An electric drive motor for a work apparatus includes a stator having two stator poles which are at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction and have respective field windings. The motor has a rotor which rotates between the stator poles and the rotor shaft of the rotor drives a fan wheel. The cooling-air flow generated by the fan wheel enters the stator, flows therethrough and is discharged therefrom. For effective cooling, a pole intermediate space is provided between the stator poles; and, for the cooling-air flow, this space is filled by a non-magnetic guide body to provide a cooling duct delimited by the guide body and the field windings. The guide body is fastened to a support at one stator end and is inserted axially into the stator at the other end thereof.

Electric drive motors for portable, handheld work apparatuses, for example chain saws, hedge trimmers, brushcutters, et cetera, are known per se. Work apparatuses of this kind are constructed such that they are small and easy to handle and therefore can be easily and safely controlled. Electric drive motors which are used in narrow appliance housings require efficient cooling so that reliable operation is ensured.

Electric drive motor for a work apparatus


The present disclosure is directed toward systems and methods for dynamically generating a single survey representation document that includes the disparate components of an electronic survey maintained across one or more repositories by an electronic survey system. Furthermore, the systems and methods described herein provide the survey representation document for collaboration to one or more author computing devices, and synchronize any edits made to the survey representation document with the original electronic survey.

Electronic surveys are useful for requesting and collecting detailed information related to products and services. Specifically, the collected information can enable entities related to the products and/or services to improve their offerings. For instance, medical providers, government entities, retail providers, and other service providers often utilize electronic surveys to collect information from patients, citizens, and customers to personalize a service to an individual, to comply with governmental regulations, or to improve a product.
Conventional survey systems have a number of shortcomings with regard to the process by which an electronic survey is created. For example, electronic surveys are often created by several authors who collaborate on the text of questions and response options. Additionally, authors will often collaborate on the flow of the survey in terms of question order and branching. Conventional electronic survey systems, however, are inflexible and inefficient when used in a collaborative context.
For instance, conventional survey systems generally allow for only one author at a time to edit an electronic survey. For example, in order for multiple authors to collaborate on a single electronic survey, a conventional survey system typically requires each author to log in and access the electronic survey one at a time. Accordingly, conventional survey systems exhaust system resources by requiring multiple user logins to enable more than one user to collaborate on a single electronic survey.
Additionally, conventional survey systems inefficiently utilize storage resources when multiple authors collaborate on a single electronic survey. For example, when more than one author edits a single electronic survey in a convention survey system, the survey system typically stores multiple versions of the electronic survey in order to avoid conflicts and edit overwrites among the multiple authors. This leads to wasted storage resources, and to inevitable conflicts when combining the multiple edited versions into a single electronic survey.
Accordingly, these and other disadvantages exist with respect to conventional survey systems.

Dynamically synchronizing electronic surveys and collaborative survey representation documents


Disclosed is a control circuit of an LED lighting apparatus having a dimming function. The control circuit provides a current path corresponding to light emitting states of LED channels in response to a rectified voltage, and performs dimming by controlling a current amount of the current path in response to a dimming control signal provided as an analog signal or digital signal.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an LED lighting apparatus, and more particularly, to a control circuit of an LED lighting apparatus with a dimming control function.
2. Related Art
According to the recent trend of lighting technology, LEDs have been employed as light sources in order to reduce energy.
A high-brightness LED is differentiated from other light sources in terms of various aspects such as energy consumption, lifetime, and light quality.
However, a lighting apparatus using an LED as a light source requires a large number of additional circuits due to the characteristic of the LED which is driven by a constant current.
Examples of lighting apparatuses which have been developed to solve the above-described problem may include an AC direct-type lighting apparatus.
The AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus generates a rectified voltage from commercial AC power and drives an LED. Since the AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus directly uses the rectified voltage as an input voltage without using an inductor and a capacitor, the AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus has a satisfactory power factor. Hereafter, an LED lighting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention refers to an AC direct-type LED lighting apparatus unless specifically described.
A general LED lighting apparatus is designed to be driven through a rectified voltage obtained by rectifying commercial power.
An LED lamp of the LED lighting apparatus generally includes a large number of LEDs connected in series.
Thus, the LED lighting apparatus is configured to provide a rectified voltage capable of turning on a large number of LEDs connected in series.
In general, the LED lighting apparatus may use a dimmer to control dimming.
Recently, as the technology related to the LED lighting apparatus is developed, various functions have been required to consider the convenience for use.
In particular, the LED lighting apparatus requires a function of additionally controlling dimming, in addition to a dimming control method using a dimmer.
Therefore, since the conventional LED lighting apparatus can control dimming through various methods, the LED lighting apparatus can improve the convenience and satisfaction of users. Thus, a function capable of improving the reliability of products needs to be developed.
Furthermore, the demand for large-capacity LED lighting apparatuses has gradually increased. However, when an LED lighting apparatus is manufactured with a large capacity, a large amount of current may flow into a chip forming a control unit which controls a current of a lamp.
When a large amount of current flows into the chip forming the control unit, excessive heat may be generated from the chip, and thus have an influence on a voltage for driving the lamp. In this case, the reliability of the product may be degraded due to the thermal stress.
Therefore, when the LED lighting apparatus is manufactured with a large capacity, the chip forming the control unit for controlling a current needs to be designed to control a heating problem.

Control circuit of light-emitting diode lighting apparatus


The present invention provides a method for rotating YUV4:2:0 image in a digital display device, such as TV image system. A YUV4:2:0 image is separated to a Y division matrix and a U and V division matrix. Then the Y division is performed a rotation matrix calculation. And the U and V division matrix is performed a reverse rotation matrix calculation. A rotated YUV4:2:0 image is obtained by combining the processed Y division matrix and the processed U and V division matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an image transforming method, especially for transforming YUV4:2:0 color space in an image displaying system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, human eyes, computer and television using three primary colors, that is: red, green and blue. Originally, to display colors, a displayer should illuminate some luminescence material cover inside of the display. The method for creating color with R, G, B colors is called RGB color space.
Contemporarily, color television system uses YUV color system. The YUV model defines a color space in terms of one luminance and two chrominance components. Y stands for the luminance component (the brightness) and U and V are the chrominance (color) components. YUV is used in the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) and NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) systems of television broadcasting, which is the standard in much of the world. YUV models human perception of color more closely than the standard RGB model used in computer graphics hardware, but not as closely as the HSV color space.
YUV signals are created from an original RGB (red, green and blue) source. The weighted values of R, G and B are added together to produce a single Y signal, representing the overall brightness, or luminance, of that spot. The U signal is then created by subtracting the Y from the blue signal of the original RGB, and then scaling; and V by subtracting the Y from the red, and then scaling by a different factor. This can be accomplished easily with analog circuitry.
The following equations can be used to derive Y, U and V from R, G and B:
      Y    =                  0.299                                                  R            +              0.587                                                  G            +              0.114                                                  B                                          U          =                      0.492                                                                                (                              B                -                Y                            )                                                                    =                                                    -                0.147                                                                                R                        -                          0.289                                                                                G                        +                          0.436                                                                                B                                                                        V          =                      0.877                                                                                (                              R                -                Y                            )                                                                    =                                    0.615                                                                                R                        -                          0.515                                                                                G                        -                          0.100                                                                                B
And, the following equations can be used to derive Y, U and V from R, G and B:R=Y+1.14VG=Y−0.39U−0.58VB=Y+2.03U
Downsampling technology is used for efficiently compressing sampling YUV color space. Chromatic subsampling is to express image with lower color (or chroma) signal resolution than brightness signal. The human eyes are not so sensitive to color than to brightness. The color values of image do not need the same resolution as the brightness resolution. Therefore, many video systems use lower sampling resolution in color channel with respect to brightness channel for decreasing the video signal of the total channel without decreasing the imaging quality apparently. The first value in YCbCr or YPbPr color space stands for brightness(Y), and the two values stand for color sampling amount, wherein the U/Cb is in front of the V/Cr. When comparing the quality of image, the ratio between these three values is more important than the three values, and the brightness value is usually 4.
FIG. 1 shows four YUV4:4:4 pixels, and the data stream is: Y0 U0 V0 Y1 U1 V1 Y2 U2 V2 Y3 U3 V3, which can be implied to four pixels: [Y0 U0 V0] [Y1 U1 V1] [Y2 U2 V2] [Y3 U3 V3]. FIG. 2 shows four YUV4:2:2 pixels, wherein the data stream is: Y0 U0 Y1 V1 Y2 U2 Y3 V3, and implying to four pixels: [Y0 U0 V1] [Y1 U0 V1] [Y2 U2 V3] [Y3 U2 V3]. Most high level video format device uses YUV4:2:2, such as: digital betacam, DVCPRO50, D-9, CCIR601/serial digital interface/D1.
FIG. 3 illustrates four YUV4:1:1 pixels, wherein the data stream is: Y0 U0 Y1 Y2 V2 Y3 and can be implied to four pixels: [Y0 U0 V2] [Y1 U0 V2] [Y2 U0 V2] [Y3 U0 V2]. Some applications use YUV4:1:1, such as: DVCPRO, NTSC DV, DVCAM, D-7.
FIG. 4 shows YUV4:2:0 format pixels, wherein the data stream is: Yo0 Uo0 Yo1 Yo2 Uo2 Yo3/Ye0 Ve0 Ye1 Ye2 Ve2 Ye3, and implying to four pixels: [Yo0 Uo0 Ve0] [Yo1 Uo0 Ve0] [Yo2 Uo2 Ve2] [Yo3 Uo2 Ve2]/[Ye0 Uo0 Ve0] [Ye1 Uo0 Ve0] [Ye2 Uo2 Ve2] [Ye3 Uo2 Ve2]. The YUV4:2:0 is a standard PAL and SECAM (Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire) color system, besides it is a standard I/O format using by video encoder/decoder. The YUV4:2:0 is usually applied in DVD and other main profile application of MPEG-2, PAL DV and DVCAM, JPEG, MJPEG format.
In most image-encoding technology application, the YUV format, especially YUV4:2:0 is used widely for saving storage space. YUV4:2:0 means that only one color value is sample and store in 2:1 sampling rate for each scan line. The adjacent scan line stores different color value. Namely, if a line is 4:2:0, then the next line is 4:0:2, and the next adjacent line is again 4:2:0 . . . etc. The sampling rate in the horizontal and the perpendicular direction for each color value is 2:1, therefore the sampling rate for each color value is 4:1. The YUV4:2:0 is especially suitable for the standard PAL color system and the standard SECAM color system. And most video coder/decoder uses the YUV4:2:0 format for standard input format.
A typical 6×4 RGB image 501 is shown in FIG. 5 which is usually used in computer image application. No matter for RGB1, RGB4, RGB8, RGB565, RGB555, RGB24 or RGB32, each pixel has its independent value, and the order of each pixel imply to the continuous position in the memory. The image 501 can be rotated clockwise 90 degree to a rotated image 502 directly.
The YUV format, except for YUV4:4:4, each pixel has its Y value, and U, V values are dependant to each other between neighbor pixels, therefore it is difficult to rotate image directly. Originally, to rotate YUV format image, the image should be transformed to YUV4:4:4. Then the color space of the image is transformed to RGB by the equation mentioned above. After rotating, the image is transformed back to YUV format. Therefore, it takes longer time to transform YUV format image than RGB format image.
In view of the aforementioned, the present invention provides an improved method of rotating YUV4:2:0 color space for digital video device to overcome the above drawback.


A rail grinding apparatus for railroad rails has a grinding belt wrapped around motor-driven pulleys which are rotatably mounted on a frame. The frame is supported on the surface of a rail by rollers which bear the weight of the grinding apparatus. A noise guard surrounds the grinding belt to reduce noise.

This invention relates to a rail grinding apparatus for grinding the welded joints of railroad rails. More particularly, it relates to a rail grinding apparatus which does not require the exertion of any significant force by the operator of the apparatus.
The rails of modern railroads are usually connected with one another by butt welding. Various butt welding methods are employed, including gas pressure welding, flash butt welding, thermit welding, and enclosed arc welding. FIG. 1 is a side view of two rails 1 which have been connected by conventional butt welding, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along Line II--II of FIG. 1. As shown in these figures, a weld bead is formed around the entire periphery of the joint between the two rails 1. The weld bead extends considerably above the surface of the rails 1, so it must be removed by grinding. Conventionally, the weld bead is removed from the weld joint using a hand grinder. A surface hand grinder is used to grind the top surface 12, while common hand grinders are used to grind the gage corner surfaces 13 and the upper lateral surfaces 14 of the rails 1. Two different types of grinders must be used. These grinders are hereunder collectively referred to merely as "hand grinders".
Furthermore, the contact force between a hand grinder and the surface of the rails 1 must be exerted by the operator of the hand grinder. As it is difficult for an operator to exert a steady contact force, hand grinding often produces irregularities in the surface of the rails 1, and it is difficult to obtain a finished surface having the required surface tolerance of -0.1-+0.3 mm/m. Hand grinding also produces an unpleasant shrill noise, which is objectionable from the standpoint of both the operator of the hand grinder and others working nearby. Furthermore, a hand grinder generates vibrations which are not only fatiguing to an operator and prevent him from working for long periods but which also may cause the operator to develop medical problems, such as Raynaud's phenomenon.

Sumikin Osaka Plant Engineering Co., Ltd.


An action board game in which each player tries to be first to respond correctly to command indicators activated in a random sequence and at indeterminate times. Players try to be first to use the correct hand to operate a control matching the command indicator. Various levels of play can be selected ranging from matching colors to the equivalent of simultaneously playing multiple games of ping-pong. Players can participate as individuals or as teams.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to board games specifically to games in which each player tries to be first to respond properly to various commands given at random times.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Heretofore, board games have been far more dependent on luck than skill. They are usually played by each player, in turn, rolling a die or dice, some with 20 or more faces, or by spinning a pointer, or in some other way determining a move purely on the basis of luck. In such games the skill of the player is of little or no importance. What competition there is generally amounts to determining which player has the best memory. When decisions are required there is usually adequate time to make them; there is no requirement to make them quickly or before another player does.
Prior art board games usually required either minimal motion such as moving a marker a number of squares selected by luck, or required continued frantic action with no thought involved. Such board games usually required players to take turns moving a marker a random number of positions or to take some minor action such as answering a question, drawing a picture, singing a tune, etc., as determined by spinning a pointer or rolling a die or dice. Decisions and actions can take as long as the other players are willing to wait. Physical effort is minimal and the greatest required mental attribute appears to be patience. Competition comes only from comparing the results of each player individually attempting a low energy task.

Board game requiring instant complex decisions and immediate competitive action


The present invention is directed to a device for heat treatment of objects. It comprises a susceptor for receiving an object in the form of a substrate and a gas mixture fed to the substrate for epitaxial growth of a crystal on said substrate by Chemical Vapor Deposition. The susceptor includes an inner wall and an outer, circumferential wall enclosing the inner wall at a distance therefrom. The inner wall defines a chamber for receiving the object. An enclosed space is formed between the inner and outer wall, and is filled with a powder. The powder is made of SiC, a group III nitride or alloys thereof. Also, for heating the susceptor and thereby also the object, a Rf-field radiator is provided surrounding the susceptor.

The invention relates to all kinds of heat treatment of objects in which an object is received in a susceptor and heated by heating the susceptor. Devices presently known for such heat treatments involve a number of problems, which may, by way of a non-limitative example, be illustrated in the case of epitaxially growing crystals, i.e. single crystals, by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Furthermore, the problems commonly encountered in growing crystals by CVD will be discussed below for the particular case of growing crystals of SiC, but similar results can be obtain for growing crystals of other materials, such as, in particular, Group III-nitrides and all types of alloys of such nitrides and/or SiC. This growth is mostly carried out while, at the same time, intentionally doping the object grown.
SiC single crystals are, in particular, grown for use in different types of semiconductor devices, such as for example different types of diodes, transistors and thyristors, which are intended for applications in which it is possible to benefit from the superior properties of SiC in comparison with especially Si, namely the capability of SiC to function well under extreme conditions. The large bandgap between the valance band and the conduction band of SiC makes devices fabricated from Sic material operable at high temperatures, namely up to 1000.degree. K.
However, high temperatures are needed for obtaining a good, orderly growth. The epitaxial growth of silicon carbide by Chemical Vapor Deposition is therefore carried out in a temperature regime in excess of 1400.degree. C. These high temperatures are needed both to obtain decomposition by cracking of Si- and C-containing precursor gases of the gas mixture used for the CVD, and to ensure that the atoms are deposited on the surface of the substrate on which the crystal is grown in an ordered manner. However, high temperatures also present problems, such as having impurities coming out of different types of material, so that the temperature could not, until now, for the growth of SiC be raised above a temperature interval of 1400.degree.-1700.degree. C., necessarily resulting in a rather low growth rate (some .mu.m per hour) so that it is impratical to grow boules for forming i.e. substrates, by using CVD. Consequently, this method is only used for growing objects in the form of layers. However, it is even possible to grow layers of SiC by CVD through devices already known at such a high growth rate that a commercial production thereof becomes commercially interesting.
A raise of the temperature for increasing the growth rate could, until the present, not be used, since this would result in rapid degradation of the walls of the susceptor due to increased etching of hot spots thereof, leading to an unacceptable incorporation of impurities therefrom into the grown layers.
As already mentioned, it is, due to the low growth rates, impossible to grow boules, which require growth rates in the order of millimeters per hour, by CVD. Consequently the seeded sublimation technique is presently used for growing boules, which may then be sliced to substrates. However, the crystalline quality of the boules grown by this technique is low in comparison with that of the SiC layers epitaxially grown by CVD. The substrates so produced are perforated with small holes called micropipes or pinholes, which limit the device area considerably which consequently make high-power devices of SiC not commercially practical. In the seeded sublimation technique the source is a SiC powder that sublimes, whereupon the gas species are transported by a temperature gradient to the seed crystal where the growth occurs. The conditions in the gas phase are governed by thermodynamics only, which makes it difficult to keep the C/Si ratio constant due to Si vapor leakage out of the system. Furthermore, the purity of the gases used for Chemical Vapor Deposition are several orders of magnitude higher than that of the source material used for seeded sublimation growth.
The prior art includes devices using susceptors of graphite, which contain major amounts of unwanted impurities with a tendency to be released and deposited on the crystal grown when the susceptor is heated. This problem has been partially solved by applying a SiC-coating on the susceptors and, additionally, a plate of SiC can be placed underneath the substrate. However, after a while the SiC-coating of the susceptor may be removed, especially by etching, and impurities are introduced into the gas-phase. Cracks in the SiC-coating may also be produced due to stresses arising between the different materials, namely SiC and the graphite, as a result of temperature changes.
In most cases when other crystals than SiC are grown the temperature is lower and therefore the impurity problems due to high temperatures are not as accentuated as for SiC, but the problems with etching of the susceptor or protective coating thereof, resulting in cracks of such a coating thus remain.
As already mentioned, the invention is applicable to all types of heat treatments of this kind. The problem that the susceptor sets an upper limit for the temperature that may be used for the heat treatment as well as the problem with impurities coming out from the susceptor are in common therefore.

Device for heat treatment of objects and a method for producing a susceptor


A system for controlling asynchronous updates to a register, the system including a generally accessible register that is asynchronously updateable by hardware and software. The system also includes protection logic that is in communication with the register. The protection logic includes circuitry to prevent a hardware update to the register from being overwritten by a software update.

The invention relates to controlling asynchronous updates to a register in a computer system and in particular, to protecting hardware asynchronous updates to a register that is simultaneously modifiable by software.
There are many structures within a computer system that can be read and written by both hardware and software. These structures generally exist for the purpose of exchanging information (e.g., status, interrupts) between hardware and software. Due to the asynchronous nature of these structures, special attention must be paid to how software updates are performed. A typical register will hold more than one independently updateable field. Hardware updates to each field are automatically independent, but software updates to each field may not be independent. For example, a software update to such a register may include performing a "read-write-modify" operation. This operation instructs the software to read the register. If, in the time between the read and the write, the hardware has asynchronously updated a field, the hardware update will be lost (overwritten) by the old (stale) value at the completion of the read-modify-write operation.
One approach to handling the problem of asynchronous updates is to break up the register on field boundaries into separately accessible registers. This approach requires more registers, which may not always be available in the hardware system. Another approach to handling the problem of asynchronous updates is to add locks to fields within the register. Software would then be responsible for setting and resetting locks before and after the software updates. This approach is not ideal because it requires additional software instructions to be executed for each software update to a register. The execution of the extra instructions may cause longer execution times. A third approach to handling the problem of asynchronous updates is to create special instructions and hardware for accessing these registers such that a field can be manipulated independently. A drawback of this approach is that special instructions must be written and accessed to perform data manipulation. A further approach is to attempt to place critical bits into registers that don't get a lot of read-modify-write traffic. This works to a point, but will still fail, just not as often. In addition, new software code (e.g., millicode) is created on a frequent basis. Therefore, a register that is thought at one point in time to have low traffic, may not have low traffic at a later time. In addition to the drawbacks noted above, none of these approaches to handling the problem of asynchronous updates provides a system where registers are generally accessible by software, such that the software can perform a single operation to read, write and/or read-write-modify the register.

System, method and storage medium for controlling asynchronous updates to a register

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention discloses an ophthalmic device with micro-acoustic electromechanical elements and associated methods. In some embodiments, the micro-acoustic electromechanical elements may be useful for the purpose of providing audible warnings and/or messages to a user. The audible warnings and/or messages can include, for example, messages transmitted wirelessly through a communication element of the ophthalmic device and/or generated within the ophthalmic device. In addition, in some embodiments the ophthalmic device can be an energized contact lens that is used both for optical correction and the transmission of sound through bone resonance to the inner ear of a user.

Traditionally, an ophthalmic device, such as a contact lens, an intraocular lens, or a punctal plug, included a biocompatible device with a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic quality. A contact lens, for example, may provide one or more of vision correcting functionality, cosmetic enhancement, and therapeutic effects. Each function is provided by a physical characteristic of the lens. A design incorporating a refractive quality into a lens may provide a vision corrective function. A pigment incorporated into the lens may provide a cosmetic enhancement. An active agent incorporated into a lens may provide a therapeutic functionality. Such physical characteristics are accomplished without the lens entering into an energized state. An ophthalmic device has traditionally been a passive device.
Novel ophthalmic devices based on energized ophthalmic inserts have recently been described. These devices may use the energization function to power active optical components. For example, a wearable lens may incorporate a lens assembly having an electronically adjustable focus to augment or enhance performance of the eye.
Moreover, as electronic devices continue to be miniaturized, it is becoming increasingly more likely to create wearable or embeddable microelectronic devices for a variety of uses. For example, in one unrelated field, bone conduction of sound to the inner ear has been explored in headphones, hearing aids, and underwater communication products for diverse purposes. Amongst those purposes, the function of sound through bone conduction has been explored to enhance sound to individuals with normal hearing and/or provide sound to individuals with impaired hearing. However, these have been independent sound devices with limited functionality and typically include various mounting means, usually large and impractical, to allow for their use. As a result, new devices that can implement sound through bone conduction are desired.

Ophthalmic lens with micro-acoustic elements


A system for trapping I/O instructions. The system is comprised of at least one peripheral controller for receiving a plurality of I/O instructions and for initiating trapping of an un-executable I/O instruction by issuing a target abort signal when the peripheral controller senses a power off condition in a peripheral device. A system controller is coupled to the at least one peripheral controller for receiving the target abort signal from the at least one peripheral controller and for sequentially: issuing a system management interrupt (SMI) signal; counting a predetermined time period to allow recognition of the SMI signal; and issuing a cycle completion signal after counting the predetermined time period. A CPU is coupled to the system controller for issuing a plurality of I/O instructions and for receiving the SMI signal and the cycle completion signal from the system controller.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and, more specifically, to a system and method which will allow any agent in a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus system to inform the CPU to PCI bus bridge that an input/output (I/O) instruction executed by the central processing unit (CPU) and targeted for the agent in question is to be trapped.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, in order to trap I/O instructions issued by the CPU and destined for a device that is unable to respond, a centralized power and system management circuit detects the trappable I/O instructions by checking the I/O address of where the I/O instruction is to be sent to verify if the device in question was powered up or down. If the device was powered down, the power and system management circuit informed the system controller of this situation and asserted a system management interrupt (SMI) signal to the CPU before completion of the I/O instruction on the CPU bus. This centralized mechanism did not lend itself well to distributed power management systems because of the requirement to know in advance the devices to be used so the central power and system management circuit could be designed to monitor the power status of each device. This resulted in a large and complex centralized power and system management circuit. Therefore, there existed a need to provide an improved system for trapping I/O instructions and a method therefor.

System to improve trapping of I/O instructions in a peripheral component interconnect bus computer system and method therefor


Data compression of a sequence of digital frames is achieved by periodic sampling of the frames to form a sequence of "milestone frames". Each frame between the milestone frames is partitioned into a set of subarrays or fragments that cover the frame. Each fragment is projected one frame forward or backward, depending on the direction of tracking, and then displaced to a position yielding the closest match in the adjacent frame. The data available for transmission or storage is comprised of: a) compressed encoding of the milestone frames; and b) the displacements of the fragments from either adjacent frame. Unique to this invention is the construction of a motion trajectory at each pixel of each frame and the reconstruction of the intensity values of the pixels in those frames that are not milestone frames. The construction of motion trajectories is achieved by finding sequences of connected displacements of fragments. The reconstruction of the intensity values is achieved by interpolation of the pixel values along motion trajectories between pairs of successive milestone frames. Some pixels in nonmilestone frames may not lie on a computed trajectory. These pixels are reconstructed by iterative spatial interpolation of previously reconstructed neighboring pixels. Trade-offs among the delay of reconstruction and the spatial image quality can be achieved by varying the time between successive milestone frames, the number of frames per second, the size of each fragment, and the size of each frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of video communication, and in particular to the time compression of digital frames of time varying images.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior apparatus and methodology used for the transmission of video or time varying images was typically based on a scheme in which information of pixel intensity values in each frame was transmitted. In some prior art approaches, only temporal or spatial changes in the information are transmitted, namely the boundaries or movement of patterns. While the transmission of information changes from frame to frame results in some data compression, the amount of compression is nevertheless limited by the restriction that the data changes are transmitted on a pixel-by-pixel basis. For a lossless data transmission, pixel-by-pixel information may be necessary, but in applications where loss of some data may be acceptable, such as in televideo conferencing as opposed to transmission of broadcast quality images, transmission of information on an other than pixel basis may be acceptable.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus wherein time varying image data compression can be maximized or optimized without tracking each pixel in the image.

Method and apparatus for video data compression

The Regents of the University of California


A clamping system decouples the clamping forces in an electrical circuit assembly coupled to a heatsink. A heatsink clamping assembly applies controllable and predictable force on the electrical circuit assembly including an integrated circuit device (xe2x80x9cchipxe2x80x9d). The applied force is controlled to effectively ensure intimate contact between the chip and the heatsink to facilitate efficient chip cooling. The force applied to the chip is decoupled from the much higher force required to clamp the electrical interposer interconnect structure between the electrical circuit assembly and the printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system for attaching a heatsink to an integrated circuit device, and more particularly, to a system for clamping a heatsink to an integrated circuit device that applies controllable force onto the integrated circuit device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of integrated circuits is becoming more prevalent every day. Integrated circuits (ICs) are used in a multitude of different devices from household appliances to computer applications. However, ICs are also rather fragile. They are generally thin pieces of silicon on which circuits are constructed. These IC xe2x80x9cchipsxe2x80x9d are subject to corrosion, environmental damage, physical shocks, and other damage mechanisms. For this reason, IC chips are packaged using a variety of different materials and package styles to protect them from possible damage during transportation and use.
Conventional protective packaging is generally a plastic or ceramic material used as a base for the IC chip and serving as a means of expanding (xe2x80x9cfanning outxe2x80x9d) the electrical connections of the IC chip. The connections between the IC chip and the package are typically accomplished using wire bonds or, in the case of xe2x80x9cflip chip,xe2x80x9d solder balls. In a xe2x80x9cflip chipxe2x80x9d arrangement, the top of the IC chip is flipped over face down onto the base package. Solder balls placed between the face of the chip and the base package provide electrical connections between the chip and the base package. Additionally, a lid may be attached over the IC to provide protection for the chip. The choice of protective packaging will be determined by various factors including the parameters of the chip itself, the IC application, and the packaging material cost.
In addition to providing chip protection, a component is also needed to allow the chip and package to make electrical connections to other devices. These connection components function as electrical components, with circuits that connect the chip to the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or other device to which the chip is attached.
There are several different types of connection components allowing a chip and package to make electrical connections to a PCB. The selection of the appropriate electrical connection component will depend to a large extent upon the particular design of the chip itself, the number of connections required, and the size of the package. For example, for connections with a chip encased in a protective package that is no larger than 32 mm square (1.59 in2) area, an array of solder balls (a ball grid array package or xe2x80x9cBGAxe2x80x9d) may be used to make the electrical connections. Similarly, for packages no larger than 42 mm square (2.73 in2) area, an array of solder columns (a column grid array package or xe2x80x9cCGAxe2x80x9d) may be used to make the electrical connections. Both the ball and column grid arrays can be directly soldered to a PCB.
Both the ball and column grid array methods have a size limitation stemming from the long-term reliability of the connection. This limitation is mainly a function of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch that typically exists between the IC package construction material and the PCB construction material. As a package gets larger the outermost connections from the center of the package may be stressed beyond their yield point as the IC chip heats the package. Therefore, for larger chips with a high lead count, or for more durable chip package systems, it is preferable to use an interposer component. An interposer provides an array of compressible contact points, such points being comprised typically of a polymer with imbedded electrically conductive metal or comprised of a metal spring structure. The required electrical connection is accomplished through contact pressure rather than a rigid bond. By being a compliant connection the interposer thus effectively decouples heat expansion stresses that can occur between the package and the PCB. However, when using an interposer to provide an electrical connection between a packaged IC and a PCB, considerable pressure must be applied to ensure a good low resistive electrical contact connection is achieved.
Certain IC chips also require the capability to dissipate a large amount of heat energy. For example, some high-powered chips may give off over 100 watts of heat energy. For such high-powered chips, the cooling provided by ambient air is not sufficient to prevent the chip from overheating. An additional component for removing the heat from the chip is required. A heatsink is commonly attached to an IC chip package, with a thermal interposer material in-between, in order to provide superior heat dissipation. The thermal interposer provides good thermal conductivity between the device and heatsink. In a conventional system, the heatsink may be attached, with a thermal interposer material in-between, to the package lid protecting the chip, or if no lid is used, directly to the chip itself.
The entire assembly consisting of the heatsink, the thermal interposer, the chip, the base package, and the electrical connection components, is clamped together to ensure proper electrical connections and heat transfer capabilities. Significant clamping force (often exceeding several hundreds of pounds) is required to clamp the chip-package-interposer-PCB arrangement tightly enough to ensure a proper electrical connection through the interposer. The heatsink-to-chip connection does not require a similar clamping force to provide heat transfer capability. However, because the entire assembly is clamped together when a conventional heat sink structure is used, all components are subjected to the same clamping force. This clamping force could damage the chip itself, even though a lid may be used, since the lid could compress into the underlying chip.
In the conventional packaged chip and heatsink arrangement where the chip is covered by a lid, the heatsink and thermal interposer do not contact the chip directly. Heat must pass through the air layer or other conductive layer between the chip and the lid, as well as through the lid itself, and the thermal interposer, before being dissipated by the heatsink. Such an arrangement makes it difficult to effectively cool certain high-powered chips. A preferable arrangement is to provide contact directly between the heatsink and the chip itself. This arrangement provides for superior heat transfer properties. However, without a lid present to absorb some of the compressive forces, extreme care must be taken to ensure that the chip is not crushed in this situation due to the clamping force required for the rest of the assembly.
Thus a high-powered chip packaging assembly that includes both a heatsink and an electrical interposer has two different, competing clamping force needs. Significant clamping force is required for achieving proper connections in the chip-package-electrical interposer-PCB portion of the assembly. However, significantly less clamping force is desirable between the chip-thermal interposer-heatsink assembly, to avoid damaging the chip. Thus, there is a need for a system that decouples the clamping forces between these two sections of the overall assembly.
The present invention provides a system that decouples the clamping force in an electrical circuit assembly coupled to a heatsink. A heatsink clamping assembly applies controllable and predictable force on the electrical circuit assembly including a packaged microelectronic integrated circuit device (xe2x80x9cchipxe2x80x9d). The applied force is controlled to effectively ensure intimate contact between the chip and the heatsink to facilitate efficient chip cooling. The force applied to the chip is decoupled from the much higher force required to clamp the interposer interconnection between the electrical circuit assembly and the printed circuit board. There are certain instances where the base of the heat sink may be a hollow chamber or heat pipe structure, and as such could be damaged if the full clamping force were required to be imposed.
In one embodiment, a heatsink clamping assembly comprises an electrical circuit assembly electrically connected to a printed circuit board (PCB). The electrical assembly includes an electrical circuit. A backing plate coupled to studs contacts the PCB, and the studs extend through apertures in the PCB. A clamp plate with a window contacts the edges of the electrical assembly while allowing the electrical circuit to pass through the window. The studs pass through the clamp plate, and a first pair of clamp nut assemblies clamps the electrical circuit assembly and PCB between the backing plate and the clamp plate.
A heatsink contacts a thermal interposer on top of the electrical circuit, and resides slightly above the clamp plate. The studs extend through the heatsink. A second pair of clamp nut assemblies connects the heatsink to the backing plate. The force used upon the first and second pairs of clamp nut assemblies may differ, thereby decoupling the two forces.
In one embodiment, the electrical circuit assembly comprises an electrical circuit, a package electrically coupled to the electrical circuit, and an electrical interposer electrically coupled to the package. The electrical interposer provides an electrical connection to the PCB. In one embodiment, the electrical circuit is an integrated circuit flip chip.
The features and advantages described in the specification are not all-inclusive, and particularly, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter, resort to the claims being necessary to determine such inventive subject matter.

Heatsink apparatus for de-coupling clamping forces on an integrated circuit package


An apparatus and method for increasing the resolution of a linear array of fiber Bragg gratings by applying a plastic coating having a high CTE over the optical fiber. Apparatus and method for determining the temperature of each of a succession of points along a tissue portion during hyperthermia treatment includes an optical fiber with a succession of closely spaced fiber Bragg gratings. Each grating is responsive to a different wavelength and is sensitive to ambient temperature to change that wavelength as a function of temperature. A tunable laser operative continuously over a range of wavelengths including those to which the gratings respond is used to interrogate the gratings. Sensitivity-enhancing coatings are used on the fibers and the lasers are tuned over very short time cycles.

Sensing the value of environmental parameters such as temperature and strain using an optical fiber with a plurality of fiber Bragg gratings is known. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,419 there is disclosed for sensing strain a multitude of separate longitudinally spaced Bragg sensing gratings of substantially equal initial periodicity for all of the sensing gratings, each of the sensing gratings being situated at a different one of a multitude of separate locations.
During certain procedures, such as hyperthermia therapy a surgeon needs to know the temperature profile in the tissue at and near the area under treatment. A number of techniques and technologies are in use or being investigated for temperature sensing in conjunction with hyperthermia therapy. In one such technique the temperature at different locations is determined by inserting a cannula in the area under treatment, and by inserting a single point temperature sensor into the cannula. The point temperature sensor is moved within the cannula to different locations for reading temperature. Such a procedure is laborious, and of uncertain precision because of the need to relocate the point sensor for each measurement at each of closely spaced locations. Moreover, the temperature profile determined in this manner is not totally reliable and is not obtained simultaneously for the succession of locations. Another technique is the use of several point sensors separately connected and placed.
The need for temperature profiling occurs, for example, in cancer treatment when a tumor is to be heated during hyperthermia treatment. In this case, the tumor is to be heated, for example, in the range 41-45° C. (up to 113° F.), while the surrounding tissue is to be maintained at lower temperatures to avoid damaging healthy tissue.
Although hyperthermia therapy is under use and investigation for cancer, it is understood to be useful for other treatments. One such treatment is for BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).
As far as is known at present, different hyperthermia therapies employ different temperature ranges. For example, in investigational work with whole body hyperthermia a range of 40-42° C. is employed. In hyperthermia therapy to sensitize cancer cells to the effects of other therapies such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy and biological therapies, localized heating to temperature in the range of 41-45° C. have been used. Other techniques are used to achieve much higher temperature in order to ablate the tissue being treated. These techniques have been investigated in the brain, liver and prostate and require very precise placement of the energy in the tissue that needs to be ablated. In all types of hyperthermia therapy, temperature monitoring is critical.
Body tissue temperatures as high as 45° C. (113° F.) have been used in hyperthermia therapy. The effectiveness of hyperthermia therapy is related to the temperature achieved and other variables. In this regard it is important that the desired temperature is reached, but not exceeded. To accomplish this the temperature of the tumor or the area targeted for treatment and surrounding tissue most be closely monitored. Therefore accurate in vivo temperature monitoring is necessary, not only at the point or area under treatment but also at adjacent tissue. Also, for several of the heating methods, such as by microwave radiation, sensor immunity to electromagnetic fields is required. Consequently, it would be advantageous to provide a temperature profiling system and method that can measure temperature simultaneously (or nearly so) at a number of closely spaced locations, and that can do so repeatedly over short time intervals. Also, small changes in temperature should be made available over time intervals to measure change in temperature
In certain hyperthermia applications the sensor must be able to measure discrete points over a short distance and the measuring points being as very close together. For example, the total distance may be 5 cm, with 10 measuring points. Typical hyperthermia treatment is applied to tissue areas spanning a length of about 1 cm-5 cm. Consequently in order to measure temperature at a plurality of point along such a distance very short fiber Bragg gratings must be employed. Also, in some hyperthermia applications it is desirable that each measuring point have a temperature resolution of at least 0.1° C. It is also desirable that the several measuring points provide sufficient spatial resolution that the temperature at one point does not overly influence the temperature reading at adjacent points, even if the measuring points are very close together. The invention in its various aspects and according to its principles address these requirements.

Apparatus and method for high resolution temperature measurement and for hyperthermia therapy


There is provided a vehicle seat including a seat frame which supports a load of a sitting passenger, a seat pad which is set on the seat frame and receives the load of the sitting passenger to be relieved, and a support body which is supported to the seat frame and supports a part of the seat pad from a backside thereof. The support body is supported to the seat frame to be slidable in an in-plane direction of a plane supporting the load of the sitting passenger or to be axially rotatable in an out-of-plane direction of the plane, such that the load of the sitting passenger can be relieved. The seat pad includes a fixed part which is supported to the seat frame at a fixed position and a movable part which is supported to the support body to be movable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle seat including a seat frame which supports a load of a sitting passenger, and a seat pad which is set on the seat frame to receive the load of the sitting passenger to be relieved.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been known that when a passenger sits on a vehicle seat with a same posture for a long time, a blood flow is slowed, so that the passenger tends to feel fatigue. In order to solve this problem, JP-B-4095583 discloses a vehicle seat in which a seat cushion is supported to a base on a floor to be swingable from side to side such that a passenger can change a posture when sitting on the seat. Specifically, the seat cushion is supported to the base to be swingable from side to side through a plurality of sphere bodies or rollers. Thus, the passenger can swing the seat cushion from side to side while rolling the sphere bodies or the rollers when sitting on the seat.
However, in the above-described vehicle seat, since the entire seat cushion is configured to swing relative to the base, it is difficult for the passenger to stabilize a sitting posture, so that a sitting quality is not good.


Reinforcement members are disposed along only the transverse edge regions of selected flexible cables of an integral chip carrier and cable assembly, and along only the respectively aligned end areas of the chip carrier portion of the assembly. The reinforcement members may be disposed along all of the flexible cables and end areas of the assembly, or on only selected cable and end area portions of the assembly. The reinforcement members are formed of a tough tear resistant polymer material, such as a hot melt adhesive or polymer tape or film.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to an integral rigid chip carrier board and cable assembly and more particularly to such an assembly having selectively disposed tear-resistant reinforcement members.
2. Background Art
Multilayered rigid printed circuit boards having flexible printed circuit cables extending from the rigid board are particularly desirable in electronic components having high density circuit requirements. One example of such a circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,461 issued Jan. 24, 1989 to Dixon, et al. The Dixon patent describes a multi layer rigid-flex printed circuit structure using insulator materials which, when subjected to elevated temperatures, do not expand sufficiently to cause damage to the structure.
More recently, a multilayer structure, identified as a high performance carrier, is formed of a plurality of decrete wiring cores that are selectively laminated to form an integral structure having a multilayer rigid-card region and flexible cables extending outwardly from the rigid-card region. The materials used to construct the individual core and cable subassemblies are silica (SiO.sub.2) filled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), normally having a thickness of about 50 .mu.m thick when fully densified, a 25 .mu.m thick layer of copper-invar-copper (CIC) and copper having a thickness of about 5-12 .mu.m for the conductive layers. The overall final thickness of the individual core-cable subassembly ranges from about 250 .mu.m to about 275 .mu.m.
The materials selected for construction of the high performance carrier are selected to provide optimum electrical signal transmission and insulation properties. However, it has been found that the high performance carrier is prone to transverse tearing, particularly in the junction area between the rigid card section and the flexible cable section of the assembly. Once a tear has been initiated, and propagation started, only a very small force is necessary to extend the fracture across the structure. This characteristic of the structure reduces potential reliability and structural integrity. The addition of additional reinforcement layers throughout the structure, or the use of thicker dielectric materials, is undesirable because of the added thickness that would result in the structure, the added material costs that would be incurred, and the added manufacturing steps that would be required to form a fully reinforced structure.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems set forth above. It is desirable to have a multilayered structure, having a rigid chip carrier board and integrally formed flexible cables extending from the chip carrier board, that is resistant to transverse tearing. It is also desirable to have such a structure that is economical to produce and does not significantly add to the overall thickness of the structure.

Chip carrier and cable assembly reinforced at edges

International Business Machines Corporation


A mixing drink dispenser (10) having a source of water (26) for mixing with a beverage ingredient in a hopper (12) to make a drink having a tooless removable mixing chamber assembly (34) with cylindrical upper body 130 for receipt of beverage ingredient and water and vertical axis, high rotation mixing propellers (36, 180, 182) and a lower section with a slanted bottom (164) joined to and in open fluid communication with the upper section and having a non-closable beverage outlet (148) for free, unobstructed passage of freshly mixed beverage out of the mixing chamber assembly (34) and into a beverage container (46). The propellers (36, 180, 183) are driven by a motor (39) with a drive axle extending through a non-sealed opening in the slanted bottom (164) and removably linked to the propellers via a magnetic linkage (166, 170). An upwardly facing inlet (210) in a domed, splash reflective top (208) is in communication with a tooless removable hopper assembly (12) having a horizontally rotatable feed auger (252) releasably linked to and driven by an external auger drive motor (268). An agitation wheel within the hopper is driven by direct linkage with the auger (252) to stir ingredient within the hopper during operation of the auger.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to beverage mixing dispensers and more particularly to beverage mixing dispensers that mix beverage ingredient, in powder or semi-liquid form, with water to make the beverage.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Beverage mixing dispensers that mix beverage ingredient in powder form with water to make a beverage that is then dispensed are well known. Such equipment is often used in beverage vending machines to make such drinks as coffee, tea, cocoa or chocolate drinks, juice, broth, soup, etc. Such mixing dispensers generally comprise a hopper for containing the beverage ingredient, such as beverage ingredient powder or other ingredient material, a mixing chamber with mixing blades for mixing the beverage ingredient with water, a water tank or other source of water for mixing with the beverage ingredient, an ingredient powder delivery system for delivering beverage ingredient powder to the mixing chamber and a solenoid controlled valve for delivering water to the mixing chamber for mixing with the beverage ingredient. The outlet of the mixing chamber has a solenoid controlled valve that is closed during mixing and then opened to drain the mixed drink from the mixing chamber and into a suitable container, such as an individual drinking cup. The powder delivery system may include a solenoid-controlled valve for controlling the outlet of the power hopper for selectively passing powder to the top of the mixing chamber. The amount of water passed to the serving cup is controlled by controlling the time that a water dispense valve is opened, and the amount of powder may be controlled by the length of time that the powder outlet valve is open.
A problem with the known beverage ingredient powder drink dispensers is that due to moisture, steam, water vapor, rising from the mixing chamber, the interior and the exterior of the outlet of the powder hopper often becomes moist. Consequently, powder fines will stick to the powder outlet and eventually clog the outlet such that none or a reduced amount of ingredient powder is dispensed into the mixing chamber. If varying amounts of powder are injected into the mixing chamber without a corresponding proportional varying of the water, the strength of the resultant beverage disadvantageously varies. If the outlet becomes entirely clogged and blocked then the customer gets no beverage for his money put into a vending machine, for instance. Both results are disadvantageous, but the varying and reduced strength, which adversely affects both quality and uniformity, is perhaps the most deleterious. Reduced beverage strength creates a negative impression directly associated with the drink itself as opposed to the dissatisfaction with only the mixing dispenser that is believed to be generally understood by the consumer to not be the fault of the maker of the powder drink ingredient.
Another problem with known beverage mixing dispensers is that the mixing chamber assembly may not be easily disassembled and is not designed to be disassembled or separated from the housing, or body, of the dispenser except by trained service personnel. It is not removable by regular, user employees who have neither the tools nor the technical expertise to disassemble the mixing chamber for purposes of visual and manual access or cleaning. Instead, skilled maintainers of the dispensers may, for instance, visit a vending dispenser on a daily basis, or other periodic longer time periodic basis depending upon the level of usage. Consequently, parts of the mixing chamber do no get cleaned as frequently as they should, resulting in deleterious affects to the taste and quality or even possibly the health safety of the drinks being mixed. Alternatively, the task of frequent, such as daily, regular cleaning of the mixing chamber assembly, can become prohibitively labor intensive and expensive.
Another problem with known mixing drink dispensers is that the air is entrained by cutting large bubbles of air into small one by whipping. This results in a beverage, such as a cappuccino with relatively large bubbles that provides a foam that is relatively unstable and undesirably rapidly subsides or flattens.

Beverage ingredient mixing drink dispenser

Food Equipment Technologies Company, Inc.


A computer is connected to an external device and outputs a command to the external device to shift the external device to a power saving state. The computer comprises an operating system generating a first power saving command for shifting the external device to a first power saving state when a non-operation time reaches a first time, a driver converting the first power saving command into a second power saving command for shifting the external device to a second power saving state in which power consumption is lower than the first power saving state. The converted second power saving command is output to the external device.

The present invention relates to a power saving control function for a computer such as a personal computer.
Various portable notebook type personal computers capable of operating by batteries have recently been developed. A computer of this type has various power saving functions in order to prolong the continuous operation time of the system by a battery as long as possible. One of them is a power saving function concerning a display device such as an LCD or CRT.
Standards for the power saving function include the International Energy Star standard which defines that a computer must comprise a function capable of activating the low-power mode and deep sleep mode of a display. The low-power mode is the first low-power state which is automatically activated after the computer does not operate for the first predetermined time. The deep sleep mode is the second low-power state which is automatically activated when the computer does not operate for the second predetermined time. According to this standard, the shift time for activating the low-power mode must be set within 30 min, and the shift time must be set to activate the deep sleep mode within 70 min. Furthers the total of the shift times to the low-power mode and deep sleep mode must fall within 70 min. Note that the shift time is changeable by the user.
For example, if the computer does not operate for a predetermined time or more set by the user, an operating system (to be simply referred to as an OS hereinafter) generates the first operation mode signal for shifting to a standby state (corresponding to the low-power mode) in which the screen display is turned off. Further, if the computer does not operate for another predetermined time or more set by the user, the OS outputs the second operation mode signal for shifting to a power-off state (corresponding to the deep sleep mode). The BIOS receives these mode signals, and controls the display controller to control the operation state of the display.
In this manner, if a non-operation state continues for a certain time or more, power consumption is temporarily reduced, and then the display is turned off. In other words, a plurality of stages (two stages in this example) of the power saving state are set. If a mouse or keyboard is operated in either the standby state or power-off state, display resumes. In a CRT, the time until display resumes is shorter in return from the standby state than in return from the power-off state. For this reason, when the computer with the CRT does not operate for a predetermined time, it is not immediately set to the power-off state but temporarily to the standby state.
Some other OSs further divide the standby state into a plurality of states, and gradually reduce power consumption through a plurality of states.
In general, a so-called server OS having an advanced network-compatible function does not take multistage power saving control, and directly shifts to the power-off state after the non-operation state continues for a predetermined time, i.e., takes only two, power-on and power-off states.
Most of the OSs of conventional computer systems first output a standby mode signal when a computer does not operate for a predetermined time, and then output a deep sleep mode signal to set the power-off state when the computer does not operate for another predetermined time.
However, some users attach importance to the power saving effect more than the time-shortening effect until display resumes, do not require the multistage power saving state, do not desire to set the power-off state after the standby state is temporarily set, but desire to directly set the power-off state. When an LCD is used in place of a CRT, the time until display resumes is almost the same between return from the power-off state and return from the standby state.
In this manner, most of conventional OSs cannot cope with a demand for directly setting the power-off state when the computer does not operate for a predetermined time, in order to enhance the power saving effect.
Along with upgrading (function advance) of an OS, the upgraded version of the above-mentioned OS (if the non-operation state continues for a predetermined time, the OS first outputs a low-power mode signal, and if the non-operation state further continues, outputs a deep sleep mode signal) can be used as a server OS. When the server OS, which immediately shifts to the power-off state in non-operation, is upgraded, the display device of a client is not immediately set to the power-off state but is temporarily set to the standby state. A client user who does not know the change of the OS or forgets it may mistake this state for a malfunction of the computer, and may be confused. Even a user who knows the change of the OS may feel unnatural if display operation changes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Computer and power saving control method thereof


A method of modifying a polymeric substrate, such as polyethylene terephthalate and nylon 66, imparts water repellency and lubricity, and provides the additional benefit of reducing the soiling of fabrics. The method includes combining the polymeric substrate with a dense or liquified gas, such as carbon dioxide or sulfur hexafluoride, and a fluorinated compound, such as a fluorinated polyether.

Polymers have a wide variety of uses. Among the most prevalent uses of polymers is in the manufacture of textiles and, in particular, garments.
Outer garments that are at least partially formed of polymer components, such as conventional plastic rain slickers, are still common. However, plastics generally are not permeable to water vapor and, consequently, perspiration typically accumulates unless the garments are adequately ventilated.
Fabrics that include polymeric fibers are an alternative to continuous plastic garment materials. Polymeric fibers can contribute to water repellency, and fabrics that are woven with polymeric fibers are permeable to water vapor. However, the water repellency of polymeric fabrics is often limited by the effect of the particular polymeric fibers on water that contacts the fabric. For example, contact between water or another liquid, and a solid, such as a polymeric fiber, causes an interfacial tension to occur between the liquid and solid. An interfacial tension also occurs between the surrounding gas and the liquid and between the surrounding gas and the solid. The combined effect of these interfacial tensions generally determines, at least partially, the degree of water repellency of a fabric. Specifically, the greater the interfacial tension between a liquid, such as water, and a polymeric fiber component of a fabric, relative to the interfacial tension between the liquid and a surrounding gas and between the solid and the surrounding gas, the more the fabric will tend to repel the liquid.
Many polymers that are suitable for manufacture of fabrics, such as polyethylene terephthalate and nylon 66, contribute only limited water repellency to garments that include such fabrics. Further, as garments wear and become soiled, wettability and consequent permeability of the garments to water often increases.
One attempt to increase the water repellency of garments is to apply to the surface of the garment a coating of a chemical compound, such as a perfluorinated polyether, fluorinated acrylate or some other compound that exhibits relatively high water repellency. Perfluorinated polyethers, for example, also have the benefit of reducing friction between the fabric and other objects, thereby reducing the rate of wear and the rate at which the garments become soiled. However, chemical coatings themselves typically wear away and must be reapplied. Further, chemical coatings can significantly diminish the permeability of fabrics to water vapor, thereby reducing the comfort and utility of garments that are made with such fabrics.
Therefore, a need exists for a material and a method of forming a material that overcomes or minimizes the above-mentioned problems.

Modification of polymeric substrates using dense or liquified gases


A multi-use pen-shaped medication dispensing device made of a plastic material that is recyclable after the contents of the medication cartridge have been exhausted. The device is made of a minimal number of parts, which include a housing, a dial assembly, a generally cylindrical button assembly located within the proximal end of the dial assembly, an internally threaded nut, and an externally threaded leadscrew. The device is arranged so that the dial must be rotated to the zero dose position prior to setting a dose. The device includes a lockout mechanism that prevents the dial from being depressed during dosing. The device further includes a mechanism that limits the maximum dosage that can be dialed up and a mechanism that prevents the user from dialing up a dosage greater than that remaining in the cartridge.

The present invention relates generally to medical dispensing devices and, more particularly, to a recyclable dispensing device that permits selectively measured dosages of a liquid to be dispensed.
Patients suffering from diseases such as diabetes must inject themselves several times each day with an insulin solution. Since the volume of insulin solution to be injected varies from injection to injection, it is necessary for such patients to be able to measure a precise volume of insulin. Diabetics have conventionally used a syringe for injection of insulin. However, it is difficult to control the operation of the syringe as well as the quantity of drug injected.
In order to permit a diabetic to measure and administer a more accurate and controlled dosage, injector pens have been developed which enable a particular dosage to be accurately and conveniently measured. Generally, these pens are secured onto a cartridge having a particular quantity of liquid medication sealed therein. The cartridge includes a plunger and a mechanism for advancing the plunger in the cartridge in such a manner to dispense the medication. Injector pens may be reusable or disposable. In reusable pens, a user can change a spent cartridge and reset the leadscrew of the pen back to its initial position. In a disposable pen, the cartridge is permanently captured in the pen which is disposed of after the contents of the cartridge have been exhausted.
One such disposable pen that has functioned very adequately is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,976. Specifically, a dispensing device is disclosed and includes an internally threaded collar and an externally threaded plunger rod. In order to set a dosage of medication to be delivered, the collar is rotated thereby causing displacement of the collar toward the proximal end of the injection device. Rotation of the collar causes the integral cap to become effectively displaced both rotationally and axially toward the proximal end of the pen. As this displacement occurs, the segment of the dose-indicating scale which is visible through a window varies showing a linear increase in the number to indicate an increase dosage of liquid to be dispensed. Once the desired dosage is selected, a force is applied to the end of the cap causing a linear displacement of the cap, integral plunger rod, and piston to dispense liquid from the container. The dispensing displacement of the plunger rod is halted by abutting contact between the cap and a stop element.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,340, another recyclable injection device is disclosed. In particular, a plunger rod is received within the housing for exerting a force on a piston closing a second end of the container. The plunger rod has a noncylindrical cross section with a first surface including threads and a second surface which can, optionally, include a series of ratchet teeth. A collar is received within the housing adjacent the second end of the container for permanently retaining the container of liquid within the housing. The plunger rod passes through the noncylindrical opening in the collar and is prevented from rotating with respect to the housing by the collar. A hollow cap envelopes the plunger rod opposite the container of liquid. The skirt of the hollow cap extends inside the housing. The cap includes a threaded interior surface which movably engages the plunger rod for calibrated adjustment relative thereto. A stop is provided within the housing, and a distal facing surface is provided on the hollow cap for contacting the stop upon linear movement of the cap and plunger rod as a unit toward the container to dispense liquid therefrom. In operation, the cap is rotated in a counterclockwise direction causing the threads of the cap to travel along the threaded portion of the rod. This rotation does not cause displacement of the plunger rod with respect to the housing, but backs the distal end of the proximal cap portion away from a stop shoulder on the inside of the housing. When the cap has been positioned to the desired dosage, pressure is applied to the end of the cap for causing it to move linearly toward the distal end of the housing until a shoulder defined by a radially exposed portion of the distal end contacts a stop.

Multiple dose medication dispensing method


A check book unit has a card reader and a PDA-type system. Check transactions are recorded in the unit using the PDA-type unit and a computer keeps track of the balance and other data associated with the check transaction. A card reader is also included and uses one of the magnetic stripes on a debit card. After a debit card is used, the details of the transaction are recorded onto the magnetic stripe. When the debit card is swiped through the card reader on the unit, the details of the transaction are transferred into the computer memory associated with the unit. The computer then records the details of the transaction from the data entered on the debit card and performs the arithmetic required to balance the user's check book balance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of data processing, and to the particular field of financial data processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people use checks, credit cards, and debit cards to pay bills, and the like. All of the transactions involving these media require the user to record some data regarding the transaction whereby they can be sure they have sufficient funds in their accounts to cover the transactions. With checks, a user records data associated with the check in a record portion of the check book. With a debit card, the same process should be followed.
However, many people forget to record a transaction in their check book and therefore are at risk of having an incorrect balance shown in their check book. Furthermore, some people are prone to making errors in the arithmetic associated with such transactions, especially if the transaction occurs in distracting conditions. This can lead to errors which include an error causing an overdrawn account.
Therefore, there is a need for a check book unit which makes record keeping easy, efficient and accurate.
The art does contain certain examples of check books that include computers whereby the arithmetic associated with check writing transactions can be carried out by the computer; however, the inventor is not aware of any such check book unit that can work with a debit card as well. A debit card transaction should be handled in a manner that is similar to the check writing transaction.
Therefore, there is a need for a check book unit which makes record keeping easy, efficient and accurate and which is amenable for use with debit cards.

Check book unit for use with debit cards


Embodiments of the present invention are directed to facilitating apparatus interaction. In at least one example embodiment of the present invention, apparatuses may comprise both triggered communication activities and automated communication activities. Triggered communication activities may correspond to, for example, user and/or application instigated actions in a wireless apparatus. Automated activities may occur without any requirement for user intervention, and further, without any notification to the user that an action has occurred.

1. Field of Invention
Various embodiments of the present invention pertain generally to wireless link establishment, and in particular, to establishing beacon periods of varying frequency.
2. Background
Wireless communication has moved from simply being concerned with conveying verbal information to being more focused on total digital interactivity. While originally limited to voice communication (e.g., telephone calls on cellular handsets), enhancements in wireless technology have substantially improved ability, quality of service (QoS), speed, etc. These developments have contributed to an insatiable desire for new functionality. Portable wireless apparatuses are no longer just tasked with making telephone calls. They have become integral, and in some cases essential, tools for managing the professional and/or personal life of users.
The effect of this evolving technology may be seen in instances where a plurality of apparatuses have been replaced with a single multifunction device. The functionality that was formally provided by landline telephones and facsimiles, laptop computers, portable digital assistants (PDA), game systems, music players, digital storage devices may be supported in a single digital communication apparatus. The above functionality may be further supplemented through the provision of applications that were not previously available in portable apparatuses (e.g., directional/tracking features, wireless financial transactions, social networking, etc.).
Such functionality, both existing and emerging, require systems and strategies for seamlessly interconnecting users. In particular, apparatus users will desire a virtually immediate response when applications or functions are executed. Any delay or inaccuracy in the response will negatively impact on a user's satisfaction with the application or function, and thus, may be detrimental to the acceptance of the application or function by the consuming public.

Beaconing mode for wireless communication


A method for inhibiting the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA(HMG--CoA) reductase in mammals is disclosed comprising administering naringin or naringenin thereto.

In recent years, coronary cardio-circulary diseases, e.g., atherosclerosis and hypercholesterolemia, have increasingly become a major cause of deaths. It has been reported that an elevated plasma cholesterol level causes the deposition of fat, macrophages and foam cells on the wall of blood vessels, such deposit leading to plaque formation and then to atherosclerosis (Ross, R., Nature, 362, 801-809(1993)). One of the methods for decreasing the plasma cholesterol level is alimentotherapy to reduce the ingestion of cholesterol and lipids. Another method is to lower the rate of cholesterol biosynthesis which takes place in the liver. It has been reported that hypercholesterolemia can be treated effectively by reducing the rate of cholesterol biosynthesis through the inhibition of HMG--CoA reductase which mediates the synthesis of mevalonic acid, an intermediate in the biosynthesis of sterols or isoprenoids (Cardiovascular Pharmacology, William W. Parmley and Kanu Chatterjee Ed., Wolfe Publishing, pages 8.6-8.7, 1994).
Therefore, numerous efforts have been made to develop medicines to inhibit HMG--CoA reductase; and, as a result, several compounds derived from Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. have been commercialized. Specifically, Lovastatin.RTM. and Simvastatin.RTM. developed by Merck Co., U.S.A., and Pravastatin.RTM. developed by Sankyo Co., Japan, have been commercialized (C. D. R. Dunn, Stroke: Trends, Treatment and Markets, SCRIPT Report, PJB Publications Ltd., 1995). However, these medicines are very expensive and a long-term administration thereof is known to induce an adverse side effect of increasing creatine kinase in the liver. Accordingly, there has continued to exist a need to develop an inexpensive and non-toxic inhibitor of HMG--CoA reductase.
Naringin and the aglycon of naringin, naringenin, are flavonoids found in lemons, grapefruits, tangerines and oranges (Citrus sinensis) and they have the following structures (Horowitz, Gentili, Tetrahedron, 19, 773(1963)): ##STR1##
Naringin has been used as a bitter tasting agent, sweetner or chewing gum base. However, there has been no report on the HMG--CoA reductase inhibitory activity of naringin or naringenin.

Naringin and naringenin as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA(HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor

Korea Institute of Science and Technology


The present invention provides a high strength titanium alloy useful as a material for products such as ornaments, products such as ornaments made of the titanium alloy, and a method for producing the products using the titanium alloy as a material. The high strength titanium alloy is capable of attaining high machinability, and the product made of the titanium alloy is excellent in beauty and decorativeness while being hard to made flawed or concaved. According to the present invention, the titanium alloy includes iron of 0.20 to 0.8 mass percent and oxygen of 0.20 to 0.6 mass percent, or iron of 0.2 to 1.0 mass percent, oxygen of 0.15 to 0.6 mass percent and silicon of 0.20 to 1.0 mass percent, with the balance of titanium and inevitable impurities. A method for producing a product using the titanium alloy as a material includes a steps of hot forging the titanium alloy at a temperature of (.beta.-transformation temperature -200.degree. C.) or higher, and then cooling it, thereby giving a high strength to the product.

Titanium has excellent corrosion resistance and high ratio of strength/specific gravity with no change in color and the like with the elapse of time. Therefore, titanium is expected to be useful as a material for products such as ornaments which a person puts on the body. Especially, in recent years, ornaments are required to be made of biocompatible material which does not cause metal allergy for human body. As titanium is a typical material which does not cause metal allergy, much attention has been focused on titanium as a material for ornaments. Under such circumstances, titanium has been superseding conventional metals such as stainless steel as a material for ornaments.
Ornaments are required to satisfy the requirements such as beauty in appearance, ability of being formed in a complicated and precise shape, and high resistance to getting flawed during the use in daily life. In addition, ornaments are required to have a clear mirror-finished surface which is capable of being formed with various kinds of surface finishings (such as letters written in extremely thin thickness to the extent of hair: hereinafter, referred to as hair-line property). From the viewpoint of machinability, ornaments are required to be produced with a number of minute holes satisfactorily formed therein.
In reality, titanium and titanium alloys used as a material for ornaments, and a method for producing ornaments are derived from the technologies developed in other industrial fields such as aerospace field, chemical industries, and nuclear energy field. Thus-produced ornaments do not necessarily satisfy the required properties.
Industrial pure titanium of JIS-1 series or JIS-2 series is one of the materials which are most commonly used for ornaments. However, the ornaments made of such titanium are easy to get flawed by contact or friction in a daily life, or their surface finishes are worn out. Therefore, the ornaments made of such titanium are inferior to those made of stainless steel in beauty and decorativeness, which are essential properties for ornaments.
As an titanium alloy includes large amount of alloy elements, ornaments made of titanium alloy have increased strength and high resistance to flaw. In this respect, an titanium alloy is superior to industrial pure titanium as a material for ornaments. However, as an titanium alloy is poor in processability, it is difficult to conduct a precise and minute machining thereto, resulting in imposing limitations on designs of ornaments. In addition, almost all titanium alloys include alloy elements such as aluminum, nickel, vanadium, chromium. These alloy elements are poor in biocompatibility, and therefore, not desirable for ornaments. In addition, as these alloy elements are relatively expensive, the material cost becomes high.
Various technologies have been developed for improving the abrasion resistance of industrial pure titanium and the machinability of titanium alloy. However, these technologies are intended for use in the fields other than ornament industries, and therefore, are not applicable to ornaments. For example, Japanese Patent publication No. 7-62196 suggests a titanium alloy having an improved abrasion resistance. In this art, the abrasion resistance of the titanium alloy is improved by dispersing titanium carbide. However, the obtained titanium alloy has too high hardness, resulting in shortening a life of drill which is used in a drilling process of forming minute holes for ornaments. Japanese Patent publication No. 5-42490 suggests a titanium alloy in which inclusions such as sulfide are dispersed for the purpose of enhancing the machinability and free-cutting properties thereof. However, the inclusions are too soft to give the produced ornaments an enhanced resistance to flaw. Rather, the presence of such inclusions large in size may be a hindrance to give a mirror-finished surface to ornaments.
On the other hand, conventional methods do not necessarily contribute to the improvement of the properties of ornaments. For example, Japanese Laid-Open patent publication No. 3-180478 suggests technology where a surface of pure titanium material is coated with a hard coating, thereby enhancing its resistance to flaw. However, the surface treatment of this technology has a problem that the coated surface loses metallic luster or turns into darker color, resulting in the deterioration of beauty. In addition, as titanium used as a parent material itself is easy to get flawed, the titanium material may be flawed during the processes conducted prior to a surface treatment. The resultant ornaments having flaws are of no commercial value.
In order to enhance the strength of products, there is a known method in which a thermal treatment is conducted. When the thermal treatment is conducted, however, the product gains high hardness not only on the surface thereof but also at the inside thereof. As a result, the whole product gains high hardness and satisfactory machining cannot be conducted thereto. In addition, the thermal treatment has a hardness-increasing effect only on a .beta.-type titanium alloy or an .alpha.+.beta.-type titanium alloy which contain large amount of alloy elements. Although a cold working such as a cold forging induces a work hardening thereby attaining the increase in hardness, a cold forging increases the hardness of the whole product and the machinability remains unimproved. In contrast, a method such as shot peening is capable of increasing the hardness of the product on only the surface thereof by forming a strained region only on the surface. However, she shot peening is not applicable to the production of products required to be formed in a refined shape.
In the actual state, in the production of ornaments made of pure titanium, industrial pure titanium material having low resistance to flaw is used without being subjected to any treatment, or is surface treated at the sacrifice of decorativeness. There are some cases where a Ti-3Al-2.5V type titanium alloy is used as a material for ornaments. The Ti-3Al-2.5V type titanium alloy has an intermediate characteristics between industrial pure titanium and the above-described titanium alloy. However, the Ti-3Al-2.5V type titanium alloy does not satisfy the requirement of the resistance to flaw, processability, and cost performance, and contains unbiocompatible elements such as aluminum and vanadium. Due to such disadvantages, the Ti-3Al-2.5V type titanium alloy can be used only a limited application.
As described above, the conventional titanium, titanium alloys, and method for producing ornaments using these materials are not suitable for ornaments. Under such circumstances, there is a great demand for developing titanium material and a method for producing products using the titanium material capable of attaining excellent properties such as decorativeness, durability, processability, biocompatibility with low cost, thereby coming such material and method into wide applications including not only ornaments but also decorations and articles of daily use.
The present invention has been conducted to solve the above-described problems, and the objective thereof is to provide: a high strength titanium alloy capable of attaining beauty and decorativeness and especially useful as a material for ornaments; products made of such titanium alloy; and a method for producing the products.

High strength titanium alloy, product made of the titanium alloy and method for producing the product


A bidirectional transmitting and receiving device includes a transmitting component with an emission area of a first size, and a receiving component with a receiving area of a second size. The device further includes coupling optics for coupling light between the transmitting component and the receiving component on the one hand, and an optical waveguide to be coupled thereto on the other hand. The coupling optics have two imaging systems that are arranged one behind the other such that the light that is emitted from the transmitting component is imaged by the first imaging system on an intermediate plane on which the receiving component is located, and in the process passes through the receiving component or passes by it at the side. The second imaging system is used to image firstly the light that is emitted by the transmitting component from the intermediate plane onto the end surface of the optical waveguide and, secondly, the light that is emitted by the optical waveguide onto the receiving area of the receiving component.

Bidirectional optical modules are known which communicate with one another using a monomode glass fiber in the opposite direction. The modules comprise a transmitting component, a receiving component and an optical arrangement, by means of which the beam paths are superimposed and split. The light that is emitted from the transmitting component generally, but not necessarily, is at a different wavelength than the light which is detected by the receiving component. For example, the transmitting component emits light at a wavelength of 1300 nm, and the receiving component detects light at the wavelength of 1550 nm. A module of the cited type is known from WO 99/54594 A1. A partially reflective mirror which acts on a wavelength-selective basis is provided in order to split the beam paths, is arranged at an angle of 45° in the beam path of the fiber, and outputs light at a wavelength at an angle of less than 90°. If operated at the same wavelength, instead of a mirror that acts on a wavelength-selective basis, a partially reflective mirror is used. The known bidirectional module disadvantageously requires relatively complex optical and mechanical design technology.
The use of polymer fibers with a diameter of 1 mm for bidirectional communication at the same wavelength is known from the automotive field. Bidirectional modules with a relatively large receiving diode are used in this case. An LED chip is fitted to the center of the receiving diode. The photodiode is admittedly partially shadowed by the LED chip, but the sensitivity of the transmission quality is sufficient for automotive applications. A corresponding design is described in DE 100 64 599 A1.

Bidirectional transmitting and receiving device