Plural detection boards are stacked and fixed. The detection board has a wiring board, a semiconductor detection device fixed on an upper surface of the wiring board and configured to detect radiation, and a spacer fixed on the upper surface of the wiring board. Each of the detection boards is provided so that the semiconductor detection device and the spacer have a designated positional relationship. In addition, the spacers are stacked and matched in an X-Y plane surface with each other so that the detection boards are fixed by fixing members.

Recently, tomography apparatuses have been widely used in order to obtain information of the inside of a living organism (subject). There are an X-ray computed tomography (hereinafter "X-ray CT") apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, a single photon emission CT (hereinafter "SPECT") apparatus, and a positron emission tomography (hereinafter "PET") apparatus, as the tomography apparatuses. In the X-ray CT apparatus, X-ray beams having narrow widths are emitted to a certain cross section of the subject in multiple directions, X-rays permeating through the subject are detected, and a spatial distribution of the degree of abruption of the X-rays in the cross section is computed by a computer and imaged. Thus, dysplasia inside the subject such as a hemorrhagic area can be recognized by the X-ray CT.
On the other hand, since functional information in the subject can be obtained with high precision by the PET apparatus, development of the PET apparatuses has been progressing recently. In a diagnostic method using the PET apparatus, first, a medicine for inspection which is identified with a positron nuclide is introduced inside the subject by an injection, inhalation, or the like. The medicine for inspection introduced in the subject is stored in a specific portion having a function corresponding to the medicine for inspection. For example, in a case where a medicine for inspection of saccharide is used, the medicine is selectively stored in a portion where metabolism of a cancer cell or the like frequently occurs. At this time, a positron radiates from the positron nuclide of the medicine for inspection. At the time when the positron and an electron in the periphery of the positron are coupled and annihilated, two gamma rays (so-called annihilation gamma rays) are radiated in directions approximately 180 degrees relative to each other. These two gamma rays are simultaneously detected by a radiation detector provided surrounding the subject and an image is regenerated by a computer or the like, so that image data of the distribution of the radioisotopes (RI) of the subject are obtained. Thus, in the PET apparatus, since the functional information about the body of the subject is obtained, it is possible to elucidate the pathology of various intractable diseases.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a PET apparatus 100, gamma ray detectors 101 are provided so as to surround a subject S 360 degrees. The gamma ray detector 101 includes a semiconductor detector 102 and a detection circuit 103. Semiconductor detection devices (not shown in FIG. 1) are provided in the semiconductor detector 102. The detection circuit 103 is configured to electrically detect the gamma rays entering the semiconductor detection devices. In addition, a generating position of the gamma ray is identified based on an output signal indicating that the gamma ray has entered from the detection circuit 103 and position information of the semiconductor detection device indicating where the gamma ray has entered. Furthermore, by detecting multiple gamma rays, an image of the distribution of the medicine for inspection in the subject S is regenerated.
Since the annihilation gamma rays are radiated from the subject in random directions, multiple semiconductor detection devices are arranged in the semiconductor detector 102 so that detection efficiency is improved. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a radiation detection unit 102 where boards 106 having semiconductor detection devices 105 are provided in a housing 104 has been suggested (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-128000

Radiation detection unit and radiographic inspection apparatus


Continuous, flexible demineralized bone is used as a support for growing cartilage tissue that may be used for implantation into a patient to replace defective of missing cartilage.

This invention is primarily directed to reconstituted articular cartilage, which is a specialized tissue found at the end of articulating bones. Cartilage, unlike other connective tissues, lacks blood vessels, nerves lymphatics and basement membrane. It is responsible for the distribution of load resistance to compressive forces, and the smooth gliding that is part of joint function.
Cartilage is composed of chondrocytes which synthesize an abundant extracellular matrix, which is composed of water, collagens, proteoglycans and noncollagenous proteins and lipids. Collagen serves to trap proteoglycans and to provide tensile strength to the tissue.
Damage of cartilage produced by disease, such as arthritis, or trauma is a major cause of physical deformity and debilitation. In medicine today, the primary therapy for loss of cartilage is replacement with a prosthetic material, such as silicone for cosmetic repairs, or metal alloys for joint relinement. Placement of prostheses is commonly associated with significant loss of underlying tissue and bone without recovery of the full function allowed by the original cartilage, as well as the irritating presence of a foreign body. Other long term problems associated with a permanent foreign body can include infection, erosion and instability
Very little has ever been actually used to replace the cartilage overlaying bone surfaces. To date, the growth of new cartilage from either transplantation of autologous or allogeneic cartilage has been largely unsuccessful. Microscopic islands of cartilage formation have recently been demonstrated histologically in vivo by implanting recombinant bone morphogenic protein, as reported by J. M. Wozney, et al., Science, 242, 1528-1534, (Dec. 16, 1988). Limited success has been achieved in making neocartilage using free autogenous grafts of perichondrial flaps, as described by J. Upton, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 68(2), 166-174; (August 1981).
It is also known in the art to use cells harvested from an organism for implantation into the same or a different organism. Such techniques are shown is U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,299,819, 4,418,691, 4,458,678, 4,505,266, 4,553,272, 4,804,382, 4,883,487, 4,904,259, 4,960,423, 5,015,584, 5,035,708, and 5,041,138 the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. In these references, the cells are seeded on a biocompatible support material and implanted into a desired site for tissue repair, with or without a step of cell cultivation in vitro, depending upon the type of tissue being replaced and the extent of tissue damage at the site needing repair. The limitations of his technique are associated with the substrate material. Typically, bioabsorbable substrates are used for cell seeding. During cell cultivation in vitro, portions of these substrate materials are absorbed, leaving a support material for implantation which does not have the strength and resiliency to function as a prosthetic device at the site of tissue damage while additional tissue ingrowth and cell division takes place.
The provision of a suitable support material is a critical part of the in vitro cell cultivation technique. This is because most types of tissue will not grow or divide in suspension; a solid support is necessary for the cells to perform their normal functions. However, because the growing cells must receive nutrients from the nutrient media and eliminate cell waste products, all without a circulatory system which normally performs this function, the support upon which the cells are placed must allow for this exchange. Additionally, many cell cultures require a support coated with materials which form a part of the extracellular matrix, a collection of polysaccharides and proteins which exist outside the cell's membrane.
Cheung (in vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. 21:353, 1985) teaches a method of culturing canine chondrocytes on porous hydroxyapatite ceramic granules. The cells reportedly proliferated and secreted metachromatic extracellular matrix for up to 13 months. An agarose gel matrix has also been described as suitable for the in vitro culture of human chondrocytes (Delbruck et al., Conn. Tiss. Res. 15:155, 1986). Watt and Dudhia (Differentiation 38:140, 1988) disclose a composite gel of collagen and agarose for the culture of porcine chondrocytes. The composite gel prevented chondrocytes spreading. However, virtually no extracellular matrix was secreted in the low density culture composite gels.
Macklis et al. (in vitro Cell. Develop. Biol. 21:180, 1985) teach a collagen surface for culturing peripheral nervous system cells, comprising collagen derivatized to polystyrene plastic culture dishes. Macklis et al. disclose that the derivatized coating process yielded enhanced collagen adhesion and increased long term survival of cultured nerve cells, compared to collagen coating produced by absorption techniques.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,118, relates to the use of a support material fabricated from semiabsorbable, composite yarn as a support for cell growth in vitro. The support comprises a nonabsorbable, elastic core yarn and at least one absorbable, relatively inelastic sheath yarn imparting transverse strength to the composite yarn. The cells that can be grown on the support allegedly encompass endothelial cells, epidermal cells, muscle cells, bone cells, and cartilage cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,357, relates to the use of a substrate for chondrocyte cell growth in vitro. The substrate that is employed is a synthetic substrate, Millicell.RTM.-CM, coated with attachment factors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,138, relates to a method for making a cartilaginous structure by use of a biocompatible, biodegradable synthetic polymeric matrix for chondrocyte cell growth in vitro , and its use for replacing defective or missing cartilage.
To date, none of the aforementioned methods of cartilage growth and replacement have found wide acceptance. As can be seen from the descriptions, the methods that use chondrocyte cell growth in vitro, rely upon synthetic support media that are foreign to the body, resulting in problems associated with the introduction of foreign compositions into the body.
A need therefore exist for a method for growing chondrocytes ex vivo by use of a supportive substrate that will find universal acceptance upon implantation for reconstructive use, while providing the characteristics necessary for cell growth in vitro.

Method for reconstituting cartilage tissue using demineralized bone and product thereof


Heat-modified starch having a Brabender viscosity in aqueous dispersion at 6% by weight of between 750-900 B.U, after 5 min at 95.degree. C. The starch is heat treated with a monoglyceride.

The subject of the present invention is a heat-modified starch.
Starch is the principal carbohydrate component of higher plants. It includes 98-99%, of a carbohydrate fraction which is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin. At room temperature, native starch granules are insoluble in water. This insolubility is attributed to the crystalline organization of starch. Starch is only of low industrial interest in this case. By hydrothermal treatment, or by gelatinization, this crystalline organization is destroyed and starch finds numerous industrial applications.
In the food sector, native or modified starches are used as texturing agents, as thickeners, as gelling agents or as stabilizers. However, certain food technologies require starches having specific properties, such as shear strength, viscometric stability, preservation of viscosity in acid medium, delayed gelatinization or satisfactory heat transfer during sterilization.
Moreover, in the face of the innovations in the food technology sector, it is necessary to have available thickeners having not only predictable behavior, but also controllable behavior.
A varied choice of modified starches exists depending on the raw material, the treatment carried out and its intensity.
Thus, EP 0,710,670 describes a process for the preparation of a chemically modified starch as well as the apparatus which makes it possible to chemically modify this starch. In the process, a starch, having a water content of 9-25%, is chemically treated in a turbo-reactor, at 300-1500 rpm and at acidic pH, in the presence of a modifying agent, such as, for example, an alkylating agent or an acylating agent.
However, in the food sector, the use of chemically modified starches is regulated and should appear on the product packaging. Physical modifications make it possible to avoid these constraints.
Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,576 describes a process for the preparation of a maize starch which is dispersible in boiling water at 5% and which has a high viscosity level of 2000 centipoises at 70.degree. C. In this process, a mixture having a water content of 43-50% and containing maize starch granules and an emulsifier, such as glycerol monostearate, sorbitol and propylene oxide, is microwave-heated at 50-85.degree. C. for 1 h so as to reduce the water content to 15%.
Moreover, EP 0,150,715 describes a process for the preparation of a starch which is dispersible in boiling water at 95-100%. In this process, a mixture having a water content of 20-30% by weight and containing starch, 1-5% of emulsifiers, relative to the dry weight of the starch, and water, is heat-treated with microwaves at 90-120.degree. C. for 1-20 min.
Finally, Societe Roquette Freres S. A., 4 rue Patou, F-59022 LILLE, markets a starch, under the name of Cremalys, having a gelatinization temperature of 83.degree. C., but not having sufficient viscostability, that is to say that the increase in the viscosity of this starch on cooling is high.


A computer system models customer response using observable data. The observable data includes transaction, product, price, and promotion. The computer system receives data observable from customer responses. A set of factors including customer traffic within a store, selecting a product, and quantity of selected product is defined as expected values, each in terms of a set of parameters related to customer buying decision. A likelihood function is defined for each of the set of factors. The parameters are solved using the observable data and associated likelihood function. The customer response model is time series of unit sales defined by a product combination of the expected value of customer traffic and the expected value of selecting a product and the expected value of quantity of selected product. A linear relationship is given between different products which includes a constant of proportionality that determines affinity and cannibalization relationships between the products.

Economic and financial modeling and planning is commonly used to estimate or predict the performance and outcome of real systems, given specific sets of input data of interest. An economic-based system will have many variables and influences which determine its behavior. A model is a mathematical expression or representation which predicts the outcome or behavior of the system under a variety of conditions. In one sense, it is relatively easy, in the past tense, to review historical data, understand its past performance, and state with relative certainty that the system's past behavior was indeed driven by the historical data. A much more difficult task, but one that is extremely valuable, is to generate a mathematical model of the system which predicts how the system will behave, or would have behaved, with different sets of data and assumptions. While forecasting and backcasting using different sets of input data is inherently imprecise, i.e., no model can achieve 100% certainty, the field of probability and statistics has provided many tools which allow such predictions to be made with reasonable certainty and acceptable levels of confidence.
In its basic form, the economic model can be viewed as a predicted or anticipated outcome of a mathematical expression, as driven by a given set of input data and assumptions. The input data is processed through the mathematical expression representing either the expected or current behavior of the real system. The mathematical expression is formulated or derived from principles of probability and statistics, often by analyzing historical data and corresponding known outcomes, to achieve a best fit of the expected behavior of the system to other sets of data, both in terms of forecasting and backcasting. In other words, the model should be able to predict the outcome or response of the system to a specific set of data being considered or proposed, within a level of confidence, or an acceptable level of uncertainty. As a simple test of the quality of the model, if historical data is processed through the model and the outcome of the model, using the historical data, is closely aligned with the known historical outcome, then the model is considered to have a high confidence level over the interval. The model should then do a good job of predicting outcomes of the system to different sets of input data.
Economic modeling has many uses and applications. One emerging area in which modeling has exceptional promise is in the retail sales environment. Grocery stores, general merchandise stores, specialty shops, and other retail outlets face stiff competition for limited customers and business. Most if not all retail stores make every effort to maximize sales, volume, revenue, and profit. Economic modeling can be a very effective tool in helping the store owners and managers achieve these goals.
Retail stores engage in many different strategies to increase sales, volume, revenue, and profit. One common approach is to offer promotions on select merchandise. The store may offer one or more of its products at temporary sale price, discounts for multiple item purchases, or reduced service charges. One or more items may be offered with a percentage off regular price, fixed reduced price, no interest financing, no sales tax, or the well-known "buy two get one free" sale. The store may run advertisements, distribute flyers, and place promotional items on highly visible displays and end-caps (end displays located on each isle). In general, promotional items are classified by product, time of promotion, store, price reduction, and type of promotion or offer.
The process by which retailers select and implement promotional programs varies by season, region, company philosophy, and prior experience. Some retailers follow the seasonal trends and place on promotion those items which are popular or in demand during the season. Summertime is for outdoor activities; Thanksgiving and Christmas are for festive meals, home decorations, and gift giving; back-to-school is new clothes and classroom supplies. Some retailers use flyers and advertisements in newspapers, television, radio, and other mass communication media for select merchandise on promotion, without necessarily putting every item at a reduced price. Some retailers try to call attention to certain products with highly visible displays. Other retailers follow the competition and try to out-do the other. Still other retailers utilize loss-leaders and sell common items at cost or below cost in an effort to get customers into the store to hopefully buy other merchandise. The retailers may also focus on which other items will sell with the promotional items.
Promotional programs are costly and time consuming. Flyers and advertisements are expensive to run, base margins are lost on price reductions, precious floor-space and shelf-space are dedicated to specific items, and significant time and energy are spent setting up and administering the various promotions implemented by the retailer. It is important for the retailer to get good results, i.e. net profit gains, from the promotional investments. Yet, most if not all retailers make promotional decisions based on canned programs, gross historical perception, intuition, decision by committee, and other non-scientific indicators. Many promotional plans are fundamentally based on the notion that if we did it in the past it must be good enough to do again. In most situations, retailers simply do not understand, or have no objective scientific data to justify, what promotional tools are truly providing the best results on a time dependent per product basis.
Customers make their own buying decisions and do not necessarily follow trends. Retailers may have false understanding as to what factors have been primarily driving previous buying decisions and promotional successes. What has been perceived as working in the past may not achieve the same results today, possibly because the basis for belief in the effectiveness of prior promotion programs is flawed. Other unknown or non-obvious factors may be in play driving customer buying decisions which undermine or reveal the weakness in previous promotions. Economic, demographic, social, political, or other unforeseen factors may have changed and thereby altered the basis for customer buying decisions. In spite of costly and elaborate promotions, retailers not infrequently end up with disappointing sales, lower than expected profits, unsold inventory, and lost opportunities based on promotional guesswork. When a promotional program fails to achieve intended objectives, retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and promotional support organizations all lose confidence and business opportunity.
The retail industry as a whole operates on a low margin, high volume business model. Many merchandizing elements affect customer purchase decisions and consequently impact the volume of sales that any given retail outlet experiences. Price and promotion are probably the two key drivers of sales volume, with promotion playing an increasingly important role as retail margins and prices measured in inflation adjusted dollars drop. The margin pressure experienced by the retail industry is driven by many factors, most importantly the increase in large-box (e.g., Costco) and "every day low price" (e.g., WalMart) players in the industry.
Since margins are low, promotions almost always represent a drop in profit generated by the promoted items, in spite of the increase in sales caused by the promotional activity. Clearly, then, the motivation of retailers to participate in promotional activity is that the promotion items become "loss-leaders", i.e., that the promoted items will either drive increased traffic to the store, and/or that the promoted items will drag other items along with the promotion purchase. This effect is termed "affinity" in the retail industry. The inverse effect, in which sales of non-promotional items are lost due to the purchase of promoted items in their stead is termed "cannibalization". Characterization and prediction of the affinity and cannibalization (AC) effect are the central concerns of the method presented here.
The AC effect is widely believed in the retail industry to be a significant driver of dollars to the enterprise bottom line. Consequently, there is significant economic value in a model which can both characterize AC relationships and accurately predict fiscal impact of AC on promotional activity.
Past work in this area has centered on characterization of the AC effect between individual pairs of products. Consider two specific products Pi and Pj in store S1. Most schemes report variations on four basic metrics, upon which an analyst can make an inference as to the strength of the affinity relationship. These metrics are all simple aggregate probabilities based on the co-occurrence of two products in market baskets.
                    Confidence        =                  prob                                (                                          P                i                            |                              P                j                                      )                                                            Reverse                                                              Confidence                =                  prob                                (                                          P                j                            |                              P                i                                      )                                                            Affinity                                                              Metric                =                              prob                                      (                                                P                  i                                ⋀                                  P                  j                                            )                                                          prob                                            (                                  P                  i                                )                                                                                prob                                            (                                  P                  j                                )                                                                            Support        =                  prob                                (                                          P                i                            ⋀                              P                j                                      )
These values are sufficient to infer if the actual co-occurrence is significantly greater than the expectation of co-occurrence for uncorrelated products, and also if the relationship is asymmetric. Asymmetric relationships are typical if one of the two products is the dominant seller, e.g., electric drills drive sales of drill bits but not the other way around, even though drill bits may be higher unit sellers than electric drills.
An alternative approach to characterization of relationships is obtained by examining temporal correlation of product sales, looking for correlated increases and decreases in sales between the hypothesized AC items. This approach may be statistically more sound, and might yield better characterizations than the previous method. However, it is also more computationally intense and therefore less practical given the large quantities of data that need to be processed to find relationships in retail sales data.
In order to plan effectively, e.g., choosing the optimal set of products and promotional attributes, it is necessary to quantify the units, sales, and profit projections and baselines for the planned promotion. Thus, any approach that serves only to characterize but not predict the effect of AC fails to fit the full requirements of a promotion planning system. Moreover the former method fails to capture correlations of cannibalization because it ignores the correlation between the driven product and the probability of not finding the driver product in the basket. The latter method fails because it does not examine actual co-occurrence data, and because causes of fluctuation which are co-linear cannot be well-resolved by simple time series analysis.
A need exists for an economic model which helps retailers make effective and successful promotional decisions in view of customer responses.

System and method for modeling affinity and cannibalization in customer buying decisions


The present invention relates to an airbag cushion for protecting a driver and passengers when a vehicle crashes, wherein the sliding bent is guided into a belt guider and slides between a deployment portion and the belt guider, when the deployment portion is deployed. The sliding belt slides between the deployment portion and the belt guider in such a manner that before the deployment portion is deployed, the sliding belt clogs the first vent holes, when the deployment portion is partially deployed, the second vent hole forms a flow channel together with the first vent holes so that the gas is discharged along the flow channel through the first vent holes, and when the deployment portion is fully deployed, the sliding belt clogs the first vent holes so that the gas is not discharged through the first vent holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag cushion for protecting a driver and passengers when a vehicle crashes.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In recent years, consumers attach importance to the safety of a vehicle as well as the performance or design of the vehicle when selecting the vehicle. In line with this trend, vehicle manufacturers set an important goal for technology development in order to secure the safety of a vehicle. In this technology development circumstance, an airbag module has recently been in the spotlight of means for improving the safety of passengers when a vehicle collides. Active research has been done in the airbag module. In recent years, there is a tendency that the airbag module becomes an indispensable item for a vehicle.
When a vehicle crashes, the airbag module is adapted to deploy before a passenger collides against internal structures of the vehicle and consume the kinetic energy of the passenger by employing the elasticity of the airbag cushion, thus protecting the passenger. However, a pressure when the airbag cushion is deployed is very high and, therefore, the amount of kinetic energy when the airbag cushion is deployed is very great. If the kinetic energy is transferred to the passenger without change, the passenger can suffer injury due to the airbag cushion. It is therefore necessary to properly control the pressure within the airbag cushion.
However, if the pressure of the airbag cushion is too lowered, the airbag cushion may be difficult to penetrate the panel of the driver seat or the passenger seat and then deploy. In this case, the airbag cushion may not be deployed at an appropriate time because a speed at which the airbag cushion is deployed is too slow. For this reason it is preferred that the pressure when the airbag cushion is deployed be actively controlled. Accordingly, there is a need for means for actively controlling the pressure when the airbag cushion is deployed.


A runnable member catcher includes a body fixedly attachable within a tubular, the body defines inner radial dimensions that are smaller than portions of the body that are fixedly attached the body to the tubular, the body is configured to be structurally weakened upon exposure to an activation fluid to facilitate removal of the body.

The cementing of a liner or a casing in a well is done to, among other things; prevent flow in an annular space between the liner or casing and the open borehole. It is common to perform several cementing operations within a single deep well. When additional drilling is required after a cementing operation has been completed in one section of the well, the cementing wiper plugs, landing collar and cement located at the bottom of the section of the well just cemented need to be drilled through before the drill bit can begin drilling into the earth formation again. Drilling through a landing collar can damage or dull a drill bit, can generate undesirable debris within the wellbore, and can delay drilling progress in the earth formation. Systems and methods that alleviate the foregoing concerns are well received in the industry.

Runnable member catcher, system and method of removing same


The present invention is a port connector securement device comprising a resting piece, a planar surface, and at least one projection extending from the bottom of the planar surface where the at least one projection rests within at least one slot of an USB port when the port connector securement device is slideably insertable, along with the USB cable into the USB port to ensure that the USB cable cannot be removed upon the port connector securement device insertion into the USB port.

Various connector types are used to connect computer equipment (e.g. personal computers, laptops, server, hubs, routers, switches, etc.) to other devices. These connectors include an Ethernet connector, an IEEE 1394 connector, a parallel connector, a serial connector, IBM Personal System 2 (PS/2) connector, a Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connector, a Tip Ring Sleeve (TRS) connector, and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector. These connectors are used to connect various devices including keyboards, printers, disk drives, portable media players, USB flash drives, and digital cameras to other types of computer equipment.
The socket on a device to which a connector may be connected is commonly referred to as a port. A port on a computer is a known vulnerability due to the extrication of data from the computer or the infiltration of malicious software onto the computer than may occur via the port. Therefore, there is a need for a device that secures a port once a connector at the end of a cable, or flash drive, has been connected to a port of a computer device. The present invention is such a device for a USB port.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,438, entitled "LOCKING COVERS FOR CABLE CONNECTORS AND DATA PORTS FOR USE IN DETERRING SNOOPING OF DATA IN DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS," discloses an L-shaped latch for blocking an open end of a cable. U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,438 is incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,201, entitled "DATA POINT SECURITY LOCK," discloses a plug that is compliant with a connector standard having an aperture to engage a latch in the connector that partially extends through the aperture and locks to the connector. U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,201 is incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,824, entitled "LOCKING SEAL FOR DATA PORTS AND ASSOCIATED METHODS," discloses a one-time use device having a base with side longitudinal slots, a protrusion extending upwardly into the slot, a ramp that slopes upward, and a stop higher than the ramp, where the protrusion prevents the device from being removed intact once inserted into a port. U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,824 is incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,113, entitled "WATERPROOF PLUG FOR DATA PORT OF PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE," discloses a cover plate, a sealing flange extended from a data port sealing surface of the cover plate, and a water-guiding groove along the sealing flange. U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,113 is incorporated by reference into the specification of the present invention.


The cushion retention system includes a cushion, at least one tab attached to the cushion, and a supporting member having an intermediary region and at least one aperture. The cushion is positioned in a folded condition. The supporting member is disposed along an outer periphery of the cushion. The tab, which includes a head and a narrow neck, interlocks with the aperture on the supporting member to retain the supporting member along an outer periphery of the folded cushion. In this interlocked condition, the supporting members apply an inward compressive force to retain the cushion in a folded condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inflatable airbag systems. More specifically, this invention relates to a system for retaining an inflatable cushion in a folded condition.
2. Description of Related Art
Inflatable airbags are well accepted for use in motor vehicles and have been credited with preventing numerous deaths and injuries. Some statistics estimate that frontal airbags reduce the fatalities in head-on collisions by 25% among drivers using seat belts and by more than 30% among unbelted drivers. Statistics further suggest that with a combination of a seat belt and an airbag, serious chest injuries in frontal collisions can be reduced by 65% and serious head injuries by up to 75%. Airbag use presents clear benefits and vehicle owners are frequently willing to pay the added expense for airbags. In addition, the inclusion of inflatable safety restraint devices, or airbags, is now a legal requirement for many new vehicles.
Airbag systems typically include three principal components: an electronic control unit (ECU), an inflator, and an inflatable cushion. The ECU monitors the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle and determines when accident conditions exist. The ECU is in communication with the inflator and transmits a signal to the inflator when the ECU determines that the vehicle has been involved in an accident.
In response to receipt of the signal, the inflator generates inflation gas. The inflator can be designed to produce inflation gas using various methods. For instance, the inflator may use pyrotechnic techniques or simply release compressed gas. In addition, the inflator may use a combination of both pyrotechnics and compressed gas to produce pressurized inflation gas. The inflator is in fluid communication with the inflatable cushion.
The inflatable cushion receives the gas generated by the inflator and rapidly expands as the gas fills the cushion. The inflatable cushion is made from a flexible material, such as fabric. When expanded, the cushion receives the energy of an occupant impact and dissipates the energy such that injuries are minimized or avoided.
The positioning of the inflated cushion during a crash is critical to proper protection of an occupant. The inflated cushion should be positioned to shield the occupant from impacting hard surfaces within the vehicle, such as the steering wheel, windshield, or dashboard.
The most common type of airbag system stores the cushion and inflator in a compartment in the steering wheel. This type of airbag system is frequently referred to as a driver's side airbag system. When the vehicle is involved in an accident, the cushion receives the gas generated by the inflator, expands, and is propelled out of the compartment in the steering wheel. The cushion is fully inflated in a fraction of a second. The inflated cushion prevents the driver from striking the steering wheel and dissipates the kinetic energy of the occupant to minimize injury to the occupant. Similar airbag systems are frequently installed in the passenger side of the dashboard.
More recently, inflatable curtains have been used to protect vehicle occupants. Prior to deployment, inflatable curtains are generally stored in a compartment located above the side doors of the vehicle. When inflation gas is injected into the curtain, the curtain deploys in a downward direction to prevent the occupant from striking the side windows or doors of the vehicle during an accident.
Prior to installation in a vehicle, inflatable curtains must be tightly folded and secured within a retaining system. Conventional retaining systems may include a retaining sock. In one conventional embodiment, the folded cushion is pulled through a retaining sock having two openings. Thereafter, tabs, which are used to secure the cushion to a vehicle, are pulled through holes in the sock. Unfortunately, the cushion frequently becomes twisted while it is being pulled into the sock. As a result, the assembly line worker must often remove the sock and begin the insertion process again. Even if the sock does not become twisted, the sock itself makes it difficult for the assembly line worker to locate the tabs and pull the tabs through the openings in the sock. This process is time consuming and expensive.
In another conventional embodiment, the sock has an open side that is closed following insertion of the inflatable curtain into the sock. Various mechanical fasteners, such as Velcro, have been used to close the open side of the sock. Unfortunately, these mechanical fasteners are expensive and significantly increase the overall cost of the cushion module. Furthermore, the sock itself requires a significant amount of material, which increases the cost of the module. In addition, significant time is required to attach the mechanical fasteners into the sock.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a novel cushion retention system that addresses one or more of the above-listed problems. Such a system is disclosed herein.


A method and structure for a graphic user interface comprising a non-linear path region that corresponds to a list of items in a computer application, wherein a length of the path region is directly proportional to an amount of items in the list, a rotatable handle region that corresponds to a subset of the items in the list, a display region that displays the subset, and a handle manipulator for maneuvering the handle region, wherein the non-linear path region comprises a spiral, square, or rectangular configuration, wherein each of the items in the list is represented by a fixed proportion of the path region, wherein the handle region is proportional to a fixed proportion of the path region, and wherein the fixed proportion is a fixed angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to manipulating data through a graphic user interface within a data processing system, and more particularly to a spiral scrollbar, which allows for easier navigation in the display unit of the data processing system, thereby providing easier manipulation of the data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A computer display is a finite surface that can hold only a limited and relatively small amount of visual information. When a large amount of information needs to be accessible to the user, only a fraction of the total information can be shown at a time or within a short period of time. If the user needs information that is not shown, the system must provide a way to navigate through the information space until the desired information is shown. In traditional windowing systems, navigation is accomplished by using a linear scrollbar.
A scrollbar is a well-known user interface component that is associated with a scrollable area of a display, indicating to a user that more information is available and may be accessed in a particular direction with respect to the display. The information space is seen as a linear ribbon on the display unit (i.e., computer monitor), and the window shows a fraction of that ribbon. Moreover, the scrollbar allows the user to change the portion of the ribbon that is displayed.
As such, a scrollbar may be utilized to scroll additional data into view, and most conventional scrollbars include a slider and scroll buttons. As shown in FIG. 1, a scrollbar 1 consists of two elongated nested rectangles 5, 10, the outer long rectangle (referred to in the art as a "trough") 5 represents the whole information space linearly; the inner small rectangle (referred to in the art as a "thumb" or "elevator") 10 shows the portion of the information ribbon (or document) 15 that is shown in the window 12. The scrollbar 1 also contains a pair of oppositely positioned arrows or guides 2, which are usually triangularly shaped. There is a direct linear mapping between the full document and the outer rectangle 5. One side of the rectangle 7 represents the beginning of the document, while the opposite side 9 represents the end of the document. Moving the inner rectangle 10 to either side 7, 9 will then scroll to the beginning of the document or its end. Scrollbars 1 are usually placed on one or two edges 3 of the window 12. In some implementations, the size of the inner rectangle 10 in the scrollbar 1 varies when the document size changes. For example, in Windows-based applications, for lengthy documents, the size of the inner rectangle 10 may be a thin rectangle, whereas for short documents, the size of the inner rectangle 10 may be a much thicker rectangle, which may encompass the entire length of the outer rectangle 5. For documents in Windows-based applications of average length, the inner rectangle 10 may appear as a perfect square shape. In fact, the ratio of the sizes of the inner 10 and outer 5 rectangles may give the percentage of the document 15 that is visible.
The fact that the scrollbar 1 is linear has a major consequence in design. The length of the outer rectangle 5 is limited by the size of the window 12 and of the computer (document) display 15. Because there is a direct mapping between the document 15 and the scrollbar 1, and because the size of the document 15 is not limited, when the document size increases, a fixed portion of the document 15 will be represented by an increasingly smaller area of the scrollbar 1, making visualization and manipulation very difficult.
More formally, consider an x, y coordinate system representing a window display 12 having a document 15 shown thereon. For the following illustrative purposes, and for brevity, only the y dimension will be discussed. Suppose Ly denotes the total length of the document and Wy denotes the size of the window 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the total length of the document 15 is not completely shown in the window display 12, rather there is a remaining portion (not shown) of the document 15, thus the length Ly, denotes the total length of the document 15, and not merely the length of the document 15 shown in the confined window display 12. Also, by denotes the current position of the center of the window 12. At the beginning of the document, y=Wy/2. At the end of the document, y=Ly−(Wy/2). For example, suppose the scrollbar 1 is fully nested inside the window 12 and also has a size Wy, and cy is the size of the inner rectangle 10 of the scrollbar 1 and ay is the position of the center of the inner rectangle 10, wherein ay satisfies the following constraint: cy/2<ay<[Wy−(cy/2)]. Using these notations, the relationship between ay and by is:
      b    y    =                    (                              L            y                    -                      W            y                          )            ×              [                              (                                          a                y                            -                                                c                  y                                2                                      )                                (                                          W                y                            -                              c                y                                      )                          ]              +                  W        y            2
When the user moves the inner rectangle 10 of the scrollbar 1 a distance da, the document will scroll by a distance:
  db  =                    (                              L            y                    -                      W            y                          )                    (                              W            y                    -                      c            y                          )              ×    da
Using this formula, it is apparent that when the document size increases, the scrolling speed will also increase. For example, suppose that Ly=4,096 pixels, Wy=512 pixels, and that cy=64 pixels. If the user moves the scrollbar by one pixel (da=1), the document will scroll by 8 pixels (db=8). This represents a very smooth scrolling action and corresponds to a normal scrollbar use.
However, suppose that Ly=1,048,576 pixels, Wy=512, and cy=64 pixels. If the user moves the scrollbar by one pixel (da=1), the document will scroll by almost 2,340 pixels (db=2,340). This also means that a large portion of the document (2,340-512=1,828 pixels) is not shown to the user at all. The fact that the scrollbar 1 is linear and limited in size makes it impossible to scroll large documents 15, because some portions of the document will not be shown to the user.
Solutions to these problems include using the arrows 2 of the scrollbar 1 to scroll the document 15 line by line. However, this is not a viable solution because most scrollbars have a fixed scrolling unit per unit of time and scrolling through a large document would take a prohibitive amount of time (if the document scrolls by 8 pixels every 10 milliseconds, scrolling through a document of size 1,048,576 pixels would take almost 20 minutes). This is also true for function keys like PageDown or PageUp, which, although faster, would require several minutes of constant scrolling.
Another solution to the problem would be to have an analog scrollbar, instead of a digital scrollbar. The analog scrollbar would allow moving the scrollbar on instances da inferior to 1. Although such scrollbars are practically feasible by analog circuits, it would not be easy to integrate them in today's digital computers. The problem would also remain that the user would have to move the scrollbar very small distances to be able to view all portions of a very large document. The distances may even be smaller than the resolution of the human motor control system, preventing any efficient navigation.
Spiral designs have been used previously for interacting with computers. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,079 issued to Sheasby et al. on Nov. 30, 1999, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, discloses a spiral used to dynamically change a variable value, and whereby a linear scrollbar is used to show the current value. A second example of spiral designs is the technique of pie menus, which organize items in a circle. When there are many items, the problem of having too many items to display appears. Pie menus use a spiral scrolling technique, but there is no graphical spiral; the user just makes a circular motion around a point, which is interpreted as a command to rotate the menu items.
The limitation of traditional scrollbars comes from the fact that they are linear. Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved non-linear scrollbar, which overcomes the deficiencies of the conventional scrollbars, which allows for easy navigation through a document, and which can be easily integrated in current computer systems.

International Business Machines Corporation


Provided are a method, system and article of manufacture for switching. An indication is received of a failure of a primary storage subsystem at a switch, wherein the switch couples a host to the primary storage subsystem and a secondary storage subsystem. Subsequently, a command received from the host at the switch is directed to the secondary storage subsystem for completion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and an article of manufacture for data replication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data in information technology systems, including storage systems, may need to be replicated for a variety of reasons, such as, for data migration, data backup, data duplication, etc. Such replication or copying of data may include interactions among hosts, storage systems and connecting networking components of the information technology system.
An enterprise storage server (ESS), such as the IBM* TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server*, may be a disk storage server that includes one or more processors coupled to storage devices, including high capacity scalable storage devices, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), etc. The enterprise storage servers are connected to a network and include features for copying data in storage systems. In an information technology system, a host system may send commands to an ESS to read or write data. *IBM, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server, Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC), FlashCopy, OS/390, zOS, HyperSwap are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.
Data replication may be implemented in many different ways in an information technology system. In certain implementations, data may be replicated locally, i.e., within the same ESS, such as via a fast replication technique, such as, FlashCopy* or Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC*). In other implementations data replication may be performed from a host system to another host system via dual software writes. Dual software writes may include application to application mirroring, file system file system mirroring, data base to data base mirroring and Input/Output (I/O) subsystem to I/O subsystem mirroring, etc. *IBM, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server, Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC), FlashCopy, OS/390, zOS, HyperSwap are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.
In certain implementations, switching of one storage subsystem to another storage subsystem may be directed by a host system. In such implementations, such as, in the HyperSwap* function offered in the Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex/Peer-to-peer Remote Copy (GDPS/PPRC) solution, the host directed switching may in many cases take between 20-50 seconds to switch a subsystem as numerous host tables may have to be rebuilt pointing to the new device located on the target secondary storage subsystem. *IBM, IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server, Peer to Peer Remote Copy (PPRC), FlashCopy, OS/390, zOS, HyperSwap are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.

Method, system, and article of manufacture for data replication


An apparatus for measuring a parameter of a fluid flowing within a pipe includes a sensing device having a sensor for sensing an unsteady pressure of the fluid flow. The sensing device generates sensor data responsive to the parameter. A processing device, which communicates with the sensing device, receives and processes the sensor data to generate meter data. The apparatus includes a digital interface, which communicates with the processing device, that is configured to associate with a portable external digital storage device for transferring information between the apparatus and the portable external digital storage device.

A fluid flow process (flow process) includes any process that involves the flow of fluid through pipes, ducts, or other conduits, as well as through fluid control devices such as pumps, valves, orifices, heat exchangers, and the like. Flow processes are found in many different industries such as the oil and gas industry, refining, food and beverage industry, chemical and petrochemical industry, pulp and paper industry, power generation, pharmaceutical industry, and water and wastewater treatment industry. The fluid within the flow process may be a single phase fluid (e.g., gas, liquid or liquid/liquid mixture) and/or a multi-phase mixture (e.g. paper and pulp slurries or other solid/liquid mixtures). The multi-phase mixture may be a two-phase liquid/gas mixture, a solid/gas mixture or a solid/liquid mixture, gas entrained liquid or a three-phase mixture.
Various sensing technologies exist for measuring various physical parameters of fluids in an industrial flow process. Such physical parameters may include, for example, volumetric flow rate, composition, gas volume fraction, consistency, density, and mass flow rate.
One such sensing technology is described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,069 to Gysling, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Determining the Flow Velocity Within a Pipe", which is incorporated herein by reference. The '069 patent describes a method and corresponding apparatus for measuring the flow velocity of a fluid in an elongated body (pipe) by sensing vortical disturbances convecting with the fluid. The method includes the steps of: providing an array of at least two sensors disposed at predetermined locations along the elongated body, each sensor for sampling the pressure of the fluid at the position of the sensor at a predetermined sampling rate; accumulating the sampled data from each sensor at each of a number of instants of time spanning a predetermined sampling duration; and constructing from the accumulated sampled data at least a portion of a so called k-ω plot, where the k-ω plot is indicative of a dispersion relation for the propagation of acoustic pressures emanating from the vortical disturbances. The method also includes the steps of: identifying a convective ridge in the k-ω plot; determining the orientation of the convective ridge in the k-ω plot; and determining the flow velocity based on a predetermined correlation of the flow velocity with the slope of the convective ridge of the k-ω plot.
Another such sensing technology is described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,354,147 and 6,732,575 to Gysling et al, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The '147 and '575 patents describe a spatial array of acoustic pressure sensors placed at predetermined axial locations along a pipe. The pressure sensors provide acoustic pressure signals to signal processing logic which determines the speed of sound of the fluid (or mixture) in the pipe using any of a number of acoustic spatial array signal processing techniques with the direction of propagation of the acoustic signals along the longitudinal axis of the pipe. The speed of sound is provided to logic, which calculates the percent composition of the mixture, e.g., water fraction, or any other parameter of the mixture, or fluid, that is related to the sound speed. The logic may also determine the Mach number of the fluid. Such sensing technologies are effective in determining various parameters of a fluid flow within a pipe. However, as with any computationally complex process, there remains a need to increase computational efficiency and accuracy.
Unfortunately however, in most industrial plants the infrastructure required to obtain this information from installed meters is limited. For example, most infrastructures typically only provide an analog interface of 4-20 mA. This is inadequate for carrying the desired information due to an insufficient amount of bandwidth in its standard analog mode. Moreover, even with superimposed digital communications this analog interface is unable to provide the bandwidth required to transfer a sufficient amount of information for desired purposes.
Thus, the ability to obtain/upload information from/to a meter, including software upgrades/changes, commonly measured parameters, meter health information and any additional information that may pertain to the quality of the commonly measured parameters and/or functionality of the meter would be helpful. This is desirable because any information regarding the fluid and health/performance of the meter may aid in diagnosing and optimizing the meter performance. As such, a collection of this information from monitoring stations disposed in multiple locations around an industrial plant promises the potential for developing a better understanding and thus a more efficient control process. Additionally, this collection of information could better provide the ability to troubleshoot existing conditions and/or predict potential future problems. Moreover, the ability to reconfigure existing meters would allow meters to be tailored for a specific task as desired without the need to change the entire meter.

Industrial flow meter having an accessible digital interface


In an approach for determining multiplier values and divisor values for programming frequency multiplier and divider circuits in a clock network, respective requested frequency values and respective tolerance levels relative to the requested frequency values for a plurality of clocked circuit blocks are used. Multiple solution sets are generated, with each solution set including a multiplier value and an associated set of values of divisors, such that resulting actual frequencies satisfy the respective tolerance levels. Respective sets of clocked error values are determined for the plurality of solution sets, with each clocked error value corresponding to a clocked circuit block. Solution-set-error values are determined as a function of the respective sets of clocked error values, and the solution set having the least solution-set-error value is selected and stored.

A System on Chip (SOC) is an integrated circuit in which all components of an electronic system, such as a computer system, are integrated on a single semiconductor die. For example, an SOC may include one or more processors, RAM, and input/out (I/O) interfaces for off-chip communication. Some SOCs may further include programmable logic and routing resources such as those found in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
The major components, which are referred to herein as "circuit blocks," of an SOC may operate at different clock speeds. For example, the processor, memory, and I/O interfaces may be rated to operate at different frequencies. There may be twenty or more circuit blocks on some SOCs, with each circuit block requiring a different clock speed.
In some SOCs, the clock signal from an oscillator and a master phase locked loop (PLL) is delivered to the circuit blocks through a clock network having programmable frequency dividers. A programmable frequency multiplier may be configured to boost the oscillator frequency to a rate greater than or equal to the greatest frequency required by one of the circuit blocks, and the frequency dividers may be configured to reduce the boosted frequency to rates required by the circuit blocks.
Determining a suitable set of values for configuring the frequency multiplier and the frequency dividers may be problematic, because there may be a large number of circuit blocks and numerous possible combinations of configuration values for the frequency multiplier and frequency dividers. The combination of configuration values for the frequency multiplier and frequency dividers may be referred to herein as a "solution set."
A prior approach selected a solution set having the least overall error rate, where the error rate is the sum of the absolute differences between the required frequencies of the circuit blocks and the actual frequencies that would be provided to the circuit blocks using the selected values for the frequency multiplier and dividers. However, a particular solution set may not be feasible in some instances, even though the overall error rate of the solution set may be less than the overall error rate of an alternative solution set. A solution set is not feasible if the configuration values for the frequency multiplier and frequency divider for any one of the circuit blocks would produce a frequency that is unsuitable for that circuit block. In this scenario, a designer may be faced with having to manually determine a suitable solution set, assuming a feasible solution set even exists, or choose another solution set that may be less desirable than some other solution set.

Determination of configuration values and configuration of frequency multiplier and frequency divider circuitry


Flow of data is controlled in a mirror link system in which an AVN system included in a vehicle is interlinked with a wireless terminal. It is determined whether the vehicle is driven or not. Upon determining that the vehicle is not being driven (e.g., the vehicle is parked), the AVN system is interlinked with the wireless terminal through a first streaming protocol and a first control protocol. In contrast, upon determining that the vehicle is being driven, the AVN system is interlinked with the wireless terminal through a second streaming protocol and a second control protocol different from the first streaming protocol and the first control protocol. The first streaming protocol transmits video images and sounds associated with a video from the wireless terminal to the AVN system, while the second streaming protocol transmits only the sounds associated with a video from the wireless terminal to the AVN system.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for controlling data of a mirror link system, and more particularly, to a method for controlling flow of data in a mirror link system capable of mirroring data between a wireless terminal and a vehicle's audio/video and navigation (AVN) system depending on whether the vehicle is driven or a position of a display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vehicles are being produced with increasingly sophisticated audio/visual and navigation systems. Audio/visual systems can include various advanced options, including multiple display screens positioned throughout the interiors of the vehicles and the capability to communicate with other devices. Navigation system may be built in to the vehicle, and may obtain various kinds of information such as information on traffic situations or road information that is frequently changed or updated while the vehicle is being driven. The navigation system typically provides a guide map to guide a driver to a destination. A combined audio/video and navigation system (hereinafter, referred to as an 'AVN' system) for a vehicle provides equipment which can both display TV or video and provide navigation services.
A front panel of the AVN is equipped with a monitor and an inside of the front panel is equipped with a car audio speaker, such that a user of a car may listen to music and view TV and moving pictures. Additionally, a wireless terminal (for example, a smart phone) carried by a user of a vehicle can be communicatively interlinked with the AVN of the vehicle, and thus the AVN of the vehicle may use and display information from various applications which are executed in the wireless terminal. Generally, however, only one AVN equipped monitor is installed in a vehicle and the one AVN displays only one picture (e.g., a still image or video image) at a time. Therefore, a driver and a passenger seated in a passenger seat must view the same picture. Further, in accordance with related regulations, a driver cannot view TV and moving pictures while driving a vehicle. As a result, the passenger seated in the passenger seat of the vehicle may be prevented from viewing television (TV) while a vehicle is driven.

Method for controlling data flow of mirror link system


A backlight unit for a display device includes a frame; a first circuit board extending along one end of and on a first surface of the frame; lamps over the frame, one end of each of the lamps disposed on the first circuit board; a first line on the first circuit board and connected to the one end of each of the lamps; and a first inverter on a second surface of the frame and connected to the first line via a first hole through the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a liquid crystal display module (LCDM), and more particularly, to a backlight unit and an LCDM including the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
LCD devices include an LCD module. The LCD module includes an LCD panel that displays images and a backlight unit that supplies light to the LCD panel. The LCD panel includes two substrates facing each other and spaced apart from each other. A liquid crystal material is interposed therebetween. Liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material have a dielectric constant and refractive index anisotropic characteristic due to their long thin shape. Two electric field generating electrodes are formed on the two substrates, respectively. An orientation alignment of the liquid crystal molecules may be controlled by supplying a voltage to the two electrodes to change the light transmittance of the LCD panel according to polarization properties of the liquid crystal material.
Generally, an additional light source is required because the LCD panel is a non-emissive-type display device. Accordingly, a backlight unit is disposed under the LCD panel. The LCD device displays images using light produced by the backlight unit and supplied to the LCD panel. Backlight units may be classified into a side-type backlight unit and a direct-type backlight unit in accordance with a disposition of the light source. The side-type backlight unit has one lamp or a pair of lamps disposed at a side portion of a light guide plate. Alternatively, at least one lamp is disposed at each side portion of the light guide plate, respectively.
The direct-type backlight unit has a plurality of lamps disposed under the light guide plate. In a large sized LCD module, the direct-type backlight unit may provide the LCD module with a uniform light source although the side-type backlight unit is more easily manufactured than the direct-type. Further, the direct-type backlight unit includes a plurality of fluorescent lamps disposed in a row. Thus, the direct-type backlight unit directly irradiates light toward the liquid crystal panel. Since the direct-type backlight unit has a high uniformity when light is irradiated, it is suitable to be applied to a large-size LCD. The light guide plate is unnecessary in the direct-type backlight unit because the direct-type backlight unit is directly irradiated on the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel. In particular, the direct-type backlight unit has advantages that light efficiency is high, the use is convenient, the display size is not substantially limited. For example, the direct-type backlight unit may be utilized in a large-size LCD such as a 20-inch model.
Generally, the liquid crystal panel and the backlight unit are combined with each other using a main frame, a top frame and a bottom frame to prevent light-loss and to protect them from outside impact.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inverter unit connected to a backlight unit of an LCDM according to the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, a direct-type backlight unit includes a plurality of fluorescent lamps 24 disposed in a row on a bottom frame 50, and a reflective sheet 22 disposed under the plurality of fluorescent lamps 24 and on the bottom frame 50. A side support 33 for supporting the fluorescent lamps 24 is disposed at one end portion of the bottom frame 50. The end portion of each of the fluorescent lamps 24 is inserted into a lamp holder 32. In addition, the lamp holder 32 is inserted into an opening of the side support 33. Although not shown, an other side support (not shown) is disposed at the other end portions of the fluorescent lamps 24.
A plurality of wires 37, which are connected to an external circuit, extend from end portions of the plurality of fluorescent lamps 24 to a backside of the bottom frame 50, respectively. With respect to one of the wires 37, a socket connector 38a is formed at one end portion of the wire 37 to connect the wire 37 and the inverter unit 70. The inverter unit 70 is disposed under the bottom frame 50 and provides a power supply to the fluorescent lamps 24. The inverter unit 70 includes a plurality of inverters (not shown), a plug connector 38b connecting the wire 37 and the inverter unit 70, and an inverter PCB 35 on which the inverters and the plug connector 38b are mounted. A cover shield (not shown) protects the inverter unit 70 from an external impact. By combining the socket connector 38a and the plug connector 38b, a power source of the inverter unit 70 can be provided to the fluorescent lamp 24 through the wire 37. Because the wire 37 extends from the end portion of the fluorescent lamp 24 on a front side of the bottom frame 50 to a backside of the bottom frame 50, neither the bottom frame 50 nor cover shield (not shown) covers the wire 37 such that the current leakage can be generated from the wire 37. Moreover, the necessity of soldering each of the plurality of fluorescent lamps 24 independently to each of the wires 37 increases the manufacturing time.
The fluorescent lamp 24 emits light when an alternating current waveform of a high voltage is applied to an electrode of the fluorescent lamp 24 through the wire 37 connected to the electrode of the fluorescent lamp 24. In FIG. 1, a high-low type fluorescent lamp 24 including a ground portion at an end portion thereof is illustrated.
The high-low type fluorescent lamp 24 includes at least two fluorescent lamps 24 forming a pair of fluorescent lamps 24. The end portion of the fluorescent lamp 24 is inserted into a lamp holder 32, and the fluorescent lamp 24 is electrically connected to the inverter unit 70 through wire 37. The wire 37 extends to the backside of the bottom frame 50, and an end portion of the wire 37 is connected to the socket connector 38a. Here, the inverter unit 70, which changes a direct voltage into an alternating current of a high voltage, is required because the alternating current of the high voltage is demanded for driving the fluorescent lamp 24.
Accordingly, the inverter unit 70 and the inverter PCB 35 are independent from each other, and the inverter unit 70 is mounted on the inverter PCB 35. Since the inverter unit 70 dissipates a lot of heat, the inverter PCB 35 on which the inverter unit 70 is mounted is disposed on the backside of the bottom frame 50. The plug connector 38b is disposed on the inverter PCB 35 for being connected to the socket connector 38a. That is, the fluorescent lamp 24 is connected to the inverter PCB 35 by connecting the socket connector 38a to the plug connector 38b.
The wires 37 are exposed along edges and the backside of the bottom frame 50 because the fluorescent lamps 24 and the inverter unit 70 are connected to each other using the wires 37 forming a bridge between the fluorescent lamps 24 and the inverter unit 70. Thus, even if the inverter unit 70 is bent toward the backside of the bottom frame 50, the wires 37 are still exposed along edges and the backside of the bottom frame 50. Further, defects due to an electric interference between the exposed wires 37 or current leakage may occur. Furthermore, a crack between the fluorescent lamp 24 and the wires 37 at the soldering portion may be occur. Accordingly, emission of the fluorescent lamps 24 cannot occur uniformly.
FIG. 2 is an exploded portion of region "IIa" in FIG. 1 according to the related art. In FIG. 2, a fluorescent lamp 24 is connected to a wire 37, and the socket connector 38a is connected to an end portion of the wire 37. Generally, the fluorescent lamp 24 and the wire 37 are manually soldered to each other, as shown in part "IIb" in FIG. 2. The process time and the process cost increase because of the manual soldering. Furthermore, the material cost of the wire 37 increases because individual wires 37 are used for each fluorescent lamp 24. Further, the socket connector 38a is connected to an end portion of the wire 37 for connecting the inverter unit 70 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a lamp holder portion of a backlight unit for the LCDM of FIG. 1 according to the related art. Referring to FIG. 3, the related art LCDM of FIG. 1 requires a lamp holder 32 to hold the fluorescent lamp 24 at the bottom frame 50 of FIG. 1.
The fluorescent lamp 24 may be one of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) having internal electrodes and an external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL) having external electrodes. When the direct-type backlight unit including CCFL is driven by a parallel driving method using one inverter, there is problem that only part of the fluorescent lamps are driven properly due to differences in the charge characteristics of CCFLs. Although CCFLs have the same unlimited resistant value before charging, CCFLs can have different small resistant values when charged due to different conductor state plasmas that are generated inside of the glass tubes of each of the CCFLs. Accordingly, the resistant values of CCFLs after charging can be substantially different. Therefore, when a plurality of CCFLs are driven by a parallel driving method, more current flows in the fluorescent lamps having smaller resistant value after a primary charge. Accordingly, there is a problem in that some of the CCFLs will not be driven properly. Consequently, the direct-type backlight unit including CCFLs should include a number of inverters corresponding to the number of fluorescent lamps so that there is a one-to-one driving of the CCFLs.

Backlight unit and liquid crystal display module including the same


The present invention relates to compositions and methods employing postnatal (e.g., adult) neural crest stem cells. The stem cells are multipotent and differentiate when transplanted in vivo. Transplantation methods are provided for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications.

Recent published reports on the isolation and successful culturing of the first human pluripotent stem cell lines have generated great excitement and have brought biomedical research to the edge of a new frontier (National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director, "Stem Cells: A Primer"). Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells. They are best described in the context of normal human development. Human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg and creates a single cell that has the potential to form an entire organism. This fertilized egg is totipotent, meaning that its potential is total. In the first hours after fertilization, this cell divides into identical totipotent cells. This means that either one of these cells, if placed into a woman's uterus, has the potential to develop into a fetus. In fact, identical twins develop when two totipotent cells separate and develop into two individual, genetically identical human beings. Approximately four days after fertilization and after several cycles of cell division, these totipotent cells begin to specialize, forming a hollow sphere of cells, called a blastocyst. The blastocyst has an outer layer of cells and inside the hollow sphere, there is a cluster of cells called the inner cell mass.
The outer layer of cells will go on to form the placenta and other supporting tissues needed for fetal development in the uterus. The inner cell mass cells will go on to form virtually all of the tissues of the human body. Although the inner cell mass cells can form virtually every type of cell found in the human body, they cannot form an organism because they are unable to give rise to the placenta and supporting tissues necessary for development in the human uterus. These inner cell mass cells are pluripotent—they can give rise to many types of cells but not all types of cells necessary for fetal development. Because their potential is not total, they are not totipotent and they are not embryos. In fact, if an inner cell mass cell were placed into a woman's uterus, it would not develop into a fetus.
The pluripotent stem cells undergo further specialization into stem cells that are committed to give rise to cells that have a particular function. Examples of this include blood stem cells which give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets; and skin stem cells that give rise to the various types of skin cells. These more specialized stem cells are called multipotent.
While stem cells are extraordinarily important in early human development, multipotent stem cells are also found in children and adults. For example, consider one of the best understood stem cells, the blood stem cell. Blood stem cells reside in the bone marrow of every child and adult, and in fact, they can be found in very small numbers circulating in the blood stream. Blood stem cells perform the critical role of continually replenishing our supply of blood cells—red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets—throughout life. A person cannot survive without blood stem cells.
Multipotent stem cells have not been found for all types of adult tissue, but discoveries in this area of research are increasing. For example, until recently, it was thought that stem cells were not present in the adult nervous system, but, in recent years, neural stem cells have been isolated from the rat and mouse nervous systems. The experience in humans is more limited. In humans, neural stem cells have been isolated from fetal tissue and a kind of cell that may be a neural stem cell has been isolated from adult brain tissue that was surgically removed for the treatment of epilepsy. In animals, it has been shown that some adult stem cells previously thought to be committed to the development of one line of specialized cells are able to develop into other types of specialized cells. For example, recent experiments in mice suggest that when neural stem cells were placed into the bone marrow, they appeared to produce a variety of blood cell types. In addition, studies with rats have indicated that stem cells found in the bone marrow were able to produce liver cells. These exciting findings suggest that even after a stem cell has begun to specialize, the stem cell may, under certain conditions, be more flexible than first thought.
Research on human adult stem cells suggests that these multipotent cells have great potential for use in both research and in the development of cell therapies. For example, there would be many advantages to using adult stem cells for transplantation. If one can isolate the adult stem cells from a patient, coax them to divide and direct their specialization and then transplant them back into the patient, it is unlikely that such cells would be rejected by the patient's immune system. The use of adult stem cells for such cell therapies could reduce the practice of using stem cells that were derived from human embryos or human fetal tissue, sources that trouble many people on ethical grounds.
While adult stem cells hold real promise, there are some significant limitations to what can be accomplished at present. Importantly, stem cells from adults have not been isolated for all tissues of the body. For example, researchers have not located adult cardiac stem cells or adult pancreatic islet stem cells in humans. Stem cells have never been found in the postnatal peripheral nervous system of any mammal. Additionally, adult stem cells are often present in only minute quantities, are difficult to isolate and purify, and their numbers may decrease with age. For example, available neural stem cells are obtained from adults only through very invasive procedures (e.g., brain biopsy).
Thus, what is needed are additional sources of stem cells to increase the ability to carry out cell transplantation therapies and additional methods of obtaining stem cells to allow reproducible and consistent acquisition of stem cells from tissues.

The Regents of the University of Michigan


One embodiment provides a method including storing, in response to an event associated with a file, file identification data and event data for the file; creating, using a processor, a reference between the file, the file identification data, and the event data; and storing, in a catalog, the reference in association with the file; wherein the catalog includes an inter-application reference. Other aspects are described and claimed.

With an increase in a desire to have files accessible from any location, people may store files (e.g., documents, spreadsheets, applications, file folders, etc.) in multiple storage locations or may use remote storage locations that are accessible from different locations. For example, users may have cloud storage devices in which they may store files. Additionally, users may share files through multiple communication methods (e.g., email, text messaging, file share programs, etc.). However, due in part to these multiple storage locations and different methods of sharing files a user may have difficulty finding a file when desired, particularly if the file has gone through multiple revisions, has been handled by multiple application programs, and has been stored in multiple locations.

Creating and using document pedigree data


In a data communication system, the controller of a mobile switching center is initially responsive to a request message from a mobile user for supplying a single-bit setup message to an interworking unit via a signaling channel exclusively associated with a data channel. In response, the interworking unit activates an associated network DCE within the mobile switching center and returns a single-bit first response message to the controller. In response, the controller returns an ACK message to the mobile user to allow the data channel to be established between the mobile user and the local DCE. When the data channel is established, the interworking unit returns a single-bit second response message to the controller to allow the data channel to extend to a destination DCE and allow handshaking to proceed between the network DCE and the destination DCE via the interworking unit, using the network DCE as a local DCE of the mobile user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data communication systems, and more specifically to data communication using a network DCE and a channel-associated signaling scheme. The present invention is particularly suitable for mobile computing using a cellular telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional mobile data communication systems, the data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) for a mobile use end system is located within the mobile switch center (or mobile telephone switching office) to serve as a local DCE, whereas fixed user end systems usually have their own DCE within the premises of the fixed users. An interworking unit is therefore provided in the mobile switching center for performing interworking operations between the local DCE and a destination DCE. The mobile switching center has a signaling controller that provides switching and signaling functions. The signaling controller is connected to the interworking unit via time-division multiplexed signaling channels associated respectively with time-division multiplexed data channels.
When a mobile user end system sends a REQUEST message to the mobile switching center, the signaling controller applies a SETUP message to the interworking unit to activate the local DCE. However, the signaling message of the channel-associated signaling is represented by a single bit, and there is no response message for the setting-up of the DCE. Therefore, the signaling controller would have to wait a longer period of time to return an acknowledgment than would be necessary. In addition, the local DCE must be set with parameters from the local mobile user. However, there is no response message for the parameter setting process. As a result, no data service is satisfactorily provided with the current data communication system where the channel-associated signaling scheme is used between the signaling controller and the interworking unit for controlling the local DCE.

Data communication using network DCE and modified channel associated signaling


In a modeling method and system, a model is created by using parametric basic elements and parameterized complementary elements, each having special parameters; such that a complementary object to be created with a parameterized complementary element is directly or indirectly, at least via one of its parameter values, associated with at least one basic object created with a basic element.

Modeling refers to the creation of a model from an object under design for describing the object to be manufactured. The development of data processing systems and computers has converted modeling into a computerized process, wherein a product model is created from the object. The product model of a building is the whole composed of the product data of the life span of the building and the building process. The product model of a building describes the product data of the building outlined in accordance with a product data model. The product model of a building may be stored as a database of a computer application or as a file suitable for data transfer. Computer applications describe the real-world building elements of the building using corresponding building element entities processed by the applications.
When modeling takes place by computer applications, two different approaches to modeling are in use: bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up is developed from the requirements of the bulk industry and mechanics design to model individual pieces as flexibly and accurately as possible, wherein an independent model is created from individual parts and, if the final object comprises a plurality of parts, the model of the object is composed of the models of the individual parts by combining them together suitably. Top-down is developed from the requirements posed by the construction industry and other such industrial sectors, wherein large, differently hierarchical, unique objects composed of up to dozens of thousands of parts have to be designed and manufactured, wherein one product model is created from the entire object, whereby the building elements know that they belong to an entirety, and management of the entirety of the building is considerably easier than in the aforementioned bottom-up modeling. These modeling methods should not be mixed up with techniques employed in the processing of what are known as libraries for facilitating the processing: depending on the direction of movement, the movement in the hierarchy tree of a library is often also referred to as the top-down method (movement from the root of the hierarchy tree to the nodes) and the bottom-up method (movement from the nodes to the roots). However, these library movement methods do not correspond to the methods employed in modeling, although the names employed are the same.
In the construction industry and other industrial sectors, elements and objects have to be designed with limitless variations in appearance and product data. To manage this multiformity, parametric modeling has been taken into use in bottom-up modeling, wherein the modeler is able to create new building elements by storing parametric elements in a so-called library. In parametric modeling, the physical characteristics of an object are not programmatically fixed to the modeled object, but the physical characteristics are defined by giving the object different attributes as parameters, on the basis of which the geometry, i.e. the shape, of the modeled object is created. Since parameters may be created for the object without programming and since the size, shape and product data of the object can be changed by means of the parameters, the changing of a parametric object is quite simple. Owing to parametricity, objects modeled by copying the same object can also be changed by changing the librarized element.
In parametric modeling systems, the modeling of a column, for example, is initiated by searching the library, wherein column elements of different shapes are defined in advance (FIG. 1), for a column element fulfilling the correct details. FIG. 1 shows a small sample of a column library required when 0 to 3 beams are connected to a column. If the desired column element is found in the library, it is selected, values are assigned to the parameters of the column element, and the column thus created is added as part of the model and stored in a memory. The column is then part of the model. If the column is to be changed, for instance if one beam more or fewer is connected to the column than was assumed during the creation of the column, the library is searched for a column element according to the correct detail. If it is found, the data on the old column are deleted from the model, the new column element is selected, values are assigned to the parameters of the column element, the column is added as part of the model, and stored in a memory. The model then comprises a new kind of column. If a suitable column element is not found in the library when the column is created into the model for the first time or later when being changed, a new column element has to be defined in the library. The problem in this modeling method is that the library has to include a library element including the correct details, whereby the size of the library becomes large, thus complicating its use, requiring extremely much of the librarization system, and consuming memory resources, even if a hierarchical librarization system were utilized. From the point of view of the modeler, it is problematic that the starting point of the design is not from a logical direction and the final ensemble should be anticipated at the very beginning of the design in order to avoid unnecessary and error-prone amendment later on. For example, when creating a column, one should know how many beams are to be connected to the column in order to be able to select the right column library element, i.e. column element.
In top-down modeling, the last mentioned problem does not exist, since the entirety is modeled first in top-down modeling, and then the parts of the whole etc. and lastly the details. In other words, in top-down modeling, the aforementioned multiformity requirement is achieved by dividing the building elements into smaller wholes, such as separate building elements, connections and details that are programmed as part of the modeling program. These smaller programmed wholes are combined to enable the creation of the most typical building elements in use. In prior art solutions, the whole is achieved by creating objects in the model from generic elements, which can be freely combined. For example, when creating a column, one does not know how many beams are connected to the column, for example. In top-down modeling, the generic elements and the connections between them are implemented by software, the problem being that it does not include parametricity; instead, all characteristics of the modeled objects have to be programmed into the modeling program. For example, if a given kind of connection type is required, which is not programmed, it cannot be made, but a so-called user's connection can be made at most, which cannot be parameterized. An additional problem is that the inheritance of the characteristics cannot be utilized in propagating the changed to several parts at the same time. This means that if the cross-section of a column is changed, for example, the modeler himself has to change the connection created with a user's connection to correspond to the changes of the column.
In several top-down modeling systems, new connections and details can be added by adding programmed parametric connections to the modeling system. In other words, the program library therein includes definitions of different connections and details, from which the modeler or the modeling program selects the correct connection on the basis of given rules depending on the beams and/or columns to be connected, for example. The problem in this solution is that each connection programmed in the modeling program increases the program library unnecessarily thus causing the aforementioned problems, impairing the manageability of the library, for example. A further problem is that parametricity exists only in pre-programmed connections.


Stored are data including image data representing a plurality of images, opposite side party data representing a plurality of opposite side parties of communication, combination data representing the correspondence relation between the image data and opposite side party data and communication history data representing the history of communication. An image of image data corresponding to a pertinent opposite side party of communication is displayed in response to a call arrival and/or a user's operation based on combination data stored in the memory part.

This application claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-050463 filed on Feb. 27, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated by the reference.
The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal set which, like a portable telephone set or a PDA, is constructed such that it can display various data on the surface of an image display part.
The usual portable telephone set or the like is adapted to permit telephone calls by reading out a telephone numbers of the opposite side of communication registered in a telephone diary stored in a memory part based on the corresponding names or titles of the opposite side. There is also a gradually spreading model having a camera part, and in which images of the faces or the like of the opposite side of communication, picked up by the camera part, is stored in the memory part. In this model the face image is displayed on the display of the telephone set along with the opposite side data as name or telephone number.
In the portable telephone set communication system, it is presently indispensable convenient function to accumulate non-response call arrival having not been responded so as to permit a non-response call arrival history based on these data be displayed on the display as desired by the user operation.
It is further a great featured function of the portable telephone system to store and confirm such data as short mails and messages stored until an instant of time lapse of several hours or several days after the data transmission with the provision of same significance as in the usual simultaneous bilateral voice communication such as telephone communication. Up to date, however, no specific proposal has been made in connection with the portable communication terminal set such as portable telephone set, in which the image of the face or the like of the opposite side of communication can be utilized even in the case of utilizing the non-response call arrival history or stored messages.