured products thereof. The compositions have excellent storage stability, and may be suitably used for such purposes as printing inks and application varnishes to allow screen printing on flexible wiring boards, formation of protective films by using dispensers, etc.
When a polyimidosiloxane composition according to the present invention is applied onto a substrate in the form of a solution and allowed to dry and harden to form a protective film, the protective film has excellent flexibility (flexing resistance), heat resistance, adhesive properties, chemical resistance (particularly against soldering flux and tin plating solutions) and soldering resistance and is adherent to substrates, for example, polyimide film, copper foil, etc., allowing formation of an excellent protective film without requiring pretreatment of the substrate with a silane coupling agent or another adhesion accelerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of aromatic polyimides, epoxy resins and the like in electrically insulating protective films has been known for such applications as solid-state insulating films, passivation films, and insulating films for semiconductor integrated circuits and flexible wiring boards.
Epoxy resins generally require the use of a curing agent, which has raised a number of problems including the storage stability of the curing agent and its manageability for two-pack preparations, and when used for insulating films as mentioned above, the insulating films formed by thermosetting are rigid, thus lacking flexibility.
Furthermore, since most polyimidosiloxanes are poorly soluble in organic solvents, it is necessary to use a solution of the polyimidosiloxane precursor (polyamic acid), as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 57-143328, 58-13631 and 2-11631, to form a coated solution layer, and then accomplish drying and imidation of the coated layer by prolonged high-temperature heating to form a polyimide protective film, which process has resulted in the problem of heat deterioration of the electronic material which is to be protected.
Polyimidosiloxanes soluble in an organic solvents are also known as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Nos. 61-118427, 61-207438, 63-225629, 1-121325, 2-91124, 4-23833 and 4-36321, but have disadvantages in that curl occurs in the flexible substrates, resistance to soldering flux is poor, and viscosity stability is poor.


A washing machine includes a cabinet, a tub provided inside the cabinet to store wash water therein, a drum rotatably provided inside the tub, and a balancer comprising an upper side surface covering an outer surface of a bottom of the drum and a lower side surface formed at one side of the upper side surface in a planar shape while facing an inner surface of a bottom of the tub. The balancer is configured to counterbalance an unbalanced load of the drum, thereby saving energy and enhancing balancing efficiency.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a balancer for reducing energy consumption, and a washing machine having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A washing machine is an appliance that washes laundry using electric power. In general, a washing machine includes a cabinet forming an external appearance of the washing machine, a tub to store wash water in the cabinet, a drum rotatably installed in the tub, and a motor configured to rotatably drive the drum.
When the drum is rotated by the motor in a state that laundry and detergent water are put into the drum, laundry is in friction with the drum and the detergent water so that dirt can be removed from the laundry.
If laundry is not equally distributed but accumulates at one side of the drum when the drum rotates, vibration and noise may occur due to eccentric rotation of the drum, and components such as the drum, the motor or the like may be damaged.
Accordingly, the washing machine is equipped with a balancer in order to stabilize rotation of the drum by counterbalancing an unbalanced load generated in the drum.

Balancer and washing machine having the same


Systems and techniques for printing. In one implementation, a method includes printing, at substantially the same time, a first image on a first workpiece and a second image on a second workpiece.

This disclosure relates to print systems and techniques.
When an image such as a picture or a page of text is printed, image data is generally translated into a format understandable by a printing device and relayed to a print buffer associated with the printing device. The print buffer receives the translated image data and stores at least a portion of the image data for subsequent printing by the printing device.
Many printing devices include multiple discrete print elements (e.g., an inkjet nozzle in an inkjet print module). The print elements can be deployed to print selected components of the image. For example, selected print elements can be deployed to print at selected locations on a workpiece. As another example, in color printing, selected print elements can be deployed to print selected colors. Image data from the print buffer can be used by control electronics to coordinate the printing of images by deployed print elements.
The print elements in a printing device can be arranged in groups called print modules. The print elements in a module can be grouped according to the deployment of the constituent elements. For example, print elements that print at a selected array of positions can be grouped in a print module. As another example, print elements that print a selected color (at a selected array of positions) can be grouped in a print module.


A bracket (10) is provided for supporting CD cases onto a planar mounting surface (400) so that the front of the case (190) is visible. The bracket (10) is comprised of a planar (60), which has a rigid portion (60), a flexible portion (90), a first side which faces the mounting surface (400), and a second side which faces away from the mounting surface (400). Four rigid arms (130, 140, 170, 180), are attached to the first side and are positioned to hold the case (190) when the case is engaged into the bracket. Two rigid base pieces (20, 30) function as offsetting means, to offset the bracket (10) from the mounting surface (400). Two tabs (150, 160) for holding the case (10) by two holes (260, 270) on the case (10) are attached to two (130, 140) of the arms. The remaining two arms (170, 180) do not have tabs, and one of these arms (170) is attached to the flexible portion (90) of the planar (60). Case insertion into the bracket and extraction from the bracket is made possible by the interaction of the offsetting means (20, 30), the flexible portion (90), and the arm (170) with no tabs. Both insertion and extraction do not require any forces pulling the bracket (10) away from the mounting surface (400). Instead, case insertion and extraction is executed by pushing an arm (170) elastically toward the mounting surface (400), eliminating the risk of inadvertently separating the bracket (10) from the mounting surface (400) or damaging the mounting surface. The bracket inflicts zero clamping forces on the case (190), eliminating the risk of damaging the case (190).

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to brackets, specifically to such brackets which are used for supporting Compact Disk cases commonly referred to in the music and video industry as Jewel Cases onto planar surfaces such as walls and ceilings for display of the cover art on the front of the CD case.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to discussing the background and description of prior art, let us establish a geometrical convention for referring to the conventional 6 sided Compact Disk case. Let the side which displays the cover art be known as the "front side." The opposite side is therefore the "rear side." When the case is held in the normal orientation for viewing or reading the cover artwork we can now refer to the sides adjacent to the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the front side as the "top, bottom, left and right sides," respectively.
Conventional compact disk case storage devices are designed for storage of multiple compact disks. Multiple parallel adjacent slots are provided into which Compact Disks are inserted right side first, allowing only the left side to be visible. Jewel Case storage devices of the type described in the current paragraph suffer from the following disadvantages:
a) They do not provide a means of displaying the cover art on the front of the CD case. PA1 b) They do not provide a means for keeping empty CD cases in a specified, highly conspicuous place, with the front cover art visible, making it easier for the CD owner to find the empty case when needed. PA1 a) It does not provide the user, once the case is engaged into the current bracket, access to the information or artwork visible on the rear side of the CD case. PA1 b) It does not provide the user with a means to readily extract a specified CD case from and/or engage the same CD case into a specified bracket of the present type. PA1 c) It does not provide the user with a means to readily re-arrange the CD cases displayed on a planar mounting surface by swapping CD cases between brackets mounted said surface and/or replace a CD case in an individual bracket. PA1 d) It does not provide a means for mounting Jewel Cases to obliquely oriented planar surfaces an upside-down, ceiling oriented planar surfaces. The claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 limit the invention's function to wall mounting. PA1 a) They do not provide a means for the user to arrange his/her CD collection on a planar surface such as a wall in any configuration or pattern the user wishes. PA1 a) To provide a means of displaying the cover art on the front of the CD case while storing said case. PA1 b) To provide a means for keeping empty CD cases in a specified, highly conspicuous place, with the front cover art visible, making it easier for the CD owner to find the empty case when needed. PA1 c) To provide the user, once the case is engaged into the current bracket, access to the information or artwork visible on the rear side of the CD case. PA1 d) To provide the user with a means to readily extract a specified CD case from and/or engage the same CD case into a specified bracket of the present type. PA1 e) To provide the user with a means to readily re-arrange the CD cases displayed on a planar mounting surface by swapping CD cases between brackets mounted said surface and/or replace a CD case in an individual bracket. PA1 f) To provide a means for mounting Jewel Cases to obliquely oriented planar surfaces and upside-down, ceiling oriented planar surfaces. The claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 limit the invention's function to wall mounting. PA1 g) To provide a means for the user to arrange his/her CD collection on a planar surface such as a wall in any configuration or pattern the user wishes. PA1 h) To provide a means, for mounting CD cases on a planar surface, that is aesthetically pleasing empty or full, with or without a CD case engaged into it.
i) This is a feature that would be make it possible for a CD collection owner to showcase several of his/her favorite and/or most often used CD's cases, full or empty, on a planar surface such as a wall, with the front cover of each CD visible. PA2 i) This would be a useful feature for preventing misplacement of the empty case(s) of one's favorite CD('s) because said empty case(s) is often left in an unspecified location while said favorite CD('s) may be left in the player for indefinite periods of time for convenience. PA2 i) This would be a necessary feature if the CD owner needed information visible only on the rear side of the CD case. PA2 ii) The rear side of CD cases usually displays artwork and valuable information, such as a list showing the order in which songs appear on music CD's. PA2 i) This feature would be necessary in order for the user to hold the CD case in hand, while the CD is playing, alternatively flip the case over from front side to rear side, and admire the artwork and/or read information on each said side. PA2 ii) This feature would also be necessary in order to examine said case as described in b), i) above, yet be able to readily and securely support the empty case on the planar mounting surface, in said bracket, whenever the case was not in use. PA2 i) A significant example of where this feature would be needed is if a store owner was using such brackets to display 100 CD cases on a wall, in a top 100 pyramid pattern, and needed to swap the CD's between the brackets as frequently as the rankings of said CD's changed on an officially recognized music industry ranking list. PA2 ii) Another significant example of where this feature would be needed is if a user was decorating his/her bedroom or entertainment room wall with CD cases, and wanted to periodically re-arrange the CD cases into various groupings such as genre of music, basic color of cover art, release date, name of artist, etc. PA2 i) The bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 only clamps onto the rear side of the case, and will allow the front side, which is hinged to the rear side, to intermittently swing open due to the weight of the front side. PA2 i) This would be a necessary feature if the user wished to change the pattern in which his/her was displayed, to any pattern such as floral, checkered, or top ten pyramid. PA2 i) This is a feature that would be make it possible for a CD collection owner to showcase several of his/her favorite and/or most often used CD's cases, full or empty, on a planar surface such as a wall, with the front cover of each CD visible. PA2 i) This would be a useful feature for preventing misplacement of the empty case(s) of one's favorite CD('s) because said empty case(s) is often left in an unspecified location while said favorite CD('s) may be left in the player for indefinite periods of time for convenience. PA2 i) This would be a necessary feature if the CD owner needed information visible only on the rear side of the CD case. PA2 ii) The rear side of CD cases usually displays artwork and valuable information, such as a list showing the order in which songs appear on music CD's. PA2 i) This feature would be necessary in order for the user to hold the CD case in hand, while the CD is playing, alternatively flip the case over from front side to rear side, and admire the artwork and/or read information on each said side. PA2 ii) This feature would also be necessary in order to examine said case as described in b), i) above, yet be able to readily and securely support the empty case on the planar mounting surface, in said bracket, whenever the case was not in use. PA2 i) A significant example of where this feature would be needed is if a store owner was using such brackets to display 100 CD cases on a wall, in a top 100 pyramid pattern, and needed to swap the CD's between the brackets as frequently as the rankings of said CD's changed on an officially recognized music industry ranking list. PA2 ii) Another significant example of where this feature would be needed is if a user was decorating his/her bedroom or entertainment room wall with CD cases, and wanted to periodically re-arrange the CD cases into various groupings such as genre of music, basic color of cover art, release date, name of artist, etc. PA2 i) The bracket of the current invention clamps onto the front side of the CD case, pulling with restoring force said front side towards the mounting surface, thereby preventing the case from falling and/or sliding out of the bracket as well as the front cover from intermittently swinging open due to the weight of the front cover. PA2 i) This would be a necessary feature if the user wished to change the pattern in which his/her was displayed, to any pattern such as floral, checkered, or top ten pyramid. PA2 i) For example, the shape of the preferred embodiment is designed to be aesthetically pleasing even when viewed empty, without a CD case engaged into it. PA2 ii) When a CD case is engaged into said bracket, the bracket is inconspicuous.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 describes a CD case wall mounting bracket designed for mounting a single CD case to a vertical mounting surface, allowing the user to open the CD case's cover 180 degrees without removing the case from the bracket. The claims and preferred embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 do not mention any mechanism, feature, or means for readily extracting the CD case from the wall mounting bracket, implying that extractability of the case from the bracket was not an intended feature of said invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674. Therefore, said invention suffers from the following disadvantages:
Of all the prior art, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 most closely resembles the current invention, so the next few paragraphs will make obvious that the current invention is not covered by the claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674, as the current invention is significantly different from the former by form and fit. Comparison of the objects and advantages of the current patent below to the above disadvantages of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 make obvious that the current design differs significantly from the former by function.
The main claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 describes a bracket for supporting a compact disk case which has a hinged cover. For the bracket described herein, a hinged cover is inconsequential to the functionality of the bracket.
The main claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 covers brackets which clamp onto compact disk cases at the two sides which define the case's width (the left to right dimension of the case when the case is held in the normal viewing position for reading the case's cover). The bracket described herein does not clamp onto either of those two sides, but rather on the two sides that define the case's height (the top to bottom dimension of the case when the case is held in the normal viewing position for reading the case's cover).
The main claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 covers only brackets that have arms, clearance between which being approximately the same as the case width, the end of each arm having lips extending towards each other. The claims herein do not interfere with those of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 as those herein cover only brackets having two arms distanced from each other by approximately the height of the case rather than the width of the case. The two arms of the preferred embodiment that do define the case's width have no tabs, lips, or means for clamping onto the CD case, as is covered by the claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674.
The main claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 covers brackets whose distance between said lips and said base is slightly less than the thickness of the case at each said lip. In the bracket described herein, said distance would be inherently substantial rather than slight, as said means for clamping the case do so at the edges of the holes found on the top and bottom sides of the case, and the dimensions of said holes are substantial compared to the thickness of said sides, which defines the thickness of said case.
The first dependent claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 also fails to cover the bracket described herein because the current bracket is designed such that the case does not move under any of the lips of the bracket, as is covered by the claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674. Because, as stated in the above paragraph, the clamping mechanism of the current bracket is designed to locate and clamp into holes found in the sides of the case, the arms of the bracket of the current invention are inherently shorter than the height of any of the sides of the bracket. This makes moving the CD case under any part of the bracket of the current invention impossible.
The second dependent claim of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,674 fails to cover the current invention because it at least repeats all of the issues described in the above two paragraphs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,537,365 and 4,940,147 describe Compact Disk wall racks that each hold multiple Compact Disks. The racks are mounted onto a wall in the same way a picture frame is mounted to a wall. The racks contain several tabs that locate and receive the Compact Disks in a matrix configuration. Racks of this type suffer from the following disadvantage:
In summary, the prior art includes a variety of CD collection support or storage devices but none permit the ability to support several Jewel Cases on a planar mounting surface in any pattern desirable with the ability to easily extract the Jewel Case from the bracket.

Quick release bracket for showcasing compact disk cases


A falling off of a through electrode is inhibited without decreasing a reliability of a semiconductor device including a through electrode. A semiconductor device 100 includes: a silicon substrate 101; a through electrode 129 extending through the silicon substrate 101; and a first insulating ring 130 provided in a circumference of a side surface of the through electrode 129 and extending through the semiconductor substrate 101. In addition, the semiconductor device 100 also includes a protruding portion 146, being provided at least in the vicinity of a back surface of a device-forming surface of the semiconductor substrate 101 so as to contact with the through electrode 129, and protruding in a direction along the surface of the semiconductor substrate 101 toward an interior of the through electrode 129.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing thereof.
2. Related Art
In recent years, lighter, more compact and more sophisticated semiconductor devices are generally required in the industry, a dense installation of interconnects, a miniaturization of a logical device and an increased capacity of a memory are proceeded in semiconductor devices such as a multi-chip package.
A solution for such requirements is an attempt for achieving a dense installation of interconnects by providing a through electrode in a semiconductor substrate. Typical conventional through electrode is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. S60-140,850 (1985). A device is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. S60-140,850, in which an aperture is provided in a substrate, and a back surface bump for contacting with a through electrode is provided in the aperture in the lower portion of the through electrode composed of a polycrystalline silicon film.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing same