A display device includes a substrate, gate lines extended in a first direction on the substrate, data lines extended in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction on the substrate, and pixels connected to the gate and data lines. Each pixel includes a transistor having one end connected to a data line, and a gate electrode connected to a corresponding gate line, a liquid crystal layer disposed in a tunnel-shaped cavity, first and second electrodes for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer. The first electrode of each pixel is connected to another end of the transistor, a second electrode of each pixel overlaps the first electrode of one of its adjacent pixels, and the first electrode of each pixel overlaps a second electrode of another one of its adjacent pixels.

1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to flat panel displays. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to defect repair in a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various different types of display devices, such as liquid crystal display devices, electrophoretic display devices, etc., have been developed to replace cathode ray tubes.
One example of a recent display device includes two substrates facing each other with an image display layer, e.g., a liquid crystal layer, an electrophoretic layer, etc., disposed between the two substrates. The two substrates face each other while being coupled to each other, and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance such that the image display layer is disposed between the two substrates.
In order to manufacture the display device, a spacer used to maintain the distance between the two substrates is formed on one of the substrates, and the other substrate is attached to the spacer using an adhesive. However, the resulting manufacturing process is complicated and expensive.

Display device and method of manufacturing the same


A borescope having a miniature camera concealable within a hand-held casing, includes a casing, which is preferably a clam shell casing and is able to be held in a single hand of a user, along with a device for opening the casing. A flexible probe has a first end mounted in the casing and a second end being a distal end that is able to be moved from inside the casing to outside the casing with the miniature camera being located at, or proximate to, the distal end of the flexible probe for viewing structures outside of the casing after the casing is opened. The flexible probe with the miniature camera is able to be completely concealed within the casing when not in use. A display is located on a surface of the casing for viewing by the user that which is being seen by the miniature camera.

Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a borescope that is capable of being held within the palm of one hand of a user.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a borescope having a casing, preferably a clam shell casing, that is capable of retaining and concealing within the casing, when not in use, a flexible tube or probe having a camera at one end for the inspection of structures not readily able to be directly inspected by a person's eyesight. The borescope of the present invention is able to be retained by a user in a single hand, preferably the user's palm, and readily activated for eventual use.
Description of the Prior Art
Borescopes are used in the mechanical arts generally, and particularly within the building trades, for permitting the inspection of narrow or relatively inaccessible spaces or cavities, in which the borescope has an optical device at the distal end of either a rigid or flexible probe for allowing the viewing of areas that are otherwise inaccessible without great inconvenience. With the borescopes known to the prior art, care must be taken to protect from damage the optical device, or miniature camera, located at the distal end of the probe when the borescope is not in use. Following use of conventional borescopes, the probe must be retracted and somehow stored in a manner which does not expose the optical device at the distal end of the probe to an unreasonable opportunity for damage.
Absent from the prior art is a borescope that can readily be held within a single hand of a user and which includes a flexible probe that is able to be safely and readily stored within the hand-held casing for the borescope when not in use, so as to protect from damage the optical means located at the distal end of the flexible probe.

Borescope having a camera concealable within a hand-held case

General Tools & Instruments Company, LLC


A clock distribution system including a variable delay circuit responsive to a reference clock signal having a fixed clock pulse width and a variable clock period for providing a delayed clock signal, an inverter for inverting the delayed clock signal to an inverted delayed clock signal, a clock tree for providing multiple replicas of the inverted delayed clock signal, a comparator responsive to the reference clock signal and a selected one of the multiple replicas of the inverted delayed clock signal for controlling the variable delay circuit such that the selected replica is delayed by one clock pulse width relative to the reference clock signal. Also disclosed is a shift register controlled variable delay line that can be implemented in the variable delay circuit.

The subject invention is directed generally to circuitry for synchronizing clock signals in a digital system, and more particularly to clock synchronizing circuitry that operates independently of clock signal frequency.
The clock system of a digital system generates clock signals and distributes such clock signals to multiple points of use to synchronize changes in the state of the digital system. The multiple clocks are copies of an external reference clock, and ideally are synchronized or in phase such that all clocked digital devices in a system are clocked at the same instants in time. However, as a result of different insertion delays of circuit components in the clock distribution paths of a clock system, the clocks at the multiple points of use are not synchronized, whereby the active edges of the clock signals do not occur at the same time at the different points of use. As is well known, depending on factors such as clock frequency and the set-up time, hold time, and propagation delay characteristics of the clocked devices, improper data may be stored in clocked devices as a result of the time difference or clock skew between the respective active clock transitions for a sending device and a receiving device that receives data from the sending device.
Clock systems commonly comprise a plurality of clock trees that are driven with a single external master clock, wherein each clock tree provides clock signals to a predetermined group of clocked digital devices. For example, a digital system comprised of a plurality of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can have a separate clock tree within each ASIC. For synchronization, the clocks provided by clock trees have been phase locked by use of phase locking circuitry, as for example disclosed in Motorola Application Note AN1509 which discloses a phase compensation technique, a period compensation technique, and an inverted period compensation technique for compensating different delays in the clock signal paths. However, the period compensation techniques, as well as analog phase locked loop methods, are restricted to a limited frequency range and cannot tolerate the use of gated clocks. The phase compensation technique does allow unlimited frequency range and clock gating, but requires that two clocks be distributed.

Frequency independent clock synchronizer


A method of remotely managing a firewall has been developed. The method includes receiving a control data packet at the firewall from a remote location. Next, the control data packet is analyzed to determine if the control data packet is authorized to access the firewall. Finally, an authorized control data packet is allowed to control the firewall.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to computer security. More particularly, this invention relates to a computer security system that provides intelligent firewall protection.
2. Background Art
As society's dependence on computers increases, the importance of security for computers and their networks also increases. Threats such as hackers can shut down or damage large computer networks and cost significant amounts of money, resources, and time. Security measures to prevent such incidents are constantly evolving along with the nature and sophistication of the threat.
One technique to protect a computer network from external threats is by using a "firewall". A firewall is a combination of hardware and software that is placed between a network and its exterior. FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a prior art network 10 with a firewall. The network 10 includes a series of users 12a-12d that are linked and controlled through a server 14. The device could also be a router or a switch for the network. A firewall 16 is installed between the server 14 and the network exterior 20. The server 14, the firewall 16, and the exterior 20 are interconnected through a single line 18. The single line 18 prevents outsiders from accessing the network except through the firewall 16. The firewall receives all data from the network exterior before it is sent to the network users. The data may be e-mail, encrypted data, internet queries, or any other type of network traffic. The firewall sorts and analyzes the data and determines whether it should have access to the network. If the data is authorized, the firewall forwards the data on to its destination. If the data is unauthorized, the firewall denies access to the network.
Data is normally transmitted in multiple bundles of information called "data packets" or "packets". A message, query, etc. from the outside network is broken down into these packets in order to provide more efficient transmission of the data. Once all packets of data arrive at the destination, the packets are re-assembled. However, the packets contain more information than just the transmitted data. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a prior art data packet 30. The packet 30 includes three segments: a header 32; a body 34; and a trailer 36. The body 34 is the segment that contains the actual substance of the data.
The header 32 and the trailer 36 both contain various fields that are necessary for the administrative control of the packet 30. The header 32 segment includes: a flag 38a; an address field 40; and a control field 42. The trailer 36 segment includes: a sequence check field 44 and a flag 38b. The first flag 38a signifies the start of the packet 30. A second flag 38b signifies the end of the packet 30. The sequence check field 44 provides a check to ensure the data of the packet was properly received. The address field 40 includes the addresses of the source and the destination of the data. The control field 42 contains various information related to the administration of the packet 30 including a "time-to-live" field. The time-to-live field is an internal countdown mechanism that ensures that undeliverable or lost packets are deleted. The time-to-live field is given a certain value when the packet is first transmitted. As the packet passes through various servers, routers, switches, bridges, gateways, etc. that makes up a network, the time-to-live field is decremented once by each device it passes through. Once the time-to-live field reaches zero, the packet is deleted. This mechanism prevents a lost or undeliverable packet from circulating on the network in an endless loop.
FIG. 3 shows a flow chart 50 of a prior art network firewall protection scheme. First, a packet is received at the firewall 52 from the network exterior 20. The firewall then conducts a handshake protocol 54 after receipt of the packet. The operations of network components are governed by protocols. A protocol is simply an established set of rules or standards that allow computers to connect with one another and exchange information and data with as little error as possible. Protocols may vary widely based different types of computer operating systems and on the different types of communications that are being transmitted. A handshake protocol governs a series of signals acknowledging that the transfer of data can take place between devices ("the handshake"). During the handshake, various changes are made to the packet by the firewall. The address of the firewall is added to the address field to show that the packet has left the firewall. Also, the time-to-live field is decremented by the firewall.
After completing the handshake 54, the packet is analyzed by the firewall to determine whether or not the data is acceptable to forward on to its destination in the network 56. The firewall analyzes the data through a technique called "pattern matching" that is well known in the art. Additionally, other techniques such as "protocol analysis" could be used as well. If the packet is authorized, it is forwarded on to the network destination by the firewall 58. If the packet is unauthorized, it is denied access to the network 60 and a message such as "resource denied" or "resource restricted" is sent to the sender. The party who sent the data from the exterior network is able to monitor and detect the presence of the firewall after the handshake protocol 62 and after access has been denied 62 due to the changes in the packet at the handshake 62. Once a hacker is able to detect the presence of a firewall, attempts can be made penetrate it and gain access to the network. If a hacker gains knowledge of the presence of a firewall, probes can be made against it. Ultimately, the firewall may be breached or bypassed and unauthorized access to the network can be gained by the hacker.
In addition to the contents of the data packet described in FIG. 2, a data packet will also contain an "ethernet frame field". The ethernet frame field is used by an ethernet card which is a piece of hardware within the firewall that manages access to the network. FIG. 4 shows a schematic 70 of a prior art data packet with an ethernet frame field. The contents of the data packet are similar to what was previously described in FIG. 2. The data packet includes three segments: a header 72; a body 74; and a trailer 76. The header 72 segment includes: a flag 78a; an address field 80; and a control field 82. The trailer 76 segment includes: a sequence check field 84 and a flag 78b. Additionally, two segments of the ethernet frame field 86a and 86b are included immediately in front of the first flag 78a and immediately following the second flag 78b respectively.
The ethernet frame field 86a and 86b is simply a protocol for processing the packet. Like the data packet, its contents are changed when it leaves the firewall. Specifically, the firewall adds its specific media access controller ("MAC") address to frame field 86a and 86b. The MAC address is a layer of the ISO/OSI (International Organization for Standardization/Open Systems Interconnection) reference model. The ISO/OSI model separates computer to computer communication into seven protocol layers. The ethernet card and the MAC are parts of one of the lower layers of this model and they manage access to the physical network.
One prior art solution is to make a firewall more difficult to detect (a "stealth firewall"). FIG. 5 shows a flow chart 90 of a prior art network stealth firewall protection scheme. As shown previously in FIG. 3, a packet is first received at the firewall 92 from the network exterior 20. However, a stealth firewall conducts a different type of handshake protocol 94. A stealth firewall does not decrement the time-to-live field of the packet. Consequently, anyone monitoring the status of the packets in the network exterior 20 will not be able to see the stealth firewall due to a change in the value of the time-to-live field. After the stealth handshake 94, the stealth firewall analyzes the packet 96 in a similar manner as previously described for reference number 56 in prior art FIG. 3. If the packet is authorized, it is forwarded on to the network destination by the firewall 98. If the packet is not authorized, it is denied access to the network 100. However, the firewall does not respond to the sender with any type of message indicating a denial of access. Instead, the stealth firewall simply drops the packet 102. The sender is prevented from detecting the stealth firewall by finding any indication of its presence in a decremented time-to-live field or a denial of access message.
However, a stealth firewall may still be detected by the changes it makes to the packet during its handshake protocol 94. Specifically, a stealth firewall leaves its own MAC address in the packet as it conducts the stealth handshake protocol 94. Once the presence of the stealth firewall is detected through the MAC address, a hacker can then begin to probe the firewall and attempt to find a way around it to gain access to the network. In order to prevent attacks by hackers on a firewall, it is necessary to make the firewall undetectable to parties outside the network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Systems, apparatuses, and methods for cleaning brine solution are provided. In particular, one or more embodiments comprise a brine cleaning system that includes a brine cooker, a brine filter, and a brine storage unit. The brine cooker heats a dirty brine solution to separate the dirty brine solution into a liquid portion and a solids portion. The brine filter is coupled to the brine cooker to receive the liquid portion and the solids portion from the brine cooker and then substantially remove the solids portion. The brine storage unit is coupled to the brine filter to accumulate the liquid portion once the solids portion have been substantially removed by the brine filter. This allows for more efficient and environmentally friendly use of brine solution in the curing of animal.

Brine curing is a process in which animal hides are treated with common salt to prevent the bacterial and enzymatic decomposition of the hides within the first few hours of removing the hides from slaughtered animals. In brine curing, the hides are in contact with saturated brine solution at all times and can typically be fully cured within about 24 hours.
One common method of brine curing hides uses brine curing hide vats, also known as raceways, which are typically oval shaped with an oval island in the center. Mechanical paddles within the brine curing hide vats cause the hides to move slowly around and around within the saturated brine solution. Moisture is drawn from the fresh hides by the brine solution deposited within the brine curing hide vats. To prevent dilution, a portion of the brine solution is usually circulated through a salt dissolving chamber, commonly known as a lixator. This serves the dual purpose of keeping the brine solution close to a desired saturation level and filtering out some of the dirt and other solids suspended in the brine solution. Typically, the brine solution is passed through a rotary screen to remove hair and fat prior to going to the lixator. However, in some applications, fine salt is slowly added to the brine curing hide vats along with the hides and the turbulence provided by the mechanical paddles is relied on to keep the brine solution up to the desired saturation level.
Accordingly, FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a prior art meat processing system 100 (or simply "system 100") for processing domesticated meat animals, such as cattle. An overview of system 100 will be described in relation to FIG. 1A. Thereafter, a more detailed description of some of the components and processes of system 100 will be described.
As illustrated by FIG. 1A, the system 100 includes meat processing facility 110, commonly known as a slaughterhouse or meat packing plant. Meat processing facility 110 further includes hide processing system 120, which handles the disposition of animal hides once they have been removed from the animals. Further, hide processing system 120 typically includes brine curing system 130, which handles the preservation of the fresh hides for later use. Moreover, brine curing system 130 typically includes brine curing hide vats 140, as already described above, which uses a brine solution to cure the hides and then provides a used or dirty brine solution 150 to an evaporator and salt concentrator 160. The evaporator and salt concentrator 160 is employed to clean, recycle, and appropriately dispose of the dirty brine solution 150 used in the brine curing hide vats 140.
Turning to FIG. 1B, a detailed schematic diagram illustrates a prior art evaporator and salt concentrator 160 that is commonly employed in the brine curing system 130 of FIG. 1A. More specifically, FIG. 1B shows that evaporator and salt concentrator 160 includes a vapor separator 162. Vapor separator 162 receives a dirty brine solution 150 (e.g., from brine curing hide vats 140 of FIG. 1A) and heats the dirty brine solution 150 to about 180-185 degrees Fahrenheit. The bottom of vapor separator 162 is connected to a lower chamber 164. As the dirty brine solution 150 is heated within the vapor separator 162, the dirty brine solution 150 also flows down the lower chamber 164. A pump 166 is then used at the bottom of lower chamber 164 to circulate dirty brine solution 150 into a flash separator 168. The flash separator 168 then continues to circulate the dirty brine solution 150 back into vapor separator 162. As the dirty brine solution 150 is heated and circulates in this manner, a vacuum 170 is applied to the vapor separator 162 to remove water vapor 171 from vapor separator 162 and move that water vapor 171 to condenser 172 before that water vapor 171 is disposed of into hot well 174.
With reference to FIG. 1C, a detailed schematic diagram illustrates additional features of a prior art evaporator and salt concentrator 160. In particular, FIG. 1C depicts that evaporator and salt concentrator 160 receives a dirty brine solution 150 and further includes vapor separator 162, lower chamber 164, pump 166, flash separator 168, vacuum 170, condenser 172, and hot well 174 as previously described with respect to FIG. 1B. Moreover, FIG. 1C depicts that vapor separator 162 receives the dirty brine solution 150 at inlet 163. Further, as the dirty brine solution 150 is heated and circulated, a portion of the dirty brine solution 150 is pumped out of the bottom of flash separator 168 by pump 167. Pump 167 moves the portion of the dirty brine solution 150, which is typically in the form of a slurry of 20-30% salt crystal, into a salt settler 176 where that is refined into 90% crystal and then fed by an auger 178 back into brine curing hide vats 179. At the salt settler 176, any remaining slurry or liquid from the portion of the dirty brine solution 150 is pumped by pump 169 back into the bottom of flash separator 168 to continue the cleaning, recycling, and disposal of the dirty brine solution 150. Additionally, as the dirty brine solution 150 circulates, vacuum 170 moves water vapor 171 into condenser 172. Condenser 172 receives potable cold water 173 and outputs warm water at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit to a hot water storage 175, in addition to outputting water to be disposed at hot well 174. Thus, this circulation of the dirty brine solution 150 through vapor separator 162, down into lower chamber 164, back up flash separator 168, and returning into vapor separator 162 serves to further separate the water of the dirty brine solution 150 from the salt of the dirty brine solution 150, thereby effectively assisting in the cleaning, recycling, and disposal of the dirty brine solution.
Given this background, one problem with conventional brine curing systems, such as brine curing system 130, is that solids within the dirty brine solution, namely coagulants such as proteins, coagulate within vapor separators, such as vapor separator 162, creating blockages that ultimately lead to the failure of evaporators and salt concentrators, such as evaporator and salt concentrator 160.
Another problem with conventional brine curing systems is that solids within the dirty brine solution, namely coagulants such as proteins, coagulate and reduce the efficiency of evaporators and salt concentrators without actually creating blockages that lead to system failure. Even reduced efficiency of evaporators and salt concentrators leads to increased system downtime due to a greater need for cleaning and other maintenance, as well as decreased effective evaporation from condensers used to appropriately clean, recycle, and dispose of the water within the dirty brine solution.
Furthermore, yet another problem with conventional brine curing systems is that because they fail to adequately remove a sufficient amount of solids within the dirty brine solution such systems do not allow for the proper disposal of waste from the dirty brine solutions. More specifically, conventional brine curing systems create wastewater and other solid waste that cannot be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner due in part to failing to separate the solid waste from the liquid waste that is contained in the dirty brine solution created by such systems.
In view of the problems such as those noted above, and others, it would be useful to provide brine solution cleaning systems, apparatuses, and methods that remove the solids within the dirty brine solution, such as coagulents like proteins, dirt, and others. Additionally, it would be useful to provide brine solution cleaning systems, apparatuses, and methods that facilitate the more efficient operation of evaporators and salt concentrators. Lastly, it would be useful to provide brine solution cleaning systems, apparatuses, and methods that enable the proper and more environmentally friendly disposal of solid and liquid waste from dirty brine solution created during the brine curing of hides.

Brine solution cleaning systems, apparatuses, and methods


The present invention is directed to a method of predicting the binding affinity between a first molecular entity and a second molecular entity. The method includes (1) calculating the free energy of binding ΔGbind between the first molecular entity and the second molecular entity according to the equation (17):ΔGbind=−0.82ΔX+/−+0.064ΔXc/s−0.6Xsb−0.93Xhb−0.0007Xgap−0.06ΔXtor−0.36  (17)                where        X+/− is the total number of exposed charged groups;        Xc/s is the total number of exposed hydrophobic groups;        Xsb is the total number of salt bridges;        Xhb is the total number of hydrogen bonds;        Xgap is the gap volume at the interface of the first molecular entity and the second molecular entity;        Xtor is the total number of exposed side chain torsions;        and where Δ refers to the difference between the bound and unbound states; and (2) evaluating the free energy of binding to predict the binding affinity between the first and second molecular entities.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods of estimating protein-protein or protein-peptide binding affinities, and more particularly to methods of estimating protein-protein or protein-peptide binding affinities using free energy functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A free energy function can be defined as any mathematical expression that relates macroscopic free energy changes to microscopic or molecular properties. Free energy functions can be used to explain and predict the affinity of a ligand for a protein and to score and discriminate between native and non-native binding modes. However, there is a natural tension between developing a function fast enough to solve the scoring problem but rigorous enough to explain and predict binding affinities.
There is a need for computational methods to explain and predict free energy changes for biophysical and biochemical processes (Ajay et al. (1995) J. Med. Chem. 38(26):4953-4967; Gilson et al., (1997) Biophys. J. 72(3):1047-1069; Guerois et al., (2002) J. Mol. Biol. 320(2):369-387; Vajda et al., (1997) Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 7(2):222-228). An important class of biophysical phenomena is that of non-covalent protein-protein interactions. Such vital activities as cellular growth, self-reproduction, and cellular communication are supported by a byzantine network of signaling cascades and metabolic pathways which rely on the coordinated and tightly regulated activities of interacting proteins, thus making protein-protein interactions attractive targets for therapeutic intervention (Feller et al., (2006) Curr. Pharm. Des. 12(5):529-548). The ability to estimate the free energy changes that control protein-protein associations will allow us to predict whether these interactions can occur under particular environmental conditions.
Specifically, free energy functions are needed to solve three problems: (1) predicting and explaining experimentally determinable protein-protein dissociation constants; (2) predicting and explaining how different mutations affect those equilibrium constants; and (3) accurately scoring and ranking the binding poses generated by protein-protein docking algorithms (Guerois et al., (2002) J. Mol. Biol. 320(2):369-387; Halperini et al., (2002) Proteins 47(4):409-443; Smith et al., (2002) Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 12(1):28-35; Weng et al., (1997) Protein Sci. 6(9):1976-1984). Ideally, the function should also be transferable; it should work equally well for a diverse and large number of proteins. Given the biological and clinical importance of free energy functions and the nature of the scientific challenge, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted to researching free energy methods (Ajay et al., supra; Guerois et al., supra; Horton et al., (1992) Protein Sci. 1(1):169-181; Jackson et al., (1988) J. Mol. Biol. 276(1):265-285; Krystek et al., (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 234(3):661-679; Ma et al., (2002) Protein Eng. 15(8):677-681; Rognan et al., J. Med. Chem. 42(22):4650-4658; Schapira et al., (1999) J. Mol. Recognit. 12(3):177-190; Vajda et al. supra; Weng et al., supra; Xu et al., (1997) J. Mol. Biol. 265(1):68-84; Zhang et al., (2005) J. Med. Chem. 48(7):2325-233; Zhou et al., (1998) Fold. Des. 3(6):513-522). Despite its importance, the development of a function to solve all three problems remains elusive. In part, this is because theoretical validity and physical meaningfulness tend to exclude computational efficiency (Gilson et al., supra; Rognan et al., (1999) J. Med. Chem. 42(22):4650-4658).
Computer-based modeling of interactions between molecular entities using various energy functions are the subject of several patents and patent applications as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,790 discloses a method and apparatus for an analysis of molecular combinations featuring two or more molecular subsets, wherein either one or both molecular subsets are from a plurality of molecular subsets selected from a molecule library, based on computation of the electrostatic affinity of the system via utilization of a basis expansion representing charge density and electrostatic potential functions associated with the first and second molecular subsets in a coordinate system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,267 discloses a computer-assisted method for creating and displaying a model of a molecule in which residues that are affected by the binding of a ligand to the molecule are highlighted, making it possible to trace the path of propagation of a binding signal through the molecule.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,937 discloses methods and systems of predicting binding affinity between a ligand and a receptor. In one embodiment, the predicted binding affinity (pKj) is determined by at least using a formulapKj=C0+C1*vdW+C2*Att—pol+C3*(Att—pol*Att—pol+Rep—pol*Rep—pol)where vdW represents the van der Waals interaction energy between the ligand and the receptor; Att_pol represents the surface area of the ligand forming complimentary polar interactions with the receptor; and Rep_pol represents the surface area of the ligand forming uncomplimentary polar interactions with the receptor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,628 discloses methods which may be implemented in computer systems for screening a database of candidate molecules to determine whether any particular subset of candidate molecules may be docked to a target molecule. These methods determine the force field of a target molecule only once and may be used for screening a large number of candidate molecules.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,571 discloses a method for determining the most stable tertiary structure of a protein having a known primary structure which comprises the steps of (a) producing a reduced representation of the protein by assigning to the protein (i) all secondary structural motifs present therein and (ii) all φ and Φ dihedral angles for the amino acid residues present therein; (b) determining which conformations of the reduced representation are physically permissible, so as to determine which conformations of the protein are physically permissible; and (c) determining which of the physically permissible conformations of the protein possesses the lowest free energy, so as to thereby determine the most stable tertiary structure of the protein.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0038379 discloses a hierarchical protocol using multiscale molecular dynamics and molecular modeling methods to predict the structure of G-Protein Coupled Receptors. The protocol features a combination of coarse grain sampling methods, such as hydrophobicity analysis, followed by coarse grain molecular dynamics and atomic level molecular dynamics, including accurate continuum solvation, to provide a fast and accurate procedure for predicting GPCR tertiary structure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0136139 discloses computational methods for identifying the protein receptors likely to bind a drug, which can provide accurate predictions of the drug's ability to bind to each homologue of the receptor using energy minimization functions.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0214788 discloses methods and systems for modeling molecular systems or other physical systems using scaling optimization. The disclosed method includes predicting a conformation of a ligand inside a binding site using a computer system by the steps of representing a candidate ligand by topological clusters, and scaling conformational and/or orientational degrees of freedom or their corresponding derivatives iteratively while applying one or more optimization and/or scoring and/or energy determination functions.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0123993 discloses methods for determining the affinity between polypeptide amino acid residues and one or more molecular fragments, and for using the affinity values to aid in drug design including a computer simulation which calculates the interaction energy between a polypeptide and at least one molecular fragment.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0119835 discloses a method and apparatus for analysis of molecular combinations featuring two or more molecular subsets. The computational method estimates the electrostatic affinity of the system via utilization of a basis expansion representing charge density and electrostatic potential functions associated with the first and second molecular subsets in a coordinate system. An electrostatic affinity, representing a correlation of the charge density and electrostatic potential functions of the first and second molecular subsets, is computed via suitable application of translation and rotation operators to the basis expansion coefficients over a sequence of different sampled configurations for the molecular combination.
In spite of the above technology, there is a need in the art for computational methods to explain and predict free energy changes for biophysical and biochemical processes. The present invention is believed to be an answer to that need.

Method for estimating protein-protein binding affinities

The Research Foundation of State University of New York


A polyamide resin composition comprising defined amounts of flake graphite, carbon fibers, and polyhydric alcohol. A polyamide resin composition comprising a polyamide resin and, as a property imparting component, at least one member selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a nitrogen compound, and a silicon compound, wherein a defined amount of the dicarboxylic acid units of the polyamide resin are oxalic acid. A polyamide resin composition comprising a polyamide resin and a defined amount of metal oxide particles, wherein the metal oxide particles contain those having a particle size of 70 μm or more in an amount of 10 to 50% by mass and those having a particle size of 20 μm or less in an amount of 1 to 50% by mass, based on the total mass of the metal oxide particles.

When graphite is incorporated into a thermoplastic resin, the thermal conduction properties of the resin are improved according to the amount of the graphite incorporated. In the thermoplastic resin having incorporated thereinto an increased amount of graphite which is not melted in melt-kneading, the proportion of the thermoplastic resin which is melted in melt-kneading is reduced, and therefore it is difficult to maintain the high productivity of the thermoplastic resin in the melt-kneading using a single-screw or twin-screw extruder. Patent document 1 discloses that kneading is performed in a state such that the head portion of an extruder is opened. However, this patent document has no disclosure of a cooling apparatus, such as a water bath, for efficiently removing heat from the resultant pellets in a flake form, and there is a fear that the pellets stick together, and such kneading is not preferred from the viewpoint of the molding processability.
The thermoplastic resin having graphite solely incorporated thereinto exhibits unsatisfactory physical properties, such as strength. Patent document 2 has a description showing that, by incorporating into a thermoplastic resin specific amounts of graphite and carbon fibers having a thermal conductivity of 100 W/mK or more, the resin is improved in flexural strength and thermal conduction properties. However, there is no disclosure of PAN carbon fibers generally used, which have a thermal conductivity of about 10 W/mK and which are obtained by carbonizing polyacrylonitrile fibers.
Polyamide resins, such as polyamide 6 and polyamide 66, have excellent properties and can be easily melt-molded, and therefore are widely used as general-purpose engineering plastics. Reference documents 3 and 4 disclose that, by incorporating magnesium oxide into the polyamide resin, the resin is improved in thermal conduction properties.
On the other hand, as the increase in density and the miniaturization of an electronic device progress, the amount of the polyamide resin used per part for electronic device is reduced, and hence the effect of the properties of the polyamide resin used on the performance of the part for electronic device is becoming large. In accordance with this, there are increasing demands of the improvement of the properties of the polyamide resin. Especially, there are increasing demands of prevention of the lowering of electrical insulating properties of the polyamide resin, which strongly affects the performance of the part for electronic device, under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions (after a high-temperature and high-humidity treatment), which are presumed to be, for example, under conditions in the summer in Japan.
When magnesium oxide is incorporated into a thermoplastic resin, the thermal conduction properties of the resin are improved according to the amount of the magnesium oxide incorporated. In the thermoplastic resin having incorporated thereinto an increased amount of magnesium oxide which is not melted in melt-kneading, the proportion of the thermoplastic resin which is melted in melt-kneading is reduced, and therefore it is difficult to maintain the high productivity of the thermoplastic resin in the melt-kneading using a single-screw or twin-screw extruder. As a method of stably filling a resin with an increased amount of a conductive filler, patent document 1 discloses that kneading is performed in a state such that the head portion of an extruder is opened. However, there is no disclosure of a method of stably filling a resin with an increased amount of a conductive filler without opening the head portion of the extruder.
Further, patent document 5 discloses a method for improving the moldability, appearance, and thermal conduction properties by incorporating magnesium oxide having a specific particle size in a specific amount. However, in the resultant molded article, the thermal conductivity varies depending on the location of measurement, and there is no disclosure that a molded article exhibiting a uniform thermal conductivity irrespective of location of measurement is stably obtained.

Polyamide resin composition and molded article comprising the same


A metal sealing gasket includes first and second opposite, superposed metal cover plates; and an aperture provided in each cover plate. The apertures are in alignment with one another to define a thoroughgoing opening in the metal sealing gasket. Further, first and second projections are provided which form part of the first and second cover plates, respectively. The first and second projections extend into the opening and have overlapping portions which are in a contacting relationship with one another. The first and second projections are situated in their entirety within the opening and thus do not project outwardly beyond the outer surfaces of the cover plates.

This invention relates to a flat metal sealing gasket, particularly a cylinder head gasket for an internal-combustion engine. The sealing gasket is of the type which is formed of a laminate composed of at least two superposed metal plates having peripheral recesses or thoroughgoing openings as well as projections extending from an inward edge of the recesses or thoroughgoing openings for a form-locking securement of the plates to one another.
For handling the installation-ready sealing gasket up to the installation work proper, a secure connection between the individual metal plates is necessary. Several techniques are known for connecting the individual sheet metal plates with one another in a non-releasable manner. Preferably additional components, such as rivets or framing rings have been used which are often mounted in additional thoroughgoing passages of the sealing gasket. Dependent on the geometry of the article and the number of the securing points the individual layers may not lie flat on one another. The terminal regions bent around the gasket edge may assist to remedy such undesired occurrence.
European Patent No. 500 273 discloses a flat sealing gasket of the above-outlined type in which at least two metal plates are connected with one another by securing means which is provided in the gasket regions where the sealing properties are not affected. Thus, in an opening of one of the plates a bendable strip is arranged which, after bending about 180.degree., lies on the edge of the opening of another plate. It is a disadvantage of such a structure that, similarly to arrangements where rivets are used, the bent-around tab or rivets lie on the outer plates and thus increase the thickness of the seal in those regions. To avoid such an occurrence, in three-layer assemblies the middle plate has been provided with a recess. While, in this manner, the sealing pressure on the gasket is not increased, the flanking plates nevertheless have to be additionally deformed which results in undesired stresses in the plates, increasing the risks of rupture and thus jeopardizing the sealing behavior.


Disclosed is an inter-card channel protection method in a wave-length division multiplexing system. At the transmitting end, signals from the client side are divided via a coupler into two paths which are delivered to two cards, respectively. The two paths of signal transmitted by the two cards are sent via different routes to the receiving end. At the receiving end, the two paths of signal enter two cards, respectively, and the two cards communicate with each other directly. The standby card submits the signal quality detected by a detecting device to the primary card. The switching control unit on the primary card issues the commands of switching on/off the client-side lasers to the standby card in accordance with a decision made. One of the client-side lasers on the primary card and standby card is switched on while the other is switched off. The merits of this method include: protection can be realized with failures of card or essential chips thereon; protection switching can still be conducted with failures of system control unit; and, direct transfer of switching conditions and switching commands between the two cards is faster than communications with a system control unit via mailbox respectively.

1. Field of the Technology
The present invention relates to Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) techniques and, more particularly, to an inter-card channel protection method in a WDM system.
2. Background of the Invention
Along with the fast development of WDM techniques and the doubled increment of the transmission rate of WDM system, it is necessary to pay attention to the security and reliability of transmission channels in the network. There are, however, drawbacks in the existing methods of inner-card channel protection as well as methods of inter-card channel protection supported by system control unit.
FIG. 1 shows the solution of one technique in the prior art. FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b are the schematics illustrating the transmitting end and receiving end of inner-card channel protection, respectively. Cards supporting inner-card channel protection include those of Optical conversion unit (OCU) type and Optical transponder unit (OTU) type. At the transmitting end, signal from a card is divided by a coupler into two identical paths, which can be configured such that one is the primary path while the other is the standby path. The signal of the two paths is transmitted via different routes to the receiving end. At the receiving end, both paths of signal enter the card and one of the two is selected. Under normal circumstances, signal of the primary path is selected while the card can make switching depending on the signal quality of the two paths. Refer to G.841 of ITU-T for the external commands and local switching conditions of signal quality.
Drawbacks of this solution are: 1. It is impossible to implement device-level protection, protection can not be provided when there is a failure with the card or with an essential element thereon 2. The unit price of such a card is relatively high, for the card has to be of the type of double outputs/alternative inputs, it has to receive two paths of signal, detect the signal quality of both paths as well as implement within the card the selection of one path from the two. Although the unit price is lower than that of two cards of single output/single input, it is much higher than the price of one card of simplex. In comparison, inter-card channel protection requires two cards of simplex at both the transmitting end and the receiving end while inner-card protection requires one card of dual transmission with selective receiving at both the transmitting end and receiving end. Although inner-card protection costs less, it has little advantage. For the two cards used in inter-card protection may be configured in the non-protection mode and used for transmitting another client signal, respectively, thereby transmitting double amount of data while the card used in inner-card protection can not be used for transmission of other data even if it is configured in the non-protection mode.
FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b show another solution in the prior art. Cards supporting inter-card channel protection supported by system control unit in accordance with this solution include OCU cards and OTU cards. At the transmitting end, signals from the client side are divided by a coupler into two paths and are provided for two cards, respectively. The two paths of signal transmitted from the two cards are sent to the receiving end through different routes. At the receiving end, the two paths of signal enter two cards, respectively, while the system control unit controls the lasers at the client side of the two cards in accordance with the signal qualities submitted by the two cards such that the laser being selected switches on and the laser not selected switches off. Thus, the selected path of signal from the client side of the two cards is transmitted down to the client side. Under normal circumstances, the signal from the primary card is selected. Refer to G.841 of ITU-T for handling of the external commands and local switching conditions of signal quality. This solution, however, has the following drawbacks: 1. Even with proper configuration, the system control unit has to be involved to implement the protection switching. If the system control unit fails, protection will be impossible 2. Since it is needed for the cards to submit to the system control unit the switching conditions and for the system control unit to issue to the card the switching command, the speed is low.

Inter-card channel protection method in wavelength division multiplexed system


Protective groups which may be cleaved with an activatable deprotecting reagents are employed to achieve a highly sensitive, high resolution, combinatorial synthesis of pattern arrays of diverse polymers. In preferred embodiments of the instant invention, the activatable deprotecting reagent is a photoacid generator and the protective groups are DMT for nucleic acids and tBOC for amino acids. This invention has a wide variety of applications and is particularly useful for the solid phase combinatorial synthesis of polymers.

Methods of synthesizing polymer sequences such as nucleotide and peptide sequences are known. Synthesis of individual oligonucleotides is described in Oligonucleotide Synthesis: A Practical Approach, Gait, ed., IRL Press, Oxford (1984), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Similarly, the "Merrifield" solid phase peptide synthesis has been in common use for many years and is discussed in Merrifield, J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1963) 85:2149-2154, incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The in situ fabrication of a plurality of polymers or "catamers," including peptides and oligonucleotides, on a single solid support (a plurality of pins attached to a support, each pin having a unique polymer) to subsequently be used for analytical purposes was described in WO86/06487, published Nov. 6, 1986, entitled "Method for determining mimotopes," by Hendrik M. Geysen, incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The combination of solid phase synthetic chemistry and photolithographic technology from the semiconductor industry allowed for the first time for the fabrication of high density arrays of polymers. See Fodor, S. P. A., Read, L. J., Pirrung, M. C., Stryer, L., Lu, A. T. and Solas, D. (1991) Light-Directed, Spatially Addressable Parallel Chemical Synthesis. Science 251, 767-773, incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
These techniques disclosed in Fodor et al. provide for total independent access to sites on the substrate at each synthetic step, allowing for massive parallel synthesis of the desired polymer (e.g., peptide, oligonucleotide) on the array. In turn, combinatorial masking strategies allow for the fabrication of a large number of chemical entities in a relatively small number of steps. In addition, light-directed synthesis allows for a high degree of miniaturization because the density of synthesis sites is bounded only by physical limitations on spatial addressability, here the diffraction of light.
These photolithograph techniques have been employed commercially to produce high density oligonucleotide arrays which may be used, for example, to simultaneously monitor the expression of the entire set of human genes or to finely map the genome of a human subject. This technology has in turn led to diagnostic applications of the high density arrays for human disease. See www.affymetrix.com.

Use of acid scavengers for the synthesis of standard length and long-mer nucleic acid arrays


A phased array antenna system having an array of antenna elements coupled to radio frequency energy feed network through a plurality of phase shifter sections with digital control data being fed to the phase shifter sections with radio frequency energy signal modulated with the digital control data. A modulator is fed by the source of the radio frequency energy and a modulating signal to produce the modulated radio frequency energy signal. A modulating signal generator/encoder, fed by the digital control data, encodes each bit of such digital control data into the modulating signal, such modulating signal being a bipolar signal having a pair of electrical signal changes corresponding to a binary state represented by such bit. The modulated radio frequency energy signal may be fed to the demodulator through the radio frequency feed network or through the antenna element coupled thereto. The demodulator section produces a demodulated bipolar signal corresponding to the bipolar modulating signal and decodes the demodulated bipolar signal into a binary signal having logic states corresponding to the binary states represented by the encoded bits of the bipolar modulating signal. An output section is fed by the detector and decoder section for converting the binary signal produced by the detector and decoder section into the digital words for the phase shifter section. The digital control data includes a strobe signal. The plurality of phase shifter sections act to properly configure themselves to radio frequency energy passing therethrough in accordance with control words addressed thereto in response to detection of the strobe signal.

This invention relates generally to antenna systems and more particularly to phased array antenna systems.
As is known in the art, phased array antenna systems are adapted to produce a beam of radio frequency energy (RF) and direct such beam along a selected direction by controlling the phase of the energy passing between a transmitter/receiver and an array of antenna elements through a plurality of phase shifter sections. This direction is provided by sending a control word (i.e., data representative of the desired phase shift, as well as attenuation and other control data such as a strobe signal) to each of the phase shifter sections. Such control word has been sent to the phase shifter sections through electrical wires or opto-electronics (i.e., fiber optics).


A method for hosting and playing a lottery game using nostalgic game themes. The lottery game, in one embodiment emulating Pac-Man®, comprises a player selecting a path on a grid, and a lottery populating the path with numbers either generated randomly or selected by the player. The lottery also randomly places few ghosts on the same grid. A set of player indicia is determined by the numbers on the path before the path intercept with one or more ghosts. The set of player indicia is then compared with a set of winning indicia and the player receives a prize depending on the number of matches between the player indicia and winning indicia.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to lottery game methods. More particularly, the invention relates to an on-line lottery wagering game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many lottery games are available for the public to purchase. However, often people do not play these games for two simple reasons: the games do not appeal to them and the rules for these games are too confusing.
Most people enjoy playing games, either computer games, electronic games, or board games at a younger age. People often have fond memories of the games they played as children and often they still remember the rules for these games. One of such popular games is Pac Man®, which was very popular in the 1980s. In this game, the player moves an icon through different paths on a grid and tries to capture as many cookies as possible while evading ghosts who are after the player's icon. The game was easy to learn and fun to play. Pac Man® has long been replaced by more advanced video games, but it still has a special place in people's memory.
Although Pac Man® was a popular game and easy to play, it ran on electronic gaming devices that have long been retired. Pac Man® is an excellent vehicle to bring people's nostalgic feeling. It is to such a lottery game that utilizes a nostalgic electronic game theme the present invention is primarily directed.

Lottery game utilizing nostalgic game themes


A light pipe structure for a dimmer switch comprises a continuous status indicator lens and a plurality of light pipes, which are operable to conduct the light from a plurality of discrete sources to the lens. The light conducted from one of the discrete sources through a light pipe generates a pinpoint of light on the front surface of the lens. The pinpoint of light is surrounded by a diffusion of light across the front surface of the lens, which produces an aesthetically-pleasing effect by increasing the uniformity of the illumination across the front surface of the status indicator lens. The light pipes are coupled to the lens via a plurality of rounds, which provide for diffusion of light around the pinpoint of light on the lens. The light pipes may comprise light-refracting structures, which the amount of light emitted from adjacent discrete sources from reaching the front surface of the lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a load control device for controlling the intensity of a lighting load, specifically a traditional-opening dimmer switch having an elongated status indicator lens that illuminates to display a representation of the intensity of the lighting load when the load is on and a night light when the load is off.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional wall-mounted load control device is mounted to a standard electrical wallbox and is connected in series electrical connection with an electrical load. Standard load control devices, such as dimmer switches and motor speed controls, use one or more semiconductor switches, such as triacs or field effect transistors (FETs), to control the current delivered from an alternating-current (AC) power source to the load, and thus, the intensity of the lighting load or the speed of the motor.
Wall-mounted load control devices typically include a user interface having a means for adjusting the intensity or the speed of the load, such as a linear slider, a rotary knob, or a rocker switch. Some load control devices also include a button that allows for toggling of the load between off (i.e., no power is conducted to the load) and on (i.e., power is conducted to the load). It is often desirable to include a plurality of status indicators, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), on the user interface to indicate the intensity or speed of the load.
FIG. 1 shows the user interface of a prior art dimmer switch 10 having a plurality of status indicators 20. As shown, the dimmer switch 10 includes a faceplate 30 (i.e., a cover plate), a frame 32, an enclosure 34, a toggle button 40, and an intensity selection actuator 50 for selecting a desired level of light intensity of an associated lighting load controlled by the dimmer switch. The button 40 comprises an infrared (IR) lens 60 for receiving IR signals transmitted from an external IR transmitter (not shown) to control the intensity of the connected lighting load. The dimmer switch 10 further comprises an air-gap switch actuator 70 for actuating an air-gap switch inside the dimmer switch to provide an actual air-gap break in the electrical connection between the source and the load.
Pressing the button 40 causes the associated lighting load to toggle from on to off, or vice versa. Actuation of the upper portion of intensity selection actuator 50 increases or raises the light intensity of the lighting load, while actuation of the lower portion of actuator 50 decreases or lowers the light intensity. The intensity levels of the lighting load may range from a minimum intensity level, which is preferably the lowest visible intensity, but may be zero, or "full off," to a maximum intensity level, which is typically "full on." Light intensity level is typically expressed as a percent of full intensity. Thus, when the lighting load is on, the light intensity level may range from 1% to 100%.
The dimmer switch 10 also includes an intensity level indicator in the form of the plurality of status indicators 20 located on the frame 32. The status indicators 20 may be arranged in an array (such as a linear array as shown) representative of a range of light intensity levels of the lighting load being controlled. The linear array of status indicators 20 represents a linear scale (between off and full intensity of the associated lighting load), such that one of the status indicators is illuminated to indicate the intensity of the lighting load. For example, if the dimmer switch 10 is controlling the lighting load to 50%, the middle status indicator will be illuminated, since this status indicator is at the midpoint of the linear array of the status indicators 20.
Another example of a dimmer switch having a linear array of status indicators is described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,919 (the "'919 patent"), issued Sep. 28, 1993, entitled LIGHTING CONTROL DEVICE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In order to keep the pressure required to actuate the toggle button less than the maximum comfortable pressure for a human finger, it is desirable to maximize the front surface area of the toggle button. Therefore, there is a need for a traditional-style dimmer switch that comprises a button having a maximum surface area, while still providing all of the functionality and features of the prior art dimmer switch 10, i.e., the toggle functionality of the toggle button 40, the air-gap actuator 70, and the linear array of status indicators 20.

Status indicator lens and light pipe structure for a dimmer switch


The antenna configuration presented is an integral component of a retrofit module designed to incorporate a data telemetry transceiver within the confines of a utility meter.

Antenna performance parameters such as efficiency, radiation/reception pattern, and resonant frequency are affected when the antenna is placed in the vicinity of metallic infrastructures. The incumbent or resident metallic infrastructures in conventional electromechanical utility meters (such as GE Watthour Meter I-70-S and ABB AB-1) greatly affect the performance parameters of conventional half-wave dipole or quarter-wave whip antennas when such antennas are incorporated within the confines of a conventional meter. The interactions between the metallic infrastructure in a conventional meter and such conventional antennas are highly sensitive in the sense that the difference in the metallic infrastructures themselves between different meter models is sufficient to cause inconsistent antenna performance. The goal of the invention is to increase the stability and efficiency of antenna performance over many meter types.


A retaining structure for a terminal fitting includes: a terminal fitting which has a cylindrical electric contact portion at a front end side and an electric wire connecting portion at a rear end side; a housing with which a cylindrical portion is integrally formed; a terminal accommodating chamber which is provided inwards of the cylindrical portion and which accommodates the terminal fitting with a moving gap left; and locking lances which are formed on a cylindrical wall portion of the cylindrical portion so as not to project from an outer circumferential surface thereof and which lock a lance locking portion of the terminal fitting which is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber so as to retain the terminal fitting in such a way as to enable a radial movement of the terminal fitting while restricting a rearward withdrawal of the terminal fitting.

1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a retaining structure for a terminal fitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric power is supplied to a drive motor of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle via a connector. In connectors for use for motors, a terminal fitting is rigidly fixed to a connector housing to transmit high voltage electric power. However, in a case of a connector in which a terminal fitting and a connector housing cannot move relative to each other, in attempting to connect the connector to a mating connector, when the terminal fitting is misaligned with a terminal fitting of the mating connector due to a dimensional tolerance of a gap defined between the terminal fittings, a large frictional force may be produced, making it difficult for the connector to be connected to the mating connector.
Therefore, a shielded connector is proposed which facilitates a smooth connection with a mating connector (see below-described PTL 1).
As shown in FIG. 5, this shielded connector 501 includes a connector housing 503, a terminal fitting 505 and an inner housing 507.
The connector housing 503 is made of conductive metal and has a cylindrical shape. The connector housing 503 includes a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 509. The terminal fitting 505 is accommodated in the inner housing 507. The terminal fitting 505 is made of conductive metal and includes an electric wire connecting portion 511 and an electric contact portion 513 which are integrated with each other. The electric wire connecting portion 511 and the electric contact portion 513 are formed into cylindrical shapes and are coaxially connected to each other and in series. A core wire 517 of a shielded electric wire 515 is inserted into an inside of the electric wire connecting portion 511, which is then crimped for connection with the shielded electric wire 515.
The inner housing 507 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and has a cylindrical shape. The inner housing 507 accommodates the terminal fitting 505 and an end portion of the shielded electric wire 515 which is connected to the terminal fitting 505. A pair of lances (locking lances) 519 are provided on the shielded connector 501, and these lances 519 are formed integrally with the inner housing 507. The lances 519 are locked at a step portion 521 of the connector housing 503 to thereby fix the inner housing 507 to the connector housing 503. The pair of lances 519 are so flexible that they can elastically be deformed so as to move towards each other. Additionally, the shielded connector 501 includes a packing 523 which keeps the boundary between the shielded electric wire 515 and the inner housing 507 watertight.
According to this shielded connector 501, the cylindrical inner housing 507 is allowed to move in a radial direction relative to the connector housing 503 as a result of the lances 519 being elastically deformed. Further, the terminal fitting 505 and the inner housing 507 are allowed to move relative to each other by the gap defined between the terminal fitting 505 and the inner housing 507. In connecting the shielded connector 501 to the mating connector, the terminal fitting 505 and the inner housing 507 move relative to the connector housing 503 so that the terminal fitting 505 is aligned with the terminal fitting of the mating connector. Consequently, the shielded connector 501 can be connected smoothly to the mating connector.
PTL 1 is JP-A-2003-323932.

Retaining structure for terminal fitting


An apparatus for machining metal workpieces has a frame defining machining, pick-up, and drop-off stations. A vertical slide is vertically shiftable on the machine frame. In turn a horizontal slide carrying a rotatably driven holder is horizontally shiftable on the vertical slide between respective pick-up, machining, and drop-off positions above the stations. A holder is provided in the machining station, and one of the holders is adapted to hold a tool and the other of the holders for holding a workpiece for machining the workpiece in the machining station. A pair of shields is fixed to the vertical slide and horizontally flanks the machining station. One of the shields is between the machining station and the pick-up station. Respective slidable doors on each of the shields are shiftable between a closed position blocking movement of the rotatable holder past the respective shield and an open position permitting such movement.

The invention relates to an apparatus for machining metal workpieces that has a machine frame with a vertical front wall having vertical guides and positioned above a machining station, a pick-up station offset horizontally from the machining station, and a drop-off station offset horizontally from the machining station. A vertical slide is vertically shiftable along the vertical guides on the machine frame and has horizontal guides. In turn a horizontal slide carrying a rotatably driven holder is horizontally shiftable along the horizontal guides on the vertical slide between respective pick-up, machining, and drop-off positions above the pick-up, machining, and drop-off stations. A holder is provided in the machining station, and one of the holders is adapted to hold a tool and the other of the holders for holding a workpiece for machining the workpiece in the machining station.
A similar such machine is described in WO 2006/063540. It has a machine bed comprising two vertical workpiece spindles and a movable traveling column for tools on the top of the bed. A shield is provided to prevent mutual contamination of the workpiece spindles, the shield being permanently attached to the traveling column or the frame. Two vertically movable sliding doors alternately release one of the two workpiece spindles for machining the workpieces clamped therein.


A system described herein may receive traffic throughput metrics and energy consumption metrics associated with one or more elements of a wireless network, and compute granular (e.g., per-network slice, per-network element, per-protocol, per-layer, etc.) measures of energy efficiency associated with the one or more one or more elements. The system may determine network parameter modifications based on the granular measures of energy efficiency, and/or provide such measures of energy efficiency to the one or more network elements, which may grant access to UEs 109 based on the granular measures of energy efficiency. The one or more network elements may make network parameter modifications based on the granular measures of energy efficiency, such as activating “sleep” or “suspend” modes, and/or otherwise performing energy saving techniques.

Wireless networks, which may include radio access networks ("RANs"), may provide wireless service to User Equipment ("UEs"), such as mobile telephones, Internet of Things ("IoT") devices, Machine-to-Machine ("M2M") devices, or other devices with wireless communication capability. RANs may include wireless communication hardware, such as base stations, that serve as a wireless interface between UEs and a core networks that provides traffic routing and/or other services. The routing, forwarding, handling, etc. of traffic via the RAN (e.g., between UEs and the core network) may consume energy (e.g., electrical energy).

Systems and methods for modifying parameters of a wireless network based on granular energy efficiency metrics


A light emitting device is disclosed herein. An embodiment of the light emitting device comprises a first plurality of light emitters comprising a first group and a second group, wherein the first group is connectable in series to the second group. A first driver is connected to the first group. A second driver is connectable to the second group. A first voltage comparator is coupled to the first driver, wherein the voltage comparator compares the voltage of the first driver to a predetermined voltage. The light emitting device is in a first state when the voltage of the first driver is below the predetermined voltage. The light emitting device is in a second state when the voltage of the first driver is greater than the predetermined voltage. The light emitting device is in the first state, the first group is connected in series with the second group to form a series circuit between the first driver and a reference voltage. When the light emitting device is in the second state, the first group is connected between the first driver and the reference voltage and the second group is connected between the second driver and the reference voltage.

Many light emitting devices use drivers to drive light emitters, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other light sources. The forward voltage of LEDs varies with temperature and possibly other factors. As the forward voltage increases, the voltage required to be supplied by the drivers to drive the LEDs increases. In many devices, the voltage required by the LEDs can increase beyond the capability of the drivers. The result is low intensity light emission or no light emission.

Avago Technologies ECBU IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A shower head including a base body, a jet disc held on a shower jet discharge side of the base body and including at least one jet discharge opening, and a jet disc holding device for fixing the jet disc on a jet disc holding region of the base body. Illustratively, the jet disk holding device includes a plurality of plug connector pins and associated pin through-passage openings, across which a respective one of the plug connector pins is passed through, wherein the respective pin through-passage opening is provided on the jet disk holding region of the base body or on the jet disk, and wherein the plug connector pins and the pin through-passage openings are configured for latched retaining of the plug connector pins within the pin through-passage openings.

The disclosure relates to a shower head comprising a base body, a jet disc which is held on a shower jet discharge side of the base body and includes at least one jet discharge opening, and a jet disc holding device by way of which the jet disc is held to a jet disc holding region of the base body.
Shower heads of this type are used in diverse embodiments and are suitable, for example, for sanitary showers such as hand-held showers, side showers, and head showers in shower and bath tub installations.
Shower heads of this type in which the jet disc holding device contains a single screw which from the outside is pushed through a centric opening in the jet disc and is screwed into a centric thread on the base body so as to then by way of the screw head of said screw hold the jet disc on the base body are known. This jet disc holding technique is suitable only to a limited extent for shower heads comprising a jet disc which have a multiplicity of jet discharge openings having comparatively small passage cross sections, for example for shower heads which are embodied for providing a so-called fine jet or needle jet as a type of shower jet, and to this end having corresponding fine jet openings or needle jet openings as jet discharge openings. In the case of shower heads of this type, high internal pressures can arise on account of the infed fluid such as shower water, for example by way of limescale deposition effects, on account of which enhanced requirements pertaining to the holding force to be provided by the jet disc holding device result. Such fine jet shower heads in most instances more often also possess a significantly higher number of jet discharge openings than classic shower heads which are configured for providing a normal shower jet having a classic larger single-jet diameter and correspondingly a larger passage cross section of the jet discharge openings. This increased number of jet discharge openings per unit of area of the jet disc can lead to a decrease in inherent stability or flexural stiffness of the jet disc.
The sole centric jet disc fastening to the shower head base body by means of a single screw often proves to be no longer optimal in such cases. The use of a plurality of fastening screws is also often not a desirable alternative. Screws are relatively expensive, and the tightening torque of said screws has to be precisely adhered to so that the screws sit in a sufficiently tight manner and unintentional releasing is avoided, on the one hand, and the corresponding screw openings do not rupture, on the other hand.
The laid-open publication DE 10 2013 224 053 A1 discloses a shower head of the type mentioned at the outset in which the jet disc holding device has first centric holding means for establishing a centric region of the jet disc on the base body, and second peripheral holding means for establishing a peripheral region of the jet disc on the base body, wherein the first and the second holding means can in each case be in particular a bayonet mount, a screw mount, or a snap-fit mount.
The present disclosure illustratively provides a shower head of the type mentioned at the outset in which the jet disc holding device can be produced with relatively low complexity, enables a relatively simple assembly of the jet disc on the shower head base body, and/or makes available an optimized holding functionality for the jet disc on the shower head base body which is also readily suitable for shower heads of the fine jet type.
The illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure provides a specific shower head comprising a base body, a jet disk held on a shower jet discharge side of the base body and including at least one jet discharge opening, and a jet disk holding device for holding the jet disk on a jet disk holding region of the base body.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the jet disc holding device comprises a plurality of plug connector pins and associated pin through-passage openings through which the respective one of the plug connector pins is passed. The respective pin through-passage opening is provided on the jet disc holding region of the base body or on the jet disc. The plug connector pins and the pin through-passage openings are configured for latched retaining of the plug connector pins in the pin through-passage openings. The jet disc holding device embodied in such a manner can be produced with relatively low complexity, and makes the attaching of the jet disc to the shower head base body rather simple in that the jet disc by means of the jet disc holding device only has to be plug-fitted to the shower head base body or be plug-fitted onto the latter. In particular, no screws and no special tools are required to this end.
By way of this jet disc holding device, the shower head when required can be embodied with a high resistance to pressure, that is to say that even a relatively high internal pressure in the shower head on account of the fluid pressure of the fluid supplied to the shower head does not lead to functionally compromising deformations on the jet disc, or damage to the jet disc. The jet disc holding device specially embodied in this way is capable of resisting even such increased fluid pressure forces and of holding the jet disc on the base body of the shower head in a manner sufficiently stable in terms of deformation even in those cases in which the jet disc per se does not have a very high dimensional stability and/or possesses a relatively large number, or area density, of jet discharge openings, for example more than 100, and in particular more than 150, jet discharge openings at a mutual spacing of at most 1 to 5 mm.
In corresponding embodiments, the plug connector pins and the associated pin through-passage openings in terms of the longitudinal central axis of the jet disc are situated on at least two different radii and/or at least two different circumferential angles. In corresponding embodiments, the plug connector pins and the pin through-passage openings are in this way disposed so as to be distributed across a planar extent of the jet disc. A correspondingly uniform distribution of the holding force provided by the jet disc holding device can thus be achieved across the entire extent of the jet disc.
In a refinement of the present disclosure, at least one of the pin through-passage openings, preferably a plurality of pin through-passage openings, and in advantageous embodiments all pin through-passage openings, has/have a radially elastically resilient opening edge. By way of the latter the respective pin through-passage opening on the opening edge thereof is capable of yielding in a radially elastic manner to the plug connector pin to be plug-fitted into the pin through-passage opening and to again contract in a radially elastic manner so as to firmly hold the plug connector pin once the latter has been pushed through.
In a refinement of the present disclosure, at least one of the plug connector pins, preferably a plurality of plug connector pins, and in one advantageous embodiment all plug connector pins, has/have a mushroom-shaped latching head which is configured for the latching engagement behind by a latching edge of the assigned pin through-passage opening. The respective plug connector pin which in a plug-fitting direction is capable of being plug-fitted axially into the pin through-passage opening can in this way be secured in relation to being axially released from the pin through-passage opening in a manner counter to the plug-fitting direction. Moreover, the mushroom shape of the latching head can facilitate the pushing-through of the plug connector pin by way of the latching head thereof through the pin through-passage opening in that the mushroom head by way of the oblique, or conical, respectively, shell face thereof forms a run-on face that presses against the latching edge of the pin through-passage opening. This is particularly advantageous when the latching edge in corresponding embodiments is formed as a radially elastically resilient opening edge of the pin through-passage opening. In this case, the mushroom-shaped latching head when pushing through the plug connector pin can expand the latching edge in a radially elastic manner, and the latching edge can contract again in the radially elastic manner and engage in a latching manner behind the latching head once the latching head has passed through.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the pin through-passage openings, preferably a plurality of pin through-passage openings, and in advantageous embodiments all pin through-passage openings, is/are formed by a holding dome-shaped section of the jet disc holding region or of the jet disc. The holding dome-shaped section has a dome bottom region and a dome head region. The plug connector pin by way of its latching head leading is insertable axially into the holding-dome-shaped section from the dome bottom region. The dome head region contains a through-passage hole, the hole edge thereof forming the latching edge of the pin through-passage opening. This dome-shaped design of the section of the jet disc holding region or of the jet disc that forms the respective pin through-passage opening facilitates the provision of a high holding force by virtue of the advantageous force dissipation characteristic, in particular in terms of acting compression forces, which is known per se in such dome shapes. Such compression forces can act on the holding dome-shaped section when the pushed-through plug connector pin is stressed in terms of tension on account of the fluid pressure in the shower head.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, an outer diameter of the holding dome-shaped section in the dome bottom region is larger than in the dome head region. This corresponds to the usual dome shape and facilitates the achievement of a high resistance force of the jet disc holding device in relation to the acting fluid pressure.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, the holding dome-shaped portion is configured so as to be slotted by one or a plurality of axial slots. This can promote the radially elastic resilience of the opening edge or the latching edge of the respective pin through-passage opening. The respective axial slot can be embodied according to the requirement so as to be axially continuous from a dome bottom region up to a dome head region, or so as to be closed axially on one side or both sides.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one plug connector pin, which on an axial end region thereof has the mushroom-shaped latching head, on the other axial end region thereof that faces away from the latching head comprises a radially projecting holding shoulder. The plug connector pin by way of said holding shoulder can interact in a holding manner with the jet disc or the jet disc holding region, while said plug connector pin by way of the mushroom-shaped latching head thereof interacts with the assigned pin through-passage opening which is situated on the respective other of the two components, i.e. the jet disc holding region and the jet disc.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, which is provided alternatively or additionally to the first aspect, the jet disc comprises a plurality of the jet discharge openings which for the synchronous supply of fluid are in fluid communication with a common assigned fluid supply chamber. The jet disc at least in a region between two of said jet discharge openings abuts in a fluid-tight manner against the jet disc holding region of the base body, and the base body comprises a plurality of fluid feed ducts leading out of the common fluid supply chamber, of which a first fluid feed duct leads to one of the two respective jet discharge openings, and a second fluid feed duct, separate from the first fluid feed duct, leads to the second of the two respective jet discharge openings. In other words, said two jet discharge openings in each of optionally a plurality of shower jet types of the shower head are at all times supplied collectively with fluid from the same fluid supply chamber, wherein said common fluid supply chamber is not situated in the boundary region between the jet disc and the opposite jet disc holding region of the base body, but is situated at a spacing from said boundary region so as to be upstream of the latter, for example on a side of the jet disc holding region of the base body that faces away from the jet disc. The two jet discharge openings by way of the fluid feed ducts that are provided in the base body are coupled to said spaced-apart fluid supply chamber.
In the case of shower head embodiments which are conceived for a plurality of jet types in which the jet discharge openings are grouped so as to form groups which are fed or not fed with fluid in a dissimilar manner depending on the shower jet type, the shower head in a manner known per se correspondingly comprises a plurality of fluid supply chambers which are capable of being fluidically impinged in parallel, for example a first fluid supply chamber for a centric group of the jet discharge openings, a second fluid supply chamber for a circumferential group of the jet discharge openings, and a third fluid supply chamber for a group of the jet discharge openings that lie therebetween. The characterization of the abutting of the jet disc in a fluid tight manner against the jet disc holding region of the base body mentioned above, in this case applies in particular to at least one region between two jet discharge openings which are both assigned to one of said plurality of fluid supply chambers.
By way of this implementation of the present disclosure, it is consequently possible for at least two jet discharge openings, which are preferably directly adjacent jet discharge openings, that are synchronously supplied with fluid to be fluidically separated at the level of the boundary region between the jet disc and the jet disc holding region of the base body, that is to say so as to keep said two jet discharge openings fluidically separated from one another. It is to be understood that more than two jet discharge openings or a plurality of groups of in each case one or a plurality of jet discharge openings can in this way at all times be fluidically supplied in a synchronous manner independently of the shower jet type, on the one hand, and be sealed in relation to the other at the level of the boundary region between the jet disc and the jet disc holding region of the base body, on the other hand.
This embodiment avoids the presence of a fluid supply chamber or cavity in the region between the jet disc and the jet disc holding region such that it is thus avoided that a high fluid pressure can build up in said region.
Consequently, the fluid pressure stress on the jet disc can be kept low by way of this measure even when a high fluid pressure should form in the shower head. Said high fluid pressure is restricted to a region of the shower head that is remote from the jet disc, for example to the region of said common fluid supply chamber which is situated, for example, between a fluid entry region of the shower head and the jet disc holding region of the base body. The shower head base body which is typically embodied so as to be rigid or bending-resistant shields the jet disc in relation to high fluid pressures of this type.
In an advantageous embodiment the jet disc, as in the example shown, in a circumferentially closed fluid-tight manner abuts against the jet disc holding region of the base body about each jet discharge opening, or about groups of in each case one or a plurality of the jet discharge openings, and the base body for each jet discharge opening or each group of jet discharge openings comprises a dedicated fluid feed duct that leads out of the associated fluid supply chamber. In this case, the jet discharge openings at the level of the boundary region of the jet disc and the base body are consequently completely sealed in relation to one another either individually or in groups, such that no cavity is present there and accordingly no fluid positive pressure can build up there.
In a refinement of the illustrative embodiment, the respective plug connector pin is configured integrally with the jet disc. This can be advantageous in terms of production technology and assembly technology. The plug connector pin in this case can be plugged into the associated pin through-passage opening by plug-fitting the jet disc to the jet disc holding region.
In an alternative refinement of the illustrative embodiment, the respective plug connector pin is configured integrally with the jet disc holding region. In this case, the jet disc has the associated pin through-passage opening into which the plug connector pin that projects from the jet disc holding region makes its way when plug-fitting the jet disc to the jet disc holding region.
In a further alternative refinement of the illustrative embodiment, the respective plug connector pin is configured as a component that is separate from the jet disc and the jet disc holding region. In the case of this embodiment, the plug connector pin in material technological terms can be decoupled from the jet disc and the jet disc holding region when required, that is to say can be composed of a material other than that of the jet disc and/or the jet disc holding region.
In a refinement of the illustrative embodiment, the plug connector pins and the assigned pin through-passage openings in relation to a longitudinal central axis of the jet disc are situated on at least two different radii and/or at at least two different circumferential angles. On account thereof, the jet disc can be established at correspondingly different fastening points on the jet disc holding region. In advantageous embodiments said fastening points are disposed so as to be distributed in a substantially uniform manner across the planar extent of the jet disc. Alternatively, embodiments are possible in which the fastening points defined by the plug connector pins in a jet disc region having a comparatively high pressure load are disposed more densely, that is to say having smaller mutual spacings, than in a region with a comparatively low pressure load.
In corresponding refinements of the present disclosure, the jet disc holding region and/or the jet disc and/or the plug connector pins are/is made from a plastic material. This choice of material can be made in a suitable manner depending on the requirement and the specific application. For example, all three components can thus be formed from an identical plastic material or from different plastic materials, or the jet disc and the jet disc holding region are formed from a plastic material while the plug connector pins are formed from a metallic material.
In a refinement of the present disclosure, the jet disc has a bending-resistant perforated jet disc plate, and a bending-flexible jet mat on a rear side of the disc plate that faces the jet disc holding region, wherein discharge nipples which form the jet discharge openings and extend through nipple through-passage openings in the disc plate are configured on the jet mat.
In a variant, the plug connector pins interact in a retaining manner with the disc plate. The retaining interaction of the plug connector pins and the disc plate can be implemented, for example, in that the disc plate comprises the pin through-passage openings with which the plug connector pins by way of the latching head thereof interact, or in that the plug connector pins by way of the radially projecting holding shoulder thereof interact with the disc plate. In advantageous embodiments, the bending-flexible jet mat moreover functions as a seal between the jet discharge openings in the region between the jet disc and the jet disc holding region of the base body.
In an additional or alternative variant, the jet disc by way of the jet mat thereof abuts in a planar fluid-tight manner against the jet disc holding region of the base body and delimits the jet discharge openings individually in a mutually fluid-tight manner. The jet mat thus also functions as a sealing means by way of which the entry-side regions of the jet discharge openings in the boundary region between the jet disc and the jet disc holding region are held so as to be individually fluidically separated from one another, on account of which the build-up of an undesirable fluid positive pressure can be reliably avoided in this boundary region.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments best exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

Shower head having a jet disc holding device