Image signals are converted from one color format to another using a lookup table based on interleaved indices generated from the components in the first color format. In a preferred embodiment, image signals in a YUV format are converted to image signals in a CLUT format by interleaving bits from the U and V components and appending bits from the Y component. By interleaving the U and V components, cache efficiency is improved when color conversion is implemented on a general-purpose processor with limited on-chip cache.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing, and, in particular, to computer-implemented processes, apparatuses, and computer programs for converting the color format of image signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Different color formats are used to represent images in computer-based image processing systems. Standard computer monitors use a red-green-blue (RGB) color format for displaying image and graphics signals. For example, in RGB24 format, each image pixel is represented by three 8-bit component values representing the colors red, green, and blue, respectively. The RGB24 format Supports 2.sup.24 different colors.
Many computer operating systems, such as the Microsoft.RTM. Windows.TM. operating system, provide a palette of colors that are made available to applications running under those operating systems. The palette may be defined as a color lookup table (CLUT) which provides a mapping from a CLUT index to a particular RGB24 color. For example, 8-bit CLUT8 indices may be used to define and access up to 256 different colors in a lookup table. The particular colors in the CLUT may be defined by the operating system, an application running under the operating system, or both, such that the operating system may define and reserve some of the colors in the palette and allow applications to define the rest.
Another set of color formats used in image processing is based on the 3-component YUV color system, in which Y represents the luminance component and U and V represent chrominance components. The YUV color system is used extensively in image compression applications, because it has been found to provide greater degrees of compression than, for example, the RGB color system. One such color format is the YUV9 (or YUV4:1:1) format. In this color format, each (4.times.4) block of image pixels is represented by a (4.times.4) block of 8-bit Y components, a single 8-bit U component, and a single 8-bit V component. As a result, each (4.times.4) pixel block is represented by (16.times.8+8+8) or 144 bits, for an of 9 bits per pixel. Thus, the name YUV9. Like the RGB24 format, the YUV9 format provides 224 different colors.
When decompressing YUV9 images for display on an RGB24 monitor, the decoded signals are preferably converted from YUV9 format to a CLUT format. The CLUT signals may then be transmitted to the graphics adapter card which uses the CLUT to convert the signals from CLUT8 format to RGB24 format for display on the monitor. What is needed is an efficient method for converting image signals from YUV9 format to CLUT format.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an efficient method for converting image signals from YUV9 format to CLUT format. 10 Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment which follows.

Table-driven color conversion using interleaved indices


An object to be dimensioned may have such a small dimension that the dimension text will not fit within a space defined by extension lines. A dimensioning method is provided that exaggerates extension lines (24) of small dimensions so that the dimension text will fit within the space the dimension line has between the extensions lines although the dimension itself is not changed.

Modeling means that a model is created from an object under design for describing the object to be manufactured. The development of data processing systems and computers has transformed modeling into a computerized process, where also drawings are produced from the model. Typically dimensioning is performed by drawing extensions lines from base points (points that are being measured), a dimension line is drawn between the extension lines at a certain distance from the object that is dimensioned, and a dimension text is added parallel with the dimension line, either above the dimension line or on the dimension line by breaking the dimension line. However, sometimes a dimension is so small that the dimension text does not fit within the space between the extension lines.


An easy removed die core device used for cold swaging comprising a mandrel, two end supporting members, an outer spring and a plurality of inner springs, wherein, the mandrel is extended into the position between the two end supporting members which are provided with coaxial stepped stubs, each stub is provided with a C shaped locking ring, so that the inner and the outer springs can engage each with a stub in a coaxial arrangement, and can resist the swaging force by their inherent resiliency; the end supporting members are provided each with a cam lever which is used to mount or dismantle the inner and the outer springs between the end supporting members in a easy way, while the threads on the outer spring has on the lateral shoulders thereof cutting angles, so that when the springs are drawn out of the inner wall of the shaped workpiece, the rough edges on the inner wall formed during forging can be planed simultaneously thereby, thus the objects of easy removing the die core device and rough edges planing can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an easy removed die core device used for cold swaging, and especially to an easy removed die core device, wherein, by means of a plurality of screw typed outer and inner tension springs and by the nature that the diameter of any ring on the threads of the springs can be elastically reduced when it is compressed, the swaging force exerted on the wall of the blank to be forged can be resisted by the elastic die core device, and after swaging, the elastic die core device can be taken out of the inner wall of the shaped workpiece easily, and the rough edges on the inner wall formed in swaging can be planed by the angled edges of a plurality of rings of the threads on the outer spring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In processing metallic workpieces, forging techniques have been well used to increase the strength of the workpieces, normally, workpieces which are abrasion resistant, compression resistant, shearing resistant etc . . . are used for forging. The ways of forging available in the field include the rotary swager, the stationary-spindle swager, the creeping-spindle swager, the alternate-blow swager and the disclosing swager, etc . . . ; such existing swaging techniques can be used for processing a solid forged workpiece 1 (as shown in FIG. 1) and a hollow pipe forged workpiece 10 (as shown in FIG. 2); however, a hollow pipe forged workpiece must be examined for the easiness for extending therethrough a die core before swaging, and for the feasibility that the die core can be taken out of the inner wall of the hole of the shaped workpiece, these two points generally prevent some hollow workpieces with special shapes from swaging for enhancing their strength.
Therefore, we now take the hub used on a wheel of a bicycle as an exemplifying workpiece for explanation:
As shown in FIG. 1, there is depicted the above mentioned conventional technique in cold forging the solid workpiece 1, wherein, a gradually proceeding forging step must be used in order to gradually forge and shape the solid workpiece 1 to form an arciform exterior wall 11, two end annular portions 12 of a hub of the wheel 13, then the annular portions 12 are drilled to form the necessary hooking holes 14, the hub of the wheel 13 is further processed with a milling knife 15 to form a bore with an inner wall 161, and the solid workpiece 1 thereby is formed a shaped wheel hub 16; however, this forging and milling method is overly material and cost consumptive, and it has been added with a boring process, in this view, the outstandingly high cost of material as well as processing has left to it a big problem; moreover, in the pipe walls of a completed wheel hub 16 (referring to FIG. 3), grainfiber flow 17 thereof has been observed with a metallographic microscope and has found that the wheel hub 16 made through the process of boring had damaged partial of the grainfiber flow 17, this has rendered the crystallines after swaging to have had uneven distribution of stress, therefore, the strength of the completed wheel hub 16 can not give the desired requirement of compression strength, this is one of the disadvantages of such a conventional technique.
Secondly, As shown in FIG. 2, there is depicted the above mentioned conventional technique in cold forging the hollow pipe workpiece 10 for forming a completed wheel hub 16, wherein, the rotary swager as mentioned above is used in the forging process, it is impossible to place a die core into the bore 101 of the wheel hub 16 having an arciform inner wall 104 (classified as one of the abovementioned special shapes) by the forging process, hence only smaller forging pressure can be used by way of progressive rotary swaging on the hollow pipe workpiece 10 to gradually swage and shape an arciform exterior wall 102, the arciform inner wall 104 and two end annular portions 103 to form a shaped wheel hub 106, then the annular portions 103 are drilled to form the necessary hooking holes 105,the shaped workpiece is thereby completed by such a conventional method; however, this forging method on the hollow pipe workpiece 10 is proceeded without a die core, so that the capability of the hollow pipe workpiece 10 for resisting rotary swaging force is smaller although the hollow pipe workpiece 10 does not require a milling process for boring which can increase the cost of material and processing, in this view, only the hollow pipe workpiece 10 with thinner wall can be forged by this method, and those hollow pipe workpieces require higher compressive strength can not, this makes an undesired limitation of such a method; moreover, a shaped wheel hub 106 form with the hollow pipe workpiece 10 has been found with a metallographic microscope that, on the wall portion thereof where a larger forging action is applied on (such as is shown in FIG. 4), the grainfiber flow 107 therein shows weakness by a crowed phenomenon in which acute angles are in the grainfiber flow 107 by virtue that the inner wall 104 does not have a resistive die core, the crystallines thereof where the swaging force is more concentrated are very weak, such area of the shaped wheel hub 106 is most fragile and subjected to breakage, this is the most troublesome problem of such a method.

Easy removed die core device used for cold swaging


A communication icon represents a shared connection allowing members of an online group to interact with each other and participate in different activities together. The icon through which the group interacts resides on each group member's desktop and has many attributes including click activation modes and drag and drop functionality. The icon provides each group member with a representation of the group's shared relationship. Any group member can change the group icon and have that change propagated to the computers of the other members of the group. The icon can be activated for both non-verbal and verbal communications as well as activity sharing. Online members of the group are kept apprised of the group's status and activities via a displayed status bar.

As computer technology and the Internet have taken on increasingly important roles in people's lives, Internet users are beginning to demand not only enhanced productivity, but also enhanced recreational activities and a greater sense of community. A variety of programs and services have been created to meet these demands, including Internet chatting and instant messaging, streaming audio, file sharing capabilities and multi-player network games. Unfortunately, while these applications allow users to communicate in a variety of ways with friends and peers, they fail to provide users with a sense of community and a shared relationship.
A number of instant messaging programs are now commercially available, and their popularity is indicative of consumers' need to instantly communicate with friends and acquaintances. Different applications provide different levels of functionality, but most of these programs allow a user to: send and receive text messages to/from a remote user, send and receive files to/from a remote user, and initiate group chatting sessions to which the user can then add participants. Through these programs, a user can discover whether or not a friend is available for communication, and, if so, trade text messages back and forth. These programs thereby give the user a sense of constant connectivity, but through a medium requiring far less attention than a phone for example. While these applications are in many ways successful mediums for communication, they fail to provide participants with a sense of community or context within which their relationship can evolve. While many chatting programs allow contacts to be grouped into "buddy lists," this set of contacts does not necessarily know of each other's existence nor do they necessarily share activities with each other. In other words, the only sense of community is imposed by one user onto his or her contacts without permission, or the other participants' knowledge. Furthermore, this grouping of contacts is a mere listing and does not facilitate group activities or interaction, further impeding the development of a sense of community.
Other currently available recreationally oriented applications include file-sharing programs. These programs enable users to download and upload (and thereby share) files with members of the public (normally whoever is running the same program at that time). When the program is running, these users may often also have the opportunity to chat with other users of the service, but an intimate persistent relationship between a particular user and a small select group of users is lacking. Unlike physical relationships, the "community" in this setting is quite large (normally encompassing thousands of users) and non-selective. A user cannot easily choose with whom to interact. Moreover, a user's relationship with other users is necessarily limited to file sharing and chatting in a public room, thereby limiting other forms of interaction that might be desirable.
Finally, multi-player games that allow users at home to play with and against remote users are becoming ever more popular. From traditional games of chess involving two opponents and a number of observers to "first-person shooters" involving dozens of opponents, there are many possible venues of interaction, and many modern games give users the ability to chat concurrently. Participation in these games, and the knowledge that other players share at least this interest with the user, may give users a slightly greater sense of community than was previously available. Many games provide the capability of forming private arenas in which a group can play and chat together. However, the users' sense of community is stunted by the extent to which their interactions with each other are limited. In particular, users may form a group to game with at one site, but continually have to set up the group each time they want to play. The group is thus not persistent, nor is it mobile. That is, the group cannot be taken intact to other activities like another game or even an online journal. Each time, the user has to form the group.
While users of gaming environments are able to play games with each other and chat at the same time, they typically cannot interact in other ways. They are also typically unaware of the other users' presence unless they interact through another chatting program. In addition, in order to interact at all, the players must be involved in an attention-grabbing game, making less intrusive activity sharing impossible. Thus, while multi-player games are successful at creating a gaming community, they are unsuccessful at creating the relaxed, social community that many consumers might hope to form.
There is a need for a group communication application through which an intimate group of users can interact with each other in any number of ways, and through which users can depend on a constant connection to a small select group of friends who will share these activities with each other. Such a system would give the Internet generation a sense of constant social connection and a shared relationship with their friends similar in many ways to those developed in the physical world.

Visual group interface for group connectivity


The installation of multiple applications by an installer is executed in a mode that does not display an error message in a display device. Upon an installation performed by the installer ending, the result of the installation performed by the installer is determined. As a result of the determination, an installer that failed at the installation is caused to re-execute the installation of the application whose installation failed in a mode that displays an error message in the display device. As a result of the re-execution, an error message is displayed in the display device by the installer that failed at the installation.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an installation method for installing multiple applications at once using an installer that has a function for installing applications.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when installing multiple applications in an information processing apparatus, the installation is generally performed using one of the following two programs. One is a program that has a function for installing a single application in the information processing apparatus (a standalone installer). The other is a program that calls multiple standalone installers in order (an integrated installer). All the applications are installed by the integrated installer executing the standalone installers in order.
Each standalone installer typically prompts a user to perform various operations at the time of execution, such as the display of and agreement/disagreement with an end user license agreement, the specification of the installation destination folder, and so on. Therefore, there is a problem in that when the integrated installer calls multiple standalone installers, the amount of effort required by the user to make such inputs increases as more standalone installers are called, placing a burden on the user.
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-048527 discloses a method in which information to be input by a user is saved in a specific location in advance and installation is carried out based on that information in order to eliminate the effort required by the user to make inputs for each standalone installer. Through this method, the installation can be performed without requiring unnecessary effort on the part of the user.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-100083 discloses a method for eliminating effort on the part of a user by not displaying windows for the end user license agreements or installation destination specifications of individual installers, or displaying such windows but proceeding to the next window after a set amount of time.
When installing multiple applications using an integrated installer, there may be situations where not all the applications have the same specifications. For example, the specifications of the standalone installers for three types of applications (X, Y, and Z) are sometimes different.
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-353187 discloses a method in which the specifications of multiple types of standalone installers are unified so as to provide an integrated installer with error codes that have been unified in advance. The integrated installer can then check those error codes and display a predetermined error message.
However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-048527 has a limitation in that it is necessary to save the information to be input by a user in a specific location in advance. There is a further problem in that such information does not yet exist when performing the first installation, and thus the information ultimately must be input.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-100083 has a problem in that if the user is not looking at the screen, the installer will assume that the user has agreed with the end user license agreement even if s/he has not agreed therewith. Furthermore, even if an error occurs during the installation process and the installation fails, the process will nevertheless advance on its own. Such a case poses a problem in that even if the reason for the failure is displayed on the screen, the process will advance to the next screen while the user is not looking, and thus the user cannot know what the reason for the failure was.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-353187, it is necessary to modify all of the multiple standalone installers whose specifications originally are different. Thus there is a problem in that because the unification of error codes deals with the fundamentals of the specifications, the stated modifications involve many man-hours for development, a high cost, and so on. Moreover, depending on the standalone installer, there are cases where circumstances render the modification impossible, and therefore this method cannot be used in such cases. Finally, if a special problem hitherto unrecognized has been found in a certain standalone installer and that problem cannot be expressed by any of the error codes defined thus far, it is necessary to revise the error codes. In such a case, modifications based on new specifications are required not only in the standalone installer in question, but in the other standalone installers and the integrated installer as well. The result is a problem in that a minor modification ultimately affects the entire system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Information processing apparatus and installation method


A method of removing slip sheets from a printing plates stack is disclosed, wherein the slip sheets are interspersed between the printing plates includes moving at least two parallel energy chains. Each of the energy chains carries a plurality of vacuum cups over the stack of printing plates. The vacuum cups are attached to a top slip sheet placed on top of the printing plates stack and peel off sheets while vacuum is maintained and transferring the top slip sheet into a slip sheet bin.

Plates, films, and proofing media for imaging systems, such as computer-to-plate (CTP) systems which are used in the graphic arts industry, are commonly stacked in boxes with slip sheet sheets interspersed between adjacent media sheets. The slip sheet primarily functions to protect the media surface from damage and to prevent adjacent media sheets from adhering to each other. The slip sheet is particularly important when the active emulsion on the media is either sticky or particularly sensitive to damage.
In the development of media for imaging tasks, particularly plates for lithographic printing operations, a number of often conflicting parameters such print run length, exposure sensitivity, exposure latitude and processing requirements must often be traded off against one another to achieve the best results. Some media have particularly good performance in relation to the abovementioned parameters, but suffer from extreme delicacy of the unexposed media emulsion. In a specific case, some LH-PI lithographic plates have a particularly delicate emulsion and may be scratched even by the action of removing the slip sheet. However, once exposed, the emulsion is durable and the plate images have good on-press performance.
Other commonly available media may have similar problems with delicate emulsion surfaces although, depending on the thickness and particular characteristics of the emulsion, scratches may or may not remain visible after subsequent processing. While not all media require special attention to how slip sheets are removed, the problem has been evident in a number of media products in the graphic arts industry.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,452 (Blake et. al.) a slip sheet removal mechanism for removing a slip sheet from a plate is described. Briefly, the removal operates by activating peeler airflow to initiate separation between the slip sheet and the plate. A number of suction cups are pivoted into a location above the slip sheet and the stack of plates is moved to bring the slip sheet into engagement with the suction cups. A combination of movement of the plate stack and pivoting of the suction cups is used to separate the slip sheet and move it towards a pair of nip rollers that complete the removal operation.
There remains a need for better methods of handling slip sheets and there is a particular need for such a slip sheet removal mechanism that performs the removal without any damage to the media emulsion.


Systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for guaranteed quality of service (QoS) in cloud computing environments. A workload related to an immutable log describing a transaction may be received. A determination is made based on the immutable log that a first compute node stores at least one data element to process the transaction. Utilization levels of computing resources of the first compute node may be determined. Utilization levels of links connecting the first compute node to the fabric may be determined. A determination may be made, based on the utilization levels, that processing the workload on the first compute node satisfies one or more QoS parameters specified in a service level agreement (SLA). The workload may be scheduled for processing on the first compute node based on the determination that processing the workload on the first compute node satisfies the one or more QoS parameters specified in the SLA.

Cloud computing services generally provide computing resources to a plurality of different customers. One challenge to cloud computing providers is the ability to ensure that Quality of Service (QoS) offered to customers meets guaranteed levels of QoS (e.g., in a service level agreement). Often, the vast amount of data flowing through the cloud computing environment poses significant challenges to delivering QoS.

Guaranteed quality of service in cloud computing environments


An improved lever assembly for uncoupling railroad cars having a coupler that includes a lock lifter. The lever assembly has a handle on one end that is pivotally connected to the railcar and a hook located at the other end of the lever assembly that is connected to the lock lifter. The assembly has levers that slide relative to each other. The levers are held adjacent to each other by enclosures through which the levers slide. The enclosures contain U-shaped glides held stationary relative to the enclosures. Typically made of plastic, the glides provide low friction sliding contact with levers sliding through them. The glides are longitudinally shorter than their containing enclosures providing protection from ultraviolet light.

Uncoupling lever assemblies connected to railcars must be able to rotate the lock lifter of a coupler and also be able to change their length to accommodate movement of the coupler relative to the railcar during travel. Uncoupling levers are typically connected to the railcar with a pivotal connection on the handle, and the opposite end is connected to the lock lifter on the coupler. Rotating the handle causes the lever assembly to rotate and also rotates the lock lifter. Rotating the lock lifter causes the coupler to release so that adjacent cars may be uncoupled. The coupler will move laterally relative to the railcar when the railcar negotiates turns. Couplers may also extend or retract upon impact with other railcars. As the coupler moves relative to the railcar, the distance between the coupler and the mounting location of the handle changes, therefore, the length of the lever assembly must change.
It is important that the levers of the lever assembly remain freely movable relative to each other without binding. When the coupler moves, it does so with great force. Any binding in the lever assembly prevents it from changing its length, which could result in damage to the railcar, damage to the coupler, and/or damage to the lever assembly. Several attempts to produce levers that change their length without binding have been made. Plastic glides have been used that go into enclosures that levers slide through so that individual levers may slide relative to each other without metal-to-metal contact that will likely cause binding. Over time, plastic glides can be degraded by ultraviolet (UV) light. If glides become brittle due to UV light exposure, they may become cracked, fall out of the enclosures, and allow metal-to-metal contact between the levers and enclosures. Glides in the prior art generally depend on external protrusions to retain them in their enclosures. Failure of the external protrusions from UV light degradation will cause the glides to dislodge from their enclosures and allow metal-to-metal contact between the levers and enclosures.


Described are airbag modules for a passenger door having a door bustle, an airbag positioned adjacent the door bustle, and an inflator positioned adjacent the door bustle. As examples, a pneumatic system is coupled to the inflator and the airbag, wherein the pneumatic system includes a slide lock that is configured to couple a girt bar of an escape slide to a passenger door sill when the inflator is activated. As additional examples, a valve is coupled to an inlet of the airbag, wherein the valve is configured to prevent the pressurized gas from flowing from the inflator to the airbag when the valve is closed and is configured to allow the pressurized gas to flow from the inflator to the airbag when the valve is open.

In various modes of transportation, passenger seats may be placed behind a structure. During a minor crash landing, a passenger may be thrown forward so that the passenger's head and/or body strikes these structures due to inertial loads from the event. Typically, these structures are rigid in nature, so as not to provide any energy absorbing or deflecting features. As a result, passengers may experience head injuries due to impact with these conventional structural designs.
As a particular example, passenger seats may be positioned adjacent a passenger door where an escape slide is mounted to an interior surface of the passenger door. The escape slide is typically enclosed with a door bustle, wherein the door bustle is usually formed of a material that is rigid in nature. Because the door bustle extends into the interior of the cabin in the space forward of a passenger seat positioned adjacent the passenger door when the passenger door is closed, a passenger seated in that seat may impact the door bustle in the event of a crash and may experience head injuries or other injuries as a result.
Thus, it may be desirable to provide structures with airbag modules within a potential strike zone on a door bustle to provide a surface with energy absorbing features so as to reduce the severity of potential head injuries that passengers may experience during a minor crash.


An adsorption filter includes at least one thin plate honeycomb filtering medium carrying a gas-adsorbing medium thereon and a filter case housing the honeycomb filtering medium therein. The thin plate honeycomb filtering medium is disposed in the filter case in such a manner as to make a series of V configurations with respect to a ventilation direction.

In the leading-edge industries of semiconductor manufacturing/liquid crystal manufacturing, and the like, it is important to control the contamination of the air or the product surface in a clean room in order to ensure the yield, quality, and reliability of a product. In particular, in the semiconductor industry field, control of an ionic gaseous contaminant becomes indispensable in addition to the control of a particulate contaminant using a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter, a ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filter or the like, with an increase in integration degree of products. For example, amines are contained in an amount of several tens parts per billion in an atmosphere, and enter the clean room upon intake of an outside air. Further, it is known that basic gaseous contaminants such as amines are also generated from the construction materials of a clean room or the chemicals for processing.
When these basic gaseous contaminants are present in an amount of 10 to 20 ppb in a clean room, the defective shape of a photoresistance is caused (T-top phenomenon). Further, they react with an acidic gas, thereby to form a salt, so that fogging is caused on the surface of an optical component of a processing device or a silicon wafer. For this reason, an adsorption filter carrying an acidic substance as a reactive material for absorbing a gas is used to remove basic gaseous contaminants such as amines.
On the other hand, when acidic gaseous contaminants are present in a clean room, they corrode the glass fiber of a dust collecting filter, thereby to promote the generation of boron, and to bring about a metal corrosion of IC or the like. In order to take measures against such acidic gaseous contaminants, an adsorption filter carrying a basic substance as a reactive material for absorbing a gas is used to remove the acidic gaseous contaminants.
The adsorption filter may be used in such a manner as to be set in a clean booth or a ceiling-mounted FFU (Filter Fan Unit), or in such a manner as to be set in a semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus. In such a case, the reduction in thickness of the adsorption filter has proceeded with downsizing of an air conditioning unit.
Alternatively, the adsorption filter may be set in a return duct in a clean room, and at an outside air inlet. In this case, the adsorption filter is required to be housed in a predetermined space. On the other hand, at the return duct in the clean room, and at the outside air inlet, it is required to treat a large quantity of air containing impurities. This inevitably results in a high wind velocity in the duct. Accordingly, a small thickness filter provides a short contact time (residence time) with the air to be treated, so that a sufficient removing performance cannot be obtained. When the filter thickness is increased in order to increase the residence time, the pressure loss increases. This unfavorably causes problems of necessitating an increased capacity of an air blower, an increased blowing energy, and the like. Accordingly, there are demands for the reduction in area occupied by the filter, and the reduction in pressure loss of the air conditioning equipment system.
Therefore, as the method for satisfying the requirements for the adsorption filter for use in the return duct in the clean room, and at the outside air inlet, there is a method in which the filter surface area is increased relative to the duct opening area, thereby to increase the residence time. Specifically, there are a method in which several sheets of filters are housed in a casing, and disposed to make a plurality of V configurations (see Patent Document 1), and a method using a pleated type filter (see Patent documents 2 and 3), which are adaptable to high wind velocity (wind velocity 1 m/s to 3 m/s).
Patent Document 1: JP 9-220426 A
Patent Document 2: JP 9-239223 A
Patent Document 3: JP 7-289828 A
Incidentally, when filters are of a cassette type filled with particulate activated carbon, and disposed in a V shape, according to a conventional technique, a plurality of small thickness filters are manufactured, and the filters are respectively framed, and then housed in a casing, and disposed to make a plurality of V configurations. In this case, there are the following problems: the powder falling amount and the generated dust amount are large, resulting in a contamination in a clean room; the weight is very large because an activated carbon is filled therein; framing of the filter is time-consuming; the total weight has been increased by the weight of the cassette frame; and other problems.
On the other hand, in the pleated structure, the filter medium is a felt-like or nonwoven fabric-like one. A corrugated spacer for shape keeping, or a hard porous material such as a web made of a metal or made of a hard plastic or a punching metal is generally used therefor, which causes an increase in pressure loss. Further, there is also another problem as follows: an air does not flow through the crest and valley portions of the folds, so that the filter is not consumed uniformly (see Patent Document 3). Still further, the joint portion between the spacer for shape keeping and the filter medium is required to be welded by an adhesive. Furthermore, assembling is not easy, so that the corrugated spacer and the hard porous material become industrial wastes upon disposal (see Patent Document 2).

Adsorption filter and manufacturing method thereof


Disclosed is a system that periodically increases the supply voltage applied to a power rail of an integrated circuit chip that is incorporated into a product, thereby compensating for age-dependent changes in a performance parameter sensitivity (e.g., in a delay sensitivity). In this system, the chip comprises at least a memory, an age monitor, a voltage selector and a power rail. The memory stores an age/voltage table. The age monitor automatically measures the age of the chip. Based on the age and using the age/voltage table, the voltage selector selects a specific supply voltage and outputs a voltage selection signal to an adjustable voltage regulator, which can apply (e.g., automatically or on-demand) that specific supply voltage to the power rail. Also disclosed is a method for regulating the power supplied to an integrated circuit chip, which is incorporated into a product, and a method for generating an age/voltage table.

The present disclosure relates to the effects of aging on the performance of integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a system and method for managing circuit performance and power consumption to compensate for the effects of aging by selectively adjusting supply voltage over time.
More particularly, during the design of an integrated circuit, a voltage-frequency curve is generated to describe the minimum supply voltage required to operate the integrated circuit at a specific frequency. Typically, this voltage-frequency curve includes a voltage margin to account for the effects of aging. That is, various failure mechanisms including, but are not limited to, time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), hot carrier injection (HCI), negative bias temperature instability (NBTI), positive bias temperature instability (PBTI), and electromigration (EM), cause the components (e.g., devices, interconnects, etc.) of an integrated circuit to degrade over time, thereby reducing their speed. Thus, a voltage-frequency curve that is associated with the beginning of life (BOL) of the integrated circuit will be different than a voltage-frequency curve that is associated with the end of life (EOL) of the same integrated circuit and, specifically, the minimum supply voltage required to operate the integrated circuit at a specific frequency will be lower at the beginning of life (BOL) of the integrated circuit as compared to at the end of life (EOL) of that same integrated circuit. Consequently, a "voltage margin" is typically used to ensure that, when the integrated circuit is incorporated into a system, it will operate at or above the specific frequency without fail throughout its expected lifetime. However, due to this voltage margin, the components of the integrated circuit will operate faster than necessary within the system at the beginning of life (BOL) and will, thereby consume more power than is necessary.

System and method for managing circuit performance and power consumption by selectively adjusting supply voltage over time


A pliable seat cover having an elastic strap positioned along the hem of the seat cover to maintain the selective positioning thereof. The cover is comprised of a flexible sheet fabricated of a chemically resistive material having waterproof and soil proof capabilities for protecting the seat top and sides. The seat cover is designed to protect the seat during application of detergents and cleaners and keep the seat dry during inclement weather.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seatcovers and, more specifically, to a pliable seat cover having a fastening means for attachment to a motorcycle seat. The fastening means can be comprised of an adhesive with a cover sheet wherein the backing paper is remove and the cover applied to the seat, which is selective disposable. The present invention also provides for an elastic strap positioned along the hem of the seat cover to maintain the selective positioning thereof. Furthermore, the present invention provides for an adhesive member posited on the hem as the fastening means. In addition the fastening member can be a drawstring positioned within the seat hem. The cover is comprised of a flexible sheet fabricated of a chemically resistive material having waterproof and soil proof capabilities for protecting the seat top and sides. The seat cover is designed to protect the seat during application of detergents and cleaners and keep the seat dry during inclement weather.
When detailing a motorcycle, water and cleaning fluids frequently permeate the seat and soak the foam padding and could corrode the metal seat frame. The foam padding takes time to dry and if the rider desires to ride within a short period of time thereafter, his or her clothing could wick the moisture away from the damp seat and cause discomfort. Use of the present invention during detailing will protect the seat and frame and prevent the seat from absorbing moisture.
Furthermore, many motorcycles include an option for a heated seat and use of the seat cover of the present invention will also protect the heating elements in such situations, as well as electronic components under the seat.
In addition, there is a rider safety feature, when using the present invention that could prevent power failure. Most motorcycles have electric circuits, electronic components and power supply mounted under the seat. If water were to cause an electrical short circuit while the cycle is in motion, a power failure could occur. This failure could compromise the safety of the motorcyclist and passenger.
The seat cover of the present invention is available in a plurality of shapes and sizes to suit any available model motorcycle seat in order to afford a secure fit when applied to the seat.
The present invention also provides for additional elements wherein the present invention can incorporate a drawstring for cinching the seat cover to the motorcycle seat.
The present invention also provides for additional elements wherein the cover of the present invention can incorporate a self sticking adhesive backing for securing the seat cover to the seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other covers designed for protecting seats. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 536,538 issued to McIntire on Mar. 26, 1895.
Another patent was issued to Owen et al on Apr. 12, 1932 as U.S. Pat. No. 1,853,742. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,746 was issued to Peters on Nov. 3, 1970 and still yet another was issued on Sep. 17, 1974 to Hu as U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,196.
Another patent was issued to Pearson, Sr. on Oct. 16, 1979 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,145. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,084 was issued to Gallagher on Aug. 11, 1981. Another was issued to Tsuge on Mar. 16, 1982 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,781 and still yet another was issued on Jan. 14, 1992 to Frazier as U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,431.
Another patent was issued to Burkhart on Feb. 6, 1996 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,981. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,770 was issued to Rubin on Jan. 11, 2000. Another was issued to Greger et al. on Jul. 3, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,977 and another was issued on Feb. 11, 2003 to Henry as U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,844. Still yet another patent application was published on Oct. 23, 2003 as International Publication Number WO 03/086846 for Tillyer et al.


The present disclosure provides antibody sequences found in antibodies that bind to human CD38. In particular, the present disclosure provides sequences of anti-human CD38 antibodies. Antibodies and antigen-binding portions thereof including such sequences present features compatible with pharmaceutical manufacturing and development can be provided as fully human antibodies (e.g., fully human monoclonal antibodies or antigen-binding fragments) that can be useful for medical methods and compositions, in particular for treating cancer.

CD38 is a type II membrane receptor glycoprotein having enzymatic activities, in particular as an important ADP-ribosyl cyclase that produces cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (cADPR) from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Different extracellular stimuli can induce cADPR production. cADPR is important to the mobilization of intracellular calcium stock that is involved in many cell functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and signal transduction. CD38 was initially identified as a leukocyte activation marker but plays dual roles as receptor and ectoenzyme, endowed with cell signalling and cell homeostasis activities. CD38 has been linked to various human diseases, including malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, myeloma and ovarian carcinoma (Quarona V, et al., 2013; Wei W, et al., 2014).
CD38 is found on the surface of many cell types that are involved in immunological responses (in short referred to as immune cells), including effector cells such as T and B lymphocytes and NK cells, but also immune suppressive cells such as regulatory T and B cells, myeloid derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) or tumour associated macrophages (Chevrier S et al. 2017). For instance, in lung cancer patients, anti-PD-1 treatment induced proliferation of PD-1 expressing T cells that expressed high levels of CD38 (Kamphorst AO et al., 2017). The importance of cADPR- and CD38-mediated Ca2+ signalling for biological activity of immune cells, in particular for the modulation of the immune response in physiological and pathological conditions, has been described in the literature (Morandi F et al., 2015; Rah SY et al., 2015).
CD38 is highly expressed by cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients at all stages of disease and in CLL patients with a poor prognosis. Various CD38-targeting therapies are developed by generating compounds that act mainly as CD38 antagonists or inhibitors (de Weers M et al., 2011; van de Donk N W et al., 2016; Horenstein AL et al., 2017). Anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies acting as CD38 agonists (such as the one named 1B4) have also been characterized as inducing the mobilization of calcium ions, CD38 shedding, NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity, cytokine secretion (in particular Interleukin 6 and Interferon gamma), and proliferation of human T lymphocytes, among other activities, and were modified to generate immunotoxins (Malavasi F et al., 2008; Hara-Yokoyama M et al., 2008; Frasca L et al, 2006; Karakasheva T et al., 2015). Such a positive effect on immune cells may be related to induction of Ca2+mobilization, inhibition of CD38 enzymatic activity, and/or activation of intra-cellular signaling pathways.
Monoclonal antibodies were developed for targeted, direct killing of CD38-expressing tumor cells and have shown promising results in the clinic. However, the activity of such anti-CD38 antibodies may be restricted to tumors in which CD38 is highly expressed on the surface of cancer cells. In solid tumors, the expression of CD38 is generally lower or absent on the tumor cells and may be associated with tumor infiltrating immune cells, both effector and suppressive. Therefore, there is still a need for anti-CD38 antibodies presenting activities that result from the combination of different components, such as CD38-specific agonistic or modulating properties together with targeted cell killing or activation, and compatibility with pharmaceutical development, and that can be exploited for treating cancer, in particular for treating solid cancers.


A power supply system has a power storage device and an ECU, and supplies driving electric power to a load device. The power storage device includes an interrupting device configured to interrupt a conduction path of the power storage device. The load device includes a voltage sensor for detecting a voltage applied to the load device, and supply of electric power from the load device to the power storage device is stopped in response to a failure of the voltage sensor. Where the voltage sensor has failed, the ECU determines presence or absence of activation of the interrupting device, based on a variation length of an actual current that is input to or output from the power storage device and a variation length of a command current set in accordance with requested electric power requested based on a user's operation.

In recent years, a vehicle that incorporates a power storage device (for example, a secondary battery, a capacitor, etc.) and runs with driving force generated from electric power stored in the power storage device is attracting attention as an environmentally friendly vehicle. Examples of such vehicles include an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel-cell vehicle, etc.
Such a power storage device is generally configured to output a desired voltage by stacking a plurality of battery cells in series or in parallel. If a malfunction such as a disconnection or a short circuit occurs in these battery cells, the power storage device may not function properly. It is therefore necessary to detect a malfunction in the battery cells.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2009-189209 (PTL 1) discloses a power supply apparatus for a vehicle wherein a connecting portion provided between a power storage device and an electric load is brought into a connected state in response to a vehicle start-up instruction, and the presence or absence of a disconnection in a path for supplying operating current from the power storage device to the electric load is diagnosed based on an output from a current sensor obtained when electric power is consumed by the electric load.

Power supply system, vehicle incorporating the same and method for controlling power supply system


A method and apparatus to provision a network node such as a network appliance is described.

A network typically comprises a plurality of network nodes connected together by a communications medium. A network node may comprise, for example, a switch, router, personal computer, server, network appliance or any other network device. Each time a network node is connected to a network, the network node may need to be configured with some network information, such as a network address, control codes and so forth. This is typically performed using an input device attached to the network node, such as a keyboard, a keypad, a touch pad, a touch screen, a pointing device and so forth.
Conventional input devices for use with a network node, however, may be unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. For example, in many instances the network nodes may be located within a relatively confined area, such as a vertical storage rack. This minimizes the amount of available space for use of conventional input devices. Further, some conventional input devices may require a user to enter a significant amount of information to configure each network node. This may occur, for example, whenever the input device uses a limited number of physical keys and a hierarchical menu structure. The user may have to traverse many levels of the menu structure to enter the desired network information. This may be tedious and time-consuming work, particularly if a relatively large number of network nodes require such configuration.

Method and apparatus to provision a network appliance


A facility for the recycling of biomaterial with a fermentation stage, whereby the fermentation stage has a fermentation chamber for the production of biogas through anaerobic fermentation of the biomaterial, and with a hygiene stage that is positioned downstream from the fermentation stage, whereby the hygiene stage has a hygienization chamber for the reception and the thermal hygienization of biomaterial discharged from the fermentation stage. A process for the recycling of biomaterial by zymosis is also provided, whereby biogas is produced in a fermentation stage through anaerobic fermentation of the biomaterial, whereby the biomaterial is, after flowing through the fermentation stage, conveyed to a hygiene stage in which the biomaterial thermal is hygienized, and whereby the biomaterial is, after flowing through the hygiene stage, made available as recyclable agricultural, hygienized fermentation residue.

DE 195 16 378 A1 describes a process for the fermentation of organic residual materials with a thermophilic biogas reactor. Since the thermophilic fermentation of highly nitrogenous wastes is extremely difficult, dilution water and/or dilution substrate, which entail high technical and procedural expenditures, are accordingly generally used.
A process for the processing of biological wastes, in which biological wastes are shredded, mixed and, after the sieving out of impurities, subjected to hydrolysis, along with water in the form of a suspension, whereby a hygienization of the biological wastes is carried out after hydrolysis and before fermentation, is known from DE 197 11 355 A1. Furthermore, in accordance with DE 197 11 355 A1, a fermentation sludge remaining after the fermentation is dewatered and conveyed to composting. During composting, however, the lack of carbon and structural material, in particular, can lead to difficulties.
The disadvantages of the known process may, for example, be the relatively high expense for equipment or technical and procedural expenditures, as the case may be, as well as the relatively low level of recycling that is achieved during the processing of the biomaterial.

Facility and process for the recycling of biomaterial


A refrigerator utilizes in some instances an icemaker having a tandem arrangement of storage bins. A first storage bin receives ice produced by an icemaker and includes a reversible ice mover that when operated in a first direction feeds an ice dispenser, and when operated in a second direction feeds a second storage bin disposed below the first storage bin. A refrigerator may also in another aspect include an externally-accessible ice dispenser having a dispenser recess portion that is removable from the refrigerator when the doors of the refrigerator are closed, e.g., for the purpose of accessing an ice storage bin.

Residential refrigerators generally include both fresh food compartments and freezer compartments, with the former maintained at a temperature above freezing to store fresh foods and liquids, and the latter maintained at a temperature below freezing for longer-term storage of frozen foods. For many years, most refrigerators have fallen in to one of two categories. Top mount refrigerators, for example, include a freezer compartment near the top of the refrigerator, either accessible via a separate external door from the external door for the fresh food compartment, or accessible via an internal door within the fresh food compartment. Side-by-side refrigerators, on the other hand, orient the freezer and fresh food compartments next to one another and extending generally along most of the height of the refrigerator.
Door-mounted ice dispensers (which are often combined with water dispensers) are common convenience features on many of these residential refrigerators. Incorporating these features into top mount and side-by-side refrigerators has generally been straightforward because it is generally possible to mount such dispensers on the external door for the freezer compartment at a convenient height for a user, as well as at a location suitable for receiving ice produced by an ice maker mounted in the freezer compartment.
More recently, however, various types of bottom mount refrigerator designs have become more popular with consumers. Bottom mount refrigerators orient the freezer compartment below the fresh food compartment and near the bottom of the refrigerator. For most people, the fresh food compartment is accessed more frequently than the freezer compartment, so many of the items that a user accesses on a daily basis are accessible at a convenient height for the user. Some bottom mount refrigerators include a single door for each of the fresh food and freezer compartments, while other designs commonly referred to as "French door" refrigerators include a pair of side-by-side doors for the fresh food compartment. Some designs may also utilize sliding doors instead of hinged doors for the freezer compartment, and in some designs, multiple doors may be used for the freezer compartment.
Placing the freezer compartment at the bottom of a refrigerator, however, complicates the design of door-mounted ice dispensers, since every freezer compartment door is generally located too low for a door-mounted ice dispenser, and since placement of an ice dispenser on a fresh food compartment door orients the ice dispenser opposite the above-freezing fresh food compartment. Most ice dispensers rely at least in part on gravity to convey ice from an ice maker mold to a storage receptacle and/or to convey ice from the storage receptacle to an exit chute for the ice dispenser, so it is generally desirable to orient the ice maker at a higher elevation than the ice dispenser.
Moreover, while bottom mount refrigerators generally provide a relatively large fresh food compartment that extends the full width of the refrigerator, access to some food items maintained by shelves and/or bins may be difficult, particularly when many food items are stored in the refrigerator.
Accordingly, a need continues to exist in the art for an improved manner of providing externally-accessible ice dispensing, particularly within a bottom mount refrigerator, as well as of providing convenient access to food items stored in a refrigerator.

Refrigerator icemaking system with tandem storage bins and/or removable dispenser recess


A wafer carrier/susceptor combination for use in an epitaxial deposition process has a configuration which provides greater thermal conductivity between the susceptor and the wafer carrier in regions substantially underlying the wafers than in regions not underlying the wafers. This difference in thermal conductivity is produced by configuring the wafer carrier or susceptor so that the lower surface of the wafer carrier is disposed closer to the susceptor in regions substantially underlying the wafers than in at least some regions not underlying the wafers. By controlling the thermal conductivity so that it is greater in certain regions than in other regions, the temperature difference between the wafers and the surface of the wafer carrier can be reduced, and a more uniform temperature distribution across the surface of the wafer can be achieved. As a result, the combination may be used to deposit a more uniform coating across the entire surface of each wafer.

Although various industries are extant which employ processes for forming a thin layer or film on a solid substrate, one significant industry in which such processes are widely employed is the production of semiconductor devices. In such production processes, heated substrates, such as planar silicon or gallium arsenide wafers or other suitable such materials, are exposed to gases which react to deposit the desired materials on the surface of the wafer. In typical processes of this nature, the deposited materials form epitaxial films which replicate the crystal lattice structure of the underlying wafer.
These coated wafers are then subjected to well known further processes to form semiconductor devices such as lasers, transistors, etc. For example, in the production of integrated circuits, the layers deposited on the wafer form the active elements of microscopic transistors and other semiconductor devices included in the integrated circuit. The thickness, composition and quality of the deposited layers determine the characteristics of the resulting semiconductor devices. Accordingly, the deposition process must be capable of depositing films of uniform composition and thickness on the front face of each wafer. The requirements for uniformity have become progressively more stringent with the use of larger wafers and with the use of apparatus which deposits coatings on several wafers simultaneously.
In a typical prior art deposition apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, a wafer 10 is mounted in a wafer carrier 12 which, in turn, is mounted on a susceptor 14. The susceptor 14 may be mounted in a rotating support spindle 16. The susceptor 14, the wafer carrier 12 and the wafer 10 typically are located in an enclosed process reactor 18. A heating assembly 20 symmetrically arranged below susceptor 14 heats the susceptor, which thus results in the heating of wafer carrier 12 and wafer 10 mounted thereon. The use of rotating spindle 16 is intended to enhance the temperature uniformity across the deposition area, as well as the uniformity of the source material gases or vapors flowing over the deposition area.
Conventional wafer carriers, such as wafer carrier 12 shown in FIG. 2, include multiple cylindrical pockets 22 on their upper surface for holding the wafers in place as the wafer carrier is rotated during the deposition process. Typically, the pockets have a diameter which is about 0.020 inches bigger than the diameter of the wafer and a depth which is about 0.002 inches deeper than the thickness of the wafer. These wafer carriers ordinarily also include an annular flange 24 which is used for lifting and transporting the wafer carrier into and out from the reaction chamber. On their bottom surface, the wafer carriers may include an annular wall 26 for locating and holding the wafer carrier concentrically on the susceptor as the assembly is rotated during the deposition process, and for creating a gap 28 between the upper surface of the susceptor and the lower surface of the wafer carrier, which gap eliminates localized heating of the wafer carrier resulting from points of contact between the wafer carrier and the susceptor, and thus enhances the uniform transfer of heat from the susceptor to the wafer carrier.
In deposition processes using conventional wafer carriers, the surface temperature of the wafers is usually cooler than the surface temperature of the wafer carrier as a result of the thermal resistance created by the interface between the wafers and the wafer carrier and the different emissivities of the materials from which the wafer carrier and the wafer are made. Having the surface of the wafer cooler than the surface of the wafer carrier causes drawbacks which diminish the quality of the resultant semiconductor devices. Firstly, during the deposition process, source materials are deposited not only on the exposed surface of the wafers, but also on the exposed surface of the wafer carrier. During subsequent deposition cycles, the higher temperature of the wafer carrier surface can cause the deposited materials to be reevaporated from the wafer carrier surface, resulting in contamination of the materials being deposited on the wafers. Furthermore, the higher temperature of the wafer carrier surface results in a nonuniform temperature on the surface of the wafers, particularly along their outer periphery, such that the layer deposited along this portion of the wafers ordinarily is of poor quality and must be discarded.
There therefore exists a need for a system which will achieve a smaller difference in temperature between the wafers and the wafer carrier surface, as well as a more uniform temperature distribution across the surface of the wafers, such that a more uniform coating can be deposited across the entire surface of each wafer. More particularly, there exists the need for a wafer carrier which will promote the uniform heating of the wafers carried thereon.

Wafer carriers for epitaxial growth processes


A driving method of an active matrix LCD is provided. According to this method, a scan signal has three voltage levels, i.e., an ON voltage Vg, an OFF voltage Voff and a compensation voltage Ve having the opposite polarity with respect to the OFF voltage Voff. In contrast with the conventional capacitively coupled driving method in which the scan signal consists of four voltages, the driving method of this invention can reduce a cost and power consumption for a driver IC without degradation due to flickers or other causes. The method for adjusting the brightness of the LCD accompanying this driving method as well as the method for optimizing design parameters of the compensation voltage Ve and a thin film transistor of the LCD are also described.

This invention relates to a method for driving an active matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a structure of the LCD suited for the method.
An active matrix LCD using TFT (Thin Film Transistors) can obtain a better quality image than a simple matrix LCD. FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of an LCD panel of an active matrix LCD system. This LCD panel comprises a scan line (i.e., gate bus) 1, TFT 2, an image signal line (i.e., data bus) 3 and a pixel electrode 4. The scan line 2 connects to a gate 2g of the TFT 2, and the image signal line 3 connects to a source (or drain) of the TFT 2. A drain (or source) connects to the pixel electrode 4 made of a transparent conductive film. These elements are arranged in a matrix on an array side substrate 6 by forming and etching films.
The LCD panel also comprises a counter electrode 7 that is a transparent conductive film formed on a counter side substrate 8. A color LCD panel further comprises color filters disposed on the counter side substrate 8 corresponding to each pixel. Voltage applied to a liquid crystal layer of each pixel via the TFT is varied according to the image signal. Thus, transparency of liquid crystal at each pixel changes so that an image is displayed in the LCD panel as a whole.
FIG. 8 shows an equivalent circuit of an active matrix LCD panel. An image signal is applied to image signal lines A1, A2, . . . An. A scan signal (i.e., gate signal) is applied to one of scan lines B1, B2, . . . Bm. Each intersection of these lines (m.times.n points) is provided with a TFT Q11, Q12, . . . Q1m, Q21, Q22, . . . Q2m, . . . Qn1, Qn2, . . . or Qnm. A gate of each TFT is connected to the scan line B1, B2, . . . and Bm. A source (or drain) of each TFT is connected to the image signal line. A drain (or source) of each TFT is connected to a pixel electrode that faces a counter electrode T holding a liquid crystal layer between the two electrodes.
A drive pulse, i.e., scan signal .PHI.1, .PHI.2, . . . .PHI.m is applied to a corresponding scan line B1, B2, . . . Bm, respectively. Each scan signal turns on the TFTs connected to the scan line to which the scan signal is applied. Image signals are then supplied to the image signal lines A1, A2, . . . An and are written into pixel electrodes via the TFTs that are turned on. The written state of each pixel is held until the next field when a new scan signal is applied. In this manner, every pixel is driven so that the entire LCD panel displays an image.
One method of driving such an LCD panel is written in Japanese Tokukaihei 2-157815. FIG. 9 shows waveforms of drive signals using this method (hereinafter called capacitively coupled driving method). A scan signal .PHI.k consists of four voltage levels, i.e., Vg for turning on the TFT, Voff for turning off the TFT, and compensation voltages Ve(+) and Ve(-). The compensation voltages Ve(+) and Ve(-) are applied alternately to scan lines (or lines for auxiliary capacitors). A relationship between an image signal voltage Vs and a liquid crystal voltage Vlc applied to a pixel is given by following two equations: EQU Vlc(+)=-Cgd.times.Vg/Ct+Vs(+)+Cs/Ct.times.Ve(-) (1) EQU Vlc(-)=Cgd.times.Vg/Ct-Vs(-)-Cs/Ct.times.Ve(+) (2)
where positive levels with respect to the counter electrode potential are represented by Vlc(+) and Vs(+), and negative levels with respect to the counter electrode potential are represented by Vlc(-) and Vs(-).
The liquid crystal voltage Vlc and the image signal voltage Vs alternate field by field. Cgd is a gate-drain capacitance of the TFT, Cs is an auxiliary capacitance provided to add capacitance to a liquid crystal capacitance Clc of each pixel, and Ct is a total capacitance of Cs, Clc and Cgd.
It is necessary to equalize voltages applied to the liquid crystal in every field. Therefore, supposing Vlc(+)=Vlc(-) and Vs(+)=Vs(-), the equation below is derived from the above two equations (1) and (2): EQU Ve(+)+Ve(-)=2.times.Cgd.times.Vg/Cs (3)
This equation means that a good image display without a flicker or an image sticking effect can be obtained by adjusting a center level of two compensation voltages Ve(+) and Ve(-) to Cgd.times.Vg/Cs (Proceeding 9th International Display Research Conference, 580-583 pp).
A bias voltage Vbias of the image signal voltage Vs is given by the following equation: EQU Vbias=(Cs/Ct).times.(Ve(+)+Ve(-))/2 (4)
Then, a signal level for an image signal IC can be minimized by setting a bias voltage Vbias in each field according to the following equation: EQU Vbias=(Cmax+Vth)/2 (5)
where Vth is a threshold voltage of the liquid crystal, and Vmax is a maximum drive voltage of the liquid crystal. In general, Ve(+) and Ve(-) are determined to satisfy above equations (3) and (4). As an example, supposing that Vs=Vc=12.5 volt, Voff=0 volt, Ve(+) and Ve(-) are adjustable to minimize a flicker, Clc=0.3 pF, Cgd=0.03 pF, Vmax=5 volt, and Vth=1 volt, then Ve(-) is -8.3 volt and Ve(+) is 4.3 volt.
The conventional capacitively coupled driving method mentioned above is easy to equalize an average level of the counter voltage applied to the counter electrode and an average level of the image signal voltage. Therefore, this conventional driving method has the advantage of obtaining a high quality display with little image sticking effect by optimizing two compensation voltages Ve(-) and Ve(+).
However, this method also has one major disadvantage in that the scan signal consists of four voltages, each requiring its own voltage sources to be supplied to a driver IC of scan lines. An increase in chip size results in increased cost and power consumption.

Method for driving active matrix LCD using only three voltage levels

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A fuel delivery system is provided including one or more pump assemblies and one or more controllers configured to control the one or more pump assemblies. The fuel delivery system may conserve energy by selectively activating the one or more pump assemblies and the one or more controllers.

In a fuel delivery system, a submersible turbine pump (STP) assembly pumps fuel from a storage tank to a dispenser for vehicle fueling. For large capacity systems, multiple pumps are used to provide sufficient flow rates when many fueling points are simultaneously active. For example, two or more STP's are connected through a manifold to supply adequate flow and pressure to multiple vehicles simultaneously. In these large capacity systems, multiple controllers are sometimes used to control the multiple pumps.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a fuel delivery system is provided for delivering fuel from a fuel source to at least one dispenser through a piping system. The fuel delivery system includes a first pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser. The fuel delivery system includes a second pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser. The fuel delivery system further includes a primary controller configured to control operation of the first pump. The primary controller monitors a fuel demand level for fuel delivered to the at least one dispenser. The fuel delivery system further includes a secondary controller configured to control operation of the second pump. The secondary controller is activated when the fuel demand level exceeds a first threshold level. The secondary controller is deactivated when the fuel demand level decreases below a second threshold level.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of conserving energy in a fuel delivery system which delivers fuel from a fuel source to at least one dispenser through a piping system is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a first pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser, providing a second pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser, and controlling the first pump with a primary controller to deliver fuel to the at least one fuel dispenser. The method further includes the steps of monitoring a fuel demand level for fuel delivered to the at least one dispenser and activating a secondary controller to control operation of the second pump when the fuel demand level exceeds a first threshold level. The method further includes the step of deactivating a secondary controller when the fuel demand level decreases below a second threshold level.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a fuel delivery system is provided for delivering fuel from a fuel source to at least one dispenser through a piping system. Each dispenser includes a switch to actuate the dispenser. The fuel delivery system comprises a variable speed pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser. The fuel delivery system comprises a fluid flow detector configured to detect fluid flow from the variable speed pump to the at least one dispenser through the piping system. The fuel delivery system further comprises a controller in communication with the variable speed pump and configured to control operation of the variable speed pump. The controller is configured to activate the variable speed pump at an initial pump speed upon receipt of an actuation signal from a switch of at least one dispenser. The controller is configured to increase the speed of the variable speed pump in response to a signal from the fluid flow detector upon detection of fluid flow.
In still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of conserving energy in a fuel delivery system which delivers fuel from a fuel source to at least one dispenser through a piping system is provided. Each dispenser includes a switch to actuate the dispenser. The method comprises the steps of providing a variable speed pump coupled to the piping system to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser, providing a controller in communication with the variable speed pump and configured to control operation of the variable speed pump, and receiving an actuation signal from a switch of the at least one fuel dispenser with the controller. The method further comprises operating the variable speed pump with the controller at a first speed in response to the actuation signal from the switch and detecting when fluid flow begins between the variable speed pump and the at least one fuel dispenser through the piping system. The method further comprises operating the variable speed pump at a second speed greater than the first speed upon detecting fluid flow in the detecting step.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a fuel delivery system is provided for delivering fuel from a fuel source to at least one dispenser through a piping system. The fuel delivery system comprises a pump to provide fuel from the fuel source to the at least one dispenser. The fuel delivery system further comprises a manifold coupled to the piping system and the pump. The manifold includes a fluid path to permit fuel to flow from the pump through the piping system to the at least one dispenser. The manifold also includes an air collection chamber located above the fluid path to collect air from the fluid path. The fuel delivery system further includes a bypass in fluid communication with the collection chamber of the manifold. The bypass is configured to open upon activation of the pump to remove air from the collection chamber.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

Apparatus and methods for conserving energy in fueling applications


A cooling device cools a charging station or a multiplicity of charging stations of a charging park. The respective charging station has an internal coolant duct for a coolant to flow through the charging station, an input-side coolant connection, an output-side coolant connection, a coolant circuit with a cooling assembly for cooling the coolant, and a pump for pumping the coolant in the coolant circuit. The coolant duct of the respective charging station is integrated into the coolant circuit. A heat accumulator or a multiplicity of heat accumulators is integrated into the coolant circuit.

Charging stations are used to charge electrical energy accumulators, in particular of motor vehicles. A charging park constitutes a collection of a multiplicity of charging stations which is provided, for example, at a car park or a multistory car park, in order also to be able to charge a multiplicity of motor vehicles at the same time.
Contemporary electric vehicles generally permit two charging modes for charging the electrical energy accumulator. A first charging mode is referred to as an AC charging mode.
For charging at a conventional AC voltage socket or three-phase socket the motor vehicle generally has an integrated charger device, referred to as an on-board charger device, which permits the conversion of AC current into DC current and controls the charging operation. However, this AC charging mode is severely restricted in terms of the charging speed owing to the available connection power of generally not more than 16 A or 32 A at approximately 230 V or approximately 400 V and owing to the installed charger device with sufficient power. This results in contemporary electric vehicles in charging times of up to several hours per 100 km distance traveled.
In order to improve these low charging speeds, what is referred to as DC charging with direct voltage is often also possible. In contrast to AC charging, the vehicle does not generally have a separate charger device for DC charging. Instead, the vehicle-external charging pillar carries out the charging process and likewise shapes the voltage and the current in such a way as is necessary for the charging of the battery. During the charging process, the DC charging lines are connected directly to the poles of the high voltage battery of the vehicle. There is no galvanic separation between the DC charging lines and the high voltage battery. The power of DC charging stations is currently up to 50 kW, which is also still capable of being increased, in order to shorten the charging times further.
In charging voltages of up to approximately 1000 V, charging speeds of 20 km/min or more can be achieved. Therefore, the recharging during journeys can be provided at rates which customers are accustomed to from refueling vehicles with internal combustion engines. The high power levels of several hundred kilowatts which are associated therewith generate high losses in the power electronics, the cables and further components in the form of heat. This makes cooling necessary in order to protect the components against excessive heat.
However, such charging stations are generally not in use in a chronologically continuous fashion. The next use of the charging station can also only be predicted to a very limited degree, with the result that after use an immediate subsequent use can take place or else there can be a relatively long time of non-use.

Cooling device for a vehicle charging station


A carboxylic acid-modified nitrile copolymer latex is provided. The copolymer latex comprises a carboxylic acid-modified nitrile copolymer of an unsaturated monomer having at least one crosslinkable functional group selected from vinyl and epoxy groups. The use of the copolymer latex enables the production of a molded article that does not undergo long stirring and maturation, causes no allergic reactions due to the absence of sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator, has good oil resistance and high mechanical strength, and produces a soft feeling. Further provided is a latex composition for dip forming comprising the copolymer latex, and an article produced from the latex composition by dip forming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carboxylic acid-modified nitrile copolymer latex (hereinafter also referred to as a 'copolymer latex') for the production of a molded article that does not undergo long stirring and maturation, causes no allergic reactions due to the absence of sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator, has good oil resistance and high mechanical strength, and produces a soft feeling. The present invention also relates to a latex composition for dip forming comprising the copolymer latex, and an article produced from the latex composition by dip forming.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rubber gloves are currently used in a variety of applications, including food, electronic and medical industries, as well as household applications. Most rubber gloves have been produced from natural rubber latexes by dip forming. However, proteins contained in natural rubber cause allergic reactions such as pain and rash in some sensitive users.
Under such circumstances, many efforts have been made to produce gloves from synthetic rubber latexes that cause no allergic reactions. For example, gloves are produced by blending a carboxylic acid-modified nitrile copolymer latex (e.g., an acrylic acid-acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer latex), sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator to prepare a latex composition, and dip forming the latex composition.
However, the latex composition should undergo stirring and maturation for a long time, typically at least 24 hours. This long stirring and maturation results in low productivity of the gloves.
Further, when a wearer of rubber gloves produced from a composition essentially comprising sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator works for a long period of time, he/she may experience allergic reactions such as skin irritation. Further, the sulfur produces an offensive smell, making him/her unpleasant, and the gloves tend to discolor over time, resulting in loss of their commercial value.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-321955 discloses a latex composition for dip forming comprising a conjugated diene rubber latex and an organic peroxide without using sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator, and an article produced from the latex composition by dip forming. The use of the latex composition eliminates the need for long stirring and maturation in the production of the dip-formed article. Further, the dip-formed article undergoes no discoloration even after long-term use. However, a solution of the organic peroxide is harmful to humans and poses a danger of fire or exploration when heat or impact is applied thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,345,111 discloses a glove that is produced using an acrylic emulsion latex and a monomer crosslinkable with the acrylic emulsion latex without the need for long stirring and maturation. The acrylic glove causes no allergic reactions due to the absence of sulfur and a vulcanization accelerator, but it has the problem of high sensitivity to temperature.

Carboxylic acid-modified nitrile copolymer latex and latex composition for dip forming comprising the same


An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is disclosed. In one aspect, the OLED display includes a substrate, a plurality of transistors formed over the substrate and a passivation layer covering the transistors. The OLED display also includes an OLED formed over the passivation layer and including a pixel electrode, an organic emission layer, and a common electrode. The pixel electrode includes a first curved portion that does not overlap the organic emission layer in the depth dimension of the OLED display.

Field
The described technology generally relates to an organic light emitting diode display.
Description of the Related Technology
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes a matrix of OLEDs each configured by a hole injection electrode, an organic emission layer, and an electron injection electrode. An electron and a hole are coupled with each other in the organic emission layer to generate an exciton, and light is emitted by energy generated when the exciton falls from an excited state to a ground state. OLED technology displays a predetermined image by careful control of the emitted light.
One of the hole injection electrode and the electron injection electrode becomes a pixel electrode, and the other electrode becomes a common electrode. The pixel electrode and the organic emission layer are provided for each subpixel (a pixel includes multiple colors subpixels), and the pixel electrode is electrically connected with a thin film transistor of the corresponding subpixel. The common electrode is formed over the display area. The pixel may include a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a blue subpixel, and further include a white subpixel.


A toy car has a body with front and rear wheels, wheel support members with rightward/leftward travel wheels, and an elevating mechanism for lifting up and down the wheel support members in order to set the rightward/leftward travel wheels with respect to the body in positions higher than the front and rear wheels and positions which is lower than the front and rear wheels and in which the rightward/leftward travel wheels are in contact with the ground. When the wheel support members are in lifting-up positions, the front and rear wheels, not the rightward/leftward travel wheels, are in contact with the ground, and the toy car travels forward or backward. When the wheel support members are in lifting-down positions, the rightward/leftward travel wheels, not the front and rear wheels, are in contact with the ground, the toy car travels rightward or leftward.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy car whose traveling direction can be instantly changed between forward, backward and other traveling directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A steerable toy car is known as one whose traveling direction can be changed not only between forward and backward directions but also to another direction such as a lateral direction. In order to change the traveling direction of a toy car of this type, it is necessary to turn the toy car around with angling the front wheels. This entails the problems that a relatively long period of time and a wide space are required to change the traveling direction, and that a rapid change of the traveling direction cannot be performed.


A fuel cell bundle includes a plurality of columnar fuel cell stacks extending in a first direction that are disposed spaced apart so that side surfaces thereof face each other, the fuel cell stacks each having a first gas flow channel along the first direction and also having a plurality of series-connected fuel cells disposed side-by-side in a second direction intersected by the first direction; a connecting member for electrically connecting series-connected fuel cells of a fuel cell stack with series-connected fuel cells of a fuel cell stack adjacent thereto; and a second gas flow channel regulating member for forming a second gas flow channel along the first gas flow channel between itself and the connecting member, the connecting member and the second gas flow channel regulating member being disposed between the adjacent fuel cell stacks.

In recent years, as a next-generation energy source, there has been proposed a fuel cell bundle constructed by electrically connecting, via a connecting member, a plurality of fuel cell stacks together, each of which is composed of a plurality of fuel cells connected to each other.
As such a fuel cell stack, there is known a fuel cell stack composed of a plurality of fuel cells electrically connected to each other via an interconnector. The fuel cell is constructed by placing a fuel electrode, a solid electrolyte, and an air electrode successively in the order named on a side surface of an electrical insulating support. Moreover, there is known a fuel cell bundle composed of a plurality of staggered fuel cell stacks, in which the adjacent fuel cell stacks are electrically connected to each other via a connecting member (refer to Patent Literature 1).

Fuel cell bundle and fuel cell module comprising same


Systems and methods are disclosed for identifying and modeling unresolved vessels, and the effects thereof, in image-based patient-specific hemodynamic models. One method includes: receiving, in an electronic storage medium, one or more patient-specific anatomical models representing at least a vessel of a patient; determining, using a processor, the values and characteristics of one or more patient-specific morphometric features in the one or more patient-specific anatomical models; modifying the patient-specific anatomical model using the determined patient-specific morphometric features; and outputting, one or more of, a modified patient-specific anatomical model or a patient-specific morphometric feature to an electronic storage medium or display.

Patient-specific models of blood flow may require an accurate geometric representation of the vascular network of interest. Current medical imaging data may be used to create a three-dimensional anatomic model with blood vessels ranging in size from 10 mm in diameter and above for the large main arteries, 2-5 mm for the large coronary arteries, 1-3 mm for large branch vessels, and less than a millimeter for small branch vessels. Constrained by limited image resolution and quality, these models may directly represent only the portion of the vascular network that may be observable in the image. The vessels that may be resolved may contain side branches that may be just below the limits of the image resolution and which may not be directly extracted from the data. The inclusion and/or exclusion of these branches and their downstream vascular networks may significantly influence the computed hemodynamic quantities in the observable anatomy. For example, in the coronary arterial tree where bifurcations are largely asymmetrical, arteries with cross-sectional dimensions near the limits of image resolution may be likely to give rise to small unseen side branches. Another possible scenario may be that the main vessel paths may be modeled but one or more side branches may not be included due to low image quality, image resolution, operator neglect, or lack of detection or inclusion by one or more automated image processing algorithms. In either case, the reconstructed geometry may contain long, unbranched vessel segments, which may result in artificial pressure gradients even when the vessels are free of disease. Alternatively or additionally, the unresolved vessels may be collateral vessels that may serve to bypass a region of disease and the modeled pressure loss across the diseased region may be larger than in reality due to a failure to include these vessels. Misinterpretation of these phenomena may potentially trigger a misleading diagnosis.
Therefore, there is a desire for a system and method that may 1) estimate the physical locations and geometric configurations of unresolvable and/or un-modeled vascular systems and 2) enhance the accuracy of patient-specific models of blood flow with information on un-modeled vascular systems to mitigate computational artifacts in the directly modeled regions of interest.

Systems and methods for identifying and modeling unresolved vessels in image-based patient-specific hemodynamic models