A drawer slide mounting bracket with a mounting tab and horizontal flanges extending from vertical arms. The mounting tab is inserted into an aperture in a vertical web of a drawer slide member and the horizontal flanges engage the slide member to securely attach the mounting bracket to the drawer slide member. The mounting tab is provided with a gusset to increase the strength of the mounting tab and to decrease the range of movement of the mounting tab in the aperture.

Telescopic slides for file drawers and the like are often desirable for use in cabinets and other rack mounted applications. Such slides permit easy access to the interior of the drawer. The slides maintain the drawer in a horizontal position regardless of how far the drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet. A typical drawer slide has two or three slide members slidably connected by sets of ball bearings held by retainers riding in raceways formed on the slide members. Two element telescopic slides normally include an outer slide member and an inner slide member. For purposes of exposition, the outer slide member is connected to the cabinet or enclosure, although it is recognized that the inner slide member may instead be so connected. When the outer slide member is connected to the cabinet or enclosure, the slide member affixed to the drawer is the inner slide member. A three element telescopic slide will additionally normally include an intermediate slide member slidably connected to and between the outer and inner slide members.
A typical drawer will often have two slides securing the drawer to the cabinet or enclosure, with slides attached to each of the outside of the vertical side walls of the drawer. The slides may be attached to the cabinet or enclosure by a variety of methods. The outer slide member may have screw holes in its vertical web thereby allowing attachment of the outer slide member to the cabinet or enclosure through the use of a screw. A flange may also be integrally formed on the outer slide member, the flange having screw holes for a similar method of attachment. A mounting bracket may also be welded to the outer slide member.
The foregoing methods of mounting a outer slide member to a cabinet or enclosure are not free of problems. Requiring that a screw be placed through the vertical web may provide difficulties in accessing the screw hole when the slide is not extended. With the slide extended such difficulty may be alleviated, but the extended slide may be inadvertently damaged or possibly cause injury to persons due to its projecting nature. The screw protruding inward from the slide member may also interfere with the motion of other slide members. Forming an integral flange from the outer slide member also poses difficulties. Manufacturing costs may increase due to the requirement of additional operations being performed on the outer slide member, as well as due to extra material waste. Welding mounting brackets to the outer slide member also poses problems as the mounting brackets may not be required in all applications and the mounting brackets cannot be repositioned along the length of the outer slide member.
Thus, there is a need for a mounting apparatus for a drawer slide that does not require access through the web of the slide, does not require additional manufacturing operations to be performed on the outer slide member, and is positionable along the length of the outer slide member.

Drawer slide mounting bracket with gussetted mounting tab


A driving apparatus comprises: an electro-mechanical conversion element; a driving shaft that reciprocates in response to an extension and contraction of the electro-mechanical conversion element; a driven member, frictionally engaged with the driving shaft, that moves along the driving shaft by reciprocating the driving shaft; and at least one shaft support portion each including a groove portion that accommodates therein the driving shaft and a spring member that biases the driving shaft accommodated in the groove portion to a direction of the groove portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving apparatus which utilizes an electro-mechanical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element, and more particularly to a driving apparatus for driving an optical member such as a small lens which is installed on a small digital camera, a web camera or a mobile phone with a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
The related-art lens driving apparatus which utilizes a piezoelectric element is described in, for example, JP-A-7-274543. The driving apparatus, which is described in the Japanese patent unexamined publication, is a unit for moving a lens barrel in which a driving shaft is held by the lens barrel and a friction plate therebetween, so that the lens barrel, which is a driven member, is brought into frictional engagement with the driving shaft. In addition, in this driving apparatus, the driving shaft is supported by being passed through a through holes provided in a supporting plate.
The related-art driving apparatus has, however, the following problem. Namely, in order to improve the workability in passing the driving shaft through the through hole, the cross-sectional dimension of the through hole needed to be designed to be larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the driving shaft. When such a design was adopted, the support of the driving shaft by the supporting plate could not be implemented with good positional accuracy, thereby interrupting the stable driving properties of the driving apparatus.


Embodiments provide a communication method, a network device, and a terminal device. Under the method, a network device can send SRS configuration information of a first transmission resource and of a second transmission resource to a terminal device. The first transmission resource is a switching source carrier or bandwidth part. The second transmission resource is a switching destination carrier or bandwidth part. The SRS configuration information of the first and second transmission resource includes a first OFDM symbol set and a second OFDM symbol set respectively. Some and all symbols in the first set and second set may be used by the terminal device to send an SRS on the first and second transmission resource respectively. In various embodiments, the network device configures one or more symbols for the terminal device to transmit an SRS, so that high-frequency channel measurement can be better supported.

In a current communications system, to perform uplink channel measurement, a sounding reference signal (sounding reference signal, SRS) is introduced.
When uplink and downlink services are asymmetrical, a downlink service data volume is much greater than an uplink service data volume, and a time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD) carrier is configured for a user, a plurality of TDD carriers are configured for downlink transmission, and a quantity of downlink carriers is greater than a quantity of uplink carriers. Some TDD carriers are configured for downlink transmission only, and there is no uplink data/reference signal transmission. Therefore, a base station cannot accurately obtain downlink transmission channel information based only on channel state information (channel quality information, CQI) reported by the user. To resolve this problem, an SRS carrier-based switching (carrier-based switching) feature (SRS switching for short) is supported in the current communications system.
In the prior art, in a normal uplink subframe, a unit for SRS resource configuration is one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbol, and an SRS is usually sent on a last OFDM symbol in a subframe. Because a quantity and locations of transmission symbols of the SRS are fixed, a channel measurement requirement of a terminal device during high-band transmission cannot be met.

Sounding reference signal configuration for high-band transmission


A heating element and conductive element system may include a heater conductive element and a heating element. The heater conductive element and the heating element may be integral components. The heater conductive element and the heating element may be discrete components. The heater conductive element may be configured for enhanced mechanical fatigue compared to typical conductive element.

An Aircraft is equipped with wings, propeller blades, and or rotor blades which generate lift, vertical and horizontal, and enable the aircraft to fly. Ice accretion may occur on a leading edge of these surfaces due to cold temperatures at high altitudes. A leading edge may be heated by utilizing thermoelectric heaters along a leading edge. Thermoelectric heaters may utilize bus bars or wires with soldered connections for conductive circuits to the thermoelectric heaters.


An organic layer deposition assembly, an organic layer deposition apparatus, an organic light-emitting display apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display apparatus, in order to improve a characteristic of a deposited layer, the organic layer deposition assembly including a deposition source for discharging a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a side of the deposition source, and including a plurality of deposition source nozzles; and a patterning slit sheet disposed while facing the deposition source nozzle unit, and including a plurality of patterning slits and one or more alignment confirmation pattern slits that are formed at edge portions of the plurality of patterning slits, wherein the deposition material that is discharged from the deposition source passes through the patterning slit sheet and then is formed on the substrate, while a deposition process is performed.

1. Field
The following description relates to an organic layer deposition assembly, an organic layer deposition apparatus, an organic light-emitting display apparatus and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display apparatus, and more particularly, to an organic layer deposition assembly, an organic layer deposition apparatus, an organic light-emitting display apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the organic light-emitting display apparatus, in order to improve a characteristic of a deposited layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, display apparatuses have been replaced with portable thin flat panel display apparatuses. Among the flat panel display apparatuses, organic light-emitting display apparatuses are self-emissive display devices having wide viewing angles and excellent contrast ratios, and high response speeds, and thus, are regarded as next-generation display apparatuses.
An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes an intermediate layer, a first electrode, a second electrode, and various thin layers. The intermediate layer includes an organic emission layer (EML), and when a voltage is applied to the first and second electrodes, visible rays are generated by the organic EML.
In order to form the intermediate layer and the various thin layers included in the organic light-emitting display apparatus, a deposition process may be used. In this regard, a deposition mask is generally used to form a specific pattern on a substrate via the deposition process.
However, it is difficult to form a fine and minute pattern in the deposition process using the deposition mask. In particular, as a size of the organic light-emitting display apparatus increases, it is difficult to perform an alignment between the substrate and the deposition mask, which makes it difficult to control a characteristic of a deposited layer, i.e., a minute pattern of the deposited layer.
As a result, there is a limit in the improvement of the characteristic of the deposited layer.

Organic layer deposition assembly, organic layer deposition apparatus, organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same


A replaceable sensing module is provided for use in a pulse oximetry device, allowing for quick replacement of a failed sensor element. A fingertip pad and a fingertip cover form the sensing module and cooperate to form a receptacle into which a patient's fingertip can be inserted. The sensing module has an internal spring, thereby permitting the module to be inserted into various oximetry type devices. The module has mounting rails and a multi-pin electrical connector, allowing a user to quickly replace the module in the event of component failure.

The invention relates to a cordless finger sensor for measuring blood oxygen saturation. More particularly, the present invention provides a module that fits into a special recess within an oximeter so that when in use, it becomes an integral part of the instrument. The invention allows for removal and replacement of the sensing module in case of component failure. Elimination of the sensor cable makes for easier carrying and storage of the device.
A small cordless oximeter in which all of the electronics are contained within the finger-gripping means is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,523 to Isaacson et al. This device eliminates the external cord of a conventional oximeter and securely holds the patient's finger without support from the operator. Its external spring and lack of an internal pivot point prevent it from being used inside other devices. The design of the Isaacson oximeter also prevents the average user from replacing the sensor components in case of failure. In the event of LED or photodetector malfunction, the entire device is usually replaced.
A pulse oximeter with both replaceable and reusable components is taught by Swedlow et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,250. Their device uses a conventional cord to connect the sensor to an oximeter. The replaceable part, containing only the LEDs, is wrapped over the end of the finger. The sensor has laterally extending adhesive webs which are then folded around the finger to hold the sensor in place.
Tobler et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,440 describe a novel connector for oximeter sensors. This invention, assigned to Masimo, allows the user to quickly discard a disposable sensor at the end of a conventional cable and replace it with another one.
The sensor to be described eliminates the need for a separate finger sensor with its attendant cable. The sensor allows the insertion of any adult finger and that of children down to the age of about three. During use it is an integral part of the surrounding oximeter but can be readily removed and replaced by the user in the event of failure of the LEDs or photodetector. Its design enables it to be used with a variety of instruments from small saturation-only devices to larger multi-parameter instruments which can also measure temperature, end-tidal CO.sub.2 or blood pressure.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a sensing module with the sensor having its own internal spring for gripping various size fingers, from those of large adults to children as young as three years of age.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sensing module which slides into a recess within an oximeter so that it is an integral part of the oximeter without the need for any external cords or cables.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sensing module which fits within the oximeter recess so securely that no special screws or latches are needed to hold it in place.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sensing module that can be used in many different types of monitoring devices. These can be small saturation-only instruments, devices measuring saturation and temperature, or devices measuring saturation, expired CO.sub.2 or blood pressure.


In a logic circuit having clocked state latches and combinatorial logic for functional processing of a task in response to functional clocking of the state latches, the state latches are additionally interconnected to form a scannable chain of latches, and task switching logic is provided for suspending task processing by interrupting the functional clocking of the state latches and, during such suspension, scanning the state latches such that existing contents of the state latches defining a task state can be saved from the state latches or new contents defining a task state can be loaded into the state latches. The invention provides an efficient means for switching tasks being performed by a logic circuit in a multiprocessing enviornment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a logic circuit for task processing in a multitasking environment and to a method of operating such a circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multitasking is a concept which has been known for a long time in connection with mainframe computer systems. In recent years multitasking personal computers have also been marketed. Essential to the concept of a multitasking system is a mechanism which enables the current state of a physical processor performing a task to be saved in a manner which enables it to be restored at a later time and to set up the processor with a previously saved or defined state for performing a new task. Conventionally this has been done by a set of procedures storing the contents of all the critical processor registers on saving a task and then reinstating the stored values in the processor registers when restoring the task at a later time.
As a result of the continued trend towards multitasking systems, there has developed a need to enable tasks being performed by coprocessors or coprocessing logic associated with a main processor for performing a particular set of processes (e.g., I/O processing) to be saved or restored in order that the coprocessor or coprocessing logic can operate in a multitasking mode. The difficulty is that this logic may be very complicated indeed and may contain many hundreds of values which need to be saved in order to preserve the state information.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a mechanism whereby task switching may be reliably and efficiently performed, even for complex logic circuits.

International Business Machines Corporation


The present disclosure is directed to a system for provision of supporting content (SC). In general, a device may utilize event information to request SC from an SC provider, and may then present the SC concurrently with an occurrence of the event. The event information may comprise at least an event identifier and a SC provider locator. In response to the request, the SC provider may provide SC configuration data to the device. The SC configuration data may include at least a time, date and location data for the occurrence of the event. At least the time, date and location data may be used to identify an occurrence of the event, upon which the device may synchronize with a start time of the occurrence of the event. The SC may be provided to the device prior to the event or may be streamed during the occurrence of the event.

Modern technology has helped to improve society most apparently by making everyday tasks easier to complete. However, this is just one benefit that people may realize from modern technology. People with language barriers, people with disabilities, etc. have faced challenges in the past that may have discouraged them from participating in certain activities. For example, non-native language speakers, hearing-impaired people, vision-impaired people, etc. may desire to see a movie in a movie theatre or attend a live event, and may find themselves at an immediate disadvantage because they cannot fully appreciate the presentation. Technological developments like closed-captioning, sound-amplifying listening devices, wireless transmission of enhanced audio soundtracks, etc., have helped to improve the experience by expanding the presentation of large-scale events to accommodate a variety of language speakers, hearing or vision-impairment, etc. However, these enhancement systems have limitations that may not make them appropriate for live venues. For example, a movie theatre may hesitate to present a general admission movie with closed-captioning because it may disrupt the experience of other patrons. Moreover, it may be difficult to provide enhanced audio (e.g., audio in an alternative language or that may provide information about what action may be occurring in conjunction with the audible portion of the presentation) when the presentation is live due to the need to account for unexpected events in the live presentation, to precisely synchronize the timing of the enhanced audio program, etc.
At least one solution has been developed to allow a larger audience to enjoy movies and other similar programs. A device including visual and/or audible enhancement may be provided to patrons as part of a venue-based system for delivering closed-captioning, enhanced audio, etc. A device may include, for example, an eyeglass-like portion with lenses onto which text may be projected. The text may seem to appear in midair wherever the wearer is looking, and may narrate or explain aspects of the presentation in the same or another language. In the same or a separate device, a headphone system may provide enhanced audio that may provide dialog in another language, may help to explain action that is occurring in the presentation but may not be visible to the user, etc. While the benefits may be readily apparent, these systems may be a challenge to implement. Existing solutions run on proprietary equipment/software that must be purchased, installed, distributed, collected, maintained, etc. by event-presenting venues. The resulting costs may be prohibitive, especially to smaller venues. Moreover, visual and/or audible content must be developed for each new event (e.g., for new movies, shows, etc.), which places further burden on the venues.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

System for provision of supporting content


Device for monitoring, maintenance and/or adjustment of pressure in a tire includes the chamber with shape memory deformable for the period of application of external mechanical forces when the tire rolls on the road surface, connected valve with the inside space of the tire and valve with the outside environment. At least one wall of the chamber is adjacent to the inside wall of the tire or is a part of the inside wall of the tire. Furthermore, the device operates on the peristaltic pump principle consisting of the chamber, which is deformable up to the zero cross section. At least one chamber with block with shape memory is freely open at one end and equipped with at least one valve at the other end or next to it. The minimum volume of the part of the chamber at the end equipped with the internal valve or external valve is from 1 to 80% of the total maximum volume of the chamber.

Tires are usually inflated with gas when the vehicle is stopped, by external compressors and pumps nowadays. These inflation methods are time consuming and require periodical checks of pressure, which the users often fail to observe.
These methods moreover do not ensure optimum inflation of a tire in a situation when the current driving manners differ from the manner the tire was originally inflated for. This affects either the tire itself by extensive wear, or safety, as the tire is not always able to perform as it should e.g. as a result of lower pressure to road surface. The economical point of view is also significant. A badly inflated tire has higher rolling resistance, which increases fuel consumption.
Another method of inflating tires is based on inflating during driving by compressors located in the vehicle. This solution is relatively complicated, it requires a compressor in the vehicle, and transfer of compressed air to the rotating wheel is also complicated.
From the American U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,405 we know a device for pumping tires during driving, consisting of a temporarily deformable bellow, or say a cuff attached to a tire from the outside. The bellow is connected with the inside with a hose equipped with a valve and the second valve connects it with outside environment with atmospheric pressure. This device is attached to the tire with a belt, which is not very convenient and may threaten the traffic safety.
The Russian patent 2106978 presents a device for automatic pumping (inflation) of tires. The device working on the principle of peristaltic pump consists of a deformable chamber inside a tire in the casing or next to the inside wall of the tire on the wall of the tire tube. Deformation of the chamber is caused by rolling of the tire on the road surface. One end of the chamber is connected with the outside environment via a pressure regulator-a hose which shrinks and gets closed at particular ambient pressure, and the second end of the chamber is connected to the inside of the tire via a one-way valve. The described pressure regulator works in principle as a double-way valve. If the pressure in the tire the shrinkable hose connecting the deformable chamber with the outside environment goes through is lower than the critical value of the shrinkable hose is, the gas passes freely through the shrinkable hose in both directions. When the pressure inside the tire exceeds the critical value of the shrinkable hose, this deforms and does no longer enable the chamber to suck gas from the outside environment. On the other end of the deformable chamber there is a valve connecting the chamber with the outside environment of the tire and letting the gas flow from the chamber to the tire only, if the pressure inside the chamber exceeds the pressure inside the tire. When the tire is rolling the part of the chamber originally deformed returns to its original position and sucks the air from the outside environment through the shrinkable hose until it is deformed and closed by predefined pressure in the inside space of the tire. No further air is sucked and the device does not pump the tire until the inside pressure drops under predefined value. Manufacturing of the shrinkable hose and adjustment of the moment of its deformation and thus the maximum pressure in the chamber is technologically demanding.
If the pressure in the tire does not reach the value necessary for inflation of the tire until the end of the working cycle and the shrinkable hose connecting the deformable hose with the outside environment is not closed, the whole inside of the deformable hose is connected with the outside atmosphere before the start of a new cycle, so the pressure inside the whole hose drops to the value of atmospheric pressure. The chamber then starts each cycle repeatedly with just the atmospheric pressure of the outside environment.
Another Russian patent application 94031574 A1 describes a hose-shaped elastic chamber located on the inside wall of the wheel rim axially with the wheel outside the tire. A thrust pulley moves along the hose, which gradually presses the air into the inside of the tire via a non-return valve and also to an additional hose-an appendix, similarly to the peristaltic pump. The other end of the hose sucks the air from the outside until the sucking hole gets closed by the expanded appendix.
The device is relatively complicated.
The patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,922,984 and 5,052,456 describe devices for inflating and deflating of a rotating tire consisting of a deformable hose attached to the tire, while the hose at least partly copies the tire circumference. The deformable hose is located outside the tire, for example on the wheel rim, or inside the tire on a special holder. In the first instance, a pulley rolls on the deformable hose, in the latter the hose is pressed between the holder and the tire inside wall as a result of movement of the tire on a road. One end of the hose is open to the atmosphere and the other is connected to the inside of the tire through a one-way valve. Deflation of the tire is ensured by a mechanical factor, which when activated opens the above-mentioned one-way valve for the period of each revolution and deflates the tire.
A chamber designed this way, with just one non-return valve, like the patent RU 2106978 does not enable cumulating of gas in the chamber for more cycles.

Device for monitoring maintenance and adjustment of pressure in a tire


A circuit which facilitates TDF testing without having to purchase expensive new test equipment, such as a new test platform that is capable of supporting test frequencies well beyond the current 200 MHz limitation. A solution to current TDF testing problems by adding circuitry to the device-under-test (DUT) that is configured to receive two reference clock signals from automated test equipment (ATE), i.e. conventional ATE which does not provide test frequencies beyond 200 Mhz, and create two high-speed clock pulses that serve as the launch and capture clocks for the TDF test sequence on the DUT.

The present invention generally relates to the production test requirement for timing delay fault (TDF) testing for RapidChip and ASIC devices.
In order to meet expectations for shipped product quality levels, the traditional stuck-at fault testing is no longer adequate to reach those quality levels. As such, TDF testing has become a requirement for any and all product applications for which product quality is of utmost concern, e.g. storage components. During TDF testing, a very fast clock pulse is provided to a device-under-test (DUT). The specific problem seen with TDF testing is that most current production test systems cannot exceed a 200 Mhz effective TDF test rate. With 130 nm technology being widely used, and 90 nm technology on the horizon, the 200 Mhz test rate is not adequate to detect TDF-type failures. A higher speed solution is needed on these existing tester platforms, without having to spend significant capital resources to upgrade to newer tester platforms.
One existing solution to the aforementioned problem is to purchase newer tester platforms (i.e., expensive ATE) that can support test frequencies well beyond the current 200 Mhz limitation. However, the capital expenditures required to implement such a solution render the approach infeasible.
Another possible solution would be to utilize on-chip PLL circuitry to create the high-speed clock pulse pair required for the TDF launch/capture clocks. However, this approach is very limited with respect to its flexibility of use on the design, characterization of the maximum TDF operational speed, and being able to test multiple clock domains/frequencies on a single device. Hence, on-chip PLL circuitry is not generally used for TDF testing.

High-speed TDF testing on low cost testers using on-chip pulse generators and dual ATE references for rapidchip and ASIC devices


An offshore oil-drilling rig comprising a deck mounted mobile on legs, each leg including a support base on the sea floor and a caisson open at its base and designed to penetrate into the sea floor. Each caisson is arranged inside the leg and is mobile along the axis of the leg between a retracted upper position and a projecting lower position at which it is anchored on the sea floor. The invention also concerns methods for installing such a rig on an oil-drilling site.

The present invention relates to an offshore production platform and methods of installing such a platform on a production site.
Jackup-type offshore production platforms, such as oil platforms for example, generally comprise legs, usually three in number, bearing on the seabed, and a deck mounted so as to be able to move with an adjustable height on the legs and carrying, in particular, production equipment and living premises.
The bottom end of each leg is fitted with a foot or stand designed to bear on the seabed when the platform is installed on a production site. This foot or stand of each leg provides a limited area of contact with the seabed, allowing the self-weight of the platform to be supported only under calm sea conditions and for a relatively short time.
For this reason, the legs of the platform have to be solidly anchored in the seabed for a long stay corresponding to a normal period of a production campaign.
A known method of achieving this is to fix each foot of the legs of the platform using piles driven deeply into the ground. But, given the size of such piles, this measure is a lengthy and costly operation because it requires intervention of heavy equipment whose operating cost is extremely high.
Another solution commonly adopted for anchoring the legs of the platform in the seabed involves combining a caisson, open at the bottom and fitted with a valve, with each leg. Each caisson is thrust into the seabed under the weight of the whole platform. In other cases, each caisson is combined with a pumping unit to reduce the caisson internal pressure and to cause this caisson to penetrate into the seabed to the required depth. These caissons combined with a pumping unit are referred to by specialists under the name of "suction pile".
Each caisson is generally stationary and extends below the foot or the stand of the corresponding leg; this has drawbacks.
During transportation of the preassembled platform from the erection site to the production site, either by floating the platform or by barge, these caissons, which are several meters high, are in the water and create high resistance to platform forward movement and thus additional energy expenditure.
Furthermore, this arrangement creates problems, when mounting the caissons onto the bottom end of the legs of the platform. The bottom end of each leg is submerged in most cases, so much so that handling these caissons requires heavy, complex infrastructure, due to the volumes to be controlled, because these caissons have a diameter of around 17 to 20 meters and a height that can attain several meters.

Offshore oil-drilling rig and methods for installing same on an offshore oil-drilling site


Provided is software product line-based software development method using a software type automatic code generator, and an apparatus for the same. The method includes selecting features corresponding to software from a developer from a feature model created by analyzing features of multiple software to generate feature lists, determining an automatic code generator corresponding to a software type received from the developer, selecting architecture components using the software type, generating automatically generated code on the basis of the selected architecture components and requirements of the determined automatic code generator received from the developer, modifying the automatically generated code and code of the architecture components on the basis of the generated feature list to output configured code, and connecting a part calling a library of domains in the configured code with a part calling an actual domain library to generate final generation code.

An automatic code generator varies according to a type of software to be developed. Here, software types are classified according to the role of the software. For example, software that stores and manages data is a data manager software type, and software that converts a data value received from a data sender into another data value according to a data transformation rule is a data converter software type.
Also, software that transmits data received from a data sender to a data receiver according to a data distribution rule is a data distributor software type, software that manages a state of a system is a controller software type, and software that reads and shows data to a user as an interface between the user and a system is a monitor software type.
When software type-specific automatic code generators are defined and developed, several pieces of software of different software types can be developed using automatic code generators of the corresponding software types.
Also, when software needs to be developed using an automatic code generator, if there is an existing automatic code generator of the same software type as the software to be developed, the existing automatic code generator can be modified and reused.
However, existing single or product line-based software development methods using an automatic code generator all assume one type of automatic code generator. Thus, in the existing methods, it is difficult to develop several pieces of software of different software types using an automatic code generator.
In addition, when software needs to be developed using an automatic code generator, if there is existing automatic code, it is difficult to determine whether the existing automatic code generator can be reused for development of the software to be developed.

Method for developing software and apparatus for the same


A bidirectional interrupt technique and mechanism is described for handling programmable length interrupt messages between two devices, preferably both processors, through dual, programmably defined memory queues. The technique and mechanism automatically updates a read and write address counter, a queue count register, and an interrupt count register for each direction of the flow of interrupts.

This invention relates in general to queued interrupt techniques in computer systems and in particular, to a technique and mechanism for controlling the queuing and subsequent reading of interrupt information in either direction between two processors.
In computer systems, an interrupted processor frequently requires additional information from an interrupting device in order to properly respond to an interrupt. For example, when the interrupted processor executes an interrupt service routine ("ISR") in response to the interrupt, the ISR first ascertains the exact kind of external event that caused the interrupt, then it performs various actions responsive to that event.
In order to minimize the number of program steps and consequently, the execution time that the ISR must spend on ascertaining what kind of event has occurred, special hardware may be implemented so that for each interrupt, the interrupted processor initiates a special kind of bus cycle called an "interrupt acknowledge cycle." In this cycle, the interrupted processor typically reads an interrupt vector generated by the interrupting device that provides certain identification information about what kind of event caused the interrupt. The processor then typically uses the interrupt vector thus obtained as an index or pointer to select a starting address for the appropriate ISR to be executed from a table of such addresses. Additional information, if necessary, can then subsequently be obtained by the selected ISR.
It is also sometimes desirable to form interrupt queues between devices, and to facilitate the organized writing and reading of interrupt information into and out of such queues by the respective interrupting and interrupted devices. For example, since the processing initiated by an interrupt may take some time, the interrupting device may again develop a need to interrupt the interrupted device for a similar or different reason or event during such interrupt processing time. In such a case, the not-yet-acted-upon interrupts are stored in a queue which the interrupted device can access and later act upon when it is free to do so.

Queued interrupt mechanism with supplementary command/status/message information


The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus in which a plurality of accommodation grooves in which a plurality of cables connected to a display unit is standardized and accommodated is formed on a rear surface of the display unit and the plurality of accommodation grooves has a length in the same direction as a plurality of patterns formed on the rear surface of the display unit.

Generally, a display apparatus is an apparatus that displays an image, such as a monitor and a television.
A display apparatus includes a display unit including a display panel for optically displaying an image and a rear cover for covering a rear surface of the display panel, and a stand for supporting the display unit.
A plurality of cables such as a power cable, an HDMI cable, and an RF cable is connected to the display unit.
A plurality of cables connected to the display unit may appear messy by being exposed to the outside without being organized.
In order to prevent a plurality of unorganized cables from being exposed to the outside, the plurality of cables needs to be hidden through a separate cover.

Display unit with cable accomodation groove

Abstract: The display apparatus includes a display unit in which a plurality of patterns having the same direction is formed on a rear surface thereof, a stand coupled to the display unit to support the display unit, a cable connection portion configured to connect a plurality of cables to the display unit, and accommodation grooves recessed on a rear surface of the display unit to have the same direction as the plurality of patterns and provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of cables such that the plurality of cables is accommodated therein, respectively.


A semiconductor device (and method for making the same) includes a strained-silicon channel formed adjacent a source and a drain, a first gate formed over a first side of the channel, a second gate formed over a second side of the channel, a first gate dielectric formed between the first gate and the strained-silicon channel, and a second gate dielectric formed between the second gate and the strained-silicon channel. The strained-silicon channel is non-planar.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) with a strained channel and electrically separate gates that are independently controllable, and to a method of forming the FinFET device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fin FETs are considered promising candidates for complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device scaling (e.g., see Hu Chenming et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802 entitled "FinFET transistor structures having a double gate channel extending vertically from a substrate and methods of manufacture").
The fabrication of a FinFET is generally simpler than most other double-gate structures, although the channel thickness control is problematic in most known approaches (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802; Yang-Kyu Choi et al., "Spacer FinFET: nanoscale double-gate CMOS technology for the terabit era", Solid-State Electronics, 46, p. 1595, (2002)).
To increase the device current drive, high carrier mobility is required. MOSFETs with high carrier mobility are made by fabricating the device on strained silicon (e.g., see K. Rim et al. "Fabrication and Analysis of Deep Submicron Strained-Si N-MOSFET's", IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, 47(7), p. 1406, (2000)).
The conventional techniques for making strained silicon are applicable for planar devices such as the conventional MOSFET. Examples for such techniques are a graded buffer SiGe layer (e.g., see P. M. Mooney, Materials Science and Engineering Reports R17, p. 105 (1996) and references cited therein), and the relaxation by ion implantation and anneal (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,625 by S. H. Christiansen et al., entitled "Relaxed SiGe layers on Si or silicon on insulator substrates by ion implantation and thermal annealing").
Unfortunately, the FinFET is a non-planar device, where the plane of current conduction (i.e., the Fin) is perpendicular to the wafer surface. This makes the FinFET non-compatible with conventional strain silicon fabrication techniques.

Strained-channel Fin field effect transistor (FET) with a uniform channel thickness and separate gates

International Business Machines Corporation


The modular boat lift cover for a watercraft has a gable assembly. All of the straight components of the gable assembly are packaged into the main box frame channel for simplicity in packaging as well as quality control, ensuring no components are missing during packaging and shipping. The modular boat lift cover has a robust, lightweight design that is compatible and adjustable for width, height and length as the boat owner modifies his existing boat or purchases a new boat of different dimensions that will protect the watercraft from the elements and is designed to withstand even the severest of storms, undamaged. The modular boat lift cover is easy for the user to assemble and adjust on square lake style boat lifts, as well as the typically non-square tidal lifts.

A watercraft represents a significant investment. Watercraft owners store their boats on lifts understand that a boat lift cover or canopy is needed to minimize the maintenance work required to maintain the appearance of the boat. Watercraft owners need to shelter docked boats from the elements to preserve the life of the boat. While boat houses can provide such shelter, they are expensive, often impractical and, under some circumstances, not allowed by code. Watercraft owners also need to lift their watercraft out of the water for storage and maintenance, and to lower their watercraft into the water for launching or flotation at dock. There are typically two types of boat lifts: lake lifts and tidal lifts. A lake lift is typically manufactured as a complete frame system that is lowered into the water as a single unit and fastened to the lake floor. It remains square due to the calmness of inland water. Tidal lifts are typically constructed on site with a barge pounding long pilings into the sea floor onto which the boat lift mechanism is then mounted. This construction technique is subject to tidal forces during the time that the pilings are being hammered into the sea floor, which can cause the lift to be not perfectly square. Additionally, each boat lift manufacturer has its own design for the lifting I-beam, the cable system and the position of the electric motors making it difficult to design, manufacture and install a boat lift cover for tidal lifts.
Prior approaches use many different parts, while shipping in multiple boxes, or one large box. They also require complex assembly procedures and are not adjustable depending on the size of the watercraft.                U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,972 (Markiewicz) discloses an all-purpose modular canopy system including a canopy frame formed of a plurality of interconnected sections, the sections being formed of welded tubular elements. The sections are modular in configuration including end and central portions whereby the sections may be selectively assembled to produce the desired length. The canopy frame includes transversely disposed brace elements associated with supporting columns and adjustable fittings to facilitate alignment of the columns and canopy frame, and the canopy frame is covered by a flexible covering using a lacing system between the frame and covering to maintain covering tension. The covering may include a skirt cooperating with skirt stabilizers formed in the canopy frame corners for maintaining the skirt properly oriented.        U.S. Publication No. 20050252542 (Basta) discloses a boat lift canopy comprises a truss type framework with a base frame. Joined to the base frame and circumscribed by it is a tie tube frame, which may be discontinuous. A fabric cover, which in preferred embodiments is decorative as well as functional, snugly encloses the outside of the framework, wraps around the base frame and is secured to the tie tube frame.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,026 (Griffith) discloses a pre-fabricated boat lift canopy constructed of galvanized steel or aluminum tubing. All joints are crimped to a tight, permanent fit by using a special rolling tool. The canopy frame is mounted on "I" beams of existing boat lifts, docks, or pilings. The canopy frame is then covered with a water tight and sunlight resistant decorative canopy. Wind spoilers, in the form of canvas strips, are fastened to the peak of the canopy, a continuous strip, horizontally across the top, a strip at each end, and a third strip at the center.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,281 (Powell, et al.) discloses a canopy kit comprising a plurality of elongated pipes and a series of corner connectors and a package for containing the various kit components. An elongated container is provided and the various components of the kit, including the corner connectors and pipes, are disposed within the container such that the components of the kit structurally reinforce the total package and wherein the individual corner connectors are strategically disposed throughout the package so as to support the elongated pipes.
The packaging of boat lift covers and canopies currently being marketed is overly-complicated and costly, and assembly is difficult to explain even with instructions. In order to communicate the intricacies of assembly and disassembly, personal demonstrations are often required. In some cases, multiple training sessions are needed. If the complicated unpacking was not difficult enough, the procedure for layout and assembly of the frame is oftentimes even more complex. In addition to the difficulty of assembly, current boat lift covers cannot be easily adjusted if the lift owner modifies his boat, such as by adding a tower, or replaces his boat with, for example, a larger boat. Current boat lift cover designs have some degree of adjustability but are not adjustable enough to easily accommodate all boat lift mechanisms and the dimensional tolerance variations of tidal lifts.
There is a need for a modular boat lift cover system that is easier to manufacture, package, assemble and disassemble. There is a need for a modular boat lift cover system that has a robust, lightweight design that is compatible and adjustable for width, height and length as the boat owner modifies his existing boat or purchases a new boat of different dimensions, and that will protect the watercraft from the elements and is designed to withstand even the severest of storms, undamaged. There is also a need for an adjustable boat lift cover that will work with any manufacturer's boat lift and will accommodate the variation in build tolerances of tidal lifts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact, all-weather, temporary shelter designed for both personnel and equipment. It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular boat lift cover that is easy to pack and assemble. All of the straight components are packaged into the main box frame channel for simplicity in packaging as well as quality control, ensuring no components are missing during packaging and shipping. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a modular boat lift cover that is easy for the user to assemble and adjust, is intuitive and requires little training to adjust the canopy to different widths, lengths and heights both upon initial installation as well as during the life of the lift cover, enabling for the lift owner to accommodate modifications to his existing boat as well as to accommodate new boats of different dimensions. And, it is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a modular boat lift cover that is easy for the user to assemble and adjust, being compatible with square lake style boat lifts, as well as the typically non-square tidal lifts.


A broadband spectral power generator in a multimode optical fiber utilizes a standard multimode fiber that is coiled. A plate is placed on the coiled fiber and a force is applied to compresses the coiled fiber and thereby increase the interactions between the compressed windings and induce modal mixing and birefringence in the fiber. In addition, the compression causes additional non-linear processes to be excited and occur in the compressed fiber coil to generate more broadband light. This allows for better “mixing” of the spatial beam in the multimode fiber coil and allows for the various modes to overlap. The multimode fiber coil is made of silica, silicate, germinate, phosphate, fluoride, chalcogenide, or telluride. The compressed coiled fiber may be driven by a laser providing more than one wavelength output and this greatly increases the amount of nonlinear mixing in the fiber for a greatly enhanced spectral coverage.

In optics, a supercontinuum is formed when a collection of nonlinear processes act together upon a pump beam in order to cause severe spectral broadening of the original pump beam into a smooth spectral continuum. There is no definitive explanation of how much spectral broadening constitutes a supercontinuum.
A supercontinuum source typically consists of a pulsed laser and a non-linear element, in which a combination of non-linear effects in the non-linear element broadens the narrow-band, pulsed laser radiation into a continuous spectrum without destroying the spatial coherence of the laser light. Photonic crystal fibers are uniquely suited as the non-linear medium for such supercontinuum sources, offering high non-linearity, suitable dispersion characteristics and ease of use.
Examples of photonic crystal fibers used to create supercontinuum sources are available, from NKT Photonics in Denmark, Fianium in the UK, and Leukos France.
These nonlinear photonic optical fibers are generally engineered to have particular dispersion and nonlinear characteristics based on specific wavelengths of interest. These nonlinear fibers also typically have very small core diameters (<5 micron diameter). The reason for such small diameter cores is to increase the optical intensity in the optical fiber. The smaller the core diameter is, the higher the optical intensity in the fiber, and the lower the nonlinear thresholds are in that fiber for a given length. Thus, it is easier to generate a supercontinuum using a shorter length optical fiber.
An alternative to using a nonlinear optical fiber with a small diameter core is to use one with a larger diameter core and increase the length of the optical fiber. However, using nonlinear optical fibers having long lengths usually leads to greater optical propagation losses, so using optical fibers having small diameter cores helps to maintain a short length of optical fiber to minimize losses and maximize output power.
The main problem with small diameter optical fibers is that it is very difficult to free-space couple a laser beam into an end of the optical fiber and hold the beam thereon efficiently. The tolerances associated with coupling a laser beam into an end of these small diameter optical fibers are very tight, and any slight misalignments can lead to a loss of coupling between the two, or to damage of the optical fiber. If a laser-optical fiber system is required to handle even moderate temperature excursions, this laser beam to optical fiber coupling becomes more difficult and very expensive to overcome.
Using fiber optic cables having larger core diameters offers easier optical coupling between a laser source and an end of the cable with looser tolerances. However, optical fibers having larger diameter cores increases nonlinear thresholds and decreases optical intensity in the fibers. To overcome the decrease in optical intensity the length of the optical fiber must be increased. However, the increase in length of the optical fiber often leads to more propagation losses. In addition, use of optical fibers having larger diameter cores usually results in multimode operation of the optical fiber, which also has an effect on nonlinear thresholds.
Thus, a need therefore exists in the art for an inexpensive, broadband, supercontinuum generator that utilizes standard, larger diameter optical fibers, rather than specialized nonlinear optical fibers having small core diameters.

Generating broadband spectral power in multimode optical fibers

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A rotational atherectomy device having a flexible, elongated, rotatable drive shaft with an eccentric enlarged diameter section. At least part of the eccentric enlarged diameter section has a tissue removing surface. The eccentric enlarged diameter section of the drive shaft has a center of mass and/or geometric center spaced radially from the rotational axis of the drive shaft, facilitating the ability of the device to open the stenotic lesion to a diameter substantially larger than the outer diameter of the enlarged diameter section.

The invention relates to devices and methods for removing tissue from body passageways, such as removal of atherosclerotic plaque from arteries, utilizing a rotational atherectomy device.
A variety of techniques and instruments have been developed for use in the removal or repair of tissue in arteries and similar body passageways. A frequent objective of such techniques and instruments is the removal of atherosclerotic plaques in a patient""s arteries. Atherosclerosis is characterized by the buildup of fatty deposits (atheromas) in the intimal layer (under the endothelium) of a patient""s blood vessels. Very often over time, what initially is deposited as relatively soft, cholesterol-rich atheromatous material hardens into a calcified atherosclerotic plaque. Such atheromas restrict the flow of blood, and therefore often are referred to as stenotic lesions or stenoses, the blocking material being referred to as stenotic material. If left untreated, such stenoses can cause angina, hypertension, myocardial infarction, strokes and the like.
Rotational atherectomy procedures have become a common technique for removing such stenotic material. Such procedures are used most frequently to initiate the opening of calcified lesions in coronary arteries. Most often the rotational atherectomy procedure is not used alone, but is followed by a balloon angioplasty procedure, which, in turn, is very frequently followed by placement of a stent to assist in maintaining patentcy of the opened artery. For non-calcified lesions, balloon angioplasty most often is used alone to open the artery, and stents often are placed to maintain patentcy of the opened artery. Studies have shown, however, that a significant percentage of patients who have undergone balloon angioplasty and had a stent placed in an artery experience stent restenosisxe2x80x94i.e., blockage of the stent which most frequently develops over a period of time as a result of excessive growth of scar tissue within the stent. In such situations an atherectomy procedure is the preferred procedure to remove the excessive scar tissue from the stent (balloon angioplasty being not very effective within the stent), thereby restoring the patentcy of the artery.
Several kinds of rotational atherectomy devices have been developed for attempting to remove stenotic material. In one type of device, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,134 (Auth), a burr covered with an abrasive cutting material such as diamond particles is carried at the distal end of a flexible drive shaft. The burr is rotated at high speeds (typically, e.g., in the range of about 150,000-190,000 rpm) while it is advanced across the stenosis. As the burr is removing stenotic tissue, however, it blocks blood flow. Once the burr has been advanced across the stenosis, the artery will have been opened to a diameter equal to or only slightly larger than the maximum outer diameter of the burr. Frequently more than one size burr must be utilized to open an artery to the desired diameter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,438 (Shturman) shows another atherectomy device having a drive shaft with a section of the drive shaft having an enlarged diameter, at least a segment of this enlarged diameter section being covered with an abrasive material to define an abrasive segment of the drive shaft. When rotated at high speeds, the abrasive segment is capable of removing stenotic tissue from an artery. Though this atherectomy device possesses certain advantages over the Auth device due to its flexibility, it also is capable only of opening an artery to a diameter about equal to the diameter of the enlarged diameter section of the drive shaft.
The invention provides a rotational atherectomy device having a flexible, elongated, rotatable drive shaft with an eccentric enlarged diameter section. At least part of the eccentric enlarged diameter section has a tissue removing surfacexe2x80x94typically an abrasive surfacexe2x80x94to define a tissue removing segment of the drive shaft. When placed within an artery against stenotic tissue and rotated at sufficiently high speeds (e.g., in the range of about 20,000 rpm to about 200,000 rpm) the eccentric nature of the enlarged diameter section of the drive shaft causes such section to rotate in such a fashion as to open the stenotic lesion to a diameter substantially larger than the outer diameter of the enlarged diameter section. Preferably the eccentric enlarged diameter section of the drive shaft has a center of mass spaced radially from the rotational axis of the drive shaft, facilitating the ability of the device to open the stenotic lesion to a diameter substantially larger than the outer diameter of the enlarged diameter section. Typically this is achieved by spacing the geometric center of the eccentric enlarged diameter section of the drive shaft away from the rotational axis of the drive shaft. Such spacing of the geometric center from the rotational axis of the drive shaft can also be accomplished in rotational atherectomy devices having an eccentric tissue removal section with a diameter that is not enlarged, or by attaching an eccentric abrasive burr to a drive shaft. The rotational atherectomy device of the invention is capable of opening stenotic lesions to a diameter sufficiently large that balloon angioplasty is not needed to complete the procedure. The device is particularly useful for cleaning out partially blocked stents.


A circuit arrangement for a light signal receiver for receiving and recognizing light signals which are transmitted in a pulsed manner and to which ambient light of an undefinable intensity is parasitically superimposed. The circuit arrangement contains a two-pole light sensor and, for each terminal pole of the light sensor, a separate current-voltage converter for direct current is provided. The current-voltage converters have identical transmission behavior. Each terminal pole of the light sensor is connected to an identical signal input of a current-voltage converter. The current-voltage converters are connected as amplifying filters and are negative feedback-connected in terms of direct current and in a frequency-dependent manner so strongly via the input at which the terminal pole of the light sensor is located that the d.c. voltage at the terminal poles of the light sensor is constant independently from the intensity of the parasitic light. The outputs of the current-voltage converters are connected in terms of alternating current to an input of a differential amplifier.

The present invention pertains to a circuit arrangement for receiving light signals, which are emitted over an open optical path, i.e., in ambient light. The circuit is used to receive light signals which are sent by evaluating the intensity for recognizing changes occurring over a limited time in the structure of a medium which is located in the transmission path. Changes of this kind may be caused by, for example, water drops located in the air of the optical transmission path or on a glass pane which is arranged in the transmission path.
An arrangement for measuring or recognizing the wetting of a wall or plate transparent to a certain radiation was proposed in German Utility Model No. G 93 09 837.5. This arrangement can be used, for example, to detect water drops located as precipitate on the windshield of a motor vehicle.
This device uses an optical arrangement with two light-emitting diodes, between which a light sensor is located, and which are arranged behind the windshield of a motor vehicle. The light-emitting diodes emit push-pull-pulsed light. The light sensor receives part of the light of the light-emitting diodes reflected from the windshield. The windshield reflects the rays emitted in the push-pull mode approximately equally in the dry state, so that the received light from the two light-emitting diodes acts like constant light in the circuit arrangement. The reflection condition, and consequently the signal ratio, change irregularly at short time intervals upon the impact of rain drops. The received light component of one light-emitting diode predominates, and an alternating current is generated in the light sensor in the cycle of the pulse frequency of the light that is emitted by the light-emitting diodes. These changes are evaluated.
Such a device, which is operated in an optically unshielded space, has the problem that intensely varying, undefinable ambient light is present, and this light continuously reaches the light sensor as an interfering light. This light is usually constant light, for example, the light of the sun or of incandescent lamps. However, it may additionally also be received as chopped light, such as the light of gas discharge lamps or a constant light influenced by the travel motion of the motor vehicle. The intensity of the ambient light may change in rapid succession in an undefinable manner during the travel of the motor vehicle, so that no reliable information can be obtained from this light on the nature of the transmission path, for example, the presence of rain drops. If the light sensor is equipped with optical filtering means, this parasitic light is then received at varying intensity and is converted into a corresponding electrical signal component. The converted electrical signal, therefore, always consists of an equisignal component, whose value may vary within a broad range, and a superimposed alternating signal component, which represents the evaluable wanted signal. The level of the equisignal component may be a multiple of the amplitude of the wanted signal. At high intensity, parasitic light may overmodulate the light sensor and/or the receiving amplifier. In this case, the wanted signal cannot be sufficiently separated from the equisignal component and evaluated. Measures are therefore necessary to eliminate the parasitic light.
To support these measures, the light is scanned at a frequency of about 40 kHz. Only insignificant parasitic light components are present in this frequency range.
A light receiver comprises, in general, a light sensor, an amplifier, means for suppressing the effects of parasitic light, and a demodulator for recovering the signal from the converter photocurrent. This signal is evaluated by a synchronous demodulator, and it generates a signal which corresponds, for example, to the frequency of defects in the optical transmission path. Photodiodes are usually used as light sensors.
Such a circuit arrangement has been known from the book "Linear Circuits Data Book 1992," Volume 1, Operational Amplifiers of the Firm of Texas Instruments Incorporated, U.S.A., on page 2-722, FIG. 47. This circuit arrangement is shown in FIG. 1 of the present application for better understanding, and it contains two linear operational amplifiers (precision double operational amplifiers in the CMOS technique of the type TLC 27 M 2 may be used).
The cathode of a photodiode is connected to the inverting input of a first operational amplifier, and the anode is connected to the ground of the circuit. This first operational amplifier is negative feedback-connected only weakly via a first loop, which contains a high-ohm resistor (10 Mohm for example) and has a high current-voltage factor during the transmission of the photocurrent in order to generate a sufficient amplitude of the wanted electric signal even at a low brightness amplitude, which, compared with the parasitic light, the modulated signal light has.
The noninverting input of the first operational amplifier is connected to a reference voltage, whose value may be between zero and the operating voltage of the circuit minus 2 V. Regardless of the intensity of the received light, the operating point of the photodiode is placed with this reference voltage into the stop band. This band guarantees a sufficient overmodulation resistance for the amplitude of the modulated signal light.
Via a second loop, which contains a second operational amplifier connected to a low-pass filter as a noninverting d.c. voltage amplifier, the output signal of the first operational amplifier, which must be fed to a corresponding circuit for evaluation, is additionally negative feedback-connected, by d.c. voltage, substantially more strongly than via the first loop. This negative feedback brings about a compensation of the photocurrent that is generated by the parasitic light in the photodiode.
When light arrives, the blocking resistance of the photodiode decreases in a manner corresponding to the brightness. The change in the photocurrent flowing over the negative feedback into the photodiode brings about an increase in the output voltage in the first operational amplifier. Due to its integrator function, the low-pass filter ensures that only the d.c. voltage component of the output voltage generated by the first operational amplifier is fed back negatively to the cathode of the photodiode via the second loop.
Thus, only the part of the signal current that is generated by the photodiode and whose frequency is above the limit frequency of the low-pass filter is transmitted to the output of the circuit with a high current-voltage factor. The effect of the parasitic light is very extensively suppressed.
However, one drawback of this arrangement is the high ohmic, negative feedback of the first operational amplifier, which is necessary for obtaining a high current-voltage factor in order to convert the small percentage of reflected light of the wanted signal into a sufficiently high signal voltage. At an unfavorable ratio of parasitic light to signal light, which may occur in this case, a high operating voltage is necessary for a sufficient equisignal suppression and overmodulation resistance of the circuit, and such a high operating voltage may be above the voltage available in a motor vehicle. Due to these requirements, this prior-art circuit is not ideally suited for its intended purpose because of the excessively high operating voltage needed, an insufficient transmission frequency, and a high interference susceptibility, which are the consequences of the high ohmic circuitry.
At an unfavorable ratio of signal light to parasitic light, the photodiode of the prior art device must be operated with a bias voltage, at which the photodiode operates in the blocking state. Only a very low signal alternating current is generated in this operating range. The downstream amplifier, therefore, must have a high signal sensitivity in order to convert the very weak signal current into an evaluable signal voltage.
Another problem with the prior art device is the geometric arrangement of the photodiode, the signal line, and the receiving amplifier. Since the photodiode has a high internal resistance in the blocking state, which may reach several hundred kOhm, many parts of the circuit are especially sensitive to the coupling of interference signals, for example, interferences generated by the ignition system of motor vehicles, power line hum, switching impulses, and, in a special case, to the coupled signal from the light-emitting diodes and other interferences which may reach the circuit inductively and/or capacitively due to leakage fields. Electromagnetic shielding and compact design of the photodiode and of the amplifier are therefore necessary, and this may even make it necessary to arrange the light inlet opening at the photodiode behind a shield made of a fine wire-mesh screen. Such a compact and shielded design is expensive and is highly disadvantageous from the viewpoint of design and layout (at the windshield of a motor vehicle).

Circuit arrangement for receiving light signals


A method for manufacturing a laminated electronic component is performed such that a water-repellent agent is applied to end surfaces at which ends of internal electrodes are exposed so as to be filled in spaces along interfaces between insulating layers and the internal electrodes. Subsequently, an abrading step is performed such that the internal electrodes are sufficiently exposed at the end surfaces and an excess water-repellent agent is removed therefrom to enable plating films to be directly formed on the end surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laminated electronic component and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a laminated electronic component, which has external electrodes directly formed on external surfaces of a laminate by plating, and to a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 4, a laminated electronic component 101, defined by a laminated ceramic capacitor, includes a laminate 105 including insulating layers 102, which are laminated to each other and which are made, for example, of a dielectric ceramic, and layer-shaped internal electrodes 103 and 104 which are disposed along interfaces between the insulating layers 102. Ends of the internal electrodes 103 and ends of the internal electrodes 104 are exposed at one end surface 106 and the other end surface 107 of the laminate 105, respectively, and external electrodes 108 and 109 are provided so as to electrically connect the ends of the internal electrodes 103 and the ends of the internal electrodes 104, respectively.
When the external electrodes 108 and 109 are formed, paste electrode layers 110 are first formed by applying a metal paste including a metal component and a glass component on the end surfaces 106 and 107 of the laminate 105, followed by firing. Next, on the paste electrode layers 110, first plating layers 111 primarily composed, for example, of Ni are formed, and second plating layers 112 primarily composed, for example, of Sn are further formed thereon. That is, each of the external electrodes 108 and 109 has a three-layered structure including the paste electrode layer 110, the first plating layer 111, and the second plating layer 112.
When the laminated electronic component 101 is mounted on a substrate using solder, the external electrodes 108 and 109 must have good wettability to the solder. At the same time, the external electrode 108 is required to electrically connect the internal electrodes 103, which are electrically insulated from each other, and the external electrode 109 is required to electrically connect the internal electrodes 104, which are electrically insulated from each other. The second plating layer 112 ensures good solder wettability, and the electrical connection of the internal electrodes 103 and that of the internal electrodes 104 are performed by the respective paste electrode layers 110. The first plating layer 111 functions to prevent solder leaching during solder bonding.
However, the paste electrode layer 110 has a relatively large thickness of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers. Thus, when this laminated electronic component 101 is formed to have predetermined standard dimensions, in order to ensure the volume of the paste electrode layers 110, an effective volume necessary to obtain electrostatic capacitance must be unfavorably decreased corresponding to the volume of the paste electrode layers 110. On the other hand, since the thicknesses of the plating layers 111 and 112 are each approximately several micrometers, when the external electrodes 108 and 109 are defined by only the first plating layer 111 and the second plating layer 112, a larger effective volume necessary to obtain electrostatic capacitance can be obtained.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-146401, a method is disclosed in which a conductive paste is applied to at least edge portions of end surfaces of a laminate in the lamination direction of internal electrodes so as to be in contact with extraction portions of the internal electrodes, this conductive paste is then formed into conductive films by firing or heat-curing, and electroplating is further performed on the end surfaces of the laminate to form electroplating films so as to be connected to the conductive films on the edge portions. According to this method, the thickness of the external electrode at the end surface can be decreased.
In addition, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 63-169014, a method is disclosed in which conductive metal films are deposited by electroless plating on entire sidewall surfaces of a laminate at which internal electrodes are exposed so that the internal electrodes exposed at each sidewall surface are short-circuited to each other.
However, since plating is directly performed on the exposed ends of the internal electrodes by the external electrode-forming methods disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-146401 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 63-169014, a plating liquid which penetrates into the laminate along interfaces between the internal electrodes and insulating layers erodes the internal electrodes and/or a ceramic forming the insulating layers, and as a result, structural defects may occur. In addition, due to the defects described above, the reliability of a laminated electronic component, such as degradation in moisture load resistance properties, is degraded.

Laminated electronic component and method for manufacturing the same


Module (1) for the production of concrete elements, particularly of concrete semi-finished products or of relatively “thin” in-situ concrete surfaces. The modules includes a plurality of displacement bodies (5, 5′, 5″, 5′″) able to be inserted and arranged adjacent to each other in a longitudinal direction. The plurality of displacement bodies (5, 5′, 5″, 5′″) is arranged respectively undetachably in a latticework (2) of bars (3, 3′, 4, 4′, 4″). The displacement body (5, 5′, 5″, 5′″) is formed as a substantially oblate rotation ellipsoid with two at least slightly flattened pole sides (7, 7′, 8, 8′).

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a module for the production of concrete elements, particularly of concrete semi-finished products or of concrete surfaces, and a displacement body for use in such a module according.
The invention concerns in particular a module for the production of concrete elements, in particular of concrete semi-finished products or of relatively "thin" concrete surfaces, with a plurality of displacement bodies which are able to be inserted, arranged adjacent to each other in a longitudinal direction, in which the plurality of displacement bodies arranged adjacent to each other is arranged respectively undetachably in a latticework of bars.
2. Description of Related Art
Such modules are known from the prior art; they are used principally in the production of relatively thick concrete surfaces.
Such a module is known for example from WO 2005/080704-A1. In this module, the latticework has a base side running in the longitudinal direction and two partial sides adjoining the base side and arranged obliquely with respect to the base side, but likewise running in the longitudinal direction. The latticework which is used has a channel-like form with a wide channel base and a narrow channel opening. The displacement bodies arranged in the latticework are plastic balls.
A disadvantage of the type of construction according to WO 2005/080704-A1 consists in that with greater manufacturing tolerances of the upper lattice bar spacings, the plastic balls partially protrude to a different extent upwards out from the latticework, which has the result that the required covering values (layer thickness of the concrete over the balls) are possibly not able to be kept. In addition, there is a risk of damage for the displacement bodies.
A further such module is known from DE 202006002540 U1. In this module, also, the latticework has a channel-like form, but with a narrow channel base and a wide channel opening. The displacement bodies arranged in the latticework are likewise plastic balls. In this type of construction of the latticework, the risk of damage for the displacement bodies is considerably reduced and the covering values can be kept more reliably.
However, a disadvantage both in WO 2005/080704-A1 and also in DE 202006002540 U1 is that for thin concrete surfaces the structure of the module can not be simply reduced in size as desired. This is because the manufacturing costs of the modules are greatly increased by the increasingly required quantity of balls per unit of area. As the wire diameter for the latticework generally also can not be reduced for reasons of stability, a considerable increase in material can also occur here even for this reason. In addition the risk exists that the ball spacings become too small with respect to the current grain size of the concrete, which then results in that concrete-free "nests" can occur in the concrete surface which is to be finished, because the concrete can not distribute itself well. Furthermore, the compacting of the concrete by means of so-called vibrating needles proves to be difficult owing to the unfavourable accessibility. The simple reduction in size of all components therefore comes up against certain limits very quickly.
In the older prior art, there are various solutions with non-spherical and frequently rectangular displacement bodies, which from their static generic form are to be regarded as rib surfaces. However, these displacement bodies are generally not embedded in a latticework and therefore are also not protected against floating; i.e. additional steps must be taken for this purpose. In addition, in fact in the case of rectangular displacement members the force distribution lines within the stressed concrete surface lie so unfavourably that large intermediate zones are produced, in which the stress concentrations (on loading of the concrete surface) become so high that the risk of local failure exists in the concrete mass surrounding the displacement bodies. This disadvantage is eliminated for example by the additional introduction of reinforcing steel in these intermediate zones, which, however, leads to an additional aggravating condition in the construction sequence and to an increased requirement for material. In addition, the size of the area of the lower plane of these displacement bodies can lead to the guaranteeing of the underflowing of the concrete only being able to be ensured with specific concrete compositions and with an additional processing expenditure.
The problem therefore exists that in the case of "thin" concrete surfaces, such as for instance short-span surfaces in house construction or in skyscrapers, neither the module concept according to WO 2005/080704-A1 or DE 202006002540 U1 nor the previously usual concept with rectangular or flat displacement bodies can be readily undertaken. In the former case (i.e. with spherical displacement bodies), the mere reduction in size leads to the stated problems with regard to cost and handling, whereas in the latter case (i.e. with, for example, rectangular displacement bodies), an unnecessarily large extent of structural strength of the concrete surface is provided.
It is therefore an object of the invention to indicate an improved module for the production of concrete elements, in particular of concrete semi-finished products or of "thin" in-situ concrete surfaces and a displacement body for use in such a module, by which the disadvantages known from the prior art are circumvented.

Module having displacement bodies for the production of concrete elements


An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus that includes process units for different colors and a lifetime management device that manages lifetime information on each unit of the image forming apparatus. The lifetime management device counts the number of prints produced by the image forming apparatus with respect to each of photoconductor units and developing units in the process units, and measures an operation amount unique to the respective units. Based on the number of prints, service life of each unit and operation amount, the lifetime management device calculates the remaining lifetime of each unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system that includes an image forming apparatus mounted with a plurality of components and a lifetime management device that manages information on the lifetime of the components.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a failure occurs in a part of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, and a printer, depending on the type of the part, the image forming apparatus cannot be used until the part is replaced by a new one, and this imposes inconvenience on a user.
Therefore, various types of image forming systems have been proposed, which estimate the end of the service life of respective parts or components of an image forming apparatus to issue a request to replace a part which reaches its service life. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H9-146423 discloses such an image forming system. In the conventional image forming system, the number of prints produced by an image forming apparatus is calculated with respect to each of parts mounted thereon. When the number of prints exceeds a predetermined threshold for one of the parts, it is determined that the part has deteriorated to about the end of its service life due to printing operation. Then, a signal is transmitted to a remote monitoring device to request replacement of the part. In response to the request, a replacement worker, such as a service person, replaces the part before a failure occurs, which reduces the downtime of the image forming apparatus.
Some of the various parts mounted on the image forming apparatus deteriorate depending on an operation amount specific to the parts rather than the number of prints. For example, a developing roller, which does not closely contact recording paper during the printing operation, deteriorates depending on the operation amount including the total rotation time and the total rotation distance rather than the number of prints (hereinafter, this type of part is referred to as "operation amount-dependent deteriorated part"). On the other hand, a cleaning member that removes paper dust from the recording paper and toner remaining on an intermediate transfer belt, and a fixing roller that strongly contacts the recording paper deteriorates depending on the number of prints rather than the operation amount (hereinafter, this type of part is referred to as "print volume-dependent deteriorated part"). If the number of prints is completely proportional to the operation amount, the end of service life of each part can be accurately estimated based on the number of prints. However, the number of prints and the operation amount do not show a proportional correlation.
A factor of this relates to an idle operation at the start and the end of a print job. Specifically, the printing operation of the image forming apparatus includes a single printing operation in which an image is formed only on one recording sheet, and a continuous printing operation in which images are continuously formed on a plurality of recording sheets. In either printing operation, an idle operation, in which a sheet is not fed to respective parts, is performed when a job starts and ends. The idle operation is performed for the same time period in the single printing operation and the continuous printing operation. Accordingly, in the single printing operation, the percentage of the idle operation time in the total operation time is high compared to the continuous printing operation. Further, in the continuous printing operation, as the number of continuous prints decreases, the percentage of the idle operation time increases. Therefore, when a user frequently performs single printing and rarely performs continuous printing of relatively a few copies, the operation amount is considerably large, while the number of prints is relatively small. In such a case, if the service life is estimated based only on the number of prints, the operation amount-dependent deteriorated part may reach the end of its service life before the estimated one. On the contrary, when a user performs continuous printing of a large number of copies frequently and single printing relatively infrequently, the operation amount is considerably small, while the number of prints is relatively large. In such a case, if the service life is estimated based only on the number of prints, it is likely to be determined that the operation amount-dependent deteriorated part is almost at the end of its service life even if sufficient time remains until the end.
Therefore, the present inventors have studied to estimate service life based on the operation record of each part, instead of the number of prints, for the operation amount-dependent deteriorated parts. However, the number of prints more or less relates to the progress of deterioration even in the operation amount-dependent deteriorated parts according to the type of recording paper. Specifically, paper dust can adhere to the operation amount-dependent deteriorated parts such as the developing roller, which does not closely contact recording paper, via the intermediate transfer belt and a photosensitive drum, which closely contact recording paper. When a user mainly uses recording paper likely to generate paper dust, such as low-quality paper, the amount of adhering dust considerably increases. As a result, the number of prints relates relatively closely to the progress of deterioration even in the operation amount-dependent deteriorated parts. In such a case, if the service life of the operation amount-dependent deteriorated part is estimated based only on the operation record, estimation accuracy decreases.

Lifetime management device and image forming system


A wireless power transfer (“WPT”) pad includes a plurality of capacitors and a winding shaped for wireless power transfer. The winding is divided into a plurality of winding sections. The plurality of winding sections are connected in series with one or more capacitors of the plurality of capacitors connected in series between winding sections.

Wireless power transfer is becoming increasingly popular. Wireless power transfer involves transmitting power from a primary pad located on a stationary wireless power transfer device, such as a charging station, to a secondary pad on a mobile device, such as an electric vehicle, over a significant gap. The gap typically includes an air gap and can be significant. For example, the air gap may be from ground level to a secondary pad located under a vehicle. An air gap in the range of six inches to 10 inches is not uncommon. As the amount of power transferred over an air gap increases, voltages for transmission and reception systems has increased. One method of wireless power transfer includes using a resonant tank, which often boosts voltages of a wireless power transfer pad, which increases voltage ratings of components used for the equipment.

WIRELESS ADVANCED VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION, INC.


A portable media device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions that when executed cause the processor to access a media file stored in the portable media device based on a trial access term for the media file, determine that a trial period within the trial access term for the media file has expired, and set the media file as inaccessible to the portable device in response to determining that the trial period within the trial access term has expired.

An owner of a media file is often concerned with managing use of a digital copy of the media file and controlling who is authorized to have and use a copy of the media file. This problem is particularly pervasive in the music industry. Unless some type of protection scheme is used, it is often easy for a quality copy of digital music to be reproduced and for unauthorized use of the work to occur. Thus, many music sharing services, which enable users to download copies of musical works or other media recordings, require a user to purchase a license to use a copy of the digital music from the owner of the musical work before the service transfers a copy of the digital music file to a user. Further, some music sharing services require a user to subscribe to a monthly plan for receiving and using digital music. If the user cancels the subscription, however, the user is unable to play previously downloaded music. Such services, however, do not authorize a user to test or try digital music for a limited time, on a case by case basis, without a fee being initially associated with the music. Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Trial access for media files from a media list


The present invention is a cured adhesive composition with enhanced properties prepared by the high energy ionizing radiation initiated curing of a polymer composition. The polymer composition comprises from 1/3 to 2/3% by weight of the polymer composition of a block copolymer having the structure EQU (D--A--B).sub.x --Y--C.sub.z. where A is a polymer block of a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon, B, C and D are polymer blocks of a conjugated diene, Y is a coupling agent or coupling monomers or initiator, x ranges from 3 to 30, z ranges from 0 to 10, the molecular weight of the A blocks ranges from 5,000 to 25,000, the molecular weights of the B and C blocks range from 15,000 to 100,000 and the molecular weight of the D blocks ranges from 500 to 5,000 in one embodiment and above 5000 to 50,000 in the other; and a tackifying resin.

This invention relates to adhesive compositions, and more particularly, to adhesive compositions cured by subjection to ionizing radiation which promotes crosslinking of elastomeric block copolymers contained in the composition during exposure to the radiation.
Curing of adhesives based on conjugated diolefins and, optionally, vinyl aromatics has increased the range of service properties for such adhesives. Radiation curing and chemical curing of polymers to make such adhesives is known. This curing causes covalent crosslinking of the polymerized conjugated diolefins which is evidenced by a gel content of the crosslinked polymer. Before crosslinking, the polymers are melt processable but after crosslinking, the gel cannot be processed as melts. Crosslinking therefore enhances solvent resistance and improves elevated temperature shear properties. Compositions can therefore be applied to a substrate in a melt and then crosslinked to form a superior adhesive.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,391,949 and 4,780,367 disclose star shaped block copolymers of vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons and conjugated dienes which are particularly useful in adhesive compositions. The common feature of these polymers is that they each contain arms which have at least one block of a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon and at least one block of a conjugated diene and the arms are coupled at a central point with a coupling agent or coupling monomers or initiator. These polymers are especially amenable to radiation crosslinking such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,921. The polymers are combined with a tackifying resin and subjected to high energy ionizing radiation to initiate cure of the polymer and the tackifying resin.