A digital/analog converter comprises a converter array comprised of a plurality of converter cells and a device for self-calibration of the converter cells. The device for self-calibration comprises at least one reference cell with a reference value and a control device for controlling a calibration process. The control device calibrates successively, within a respective calibration period, respective of the converter cells to values corresponding to the reference value and adjusts respective calibration periods for a calibration cycle, within which the converter cells are to be calibrated. At least two different of the respective calibration periods differ within at least two calibration cycles.

The invention relates to a method for calibrating a digital/analog converter and to a digital/analog converter.
With respect to the general background of D/A converters, reference is generally made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,346,901 B1, 4,712,091 and 5,293,166. With respect to the general background of D/A converters with online self-calibration, reference is made to the publication by D. W. J. Groeneveld, H. J. Schouwenaars, H. A. H. Termeer, C. A. A. Bastiaansen, "A Self-Calibration Technique for Monolithic High-Resolution D/A Converters", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, volume 24, December 1989.
A digital/analog converter, also called D/A converter for short in the text which follows, is designed for converting a digital input signal into an analog output signal. Although it is basically applicable to any digital/analog converter, the present invention and the problems on which it is based will be explained in the text which follows with reference to a monolithic integrated D/A converter designed for high speed applications, with a facility for online self-calibration. By online calibration is meant that the calibration can be performed during the operation of the D/A converter, that is to say virtually in the background without a current D/A conversion having to be interrupted.
A monolithic integrated D/A converter typically has a multiplicity of converter cells arranged in a converter matrix or a so-called converter array. The individual converter cells are ideally identical in their configuration. A problem inherent in almost all monolithic integrated D/A converters consists in that typically mismatches exist between the individual converter cells which become noticeable as distortions in the spectrum of the analog output signal. The mismatches become evermore predominant with increasing integration, that is to say with increasing reduction of the size of the patterns located on the integrated circuit and can only be reduced at the cost of lesser integration and thus a larger chip area. Apart from higher costs for the D/A converter, it would also lead to a lower speed of the conversion and thus to a lower performance of the D/A converter.
To implement very high-quality communication systems with digital signal processing such as are used, for example, in mobile radio and for broadband applications, D/A converters with a medium or high sampling rate and the best possible analog characteristics are used. The quality and accuracy of such high-speed D/A converters depend on a multiplicity of different factors, of which the so-called spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) of the D/A converter represents a very decisive characteristic.
FIG. 1 shows a typical output spectrum AS which exhibits distortions in the output spectrum caused by mismatches of the D/A converter cells. In FIG. 1, the wavy line A designates the quantization noise. Apart from the frequency Fin of the input signal, there are also harmonics 2Fin, 3Fin at multiples of the frequency Fin. These harmonics 2Fin, 3Fin limit the interference-free dynamic range SFDR of the D/A converter which leads to a lesser effective resolution overall. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the interference-free dynamic range SFDR designates the difference between the maximum amplitude of the frequency Fin of the input signal and the amplitude of harmonic frequency component 2Fin which has the greatest amplitude among the harmonics 2Fin, 3Fin.
FIG. 2 will now be used to describe a calibration method, known, for example, from the IEEE publication described initially, which can be used for enlarging the interference-free dynamic range SFDR. The example in FIG. 2 shows the calibration principle by means of a 6-bit D/A converter B which thus exhibits 63 converter cells C largely of the same structure. For the calibration, the D/A converter B also has a redundant converter cell D (shown shaded in FIG. 2, cell 64) and a reference cell, not shown. The reference cell is used for the self-calibration in order to successively calibrate all converter cells of the D/A converter B. By using the redundant converter cell D, the self-calibration can be performed online, that is to say also during the operation of the D/A converter B.
In the example in FIG. 2, a total of 64 calibration cycles K1-K64, of which only the first three K1-K3 and the last one K64 have been shown in FIG. 2, are provided for calibrating the converter cells C, D of the D/A converter B. Passing through all calibration cycles K1-K64 defines a so-called calibration loop E. Within the calibration loop E, all converter cells C, beginning with the first converter cell, are successively calibrated including the redundant converter cell D. The calibration method then typically jumps back to the first converter cell in order to recalibrate the converter cells in the next calibration loop E.
The calibration of a respective converter cell C, D requires a calibration period T1-T64. This calibration period T1-T64 is predetermined for each converter cell C, D within the calibration loop and is thus constant. The calibration periods T1-T64 allocated to all converter cells C, D are thus equal.
During the determination of the calibration period T1-T64, the following must be observed: on the one hand, the calibration period T1-T64 must not be too small since otherwise the value of a respective converter element C, D to be calibrated cannot be properly corrected. On the other hand, the calibration period T1-T64 must also be selected to be not too large since otherwise the storage element, in which the difference between the value of the converter cell to be calibrated and the value of the corresponding reference cell is stored, loses the stored difference value and thus the entire calibration process would become ineffective. For this reason, the calibration period T1-T64 must be selected to be within a certain range which takes into account the two above boundary conditions and is thus selected to be not too small and not too large.
In this manner, it is possible to reduce a distortion in the output spectrum, caused by a mismatch of the converter cells within the converter array. However, this procedure has the disadvantage that, as a result, additional interfering frequencies are generated (see FIG. 1). It is found that, although the amplitudes of the harmonic frequencies 2Fin, 3Fin are reduced by the calibration, additional interfering frequencies are also generated at the calibration frequency Fcal and multiples thereof 2Fcal, 3Fcal due to the calibration. These additional interfering frequencies Fcal, 2Fcal, 3Fcal prevent a further overall improvement in the interference-free dynamic range SFDR.

Method for calibrating a digital/analog converter and digital/analog converter


A connector has a retainer (3) which is slidable on a connector housing (2) while maintaining a given relation of position to the housing (2). In this connector, the retainer (3) is provided on a face opposed to the housing (2) with a hook like bend guide rib (21) which extends in a width direction. The guide rib (21) is provided on an outer surface of its distal end with a down slant guide face (27) adapted to engage with the guide face (23). When the retainer is attached to the housing (2) in a retracted position, the guide faces (23, 27) are spaced away from each other. When the retainer (3) is slid to an advanced position on the housing (2), the guide faces (23, 27) engage with each other, thereby bringing the retainer (3) into the advanced position while preventing the retainer (3) from floating up.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector having retainers which serve to double lock terminal metal fixtures in a connector housing.
(2) Statement of the Prior Art
For convenience of explanation, a conventional connector having retainers will be described below by referring to FIGS. 14 to 17.
FIG. 14 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of a conventional female connector, illustrating retainers which are provided apart from the connector. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the female connector in which the retainers are attached in a retracted position. FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view of the female connector shown in FIG. 14 in which the retainers are attached in an advanced position. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view of the female connector shown in FIG. 14 in which a latch of each retainer could not be inserted into each cavity.
As shown in FIG. 14, a conventional connector comprises a housing a provided with a plurality of juxtaposed cavities b and a pair of retainers c each of which is attached to each of upper and lower surfaces of the housing a. Each retainer c has a side plate d on opposite lateral ends so that the side plates bridge the housing a laterally and has a latch f adapted to fit in each cavity b through a window e formed in each of upper and lower walls of the housing a.
The retainers c are attached to the housing a in a retracted position shown in FIG. 15 from a detached position shown in FIG. 14. In the retracted position, the latch f of each retainer c is disposed in the window e in the housing a, so that the terminal metal fixture can be inserted into and detached from the cavity b. Under this state, when the terminal metal fixture is inserted into the cavity b until the fixture engages with a lance g on a bottom wall of the cavity b, the fixture is temporarily locked in the cavity b. Then, the retainer c is slid to an advanced position shown in FIG. 16 in a down slant direction shown by an arrow in FIG. 15 while a bottom face h of the side plate d of the retainer c contacts with a guide face on a side end of the housing a. When the latch f enters the cavity b, the terminal metal fixture is regularly or double locked in the cavity b.
However, the retainer c which is used in such a connector tends to bulge in the lateral direction of the housing a, since the retainer c is short in length and long in width. Consequently, when the retainer c is slid on the housing a from the retracted position shown in FIG. 15 to the advanced position shown in FIG. 16, a center portion of the retainer c comes up from the housing a in the width direction, so that the latch f cannot enter the cavity b and rides on an edge of the window e. If such a failure is overlooked, a force by which the retainer c holds the terminal metal fixture will weaken, since the latch f cannot lock the fixture. If such a failure is found, it is possible to reset the retainer c. However, this requires much time and effort and results in a lowering of production efficiency.
Such a problem will occur in a connector wherein retainers are united through hinges to a housing.


A device and a method are described for controlling an electromagnetic user, especially a magnetic valve for influencing the fuel quantity to be injected into an internal combustion engine. At least one switching time of the user is taken into consideration in the control. The at least one switching time is ascertained starting from a current value.

From German Published Patent Application No. 44 15 361, a method and a device for controlling an electromagnetic consumer is known. Such electromagnetic consumers are used especially for controlling fuel metering for internal combustion engines. In this application, a magnetic valve determines the injection duration and/or the beginning of injection.
In magnetic valves, a certain time span usually elapses between the control time and the reaction of the magnetic valve. This time span is usually designated as the switching time of the valve. This switching time depends on various parameters. Such parameters are, for example, the coil voltage and/or the coil temperature and/or the current flowing through the coil. A variable switching time of the magnetic valve, in turn, results in a variable injection duration and/or a variable injection beginning, and thus an injected fuel quantity that changes in an undesired manner.
From German Published Patent Application No. 195138 78, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,722) a method and a device for controlling an electromagnetic consumer is known. In the procedure described there, the duration of the control of the magnetic valve is corrected by a shut-off delay time of the current injection. This delay time is predefinable as a function of the instantaneous value of the current at the shut-off procedure.
Furthermore, it is known that, during shut-off, the mechanical switching times are functions of the shut-off current and the shut-off voltage. In order really to hold the influence of different shut-off currents to a low value, the current from the user is decommutated using the greatest possible extinction voltage. For this, components are required which have the appropriate voltage endurance. These components are comparatively expensive.

Method and device for controlling an electromagnetic consumer


A pixel compensation circuit includes a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, a fourth transistor, a fifth transistor, a switch unit and a light emitting diode. The first transistor, the third transistor, the fourth transistor, the fifth transistor, and the switch unit are used to receive a respective switch signal. The pixel compensation circuit can compensate a threshold voltage of transistor automatically; and consequentially a driving current of light emitting diode is prevented from being affected by the change of the threshold voltage or the voltage drop of the light emitting diode.

Active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display has some advantages such as compact size, high efficiency and high color saturation, so that AMOLED has become one of the mainstreams in the display technology. However, because the manufacturing variation or the threshold voltage variation resulted from the aging degradation of transistors, the driving current as well as the crossing voltage of the light emitting diode may be unstable and the consequentially the associated AMOLED display panel may have brightness non-uniformity issue. In addition, the AMOLED is driven by current, poor display quality may also happen when the gate-source crossing voltage of transistor is affected by the increase of the internal resistance of the AMOLED.


Example embodiments relate to calibration systems usable for distortion characterization in cameras. An example embodiment includes a calibration system. The calibration system includes a first calibration target that includes a first mirror, a plurality of fiducials positioned on or adjacent to the first mirror, and an indexing fiducial positioned on or adjacent to the first mirror. The calibration system also includes a second calibration target that includes one or more second mirrors and has an aperture defined therein. The first mirror and the one or more second mirrors are separated by a distance. The first mirror faces the one or more second mirrors. The indexing fiducial is visible through the aperture in the second calibration target. Reflections of the plurality of fiducials are visible through the aperture defined in the second calibration target. The reflections of the plurality of fiducials are iterated reflections.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Cameras can be used to identify objects within a scene (e.g., in computer vision applications). However, to improve the precision with which a camera identifies objects within a scene, the camera may be calibrated. Such a calibration can provide a correlation of the appearance of a captured image to the spatial layout of a physical scene. Further, calibration can correct for defects in the fabrication and/or assembly of a camera used to capture images. For example, if an aperture of a camera is off-center with respect to an image sensor of the camera or a lens of the camera intrinsically distorts an image, a calibration may correct for this (e.g., using a processor that provides a correction to captured images such that they more accurately reflect a physical scene).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Calibration systems usable for distortion characterization in cameras


A photoconductive imaging member comprised of a supporting substrate, a hole blocking layer thereover, a photogenerating layer and a charge transport layer, and wherein the hole blocking layer is comprised of a crosslinked polymer material schematically represented by structure (VII), and is derived from crosslinking a mixture of electron transport polymer (I) and organosilane (II).

This invention is generally directed to imaging members, and, more specifically, the present invention is directed to improved multilayered imaging members with a solvent resistant hole blocking layer comprised of a crosslinked electron transport polymer derived from crosslinking a thermally crosslinkable alkoxysilyl, acyloxysilyl or halosilyl-functionalized electron transport polymer with an alkoxysily, acyloxysilyl or halosilyl compound such as alkyltrialkoxysilane, alkyltrihalosilane, alkylacyloxysilane, aminoalkyltrialkoxysilane, and the like, preferably in contact with the supporting substrate and situated between the supporting substrate and the photogenerating layer, and which layer may be comprised of the photogenerating pigments of U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,811, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, especially Type V hydroxygallium phthalocyanine. The imaging members of the present invention in embodiments exhibit excellent cyclic/environmental stability, independent layer discharge, and substantially no adverse changes in performance over extended time periods, provide imaging members with solvent resistant blocking layers, and enable suitable hole blocking layer thickness that can be easily coated on the supporting substrate by various coating techniques of for example dip or slot-coating. The aforementioned photoresponsive, or photoconductive imaging members can be negatively charged when the photogenerating layers are situated between the hole transport layer and the blocking layer deposited on the substrate. Processes of imaging, especially xerographic imaging and printing, including digital, are also encompassed by the present invention. More specifically, the layered photoconductive imaging members can be selected for a number of different known imaging and printing processes including, for example, electrophotographic imaging processes, especially xerographic imaging and printing processes wherein charged latent images are rendered visible with toner compositions of an appropriate charge polarity. The imaging members as indicated herein are in embodiments sensitive in the wavelength region of, for example, from about 550 to about 900 nanometers, and in particular, from about 650 to about 850 nanometers, thus diode lasers can be selected as the light source. Moreover, the imaging members of this invention are preferably useful in color xerographic applications where several color printings can be achieved in a single pass.


A pumping system for moving water of a swimming pool includes a water pump, an infinitely variable speed motor, and an arrangement for operating the motor. In one example, the pumping system includes a memory configured to store a plurality of retained speed values, an arrangement for providing a plurality of retained speed values to the memory, and an arrangement for reading a selected one of the plurality of retained speed values from the memory. In addition or alternatively, the pumping system includes a storage medium for digitally storing a plurality of pre-established motor speed values and an arrangement for receiving input from a user to select one of the pre-established motor speeds. In addition or alternatively, the pumping system further includes an arrangement for restarting operation of the motor at a previously selected speed value when power supplied to the motor is interrupted during operation of the motor. A method for controlling the pumping system is also provided.

Conventionally, a pump to be used in a pool is operable at a finite number of predesigned speed settings (e.g., typically high and low settings). Typically these speed settings correspond to the range of pumping demands of the pool at the time of installation. Factors such as the volumetric flow rate of water to be pumped, the total head pressure required to adequately pump the volume of water, and other operational parameters determine the size of the pump and the proper speed settings for pump operation. Once the pump is installed, the speed settings typically are not readily changed to accommodate changes in the pool conditions and/or pumping demands.
Conventionally, it is also typical to equip a pumping system for use in a pool with auxiliary devices, such as a heating device, a chemical dispersion device (e.g., a chlorinator or the like), a filter arrangement, and/or an automation device. Often, operation of a particular auxiliary device can require different pump performance characteristics. For example, operation of a heating device may require a specific water flow rate or flow pressure for correct heating of the pool water. It is possible that a conventional pump can be manually adjusted to operate at one of a finite number of predetermined, non-alterable speed settings in response to a water demand from an auxiliary device. However, adjusting the pump to one of the predetermined, non-alterable settings may cause the pump to operate at a rate that exceeds a needed rate, while adjusting the pump to another setting may cause the pump to operate at a rate that provides an insufficient amount of flow and/or pressure. In such a case, the pump will either operate inefficiently or operate at a level below that which is desired.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a pump that could be readily and easily adapted to provide a suitably supply of water at a desired pressure to aquatic applications having a variety of sizes and features. The pump should be capable of pumping water to a plurality of aquatic applications and features, and should be variably adjustable to a number of user defined speeds, quickly and repeatably, over a range of operating speeds to pump the water as needed when conditions change. Further, the pump should be responsive to a change of conditions and/or user input instructions.

Danfoss Low Power Drives, a Division of Danfoss


An organic light emitting diode (OLED) according to an embodiment can include an OLED panel; a printed circuit board adhered onto a rear surface of the OLED panel; and a back cover including first and second metal layers, an inorganic substance layer between the first and second metal layers, and a pocket groove in a horizontal surface on which the OLED panel is placed and corresponding to the printed circuit board, wherein the pocket groove is formed by removing the first metal layer corresponding thereto to expose the inorganic substance layer.

Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and particularly, an OLED that can improve production efficiency and have lightweight and thin profile.
Discussion of the Related Art
An OLED includes a hole injection electrode, an organic light emission layer and an electron injection electrode, and emits light by an energy produced when an exciton generated by combination of electrode and hole transits from an excited state to a ground state.
According to this principle, the OLED has a self-luminous property, and the OLED can have a decreased in thickness and weight because the OLED does not require a light source. Further, since the OLED has high qualities such as low power consumption, high brightness and high response speed, the OLED is considered as a next generation display device.
Generally, the OLED includes an OLED panel having an organic light emitting layer, a cabinet surrounding edge portions of the OLED panel, a back cover disposed on the rear of the OLED panel and accommodating the OLED panel therein, and a cover window disposed on the front of the OLED panel and protecting the OLED panel.
A printed circuit board is connected to the OLED panel at an edge portion of the OLED panel via a connection member, and the printed circuit board is bent toward and adhered onto the rear surface of the back cover.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a portion of a rear surface of an OLED according to the related art, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic perspective views illustrating a rear surface of the OLED, on which a system board is mounted, according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a printed circuit board 18 connected to an edge portion of an OLED 10 via a connecting member 16 is adhered onto a rear surface of a back cover 20 and fixed.
A plurality of driving circuit elements are mounted on the printed circuit board 18, and the printed circuit board 18 is covered by a cover shield 23. The cover shield 23 covers and protects the printed circuit board 18 from an external impact.
The cover shield 23 is assembled and coupled with the printed circuit board 18 using a screw fastening.
Since the printed circuit board 18 is adhered onto the rear surface of the back cover 20, the OLED 10 needs the cover shield 18 to protect the printed circuit board 18, and additional component, such as screws, to assemble and couple the cover shield 23 to the printed circuit board 18.
Accordingly, the additional component causes increased production cost, and production time increases by the assembling, and thus production efficiency decreases remarkably in the related art OLEDs.
Further, referring to FIG. 2A, since the rear surface of the OLED 10 has a complicated shape, an available area of the rear surface of the OLED 10 is small, and particularly, other components can not be mounted at the edge portion A where the printed circuit board 18 is adhered.
Accordingly, a position and an area of a system board 70 mounted on the rear surface of the OLED 10 are limited. Referring to FIG. 2B, the OLED 10, which is coupled with a set frame 60 and completed as a final product, also has a rear surface in a complicated shape, and thus the OLED lacks space applicability, interior decoration and design as required recently.
Further, since the thickness and weight of the related art OLED are increased due to the cover shield 23, there is a limit in providing an OLED having lightweight and thin profile.


A medicament package comprises a medicament container (10) and a holder (20) within which the medicament container (10) is closely received. The holder (20) comprises a support (25) of a rigid material. The support (25) has an opening, to the periphery of which an enclosure (21) is bonded. The medicament container (10) is closely received within the enclosure (21) such that the material of the enclosure (21) seals openings formed in the container (10). The container (10) can be dispensed from the package into a delivery device by pressure applied to the enclosure (21).

This invention relates to packaging and delivery devices for medicaments, in particular to medicament packaging for use in delivery devices for the administration of medicaments by inhalation.
The most common methods of administering powdered medicament by inhalation are pressurized aerosol inhalers and dry powder inhalers. Conventional dry powder inhalers use medicament packaged in a gelatine capsule. An improved method of administration, however, is disclosed in WO 98/26828.
WO 98/26828 discloses several delivery devices for use with medicament containers that contain pre-formed openings through which medicament is dispensed within the delivery device. The delivery devices all comprise a mouthpiece, air inlet means and a chamber in which the medicament container is located. In use, air is drawn into the chamber, causing the medicament container to follow an orbital path around the chamber. In this way the medicament is dispensed through the openings of the medicament container and medicament entrained with air is drawn out of the chamber and through the mouthpiece. The disclosed delivery devices include single-use delivery devices pre-loaded with a medicament container and multi-use delivery devices in which a medicament container is inserted into the chamber before use.
In addition, various medicament packages comprising a medicament container and holder are disclosed, in which the openings in the medicament container are sealed by the holder. The medicament containers disclosed generally comprise an inverted cup, having at least one opening, and a closure. The holders disclosed include: an O-ring of elastomeric material which fits closely around the medicament container; a plastics sheet containing circular apertures whose periphery is formed by a ring of elastomeric material into which the medicament containers are pressed with a close, interference fit; and a sheet of resilient plastics or elastomeric material having circular recesses into which the medicament containers are pressed.
The medicament packages and delivery devices disclosed in WO 98/26828 represent a considerable advance over the prior art, but are nonetheless susceptible to further improvement. In particular, single-use delivery devices may be considered wasteful as they can only be used once, the whole device then being discarded. Also, the medicament packages may not retain the medicament containers as securely as might be desired.


A handle for a tool includes a handle body, an operation device and a pair of clamp halves. The operation device has an operation member operable by an operator. At least one of the clamp halves can move relative to the handle body along an axis. As the operation member is operated, the one of the handle halves moves along the axis, so that the distance between the handle halves can be changed for clamping or releasing a portion of the tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to handles for hand-held tools, such as hammer drills, and in particular to handles that can be removably mounted to hand-held tools.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of a known hammer drill that has a relatively large size and is designed to be held with both hands of an operator during the operation, an auxiliary handle is provided in addition to a main handle. Therefore, the operator can grasp the main handle with one hand and can grasp the auxiliary handle with the other hand. In general, such an auxiliary handle is provided as an optional component and can be mounted to and removed from the tool. Two different types of auxiliary handles are generally used for different modes of operations. One type is a bar-type handle that has a grip portion extending laterally from the tool. The other type is a D-shaped handle that has a pair of support arms and a grip portion extending between the support arms. The support arms extend laterally from the tool and are spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. The bar-type handle is suitable to handle-held tools that may receive a rotational torque (e.g., about an axis of a tool bit) from a workpiece during the operation. The D-shaped handle is suitable to hand-held tools that may receive vibrations in the vertical direction (e.g., due to a reaction force applied to a tool bit in an axial direction) from a workpiece during the operation.
Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-176864 teaches a known D-shaped auxiliary handle as shown in FIG. 11, which corresponds to FIG. 1 of this publication. Referring to FIG. 11, an auxiliary handle 10 has a clamp portion 11 for clamping a front case 2 of a hand-held tool 1, an operation device 12 for operating the clamp portion 11, and a grip portion 13 adapted to be grasped by the operator. The clamp portion 11 has a pair of clamp halves 11a that can clamp the front case 2 therebetween from opposite sides. The front case 2 has a substantially cylindrical tubular configuration. The clamp halves 11a are held in the clamping position by tightening a fixing nut 12a of the operation device 12. The clamp portion 11 can be removed from the front case 2 by loosening the fixing nut 12a, so that the auxiliary handle 10 can be removed from the hand-held tool 1.
Referring again to FIG. 11, a main handle 3 is disposed on the rear end (right end as viewed in FIG. 11) of the hand-held tool 1. In order to operate the tool 1, the operator can grasp the main handle 3 with one hand and can grasp the grip portion 13 of the auxiliary handle 10 with the other hand, so that the operator can hold the tool 1 with both hands.
However, with the above known auxiliary handle 10, the support arms 14 and 15 extend laterally from opposite ends in the vertical direction of the support portion 12, and the grip portion 13 is fixed to the tip ends of the support arms 14 and 15 and extends therebetween. In addition, as the fixing nut 12a is tightened, the support arms 14 and 15 may be flexed toward each other, so that the clamp halves 11a of the clamp portion 11 can clamp the hand-held tool 1. Therefore, the tolerance of the opening and closing movement of the clamp halves 11a of the clamp portion 11 given by the operation of the operation device 12 (i.e., the tolerance of the flexing amount of the support arms 14 and 15) is not sufficient. Practically, the clamp halves 11a of the clamp portion 11 cannot be largely opened relative to the front case 2 of the hand-held tool 1 unless the auxiliary handle 10 is disassembled. Therefore, the mounting and removing operations of the auxiliary handle 10 is troublesome and require much time.
In addition, due to the small tolerance of the opening and closing movement of the clamp halves 11a, the sizes of hand-held tools, to which the auxiliary handle 10 can be mounted, are limited within a narrow range.
Therefore, there has been a need for handles that can be easily mounted to and removed from hand-held tools and are improved in versatility.


Aspects of the invention provide means for addressing layout retargeting shortfalls. Initially, an original design shape in the layout is allowed to be simulated by process simulation to form process simulation contours. A polygon is then fitted to the process simulation contours to form a fitted simulated shape. Subsequently, whether the fitted simulated shape differs from the original design shape is detected. The process simulation may reflect the changes to the layout that occur at a foundry as part of a retargeting process. Advantageously, addressing a layout for retargeting shortfalls in accordance with aspects of the invention is likely to result in manufactured semiconductor devices having higher yields and reliability than those produced from a like layout that is not addressed in this manner.

The present invention relates to the electrical, electronic, and computer arts, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for detecting and addressing adverse modifications to a semiconductor device layout from layout retargeting.
Before a given semiconductor device layout is sent to a foundry (i.e., a semiconductor fabrication plant or fab) for manufacture, a design company (e.g., a fabless semiconductor company) will typically perform extensive design rule checking (DRC) on the layout. The design rules specify certain geometric and connectivity restrictions to ensure sufficient margins in order to account for variability in semiconductor manufacturing processes. DRC enhances yield by ensuring that there are sufficient margins in the layout to accommodate this variability.
However, once a semiconductor device layout is sent to a foundry for manufacture, it is subject to more modifications. A foundry will frequently apply an automatic update to a layout after its receipt (i.e., they will "retarget" the layout) in order to improve the printability of the layout and to optimize the process window for their particular manufacturing processes. The retargeting codes are typically not shared with the design company because of the foundry's interest in maintaining confidentiality about its processes and their limitations. Accordingly, a layout gets modified without notice to the design company, and there tends to be very little additional DRC after the retargeting. That is, DRC occurs on design shapes rather than on retargeted shapes. If the retargeting fails to consider all layout complexities, then the retargeted layout is subject to failure or low yields. When such issues arise due to retargeting, they are often hard to debug because of a lack of documentation and the complexity of the conditions that cause retargeting.
As one example, retargeting at a foundry may act to change the dimensions of a metal feature that is used as a hard mask in a self-aligned-via (SAV) process without regard for the fact that the size of the via will follow the change in dimensions of the retargeted metal feature. The resultant via may subsequently break design rules related to edge spacing from other features. The retargeting may thereby inadvertently impact yield and/or performance despite the fact that the prior DRC showed no such issues.
There is, as a result, a need for methods and apparatus for checking modifications to a layout resulting from retargeting, and modifying the layout to accommodate those modifications where necessary to address layout retargeting shortfalls.

Addressing layout retargeting shortfalls

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to an electrical gas-discharge lamp comprising an inner bulb (1) arranged within an outer bulb (2), said inner bulb (1) being filled with a discharge gas and comprising a first electrode (3) and an opposing second electrode (4) having a distance from the first electrode (3) which allows ignition of a gas-discharge by applying an ignition voltage between the electrodes (3, 4). At least one through hole (11) is formed in the feedthrough to the electrically conductive lead (5) to the first electrode (3). An electrically conductive member (10) extents within a space formed between the inner (1) and the outer bulb (2) from a position close to the through hole (11) to a distance from the second electrode (4) which is smaller than the distance between the two electrodes (3,4). When applying the ignition voltage between the electrodes (3,4) an electrically conducting path (12) forms through the through hole (11) between the electrically conductive member (10) and the electrically conductive lead (5) by ionization of the gas in the outer bulb (2). With this transient conductive path the coating (10) forms an active antenna effectively lowering the ignition voltage. The fabrication of the proposed lamp with reduced ignition voltage requires only few additional fabrication steps compared to a lamp without such an ignition aid.

The present invention relates to an electrical gas-discharge lamp comprising an inner bulb arranged within an outer bulb, said inner bulb being filled with a discharge gas and comprising a first electrode and an opposing second electrode having a distance from the first electrode which allows ignition of a gas-discharge in said inner bulb by applying an ignition voltage between the electrodes.
Such a construction allows the realization of high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps for automotive applications, in which the inner bulb is filled with the discharge gas at high pressure. This high pressure allows a high intensity of the light emitted by the lamp with only a small delay after ignition which is necessary in the automotive field. Due to the high pressure of the discharge gas in the inner bulb automotive HID lamps require notoriously high ignition voltages of the order of 20 kV in order to ensure sufficient luminous flux already after a few seconds of operation. This particularly applies to automotive HID lamps. The high ignition voltage however requires a complex, expensive ignition circuit.

Electrical gas-discharge lamp with discharge-coupled active antenna


Not less than two regions different in magnetic circuit design are provided in a rotational axis direction of the rotor (30), the regions being different by changing a cross-sectional shape in the rotational axis direction in a cross-section perpendicular to a rotational shaft (10) of the rotor (30) having the permanent magnets (1) and the rotor core (2); the supplemental grooves (5) are provided in axial partial regions of each of the teeth (7) of the stator core (3); and the region in which the supplemental groove (5) is provided is each partial region for each region facing a region same in magnetic circuit design of the rotor (30). This enables to reduce cogging torque generated by variations on the rotor side.

In recent years, a motor with small cogging torque has been required for various applications such as industrial servo motors and hoists for elevators. In focusing attention on such applications for vehicles, an electric power steering apparatus has become widespread for achieving an improvement in fuel consumption and an improvement in steering performance. Cogging torque of a motor for use in the electric power steering apparatus is transmitted to a driver via gears; and therefore, reduction in cogging torque of the motor is strongly desired in order to obtain a smooth steering feeling. In response, one possible method to reduce the cogging torque is to provide supplemental grooves in a core of a stator. Such a method is disclosed in Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3.

Permanent magnet type rotary electric machine and electric power steering apparatus using the same


A method and assembly for guidance of an aircraft during a low-altitude flight. The guidance assembly comprises a memory forming part of a flight management system, which is configured to store an active flight trajectory and any new flight trajectory, generated by the flight management system, and a memory forming part of a guidance system, which is configured to also store the flight trajectory and any new flight trajectory, which are received from the flight management system, the guidance assembly being configured to periodically transmit from the guidance system to the flight management system identification codes for the flight trajectories recorded in the memory of the guidance system.

The present disclosure relates to a method and an assembly for guidance of an aircraft during a low-altitude flight.
In a standard manner, a low-altitude flight phase, called LLF ("Low Level Flight") phase, allows an aircraft to fly at low altitude, in particular so as to follow as closely as possible the terrain overflown, especially so as to avoid being pinpointed, while removing any risk of collision with a part of the terrain. Such an LLF phase generally takes place at a predetermined terrain altitude, for example at 500 feet (about 150 meters).
In particular, for a military aircraft, especially a military transport airplane, one of the objectives of a low-altitude flight is to exploit the masking in relation to the terrain to protect oneself from threats in hostile geographical zones. Accordingly, in particular in order to carry out in-flight instrument based operations of IMC ("Instrument Meteorological Conditions") type, a flight management system of FMS ("Flight Management System") type computes in a standard manner a three-dimensional reference trajectory (taking into account the terrain overflown), and the aircraft is guided along this reference trajectory (either automatically with the aid of an automatic piloting system, or manually by following indications presented by a flight director).
The aircraft's flight management system is therefore responsible for the computation of the reference trajectory. This reference trajectory is computed using data relating to the terrain overflown and the aircraft's climb and descent capabilities, as well as its maneuvering capabilities.
Furthermore, the aircraft comprises a guidance system comprising at least one guidance computer, of FGC ("Flight Guidance Computer") type, which is responsible for slaving the aircraft to this reference trajectory.
A flight of IMC LLF type being subject to safety rules, the flight management and guidance systems must, inter alia, ensure that a minimum trajectory distance (called the MEMO distance) is available and validated ahead of the aircraft during guidance (or before guidance, so as to authorize guidance). Consequently, the flight trajectory that the aircraft has to follow must be transmitted in advance by the flight management system. The guidance system makes sure of the storage and validation of this trajectory.
Furthermore, a trajectory constructed by the flight management system, and such as defined in a flight plan, may be revised or canceled. In the case of such a revision before the flight of an LLF phase, the former trajectory is removed from the flight management system. It is in particular necessary that the guidance system not slave the aircraft to a trajectory (previously received and stored) that is unknown to the flight management system.
Furthermore, the architecture and the operation of these two systems (flight management system and guidance system) must ensure that the aircraft can only be guided on a valid trajectory (meeting the safety criteria) that the pilot knows (via the flight management system) and desires be flown, and that the low-altitude flight capability is not lost upon a change of trajectory.

Method and assembly for guidance of an aircraft during a low-altitude flight


A light irradiation heat treatment apparatus and method may use a plane-shaped light irradiation heating component, facing one surface of a workpiece supported in a furnace, to raise the temperature of the workpiece. The temperature of the workpiece is raised by setting an intensity distribution for light irradiated from the light irradiation heating component in accordance with the resistivity of the workpiece. Thereafter, the workpiece is irradiated with light having the set light intensity distribution to raise its temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light irradiation heat treatment method and a light irradiation heat treatment apparatus in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a light irradiation heat treatment apparatus using a lamp is used for a short time-period heat treatment of, for example threshold voltage control of MOS transistor, impurity ion activation after ion implantation into sources, drains or the like, forming a silicide from a high melting point metal film, achieving low resistance of the metal silicide or the like. A typical configuration of this type of heat treatment apparatus is such that a plate-type workpiece is heated from either both sides or one side thereof using multiple lamps. The lamp is faced to a surface of the workpiece and the multiple lamps are arranged at a uniform density at a distance close to the surface. While the workpiece such as a semiconductor substrate is heat-treated at a substantially constant temperature, a feedback control is then performed to light irradiation intensity of the lamp so that the workpiece may be maintained at a predetermined temperature. In this case, the heat treatment apparatus measures a wavelength of an electromagnetic wave radiated from the heated workpiece, with a plurality of pyrometers disposed in the vicinity of either both sides or one side of the workpiece, and further converts it into a temperature. As described above, a process which feeds back the measured temperature by the pyrometer and controls the light irradiation intensity is called a closed circuit control process. This closed circuit control process works effectively at not less than a constant temperature at which sufficient radiation intensity is obtained from the workpiece. This temperature may typically be at 300° C. to 600° C. or more.
On the other hand, in an early phase of starting the heat treatment for the workpiece in the light irradiation heat treatment apparatus, there is a step of heating at a constant light irradiation intensity the workpiece at 300° C. to 600° C. or more which is a controllable temperature by the closed circuit control process, and this process is called an open loop control process. As described above, a light irradiation heat treatment comprises this open loop control process and the closed circuit control process.
Further, since the temperature rises as high as the temperature described above in a short time-period in a light irradiation heat treatment process, stress is applied to the workpiece, whereas consideration for relieving this is also made, and the art relative to that is described in, for example Japanese Patent Laid-Open Hei No. 11-214323 official report.
However, in the prior art described above, at the open loop control process immediately after starting the light irradiation in the light irradiation heat treatment apparatus, because of rapidly heating the workpiece at a constant light irradiation intensity, temperature rising speed usually changes in accordance with positions within the workpiece surface such as the semiconductor substrate or the like, resulting in a temperature distribution. The workpiece is therefore subjected to stress, so that there is caused distortion, deformation, warpage, crack or the like. Further, as a result of a crystal defect introduced to the workpiece in some cases, there has been a problem of causing a characteristic variation between semiconductor elements built in the semiconductor substrate to be the workpiece, and a defect in reliability or the like in addition to that.

Light irradiation heat treatment method and light irradiation heat treatment apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Apparatus and methods for stabilizing and/or positioning tissues or organs during surgical procedures. One feature of the positioners of the invention includes the use of one or more suction elements used to grip the organ or tissue. The main body of the suction element comprises body defining a polyhedral shaped chamber, an elliptical ring structure and a vacuum port. The invention further includes structures to support the suction element and hold the suction element and attached tissue in a fixed position including catheters, lockable flexible arms, and retractors.

Internal organs often need to be positioned and/or stabilized for specific surgical medical procedures. In some procedures, the surgeon may wish to move or orient the organ so that surgery may be performed upon it more easily. In other cases, the surgeon may wish to hold the organ, or a portion of it, immobile so that the organ will not move during the surgical procedure so that the area that is being operated on is stable to ensure the accuracy of the surgeon's work. In still other cases, the surgeon may simply want to move the organ out of the way to improve access or visualization. There is a desire in the art to avoid having the use of a tissue positioner cause damage to the tissue that is being grasped. This is particularly important when operating on an internal organ such as the heart. What is needed is a tissue positioner that can be used in both open surgical procedures and through small incisions and ports, that has a small profile thereby increasing the overall visibility of the surgeon, and which may include multiple suction or contact points to limit the gross tissue damage per area by distributing vacuum force over multiple attachments.


A method of caching counter values in network packet traffic sampling, includes: generating a pre-sample strobe; loading the pre-sample strobe into a counter cache; waiting for the next strobe; and generating a sample pulse when the next strobe arrives. An apparatus for counting packet values and for sampling the values, includes: a packet sampling processor including a counter cache, the packet sampling processor responsive to a pre-sample strobe so that the pre-sample strobe updates the counter cache, where a sample pulse is generated when the next strobe arrives.

Data packets that come across a networking switch may be sampled for a given number of packets. For example, every 200 packets may be sampled, and this sampled value may then be sent to another module for processing. In one approach, the sampling signal is generated by using one (1) fixed-width counter per switch port, and the counter is replicated two (2) times for every port in the switch product. This type of implementation takes a significant amount of resources on the chip, particularly as the number of ports increases, and this typically increases the cost of the final product.
In another approach that use a pipelined design, counter resources may be shared and this leads to some savings in chip resources. However, this approach is not able to generate a sample signal after the strobe generation in a timely manner for some applications, since the sharing of counter resources introduces latency in the design. This can result in an inaccurate count of the packets that are sampled.
Therefore, the current technologies are limited to particular capabilities and suffer from various constraints.

Apparatus and method for caching counter values in network packet traffic sampling

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition containing 3,4-dihydro-1-phenyl-1-thio -1,2,4-benzothiadiazine 1-oxide useful for protecting lymphocytes.

The present invention is concerned with a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
AIDS is an extremely serious disease for which there has not been any therapy leading to a completely successful healing.
German application 25 30 792, covers 3,4-dihydro -1-phenyl-3-thio-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine 1-oxide as an intermediate for the synthesis of benzothiadiazines with hypotensive, spasmolytic, diuretic, and central nervous system-suppressing activities.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that this compound completely protects lymphocytes against attack by HIV viruses and brings about an inhibition of reverse transcriptase.

Antiviral pharmaceutical composition for treating lymphocytes


In software development, the provision of a testing tool which includes a method for defining a data source dynamically during an execution run, instead of programming such a definition within test script.

In software application development, changes in a UI (user interface) are generally considered to be inevitable. This also proves to be a significant challenge for any testing team, since whenever UI changes then a test case almost certainly will fail. As a result, the tester will need to update a verification point in accordance with the UI changes in order to promote a pass of the test down the road.

Data-driven testing without data configuration


A deposition apparatus includes a deposition source that receives a deposition material, and a plurality of spray nozzles arranged in a first direction at one side of the deposition source to spray the deposition material to a facing substrate. The deposition source includes a center area and outer areas, the outer areas being at respective ends of the center area with reference to the first direction. The spray nozzles include first spray nozzles arranged in each outer area and extending outwardly from the deposition source, a surface forming an end of the first spray nozzles forming a first inclination angle with a substrate surface in the first direction.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a deposition apparatus and a manufacturing method of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among display devices, an organic light emitting display has a wide viewing angle, excellent contrast, and a fast response speed. Thus, the organic light emitting display has been in the limelight as the next-generation display device.
In general, the organic light emitting display has a structure in which an emission layer is inserted between an anode and a cathode to realize colors. Light emission may occur from the re-combination of holes and electrons emitted from the anode and the cathode in the emission layer. In addition, to provide greater light emission efficiency, intermediate layers such as an electron injection layer (EIL), an electron transport layer (ETL), a hole transport layer (HTL), and a hole injection layer (HIL) may be selectively inserted between the respective electrodes and the emission layer.

Depositing apparatus and method for manufacturing organic light emitting diode display using the same


A system includes a rotor assembly with a first rotor component having a first set of bushing receptacles and a first set of bolt holes arranged about a first rotational axis of the first rotor component. The rotor assembly also includes a second rotor component having a second set of bushing receptacles and a second set of bolt holes arranged about a second rotational axis of the second rotor component. The rotor assembly includes a first set of bushings disposed in the first and second sets of bushing receptacles in a first installed configuration, wherein the first installed configuration of the first set of bushings is configured to align the first and second rotational axes with one another, and the first installed configuration of the first set of bushings is configured to bear at least a first portion of a torque during rotation of the rotor assembly. The rotor assembly also includes a first set of bolts extending through the first and second sets of bolt holes to retain the first rotor, the second rotor, and the first set of bushings in the rotor assembly.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to couplings for rotating components, more specifically, to couplings for turbomachinery.
Mechanical energy may be transferred in many ways, including by way of rotating parts, such as a shaft or rotor. Rotating parts transfer torque through contact forces with other parts. For friction drive arrangements, torque transmission may be limited by the surface friction between the two parts and the compression force between the parts. Bolts may be used to compress the parts for rotating parts. However, for rotor structures carrying the mass of bolts, utilizing large bolts to create sufficient compression force can be a challenge.

System and method for coupling rotor components


Various embodiments of a thermal energy transfer apparatus that removes thermal energy from a light-emitting device are described. In one aspect, an apparatus comprises a non-metal base plate and a silicon-based cover element disposed on the base plate. The base plate is coated with a first electrically-conductive pattern that forms a first electrode. The base plate is further coated with a second electrically-conductive pattern that is electrically isolated from the first electrically-conductive pattern. The cover element holds the one or more light-emitting devices between the base plate and the cover element with at least a portion of a light-emitting surface of each of the one or more light-emitting devices exposed. The cover element is coated with a third electrically-conductive pattern that is in contact with the second electrically-conductive pattern to form a second electrode when the cover element is disposed on the base plate.

Light-emitting devices, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), light-emitting diodes (LED), laser diodes and the like, generate thermal energy, or heat, when in operation. The heat generated by a light-emitting device needs to be removed, or dissipated, from the light-emitting device in order to allow the light-emitting device to achieve optimum performance while keeping the light-emitting device within a safe operating temperature range. With the form factor of light-emitting devices and the applications they are implemented in becoming ever more compact, it is imperative to effectively dissipate the high-density heat generated in an area of small footprint to ensure the safe operation and optimum performance of light-emitting devices.
Many metal-based heat dissipation packages, whether water-cooled or air-cooled, have been developed for use in compact packages to dissipate heat generated by light-emitting devices. For instance, heat exchangers and heat pipes made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as copper, copper-tungsten alloy, aluminum or iron, for example, are commercially available. However, most metal-based heat exchangers and heat pipes experience oxidation, corrosion and/or crystallization after long periods of operation. Such fouling factors significantly reduce the efficiency of heat transfer of metal-based cooling packages. Other problems associated with metal-based cooling packages include, for example, difficulty in precision alignment in mounting laser diode bars, VCSELs or LEDs or chips in laser diode/VCSEL/LED cooling applications, issues with overall compactness of the package, corrosion of the metallic material in water-cooled applications, difficulty in manufacturing, etc. Yet, increasing demand for higher power density in small form factor motivates the production of a compact cooling package with fewer or none of the aforementioned issues. Moreover, conventional packages typically use wire bonding to provide electrical power to the light-emitting device, but wire bonding may add cost and complexity in manufacturing and may be prone to defects in addition to occupying space unnecessarily.

Silicon-based cooling package for light-emitting devices


The instant disclosure relates to methods, systems, and apparatus for polishing wastewater (i.e. non-potable water) using filtration media. More particularly, the instant disclosure relates to wastewater polishing using a bed of mixed metal oxides under certain operating conditions to remove a plurality of contaminants from a wastewater stream.

Prior to discharge into the environment, wastewater must generally be within certain prescribed limits for various contaminant levels. To properly discharge treated water, a polishing step may be employed. Wastewater polishing generally includes removing trace impurities from the water prior to discharge. Conventional wastewater polishing methods and systems may be onerous, costly, and time consuming.

Method for removing drugs from waste water using neutralized bauxite residue


Provided is a liquid supply apparatus including: a liquid supply path which supplies a liquid from an upstream side, which is a liquid supply source, to a downstream side in which the liquid is consumed; a defoaming chamber which is provided in the liquid supply path and defoams air bubbles included in the liquid; and a depressurization chamber which is provided at a position adjacent to the defoaming chamber with a partition wall interposed therebetween and is depressurized such that the pressure thereof becomes lower than the pressure of the defoaming chamber, wherein the partition wall allows permeation of gas by the depressurization of the depressurization chamber and restricts permeation of the liquid, wherein the partition wall has rigidity, and wherein the defoaming chamber is arranged in plurality and at least two of the defoaming chambers overlap with one depressurization chamber in an upper and lower direction.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer and a liquid supply apparatus including the liquid ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
Generally, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting an ink (liquid) from nozzles of a recording head (liquid ejecting head) toward a target and, for example, an ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as a "printer") is widely used. In such a printer, if air bubbles are generated in the ink ejected from the recording head, a printing failure such as dot missing may be caused. Accordingly, a printer capable of degassing (eliminating) gas dissolved in the ink such that the printing failure can be suppressed is suggested (for example, see JP-A-2006-75683).
The printer of JP-A-2006-75683 includes a vacuum chamber (liquid supply apparatus) as a degassing filter for eliminating gas (air bubbles) dissolved in the ink. In the vacuum chamber, a depressurization space (depressurization chamber) and a common liquid space (defoaming chamber) are partitioned by a gas permeable film (partition wall). When the depressurization space is depressurized by a vacuum pump, a pressure difference between the depressurization space and the common liquid space is generated and the gas dissolved in the ink contained in the common liquid space is eliminated to the depressurization space via the gas permeable film by the pressure difference.
In the printer of JP-A-2006-75683, since the depressurization space and the common liquid space are partitioned by the thin gas permeable film, the strength of the gas permeable film is insufficient. If a reinforcement member is provided in the common liquid space such that the rigidity of the gas permeable film is compensated for, the channel resistance of the common liquid space is increased. If the vacuum chamber in which the channel resistance of the common liquid space is increased is positioned immediately before an ink jet head (liquid ejecting head), it is difficult to control the discharge of the ink from the ink jet head.
If the printer of JP-A-2006-75683 is a color printer using a plurality of colors of inks, vacuum chambers need to be separately provided with respect to the plurality of colors of inks and thus the size of the apparatus may be increased. In this case, although one vacuum chamber is used, depressurization spaces and common liquid spaces should be provided in the vacuum chamber with respect to the inks. Thus, the problem that the size of the apparatus is increased is not solved.

Liquid supply apparatus and liquid ejecting apparatus


A message security processing system and method for Web services are provided. In the message security processing system in which messages are exchanged between a client and a server with a SOAP-RPC format, each of the client and the server includes: a security interface allowing information related to digital signature, encryption, and timestamp insertion to be set in a security context object for an application program to meet security requirements of the client or the server; a security handler receiving the security context object from the security interface, and performing security processing of a request message by calling security objects stored in a request queue of the security context object one by one in order or performing security processing of a response message by calling security objects stored in a response queue of the security context object one by one in order; and an XML security unit supporting an XML security functions by called by the security handler.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information security technology, and more particularly, to a message security processing system and method for Web services.
2. Description of the Related Art
Web services Technology is a widely used process for linking a client and a server using web standard technologies such as the extensible markup language (XML), the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), the simple object access protocol (SOAP), the Web service description language (WSDL), the universal description discovery and integration protocol (UDDI).
In the Web services, the SOAP is used for exchanging messages. The SOAP is a protocol based on the XML supporting remote procedure call (RPC) and messaging in all network protocols, and more particularly, in the HTTP. Since the SOAP is a protocol based on the XML instead using a binary format, flexibility between platforms, programming languages, and component models is excellent.
Since Web services and the SOAP are widely applied to high security application services such as e-commercial transactions, an information security technology for the Web services is very important. To support a message level security for the Web services, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) has been standardizing Web services security (WS-Security).
In a SOAP message security standard, standards for authentication, integrity, confidentiality, and non-repudiation of SOAP messages and a standard for exchanging a security token are defined. To support the authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation of SOAP messages, XML Signatures developed by the world wide web consortium (W3C) are expanded and applied to the SOAP message security standard, and to support the confidentiality, XML Encryption developed by the W3C is expanded and applied to the SOAP message security standard, and to exchange information such as a public key, various formats of security tokens are defined. To prevent a replay attack, a function related to a timestamp is also added to the SOAP message security standard.
In the SOAP message security standard, a digital signature for a message to be protected is generated using an XML Signature method and stored in an XML element called a security header included in a SOAP header, and a cipher text for a message for which confidentiality is required is generated in the form of XML using an XML Encryption method and stored in the security header element or a SOAP body. Also, public key information to verify the digital signature is stored in a security token element in the security header and transmitted to a destination system. Since a timestamp for the generated SOAP message also can be stored in the SOAP header, a replay attack can be detected using the timestamp in an application.
A method of transmitting messages using the SOAP is divided into a SOAP RPC method and a SOAP messaging method. In the SOAP messaging method, a SOAP message, which an application program intends to directly transmit, is built and transmitted by the application program. On the other hand, in the SOAP RPC method, if an application program calls a function in a remote server as the application program calls a function in a local server without directly generating a SOAP message, a SOAP engine transforms the function call into the SOAP message and transmits the message to the remote server. The SOAP RPC method is very convenient since the application program does not have to directly transform a parameter to be transmitted into a SOAP message. Here, to protect a SOAP message to be transmitted, the application program must access the SOAP message and perform a digital signature process and an encryption process on the SOAP message. However, since the application program cannot directly access the SOAP message in the SOAP RPC method, it is difficult to apply a security module to the SOAP RPC method.
Also, to protect a SOAP message, information protection processes, such as digital signature, encryption, and timestamp insertion, must be combined with various formats and processed according to various options in response to needs of an application program, and a general and simple security processing method must be provided.
However, in conventional SOAP message security standards, only a syntax in which information related to security is added to a header of a SOAP message and a processing of the information are clearly stated, and a solution of problems described above is not stated.

Message security processing system and method for web services

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The invention provides methods for visualizing renal tumors and for staging cysts during an operation by use of a fluorescent dye.

A variety of medical techniques have been used for imaging biological tissues and organs are known. These include traditional x-rays, ultra-sound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computerized tomography (CT). Techniques such as MRI, micro-CT, micro-positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have been explored for imaging function and processes in small animals or in vivo, intra operatively. These technologies offer deep tissue penetration and high spatial resolution, but are costly and time consuming to implement.
A variety of dyes useful for medical imaging have been described, including radio opaque dyes, fluorescent dyes, and calorimetric dyes (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,699,798; 5,279,298; 6,351,663). Imaging techniques and systems using fluorescent dyes have been described for some organs, such as the eye (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,298) In the eye, some dyes can serve both an imaging function and a therapeutic function (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,933). Non-toxic tracers such as Indocyanine Green (ICG), fast blue, and fluorogold, have been used in mammals without evidence of neuronal toxicity several months after the treatment (Thielert et al., J Comp Neurol. 337(1):113 (1993); Yeterian et al., Exp Brain Res. 99(3):383 (1994); vogt Weisenhorn et al., J Comp Neurol. 362(2):233 (1995)).
In one study for use of ICG in surgical procedures, nine patients undergoing surgery for the removal of intrinsic brain tumors with enhanced optical imaging was performed using ICG as an intravenous contrast-enhancement agent. Optical images were obtained before and after injection of the ICG. The patients in the study showed differences in the dynamic optical signals among normal brain, low-grade astrocytomas, and malignant astrocytomas. Optical imaging of the resection margins in malignant tumors showed differences between adjacent normal tissue and remaining tumor tissue. Haglund, M. et al , Enhanced optical imaging of human gliomas and tumor margins. Neurosurgery, 38(2):308-317 (1996).
Renal cortical malignancies are the seventh most commonly diagnosed cancer in the US. Approximately 36,160 new cases of renal cancers were diagnosed in 2005, (22,490 in men and 13,670 in women), and about 12,660 people (8020 men and 4640 women) died from this disease. These statistics include both adults and children with renal cell carcinomas, Wilms' tumors and transitional cell carcinomas of the renal pelvis. Eliminating upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma and childhood tumors from the number of all renal neoplasms, renal cortical tumors accounted for more than 31,500 new cases in 2005. Most people with renal cell cancer are at middle age with its peak incidence between the ages of 50 and 74. Mortality, accounting for 3% of all cancer related deaths, has remained unchanged despite the increase in disease incidence. For reasons that are not completely clear, the kidney cancer rate has been increasing about 1.5% per year. This is likely due to incidental cancer detection during diagnostic procedures such as ultrasound and abdominal CT scans. With the increasing detection of incidental renal lesions, the evaluation and management of solid and cystic renal tumors are of even greater importance to physicians dealing with renal cell cancer.
Improved quality and readily available imaging has substantially increased the number of incidental renal tumors detected. Multiple studies showed that disease-free survival rates were similar between cancers treated with radical and partial nephrectomy. The surgical management of renal cell carcinoma has undergone significant changes over the past fifteen years. Initially treated with radical nephrectomy, most cases of renal cell carcinoma are now approached with nephron-sparing surgical technique irrespective of tumor size.
More recent issues regarding partial nephrectomy have been complication rates and their subsequent management, renal cell carcinoma multifocality, margin status, distance to normal renal parenchyma, cost analysis, and the development of minimally invasive techniques with similar success and complication rate as open partial nephrectomy. (Desai, M. et al., Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy versus laparoscopic cryoablation for the small renal tumor. Urology, 66(5 Suppl): 23-28 (2005), Diblasio, C. et al., Mini-flank supra-11th rib incision for open partial or radical nephrectomy, BJU Int, 97(1):149-156 (2006), Gill, I. et al., Comparative analysis of laparoscopic versus open partial nephrectomy for renal tumors in 200 patients. J Urol, 170(1):64-68 (2003)). Newer and more technologically advanced techniques developed during the last 10 years to treat small cortical lesions include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), cryoablation, and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Currently, all of these procedures are being performed either percutaneously, laparoscopically or as a part of open procedure. (Weizer, A. et al., Complications after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors, Urology, 66(6):1176-1180 (2005), Ahrar, K. et al., Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors: technique, complications, and outcomes. J Vasc Interv Radiol, 16(5):679-688 (2005)).
Not all tumors amenable to partial nephrectomy are easily seen at surgery Significant subsets of the tumors are located intracortically, intrarenally or in the renal hilar area. To better assess these tumors, intra operative ultrasound with or without needle localization has been developed to increase the negative margin rate while decreasing resection of normal renal tissue or necessitate the conversion to open radical nephrectomy. To date, there are no reported studies that have reviewed cancer control in patients undergoing renal sparing surgery with intra operative ultrasound. Similarly, multifocality of renal cortical tumors is well known and poses a difficult task for the urologic surgeon.
Multifocal tumor occurrence is a clear risk factor for cancer recurrence, progression of disease and the need for additional surgeries. Intra operative ultrasound is the only imaging modality used in assessment of small satellite lesions. Pre operatively, lesions that are 8-10 mm in size can be characterized using CT and MRI. Many times there will be small (<8 mm) lesions present that can not be visualized with current day CT and MRI scanners and are only noticed intra operatively. Unfortunately, in some cases unexpected intra operative findings of multifocal tumor lesions will preclude partial nephrectomy and necessitate conversion to radical nephrectomy. All these increase the risk of chronic renal insufficiency and possibly the need for dialysis. (McKieman, J. et al., Natural history of chronic renal insufficiency after partial and radical nephrectomy. Urology, 59(6): p. 816-820 (2002)). Nephron-sparing surgery provides effective therapy for patients with borderline renal insufficiency or in whom preservation of renal function is a critical clinical consideration.
Meticulous operative technique is of utmost importance for achieving acceptable oncologic and functional outcomes. To further improve partial nephrectomy results, intra operative imaging has been introduced, mainly using intra operative ultrasound. This method requires an experienced ultrasonographer and special equipment, and sometimes results in time consuming imaging without successful demonstration of clear margins. (Assimos, D. et al., Intraoperative renal ultrasonography: a useful adjunct to partial nephrectomy. J Urol, 146(5): p. 1218-1220 (1991)).
Despite its drawbacks, intra operative ultrasonography has proven valuable in delineating tumor extent and margins during nephron-sparing surgery and in evaluating the presence of synchronous multifocality. Several investigators have found intra operative ultrasound to be helpful in characterizing renal lesions. Findings on intra operative ultrasound have changed the intra operative approach in 17 to 33% of select patients planned for partial nephrectomy. The reported mean cancer specific survival of all patients undergoing nephron-sparing surgery for any indication is 72%-100%. In more recent studies, selection criteria were better defined and the disease specific survival rate exceeded 90%.
It would be desirable to have a less cumbersome technique that can be performed by all members of the surgical team and which can increase the opportunity to spare nephrons without compromising the ability to remove tumors. The present invention fills these and other needs.

Intraoperative imaging of renal cortical tumors and cysts


A gerotor device includes a rotor having outwardly extending teeth and a stator having inwardly extending teeth. The inwardly extending teeth are formed by rollers each of which is received in a respective roller pocket in the stator. Each roller pocket has a maximum pocket width measured perpendicular to a pocket centerline. Each roller pocket defines a roller bearing surface having a first side that follows a first radius and a second side on an opposite side of the centerline that follows a second radius. Each radius is greater than ½ the maximum pocket width. Each roller pocket has an edge pocket width between a first pocket edge where the pocket transitions to a generally cylindrical section in the stator and a second pocket edge on an opposite side of the centerline. The edge pocket width is less than the maximum pocket width.

A hydraulic gerotor device includes a stator having internal teeth and a rotor having external teeth. The rotor is mounted eccentrically within the stator. There is one more internal tooth on the stator than external teeth on the rotor. The internal teeth of the stator can be formed by cylindrical rollers, which can rotate to reduce wear in the gerotor device between the rotor and the stator.
The cylindrical rollers fit into roller pockets found in the stator. Pressurized chambers are formed between the rollers and the rotor. About one half of the chambers are filled with hydraulic fluid under high pressure and the remaining half are filled with hydraulic fluid under lower pressure. The engagement between the rollers and the rotor must provide sealing at two positions; namely, at the two points of separation between a high-pressure chamber and an adjacent low-pressure chamber.
One point of separation between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers is formed by one roller contacting the peak of an external tooth of the rotor. This roller is subjected to an especially high loading. This roller is not only pressed into its pocket by the rotor, but also the pressure of the high-pressure chamber acts on the roller. In this situation, in some known gerotor devices the bearing surface area between the roller and the pocket is diminished so that a higher pressure is exerted on the roller. This higher pressure can be detrimental and can lead undesirable impressions being made in the roller or on the external tooth of the stator because the roller may no longer be rotating. This resultant wear over time impairs the sealing ability of the gerotor device


A mobile communication system includes base stations, mobile stations, first and second channel assigning section, and a channel ratio changing section. The base stations are installed in correspondence with cells constituting a service area. Each mobile station performs communication with the base station through one channel selected from the channels classified into first and second groups. The first channel assigning section uses a channel segregation scheme of controlling the priority of a channel set in each of the base stations on the basis of carrier to interference ratios of a channel belonging to the first group, measured at both the mobile station and the base station, and selects/assigns one idle channel in the first group on the basis of the controlled priority. The second channel assigning section uses an ARP scheme of selecting/assigning one idle channel in the second group according to a priority common to all the cells on the basis of carrier to interference ratios of a channel belonging to the second group, measured at both the mobile station and the base station. The channel ratio changing section changes the ratio of the number of channels belonging to the first group to that of channels belonging to the second group on the basis of channel assignment results.

The present invention relates to a mobile communication system such as an automobile telephone system or portable telephone system and, more particularly, to a mobile communication system characterized by channel assignment based on cellular channel assignment.
In a mobile communication system such as an automobile telephone system or portable telephone system, the service area is generally covered by a plurality of base stations. In this case, in assigning frequencies to base stations which cause no interference, the same frequency as that used in one base station is repeatedly assigned to the other base station, thereby realizing efficient use of frequencies. Such a scheme is called a cellular scheme.
Channel assignment schemes which are used in each base station when the cellular scheme is employed are roughly categorized into two schemes. The first scheme is called a fixed channel assignment scheme. In this scheme, on the basis of the estimation result of the propagation characteristics of signals, channels to be used in each base station are permanently fixed thereto in advance so as to prevent interference. The fixed channel assignment scheme is generally used in the current automobile telephone or portable telephone system.
The second scheme is called a dynamic channel assignment scheme. In the dynamic channel assignment scheme, a channel on which no interference occurs is selected and used for each communication. With the use of the dynamic channel assignment method, although the method and apparatus arrangement for channel assignment are complicated, all channels can be used as long as no interference occurs. The dynamic channel assignment scheme is therefore larger in traffic handling capacity than the fixed channel assignment scheme. Owing to such an advantage, attempts have been made to use the dynamic channel assignment scheme in an automobile telephone or portable telephone system and an outdoor cordless telephone system which will be commercially available in the future.
The repetition distance of a radio channel in the fixed channel assignment scheme is determined on the basis of the carrier to interference (C/I) ratio at the boundary between cells. Since the power of a desired carrier is high near the center of the cell, a radio channel can be used at a shorter repetition distance than near the boundary between the cells.
The following technique has therefore been proposed. The cell is divided into small annular cells in accordance with the distance from the base station. The reuse distance of a channel assigned to a small cell near the base station is set to be shorter than that of a channel assigned to a small cell remote from the base station, thereby increasing the frequency utilization efficiency. This technique is called reuse partitioning and disclosed in William C. Y. Lee, "Mobile Cellular Telecommunications Systems", McGraw-Hill Book, pp. 259-261, 1989.
With regards to the dynamic channel assignment scheme, various algorithms for selecting communication channels have been proposed. Of these proposals, a scheme called ARP (Autonomous Reuse Partitioning) is known, which can dynamically realize reuse partitioning without performing complicated control, and allows high frequency utilization efficiency. ARP is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-351126 and Toshihiro Kanai, "Autonomous Reuse Partitioning in Cellular Systems", Conference Record of 42nd IEEE VTC, February 1992, pp. 782-785.
In this ARP scheme, when a speech communication request (to be referred to as a call hereinafter) is transmitted from or to a mobile station in a cell, a base station belonging to the cell measures the C/I ratios of each idle channel at both the base station and the mobile station in the order commonly set for all the cells. The base station then assigns the first channel on which this C/I ratio exceeds the first level as a predetermined value for communication. With the use of this technique, the distances between base stations and mobile stations using identical channels are made almost equal, thus dynamically performing reuse partitioning. With this operation, the reuse distances of identical channels can be decreased to increase the frequency utilization efficiency.
As a dynamic channel assignment scheme, a channel segregation scheme has also been proposed. In this scheme, each base station assigns a priority to each channel, and increases/decreases the priority of each channel on the basis of the measurement result of the I/C ratio thereof. The channels are selected in the order of decreasing priorities. The channel segregation scheme is disclosed in Yukitsuna Furuya and Yoshihiko Akaiwa, "Channel Segregation, a Distributed Adaptive Channel Allocation Scheme for Mobile Communication Systems", IEICE Transactions, vol. E 74, No. 6, June 1991, pp. 1531-1537. According to the scheme, in a cell, each base station learns about a channel resistant to interference from the past utilized states of channels. Since the channel resistant to interference is preferentially used, the occurrence probability of interference (interference probability) can be decreased.
According to the ARP scheme as a dynamic channel assignment scheme, as described above, reuse partitioning is dynamically performed to decrease the reuse distances of identical channels, thereby increasing the frequency utilization efficiency. However, the C/I ratio of a channel assigned by the ARP scheme exhibits a small margin with respect to the first level. For this reason, the number of times of channel handoff (to be referred to as the number of times of interference) during speech communication increases owing to the influences of interference, and the number of times forced termination of speech communication (to be referred to as forced disconnection) increases owing to channel handoff failures.
According to the channel segregation scheme, the priority of a channel frequently used in a given base station increases by learning, but the priority of the identical channel in an adjoining base station decreases. As a result, the frequency of using the identical channel in the adjoining base station decreases to decrease the number of times of interference. However, since the reuse distance of the identical channel increases, the frequency utilization efficiency decreases.

Mobile communication system using two channel assigning schemes


System and method for optimizing and reducing the energy usage of an automatically controlled heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) System. The system and method comprise receiving, from a server, a plurality of parameters, the parameters comprising an internal temperature of a structure, an external temperature, a utility pricing structure, and/or a user preference. The system and method may receive, by the server, a plurality of historical data related to the HVAC system and may generate a model. The model may be configured to determine a change to an operational state of the HVAC system needed to obtain an internal temperature set point. The model may be generated using a plurality of parameters received. The model may be revised iteratively. The system and method may receive, by the server, a plurality of additional parameters to revise the model. A signal may be set, by a server, to the HVAC system.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for optimizing and reducing the energy usage or cost of operation of an automatically controlled heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ("HVAC") system. The system and method may utilize a networked HVAC system to determine the necessary changes needed to reach a certain set point. The set point may be determined by optimization based on a model generated by the system and method from a plurality of factors. The model may be revised to incorporate an additional set of data to optimize and reduce energy usage and cost.
Description of Related Art
Prior art exists for systems and methods for automatically controlled HVAC systems. Prior art teaches HVAC systems which may be configured to automatically adjust the set point with respect to a predetermined setting. Prior art teaches HVAC systems which may use additional parameters to determine necessary changes the HVAC system needs to undertake to reach a certain set point. Prior art also teaches the use of a network in connection with an HVAC system to manage data related to the HVAC system.
So as to reduce the complexity and length of the Detailed Specification, and to fully establish the state of the art in certain areas of technology, Applicant(s) herein expressly incorporate(s) by reference all of the following materials identified in each numbered paragraph below.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,237 to Cheung et al describes systems and methods for using ramped set point temperature variation with networked thermostats to improve efficiency. This invention teaches the use of a networked thermostat to manage the set point of an HVAC system.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,019,567 to Steinberg et al describes systems and methods for evaluating changes in the efficiency of an HVAC system. This invention teaches the method of determining a cause of the degradation to an HVAC system.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,861,941 to Schultz et al describes an automatic thermostat schedule/program selector system. This invention teaches the use of one or more schedulers to determine the necessary changes to an HVAC system.
Applicant(s) believe(s) that the material incorporated above is "non-essential" in accordance with 37 CFR 1.57, because it is referred to for purposes of indicating the background of the invention or illustrating the state of the art. However, if the Examiner believes that any of the above-incorporated material constitutes "essential material" within the meaning of 37 CFR 1.57(c)(1)-(3), applicant(s) will amend the specification to expressly recite the essential material that is incorporated by reference as allowed by the applicable rules.

System and method for optimizing and reducing the energy usage of an automatically controlled HVAC system