Disclosed are a light emitting diode package and a manufacturing method thereof. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method includes: manufacturing a package main body having a plurality of cavities, the cavities being formed in a line on one surface, through molding by putting thermoplastic polymer into a previously produced mold; forming an electrode passing through the package main body; mounting a light emitting diode chip on a basal surface of the each cavity formed in the package main body; connecting electrically the light emitting diode chip and the electrode by using a bonding means; and sealing the light emitting diode chip and the bonding means by using a molding resin.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light emitting device, more particularly to a light emitting diode package manufactured by putting thermoplastic polymer into a previously produced mold and by using a compression molding method or an injection molding method, and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a light emitting diode (LED), wide markets related to a signboard, a display, an automobile, a signal light, a backlight and general illumination are now being formed. The LED market is steadily growing in each of the application fields. Particularly, various small-sized display devices having a low energy consumption rate are recently developed and a liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is popular with display devices, for example, a monitor, a laptop computer and a mobile communication terminal and the like. However, since the LCD cannot voluntarily generate a light beam, it is common to include a backlight used as a light source generating a light beam on the rear surface or the side surface of the LCD panel. A cold cathod fluorescent lamp (CCFL) and the LED are mainly used as such a backlight light source.
But, since the CCFL uses mercury vapor, the CCFL has disadvantages in that it may cause environmental pollution, has a slow response speed and poor color reproductivity and is not suitable for causing the backlight light source to be light, thin, short and small due to the big size thereof.
In comparison with this, the LED has advantages in that it is environmentally friendly and has a high response speed of several nanoseconds, a long life and high crashworthiness. The LED can freely change luminance and color temperature, etc. by adjusting the light amount of red, green and blue LEDs so that it has superb color reproductivity and is more suitable for causing the backlight light source to be light, thin, short and small. Accordingly, a side light emitting type LED package adopting the LED is mainly used as a backlight light source used in small-sized devices such as a mobile phone, a car navigation system and a PMP and so on.
Such an LED package for the backlight light source should include design flexibility capable of increasing the angle of orientation for maximizing the efficiency of an LED chip, and should be able to mount a large number of the LEDs in order to acquire the certain brightness. As electronic communication devices and display devices are smaller and thinner, the LED package is required to be thinner and lighter and the material cost and process cost is also required to be reduced.
FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the structure of an LED package adopting a lead frame structure according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, an LED package adopting the lead frame structure according to the related art is manufactured by mounting the LED chip 40 on the upper surface of a lead frame 20, and then performing wire bonding 50 and injecting molding resin 60 into the inside of injection molded products 10 and 30 surrounding the lead frame 20. However, in the LED package adopting the lead frame as illustrated in FIG. 1, there are problems in that it is difficult to cause the LED package to be light and thin due to the weight of the lead frame, and total material cost rises because of the high price of own lead frame. Also, there is a problem in that there is a limit in increasing the angle of orientation (light-emitting angle) of the LED package owing to the significant restriction for chip design, which is caused by an arrangement of the lead frame.
In order to solve such problems, an LED package using low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) is provided in substitution for the lead frame structure mentioned above. FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the structure of an LED package using low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 2, the LED package using LTCC includes a lower ceramic sheet 11, electrode 21, an upper ceramic sheet 31, a reflector 32, an LED chip 41, a wire-bonding, 51 and molding resin 61. However, even though such an LED package using LTCC can be replaced with the conventional lead frame structure in that cavity process can be applied to the LED package using LTCC by punching, and the LED package can be made by the lamination process of numerous ceramic sheets, there are still the following problems.
First, since the LED package using LTCC makes use of a ceramic substrate, the material cost thereof is high. It is difficult to mount numbers of LED chips on one substrate because the larger the size of the substrate is, the higher the possibility of occurrence of crack is. In addition, since the ceramic substrate has a different coefficient of thermal expansion from that of the molding resin, errors such as separation of the wire bonding may occur.
Additionally, since the LED package using LTCC adopts the existing ceramic substrate process as it stands when manufacturing the package, the LED package manufacturing process is complicated. This can be easily cleared through a flowchart of an LED package manufacturing method using LTCC illustrated in FIG. 3.
In step of S10 in FIG. 3, an upper ceramic sheet 31 having a through portion at the central part thereof is manufactured with the ceramic sheet 31A previously prepared through the cutting process by means of a punching process or a laser drill. In step of S20 in FIG. 3, the electrode 21 is formed on the lower ceramic sheet 11.
In step S30 of FIG. 3, the upper ceramic sheet 31 is laminated on the upper side of the lower ceramic sheet 11 having the electrode 21. A space for mounting the LED chip 41 in the future, that is, a cavity is formed on the upper surface of the lower ceramic sheet 11 through such a lamination process. In step of S40 in FIG. 3, the lower ceramic sheet 11 and the upper ceramic sheet 31 are fired.
In step of S50 in FIG. 3, the reflectors 32 are formed on the side walls of the upper ceramic sheet 31. In step of S60 in FIG. 3, the LED chip 41 is mounted in the cavity formed on the upper surface of the lower ceramic sheet 11, and the wire bonding 51 is performed so that the LED chip 41 is electrically connected to the electrode 21. In step of S70 in FIG. 3, the cavity formed on the upper surface of the lower ceramic sheet 11 is filled with molding resin 61 so that the LED chip 41 and the wire bonding 51 are fixed and sealed.
As described above, in the case of the LED package manufacturing method using LTCC, it can be seen that many procedures, that is, the punching/cutting process, the lamination process and the firing process, should be applied in the order specified so as to form the cavity, i.e., a space for mounting the LED chip 41. Also, in the cavity manufactured by the punching/cutting process and the lamination process, the boundary surface thereof always forms a right angle so that it is hard to obtain the wide angle of orientation (light-emitting angle) in the LED package.

Light emitting diode package and manufacturing method thereof


Apparatus and method relating generally to controlling operation of one or more managed devices, such as printers, are disclosed. In such method, a radio frequency identification tag of a plurality of radio frequency identification tags within a first range is detected by a radio frequency identification reader of a printer. Tag information for the radio frequency identification tag is sent to a server. The tag information for a user is mapped to a user list on the server. A check for a policy for the user is made. The printer is waked from a sleep mode for operation by the user responsive to a determination the user is likely to use the printer responsive to the policy.

Electronic devices may go into a sleep mode or other power saving mode. It can take some time for an electronic device to wake up out of a sleep mode to be in an operational mode. For example, in an office environment, one or more printers, which may be effectively stationary for purposes of use within such an office environment, may go into a sleep mode, and then a user may have to wait for a printer to go from a sleep mode to an operational mode. It would be useful and desirable if a user did not have to wait for an electronic device to go from a sleep mode to an operational mode or at least to reduce the duration of such wait time.

Waking an electronic device, such as a printer, from a sleep mode based on a user policy and proximity


The vehicle wheel cover retention system comprises a wheel formed from a suitable material and including a first hub hole provided therein. The first hub hole has a retention member formed in a generally axially extending portion thereof. The wheel cover is formed from a suitable material and includes a second hub hole provided therein. The second hub hole includes an annular axially extending segmented projection. The segmented projection includes a plurality of first tabs and a plurality of second tabs. The plurality of second tabs include a chamfered outer circumferential surface and a shoulder provided thereon. During assembly, the chamfered outer circumferential surface of the plurality of second tabs deflect radially inwardly as the wheel cover is initially installed and moved toward the retention member and then as the wheel cover is further advanced the second tabs move radially outward to enable the shoulder to engage the retention member to thereby secure the wheel cover to the wheel.

This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved vehicle wheel cover retention system and method for producing the same.
Full or partial vehicle wheel covers of the removable type are well known and have been used for many years to enhance the styling of conventional, stamped wheel discs. Also, it is known to permanently secure a full or partial wheel cover to a vehicle wheel using an adhesive.

Vehicle wheel cover retention system and method for producing same


Current configuration information of an information processing apparatus, post configuration information after updating a software, configuration information of a network device are stored in a database. A selection of a software image for updating the software of the information processing apparatus and a change of a configuration of the network device are considered, based on the pieces of configuration information. An automation of an operation of updating the software is realized by sending a result of consideration to an agent deployed in the information processing apparatus and causing the information processing apparatus to perform a desired processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for collecting various pieces of information and instructing operations by communicating with an agent installed in an information processing apparatus via a network and for updating software in the information processing apparatus, with a capability of automatically updating the software in the information processing apparatus employed in a complicated operation mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, information processing systems require a multifunction, and accordingly, some sort of problem can often lurk in the information processing system. If any problem is found in the information processing system, a remedy for the problem is generally provided in the form of a patch. The patch is a program or data that improves a problem in an information processing system, or a combination thereof.
When a patch is applied to an information processing system, it is required to follow a premised procedure, and another problem can be caused by following a wrong procedure. For example, when the patch is applied, it is sometimes required to stop a certain service in the information processing system or to apply another patch in advance.
For this reason, if there are many information processing systems and the patch needs to be applied to them, a heavy burden is put on an operator, and an erroneous operation is likely to cause a secondary failure. Therefore, inventions that make a patch-applying work more efficient and automatic have been made and disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-296132 and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-108255).
However, as the operation mode of the information processing systems become more complicated, the patch-applying work cannot be supported enough by the conventional inventions.
For example, in a system that is required to have high throughput and high usability, servers are often operated in parallel using a load balancer. This operates a system in a mode where a plurality of servers installed with an identical application is arranged, the load balancer receives all requests from clients, and it assigns the process into any one of the servers.
By taking such operation mode, a plurality of servers can be operated as a single information processing apparatus by appearance, and increased number of the servers can improve the processing performance. Moreover, the number of the servers can be dynamically changed for the operation depending on the load status and occurrence of failures, whereby achieving high availability.
The mode using the load balancer is also advantageous in the patch-applying work. When a patch is applied, in many cases, it is necessary to stop the service of the server. In the mode using the load balancer, by performing a procedure with respect to each server, the procedure including disconnecting the server fro the load balancer to stop the service and connecting the server to the load balancer again after the patch is applied, the patch can be applied to all the servers without stopping providing the service.
The method of applying the patch to each server after being disconnected from the load balancer is referred to as a rolling application. The rolling application includes a great advantage of being able to apply the patch while the information system is in operation as described above; however, it also includes a disadvantage that erroneous operation can occur because configuration of the load balancer and the like needs to be changed and the procedure is very complicated. The inventions disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-296132 and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-108255 improve only the application of the patch, and they do not improve most part of the rolling application procedure.
The target system of the rolling application is, as described above, a system that operates servers in parallel, which is often a large-scale system. Therefore, if an erroneous operation occurs in the rolling application of the patch, an effect thereof is very likely to be very profound, and it is very important to prevent occurrence of the erroneous operation.

Method, apparatus, and computer product for updating software


A device for suppressing brake noise wherein a rod is provided upright on the inside of the rim to which the brake lining is fitted, and a weight is fitted to this rod by way of an elastic body. By fitting a weight to the brake shoe by way of an intermediary elastic body, the weight will vibrate when it is subject to the vibration of the brake shoe. At low frequencies the vibration of the weight will be in phase with the vibration of the brake shoe, but as the vibration frequency of the brake shoe increases, the vibration of the weight will shift out of phase with the vibration of the brake shoe. In the vicinity of and above a certain frequency, this phase difference will become nearly 180 degrees. By matching this frequency to the brake noise frequency, the vibration of the brake shoe can be suppressed by the vibration of the weight.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is utilized for motor vehicle brakes, and for drum brakes in particular. It relates to a technique for reducing the so-called "brake noise" emitted when a motor vehicle brakes.
2. Description of Related Art
Much research has been carried out with the aim of reducing brake noise (the unpleasant "squeal" noise) produced when a motor vehicle brakes, and many proposals have been made regarding its reduction. The present applicant has been making a close study of this problem for a long time.
The technique disclosed in Jap. Unexamined Pat. No.3-288028 is a prior application by the present applicant and involves fitting a pressure member to the inside of the rim of the brake shoe by way of an intermediary friction member. The technique disclosed in Jap. Unexamined Pat. No.1-65944 is an older technique which is equivalent to the prior application of the present applicant, and involves fitting a friction member to the inside of the rim.
The technique disclosed in Jap. Unexamined Utility Model No.3-84436 likewise pertains to the prior application of the present applicant, and involves suppressing brake shoe vibration by fitting a weight to the inside of the rim. At the time at which this technique was disclosed, the idea of interposing an elastic member between the weight and the rim had not been thought of.
Subsequent experimental studies have confirmed the correctness of the analysis and explanation of brake noise given in the aforementioned Jap. Unexamined Pat. No.3-288028, and in particular the phenomenon explained with reference to FIG. 8 of the same publication. (This phenomenon will be explained in connection with the embodiments disclosed in the present application.) Namely, it has been found that the main cause of brake noise is vibration of the brake shoe, and that a brake shoe will vibrate in a radial direction as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 27 of the application.
Brake noise is reduced by the aforementioned technique, and in the particular case of small passenger cars travelling on ordinary urban roads, it has been reduced to the level under which for practical purposes it is hardly a problem at all. However, under some conditions (and what these conditions are is not clear) the phenomenon of brake noise still occurs in the case of heavy duty vehicles, and further research is required to overcome this problem.
The present inventors have observed the phenomena associated with brake noise and have analyzed the results of these observations in a variety of ways. They have carried out experiments and analysis on vibration and have studied concrete measures for suppressing brake shoe vibration. The aforementioned experimental and analyses have involved new investigative methods, such as displaying vibration on a computer screen in an exaggerated form and correlating it with the frequency characteristics of the sound it produces. As the outcome of these studies, the present inventors propose the technique disclosed in this application. The experiments which they have performed have proven that this technique is far more useful than the previously known measures.

Drum brake having a vibration suppression sytem


A carrier configured to be attached to a semiconductor substrate via a first surface comprises a continuous carbon structure defining a first surface of the carrier, and a reinforcing material constituting at least 2 vol-% of the carrier.

Wide band-gap semiconductor wafers are typically available in standard wafer sizes and/or thicknesses. For example, standard wafer diameters may be 2 inch (50 mm), 4 inch (100 mm) or 6 inch (150 mm). For silicon carbide wafers, a standard wafer thickness may be, for example, 350 μm. Attempts have been made to reduce the final thickness of semiconductor material to improve device characteristics. For example, in power semiconductor devices with a vertical load current flow between a front side and a backside, a thinner semiconductor die may result in lower on-state resistance. Wafer split methods aim at horizontally splitting wafers in a plurality of thin wafers to save costs, but brittle semiconductor material and the thermal budget applied to the thin wafers may complicate the handling of semiconductor wafers that are thinner than standard wafers.
An auxiliary carrier may be reversibly bonded to a semiconductor wafer to increase mechanical stability but may also cause additional challenges in process technology.

Carrier, laminate and method of manufacturing semiconductor devices


A SAW oscillator is provided that can prevent an increased parasitic capacitance or an increased parasitic inductance even in the high frequency range. The SAW oscillator includes a semiconductor integrated circuit, a SAW device, and a passive component within a package. The semiconductor integrated circuit, the passive component, and the SAW device are disposed adjacent to an in parallel with each other along a straight line.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to SAW oscillators, and more particularly, to a SAW oscillator including at least a semiconductor integrated circuit, a SAW device, and a passive component in a package.
2. Background Art
Due to the recent progress in semiconductor technologies, an oscillator including an oscillation circuit within a package is becoming smaller and highly integrated.
There is a demand for oscillators with higher oscillation frequencies and measures against high loads.
However, when wiring or a wiring pattern forming an oscillation loop becomes longer, the parasitic capacitance (stray capacitance) or the parasitic inductance in the high frequency range (for example, 100 MHz or higher) becomes increased. If the parasitic capacitance is increased in the oscillation loop, the dielectric loss becomes larger and the load impedance is increased in the high frequency range. Accordingly, the gain is decreased, and as a result, a desired oscillation frequency cannot be obtained or oscillation itself cannot be obtained in the oscillation circuit.
If the parasitic inductance is increased (added) in the oscillation loop, the load impedance is increased in the high frequency range. Accordingly, the gain is decreased, and as a result, a desired oscillation frequency cannot be obtained or oscillation itself cannot be obtained in the oscillation circuit.
In view of this background, Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 5-70015 discloses that the length of wiring in the oscillation loop, and in particular the output side wiring, may be decreased. The oscillator disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 5-70015 uses a quartz resonator, and a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) connected to the quartz resonator is disposed toward the output side so that the length of the wiring for the semiconductor integrated circuit at the output side is decreased.
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 5-70015, the parasitic inductance or the load impedance occurring at the output side wiring can be prevented. However, the total length of the wiring or wiring pattern is not changed in the entire oscillation loop. Accordingly, increased load impedance cannot be prevented in the entire oscillation loop.
Accordingly, to solve the above-described problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a SAW oscillator that can prevent an increased parasitic capacitance or an increased parasitic inductance even in the high frequency range by minimizing the length of the wiring or wiring pattern in the entire oscillation loop.

Parallel arrangement for saw oscillator components


The present invention provides a compact printer that can print images of high quality even if the images are printed successively. A temperature at the time of turn-on is detected by a temperature sensor, and a CPU estimates the temperature of an exposure head at the start of exposure based on the detected temperature. The CPU creates print data by referring to a look-up table in accordance with the estimated temperature and drives the exposure head in accordance with the print data, thereby forming a latent image on an instant film sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer that has a medium loading chamber that houses a recording medium on which a latent image can be formed by exposure and made visible by development, in which an image is recorded on a recording medium in the medium loading chamber by forming a latent image on the recording medium by exposure based on image data and developing the latent image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of printers of this type use an exposure head to form a latent image on an instant film sheet.
The exposure head has light emitting elements emitting red light, green light and blue light, respectively. A latent color image is recorded on an instant film by adjusting the quantity of light emitted by each light emitting element by a corresponding shutter in a liquid-crystal shutter array. The adjustment by each shutter in the liquid-crystal shutter array involves controlling the opening time, that is, the shutter speed of the shutter to provide a color gradation on the instant film according to the quantity of red, green or blue light received thereon when the shutter is open.
Printers provided with such an exposure head are used in various areas of various ambient temperatures or regardless of season. The printers used at different ambient temperatures may record images with varied gradations on recording media.
Thus, in order that the printers offer similar performance at different ambient temperatures, they have a look-up table for temperature compensation that enables images to be recorded with equal quality.
Even if the temperature control is conducted by the technique described above, if the printer outputs images successively after the printer is turned on, the temperature detected by the sensor at the time of turn-on may not be related to the current temperature of the exposure head, and thus, a blurred image may result. To avoid this, a temperature sensor may be provided on the exposure head to detect the temperature of the exposure head before exposure. However, providing the temperature sensor on the head results in an increase in size of the exposure head.
Besides, to address such a problem, according to another approach, the temperature control is achieved using a cooling mechanism without using the temperature sensor (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-302325). However, providing the cooling mechanism results in an increase in size of the entire apparatus.


An optical device is disposed with: a swollen portion that is attached to the underside of a reflective surface of a reflective mirror, swells in an outward direction of the reflective mirror and is configured as part of a spherical surface. A mirror orientation adjustment lever that is attached to the underside of the reflective surface of the reflective mirror, extends along the underside of the reflective mirror, and protrudes from an end edge of the reflective mirror when seen planarly. The reflective mirror is disposed along a side wall of an optical parts-use casing. The side wall includes, at the position where the reflective mirror is disposed, a spherical concave portion corresponding to a spherical surface of the swollen portion, and when the reflective mirror is disposed at the disposition position, the swollen portion is supported by the spherical concave portion.

Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to an optical device and a projector.
Related art, projectors are disposed with an optical device including: plural optical parts disposed on an optical path of light beams emitted from a light source; and an optical parts-use casing where an illumination optical axis of the light beams is set inside and which houses the plural optical parts and is disposed at a predetermined position.
Here, as the optical parts, plural optical elements that change the optical characteristics of the light beams emitted from the light source, and plural mirrors that reflect and/or transmit the light beams emitted from the light source and guide the light beams on a predetermined illumination optical axis, are used.
In such a projector, it is necessary to relatively position the optical elements serving as the optical parts and to prevent displacement of the inclination positions of the reflective surfaces of the mirrors in order to obtain a sharper projection image. Additionally, a retention structure that can adjust the orientations of the mirrors has been disclosed in JP-A-2000-321661.
In the mirror retention structure described in JP-A-2000-321661, center portions at lower ends of the mirrors are nipped by one protruding portion formed on the optical parts-use casing and a substantially U-shaped plate spring attached with a fixing screw to the optical parts-use casing. Also, two places at upper ends of the mirrors are nipped by two eccentric discs pivotably attached to the optical parts-use casing and a substantially U-shaped plate spring attached with a fixing screw to the optical parts-use casing. Additionally, by independently pivoting each eccentric disc using a tool, such as a driver, at least one of the inclination of the vertical direction of the mirrors and the inclination of the horizontal direction of the mirrors is adjustable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A light modulating device including: a light transmissive plate having a curved surface; a light modulating cell; and an optically transparent adhesive film which is disposed between the curved surface of the light transmissive plate and the light modulating cell and attaches one side of the light modulating cell to the curved surface of the light transmissive plate.

Conventionally, a light modulating device capable of changing a light transmittance has been known, for example, a suspended particle device (SPD) using suspended particles whose alignment state fluctuates depending on whether or not an electric field is applied has been known. In addition, an electrochromic (EC) light modulating device, a light modulating device using polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), a gas chromic light modulating device, a thermochromic light modulating device, a photochromic light modulating device, and the like are also known.
For example, JP 2011-189751 A discloses a laminate film used for the SPD. In the SPD described in JP 2011-189751 A, a suspension in which suspended particles are mixed in a liquid medium is used, and the particles are randomly disposed to block light transmission in a power-off state where no electric field is applied. On the other hand, the particles are aligned, and most of light incident on the SPD (cell) transmits through the SPD in a power-on state where the electric field is applied. Therefore, a user can change the light transmittance of the SPD by controlling the electric field to be applied to the suspension.


Methods, apparatus, systems, architectures and interfaces for encoding and/or decoding point cloud bitstreams including coded point cloud sequences are provided. Included among such methods, apparatuses, systems, architectures, and interfaces is an apparatus that may include a processor and memory. A method may include any of: mapping components of the point cloud bitstream into tracks; generating information identifying any of geometry streams or texture streams according to the mapping of the components; generating information associated with layers corresponding to respective geometry component streams; and generating information indicating operation points associated with the point cloud bitstream.

The below generally relates to communication networks, wireless and/or wired. For example, one or more embodiments disclosed herein are related to methods and apparatus for decoding information associated with three-dimensional (3D) point clouds that may be transmitted and/or received using wireless and/or wired communication networks. 3D point clouds may provide a representation of physical space, virtual space, and/or immersive media. For example, a point cloud may be a set of points representing 3D space using coordinates indicating locations of each point along with one or more attributes, such as any of a color, transparency, time of acquisition, reflectance of laser or material property, etc., associated with one or more of the points. Point clouds may be captured in a number of ways. A point cloud may be captured using any of multiple cameras and depth sensors, such as, for example, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) laser scanners. In order to represent a 3D space, the number of points to (e.g., realistically) reconstruct objects and scenes using point clouds may be in the order of millions or billions, and may be a further increasing number. Such a large number of points of a point cloud may need efficient representation and compression for storage and transmission of point cloud data, and, for example, may be applied to advances in capturing and rendering 3D points used in the areas of tele-presence, virtual reality, and large-scale dynamic 3D maps, etc.

Methods and apparatus for point cloud compression bitstream format


A novelty pencil comprises a novelty device 11 and an elongate wooden body 10 formed by a convention pencil. The body 10 of the novelty pencil has a reduced diameter portion 20 at one end, which is inserted into a tubular plastics portion 14 of the novelty device 11. A plastics model 17 of the novelty device 11 is adhered to an external surface of the tubular plastics portion 14 of the device. Accordingly, the three separate parts 10,14,17 of the novelty pencil are securely fastened together.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novelty pencil.
2. Related Background Art
It is well known to attach figurines or other models to conventional wooden pencils, so that they can be sold as souvenirs at tourist attractions etc.
In one known arrangement, the upper end of the pencil is merely inserted into an aperture formed in the model. However, a disadvantage of this arrangement is that the location and depth of the aperture severely limits the shape and configuration of the model.
In another known arrangement, the figurine is adhered to the side of the pencil. However, a disadvantage of this arrangement is that the pencils to which the models are attached are normally coated with paint, which can break away from the pencil when a moderate force is applied to the model.
We have now devised a novelty pencil which alleviates the above-mentioned problems.


A spark delivery system for generating a spark using a laser beam is provided, the spark delivery system including a laser light source and a laser delivery assembly. The laser delivery assembly includes a hollow fiber and a launch assembly comprising launch focusing optics to input the laser beam in the hollow fiber. In addition, the laser delivery assembly includes exit focusing optics that demagnify an exit beam of laser light from the hollow fiber, thereby increasing the intensity of the laser beam and creating a spark. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the assembly may be used to create a spark in a combustion engine. In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, a method of using the spark delivery system is provided. In addition, a method of choosing an appropriate fiber for creating a spark using a laser beam is also presented.

Pulsed lasers producing optical pulses with short temporal duration and high peak powers may be used to create laser sparks and initiate combustion. When the pulsed laser beam is focused to a small point, the intensity (power per area) at that point can be large enough to initiate electrical breakdown in the gas, thereby forming a spark (plasma). The physical mechanisms postulated for breakdown include photochemical absorption, multi-photon ionization, and electron cascade.
In an electron cascade, it is assumed that a small number of electrons appear in the beam focus region. These electrons acquire energy from the electric field by absorption of photons, and collide with neutral atoms, a process termed "inverse bremsstrahlung". The electrons ionize the gas when their energy exceeds the ionization potential of the atoms. The electron collision will ionize the atom, producing additional electron(s) to start the cascade process and lead to avalanche breakdown.
The minimum amount of energy or intensity required to cause the breakdown is commonly referred to as the breakdown threshold. For nano second pulse durations and milli joule energy levels, breakdown is thought to be intensity limited. In addition, the breakdown threshold is also dependent on the gas composition and pressure existing in the spark target environment.
Experimental measurements of spatially and temporally averaged optical intensities are found by dividing the laser power (pulse energy/pulse duration) by the beam area. At the spark location the beam area is typically small, with dimensions on the order of 10 to 100 μm, and in many experiments it has not been precisely measured. Therefore, there tends to be some uncertainty in published intensity requirements for breakdown and spark formation. Additional uncertainty in intensity requirements is due to spatial and temporal averaging. For conditions of interest, including nano second pulse durations and milli joule energy levels with a target sparking environment comprising low-particulate (or particulate free) gas mixtures with a significant fraction of air and pressures of approximately 1 to 30 atmospheres, the required optical intensity to spark is approximately 0.5 to 10×1011 W/cm2.
For sparking uses associated with combustion engines, the desired combination of lean mixtures and high brake mean effective pressure results in the cylinder pressure and mixture density in modern engines being relatively high, creating difficulties for traditional spark ignition systems. As the density increases in the cylinder, the breakdown voltage (minimum voltage required to form a spark using a spark ignition system) also increases, ultimately to such high voltage levels that traditional spark ignition systems encounter problems with dielectric breakdown leading to unwanted sparking from the ignition leads and other undesired locations (i.e., the spark does not form between the electrodes as intended). Even if the high voltage can be managed, high voltage means that electrode erosion can be quite high. The combination of spark plug erosion and dielectric breakdown is a limiting factor in the operational envelope of modern gas engines. Optical sparks suffer from neither of these shortcomings and thus may have significant advantages for improved engine operation. In certain cases, optical sparks can also afford performance benefits associated with extension of maintenance intervals as well as changes in the lean limit, coefficient of variation of pressure, pollutant emissions, and other parameters.
Laser ignition has been shown to be a particularly effective way of igniting lean mixtures. It is fairly easy to create a spark by using "open path" laser delivery. The open path method implies that the laser beam propagates through the ambient air and is steered to the desired location by mirrors. Although simple and effective, this system is not practical for most industrial applications. Thus, there is a need for development and demonstration of a fiber optic delivery system.
The key challenges associated with the use of fiber optic delivery are the intensity damage threshold of the fiber optic material and limitations on focusing fiber optically delivered light. The former point relates to material properties of fiber material, typically silica, and limits the maximum achievable optical intensity at the fiber exit to approximately 1 to 5×109 W/cm2. Generally, the desired spark location is not right at the fiber exit, but is located some distance downstream of the fiber exit, so that intermediate optics are used to capture the light leaving the fiber and to focus it at the desired spark location. Because the intensity at the fiber exit is limited, the imaging or focusing requirements to generate a sufficient intensity to spark at the desired spark location become more stringent. In other words, the light exiting the fiber must be demagnified to enable a sufficiently high optical intensity that exceeds the breakdown threshold at the desired spark location.
The problem is compounded by the second challenge which is the difficulty in focusing fiber optically delivered light. The minimum achievable spot size (i.e. beam dimension at the focal spot) tends to increase for a laser beam that has passed through a fiber optic. This increase in minimum achievable spot size, which makes it more difficult to reach high intensity, is related to a degradation of the spatial quality of a laser beam caused by transmission through a fiber. The spatial quality of a laser beam, typically characterized by its M2 parameter, is a function of the transverse spatial modes of which the beam is composed. (A low M2 parameter corresponds to a beam composed of "lower order" spatial modes, and such modes can be focused to smaller dimensions.) Generally, the M2 parameter of the beam exiting the fiber is relatively large, and larger than the value for the beam entering the fiber. The spatial quality (and M2) of light exiting a fiber is influenced by the fiber diameter and the exit angle of light leaving the fiber. For small-diameter single-mode fibers (diameter<˜30 μm) the degradation is minimal; however, such fibers cannot transmit a large amount of energy and are not considered useful in laser ignition application(s). Larger diameter fibers are required to transmit higher energies, but in such cases the larger diameter increases the beam degradation and thus impedes focusing to small spot sizes (high intensities).
Solid core fiber optics have one optical material in the core (center channel) and a second optical material in the cladding (surrounding material). The index-of-refraction of the core material is selected to be larger than that of the cladding material so that light at the core-cladding interface is "totally internally reflected" and thus guided through the fiber core. Hollow core fibers have a hollow bore (no material) surrounded by a wall material. Such a configuration has a higher index in the wall than the core and does not allow efficient light guiding. Uncoated hollow fibers may only be effectively used in straight geometries.
Finally, it noted that it is much more difficult to form a spark in the gas phase as compared to on a solid or in a liquid because more optical intensity is required. There are a number of papers/approaches that form sparks off solid surfaces after fiber delivery, and this can be done rather "routinely" with a solid fiber. For the same reason, it is also routine to spark in gases containing dust, sprays, or particulate matter since the spark initially forms on those liquids/solids as opposed to in the gas. However, it is desirable to spark in the gas phase because it allows the spark to be located away from cylinder walls or other solid surfaces, which act as heat sinks and yield poorer combustion performance. Freedom in locating the spark may also allow sparking at other locations that offer other combustion benefits (for example, locations where the air/fuel mixing is better or the gas velocity field is favorable).
Another consequence of the ease of sparking on solids is that the use of fiber optics becomes harder because of the tendency to spark (unwantedly) at the launch entrance of the fiber. Such sparks consume energy from the laser beam and may degrade the quality of the beam preventing subsequent sparking after the fiber

Fiber coupled optical spark delivery system

Colorado State University Research Foundation


The present invention provides a coating composition capable of forming a fluorine-containing coating layer having a low refractive index and a high hardness, a coating layer formed by using the coating composition, an anti-reflecting layer using the coating layer and an anti-reflecting film and an image display device to which the anti-reflecting layer is applied. The coating composition according to the present invention comprises (A) a binder system containing a fluorine-containing component (a) having one or both of a functional group which can be cured by ionizing radiation and a polar group which can be heat-cured, and contains both an ionizing radiation-curable group and a heatcurable polar group as a whole and (B) an inorganic superfine particle of the order of submicron in size which can be dispersed in a colloidal state in a liquid medium for preparing a coating liquid. The coating layer formed using this coating composition is preferable for forming a light-transmitting layer, particularly, a low-refractive index layer 20, constituting a monolayer type or multilayer type anti-reflecting layer 17.

It is demanded for the display surfaces of image display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and cathode ray tube display devices (CRTs) to reduce the reflection of rays emitted from external light sources such as a fluorescent lamp in order to improve the visibility of these display surfaces.
A phenomenon has been known that reflectance is made smaller by coating the surface of a transparent material with a transparent layer having a small refractive index. It is possible to improve visibility by arranging an anti-reflecting layer utilizing such a phenomenon on the display surface of an image display device. The anti-reflecting layer has a monolayer structure in which a low-refractive index layer having a small refractive index is disposed on a display surface or a multilayer structure in which one or plural layers having middle to high refractive indexes are disposed on a display surface and a low-refractive index layer for decreasing the refractive index of the outermost surface is disposed on these middle to high refractive index layers to produce a higher anti-reflecting effect.
The monolayer type anti-reflecting layer is simpler than the multilayer type and is superior in productivity and cost performance. On the other hand, the multilayer type anti-reflecting layer can be improved in anti-reflecting performance by combining layer structures and is therefore improved in performance more easily than the monolayer type.
Methods of forming a low-refractive index layer included in such an anti-reflecting layer are roughly classified into a vapor phase method and a coating method in general. The vapor phase method includes physical methods such as a vacuum deposition method and sputtering method and chemical methods such as a CVD method. The coating methods include a roll coating method, gravure coating method, slide coating method, spraying method, dipping method and screen printing method.
In the case of using the vapor phase method, a high functional and high quality transparent thin layer can be formed. However, in this method, it is necessary to control the minute atmosphere in a high vacuum system, and also, a specific heating device or an ion generating and accelerating device is required, giving rise to the problem that production equipment is complicated and large-sized, entailing high production costs. Also, in the case of using the vapor phase method, it is difficult to enlarge the area of a transparent thin layer and to form a transparent thin layer in a uniform layer thickness on the surface of a film or the like having a complicated shape.
On the other hand, in the case of using the spraying method among the coating methods, the utility efficiency of a coating liquid is low, posing the problem such as a difficulty in controlling filming conditions. In the case of using the roll coating method, gravure coating method, slide coating method, dipping method or screen printing method, the utility efficiency of layer raw materials is high and there is an advantage in mass-production and equipment cost. However, there is the problem that a transparent thin layer obtained by the coating method is usually more deteriorated in functions and qualities than that obtained by the vapor phase method.
As a coating method, a method is known in which a coating liquid containing a polymer (fluorine-containing polymer) having a fluorine atom in its molecular structure is applied to the surface of a support and dried or a coating liquid containing a monomer (fluorine-containing monomer) having a fluorine atom in its molecular structure is applied to the surface of a support and dried, and then cured by UV radiation to form a low-refractive index layer. A coating layer comprising a binder containing fluorine has a low refractive index and the refractive index is more reduced with an increase in the fluorine content. Also, when the fluorine content in the coating layer is increased, such an effect that the coating layer is resistant to the sticking of soils, improving anti-stain characteristics is produced. However, because the intermolecular force of fluorine itself is small, a molecule containing a fluorine atom tends to be softened, posing the problem that if the fluorine content in a coating layer is high, the hardness and strength of the coating layer are decreased.
Because many low-refractive index layers are principally formed on the outermost surface or in the vicinity of the surface of an anti-reflecting layer, these layers basically tend to be suffered from the attacks of some materials by a contact to these materials, or collision or friction with these materials. If the fluorine content is too increased to raise the refractive index of the coating layer, this brings about a remarkable drop in hardness, so that the layer is easily damaged and there is therefore the case where the layer is damaged even if it is only rubbed hardly to wipe dusts and stains.
Also, when the low-refractive index layer is disposed as an intermediate layer though it is disposed in the vicinity of the surface, it is somewhat less damaged by attacks from the outside. However, if the fluorine content is too increased to raise the refractive index of the coating layer, this causes a reduction in strength, with the result that peeling at the interface between the low-refractive index layer and a layer adjacent to the low-refractive index layer is easily caused by the concentration of stress.
A low-refractive index layer is formed by mixing a binder having a high fluorine content with a binder containing no fluorine and having high hardness or strength, whereby the hardness and strength of the low-refractive index layer can be improved. In this case, however, the proportion occupied by fluorine to be contained in the whole of the low-refractive index layer is low and therefore the effect of the fluorine-containing binder on a reduction in refractive index is impaired, bringing about the results that the refractive index can be insufficiently reduced.
Disclosed in the publication of JP-A No. 11-64601 is a low-refractive index layer having a very fine porous structure prepared by forming micro voids having an average diameter of 200 μm or less in a coating layer comprising of a fluorine-containing polymer. The low-refractive index layer disclosed in this publication ensures that the refractive index of the coating layer can be made to be close to that of air (namely, refractive index: 1) by forming a large number of micro voids in the coating layer and it is therefore possible to reduce the refractive index even if the fluorine content in the fluorine-containing polymer is not raised. Also in this case, however, if the number of micro voids is too increased to reduce the refractive index of the coating layer, this causes reduction in the hardness and strength of the coating layer similarly to the case of raising the fluorine content.
The present invention has been attained in view of the above situation, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a coating composition capable of forming a fluorine-containing coating layer which has a low refractive index, high hardness and high adhesion.
Also, a second object of the present invention is to provide a coating layer having a low refractive index, high hardness, high adhesiveness, high transparency and is also superior in mass-productivity as the coating layer can be formed by a coating method, by using the coating composition which can attain the above first object.
Also, a third object of the present invention is to provide a coating layer used preferably as an optical thin layer which has a low-refractive index, high hardness, high adhesion and high transparency, is superior in mass-productivity and of which a low refractive index is demanded, particularly, as a low-refractive index layer of an anti-reflecting layer, by using the coating composition capable of attaining the above first object.
Also, a fourth object of the present invention is to provide an anti-reflecting layer having an optical thin layer comprising the coating layer which can attain the above second and third objects and an anti-reflecting film and an image display device to which such an anti-reflecting layer is applied.
The present invention attains at least one of these objects.

Coating composition, coating formed therefrom, anti-reflection coating, anti-reflection film, and image display device


Base stations can exchange information indicating that the base stations are transmitting (or going to transmit) downlink signals over one or more unlicensed frequency bands. For example, a first indication that a first base station is reserving a first subset of a plurality of unlicensed frequency bands for downlink transmission can be transmitted over one or more interfaces between the first base station and one or more second base stations. The one or more second base stations can then refrain from transmitting potentially interfering downlink transmissions over the first subset of the plurality of unlicensed frequency bands. Information identifying the first subset may be stored by the one or more second base stations.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and, more particularly, to downlink transmissions in unlicensed frequency bands of a wireless communication system.
Description of the Related Art
Unlicensed frequency bands are portions of the radiofrequency spectrum that do not require a license for use and may therefore be used by any device to transmit or receive radiofrequency signals. For example, the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio bands are portions of the radio spectrum that are reserved internationally for unlicensed communication. The ISM radio bands include bands with a center frequency of 2.4 GHz and a bandwidth of 100 MHz, a center frequency of 5.8 GHz and a bandwidth of 150 MHz, and a center frequency of 24.125 GHz and a bandwidth of 250 MHz, among other frequency bands. Unlicensed frequency bands can be contrasted to licensed frequency bands that are licensed to a particular service provider and may only be used for wireless communication that is authorized by the service provider. Wireless communication devices that transmit or receive signals in unlicensed frequency bands are typically referred to as nodes. For example, the base stations or access points that provide wireless connectivity to a network and the user equipment or other devices that access the network over an air interface to the base stations or access points may be referred to as nodes in the wireless communication system.
Wireless communication systems that utilize unlicensed frequency bands, such as Wi-Fi systems, are prone to a "hidden node problem." For example, if two user equipment are within range of the same access point, but are too far apart to be aware of each other, the two user equipment are "hidden" from each other. Access points or base stations can also be hidden from each other by distance or intervening obstructions. Nodes that are hidden from each other cannot coordinate transmission and reception of packets, e.g., to force time-sharing between the two nodes. Packets transmitted by nodes that are hidden from each other may therefore collide at a receiving node, which can only decode one packet at a time. Consequently, packets intended for the receiving node may be missed or lost if they collide with other packets transmitted by a hidden node. The hidden node problem can be exacerbated by the presence of obstructions between the stations for the access points. For example, building penetration losses are typically on the order of 11-20 dB. Consequently, an indoor access point may be hidden from an outdoor base station even though they may be physically proximate to each other. Similarly, two user equipment in the same building may be hidden from each other if they are separated by one or more walls, doors, or other obstructions within the building.
A carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) protocol may be used to detect or avoid collisions that may be caused by the hidden node problem. In CSMA, a transmitting node monitors a channel in the unlicensed band to determine whether it is currently being used for other transmissions and only transmits if the channel is unoccupied. The CSMA protocol may be enhanced using a request-to-send/clear-to-send (RTS/CTS) protocol. The RTS/CTS protocol attempts to reduce collisions by allowing a transmitting node to send an RTS frame that indicates that the transmitting node would like to transmit information to a receiving node if the transmitting node detects a clear unlicensed channel. If the receiving node also determines that the unlicensed channel is clear, the receiving node replies with a CTS frame that indicates that the transmitting node is free to transmit information on the unlicensed channel for a time interval. Other nodes that detect the CTS frame are to refrain from transmitting on the unlicensed channel during the time interval indicated in the CTS frame. However, carrier sensing protocols may not effectively prevent collisions of downlink transmissions if some or all neighboring access points or base stations do not "hear" the RTS or CTS frames transmitted by the user equipment.

Coordinating base station downlink transmissions in unlicensed frequency bands


In a memory inspection in a computer installing a x86 CPU, system software related to low-frequent processing is prevented from going down, and the suppression of performance degradation and the avoidance of a reduction in memory capacity by the memory inspection is realized. The computer having a processor, a memory, and an I/O device. The memory stores a system software realizing a system control unit, and an inspection program realizing an inspection unit. The processor has a memory fault notifying unit notifying the system control unit of a fault address. The system control unit includes an adjustment unit that determines whether the inspection program needs to be executed, or not, based on the type of event occurring, plural event processing units processing the event by using different storage areas of the memory, a fault recording unit recording the memory fault, and an event processing unit selector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique in which a system controller realized by system software that operates a plurality of programs with the use of computer resources detects a memory fault.
2. Background Art
With an improvement in the performance and function of an open server installing an x86 CPU therein, as a method of effectively using a CPU core installed in the server, a hypervisor providing the function of server virtualization has been extensively used. The hypervisor is system software that creates a plurality of virtual machines by using computer resources such as a CPU, a memory and an I/O device installed in one physical server, and operates an OS and applications on the respective virtual machines.
With the popularization of the multicore CPU, the number of virtual machines created on one physical server tends to increase, and a memory capacity installed in the physical server also tends to increase. With those tendencies, in order to increase the memory capacity, a reduction in the size of a memory element included in a memory module is promoted.
In general, when a size of semiconductor is reduced, data is liable to be garbled due to a disturbance such as cosmic radiation or a failure of the memory element. In order to prevent malfunction caused by data garble, a coding technique using an ECC (error correcting code) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,982, and so on, is applied to a memory controller within the server CPU.
With the use of the ECC, if a correctable error such as a 1-bit error occurs in the read data, the error is corrected at the time of error detection, and the operation of a program can be continued. However, if an uncorrectable error (UE) such as a 2-bit error occurs in the read data, the operation of the program is disturbed.
In the related-art server having the x86 CPU, if the read data has the UE, a fault interrupt for instructing a forced outage is transmitted to all CPU cores within the system. For that reason, all of OSs and applications go down.
On the contrary, Intel Corporation ("Intel" registered in trademark) modifies the specification of fault processing for the CPU as disclosed in Intel, "Intel 64 and IA-32 Architecture Software Developer's Manual June 2009, Volume 3A: System Programming Guide, Part 1", Chapter 15.6, Chapter 15.9.3. In the modified specification, a fault transmission means of a class called "SRAR (software recoverable action required) is added, and a range of the forced outage is restricted by addition of this specification.
In the SRAR, information different for each of the CPU cores is transmitted at the time of the fault interrupt. A memory address at which the UE is held, and information indicating that an execution state (command address) of the program is lost are transmitted to the CPU core that reads the UE. The memory address at which the UE is held, and information indicating that the execution state of the program is valid are transmitted to other CPU cores. For that reason, system software that receives the respective information subjects only the program in which the execution state is lost to forced outage, and can continue the operation of the other programs.
However, a fault is also present in the SRAR. When the system software per se reads the UE, because the system software per se goes down, the other programs operated by the system software also go down.
In order to suppress the occurrence of the UE, the memory controller conducts scrubbing. The "scrubbing" is a function of correcting the correctable error such as the 1-bit error at a timing when the memory is accessed. When data is repetitively garbled by the disturbance such as cosmic radiation, if the error can be corrected at a stage of the 1-bit error, the occurrence of the UE can be suppressed.
However, this method is effective for a storage area frequently referred to, but ineffective for the storage area which is low in reference frequency. For example, the hypervisor has processing low in execution frequency such as start of the virtual machines and live migration. A storage area used at the time of executing those processing low in the execution frequency is low in the reference frequency, and therefore the UE is relatively liable to occur.
Under the circumstances, in order to scrub the storage area low in the reference frequency, there has been known a patrol scrubbing technique in which hardware such as the memory controller cyclically inspects an overall region of the memory regardless of the execution of the program.
However, when the patrol scrubbing is conducted, software processing and patrol scrubbing competes against each other for a storage area, resulting in the degradation of the execution performance of the program. Accordingly, practically, the program execution is prioritized by taking a countermeasure that a cycle of the patrol inspection is sufficiently prolonged. For that reason, even if the patrol scrubbing is conducted, there may occur a case in which UE suppression or UE preceding detection fails, and the system software reads the UE.
As another method for avoiding the UE, memory mirroring disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,315, and so on has been also extensively known. The memory mirroring is a redundant technique in which data is held in a memory module of a main system and a memory module of a sub-system.
As usual, data is read from the memory module of the main system. However, if the UE is present in the read result, data is automatically reread from the memory module of the sub-system. For that reason, if data stored in any one of the memory module of the main system and the memory module of the sub-system is safe, the program such as the system software can be prevented from going down.
However, in the memory mirroring, because the available memory capacity is reduced to half, this technique is not suitable for a configuration in which a large number of virtual machines is configured on a single server.


A cable-stayed suspension bridge having characteristics of a cable stayed bridge and those of a suspension bridge at the same and time and using one-box and two-box girders in combination is disclosed. The bridge grinder of the cable-stayed suspension bridge includes one-box girders that each extend to both sides through the respective one tower and a two-box girder set in a central portion of the center span between towers in the length direction of the bridge girder. The cable-stayed suspension bridge includes cable-stayed structures in which a respective one of the one-box girders is supported by the tower with plural cables and a suspension structure in which the two-box girder is supported by the plural towers with two main cables and plural hanger ropes. The two-box girder has a central ventilation opening in the central portion as viewed in a transverse direction thereof. The hanger ropes in the suspension structure extend from the main cables almost perpendicularly, and their lower end portions are connected to the end portions in the transverse direction of the central ventilation opening or in the vicinity thereof.

Recently, the cable-stayed bridges and the suspension bridges have become longer and larger. The cable-stayed bridges are advantageous in that they have high torsional rigidity of the bridge girder and excellent wind resistance performance against the crosswind. In addition, the cable-stayed bridge has a simple structure, and is advantageous in the cost of the construction. However, the length of the center span is about 1000 m at most in the cable-stayed bridges practically used. When the length of the center span of the cable-stayed bridge is large, the height of the tower in the cable-stayed bridge increases. Thus, the weight and the load to be supported by the tower increases, so that the size of the tower is enlarged. The load acting on the bridge girder in the bridge axial direction increases, too. Consequently, the structural advantageousness that the foundation structure of the tower becomes larger decreases.
Then, suspension bridges are usually adopted as long bridges where the center span is 1000 m or more. However, the height of the tower is also large in the suspension bridge, so that the foundation structure of the tower becomes larger. The cost of the construction of long and large main cables becomes high. Further, it is not easy to secure the wind resistance performance to the crosswind.
In case of cable-stayed bridges having large lengths of the center spans among conventional cable-stayed bridges, flat type one-box girder is often adopted as their bridge girders. In the conventional long suspension bridge, the above one-box girders are adopted as the bridge girders in some cases, while two-box girders having open space in the transverse direction for air ventilation are adopted in other cases.
Under the circumstances, in order to utilize the features of the cable-stayed bridge and those of the suspension bridge, there has been proposed the mixed structure named the cable-stayed suspension bridge in which the cable-stayed bridge and the suspension bridge are combined together. For example, two articles (Article Nos. 1 and 2) of "Static characteristics of the cable-stayed suspension bridge" (I-280) and "Examination of static properties of the cable-stayed bridge utilizing the suspension bridge in combination" (I-281) were published in the collected papers of the 45th Annual Science Lecture Meeting of Civil Engineering Association in Japan (September, 1990).
Further, an article (Article No. 3): "Trial designing of 900 m-span cable-stayed suspension bridge" was published in the collected papers of the 48th Annual Science Lecture Meeting of Civil Engineering Association in Japan (September, 1993). Furthermore, an article (Article No. 4): "Structural characteristics and economy of the long suspension type bridges" was published in Structural engineering collected papers (Vol. 41A) in Japan (March, 1995). Those articles examined the structure, the weight of the steel material, the rigidity, the wind resistance stability, and the economy with respect to cable-stayed suspension bridges having longer center spans, in which two main cables are stretched over plural towers and anchorage structures on opposite banks in a cable-stayed bridge having a long center span, while a suspension structure is adopted to suspend a central portion of the center span with the main cables and hanger ropes.
The structure mainly composed of the cable-stayed bridges are adopted in the cable-stayed suspension bridges described in these Article Nos. 1 to 4. For instance, in the cable-stayed suspension bridge of Article No. 3, the length of the center span is 1500 m, the length of the cable-stayed structure extending on the sides of the tower is 550 m, and the length of the suspension structure of the central portion in the center span is 400 m, while one-box girder is adopted as a bridge girder over the entire length.
On one hand, since the occupying ratio of the cable-stayed structure to the entire structure is large even in the cable-stayed suspension bridge, it is advantageous in the structure and the economy. However, it is hardly to say that such a bridge is a structure to be suitably applied to the long bridge having the length of the center span being 2000 m or more. For example, since the cable-stayed suspension bridge adopts the one-box girders as the bridge girder, the bridge girder in the central portion of the center span swings easily with crosswind. Therefore, it is difficult to raise a critical wind velocity at which fluttering begins to appear. Further, in case of the suspension structure in the central portion of the center span, the lower end portions of plural hanger ropes that extend downwardly from the main cables are connected to both sides in the transverse direction of the one-box girder. Therefore, the cable distance between the two main cables is large, so that the width of the top portion of the tower becomes larger, too and the tower becomes greater in size. Moreover, since the ratio of the length of the cable-stayed structure to the span length is large, the height of the tower is large for the span length, so that the towers become greater and the foundation structures for the towers become more bulky. Consequently, it is difficult to economically reduce the construction cost.
A first object of the present invention, which relates to a cable-stayed suspension bridge that adopts the cable-stayed structure and a suspension structure, is to increase the wind resistance of the bridge. A second object of the present invention is to attain the reduction in size of towers and foundation structures. A third object of the present invention is to reduce the diameter of main cables and attain the reduction in size of anchorage structures.

Cable stayed suspension bridge making combined use of one-box and two-box girders

Incorporated Administrative Agency Public Works Research Institute

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company Limited

Incorporated Foundation Public Works Research Center

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.


An electronic device includes an upper layer made of a non-conductive material; a lower layer made of a non-conductive material, wherein at least one of the upper layer and the lower layer is made of a resilient material having a sufficient elasticity such that it will return to an original shape after being deformed, wherein the upper layer comprises an upper conductor and the lower layer comprises a lower conductor and a space is provided between the upper conductor and the lower conductor such that the upper conductor and the lower conductor are not in contact until a force is applied to deform at least one of the upper layer and the lower layer. A sensor device for human body testing connected with the lower conductor, or the lower conductor is configured to function as part of a sensor device for human body testing.

Well-known electronic devices have been widely used for human body testing purposes, for example, electronic thermometers, electronic blood pressure monitors, lung sound-sensing and heart rhythm-sensing devices. Yet, the aforementioned devices have 3 common disadvantages: (1) the aforementioned devices are all external devices that are inconvenient to be carried around; (2) the aforementioned devices are all operated by an on-off switch, to be switched on before use and turned off immediately after. When repetitive and short-time monitoring is needed, as in mountain-climbing, wherein what is actually needed is to take the heart rate every 5 minutes for a duration of 10 seconds, turning the switch on and off repetitively is cumbersome; and (3) in the process of using the aforementioned devices, the user needs to turn on the switch, and then apply pressure on the devices so that it presses on the part to be monitored or tested. For a patient or a busy operator, this is very inconvenient.

Electronic device and method of using the same


The present invention relates to a composition comprising a antimicrobially effective amount of a combination of an pyrithione and a lipopeptide antibiotic. Also disclosed is an aqueous industrial functional fluid comprising an aqueous base fluid medium and an antimicrobially effective amount of a combination of a pyrithione and a lipopeptide antibiotic. Also disclosed is a process for providing biocidal activity to an aqueous industrial functional fluid which comprises incorporating into said fluid an antimicrobially-effective amount of a combination of a pyrithione and a lipopeptide antibiotic.

Aqueous industrial functional fluids, such as metalworking fluids, are susceptible to the proliferation of microorganisms which can cause odors, deterioration, and corrosion. Antimicrobial additives (so-called preservatives) for the industrial fluids are needed to minimize the proliferation of the microorganisms. Preservatives that are effective at low doses, biodegradable, and relatively non-toxic, are desirable for environmental and economic reasons.
Pyrithione is a well-known biocide enjoying substantial commercial use as an antimicrobial agent in aqueous industrial functional fluids, such as metalworking fluids, lubricants, textile sizes, ink jet printing fluids, and the like. Sodium pyrithione and zinc pyrithione are widely employed as biodegradable fungistats in aqueous coatings, fiber lubricants, plastics, adhesives, and metalworking fluids as illustrated by the disclosures contained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,658.
Various basic lipopeptide antibiotics are also known, such as polymyxin B, colistin (also called polymyxin E), and octapeptin are known in the art. The primary use of these antibiotics is to treat superficial infections, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,711. More specifically, the '711 patent discloses the use of antibiotics, such as polymyxin B, in combination with clotrimazole or chlorquinaldol in the preparation of synergistically active veterinary compositions useful for the treatment of mastitis and metritis. In addition, certain of these antibiotics have been disclosed as being useful in metalworking fluids, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,165.
Heretofore, the combination of pyrithione and lipopeptide antibiotics has not been known for any purpose, much less in the preparation of a antimicrobial mixture exhibiting enhanced biocidal efficacy for aqueous industrial functional fluids, such as metalworking fluids. Such a antimicrobial mixture would be highly desired by the industrial fluids manufacturing community.

Synergistic biocide combination for industrial fluids


An object handling device includes a support body, and an elongate anchor body mounted at the inner end thereof to the support body so as to project from the support body for insertion into an undercut cavity in an object to be handled. At least one anchor lug at or adjacent to the outer end of the anchor body is movable with the anchor body between a first position in which the anchor body is able to be inserted into or withdrawn from the cavity, and a second position in which the lug(s) engage respective undercut shoulder portions in the cavity. Means on the anchor body is engagable for moving the anchor body to move the anchor lug(s) between the first and second positions. Lift means on the support body is engagable by a crane to lift the object. Lock means is provided to block movement of the anchor lug(s) from the second position. In one aspect, the anchor body is rotatable to effect said movement of the anchor lug(s). In another, the lock means is slidable generally longitudinally of the anchor body means to a blocking position in which movement of the anchor lug(s) from the second position is blocked. In a further aspect, there is substantially no cavity or void in the object within a region outwards of said undercut shoulder portions sufficient to allow collapse or flow of the object material when the object is being lifted. Also disclosed is a form for defining an undercut cavity in a precast object.

It is now widespread practice to construct various kinds of buildings, but especially commercial and industrial buildings, by on site erection and assembly of structural concrete panels which are either precast on site and tilted into position, or precast elsewhere and brought to the site. In the latter case, the panels are normally cast flat, lifted to the vertical, and then transported while substantially vertical and lifted into position on site.
It is of course imperative in the handling of these large structural panels as they are tilted, transported and moved into position that there be no risk whatever that they will fall. An established system for handling the panels involves an anchor cast in the panel and a clutch assembly by which a crane sling may be secured to the anchor. The anchor normally includes a head within the concrete body and an end which remains below the face or edge of the panel but is exposed within a recess. The clutch engages the anchor within this recess and is arranged so that the clutch cannot disengage while the panel is in a partially or wholly tilted orientation. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,170 and is the basis of the commercial Frimeda system. Another approach is described in Australian patent 544832.
While these systems with an embedded anchor and safety clutch assembly have proven satisfactory in practice, they do have a significant disadvantage in that the steel anchors remain embedded in the panel in the erected building. In time, even though the original recess is capped or filled with mortar, the embedded steel anchor is a source of corrosion and can lead to discolouring in walls formed from the panels. There is also the economic issue that a relatively heavy steel component is essentially only used once and is in effect discarded because it cannot be practically recovered for reuse.
Any improved panel handling system should preferably be adaptable to both facelift and edgelift systems.
There have been at least two attempts to address these issues by providing a substantially plastic component in the panel. Australian patent 488954 proposes an arrangement in which the anchor component comprises a steel nut contained in an undercut enlargement at the end of a plastic tube cast in situ, and a threaded eyebolt is projected down the tube and attached to the nut for lifting. The steel component is much smaller, but this system has the significant disadvantage of the time required to screw and unscrew the eyebolt. In a somewhat similar approach described in Australian patent application 89982/91, a flat steel rectangular block is provided in an undercut enlargement in a rectangular plastic tube, and a pair of clutch shafts are inserted into the hole deformed by the tube. The shafts have end lugs which engage under the block and the system is locked by pushing in a secondary pin between the shafts to forcibly separate them. This system has been viewed as unsafe for transporting heavy building elements because of the risk of operator error in failing to insert the locking pin.
German patent application 195 23 476 discloses an arrangement in which an anchor body is rotatable to bring a pair of lugs beneath undercuts in a lined cavity, and then locked against return rotation by turning down a notched flap to engage the crane lift bar. Longitudinal voids are provided in the concrete for the passage of the crosshead extensions and lugs during insertion. These voids remain empty during lifting operations, and are a potential source of weakness as they could allow concrete to break away and flow into them. The rotatable load bearing element is a tube, and there is a cross-head spaced from the inner end of the cavity. This system requires, on attachment, four separate manual operations, ie. insertion, rotation, locking and crane hook engagement, and, on detachment, each of these four steps in reverse. Remote release is not an available option.

Lifting of precast bodies such as concrete panels


A built-in motor type spindle device comprising a housing and a spindle, wherein said spindle device further includes static pressure bearings which support the spindle so that the spindle can rotate freely relatively to the housing, two lines of magnetic field generating members which are provided on the spindle, and two pairs of coils which are provided on the housing and respectively face the magnetic field generating members and since the spindle device circumferentially disperses the which magnetic field generating members generate heat, the spindle device can prevent the spindle from being hot locally and further, since the surface area of the magnetic field generating members on the spindle are made larger, they can be cooled more effectively than one line of magnetic field generating members.

This invention relates to a preferred spindle device and particularly to a built-in motor type spindle device preferably used by a high-precision machine tool.
Conventionally, a general spindle device has its spindle supported to rotate by rolling bearings (such as ball bearings or roller bearings) or static pressure bearings which use static pressure of a working fluid such as oil or air.
The spindle device using rolling bearings causes no problem at lower speeds since balls or rollers rotate between inner and outer wheels, but causes problems of a spindle runout and heat generation at higher speeds since it causes vibration and frictional heat. To prevent this, it is necessary to lubricate the running wheel surfaces. This is time-consuming for maintenance and increases the running cost of the equipment.
Meanwhile, since the static pressure bearings support a shaft by a static pressure of a pressure transmission medium, the built-in motor type spindle device (see Patent Document 1) can be expected to have a higher rotational accuracy than the spindle device which uses rolling bearings. Therefore, the static pressure bearings are suitable for finishing machines which processes optical transfer surfaces of optical element molding dies to form optical surfaces of optical elements.
As for a high-precision working machine including the spindle device which uses static pressure bearings, the speed of the spindle is preferably increased to improve the working efficiency. However, when the spindle is rotated fast, shearing of the pressure transmission medium is caused in the static pressure clearances to which the medium is supplied (minute clearances between the static pad and the spindle). This causes generation of heat in the bearings. Further, the shearing resistance of the pressure transmission medium which is generated simultaneously consumes part of the driving force of a motor which drives the spindle. Particularly, after the spindle speed reaches a preset speed in the built-in motor type spindle device which requires very fast rotation, almost all additional power supplied to the motor is consumed as heat without increasing the speed. This heat will locally make the spindle hotter and unignorably deform the spindle. In extreme cases, the spindle will have a break such as galling and seizure. In other words, one of the most important problems to be solved in the spindle which is supported by static pressure bearings to rotate fast is to cool the spindle efficiently.
The static pressure pad and other part of a static pressure bearing can be cooled by providing a pipe and applying cooling water to them. Similarly, the core section of the motor can be cooled by blowing-out of air or circulation of cooling water. For example, a motor of the type disclosed by Patent Document 1 is equipped with a water jacket inside the motor housing with which the motor core is in contact to cool the motor by water which flows through the water jacket. However, this configuration does not assure effective heat radiation due to contact since the spindle supported by the static bearings is not in direct contact with the motor housing. Also in this case, only cooling of the motor housing is not enough to cool the spindle when the spindle becomes very hot due to heat generation of the motor coils and magnets by power supply.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication Tokkaihei 10-19043


Golf balls comprising a plurality of markings, each relating to a different future action in a game of golf, the future action generally being the type of club to be used on a future shot. Methods of playing games of golf using the balls are also described herein. Once a shot has been played the marking on the golf ball that lies uppermost is used to determine the future action.

Golf is a sport in which competing players, using different types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course within the fewest number of strokes. The game is played on golf courses, each of which features a unique design, although courses normally consist of either 9 or 18 holes. Golf is defined, in the rules of golf, as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules".
The Rules of golf, first administered by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) in 1897, have since been internationally standardized, and have been jointly administered by the R&A and the United States Gold Association since 1952.
The fundamental principles of the game as embodied in the Rules have changed little over the last Century, and despite alternate games such as 'pitch and putt' and 'crazy golf' having been developed, little in the way of innovation to the Rules of golf has occurred.
To some extent, although golf is a highly respected and valued sport, there has been a failure to innovate in the sport and lack of modification of the rules of golf has failed to introduce new challenges and opportunity for variety.
The present invention seeks to address these problems.

Method and golf ball for playing a golf game


A method of and system for chemical vapor deposition of layers of material on substrates for producing semiconductor devices provides for continuous in-line processing. The method includes continuously conveying a plurality of substrates through a plurality of in-line deposition regions, continuously providing and distributing a chemical vapor at each region to deposit material for the layer, and continuously supplying a flow of chemical material for each region to provide the chemical vapor. The system includes a continuous in-line substrate conveyance apparatus for moving a plurality of substrates through a plurality of deposition regions, a deposition head for providing and distributing a chemical vapor at each of the regions to deposit material for the layers, and a chemical material supply apparatus for providing a flow of chemical materials to each of the heads for the chemical vapor.

Solar cells, of course, are semiconductor devices that have been the subject of substantial developmental effort over the years, including among many other aspects, improving their conversion efficiency and improving the methods and apparatus for producing solar cells at lower cost. These efforts have only been enhanced in recent years, with great concern and emphasis on attempting to progress toward parity in the cost of electricity generation by solar cells with traditional sources of electric power generation.
The use of silicon-based semiconductor material for solar cells has an extended history. However, the material and manufacturing costs of such solar cells are relatively high. Therefore, it is very difficult to achieve parity in electric power generation using silicon-based solar cells, in comparison to costs related to traditional sources of electrical energy. One important approach to overcoming these difficulties has been the effort directed to develop low cost, thin film solar cells. These efforts include concern with the process of making large area thin film solar cells, using amorphous and polycrystalline semiconductor material, by methods that are more cost effective and have increased material utilization. More specifically, the manufacturing of large area thin film solar cells, with a required conversion efficiency, in a cost effective way, has proven an extremely great challenge.
In manufacturing thin film solar cells, various layers of electronically active material are provided on a base (of one or more layers) of choice, to achieve a desired solar cell structure. One example of an electronically active layer that is often used is a zinc oxide (ZnO) layer that is generally transparent to the solar radiation of concern and that is also electronically conductive. The challenge for a layer such as this, as for a number of other formed layers, is the need to control its composition, its electronic and optical properties and its uniformity, over a large area substrate, while maintaining a significant rate of production.
Despite the desire for increased rates of production, due to the other concerns and problem areas, the choice of methods and systems for forming the electronically active, thin film solar cell layers, emphasize batch processing—i.e., production of one or a number of units in an apparatus, removing them, and replacing them with the next unit or group of units.
For the fabrication of thin film semiconductor devices, both physical vapor deposition (commonly abbreviated "PVD") techniques, and chemical vapor deposition (common abbreviated "CVD") techniques, have been employed. In regard to physical vapor deposition, prior, known methods employ Rf (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering in a continuous processing mode to form ZnO material layers—with units, one after the other, moving continuously along a sputter deposition path. However, the ceramic ZnO material targets used in this sputtering process are quite expensive, and the deposition rates for the ZnO material layers are quite low. Thus, to achieve desired production rates, typically, a large number of ZnO material targets are required, making the sputtering system relatively large and expensive.
Turning to the technique of chemical vapor deposition, prior, known efforts have been directed at devices that provide an enhanced area of distribution of chemical vapor for deposition. This, of course, thus, is directed to enhanced area solar cells. For example, for applying two separate material vapors, e.g., separately carried by a gas, such devices would typically provide separate conduit structures for each, with one supplying a set of generally parallel conduit structures having openings along their lengths, and the other supplying another such set that alternates in position with the conduits of the first set. Rather than alternate generally parallel conduits, a variation employs one set of conduits extending outwardly from a central area and another alternating set extending outwardly from that area. That variation, thus, is in the nature of a "sunburst" array. Each of these has been of limited usefulness.

Chemical vapor deposition method and system for semiconductor devices

International Solar Electric Technology, Inc.


An adjustable climbing stand system with a fully rotating seat to enable a user to hunt for prey from a tree. The system comprises a primary platform (bottom) with a tree interface. The primary base platform receives a primary sliding platform. The primary sliding platform comprises a collapsible seat mount, and a seat with a rotating base. The system comprises a secondary platform (top) with a tree interface. The secondary base platform receives a secondary sliding platform. The primary platform is located on a tree trunk and the secondary platform is located on the tree trunk above the primary platform.

Hunting for prey has been practiced for thousands of years. Because the hunted prey is quick and elusive, mankind has searched for novel hunting aids and methods to provide an advantage for the hunter. "Tree Stands" anchored to a tree trunk are often used to position a hunter above an area to wait for prey, but often tree stands are uncomfortable for the hunter and do not allow an optimum viewpoint. The present invention addresses the need for a portable climbing stand (tree stand) that is lightweight, collapsible and has a seat that rotates 360 degrees for easy viewing.


Methods and systems for automatically implementing contact center administration updates based on acceptance of a broadcast request are provided. In particular, a request can be broadcast to a target audience. Acceptance of the request by members of the target audience automatically implements changes defined in connection with the request for accepting agents. The broadcast request can be recalled under certain conditions. In addition, the action or actions implemented in response to the acceptance of the request can be undone under various conditions.

Contact centers, which typically are associated with human agents, are used to provide customer service and support. The agents associated with a contact center can be assigned to handle contacts that have been placed in one or more queues established by the contact center. In general, different agents are assigned to handle contacts from different queues based on the attributes or requirements of the queues, and the attributes or capabilities of the individual agents. Usually, agents associated with a contact center are capable of handling contacts from different queues. However, agents are usually assigned to handle contacts from queues to which the individual agents are best matched. Individual queues associated with the contact center can experience unacceptably long wait times, or can otherwise enter an in trouble status, when an unusually large number of contacts are placed in a queue, where an inadequate number of agents are assigned to handle contacts from the queue, or for other reasons. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary or desirable to alter agent assignments.
In order to maintain service requirements, for example to avoid wait times that are too long, systems have been developed to reallocate agents automatically. Automatic systems typically implement algorithms that enable or disable queue assignments. Alternatively or in addition, contact centers can be controlled manually by a supervisor or administrator. For example, an administrator can change the queue assignments for individual agents or sets of agents. In addition to changing the control parameters associated with the operation of automatic call distribution systems, supervisors can initiate communications to agents on an individual basis, to request that the agent assist with handling contacts from an in trouble queue. However, previous systems do not allow a supervisor to initiate a broadcast request for agents to accept modified duties that can be implemented automatically upon an affirmative response from a receiving agent. Previous systems also do not provide notification to agents that the agents' queue allocations have changed. Moreover, previous systems do not provide for the automatic expiration of an administered change or a request to modify duties when the need has been met, or under other circumstances.

Automatic contact center administration updates based on acceptance of a broadcast request