A plain bearing which is mounted in an end of a connecting rod consists of a pair of hemi-circular bearing halves of which axial ends are provided with flanges being integrally fixed by welding. The flanges improve the rigidity of the bearing halves. The big end of the connecting rod can have improved rigidity by mounting the bearing halves therein.

The present invention relates to a plain bearing for connecting rods, which is mounted on an end of a connecting rod, more particularly the plain bearing which can enhance rigidity of the connecting rods.
For example, in engines of motor vehicles, a wrapped bush type plain bearing with a small diameter is mounted on the small end of a connecting rod to receive a piston pin, and a hemi-circular plain bearing with a large diameter is mounted on the big end of the connecting rod to receive a crank pin.
Such a connecting rod has been usually made of steel and has high rigidity. On the other hand, recently, in engines of race cars and high-speed/high-power engines of a part of usual cars, connecting rods have been made of a light metal alloy, such as titanium or aluminum, in order to make the engines lighter. However, because the connecting rod made of a light metal alloy has lower rigidity than steel one, it is comparatively flexible, especially at the big end thereof which receives a large diameter plain bearing, whereby the plain bearing, which receives a crank pin, may be damaged.
Specifically, because the connecting rod transforms the reciprocating movement of a piston into the rotational movement of a crankshaft, compression and tensile loads are alternately exerted on the big end of the connecting rod. Thus, the big end 1 is deformed by the alternate dynamic load so as to be elongated and compressed in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod as shown in FIG. 6 in which the deformation of the big end is exaggeratedly shown. When the big end 1 is deformed as shown in FIG. 6, two hemi-circular bearing halves 3 and 4 of a plain bearing 2 for a crank pin are also deformed, whereby the butted ends of the bearing halves 3 and 4 are constricted so as to protrude radially inwardly. This is so called xe2x80x9ca closed in statexe2x80x9d. When the xe2x80x9cclosed in statexe2x80x9d occurs, edges xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d of crush relief sections 3a and 4a, which are provided to the bearing halves 3 and 4 adjacent at the circumferential ends, respectively, butt locally against a crank pin 5, so that a seizure occurs and/or the bearing halves 3 and 4 move relatively to the big end 1 with a slight amplitude bringing about a fretting phenomenon therebetween or occasionally a fracture of the connecting rod.
Further, when the big end 1 is deformed as described above, clearances between the crank pin 5 and the plain bearing 2 (i.e. the bearing halves 3 and 4) becomes larger longitudinally with respect to the connecting rod. Therefore, the crank pin, which evolves with a high speed, moves relatively and heavily to and within the plain bearing 2 in the longitudinal direction (i.e. upwardly and downwardly in FIG. 6) bringing about cavitation to corrode the bearing surface.
The present invention has been proposed under such technical backgrounds.
An object of the invention is to provide a plain bearing for connecting rods, which can reinforce the connecting rods to improve rigidity thereof.
Under the object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a plain bearing for connecting rods, which is mounted in an end of a connecting rod and which comprises a cylindrical bearing body and a flange which is provided on an axial end of the bearing body so as to extend along at least a quarter of the circumference of the axial end and projects radially outwardly.
According to this feature, when the plain bearing is mounted on a connecting rod, the latter is reinforced to have improved rigidity as a whole including the plain bearing, whereby, even if the connecting rod is made of a light metal alloy, it is hardly deformed and can effectively prevent seizure of the plain bearing, and occurrence of fretting and cavitation phenomena.
According to a second feature of the invention, the flange is provided on the respective axial ends, so as to extend along the overall circumference of the respective axial ends. According to this feature, the plain bearing can have still higher rigidity as compared with a case of a flange provided only on any one of the axial ends or provided so as to extend along a half of the circumference of the axial end(s).
According to a third feature of the invention, the bearing body comprises a back metal and a bearing alloy layer formed on the back metal, wherein the flange is integrally formed with the back metal by bending the corresponding axial end radially outwardly. According to this feature, the flange is comparatively easily provided to the plain bearing thereby saving the production cost.
According to a fourth feature of the invention, the flange is provided on the axial end by integrally securing a separate flange member to the bearing body. According to this feature, the thickness and/or width of the flange can be optionally determined irrelevantly to the bearing body thereby enhancing still higher the rigidity of the plain bearing as a whole.


Techniques to fabricate and use a nanocomposite coating that includes one or more nanotubes such as carbon nanotubes are disclosed. In some examples, a guidewire may include the nanocomposite material. The guidewire is immune to electromagnetic interference, is thermally robust, and is capable of accommodating inactive markers and active electronics.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guided procedures provide improved visualization of complex cardiac anatomy, real time physiologic information and a reduction in ionizing radiation but requires MRI compatible catheters/guidewires. The state-of-the art MRI compatible catheters and guide-wires are typically classified into (i) active, (ii) passive, and (iii) semi-active types. While active catheter types are directly connected to scanners and are then usually equipped with MRI radio frequency (RF) compatible antennae, the issues related to induced current and attendant temperature increase (up to 70° C.) are highly harmful to ultimate biological application. Alternately passive types are susceptible to artifacts and may not be compatible with many pulse sequences used in MRI. The hybrid semi-active types, e.g., with capacitors, inductors and related frequency resonant elements placed as fiducial unconnected markers along the length of the wires are unsatisfactory in performance.

Thermally robust, electromagnetic interference compatible, devices for non-invasive and invasive surgery

The Regents of the University of California


A manufacturing method of an alkaline solution, comprising dissolving a gaseous molecule having oxidizing properties or reducing properties in an aqueous alkaline solution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of an alkaline solution for developing and removing a resist film, and the like and the alkaline solution, a pattern forming method using the alkaline solution, a removing method of a resist film, a solution application apparatus, a substrate treatment method prior to forming the resist film, and a solution supplying method of scanning a linear solution supply nozzle from one end to the other end of a substrate, and supplying the solution onto the substrate from the solution supply nozzle to form a solution film on the substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the miniaturization of semiconductor elements and enlargement of a diameter of a substrate, in a conventional developing method, generation of a critical defect resulting from development, variation of a pattern size in a substrate surface and chip, and the like raise large problems.
In general, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, aqueous solutions such as alkaline tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) are used as a developing solution for a photosensitive resist film. Since the developing solution is an aqueous solution, wettability is not sufficient with respect to a photosensitive resist surface having a hydrophobic property. Therefore, when a reaction product resulting from neutralization is in the vicinity of the resist film surface, the developing solution is not easily diffused between the reaction product and the photosensitive resist surface. As a result, the reaction product cannot sufficiently be removed by pure water in a rinse process, and remains on the substrate and disadvantageously produces a defect.
Moreover, in a pattern disposed in a broad dissolution region, the amount of reaction products present in the vicinity of the pattern is large. Therefore, the developing solution is not easily diffused between the reaction product and the photosensitive resist film, and a progress of development is hindered. Therefore, for the pattern disposed in the broad dissolution region, as compared with a pattern disposed in a region whose periphery is hardly dissolved, there is a problem that a line size is increased.
It has previously been possible to solve these problems to some degree by using a developing solution with a surface-active agent added thereto to enhance affinity of the photosensitive resist surface for the developing solution. However, with the reduction in exposure wavelength, it has been necessary to maintain transparency/etching resistance of a resin in a short wavelength band, and a photosensitive resist material having a strong interaction between resins has been used. Therefore, when the developing solution with the surface-active agent added thereto is used, the wettability with the photosensitive resist film surface can be enhanced only to a certain degree. As a result, problems occur that defects are generated and a size difference is brought in a sparse/dense pattern.
Additionally, with the size miniaturization of the semiconductor element and the enlargement of the diameter of the substrate, in the conventional method, a size variation of the pattern in the substrate surface and chip, which is said to result from the development, raises a large problem. As a countermeasure, a technique of scanning a linear nozzle from one end to the other end of the substrate and forming a solution film evenly on the whole surface of the substrate has been proposed (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 10-303103 and 10-189419).
In the technique described in the Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 10-303103 and 10-189419, it is disclosed that a gap between a supply position of the nozzle and the substrate is 0.3±0.1 mm, a flow rate of the developing solution is set to 1.5 L/min., a scanning speed of the nozzle is set to 10 to 500 mm/second and the solution film is formed. However, even when the solution film is formed in these conditions, the formed solution film thickness is not necessarily equal to the gap. Therefore, a size difference is disadvantageously produced in a substrate plane and chip depending on a subtle flow of the solution generated during the application of the solution. Concretely, since the formed solution film thickness is not equal to the gap, a subtle solution flow is generated during the application of the solution. When a dissolution region exists upstream of a solution flow, the etching speed drops due to an influence of reaction products. Conversely, when the upstream of solution flow is a non-dissolution region, the etching speed rises due to the fresh developing solution.
As described above, the photosensitive resist having a strong interaction between resins has been used, the defects are generated, and a size difference is disadvantageously produced in the sparse/dense pattern.
Moreover, in the technique of scanning a linear nozzle from one end to the other end of a substrate and forming a solution film evenly on the whole surface of the substrate, the size dispersion is disadvantageously produced in a substrate plane and chip due to the subtle solution flow generated during the application of the solution.

Alkaline solution and manufacturing method, and alkaline solution applied to pattern forming method, resist film removing method, solution application method, substrate treatment method, solution supply method, and semiconductor device manufacturing method


The present invention describes a process of making strap using both post consumer and non-post consumer PET of wide distribution intrinsic viscosity (IV) through direct solid state polymerization in a flaked state to produce PET with increased, heterogenous IV suitable for high performance strap extrusion. The process increases the IV of post-consumer resins, consisting principally of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), by chopping the post-consumer plastic into flakes and chunks, rolling the flakes and chunks, preheating the flakes, and further heating the flakes and chunks in an atmosphere of hot nitrogen gas, thereby increasing the intrinsic viscosity. PET polymers having increased viscosities according to the present invention provide a polymer useful in manufacturing high performance strap.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to solid state polymerization of post consumer and non-post consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and more particularly to the polymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flakes in connection with the manufacture of plastic strapping.
2. Description of the Related Act
Post consumer PET, whose primary source is from plastic soft drink bottles, can be obtained from material recovery facilities. It is used to form, for example, fiberfill for insulating material in clothing and fiber material used to produce carpeting. It is of relatively low and heterogeneous intrinsic viscosity (IV). In the past, this characteristic has prevented PET from being used directly to produce products which require high or homogeneous IV. It is one of the discoveries of this invention that the heterogeneity of the IV of PET does not adversely affect strap production.
In the prior art, the PET obtained, whether post consumer or not, was chopped into flakes and chunks which were then re-extruded into pellets. The chopped PET has a relatively wide range of IV because the various soft drink bottles are made from different IVs, typically being on the order of 0.65-0.80 dl/g. The prior art has consistently taught that in order to make a high performance product from this post consumer PET material it is necessary to have a narrow range of IV material after the solid state processing which required, as an initial step, to pelletize the flakes before solid state polymerization. In order to raise and achieve a narrow range of IV of the PET-pellets, the prior art teaches to submit the PET pellets to solid state polymerization. The pellets once solid state polymerized, are then used in the production of new, higher performance products such as strapping.
The prior art begins the solid state polymerization (SSP) process with pellets of uniform geometry. The prior art SSP process, using pellets for strap production, took approximately 12 to 19 hours to complete and it was not appreciated that a heterogeneous mixture of flakes and chunk like material could be solid stated directly to the same average IV as pellets significantly faster and on the order of about 1/4 the time as for pellets. Additionally, as noted, it was believed that flakes with a wide IV range could not be solid stated directly without first being pelletized to a state suitable for production of high performance strap, suitable meaning not only of a high enough average IV but also having a narrow range of IV. The solid state polymerization of pellets was intended to result in, and did in fact result in, a narrow IV range which those skilled in the art believed was necessary in order to make a high performance product. The resulting prior art strap did not have an average IV greater than 0.90 dl/g. In contrast, it has been discovered that, contrary to the prior art teachings, high performance plastic strap having an average IV of greater than 0.90 dl/g can be made commercially in an economical manner using a PET having a wide distribution of IV after being solid stated directly from a flaked state without pelletization.

Inline solid state polymerization of pet flakes for manufacturing plastic strap


An ink-jet head includes a channel unit and a piezoelectric actuator. The channel unit has a plurality of plates made of metal and including a cavity plate which is made of metal and in which a plurality of pressure chambers are formed and a supply plate which is made of metal and in which holes communicating with the pressure chambers respectively are formed, and the plates are diffusion-bonded with each other. The piezoelectric actuator has a vibration plate which is diffusion-bonded with the cavity plate. A groove is formed in a partition wall defining the pressure chambers or in an area overlapping the partition wall of the vibration plate, the cavity plate, and the supply plate. There is provided a liquid jetting head in which air hardly remains in the pressure chambers, and deterioration of jetting performance by the air is suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid jetting head which jets liquid and a method of producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a liquid jetting head, for example, there is an ink-jet head which jets ink. The ink-jet head has a plurality of complicated and elaborate ink channels inside. Such an ink-jet head is formed, for example, by stacking thin etching plates. For securely bonding the stacked etching plates with one another, it is conceivable to bond the plates using, for example, an adhesive that is epoxy based, acrylic based or the like. However, when the amount of an adhesive applied is large, the adhesive may flow into an ink channel or the like in the head to narrow or block the ink channel. Accordingly, there is proposed an ink-jet head in which an upper structure formed by diffusion-bonding four plates, a manifold bonded body formed by diffusion-bonding three manifold plates, and a lower structure formed by diffusion-bonding two plates are bonded together with an adhesive (see US 2005/011071 A1). With this method, it is possible to prevent the adhesive from narrowing or blocking an ink channel, and also it is possible to securely bond the respective plates forming the upper structure and the lower structure because the manifold bonded body having manifolds formed inside is formed in a separate step from that of forming other structures.

Liquid jetting head and method for producing the same


A method and a device for determining and/or monitoring the volume flow rate and/or mass flow rate of a medium flowing through a container. In the case of the device, such is an ultrasonic flow measuring device, which works on the basis of the travel-time-difference principle. Additionally, a technique is presented whereby, on the basis of the results of measurement, also information is provided concerning change in some other system and/or process variable. To this end, the currently measured, actual measuring signals, or the corresponding actual measuring data, is compared with corresponding, stored set measuring signals, or set measuring data; a report is output, when a deviation arises between the set measuring signals, or set measuring data, and the actual measuring signals, or actual measuring data.

Ultrasonic flow measuring devices are applied often in process and automation technology. They enable contactless determination of the volume and/or mass flow rate of a medium in a pipe.
The known ultrasonic measuring devices work either by the Doppler principle or the travel-time-difference principle. In the case of the travel-time-difference principle, the different travel time of the ultrasonic measuring signals in the direction of flow, and counter to the direction of flow, of the medium is exploited. To this end, the ultrasonic measuring signals are alternatingly issued, respectively received, in the direction of flow, and counter to the direction of flow, of the medium. On the basis of the travel-time-difference of the ultrasonic measuring signals, the flow velocity can be determined, and, with that and known diameter of the pipe, the volume flow rate of the medium, or, with known density, the mass flow rate of the medium.
In the case of the Doppler principle, ultrasonic measuring signals of known frequency are coupled into the flowing medium. The ultrasonic measuring signals reflected in the medium are evaluated. On the basis of a frequency shift occurring between the ultrasonic measuring signal which was coupled into the medium and the reflected ultrasonic measuring signal, likewise the flow velocity of the medium, or the volume and/or mass flow rate, can be determined. The use of flow measuring devices working according to the doppler principle are only possible, when are air bubbles or impurities are present in the medium, on which the ultrasonic measuring signals are reflected. Thus, the use of ultrasonic flow measuring devices using the Doppler principle is rather limited, compared to ultrasonic flow measuring devices using the travel-time-difference principle.
With respect to types of measuring devices, a distinction is drawn between ultrasonic flow measuring pickups, which are inserted into the pipeline, and clamp-on flow measuring devices, where the ultrasonic transducers are pressed onto the pipeline externally by means of a clamp. Clamp-on flow measuring devices are described, for example, in EP 0 686 255 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,478 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,593.
In the case of the two types of ultrasonic flow measuring devices, the ultrasonic measuring signals are radiated at a predetermined angle into, and/or received from, the pipe containing the flowing medium. In order to be able to radiate the ultrasonic measuring signals at determined angles into and out of the pipe, and into and out of the medium, as the case may be, the in- and out-coupling of the ultrasonic measuring signals into and out of the pipe occurs in the case of clamp-on flow measuring devices via interface pieces, or coupling wedges. In order to achieve an optimum impedance matching, it is, moreover, known to make the coupling wedges of a suitably refracting material, e.g. a synthetic material, or plastic. The principal component of an ultrasonic transducer is usually at least one piezoelectric element, which produces the ultrasonic measuring signals and/or receives them.
Now, there are different reasons why the measuring of volume, or mass, flow rate by means of ultrasonic measuring signals may fail. Generally, a bad measurement occurs, however, at least always when the sound path, on which the ultrasonic measuring signals propagate from the sending ultrasonic transducer, to the receiving ultrasonic transducer, gets interrupted at some location. Such an interruption can occur at various locations in the sound path. As examples, the following system and process defects can be mentioned:
The damping of the medium is too great;
the coupling of at least one ultrasonic transducer onto the containment is insufficient;
there is an air gap between the inner wall of the containment and a liner applied to the inner wall of the containment;
the damping in the material of the containment is too great; this can be the case e.g. when the ultrasonic measurement occurs in GFK (glass fiber reinforced plastic) pipes;
the containment, e.g. pipe, is empty—for some reason, there is no medium in the pipe.
It is desirable in this connection that the operating personnel not only be shown that a malfunction has occurred, but, also, where the real cause of the malfunction is to be sought. In the known flow measuring devices, the cause of an occurring malfunction, or the interruption of the sound path, must be determined in a more or less complicated, trial-and-error method. This is, naturally, involved and cost-intensive. Thus, it can happen, that the measuring device is subjected to an extensive examination, when, in fact, the bad measurement is being caused by an absence of medium flowing in the pipe.

Method and device for determining and/or monitoring a volume and/or mass flow


A multimedia bitrate adaption method for individual users wherein only a set of predetermined bitrates may be selected as the multimedia bitrate of the user. The predetermined bitrates are quantized into exponentially distributed levels, and the users' experiences corresponding to the predetermined bitrates are with the same intervals, thereby increasing the service capacity and improving user satisfaction.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a data transmission method, and more particularly, to a multimedia data bitrate adaption method.
2. Description of the Related Art
To allocate transmission flow more effectively and fairly when internet resources, such as bandwidth, are limited, internet resources should be managed and controlled. In high speed networks that can support different service performances and demands, flexible and fair bandwidth allocations can be important. For example, for network services such as the multimedia (audio or video) data transmissions, if the bandwidth can be flexibly allocated, decay of service quality can be avoided.
The current Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is implemented using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in a Peer-to-Peer Network (P2P Network); however, in this system it is difficult to allocate data transmission rates. Further, lacking a negotiation mechanism between users to maintain fairness of the bandwidth allocation may lead to that internet resource not being applied to maximize user perception and service satisfaction effectively. In other words, transmission rates affect the performance of network services directly, and the allocation mechanisms of the transmission rates also relate to internet resource applications such as fairness and service performance. For example, when a portion of users consume too much bandwidth to raise their own performance, the service performances and fairness of the resource allocations of the larger group may be sacrificed.
Therefore, there is a need for a data transmission allocation method that may maintain the service performances and fairness of resource allocations for a larger group.

Multi-media data rate allocation method and voice over IP data rate allocation method


A three-phase alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter may include a three-phase AC filter receiving a three-phase AC power supply, a plurality of three-phase current source rectifiers (CSR) connected in parallel with each other and connected to a three-phase AC filter, and an output filter connected to the CSR's to generate a DC output. Each of the CSRs may include six switches and a free-wheeling diode. Each of the three filtered AC inputs from the three-phase AC filter may be connected via a switch of the six switches to selectably send current into a positive line, and each of three filtered AC inputs from the three-phase AC filter may be connected via another switch of the six switches to selectably receive current from a negative line. The free-wheeling diode may have a cathode connected to the positive line and an anode connected to the negative line.

Three-phase current source rectifier (CSR) is a promising solution for power supply systems as the buck-type power factor correction converter. By converter paralleling, high power rating and system redundancy can be achieved. However, asymmetrical distribution of load current among converter modules may occur, which can increase power loss or even damage devices.
Therefore, there may be a need to control the imbalanced load current, or circulating current that flows between parallel CSR's in a three-phase alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter, to fully realize the advantages of CSR's .

Control of parallel-connected current source rectifiers

University of Tennessee Research Foundation


An electronic parts packaging structure including an insulating layer acting as a flexible substrate, an electronic parts buried in the insulating layer in a state that a whole electronic parts is covered with the insulating layer, and a wiring layer buried in the insulating layer and connected electrically to a connection pad of the electronic parts. A structure body in which a plurality of electronic parts are buried in the insulating layer may be folded and electronic parts may be connected electrically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic parts packaging structure and a method of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to an electronic parts packaging structure in which an electronic part such as a semiconductor chip, or the like is mounted in a state that such electronic part is buried in an insulating layer and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, there exists the electronic parts packaging structure (such as the semiconductor device, or the like) having a structure in which the electronic parts such as the semiconductor chip, or the like is mounted in a state that such electronic part is buried in the insulating layer. As an example of the electronic parts packaging structure manufacturing method, first the semiconductor chip is adhered onto the base substrate made of a glass epoxy resin, or the like by the adhesive layer, and then the semiconductor chip is covered with the insulating layer (the epoxy resin layer, or the like). Then, wiring layers that are connected to connection pads of the semiconductor chip via the via holes provided in the resin layer are formed on the resin layer.
In Patent Literature 1 (Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) 2003-318323), it is set forth that the semiconductor chip and wiring layers connected thereto are formed on the base substrate in such a fashion that they are buried in the insulating layer and then the base substrate is removed, whereby the electronic parts packaging structure having such a structure that the semiconductor chip is buried in the insulating layer to expose its back surface can be obtained.
Also, in Patent Literature 2 (Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) Hei 9-283925), the electronic parts packaging structure having such a structure that the semiconductor chip is mounted on the wiring layers, which are provided on the insulating layer (photosensitive resin) as the core substrate, to be connected to the wiring layers via the wires and then the semiconductor chip is sealed with the epoxy resin is set forth.
In recent years, the flexible electronic parts packaging structure that is easy to be mounted is requested. However, in the prior art, it is impossible to say that the material combination is optimized. A thermal stress resulting from a difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the semiconductor chip (silicon chip) and the core substrate or the insulating layer is ready to occur. Accordingly, there is the problem that a warp is likely to occur in the electronic parts packaging structure. Thus, it is difficult to manufacture the flexible electronic parts packaging structure with high reliability. Therefore, a method capable of forming easily the flexible electronic parts packaging structure with high reliability is demanded. In Patent Literatures 1 and 2, no consideration is given at all to how the flexible electronic parts packaging structure should be manufactured with good reliability.

Electronic parts packaging structure and method of manufacturing the same


An exemplary liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel and a backlight module facing the liquid crystal panel. The backlight module includes a light guide plate, a light source and an accommodating frame accommodating the liquid crystal panel, the light guide plate and the light source. The accommodating frame includes a plurality of side walls. The side walls define an absorbing portion and a reflecting portion thereat. The absorbing portion is adjacent to the liquid crystal panel and is configured for absorbing light beams leaking from a periphery of the liquid crystal panel. The reflecting portion is adjacent to the light guide plate and is configured for reflecting light beams leaking from at least one peripheral portion of the light guide plate.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are commonly used as display devices for compact electronic apparatuses. This is not only because they provide good quality images with little power consumption, but also because they are very thin. Generally, a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel, a backlight module, and a plastic frame receiving the liquid crystal panel and the backlight module. The plastic frame is made of black material and has a high light absorption characteristic. Therefore a rate of utilization of light beams by the backlight module is limited. Various means have been developed to solve this problem.
Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a typical liquid crystal display 30 includes a liquid crystal panel 33, a backlight module 35, and a plastic frame 37. The plastic frame 37 includes four side walls 371 perpendicularly connected end to end, and a frame-shaped ledge 373 extending from inner surfaces of the side walls 371. The side walls 371 and the ledge 373 cooperatively form an upper accommodating space and a lower accommodating space. The liquid crystal panel 33 is received in the upper accommodating space, and the backlight module 35 is received in the lower accommodating space.
The backlight module 35 includes a light guide plate 351, a light source 353, and a reflection film 355. The light guide plate 351 includes a light incident surface 3511, a top light emitting surface 3512 perpendicularly adjoining the light incident surface 3511, a bottom surface 3513 perpendicularly adjoining the light incident surface 3511, and three side surfaces 3514 perpendicularly adjoining both the light emitting surface 3512 and the bottom surface 3513. The reflection film 355 is approximately U-shaped. The reflection film 355 encloses the light incident surface 3511, the bottom surface 3513, and one of the side surfaces 3514 farthest from the light incident surface 3511. The light source 353 is located between the light incident surface 3511 and the reflection film 355.
Light beams emitted from the light source 353 enter the light guide plate 351 through the light incident surface 3511. Most of the light beams travel in the light guide plate 351 and become substantially uniform, and then emit from the light guide plate 351 through the light emitting surface 3512. Some of the light beams emit from the bottom surface 3513 and the side surfaces 3514 of the light guide plate 351. Many or most of these light beams are reflected by the reflection film 355 back into the light guide plate 351, and subsequently emit from the light emitting surface 3512. However, one drawback of the backlight module 35 is that the reflection film 355 needs to have a large enough area so as to cover all of the bottom surface 3513 and said farthest side surface 3514 of the light guide plate 351, as well as the light source 353. Therefore the cost of the reflection film 355 is high. Further, the reflection film 355 is fixed by adhesive tape, which can make the process of manufacturing the backlight module 35 complicated and difficult.
Referring to FIG. 5, another typical liquid crystal display 50 is shown. The liquid crystal display 50 has a high rate of utilization of light beams, and includes a liquid crystal panel 53, a backlight module 55, a plastic frame 57, and a frame-shaped absorbing strip 59. The plastic frame 57 includes four side walls 571 perpendicularly connected end to end, and a ledge 573 extending from inner surfaces of the side walls 571. The side walls 571 and the ledge 573 cooperatively form an upper accommodating space and a lower accommodating space. The liquid crystal panel 53 is received in the upper accommodating space, and the backlight module 55 is received in the lower accommodating space. The absorbing strip 59 is provided on a peripheral part of the liquid crystal panel 53 and a part of the plastic frame 57 surrounding the liquid crystal panel 53. The absorbing strip 59 can for example be a frame-shape piece of light blocking tape. The plastic frame 57 is made from white resin material, by an injecting-mold method. The plastic frame 57 has a high light reflection ratio.
The backlight module 55 includes a light guide plate 551, a light source 553, and a reflection film 555. The light guide plate 551 includes a light incident surface 5511, a top light emitting surface 5512 perpendicularly adjoining the light incident surface 5511, a bottom surface 5513 perpendicularly adjoining the light incident surface 5511, and three side surfaces (not labeled) perpendicularly adjoining the light emitting surface 5512 and the bottom surface 5513. The light source 553 is located adjacent to the light incident surface 5511 of the light guide plate 551. The reflection film 555 is located below the bottom surface 5513 of the light guide plate 551.
In operation of the liquid crystal display 50, light beams leaking from, the side surfaces of the light guide plate 551 reach inner surfaces of the plastic frame 57, and are reflected by the plastic frame 57. Therefore a rate of utilization of light beams of the liquid crystal display 50 is high. Furthermore, the absorbing strip 59 absorbs light beams reaching edges of the liquid crystal panel 53, thereby facilitating uniformity of light emission of the liquid crystal display 50. However, the absorbing strip 59 increases the cost of the liquid crystal display 50, and makes a process of manufacturing the liquid crystal display 50 somewhat complicated and difficult.
What is needed, therefore, is a liquid crystal display that can overcome the above-described deficiencies.

Liquid crystal display with accommodating frame having reflecting portion and light absorbing portion


A method for the prevention and treatment of stunning of the heart subsequent to ischemia-reperfusion is described. The method comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a phospholamban inhibitor to a patient. Phospholamban inhibitors relieve the inhibitory effect of phospholamban on cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca.sup.2+ -ATPase.

This invention relates to a method for the prevention and treatment of stunned heart phenomenon. Particularly, the invention relates to a method for the prevention and treatment of stunning of the myocardium in association with ischemia-reperfusion. The cardiovascular interventions and conditions accompanied with the ischemia-reperfusion and subsequent stunning include e.g. thrombolysis of myocardial infarction, coronary balloon angioplasty and coronary stent implantation, coronary artery bypass surgery and other open-heart operations, coronary atherectomy, unstable angina, heart transplantation, resuscitation and valvular heart disease. The method for the prevention or treatment of stunned myocardium comprises administering a phosholamban inhibitor as the active compound.
The contraction of cardiac muscle cell is caused by calcium ions released from the intracellular calcium stores of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). After triggering a cascade of events leading to cell shortening and muscle contraction a major part of calcium is reuptaken to the SR by the enzyme called Ca.sup.2+ ATPase and a minor part of calcium is extruded out of the cell. The Ca.sup.2+ ATPase is functioning under the inhibitory control of a small protein called phospholamban. The unphosphorylated form of phospholamban inhibits the Ca.sup.2+ ATPase. The phosphorylation of phospholamban relieves this inhibition which is then seen as a stimulation of the Ca.sup.2+ ATPase. The relief of the phospholamban inhibition on the Ca.sup.2+ ATPase stimulates the uptake of calcium from the cytoplasm into the SR which then finally increases the amount of calcium for the next contraction. In addition to the phosphorylation based regulation the inhibition of the Ca.sup.2+ ATPase by phospholamban can be eliminated also by compounds which directly bind to phospholamban. Such compounds (phospholamban inhibitors) eliminate the inhibitory action of phospholamban on the SR Ca.sup.2+ -ATPase like the protein kinases as they phosphorylate phospholamban.
One of the pathological phenomena in the function of the heart is called stunned myocardium in which the contraction force is decreased despite the normal coronary flow. The stunning is developed as a consequence of the ischemic period (=marked decrease in the coronary flow) followed by reperfusion of the myocardium. It is typical that in the stunned myocardium the decreased contraction force is not accompanied with the decrease in the amount of calcium released from the SR. On the contrary, there is higher amount of calcium in the SR available for contraction trigger in stunned myocardium (Marban, E., "Myocardial stunning and hibernation. The physiology behind the colloquialisms", Circulation, 83(2):681-688, 1991). Therefore, the stimulation of the calcium uptake into the SR is not expected to change the stunning in the myocardium.

Method for the prevention and treatment of stunned myocardium


For distributed querying of confidential information, a querying data structure is constructed from the confidential information on the computer at which the confidential information resides. The querying data structure opaquely encapsulates queries on the confidential information as a set of query hashes and answer pairs. The querying data structure is distributed to other computers where the distributed query processing is to be performed. The query is performed on such other computers by hashing the query terms, using the resulting query hash as a look up index to the associated answer in the querying data structure, and acting on the answer. A strictly one-way hash is used to prevent recovery of the original inputs to the query hashes in the query data structure by reverse hash.

Currently, the telecommunications industry is rapidly deploying and developing distributed communications networks to provide data communications to personal mobile computing and communications devices, such as to cell phones, pagers, hand-held and laptop computers, wearable computers, vehicle-based computers, and so on. These distributed communications networks provide a communications medium over which information service providers can deliver individually personalized or customized information, such as stock quotes, sports scores, news articles, etc., via data/text, voice and/or video messages (e.g., email, instant messaging, voice messaging, etc.) to the users' personal mobile devices.
In the near future, it will be desirable for the information service providers (and advantageous to the users) to provide information services that further deliver contextually relevant information to individual users. In other words, the services provide information relevant to the user's current context (e.g., location, activity, setting, social/business relationships, etc., as well as personal preferences). For example, a contextual information service may deliver a notification that a social acquaintance is physically nearby when the user is off-work in a public place, or that a business contact is scheduled to attend a same event as the user, among many others. As another example, a contextual information service may deliver a weather or news report localized for the user's present geographical location, or in anticipation of the ski or golf outing on the user's calendar.
When such contextual information services are operated on a large-scale (herein termed a "context megaservice"), the information service likely will require processing queries on large collections of sensitive personal information (e.g., location, preferences, circle of friends, etc.). Further, for purposes of scaling performance to a large scale operation, this processing may be distributed across many server computers, including on servers operated by various different entities (e.g., other information providers).
For many people, such large-scale distributed processing of personal information raises privacy concerns. Many people therefore will be reluctant to disclose personal data to anybody other than (at most) a few trusted entities. Such concerns may limit the adoption and scale of context megaservices, despite their potential utility to the users.
The present invention is directed towards ways to distribute processing based on confidential information without making the confidential information available to untrusted information processing servers in an intelligible form (i.e., plain text). The present invention opaquely encapsulates the confidential information into a form of a "software black box" on a trusted computer (e.g., the user's computer, or a trusted server) where the raw confidential information resides. This black box encapsulates the confidential information in a manner from which the confidential information cannot be explicitly derived, but answers queries on the confidential information. The black box can be distributed or published to other computers, where the black box can be used to answer queries without revealing the confidential information.
In one embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, the black box takes the form of a set of query, answer pairs, where the query hash is represented as a hash result that is a one-way hashing function of a set of query input values. This set of query, answer pairs is distributed to other computers which can then effectively query the confidential information without having access to or directly processing the raw confidential information. Instead, a query comprising a set of the query input values is hashed using the same one-way hashing function. The hash result of the query is used as a look-up into the set of query, answer pairs to obtain the appropriate answer to the query.
This form of black box encapsulation of confidential information queries protects the confidential information from discovery on the computers to which it is distributed in at least two ways. First, due to the one-way hashing function, the initial set of input values from which each individual query, answer pair in the query, answer pair set cannot be directly re-constructed from the query value of the pair. More significantly, however, the logic or reasoning and possibly other confidential data values (in addition to the query input values) that determine the answer for the set of query input values is not visible from the query, answer pairs set, even if it were possible to reverse-hash the query hash results in each pair to their initial query input values.
Additional features and advantages will be made apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiment which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Distributed confidential contextual querying


For a diaper for a baby, a toddler, an old man, or the like, a device for informing a mother of the baby or the toddler or a person who looks after the user of the diaper that the diaper is wet and a sensor for use in the device are provided. A wet annunciator is comprised of: a wet sensor that forms electrostatic capacity between a pair of electrodes 3 and 4 adhesively formed so as to be slightly spaced apart from each other, such that the electrostatic capacity in the vicinity of the electrodes varies when the diaper gets wet; an oscillating device 11 for applying an alternating signal to the electrodes 3 and 4 of the wet sensor; a detector 13 for picking up a change of the electrostatic capacity between the pair of electrodes 3 and 4; and an alerting device such as a vibrator 15, a buzzer or the like, operative according to an output signal of the detector 13. When a diaper is wet due to excretion of the user, the electrostatic capacity between the electrodes 3 and 4 varies, the alerting means is operated, and the mother or the person who looks after the user of the diaper is informed that the diaper gets wet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet sensor and a wet annunciator to be used to a diaper (a moisture-generating member) for a baby, a toddler, an old man, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
While a diaper (a moisture-generating member) is used normally to a baby or a toddler, the number of old users of diapers is now increasing. A diaper which gets wet due to excretion, if left as it is, may cause uncomfortable odor and skin irritations. Thus, it is ideal that a wet diaper is immediately changed for a new diaper. However, in case a mother takes care of her child, since she changes a diaper for the child according to a sign shown by the child, it is less likely that a wet diaper is left as it is. With regard to a bed-ridden old man in a geriatric hospital and the like, on the other hand, in case a diaper is only changed at a regular interval, especially for the bed-ridden old man, since an excretion interval is different among individuals, the change of the diaper at a regular interval does not meet their requirements. Further, a wet diaper over several excretions being left as it is may occur. It is not preferable for the health and sanitation to leave a wet condition for a long time.
Accordingly, various kinds of devices for electrically detecting a condition that a diaper gets wet and for informing the user or others of the wet condition have been devised. One of them is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Sho 60-181311, in which one end portion of a back sheet impermeable to water is extendedly provided so as to cover a water absorbing layer, metal layers are adhesively formed so as to sandwich the portion which is provided extendedly, and, the back sheet and the metal layers, between which the water absorbing layer is sandwiched, form a capacitor, wherein a change of an electrostatic capacity depending on a quantity of adsorbed water in the water absorbing layer is picked up to make known when the diaper gets wet.
Another example is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-21018, in which the structure of a sensor for detecting a wet condition mentioned in the above is disclosed specifically. In this example, metal layers are provided in parallel with each other leaving a predetermined space therebetween along the longitudinal direction of a rectangular back sheet impermeable to water. Only one of the metal layers is coated so as to become an electrically insulated layer, and upper surfaces of the two metal layers are coated with a front sheet permeable to water. With this structure, a change of the capacitor formed by the metal layers, the electrically insulated layer, and the front sheet is detected to make known when the diaper gets wet.
Still another example is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-7698, in which a moisture sensor with a conductive front surface adsorbing layer is attached to a body of a disposable diaper made of paper, and an output signal of the sensor is sent out to the outside as a radio wave.
These techniques have made it possible to inform a person who looks after the user of the diaper or the like that the diaper gets wet. However, in all of these techniques, since a metal layer is disposed in the diaper, to discard the diaper means to discard the sensor. Accordingly, the sensor may not be used over a long period. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a wet annunciator and a wet sensor for use of the wet annunciator which are improved with regard to the point mentioned above.


A method for supporting an encoding of an audio signal is shown, wherein at least a first and a second coder mode are available for encoding a section of the audio signal. The first coder mode enables a coding based on two different coding models. A selection of a coding model is enabled by a selection rule which is based on signal characteristics which have been determined for a certain analysis window. In order to avoid a misclassification of a section after a switch to the first coder mode, it is proposed that the selection rule is activated only when sufficient sections for the analysis window have been received. The invention relates equally to a module in which this method is implemented, to a device and a system comprising such a module and to a software program product including a software code for realizing the proposed method.

It is known to encode audio signals for enabling an efficient transmission and/or storage of audio signals.
An audio signal can be a speech signal or another type of audio signal, like music, and for different types of audio signals different coding models might be appropriate.
A widely used technique for coding speech signals is the Algebraic Code-Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP) coding. ACELP models the human speech production system, and it is very well suited for coding the periodicity of a speech signal. As a result, a high speech quality can be achieved with very low bit rates. Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), for example, is a speech codec which is based on the ACELP technology. AMR-WB has been described for instance in the technical specification 3GPP TS 26.190: "Speech Codec speech processing functions; AMR Wideband speech codec; Transcoding functions", V5.1.0 (2001-12). Speech codecs which are based on the human speech production system, however, perform usually rather badly for other types of audio signals, like music.
A widely used technique for coding other audio signals than speech is transform coding (TCX). The superiority of transform coding for audio signal is based on perceptual masking and frequency domain coding. The quality of the resulting audio signal can be further improved by selecting a suitable coding frame length for the transform coding. But while transform coding techniques result in a high quality for audio signals other than speech, their performance is not good for periodic speech signals. Therefore, the quality of transform coded speech is usually rather low, especially with long TCX frame lengths.
The extended AMR-WB (AMR-WB+) codec encodes a stereo audio signal as a high bitrate mono signal and provides some side information for a stereo extension. The AMR-WB+ codec utilizes both ACELP coding and TCX models to encode the core mono signal in a frequency band of 0 Hz to 6400 Hz. For the TCX model, a coding frame length of 20 ms, 40 ms or 80 ms is utilized.
Since an ACELP model can degrade the audio quality and transform coding performs usually poorly for speech, especially when long coding frames are employed, the respective best coding model has to be selected depending on the properties of the signal which is to be coded. The selection of the coding model that is actually to be employed can be carried out in various ways.
In systems requiring low complexity techniques, like mobile multimedia services (MMS), usually music/speech classification algorithms are exploited for selecting the optimal coding model. These algorithms classify the entire source signal either as music or as speech based on an analysis of the energy and the frequency properties of the audio signal.
If an audio signal consists only of speech or only of music, it will be satisfactory to use the same coding model for the entire signal based on such a music/speech classification. In many other cases, however, the audio signal that is to be encoded is a mixed type of audio signal. For example, speech may be present at the same time as music and/or be temporally alternating with music in the audio signal.
In these cases, a classification of entire source signals into music or speech category is a too limited approach. The overall audio quality can then only be maximized by temporally switching between the coding models when coding the audio signal. That is, the ACELP model is partly used as well for coding a source signal classified as an audio signal other than speech, while the TCX model is partly used as well for a source signal classified as a speech signal.
The extended AMR-WB (AMR-WB+) codec is designed as well for coding such mixed types of audio signals with mixed coding models on a frame-by-frame basis.
The selection of coding models in AMR-WB+ can be carried out in several ways.
In the most complex approach, the signal is first encoded with all possible combinations of ACELP and TCX models. Next, the signal is synthesized again for each combination. The best excitation is then selected based on the quality of the synthesized speech signals. The quality of the synthesized speech resulting with a specific combination can be measured for example by determining its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This analysis-by-synthesis type of approach will provide good results. In some applications, however, it is not practicable, because of its very high complexity. Such applications include, for example, mobile applications. The complexity results largely from the ACELP coding, which is the most complex part of an encoder.
In systems like MMS, for example, the full closed-loop analysis-by-synthesis approach is far too complex to perform. In an MMS encoder, therefore, a low complexity open-loop method is employed for determining whether an ACELP coding model or a TCX model is selected for encoding a particular frame.
AMR-WB+ offers two different low-complexity open-loop approaches for selecting the respective coding model for each frame. Both open-loop approaches evaluate source signal characteristics and encoding parameters for selecting a respective coding model.
In the first open-loop approach, an audio signal is first split up within each frame into several frequency bands, and the relation between the energy in the lower frequency bands and the energy in the higher frequency bands is analyzed, as well as the energy level variations in those bands. The audio content in each frame of the audio signal is then classified as a music-like content or a speech-like content based on both of the performed measurements or on different combinations of these measurements using different analysis windows and decision threshold values.
In the second open-loop approach, which is also referred to as model classification refinement, the coding model selection is based on an evaluation of the periodicity and the stationary properties of the audio content in a respective frame of the audio signal. Periodicity and stationary properties are evaluated more specifically by determining correlation, Long Term Prediction (LTP) parameters and spectral distance measurements.
The AMR-WB+ codec allows in addition switching during the coding of an audio stream between AMR-WB modes, which employ exclusively an ACELP coding model, and extension modes, which employ either an ACELP coding model or a TCX model, provided that the sampling frequency does not change. The sampling frequency can be for example 16 kHz.
The extension modes output a higher bit rate than the AMR-WB modes. A switch from an extension mode to an AMR-WB mode can thus be of advantage when transmission conditions in the network connecting the encoding end and the decoding end require a changing from a higher bit-rate mode to a lower bit-rate mode to reduce congestion in the network. A change from a higher bit-rate mode to a lower bit-rate mode might also be required for incorporating new low-end receivers in a Mobile Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS).
A switch from an AMR-WB mode to an extension mode, on the other hand, can be of advantage when a change in the transmission conditions in the network allows a change from a lower bit-rate mode to a higher bit-rate mode. Using a higher bit-rate mode enables a better audio quality.
Since the core codec use the same sampling rate of 6.4 kHz for the AMR-WB modes and the AMR-WB+ extension modes and employs at least partially similar coding techniques, a change from an extension mode to an AMR-WB mode, or vice versa, at this frequency band can be handled smoothly. As the core-band coding process is slightly different for an AMR-WB mode and an extension mode, care has to be taken, however, that all required state variables and buffers are stored and copied from one algorithm to the other when switching between the modes.
Further, it has to be taken into account that a coding model selection is only required in the extension modes. In the enabled open-loop classification approaches, relatively long analysis windows and data buffers are exploited. The encoding model selection exploits statistical analysis with analysis windows having a length of up to 320 ms, which corresponds to 16 audio signal frames of 20 ms. Since a corresponding information does not have to be buffered in the AMR-WB mode, it cannot simply be copied to the extended mode algorithms. After switching from AMR-WB to AMR-WB+, the data buffers of classification algorithms, for instance those used for a statistical analysis, have thus no valid information or they are reset.
During the first 320 ms after a switch, the coding model selection algorithm may thus not be fully adapted or updated for the current audio signal. A selection, which is based on non-valid buffer data results in a distorted coding model decision. For example, an ACELP coding model may be weighted heavily in the selection, even though the audio signal requires a coding based on a TCX model in order to maintain the audio quality.
Thus, the encoding model selection is not optimal, since the low complexity coding model selection performs badly after a switch from an AMR-WB mode to an extension mode.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for encoding an audio signal using multiple coders with plural selection models


A braking device for small recreational vehicles, such as roller skates or skateboards, having brake pads positioned in close proximity to the wheels of the recreational vehicle. The brake shoes are brought into operative contact with the wheels to effect braking under the action of a hand squeezable bulb. The braking assembly transmits the pressure created from squeezing a bulb through a conduit to a pressure activated member, such as an inflatable bladder, to displace the brake shoes to their braking position. Braking pressure may be maintained through the use of a valve. The braking conduit may be easily disengaged from the pressure activated member so that the recreational vehicle may alternatively be used in a conventional fashion having no braking capability.

In-line roller skating is a physically beneficial sport that allows users to take advantage of the activity's low impact, high aerobic benefits. In-line roller skates, which have been patented and produced by many companies since the 1880's, are undergoing a current resurgence of popularity. Along with the increase in their popularity, there has been an increase in injuries resulting from safety hazards inherent in their usage. Traditionally, in-line roller skates have had little or no braking capability and frequently involve their users in accidents resulting in severe injury and in some cases fatal injury.
The in-line roller skates, also known as tandem roller skates, utilize two or more wheels arranged in tandem on the skate so as to rotate within the same vertical plane. Typically, the wheels or rollers are made of a resilient material and arranged with four rollers mounted in tandem from the front of boot to the rear of the boot. With this arrangement, all of the rollers are in contact with the ground at the same time, simulating the speed, maneuverability, balance and performance of ice skates.
The movement of the in-line roller skates by a user is usually achieved by gravitational forces such as rolling down a hill. This forward movement of the in-line roller skates may be hazardous if the hill is steep and the user develops an excessively high speed. As can be appreciated, the attainment of an excessively high speed using a conventional in-line roller skate can easily lead to injury in that the user may very likely be required to fall at a high speed to stop the skate.
A common method of controlling this speed is by turning off course or slid slipping across the hill. However, turns using an in-line roller skate to control speed may be a problem when the speed is excessively high. This method of reducing speed is also hazardous since it too can cause the user to fall at high speeds.
Another method of controlling speed is to drag a braking device attached to the front or rear of the skate against the ground. Several current in-line roller skates do come with a braking device which is attached to and extended downward from the skate frame. This type of braking device basically consists of a cylindrical-shaped braking pad that has a central threaded stud which is affixed to the rear of the skate frame with a locking nut and screw. To slow down the user's speed, the brake pad is pressed into frictional contact with the ground.
Unfortunately, this type of braking mechanism requires the user to operate the brake by clumsy if not dangerous foot movement since the user must lift the front of one skate to drag the brake while precariously balancing and steering with the other skate. In addition, these passive types of braking mechanisms have presented a problem to beginners not yet proficient in the use of in-line roller skates and in some cases experienced users have found that the scope of the possible activity on such recreational devices is limited by the lack of a selective braking control.
Advances in in-line roller skate brakes have been focused more on the material of the brake pad, than on the braking mechanism itself. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,058 entitled "HUB AND BRAKE ASSEMBLY FOR IN-LINE ROLLER SKATE." Moreover, no braking system has achieved any degree of popularity for in-line roller skates despite the invention of one or more braking devices for conventional roller skates and skateboards.
Thus, there is a need to provide a braking device for such in-line roller skates that is safe and simple in its use, which can be inexpensively incorporated within existing in-line roller skate design.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel braking assembly for small recreational vehicles such as roller skates and skateboards to increase their safety and maneuverability without impeding the normal operation of their wheels.
Another object is to provide a braking apparatus for small. recreational vehicles such as roller skates and skateboards that applies its frictional force to the outer surface of the wheels instead of the ground.
A further object is to provide a braking mechanism that can be controlled by the rider wherein the brake shoe or disc is hand activated remotely by an operable squeeze device connected to the brake by a conduit, eliminating the need to operate the brake by foot movement.
It is yet another object to provide a brake which will operate only on the front and rear wheels of an in-line roller skate to prevent lock up of the two inner wheels should the brake be applied while traversing uneven surfaces.
It is still a further object to provide a brake which will operate only on one wheel of a skate in order to limit the wear to one wheel, and thereby reduce the cost of manufacturing and operating the skate while still providing a braking action to the skate.
It is yet a further object to provide a braking assembly for skating which may be used in areas previously considered too dangerous for skating.
It is yet another object to provide a braking apparatus that allows the skate's wheels to be locked, which permits the user to walk up or down stairs and walk in areas where skating is inappropriate or unsafe.
It is still another object to provide a braking apparatus for small vehicles which is simple in design and use, and economical to manufacture.
The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those which can be achieved by the present invention and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the invention, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Braking method and apparatus for an in-line roller skate


A multi-link internal combustion engine generally includes a cylinder block, an oil pan mounted to the undersurface of the cylinder block to define a crank chamber, the oil pan being formed with a shallow bottom portion and a deep bottom portion for storing oil. The multi-link internal combustion engine further includes a multi-link, piston-crank mechanism disposed in the crank chamber, a pivotal link member of the piston-crank mechanism pivotal about a pivotal fulcrum located on the side of oil pan; and an oil guide wall provided on the shallow bottom portion in the crank chamber for guiding the oil displaced due to the movement of the pivotal link member to the side of deep bottom portion.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-43,513 describes, in an oil pan structure including a deep bottom portion for storing oil to be sucked up by an oil pump and a shallow bottom portion shallower than the deep bottom portion close to the rotational components, an inclined surface formed in the shallow bottom portion lowering toward the deep bottom portion and lowering along the direction of rotation of the crank shaft so that the oil in the shallow bottom portion easily flows into the deep bottom portion.


The active matrix substrate of the present invention is an active matrix substrate in which a drain extraction line can be prevented from breaking without a plurality of active elements such as TFT (thin film transistor) elements, MIM (metal-insulator-metal) elements, MOS transistor elements, diodes, and varistors being disposed, and is suited for use in large-size liquid crystal television or a like liquid crystal display device equipped with a large-size liquid crystal display panel. The active matrix substrate of the present invention is an active matrix substrate comprising an active element connected, via a drain extraction line, to a storage capacitor upper electrode, wherein the drain extraction line has at least two routes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix substrate to be used in a display device, such as a liquid crystal display device or EL (electroluminescence) display device. More particularly, it relates to an active matrix substrate suited for use in large-size liquid crystal television or a like liquid crystal display device equipped with a large-size liquid crystal display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Active matrix substrates are widely used in active matrix drive type display devices such as liquid crystal display devices and electroluminescence (EL) display devices. In such active matrix drive type display devices, active elements are disposed to form a matrix on respective independent pixel electrodes, and screen displaying is made by the active matrix drive method according to which the pixel electrodes are selectively driven by these active elements. Generally used as the active elements for selective driving of pixel electrodes are TFT (thin film transistors) elements, MIM (metal-insulator-metal) elements, MOS transistor elements, diodes, and varistors, among others, and screen displaying is made by switching the voltage applied to each pixel electrode and the corresponding opposing electrode to thereby optically modulate the display medium, such as a liquid crystal layer, EL display layer or plasma radiation layer, between both the electrodes. Such active matrix drive method enables high contrast displaying and is in practical use in liquid crystal televisions, personal computer terminal display devices, and so forth.
As the conventional active matrix substrate for use in a liquid crystal display device using such active matrix drive method, one in which the drain electrode of a TFT element is connected to the corresponding pixel electrode via a drain extraction line and a contact hole has been disclosed (cf. e.g. Japanese Kokai Publication H10-20298, pages 3 and 6, drawing 1). In this conventional display device, only one drain extraction line is formed for each pixel on the active matrix substrate and, in case of breaking of this one drain extraction line, the normal display of the corresponding pixel is not made any longer, which leads to the occurrence of an operation failure called pixel defect; the result is a decrease in the yield of liquid display devices. This is explained referring to the drawings. In the conventional active matrix substrate for a liquid display device, as shown in FIG. 13-1, breaking 22 of one drain extraction line, as shown in FIG. 13-2, results in inhibition of a data signal 21 from arriving at a pixel electrode for transmission from a source bus line 5 via a drain electrode 1 and the drain extraction line 2. As a result, a pixel defect occurs, and this lowers the display quality of the liquid display device and causes a decrease in yield. As the cause of drain extraction line breaking, there may be mentioned, among others, a photo resist pattern defect in wiring pattern formation, and a defect in layer deposition in drain extraction line layer formation by sputtering, for instance.
As a technology of preventing the occurrence of pixel defects, a liquid crystal display device has been disclosed in which each pixel is provided with a plurality of thin film transistors (cf. e.g. Japanese Kokai Publication H07-199221, pages 3 and 6, drawing 1 and Japanese Kokai Publication 2002-350901, pages 13 and 20, drawing 9). However, to provide each pixel with a plurality of thin film transistors causes a decrease in aperture ratio and an increase in production cost; in these respects, there is room for improvement.
Further, a liquid crystal display device or the like in which an interconnection line (bridge) is disposed between two neighboring pixel electrodes to cope with the occurrence of a pixel defect by connecting the electrode of the defective pixel to the electrode of the neighboring normal pixel by means of that interconnection line has been disclosed (cf. e.g. Japanese Kokai Publication H02-135320, pages 3 and 4, drawing 1 and Japanese Kokai Publication H08-328035, pages 3 and 5, drawing 1). According to this technology, however, the interconnection line is disposed in a manner stepping across the gate line, so that the gray scale characteristics are deteriorated due to the increase in coupling capacity; in this respect, there is room for improvement.
In recent years, the liquid display panels in liquid crystal televisions and so forth have become larger and larger in size and, accordingly, the number of pixels has been increased; as a result, there is a tendency for the number of pixel defects to increase. The size of pixels is also increasing with the increase in size of the screen and, therefore, even when an abnormal bright spot, if discovered in the manufacturing process, is converted to a dark spot, as is conventional in the art, users will be able to readily recognize, by the eye, not only the luminescent spot but also the dark spot as a pixel defect. Under such circumstances, a novel technology has been demanded for improving the display quality by effectively inhibiting pixel defects from occurring and thereby improving the yield.

Active matrix substrate and display device


For patterning during integrated circuit fabrication, an image layer is activated for forming a respective first type polymer block at each of two nearest activated areas. A layer of block copolymer is formed on the image layer, and a plurality of the first type polymer blocks and a plurality of second and third types of polymer blocks are formed on an area of the image layer between outer edges of the two nearest activated areas, from the block copolymer. At least one of the first, second, and third types of polymer blocks are removed to form a variety of mask structures.

For patterning during integrated circuit fabrication in the prior art, top-down patterning using photolithography has been widely used. In such top-down patterning, photo-resist is patterned for in turn patterning an underlying target layer. However as integrated circuit dimensions are reduced to nanometers, photolithography with top-down patterning is limited because of properties of photo-resist material.
For example, line resolution and line edge roughness are limited by the large size of polymer molecules of the photo-resist material. In addition, a photo-resist structure that is tall and thin is prone to pattern collapse.
Accordingly, a bottom-up patterning technique using copolymer material has been developed as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. US 2006/0134556 to Nealey et al.
However, even with such bottom-up patterning, a technique for achieving a variety of patterning dimensions is desired. In addition, a technique for achieving dimensions smaller than possible with conventional photolithography is desired.

Method of fine patterning semiconductor device


A method for transmitting data from and to a control device, in particular an engine control device for a motor vehicle that has a first communication interface and a second communication interface, the method having the following steps: connecting the first communication interface to a development tool, and connecting the second communication interface to one or more function units during the development phase of the control device, transmitting data from the control device to the development tool via the first communication interface using a first communication protocol, transmitting data from the development tool to the control device via the first communication interface using the first communication protocol, breaking the connection between the first communication interface and the development tool, connecting the first communication interface to one or more additional 20 function units, and transmitting data between the control device and the other function unit or function units via the first communication interface using a second communication protocol.

Engine control devices control the functions of a motor vehicle, such as fuel injection, moment of ignition, vehicle immobilizer, and so on. The engine control device has a microcontroller that executes a predetermined program, and a memory in which particular vehicle parameters used in this program or the like are stored, for example. The control device controls function units (e.g., the metering system for the fuel injection of an engine), which are connected to the control device via a data bus, for example.
During the development phase of a control device, the control device is connected to an external development tool in addition to the function units of the vehicle (or to emulators that act as these function units vis-à-vis the control device). This development tool enables the developer to monitor and influence in detail the processing of the control program by the processor. To this end, the developer examines and modifies the vehicle parameters stored in the memory to analyze the behavior of the system controlled by the control device, for example. Thus, during the development phase, significantly larger quantities of data are exchanged with the control device than is the case when the completed control device is used later, so that a larger bandwidth is required for the data transmission.
Data may be transmitted between the control device and the development tool via the same data bus that is also used by the control device to communicate with the function units. For this purpose, the CAN interface (Controller Area Network) has established itself as an interface in the automotive sector. The associated CAN protocol is very flexible and makes it possible to add further nodes (e.g., function units or development tool) on the CAN bus without any problems. For communicating via the CAN bus, a priority-based bit arbitration takes place in which a unique priority is assigned to every message, this requiring a bidirectional transmission of data. Furthermore, the CAN protocol is fault-tolerant, which on the other hand calls for a significant protocol overhead, which leads to a restriction of the bandwidth available for data transmission.
Furthermore, the available bandwidth is already substantially exhausted by communication with the function units so that sufficient transmission capacity is no longer available for communication with the development tool. This may result in a delay in the transmission of data to the development tool, which falsely creates the impression of a malfunction of the control device. To be sure, it is possible to accelerate the transmission to the development tool by assigning it a sufficiently high priority on the bus. But, on the other hand, the result of this is that the requirements for the real-time response of the communication between control device and function units are not fulfilled reliably.
For providing a larger transmission capacity, DE 103 03 490 A1 proposes providing to the processor of the transmission device a second interface designed as a serial interface (e.g., USB or Fire-Wire interface) that is able to be used only for communication with the external development tool. During the development phase, large quantities of data may be exchanged via this interface without impairing the time response in communication via the first interface. However, providing the second interface leads to higher costs, so that ultimately such an engine control device is able to be used only as a prototype for the development phase for control devices; however, is not suitable for mass production.

Method for transmitting data from and to a control device


A sealing device (30) is provided for sealing the interior of a pressure vessel such as the containment tube (20) of a separation device (8). The sealing device may comprises a detonation manifold (130, 230 or 330) having a body portion (31) having at least one initiation port (32) for receiving a secondary device such as initiation devices (15a, 15b) and at least one mounting boss (138 or 238) having an annular locking channel (162 or 262) along the side surface (138b or 238b) of the mounting boss. A locking collar (150 or 250) having an integral crimping band (158 or 258) which extends along and protrudes from an inner circumferential contact surface (151 or 251) of locking collar (150 or 250).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing device for connecting the interior of a pressure containment vessel to a secondary device, the sealing device being capable of withstanding significant transient shock forces and substantial and sudden increases in internal pressures within the containment vessel. In particular, the sealing device may be used to connect a detonating cord contained in the interior of a containment tube to initiation devices for the detonating cord. Such arrangements are used for separation devices used to connect separable rocket stages, in which the containment tube is disposed within a frangible joint of the separation device.
2. Related Art flanges 38 for receiving the ends of the containment tube and for disposing the detonation charge or fuse of the expansion member in detonation signal communication with the initiation device. The flange 38 also has a bore 40 that communicates with the initiation port. The detonation fuse of the expansion member 10 signal extends into the communication bore 40 in detonation signal transfer relation with the initiation device. The strength of the detonation fuse must be limited to control the pressure resulting from initiation of it in order to maintain the integrity of the containment tube 20 and of the sealing of coupling flanges 38 during detonation of the cord. An increase in the explosive loading of the detonating cord will enhance reliability of the separation device by facilitating the separation of the joined structures, while the need to maintain the integrity of the containment tube during detonation of the cord militates against increasing the explosive loading. Accordingly, a stronger connection of the coupling flanges to the containment tube will enable the use of higher explosive loadings while maintaining integrity of the containment tube.

Sealing device and a method for assembly thereof


A lawn and garden sprayer having a tank, a hose and a dispensing wand. The dispensing wand is a tubular member having a fluid flow control valve at one end and a dispensing nozzle at the other. The dispensing nozzle is supported on a nozzle body which is press-fit into an end of the fluid dispensing tube where it is held by an interference fit to provide a fluid-tight joint. The nozzle body has a circumferential sealing surface and a knurled surface for preventing rotation of the nozzle body relative to the dispensing tube. A threaded portion is provided on the nozzle body for supporting a nozzle. A dispensing portion is covered by the nozzle and has a plurality of transverse apertures connecting to an axial fluid passage in the nozzle body to enable fluid contained in the tank to be dispensed through the nozzle.

Lawn and garden sprayers usually have a tank for supporting a liquid material to be dispensed and a flexible hose leading from the tank to a metal or plastic wand which has a hand operated valve for controlling the flow of fluid from the tank at one end and a nozzle at the other end which can be adjusted to dispense a stream or various spray patterns. When the wand is made of metal, the fittings on the wand for attaching the valve and for supporting the adjustable nozzle are usually soldered to the tubing. The soldering of the fittings requires not only skilled personnel but also specialized equipment to ventilate the fumes from the solder and flux used. In making a soldered joint, it is the preferred practice to thoroughly clean the area to be soldered. This cleaning can cause the solder to be wicked out of the solder joint forming an aesthetically undesirable joint and also a joint with a potential for leaking. Also, in raising the temperature of the parts high enough for the solder to flow freely, the fittings and the tubing can become discolored. All in all, it is a very difficult procedure to prepare an aesthetically pleasing dispensing wand.
Also, it frequently happens in the use of a lawn and garden sprayer that the nozzle will be excessively tightened by the user. It then becomes necessary to use a pair of pliers or a wrench to remove the nozzle from the wand. If the nozzle supporting member has not been properly soldered to the wand and if, for example, the solder has been wicked out of the connection, it is possible for the nozzle supporting fitting to loosen under the applied pressure or at least to weaken the joint sufficiently so that it will leak when the wand is used to dispense lawn and garden chemicals.

Lawn and garden sprayer with press-fit nozzle construction


Objects in a virtual space may need to be synchronized between different instances (or different expressions of an instance) of the virtual space that are separated spatially. Objects include characters. Different expressions may be associated with different users and different client computing platforms that are connected by a network. The actions of the same character in two expressions of the same instance of the virtual space may not be synchronized due to network delay, lag, latency, or other delays, or due to joining a session already in progress. Responsive to a determination that an object is not synchronized, a sequence of subsequent states is determined that will result in the object being synchronized.

Conventionally, in a multi-character networked game, actions by different characters need to be synchronized across different instances of the game. Behavior trees may be used to implement behavior and/or action of characters in a game. Complex characters may have deep and/or wide behavior trees including many nodes. Multiple instances of the game may need to share updated information, e.g. one or more currently active nodes per character, with each other and/or a server that hosts the game. Faithful replication of all characters in every instance of the game may require sharing a lot of information over the network. Alternatively, and/or simultaneously, allowing characters to be out of sync may cause poor interaction within the game, poor animation of actions, and/or other visually underwhelming effects.
Existing solutions may require hard coding on a case-by-case basis. Networking may be implemented in a very literal manner with large amounts of network traffic being dedicated to updating characters in different locations and sharing information about the current state of the characters including but not limited to animations that are being played on the characters, their current destination of travel, their current mode of transport, attack targets, interactions with other characters, etc. The network implementation of characters may require extrapolating to make educated guesses about where the master character is at a given moment and what animation is playing at what frame. As such, existing approaches may be very inflexible and unforgiving making for very choppy looking characters and/or interactions.

Efficient synchronization of behavior trees using network significant nodes


A forensic video search user interface is disclosed that accesses databases of stored video event metadata from multiple camera streams and facilitates the workflow of search of complex global events that are composed of a number of simpler, low complexity events.

The invention relates generally to user interfaces. More specifically, the invention relates to a user interface for a forensic video search. Further, the invention relates to the query processing in response to the user interface for a forensic video search.
An increasing need for enhanced site security and safety has fueled a rapid expansion of video camera network installations worldwide. In the United Kingdom alone, as of 2006, it is estimated that there were more than 4.2 million CCTV cameras with over 500,000 installed just in London. Camera networks such as these, often operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week, generate massive amounts of image and video surveillance data.
A vast majority of the data is typically archived for later analysis in case of disruptive events. Often, time-critical information needs to be extracted from the archived surveillance video to aid an ongoing investigation, or to prevent further security breaches or safety infractions. However, due to the sheer volume of data that is acquired and stored, effectively searching through it for interesting events, in a timely manner, becomes an extremely challenging task. Therefore, the amount of data acquired by visual surveillance devices far exceeds the operator's capacity to understand its contents and meaningfully search through it. This represents a fundamental bottleneck in the security and safety infrastructure, and has prevented video surveillance technology from reaching its true potential.
Automated video analytic modules provide one means of addressing this problem by analyzing the contents of a video feed and generating a description of interesting events transpiring in the scene. Video Content Analysis (VCA) modules can be set up for real-time analysis of the video stream to generate alarms as specific events occur. Alternatively, they can also be used to generate, what is referred to as, event metadata that is stored offline in a database. The event metadata database can be searched through and can be used to index the original recorded video.
VCA modules operating in real-time typically analyze only a single camera video stream and capture events in a camera's field of view or scene. It is often the case that detection of complex interesting events requires an examination of events that transpired across multiple cameras that occur over large spans of time, involving multiple actors and objects. Such in-depth analysis has typically required human operator involvement to piece together a big picture from smaller pieces of evidence.
What is desired is a user interface that facilitates the forensic search of complex global events that are composed of a number of simpler, low complexity events.

Method and user interface for forensic video search