A freezer case includes a refrigeration system and a controller. The controller is configured to store a plurality of setpoint instruction sets associated with a plurality of possible operating modes, select a current operating mode from the plurality of possible operating modes, assign a value for the superheat setpoint by executing the setpoint instruction set associated with the current operating mode, control the refrigeration system in accordance with the superheat setpoint.

The present disclosure relates to the field of refrigeration systems, in particular refrigeration systems for cases for storing and/or merchandizing frozen items (e.g., food). The present disclosure primarily relates to freezer cases for displaying and providing access to frozen products in a grocery store or similar setting (e.g., reach-in merchandizers). However, the present disclosure is not limited to the context of food retail and may be applicable to freezer cases for use in residential settings, commercial kitchens, medical facilities, and laboratory and research facilities, among other settings and applications. Additionally, although the embodiments described herein focus on freezer case (i.e., designed for low temperatures below 0° C.), the present disclosure is not limited to low-temperature freezer cases and can be adapted for use with temperature-controlled cases of various other temperatures (e.g., refrigeration cases above 0° C.).
One goal for such a display case is to store the frozen items at a consistent, below-freezing temperature. Control of refrigeration components may be complicated by various factors. For example, in a retail setting, cases may be opened frequently to allow customers to reach in and take items from the case, exposing the interior of the case to warmer, moister ambient air. The case may also be held open for extended periods of time to facilitate restocking of products into such cases, after which temperature in a case must be brought back down toward the expected, below-freezing temperature. As another example, because the temperature in a freezer case is held below the freezing point of water, moisture in the air in the case may collect as frost on products in the case. In a retail setting, consumers may have a negative perception of frost build-up on products in a display case. Operation of the refrigeration components can influence the humidity in the case, and, accordingly, the degree frost build-up on products in the case. Accordingly, a refrigerated display case with a control system configured to provide a consistent, below-freezing temperature in a display case while reducing frost collection on products therein would be advantageous.

Freezer case with variable superheat setpoints


A water conservation system for toilets is provided. The system comprises an auxiliary water supply including a storage tank for collecting and storing recycled or gray water and a water line hydraulically connecting the storage tank to a toilet tank. A dual action valve is disposed in the toilet tank. The valve includes a first valve segment connected to the fresh water supply and a second valve segment connected to the water line from the storage tank. One or two floats, which are responsive to the fill level in the toilet tank, open and close the first and second valves. The dual action valve may further include a pilot valve disposed inline between the fresh water supply and the first valve for switching the fresh water supply regardless of whether the first valve is in a closed or open condition. The pilot valve communicates with the water line from the storage tank and is responsive to pressure in the water line.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a water conservation system, in which waste water from bath tubs, sinks, washing machines or rain water and the like is used for flushing toilets. In particular, the invention relates to a novel valve combination in a toilet tank.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several systems for limiting fresh water usage by utilizing waste water for flushing toilets have been presented in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,318,449 to Jennings et al. (Water Re-use System); U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,218 to McCormick (Water Reuse System); U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,597 to Toms (Water Recycling with Solids and Foam Removal); U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,436 to Kaump (Grate and Water Recovery System); U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,864 to Medrano (Combination Wash Basin and Toilet Conservation System); U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,536 to Rivera (High Pressure toilet Water Feeder Conservation Tank); U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,536 to Houghton (System of Conserving Water in a Building); U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,497 to Call (Water Conservation System); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,327 to Hendrick (Water Saving Toilet Arrangement). Various conservation systems have also been proposed in Europe as shown for instance by European patent application 0 427 213 A1 to N. Schlegel et al., or German published, non-prosecuted applications Nos. 22 11 620 to W. Bech and 34 34 267 to A. Gebert.
Most of the prior art devices require substantial alterations in a conventional toilet system, such as an entirely new toilet tank, additional pumps, several additional water pipes and valves, and/or several additional storage tanks. In other words, the conversion of a conventional, already installed system to a prior art water conservation and reuse system required substantial modifications.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a water conservation system, which overcomes the hereinaforementioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which is simple to install, requires only a limited amount of additional piping, which is fully automatic and does not require additional maintenance.


A light beam (6) is applied to a waveguide (3) in order to measure properties of the beam (6), e.g. the wavelength. According to the invention, the waveguide (3) has locally and/or time-varying resonances, e.g. by suitably designed grid couplers (4, 5). A light signal (7) is thus generated in the waveguide (3) as a direct measurement of the property to be measured and can be further processed by suitable means or evaluated. It is thus possible, for example, advantageously to produce a simple and inexpensive spectrometer.

The instant invention relates to a process as well as means for executing the process for determining a property of an optical light beam.
A number of optical sensors for determining the values of one or several quantities to be measured are known.
Spectrometers, which spread the light beams out, for example by means of prisms or gratings, are known in particular for measuring light beams.
Measurement with conventional spectrometers has the disadvantage that as a rule it is an elaborate process and must be performed with expensive apparatus. Furthermore, this is a measurement which is not free of destruction, i.e. the light beam is practically destroyed for and during measuring. No measurement of an operating light beam can be performed with it or the operation must be interrupted for the measurement, or a portion of the beam must be separated by means of a co-called beam splitter and imaged on a small inlet opening.
The object of the instant invention was to find a process for measuring the quantity of a light beam which in particular permits at least a low-destructive measurement simply and with a few technical means.
This object is attained in accordance with the invention as will be described in the following.
The measuring process in accordance with the invention has, on the one hand, the great advantage that only a small fraction of the light beam is used for the measurement, i.e. only a small loss in intensity occurs. With this it is possible to also measure a light beam which is being operated without a noticeable loss of intensity occurring, i.e. measurement can be performed during operation. Furthermore, the measurement can take place by very simple and cost-effective means. It is also possible in the simplest way to select the quantity to be measured or parameter as desired. For example, the process can be performed for determining the wavelength or the angle of incidence of the light beam on the measuring device. This is simply achieved in that all parameters are kept constant, except for the quantity to be measured.
The process in accordance with the invention is particularly suited for realizing a compact miniaturized wavelength measuring device with a high degree of resolution. Measuring devices of this type can be used for measuring or monitoring light sources, such as laser light sources, for example.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail below by means of the drawings, in which:

Process and device for measuring light beams


An engineering tool is used for editing data of program components of programmable logic controllers which form a programmable logic controller system which enables a plurality of users to simultaneously edit the program components, and for writing the edited data of the program components to the programmable logic controllers. The engineering tool includes a program component editing method setting unit configured to set the timing at which the data of the program components changed by the editing is transmitted to other engineering tools in which the data of the program components is being edited, for each of the program components.

In a case where a plurality of users simultaneously edit program components with respect to a certain programmable logic controller in a programmable logic controller system, by adding lock information indicating possibility of making edition for each of the program components stored in the programmable logic controller, the possibility of edition for each of the program components can be monitored, and the users can simultaneously edit data. (Refer to Patent Literature 1.)
Also, in a case where a plurality of users are concurrently connected to a certain target device, when a certain client device registers shared data, the registered content can be immediately reflected to client devices other than the client device that has registered the data therein. (Refer to Patent Literature 2.)

Program creation device and programmable logic controller


One example discloses a method for calibrating an imager. A plurality of images of a target, each having an associated integration time, are captured at the imager. A representative digital count is determined for each of the plurality of images. Integration time is represented as a function of digital count from the respective digital counts and integration times associated with the plurality of images. A calibrated integration time is calculated from a target digital count.

Digital imaging is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. Digital imagers can include an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film. The captured image can be stored as a digital file ready for digital processing (e.g., color correction, sizing, cropping, etc.), viewing or printing.

Systems and methods for calibrating an imager

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A cell reselection control method according to an embodiment comprises transmitting, by a base station configured to manage a cell having a first coverage and a second coverage as a portion enhanced more than the first coverage, to a radio terminal under the cell, a reselection instruction that instructs to reselect a neighboring cell different from the cell, and reselecting, by the radio terminal, the neighboring cell according to the reselection instruction when the radio terminal is in the second coverage.

In recent years, a radio terminal targeting machine type communication (MTC) and internet of things (IoT) services that perform communication without human intervention have attracted attention. Such a radio terminal is required to realize cost reduction, coverage enhancement, and low power consumption.
For this reason, in 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), a category of a new radio terminal of which transmission/reception bandwidth is limited only to a part of the system transmission/reception band has been specified. A coverage enhancement function including repetition and the like is applied to the radio terminal of such a new category.
The enhanced coverage function increases a load on a cell due to the repetition or the like. Therefore, when there are many radio terminals in an RRC idle mode in the enhanced coverage that is a part enhanced by the enhanced coverage function, the load on the cell due to transmission and reception of paging or the like is increased. When the load on the cell is excessive, access restrictions may be considered to be set for the cell, but since the radio terminal cannot select the cell as a serving cell, communication failure of many radio terminals may occur.


A product includes a use indicator carried inside a container so that, upon removal of a closure from the container or upon removal of flowable product from within the container, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the package has been used.

Many containers are provided with tamper-resistant devices to resist refilling of contents in the containers. For example, a container for carrying a liquid product can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable, so as to impede efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product and/or package including a container and a use-evident indicator for indicating that the product and/or package has been used, for example, by opening of the package and/or by dispensing or other removal of original flowable product from the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a container, and a use indicator carried inside the container so that, upon removal of a closure from the container or upon removal of flowable product from within the container, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the package has been used.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a product that includes the steps of (a) positioning an indicator inside of a container, wherein the indicator has a coloration state changeable to another coloration state in response to use of the product, (b) flowing a flowable product into the container to at least partially cover the indicator, and (c) assembling a closure to the container.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, a product includes a container, and a use indicator carried by the container so that, upon removal of a closure from the container or upon removal of flowable product from within the container, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the package has been used, wherein the container includes a wall recess and the use indicator is carried in the wall recess.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of discouraging reuse of a container after opening of the container, which includes the step of: applying a permanent discoloration to the container, which is observable by a potential user to indicate that the container has already been used.

Package or product having a use indicator


An overvoltage protection device is adopted, which is provided with a conductive polymer that runs away thermally when the resistance value becomes V2/P or higher, given that the power consumption when actuated is P and the voltage of the secondary battery cell when fully charged is V.

Various portable electronic apparatus, such as cellphones, digital cameras, video cameras, and notebook computers and the like, use as the power source a secondary battery that can be used repeatedly through charging. Because of the requirements of small size and long hours of use, lithium ion batteries, having a high energy density, are widely used as such secondary battery. However, because lithium ion batteries have a risk of decreased battery performance or failure when overcharged, an overcharge needs to be prevented when charging.
Thus, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication 2001-313202, a protection device is disclosed to protect a lithium ion secondary battery when an overcharge occurs. That is, a PTC device and a fuse (low melting point metal) are provided in the charge circuit in this protection device so that when the lithium ion secondary battery is in an overcharged state, the resistance value of the PTC device increases to suppress the charge current to the lithium ion secondary battery. Further, in this protection device, when the temperature of the PTC device becomes excessive owing to heat being stored through repeated actuation of the PTC device, the above fuse is fused to cut off charge current to the lithium ion battery.
For example, a protection element is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication 2002-150918, wherein a PTC device is connected sandwiched between a pair of external connection terminals, with either of the external connection terminals having a fuse function. Further, in this protection element, the above fuse function is set to operate when the temperature condition reaches a temperature higher than the actuating temperature of the PTC device.
In the above protection device and protection element, after the PTC device is actuated by heat generated by a battery through being overcharged, the overcharged battery must generate more heat in order for the low melting point metal to operate. In order to remedy this, a means may be considered of making the low melting point metal operate immediately by adopting a low melting point metal with a lower melting point. However, this would cause the low melting point metal to fuse simply because the ambient temperature rose through natural use and therefore cannot be offered for practical use.
This invention was made in view of the above circumstances and has the purpose of providing a means of preventing a secondary battery from failure or decreased performance caused by overvoltage on the secondary battery during charging.


The invention relates a powder material consisting of coated particles for a powder-based rapid generative prototyping methods, in particular by compressing a 3D binder. Said powder material consists of individual plastic, metal and/or ceramic particles and/or granules. A coating essentially consists of an adhesive agent which can be activated by a liquid binder, light or laser light, and of sinterable or glass-forming fine-grained material. Said invention also relates to a method for compressing 3D binder with the aid of an organic solvent having a water content less than 45% and to sintered bodies, in particular for moulding or precision mechanical engineering, which are fixed to each other by sintering or glass formation from a fine grained material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to coated powder material for producing three-dimensional bodies (3D bodies) by means of layer constituting methods (powder-based generative rapid prototyping processes), in particular by means of 3D binder printing, the production of 3D bodies therefrom, and the production and use of sintered bodies obtainable therefrom. Materials and methods of this type are known from DE 44 40 397 C2, DE 698 07 236 T2, DE 696 07 975 T2, DE 690 31 808 T2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,097 B1.
2. Related Art of the Invention
Among the more recent and particularly interesting powder-based generative rapid prototyping (RP) processes is the 3D binder printing process.
In a first variant of 3D binder printing, a layer of particles or granules is discharged onto an underlying surface and moistened with a binding liquid in predetermined regions, which respectively correspond to a layer of an object to be generated. The particles are wetted and adhesively bonded by the binder liquid in the moistened regions. Subsequent evaporation of the solvents in the binder liquid has the effect that the particles adhere directly to one another, fusing together at least in their edge regions. 3D binder printing processes that are related in particular to this type are known for example from European patents EP 0 644 809 B1, EP 0 686 067 B1 and European patent application EP 1 099 534 A2.
In a further variant of this method, use is made of a binder liquid containing sintering aids which, when the moistened regions are dried, leaves behind sintering aids which make it possible for the particles to be sintered as a solid mass in a subsequent sintering treatment. Hard and compact sintered bodies can be obtained in this way.
EP 0 925 169 B1 discloses a further variant of the 3D binder printing process in which mixtures of particles, fillers and adhesives are used. The binder liquid is substantially formed just by a solvent for the adhesive contained in the mixture. The adhesive may in this case also be in the form of a coating of the particles.
A further process of generative rapid prototyping (RP) provides for the particles to be made to solidify in the layer by means of light, or laser-induced sintering (hereafter laser sintering). For this purpose, the layer is heated in defined regions by means of exposure to light, if appropriate also through a mask, or laser radiation to the extent that the particles can fuse together or sinter together.
The known generative RP binder printing processes have the disadvantage in the production of sintered bodies that the finished green compact or sintered body exhibits a distinct shrinkage in comparison with the region originally activated by means of binder liquid, light or laser light. This is attributable to effects during the activation and during the sintering, sintering being understood as meaning both the laser-induced processes during the hardening of the layer and the production of sintered bodies from the green compacts obtainable by the RP processes.
In binder printing, the particles move closer together when they are moistened, under the effect of the capillary forces and surface tension, in particular whenever adhesives that may be present are made to swell or dissolved by the binder liquid, so that a distinct shrinkage has taken place already during the shaping or after the drying to form the green compact. Shrinkage processes also occur in the case of exposure to light or laser sintering.
The effect of sintering, in particular with regard to the production of sintered bodies, can be divided into a number of stages. In the initial or early stage, the original particles are still visible. The first cohesion between the powder particles is created by bridge formation and grain growth. A slight shrinkage occurs. In the middle stage, the formation of a contiguous pore space takes place. The individual particles are no longer identifiable and the sintering shrinkage begins. In the late stage there is the reduction of the pore space, which becomes increasingly accessible from the outside (closed pores). In the limiting case, complete compaction takes place (dense sintering).
The main elements of the shrinkage are attributable to the middle stage.
The known coatings have the disadvantage that they are hydrophilic and therefore absorb water from the surroundings, in particular from the atmospheric moisture. This leads on the one hand to an agglomeration of the particles and on the other hand to a high binding liquid absorption in the case of 3D binder printing processes. This has a negative influence on the distinctness of image of the 3D binder printing process, the material shrinkage under exposure to the binder liquid, the storage stability, and also the handling of the powder.

Coated powder particles for producing three-dimensional bodies by means of a layer constituting method


A system for coupling teraherz (THz) radiation to a coaxial waveguide comprises an antenna that generates THz radiation having a mode that matches the mode of the waveguide. The antenna may comprise a pair of concentric electrodes, at least one of which may be affixed to or formed by one end of the waveguide. The radiation may have wavelengths between approximately 30 μm and 3 mm. The waveguide may comprise an inner core and an outer wall defining an annular region. A terahertz sensor system may comprise a terahertz antenna comprising first and second concentric electrodes, means for generating a field across the trodes and means for triggering the emission of terahertz radiation, a first waveguide having first and second ends, said first end being coupled to said antenna so as to receive at least a portion of said terahertz radiation, and a sensor for detecting said terahertz radiation.

Rapid advances in laser technology have enabled various techniques for the generation and detection of electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz region (spanning from ˜100 GHz to ˜10 THz, or wavelengths between ˜30 μm and ˜3 mm). As a result, numerous uses of terahertz radiation have been explored, including trace gas detection, medical diagnosis, security screening, and defect analysis in complex materials such as space shuttle tiles. Many of these studies have relied on terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, a technique for generating sub-picosecond pulses with spectral content spanning much of the THz band.
However, progress is limited by the overwhelming reliance on free-space transport of the terahertz beam, using bulk optical components. In many real-world situations, the sample or region to be studied may not be readily accessible to a line-of-sight beam. Hence, common devices that operate at other wavelengths, such as optical fiber-based sensors or medical endoscopes rely on the guided wave delivery of light to the remote sensing location. In addition, while THz waves can be transmitted simply by free space propagation, free space propagation requires bulk optical components, which are difficult to align.
Thus, in order to expand the usefulness of THz radiation, it is desirable to provide optimized guided wave devices that operate at THz frequencies. The development of practical THz waveguides would dramatically expand the application of THz-TDS in areas such as gas sensing and nanometer thin-film measurements.
Heretofore, the development of THz waveguides has been hindered by the material properties and the application requirements in this spectral range. On the one hand, the characteristics of materials at THz frequencies make it extremely difficult to build a fiber to guide THz beams over a long distance. The most transparent materials for this range are crystalline (e.g., high resistivity silicon), and thus are costly, fragile, and challenging to form into specific geometries for waveguide configurations. Other materials, such as low-loss polymers or glasses, are more malleable but exhibit prohibitively high absorption losses for propagation distances of more than a few centimeters. For this reason, THz waveguides generally must rely on propagation in air, rather than via dielectric confinement as in an optical fiber.
On the other hand, many THz applications rely on the use of broadband pulses for time-domain analysis and spectroscopic applications. To avoid pulse reshaping during propagation, low dispersion is required. But for many conventional metal waveguides (e.g., metal tubes), pulse reshaping in propagation is difficult to avoid, due to the extreme dispersion near the waveguide cutoff frequencies. Furthermore, finite conductivity of metals can lead to considerable losses in the wave propagation.
Great efforts have been devoted to finding useful THz waveguides within the last few years, and various guides with quasi-optical coupling have been demonstrated. Most of these THz waveguides have been based on conventional guiding structures, such as metal tubes, plastic ribbons, or dielectric fibers. There have also been reports on the application of the latest technology of photonic crystal fibers to THz radiation. In all of these cases, the utility for transport of THz pulses is limited by group velocity dispersion of the guided waves.
The most promising studies have reported dispersionless propagation in parallel metal plate waveguides. One type of dispersionless waveguide design has been discussed recently by Grischkowsky and co-workers. This design is a ribbon waveguide, which is dispersionless and low-loss. In the Grischkowsky design, the loss is attributable to two factors: (1) lateral spreading due to the fact that the mode is unconfined in one of the two transverse dimensions, and (2) the finite conductivity of the metal used to confine the mode, which in this case results in a reported attenuation of ˜80 dB/m.
Coaxial waveguides, have not heretofore been considered, due to the difficulties in coupling the radiation into the guide. This is because linearly or circularly polarized light cannot be effectively coupled into a coaxial waveguide. In particular, coaxial waveguides have not been used previously at frequencies above a few GHz, because of the difficulties in coupling the radiation into the waveguide efficiently. Hence, it remains desired to provide a waveguide that is effective at THz frequencies.

Method for coupling terahertz pulses into a coaxial waveguide


Apparatus and method for recording and/or reproducing an image frame in plural blocks utilizes a memory for storing an image signal for one field. The image signal for one field is then divided into n blocks by reading the image signal from the memory n times where n is an integer equal to at least two. The n divided image signals are then subjected to one-channel signal processing, and the respective image signals subjected to the signal processing are then recorded on a recording medium sequentially in different tracks. During reproduction, if little time is available, only selected ones of the n blocks are read and the entire image is interpolated therefrom.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for recording and/or reproducing various kinds of information signals, such as digital image signals and the like, on a recording medium, such as a magnetic tape or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Apparatuses have been generally known which record various kinds of digital signals, such as image signals, voice signals and the like, on a magnetic tape carried within a small cassette. In such a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, the above-described information signals are transmitted through a transmission system within the apparatus at a predetermined speed, and signal processing and other kinds of processing, such as recording/reproducing processing and the like, are performed.
It is preferred that the transmission speed of a signal in the above-described magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is low in consideration of processing speeds of various kinds of signals.
However, if the transmission speed is lowered, a long time is needed for recording when recording an image signal which has a large amount of information.
That is, if the transmission speed is set to about 768 Kbits (kilobits)/sec {2(ch).times.32 (KHz (kilohertzs)).times.12 (bits)} which is sufficient for the transmission of a voice signal, a time of about 4.8 seconds is needed for recording an image signal for one frame 3.7 Mbits (megabits){640 (picture elements).times.480 (picture elements).times.1.5 (Y+C)}! which is more or less sufficient as an image signal.
Accordingly, when, for example, the above-described magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is used for an electronic still-picture camera, the camera has the disadvantage that the shutter timing is restricted, and hence a successive photographing function (which is an indispensable function for a camera) is also restricted.
The above-described disadvantage due to the slow transmission speed also causes a problem in a reproducing operation as well as in a recording operation because a long time is needed for a reproducing operation.
Furthermore, the use of a magnetic tape as a recording medium has the disadvantage that more time is needed for searching for recording and reproducing positions, causing inconvenience to the user.


A ceramic cathode fluorescent discharge lamp is provided including a pair of electrodes, a bulb plated with a fluorescent body on an inner surface of same, at least one of said pair of electrodes being a ceramic cathode having a bottomed cylindrical housing including an electron emission material of an aggregate type porous structure of conductive oxide having a first component consisting of at least one of Ba, Sr, and Ca, a second component consisting of at least one of Zr and Ti, and a third component consisting of at least one of Ta and Nb, said aggregate type porous structure having a surface plated with a conductive or semiconductive layer of at least one of carbide, nitride and oxide of Ta or Nb, rare gas being sealed in said bulb, and sealing pressure of said rare gas being in the range between 10 Torr and 170 Torr.

Lately, interest in a liquid crystal display device (LCD) has rapidly progressed because of its low power consumption, small size and light weight. Thus, a small sized fluorescent discharge lamp has been developed as a light source for a liquid crystal display. Similarly, interest in a fluorescent lamp which is compatible with a socket of an incandescent lamp has progressed because of low power consumption and long life as compared with an incandescent lamp.
Fluorescent lamps are classified as hot cathode fluorescent discharge lamps using arc discharge by hot electron emission, and cold cathode fluorescent discharge lamps using glow discharge by secondary electron emission. A hot cathode fluorescent discharge lamp has a lower cathode fall voltage and higher light efficiency for the input power used than does a cold cathode fluorescent discharge lamp. Further, the former has higher luminance because of hot electron emission, and higher luminance is obtained as compared with a cold cathode discharge lamp. Therefore, a hot electron discharge lamp is suitable as a light source which provides a large amount of light flux, like a light source for a back light in a large screen liquid crystal display device, a fluorescent lamp in the shape of an incandescent lamp, a light source for reading in a facsimile device and a scanner. In a prior hot cathode lamp, a fluorescent lamp having a cathode made of a tungsten (W) coil plated with a part of transition metal and an alkaline earth metal including Barium (Japanese patent laid open 59-75553), and a cathode having a porous tungsten impregnated by an electron emission material including barium aluminate (Japanese patent laid open 63-24539) are known.
Because liquid crystal display devices are small and thin, the lamp itself must be thin. However, in a hot cathode lamp in which preheating is essential, a thin structure, like a cold cathode lamp is difficult to accomplish. A thin structure which has no preheating, as shown in Japanese patent laid open 4-73858, has the disadvantage of short lifetime. Further, the deterioration of a cathode because of ion sputtering in which Hg ions and/or Ar ions generated during discharge operations collide with a cathode and splashing of electron emission material occurs. Thus, electron emission material is exhausted during discharge operation, and stable arc discharge for a long time period is impossible. Further, splashed electron emission material is attached on an inner surface of a tube, which is then colored black, so that light flux is decreased rapidly.
The present inventors have proposed a fluorescent lamp having a ceramic cathode in Japanese patent publication 6-103627, a thin tube and high luminance hot cathode fluorescent lamp having an improved lifetime by preventing sputter and evaporation of ceramic cathode material in Japanese patent laid open 2-186550, and a ceramic cathode in which transition from glow discharge to arc discharge is starting time is easy in Japanese patent laid opens 4-43546 and 6-267404.
Those hot cathode discharge lamps have the advantage that transition from glow discharge to arc discharge is easy, and have long lifetime, however, it is still insufficient for the request of 5-6 thousand hours lifetime.
In those prior fluorescent lamps having a ceramic cathode, with an inner diameter of 2.0 mm, and Ar gas with pressure of 5 Torr, the lifetime on average is short, up to around 1000 hours, when lamp current is 15 mA.

Ceramic cathode fluorescent discharge lamp


A computer-implemented method includes: receiving, by a computer device, preference information from a plurality of people, the preference information including an individual level of preference for various activities for each of the people; receiving, by the computer device, biometric data of the people, the biometric data relating to the various activities; building, by the computer device, a corpus of relationships between the preference information and the biometric data; receiving, by the computer device, biometric data of a user; and predicting, by the computer device, a user level of preference with a particular activity of the various activities, the predicting being based on a comparison of the biometric data of the user and the biometric data of the people who participated in the particular activity.

The present invention relates generally to providing guidance to a user based on biometrics of the user and, more particularly, to providing guidance regarding occupational options based on the user's biometrics.
A person who is considering participating in a particular activity often researches aspects of the activity before deciding whether or not to patriciate in the activity. For example, a person considering a career change might use a virtual assistant such as, for example, IBM Watson® Career Coach. (IBM and IBM Watson are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.) IBM Watson Career Coach is a virtual assistant that aligns company business goals with employees' career goals. Through data, interactions and updates, IBM Watson Career Coach learns about an employee's preferences and interests, and makes recommendations for existing job opportunities and how to navigate future career moves.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A memory controlling device and method are disclosed for controlling a memory having a partial array self refresh (PASR) function and a plurality of memory segments. The memory controlling device comprises an address mapper, an address decoder, an address selector, and a PASR configuration register storing a PASR configuration. The address mapper converts an input address set into a mapped address set according to an address offset. The mapped address set comprises a plurality of consecutive mapped addresses or at least one mapped address within a limited range. The address decoder updates the PASR configuration during writing. The address selector generates an updated address set, which is used for setting at least one mode register of the memory, according to the PASR configuration register under a sleep-or-standby mode in order that the memory can self refresh at least one of the memory segments correspondingly.

Newly added functions of portable devices require the corresponding enhancement of efficiency and battery life. Therefore, the design of the portable devices faces the problems of how to reduce the power consumption for extending battery life and standby time. On the other hand, the development of the smart phone market leads the continuous growth of memory shipments. In the future, larger memory capacity is required for portable devices. Therefore, the issue of how to reduce the power consumption of memory is being emphasized.
For the power consumption of memory in portable devices, it is necessary to develop technologies for effectively reducing the power consumption of memory by the partial array self refresh (PASR) function.

Memory controlling device and method thereof for controlling memory with partial array self refresh (PASR) function

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


The present invention concerns novel platinum complexes in which at least one of the amine ligand is a non-planar heterocyclic aliphatic amine. The platinum complexes may be in a trans or cis configuration and were found to posses therapeutic activites. Thus, the present concerns novel platinum complexes, pharmaceutical compositions comprising them and other uses thereof.

Cisplatin, cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2] is one of the three most widely used clinical agents in the treatment of a variety of solid tumors(1). It is believed to kill tumor cells by binding irreversibly to the DNA, mainly to two adjacent guanines on the same strand, inducing a kink in the DNA that is recognized by cellular proteins that bind the cisplatin-modified DNA(2). It is the Pt-DNA adducts that are responsible for the induction of apoptosis and eventual cell death(3). Despite its efficacy in the treatment of various neoplastic diseases, including testicular and ovarian tumors, it's clinical utility is restricted by its low solubility, toxicity and especially tumor resistance(4). Second generation drugs such as carboplatin (Pt(CBDCA)(NH3)2, CBDCA=1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate) exhibit reduced nephrotoxicity but fail to overcome the tumor resistance probably due to the fact that they form the same spectrum of DNA adducts as does cisplatin(5).
Overcoming the resistance is one of the major goals in the development of novel platinum drugs and hence new compounds that deviate from the classic structure-activity relationship (SAR) have been designed, synthesized and screened(6). The SAR, first formulated by Cleare and Hoeschele, influenced medicinal chemists to direct their efforts to the preparation of neutral platinum(II) complexes with two inert ligands in the cis configuration and two semi-labile leaving groups(7).
It was generally accepted that a cis configuration of the two leaving groups is essential for anti-tumor activity of cis-diaminedichloroplatinum (cis-DDP). This was the situation for more than two decades until Farrell et. al have reported that replacing one or both NH3 ligands in trans-PtCl2(Am1)(Am2), wherein Am1, Am2═NH3, or planar amine ligands such as quinoline, thiazole, pyridine or benzothiazole, (e.g. trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(pyridine)], trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(thiazole)], trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(quinoline)], and trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(benzothiazole)]) substantially enhances the cytotoxicity of the trans geometry(8). Nguyen, H. D. et al. Vietnam J. of Chem. (2001) 39(4), 111–114 describe the synthesis of cis-PtCl2 complexes containing quinoline and primary and secondary amines and discuss their 1H-NMR spectra. Tran, T. D. et al. Tap Chi Duoc Hoc (2001) 6, 6–8 describe cis-PtCl2 complexes containing two amine-containing ligands, one being an aromatic pyridine or benzylamines and the other a aliphatic cyclic amine (morpholine or piperidine) and discuss the complexes IR and Raman spectra. Tran T. D. et al. Vietnam J. of Chem. (2001) 39(3), 99–102 describe the synthesis of cis-PtCl2 complexes containing piperidine and aromatic amine or an amine substituted with an aromatic amine, their IR, Raman and UV spectra. Furthermore, the complexes were tested for cell cytotoxicity on human liver cancer cells. Tran, T. D. et al. Tap Chi Duoc Hoc (Vietnam J. of Chem.) (1997) 35(2), 21–23 describe the synthesis of cis-PtCl2 complexes containing guinoline and an amine selected from morpholine, cyclohexylamine, piperidine or benzylamine, their UV and IR spectra and their biological activity for reducing the germination of kernels. Jonson Matthey Pub. Ltd. Co. EP-A-0727430 (1996) describes cis-Pt complexes of formula Pt(X)(Z)(A)2 and their activity against cancer cells. A is a leaving group (e.g. halogen, hydroxy, carboxylate, or together form a bi-dentate carboxylate, or sulphate) and X is NH3 or mono- or dialkyl substituted NH3. Z is a substituted amine, preferably a 5- or 6-membered monocyclic or an 8–10 membered polycylic amine, especially substituted pyridine or bycylic amine where the amine is coordinated through the nitrogen atom. Ivanova, N. A. et al. Russian J. Coord. Chem. (1993) 19(12) 856–863 describe the synthesis of PtX2 complexes with piperazine, where X may be Cl or Br. The synthesized complexes were analyzed with vibrational spectroscopy for elucidating the piperazine conformation. Cattalini, L. et al. J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Transactions (1993) 233–236 describe cis and trans PtCl2 complexes containing two amine ligands, the amine chosen from pyridine, substituted pyridine, morpholine, piperidine and dimethylamine. Shionogi & Co. EP-A-0273315 (1988) disclose cis-PtX2(NH3)(Am) complexes. X maybe Cl, I, nitro or a cyclic moiety and Am is a substituted C2-7N and their antitumor activity. Wong et al. Chem. Rev. (1999) 99(9), 2451–2466 review platinum-based antitumor drugs mentioning cis-Pt complexes.
In addition, Navarro-Ranniger and co-workers demonstrated that trans-PtCl2[NH2CH(CH3)2][NH(CH3)2] has interesting pharmacological properties(9) and Natile et. al. reported that trans-PtCl2(iminoether)2 is also active against several human cancer lines(10). Another example of a non-classical complex that is in phase 2 of clinical trials is the trinuclear Pt complex BBR3464 that is a quadruply charged cation(11).
The importance of the non-classical platinum compounds stems from the fact that they were designed to form a spectrum of DNA adducts that is distinct from that formed by cisplatin and carboplatin and hence they can circumvent acquired Pt resistance(12).
Generally, trans-diaminedichloroplatinum(II) analogues have lower solubility in aqueous solution than their cis counterparts, resulting in limited bioavailability. One way of increasing the aqueous solubility is by adding a charge to the complex. Farrell et al. have put some effort in overcoming the poor water solubility of compounds of the type trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(Am1)](Am1=planar ligand), while retaining the trans orientation of the NH3 and the planar ligand and electroneutralilty of the square-planar entity. The trans-platinum complex trans-[PtCl(PyAc—N,O)(NH3)] (PyAc=pyridin-2-yl acetate, N-donors are trans) and its cis isomer were synthesized and the trans isomer have shown improved solubility (ca. 4–5 mmol L−1) in water, compared to analogous complexes trans-[PtCl2(NH3)(Am1)](Am1=planar ligand)(13). On the other hand, the cationic charges of the platinum complexes prepared by Farrell et al. and also by Hollis et al. reside on the metal center and result from the substitution of one or the anionic chloride ligands by a neutral ligand(14).

Platinum complexes and their use in therapy

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem


A ball quantitative supply system is comprised of an upper plate, a lower plate and a rotary block rotatably retained between the upper and lower plates. The upper plate is provided with a ball receiving aperture for receiving balls fed from a ball feeder, and a ball confirming aperture for confirming a predetermined number of balls, the apertures being provided to extend through different portions of the plate when seen in top plan. The lower plate is provided with a ball discharge aperture extending therethrough. The rotary block is provided with a ball receptacle extending therethrough for receiving a predetermined number of balls. The positions of provision of the ball receiving aperture, ball confirming aperture and ball discharge aperture are displaced from each other at an equal interval of 120.degree. as viewed in top plan. With this arrangement, it become possible for the ball receptacle to receive a fixed number of balls, negating the necessity to count the balls using an expensive counter, whereby an apparatus of the described type can be provided at a low cost.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball quantitative supply system for supplying a fixed quantity of balls of a ball screw used, for example, in a steering mechanism of an automobile to a work such as a nut screw.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some automobile steering mechanisms, ball screws are used. The ball screws are arrangements in which steel balls (hereinafter simply called "balls") are disposed between helical grooves of nut screws and helical grooves of shaft screws. The nut screws are axially movable by rolling the balls by rotational forces of the shaft screws connected to the steering wheels.
For assembling the ball screws, the balls are first supplied to the nut screws, whereafter the nut screws and shaft screws are assembled to form a unitary body.
An example arrangement for assembling such ball screws is disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai (Laid-Open) Publication No. SHO 59-29867 entitled "SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY DISTRIBUTING, FEEDING AND PUSHING IN BALLS". In the disclosed system, balls are distributed and supplied from a ball distribution-supply apparatus to a ball push-in apparatus via a plurality of lead pipes. The supplied balls are sent into respective guide apertures formed in the ball push-in apparatus. The balls placed in the guide apertures are pushed into a respective space defined by a helical groove of a nut screw and a helical groove of a shaft screw and placed thereat. The balls are counted by a counter as they are fed from the ball distribution-supply apparatus to the ball push-in apparatus.
However, in the above-described system, an expensive counter is employed to detect the number of balls fed, thus increasing the general cost of the system. Further, since the balls are supplied and discharged through the same guide apertures, the requisite operations are liable to become complicated, whereby erroneous actions are encountered.
The balls are supplied to the nut screws as final works by means of a ball feeder. A typical ball feeder has a casing for accommodating a multitude of balls. A bottom portion of the casing is configured to be an inverted conical trapezoid (in the form of an inverted flask) having a linear cylindrical portion. At a border between the linear cylindrical portion and the inverted conical trapezoid portion, there is provided a ball discharge port. A ball supply port is provided at a lowermost end of the linear cylindrical portion. The diameter of the ball discharge port is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the balls. Thus, by imparting vibrations to the casing, the ball feeder can send out the balls within the casing one by one sequentially from the ball supply port through the ball discharge port.
In this ball feeder, however, since an upper part of the ball discharge port is diverging upwardly, it often happens that two balls get stuck between an upper part of the discharge port and the inner wall surface of the casing by mutual locking engagement of the balls. As a result, inconveniences are experienced such that the balls may not be discharged out from the discharge port.
Reference is now made to FIG. 15 hereof showing the general arrangement of a typical conventional ball quantitative supply apparatus. The ball quantitative supply apparatus 100 is comprised of a ball feeder 101 for sequentially sending out balls, a first shutter 102 disposed downstream of the ball feeder 101 for opening and closing a flow passage of the balls, a counter 103 disposed downstream of the first shutter 102 for counting the balls, a receptacle 104 disposed downstream of the counter 103 for receiving a predetermined number of balls, and a second shutter 105 disposed downstream of the receptacle 104 for opening and closing the flow passage of the balls.
The balls accommodated within the receptacle 104 are fed to a work 106 such as a nut screw.
In the ball quantitative supply apparatus 100, however, since the ball feeder 101, counter 103, receptacle 104, etc. are interconnected by tubes 107, the ball quantitative supply apparatus 100 inevitably becomes large in size.
Further, the balls fed to the counter 103 become excessive in number or fall short unless the opening and closing actions of the first shutter 102 are made at precise timing.
Moreover, it may not be known with certainty whether the balls are securely supplied to the work 106 by only opening the second shutter 105 to send the balls to the work.
Reference is now made to FIG. 16 in which the general arrangement of a ball quantitative supply apparatus 110 which is an improved version of the ball quantitative supply apparatus shown in FIG. 15. The improved ball quantitative supply apparatus 110 is comprised of a base or body 112 having a rotary block 111, an air cylinder 113 for effecting the rotation of the rotary block 111, a ball feeder (not shown) for feeding balls 114 to the rotary block 111, a ball detector 115 for detecting the number of the balls 114 within the rotary block 111 and a ball discharge mechanism 116 for discharging the balls 114 held in the rotary block 111.
For feeding the balls 114 to a work 117 by the ball quantitative supply apparatus 110, the balls 114 are firstly sent out from the ball feeder to a ball receptacle 111a of the rotary block 111 via a ball receiving aperture (not shown) formed in an upper plate 118. Then, a magnetic valve 119 is operated to actuate the air cylinder 113 by a source of air supply 120 to thereby rotate the rotary block 111. By levelling rotation of the rotary block 111, balls (not shown) retained in the ball receiving aperture of the upper plate 118 positioned upwardly of the ball receptacle 111a are cut off and separated from the balls retained in the ball receptacle 111a, thus leaving a predetermined number of the balls 114 in the ball receptacle 111a.
By further rotating the rotary block 111, the ball receptacle 111a containing the balls 114 is positioned at the ball detector 115.
Next, a magnetic valve 121 is actuated to supply air from the source of air supply 120 to the air cylinder 122 of the ball detector 115. A piston rod 122a of the air cylinder 122 is descended until a lower end of the piston rod 122a is place in abutment against an uppermost one of the balls 114 within the ball receptacle 111a. The height of the piston rod 122a at this time is detected to ascertain that a predetermined number of balls 114 is accommodated within the ball receptacle 111a.
Continuously, the magnetic valve 119 is again operated to rotate the rotary block 111 by the air cylinder 113 so as to move the ball receptacle 111a to the ball discharge mechanism 116. Then, a magnetic valve 123 is operated to cause an air cylinder 124 of the ball discharge mechanism 116 to contract. By contraction of the air cylinder 124, push rods 125 connected to a piston rod 124a of the air cylinder 124 are lowered to be introduced into the ball receptacle 111a so as to push the balls 114 within the ball receptacle 111a into the work 117 through a ball discharge aperture 126a of a lower plate 126.
The improved version ball quantitative supply apparatus 110 is rendered small in size, because the ball feeder, ball detector 115, ball discharge mechanism 116, and so forth are unitarily assembled without using tubes.
Also, by rotating the rotary block 111, a predetermined number of balls 114 can be securely obtained, whereby the relevant control becomes easy.
In addition, since the balls 114 are pushed into the work 117 by the respective push rods 125 within the ball discharge mechanism 116, the balls 114 can be fed into the work 117 securely.
However, in the above-described improved version ball quantitative supply apparatus 110, it is necessary to prevent the rotary block 111 from rotating when the push rods 125 of the ball discharge mechanism 116 are inserted into the respective ball receptacles 111a of the rotary block 111. Thus, sensors 130a, 130b are used to detect the expansion/contraction position of the piston rod 113a of the air cylinder 113. Similarly, sensors 131a, 131b are employed to detect the expansion/contraction position of the piston rod 122a of the air cylinder 122. The expansion/contraction position of the piston rod 124a of the air cylinder 124 is detected by sensors 132a, 132b.
Position confirming section 134 confirms the position of each cylinder based on detected signals output from each sensor and sends the confirmed data to a control section 135. Based on the confirmed data, the control section 135 controls the magnetic valves 119, 121, 123 to operate the air cylinders 113, 122, 124. Thus, the control involves complicated conditions which may lead to misoperations.
To this end, it is demanded that a single switch be capable of operating the cylinders to thereby prevent misoperations liable to occur during operation of the cylinders.


A liquid crystal display panel includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate and a liquid crystal layer. The lower substrate includes a first base substrate and a pixel electrode formed on the first base substrate. The first base substrate includes a first sub pixel area and a second sub pixel area. The upper substrate includes a second base substrate and a common electrode formed on the second base substrate. The liquid crystal layer is interposed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate, and includes a first polymer disposed in the first sub pixel area and a second polymer disposed in the second pixel area. The first polymer has a first pre-tilt, and the second polymer has a second pre-tilt different from the first pre-tilt. Thus, a display quality of a liquid crystal display apparatus including the liquid crystal display panel may be enhanced.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid crystal display panel, a method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus having the liquid crystal display panel. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid crystal display panel having a liquid crystal, a method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus having the liquid crystal display panel.
2. Discussion of the Background
A liquid crystal display panel of a display apparatus has been developed to increase a response speed of a liquid crystal so as to improve a display quality of the liquid crystal display apparatus.
A pre-tilt of the liquid crystal may be formed so that the response speed of the liquid crystal may be increased. A pre-tilt of the liquid crystal may be formed, for example, by the following procedure: an electric field is applied between a pixel electrode of a lower substrate and a common electrode of an upper substrate, and then ultraviolet rays are irradiated onto a light-stiffening material of a light alignment layer.
Conventionally, in order to form the pre-tilt to the liquid crystal, a process of forming the electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode may be required to be performed before irradiating the ultraviolet ray. Accordingly, a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel is complicated by the fact that an electric filed, and specific equipment for forming the electric field is required.
The above information disclosed in this background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art.

Liquid crystal display panel, method of manufacturing the same and liquid crystal display apparatus having the same


A system that provides secure transmission of data between a subscriber's PC and an online service provider (OLS) over an Ethernet WAN. The system includes a remote transceiver unit located at a subscriber site and connected to the subscriber's PC; a central transceiver unit located at a telephone central office and connected to the remote transceiver unit over a twisted pair network and also connected to a WAN; an authorization server that is connected to the WAN; and one or more OLSs, which may include Internet service providers, connected to the WAN. Security of transmission is provided through a method in which only subscriber transmissions directed to a session-specific OLS are allowed to pass through the central transceiver unit onto the WAN, and only unicast transmissions from authorized OLSs are allowed to pass through the central transceiver unit to the subscriber port of the remote transceiver unit. Broadcast transmissions are minimized in favor of unicast messages. The authorization server delivers the IP and MAC addresses of the session-specific OLSs and the subscriber's PC to the remote transceiver units.

The Local Area Network (LAN) was developed in response to the needs of computer users to communicate among themselves and to share computing resources such as printers, file servers and electronic mail systems. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) defines a LAN as a network system that "allows a number of independent devices to communicate directly with each other, within a moderately sized geographic area over a physical communications channel of moderate data rates." Typically, LANs are implemented within buildings or among buildings in a campus environment. Devices on a LAN are usually directly connected to a dedicated cable or other medium.
With numerous devices connected to a dedicated medium, some means of controlling access to the medium is required so that any two devices wishing to exchange data can do so when required. One of the most common media access control protocols is carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) developed for and typically used on a bus/tree LAN topology. CSMA/CD is fully described in the IEEE 802.3 standard. The most common implementation of LANs using CSMA/CD is Ethernet, developed by Xerox Corporation.
In CSMA/CD, a device first listens to the channel, referred to as carrier-sensing, to determine if another device is transmitting data. If the channel is busy, the device will wait a certain amount of time and check the channel again. If the channel is free, the device will begin transmitting. If two devices desiring access to the channel both begin transmitting at the same time, a collision will occur. Upon sensing a collision, the transmitting devices will apply a signal to the channel indicating that a collision has occurred, and that all devices should ignore the current data frame. The transmitting devices will then each wait a certain amount of time and attempt to re-transmit.
Concurrent with the development of the LAN is the development of the wide area network (WAN). As its name implies, the primary distinguishing characteristic of a WAN over a LAN is its scope of geographic coverage. WANs are typically used to interconnect LANs that are sufficiently distant from one another to be beyond the physical transmission limitations of a LAN. This is analogous to our telephone network wherein local telephone systems are interconnected by long distance carriers. And, in fact, it is typical for WANs to utilize the public telephone network (PTN) facilities.
An increasingly popular application of LAN/WAN technology is internet and intranet access from work and home. This application is typically implemented over the PTN using point-to-point connections or over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) using dial-up or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) modems to access an online service (OLS), which typically would be a company's restricted access intranet, or a Network Service Provider (NSP) who then provides access to the Internet. A problem with this typical implementation is the relatively low data transmission speed of these modems as compared to the transmission speed to the desktop that a user of a company LAN may see. High-speed dial-up modems currently operate in the 56 Kbps range, and ISDN currently operates in the 128 Kbps range, whereas a company LAN covering a campus environment could operate in the 10 Mbps-to-the-desktop range.
Another problem with this typical implementation is the use of limited central office switching resources. The longer average connect time for an "internet call" versus a regular telephone call will result in an increased requirement for central office switching resources as access to OLSs over the PSTN continues to grow.
A solution that overcomes the aforementioned problems that is gaining in popularity is to implement data networks using the existing PTN wireline network and twisted pair, and to bypass the central office switching equipment and use equipment specifically designed for data networking to transport data on these data networks. This data networking equipment, which is well known in the art, includes routers, concentrators and data switches. In essence, this solution extends the LAN/WAN to the home or business.
However, a problem with this solution is security of the transmissions from a subscriber's PC to the OLS. The typical Ethernet protocol is implemented as a broadcast protocol where all or a portion of all stations on a network monitor the transmission, and the targeted stations further process the transmission. Depending on the network topology, this may allow an enterprising individual to tap into the network and eavesdrop on the network traffic, obtaining, for example, various subscriber passwords. One current approach to ensuring the security of network transmissions is the use of data encryption. However, this approach can consume significant computing resources in carrying out the data encryption and decryption routines on the host and target systems. Another current approach is to implement the network in a full star topology of single-station nodes, with the central network controller device being a bridge, router or a hub with filtering or switching capabilities. However, these devices are designed more for interconnecting LANs and usually prove to be an expensive solution to address security issues in a star network.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method that provides secure transmission of data between a subscriber and an OLS over a WAN.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method that provides secure transmission of data between a subscriber and an OLS over a WAN that supports a known local area network protocol stack from media access control layer up to and including the transport layer.

Wide area network system providing secure transmission


In a combination apparatus comprising a video-recorder section and a television-receiver section in a common housing and in which the video-recorder section comprises a pulse generation device for the generation of artificial V-pulses in a multi-speed reproduction mode and the television-receiver section comprises a vertical deflection signal generation device, an electrical connection has been provided between the pulse generation device and the vertical deflection signal generation device for directly applying the artificial V-pulses to the vertical deflection signal generation device.

The invention relates to a combination apparatus which comprises a video-recorder section and a television-receiver section in a common housing, the video-recorder section comprising at least one rotationally drivable recording and reproducing video signals on/from a magnetic tape which is drivable in its longitudinal direction in adjacent tracks which are inclined relative to the longitudinal direction of the magnetic tape, and the video-recorder section being adapted to reproduce recorded video signals with at least one reproduction tape speed which differs from a recording tape speed, and the video-recorder section comprising a pulse generation device which generates artificial vertical synchronization pulses during reproduction of recorded video signals with a reproduction tape speed which differs from the recording tape speed, and the television-receiver section comprising a picture display device, for displaying video signals reproduced by means of the video-recorder section, and a vertical deflection signal generation device, which generates vertical deflection signals for controlling the vertical deflection in the picture display device and which during the display of video signals reproduced with a reproduction tape speed which differs from the recording tape speed is triggered by artificial vertical synchronization pulses then applied.
Such a combination apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph manufactured by the Applicant has, for example, been marketed under the type designation 14TVCR240. In this known combination apparatus the electrical construction of both the video-recorder section and the television-receiver section is as is known per se from apparatuses mounted in separate housings, i.e. from a separate video recorder and from a separate television receiver. In accordance with this construction which is known per se from separate apparatuses the artificial vertical synchronization pulse generated by the pulse generation device of the known combination apparatus and briefly referred to hereinafter as the V-pulse is also applied to an insertion device, by means of which the artificial V-pulses are inserted into the video signals reproduced in a mode referred to as multi-speed reproduction with a reproduction tape speed which differs from the recording tape speed. The composite signal obtained by insertion of the artificial V-pulses into the video signals reproduced in a multi-speed reproduction mode is transferred from the video-recorder section to the television-receiver section, after which the artificial V-pulses are extracted from this composite signal in the television-receiver section and are applied to the vertical deflection signal generation device to trigger this generation device. It is to be noted that the insertion of the artificial V-pulses into the video signals reproduced in a multi-speed reproduction mode with a reproduction tape speed which differs from the recording tape speed is effected because during such a multi-speed reproduction mode the situation may arise that a reproduction error zone, which as is known occurs during such a multi-speed reproduction and which is reproduced as a "noise bar" by a picture display device, appears exactly in the time interval in which the reproduction of a recorded natural V-pulse occurs, in which case the natural V-pulse is not reproduced, as a result of which the vertical synchronization in the picture display device is then disturbed or drops out completely.
In the known combination apparatus a correct vertical synchronization in the picture display device of the television-receiver section and, as a consequence, a steady picture reproduction are not always guaranteed in all the possible multi-speed reproduction modes in spite of the insertion of the artificial V-pulses into the video signals reproduced in a multi-speed reproduction mode with a reproduction tape speed which differs from the recording tape speed. This is because the situation may occur that a reproduction error zone in a reproduced video signal, which zone causes a "noise bar", is situated for example briefly before an artificial V-pulse inserted into the reproduced video signal and that the signal occurring during such a reproduction error zone contains signal components which fake a V-pulse, which signal components are then erroneously recognized as artificial V-pulses in the vertical deflection signal generation device and give rise to a disturbed vertical synchronization in the picture display device and, consequently, in vertical jumping of the displayed picture. Since in the video-recorder section the artificial V-pulses are inserted into the video signals reproduced in a multi-speed reproduction mode and in the television-receiver section they should subsequently be extracted from the composite signal obtained after insertion, false information about the presence of a V-pulse may be derived from the composite signal in the extraction device, which gives rise to an adverse effect in the television-receiver section.

Combination apparatus comprising a video-recorder section and a television-receiver section


An electrical connector mounted to a printed circuit board includes an insulation housing mounted to a printed circuit board, a plurality of contacts received in the insulation housing, a load plate covering the insulation housing. And an indicator disposed on the load plate. The indicator has a indicating portion, the showing abouting against the printed circuit board and capable of changing positions relative to the load plate, so that the operator may observe an assembly process of the load plate. The electrical connector has a simple configuration and reliable connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket connector assembly, and more particularly to a socket connector assembly including a load plate incorporated with an indicator in which the downward movement of the load plate toward a printed circuit board can be readily controlled so as to prevent a screw from overstressing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional a electrical connector mounted to a printed circuit board for electrically contacting an IC package, comprises a bottom frame having a screw hole on a front edge thereof. A load plate able to open and close is pivotally assembled to the bottom frame by fasteners. The load plate has a through hole on a front edge thereof. The bolts is pre-assembled to the through hole on the front edge of the load plate by a gasket. When the load plate covers closes down, the fix bolt inserts into the screw hole of the bottom frame to make the load plate press the IC package and retain the IC package to the electrical connector. Though the load plate of the conventional electrical connector provides a pressing function push down, a locking situation of the load plate can not be observed during a locking process, user can not control, a force acted by the load plate on the IC package. when the bolt is locked down, there is no indicator showing when the load plate reaches its substantial final position. In case the bolt is overturned, it may damage the printed circuit board. However, it the bolt is not locked down enough, the electrical connections between the package and the socket could be negatively effected.
In view of the above, a new electrical connector that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages is desired.

Socket connector assembly having lock-down indicator preventing overstressing


Methods and apparatus related to PCMS (Phase Change Memory with Switch) write error detection are described. In one embodiment, a first storage unit stores a single bit to indicate whether an error corresponding to a write operation in any of one or more PCMS devices has occurred. Also, one or more storage units each store a plurality of bits to indicate whether the error corresponding to the write operation has occurred in a partition of a plurality of partitions of the one or more PCMS devices. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

As processing capabilities are enhanced in processors, one concern is the speed at which memory may be accessed by a processor. For example, to process data, a processor may need to first fetch data from a memory. After completion of the data processing, the results may need to be stored in the memory. Therefore, the memory speed can have a direct effect on overall system performance.
Another important consideration is power consumption. For example, in mobile computing devices that rely on battery power, it is very important to reduce power consumption to allow for the device to operate while mobile. Power consumption is also important for non-mobile computing devices as excess power consumption may increase costs (e.g., due to additional power usage, increasing cooling requirements, etc.), shorten component life, limit locations at which a device may be used, etc.
Hard disk drives provide a relatively low-cost storage solution and are used in many computing devices to provide non-volatile storage. Disk drives however use a lot of power when compared to flash memory since a disk drive needs to spin its disks at a relatively high speed and move disk heads relative to the spinning disks to read/write data. All this physical movement generates heat and increases power consumption. To this end, some higher end mobile devices are migrating towards flash memory devices that are non-volatile. However, flash memory has a number of drawbacks including, for example, relatively large voltage level requirement to change bit states, delay in write times due to requirement of a charge pump ramp up, having to erase a block of cells at a time, etc.

Phase change memory with switch (PCMS) write error detection


Systems and methods for generating slide presentations enable a user (e.g., a sales professional) to generate presentations tailored to a specific presentation target (e.g., a potential customer) with the click of a button. An exemplary method includes: collecting information relating to a number of presentation targets; creating a number of presentation definition templates, each presentation definition template including a number of slide descriptions, certain of the slide descriptions including information placeholders; and generating a slide presentation for the particular presentation target in accordance with the slide descriptions of a selected one of the presentation definition templates, wherein collected information relating to the particular presentation target is substituted for the information place holders in the slide descriptions of the selected one of the presentation definition templates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to organization management technology, and more particularly, to network-based systems and methods for sales force management.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Sales management technology has grown up in the era of large multinational organizations. Often, such large organizations require large sales forces, the management and performance of which is often a critical component of a corporation's success. As a result, organizations have sought to improve the process by which sales professionals practice their craft through the use of sales management applications. Sales management applications enable organizations to define, manage, and track the implementation of the sales process. Consequently, an organization is able to constructively guide the daily activities of a sales professional to the betterment of the organization.
The daily activities of a sales professional often involve meeting with potential customers, analyzing the customers' needs, and assembling presentations for the customers that describe solutions to the customers' problems. Traditionally, salespeople create presentations by starting with a presentation that worked well in the past and then modifying that presentation for a current prospect. Though doing so is usually more efficient than starting from scratch, this process is also time-consuming and error-prone. Salespeople must not only change such basic information as the customer's name, but also possibly restructure the presentation so that it fits the new prospect's unique needs. For example, the original presentation may have included slides directed to the value of the organization's product, whereas the new prospect is more concerned with other decision criteria, such as speed or extra features. Due to these differences, the new presentation can take a long time to create and may not match the needs of the customer.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for creating sales and other types of presentations.

Methods and apparatus for automatically generating presentations


The image processing apparatus comprises a wavelet transform unit, a frame buffer, a quantization unit, a bit plane coding unit, an arithmetic coding unit, and a stream generating unit, and converts an original image into coded image data hierarchically by using these units. A copyright level management table manages copyright levels to be permitted to users who use the coded image data. A copyright level recording unit records copyright level information on the corresponding profile into a header or other areas of the coded image data in consideration of such factors as users and regions to be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus. In particular, the invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a method for processing an image stream having a hierarchical structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the prevalence of infrastructures such as DVD media, digital broadcasting, and on-demand communications over networks has yielded widespread use of digital contents. Since digital contents causes no degradation in quality even after duplication, copyright management is of high importance. Demands for legitimate protection of copyrights on digital contents and other copyrighted materials are expected to grow in the future. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-86444 discloses a technique for prohibiting duplication by using copy control information included in a stream.
Nevertheless, techniques like this are no more than a uniform approach of either permitting or prohibiting, and it is impossible to satisfy various levels of demands both from contents providers and from users. For example, the contents providers might let business opportunities slip away if they simply prohibit duplication. Besides, the users have various orientations ranging from high-end to price-sensitive.

Image processing apparatus and method for processing image having hierarchical structure


The main body section and the cover section, those of which are combined with the coupling section so that the electronic device can pivot, constitute the present invention. There is an input key section is provided in the opposed surface of the main body section meeting the cover section when the device is folded. There is the main display section provided in the opposing surface of the cover section meeting the main body section when the device is folded. Because of this, the electronic device can be used easier as a mobile phone. Furthermore, the electronic device also can be used easier as a still camera because the device can be used as a still camera immediately whenever the user wants to, even when the electronic device is in stand-by mode of mobile phone mode.

Recently, a digital camera using such as a CCD has become smaller and its performance has been highly improved. On this account, a mobile phone equipped with a digital camera has been prevailed. By using the mobile phone equipped with a digital camera, a picture image taken by the camera can be sent to a called party via phone line. Also the mobile phone can be used as a videophone by which the calling party and the called party can see each other's face on a display of each phone while chatting. Furthermore, the mobile phone can be used as a digital still camera by storing picture images in its memory.
This kind of conventional mobile phone is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-257460 (published on Sep. 25, 1998), for example.
FIG. 10 shows the conventional mobile phone. Here, FIG. 10(a) is an external view illustrating the mobile phone when the mobile phone is used as a still camera. FIG. 10(b) is an external view illustrating the mobile phone when the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone or a mobile videophone (hereinafter referred to as mobile phone). FIG. 10(c) is an external view of the mobile phone when the mobile phone is folded.
In FIG. 10, a reference numeral 91 is a cabinet of the camera section. A camera lens 93 is placed on a surface of the camera device. A reference numeral 92 is a cabinet of the display section. When the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone, as shown in FIG. 10(b), a display section 94 composed of members such as a liquid crystal panel is placed on the side where the camera lens 93 is placed. The cabinet of the camera section 91 is combined with the cabinet of the display section 92 by the bond axes 90 so that the mobile phone can freely pivot. When the mobile phone is folded so that the camera lens 93 faces the display device 94, the mobile phone is in a foldaway state as shown in FIG. 10(c). On the other hand, when the mobile phone is folded conversely, the mobile phone is in a still camera mode as shown in FIG. 10(c).
FIG. 11 shows details of the bond axes 90. As shown in FIG. 11, the cabinet of the camera section 91 includes cylindrical bond axes (95, 96), and the cabinet of the display section 92 includes semi-cylindrical bond axis bearings (97, 98). The bond axes (95, 96) and the bond axes bearings (97, 98) are provided so as to be incorporable in each other.
Here, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the mobile phone is used as a still camera when the bond axis 95 is combined with the bond axis bearing 98. On the other hand, FIG. 11(b) shows that the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone when the bond axis 96 is combined with the bond axis bearing 97 and when the bond axis 95 is incorporated in the bond axis bearing 98. Furthermore, FIG. 11(c) shows that the mobile phone is folded away when the cylindrical bond axis 96 is incorporated in the semi-cylindrical bond axis bearing 97.
It is not clearly indicated in the figures, but a signal-processing section for the camera section is contained in the cabinet of the camera section 91, and a signal-processing section for the display section is contained in the cabinet of the display section 92. In addition, a variety of signal processing sections for communication and a power source section are properly contained in the above-mentioned cabinets. Power supply means and signal transmission means are provided between the cabinet of the camera section 91 and the cabinet of the display section 92.
In this conventional technology, when the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone or a mobile videophone, the cabinet of the camera device 91 and the cabinet of the display device 92 are pivoted in a lengthwise direction, i.e., so that the camera lens 93 and the display device 94 are aligned in a single surface. On the other hand, when the mobile phone is used as a still camera, the mobile phone is folded so that both the display section 94 and the camera lens 93 face outside.
Note that it is not clearly indicated, but there is no need to say that properly equipped microphone and speaker are used when the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone or a mobile videophone. Note also that when the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone or mobile videophone, a dial indicating is carried out on the display section 92. This display section 92 is to be used as a touch panel, so as to operate a dial control.
According to the conventional technology mentioned above, a small mobile device having (a) a mobile phone function or a mobile videophone function and (b) a digital still camera function can be remarkably compacted. This is because the mobile phone is designed to be folded so that the camera section meets the display section.
However, dial buttons displayed and partially occupied on some parts of the display section 94 are used to input a telephone number in order to make a phone call. On this account, it is not only difficult to recognize the inputted content but also it is required to use a thin pencil-shaped indicator to operate a dial control. Therefore, the operation is not necessarily easy.
Furthermore, the display section 94 is easily scratched. This is because the display section 94, which becomes an input section when the mobile phone is used as a mobile phone, is always exposed to outside when the mobile phone is used as a digital still camera. Also, a keyboard of key switch type cannot be equipped on the display section.
In addition, the cabinet of the display section 92 and the cabinet of the camera section 91 can pivot in the range of 360 degree (in other word, one of the display device 92 and the cabinet of the camera device 91 can pivot with respect to the other in the range of 360 degree). This causes structure of this pivoting part to become complicated. Therefore, there are problems about the cost and the reliability of the product as well.
Also, in this conventional art, when the folded mobile phone is rung, it is required to unfold the mobile phone to see the display section. Without the unfolding, the called party cannot know who called. This raises a problem about usability.
In addition, when the mobile phone is used as a digital still camera, it is required to carry out a 360°-pivot with respect to the cabinet of the display section 92 and the cabinet of the camera section 91. This is bothering and takes time to release the shutter. This is another problem.
On the other hand, there is also a conventional camera-equipped mobile phone having a sub display section on which a picture image that has been picturized by the camera is displayed, the sub display section being provided on a plane in which a cover member to which the camera is attached is provided. Even though the user can take a picture of himself or herself easily with this mobile phone, it is difficult to take a picture of other subjects. Therefore it is difficult for this mobile phone to be used as a still camera. Furthermore, a prescribed procedure is required for changing to a camera mod from a mobile phone mode in the middle of using the mobile phone in the mobile phone mode. This is because the camera-equipped mobile phone is usually used as a mobile phone. Therefore there is a problem that it takes too much time to take a picture when the user wants to take a picture immediately.

Multifunctional mobile electronic device


A method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a chassis, a tub, a rotatable drum positioned within the tub, and a suspension system mounting the tub to the chassis, with the rotatable drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving laundry for treatment according to an automatic cycle of operation, and the tub, drum, and any laundry in the treating chamber forming a suspended mass in combination with the suspension system, the method includes accelerating the drum such that an unacceptable imbalance of laundry in the drum will present as the drum contacting a portion of the chassis twice.

Laundry treating appliances, such as clothes washers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, may have a configuration based on a rotating drum that defines a treating chamber in which laundry items are placed for treating. The drum of the laundry treating appliance may be rotated at a high rate of speed. At such high speeds, an imbalance may result in unacceptable vibratory movement of the drum and the entire laundry treating appliance. The tub and drum may move enough such that the tub reaches the limit of its suspension and/or contacts the surrounding cabinet structure, referred to as a "hit," with consequent noise and possible damage.

Method of operating a laundry treating appliance


A grease filter and collection assembly for roof ventilators and the like includes a frame structure having a generally central aperture through which a grease discharge vents projects when the frame structure and trap assembly are installed surrounding the vent, and a replaceable grease-trapping material is removably secured in the frame structure so that the grease-trapping material is exposed vent. In a preferred embodiment, the frame structure is assembled from extruded frame members which integrally include a plurality of channels for securing and mounting the assembly for retaining the grease-trapping material within the frame structure. Upper and lower channels accommodate corner connections of the frame members. The frame members have side walls which peripherally enclose the grease-trapping material which is tucked between the upper and lower channel inwardly extending from the side wall. An additional channel is exteriorly exposed in each of the frame members to enable access to the fasteners and hardware for mounting the collection assembly on a roof or wall through which the vent projects. A preferred grease-trapping material includes a layered composite of grease filtering and trapping materials in which an upper-porous layer for trapping particulate debris is also permeable for passage of liquid grease therethrough into a lower layer which absorbs and retains the grease.

This invention relates to traps for collecting and disposing of air-borne grease such as in kitchen ventilation systems, and more particularly relates to protective trapping of grease accumulating at roof-mounted power ventilators.
Particularly in the restaurant installations, high volumes of grease discharge from roof-mounted ventilators commonly results in accumulated grease attacking and deteriorating typically organic roofing materials and the flashing and gaskets of the ventilator installations. Efforts to develop systems such as sandboxes and mechanical apparatus for collecting the grease discharge from roof-mounted ventilators have generally resulted in problems aggravated by weather exposure. Both conventional "up-blast" and "down blast" types of roof ventilators are subject to such grease-collection problems and consequent roof damage, particularly with a ventilator installation on a flat roof and even at side discharge installations. Puddling of the heated, acidic grease discharged onto flat roofs is a particularly acute roof deterioration problem with down blast ventilators. Puddling of grease is also a fire hazard as well as a footing hazard to roof workers.
These disadvantages are eliminated by grease trapping and filtering apparatus in accordance with the present invention.


A two-group zoom projection lens is provided and includes: in order from a magnification side, a first lens group having a negative refractive power; and a second lens group having a positive refractive power, the second lens group including a front group and a rear group in order from the magnification side, the front group including a group having at least two positive lenses and a group having at least one negative lens in order from the magnification side, the rear group including a group having at least one negative lenses and a group having at least two positive lenses in order from the magnification side. The front group includes a negative lens having a concave surface directed toward the magnification side, the rear group includes a negative lens having a concave surface directed toward a reduction side, and the projection lens satisfies conditional expressions specified in the specification.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a two-group zoom projection lens to be mounted on a projection display and to such a projection display. Particularly, the present invention can be used as a projection lens for use on a projector that employs a DMD (digital micro-mirror device) for its light valve.
2. Description of Background Art
Recently, the projectors (projection displays) using DMD displays have becoming popular in addition to liquid crystal displays. The DMD uses highly-reflective rectangular microscopic mirrors capable of tilting in the range of some 10 degrees or more, to control the reflective direction of the light from the light source in accordance with an input video signal and to focus only a desired portion of reflection light onto a screen thereby projecting the video image. This can be effected by digitally controlling, quite independently, the several millions or more mirrors arranged two-dimensionally on a substrate. Each mirror corresponds to one pixel in a video image.
Meanwhile, differently from the liquid crystal display, the DMD is low in light loss because of no need to polarize illumination light, and hence excellent in the correctness of continuous-tone representation. The projector using such an advantageous DMD requires a projection lens having a favorable lens characteristic in order to obtain a clear high-definition projection image in accordance with the DMD. In an attempt to meet the requests, there is proposed a projection lens capable of making a correction for aberrations at a wide angle-of-view (see JP-A-2004-271668).
For a projector using a DMD, the projection lens is necessarily matched to the characteristic and requirement of the projector. Accordingly, the first requirement is for high performance and small size. Furthermore, naturally required is suitability in correction, at wide angle-of-view, for aberrations, including chromatic aberration and distortion. In the recent that high-definition color images are particularly needed, required are those that are favorable in chromatic aberration.

Two-group zoom projection lens and projection display