A system that establishes a local dynamic data link between an energy management system (EMS) and a security system (SS) within a building. A power management device, including a monitor module that directly monitors energy usage of at least one energy load to generate at least one measurement of energy usage by said at least one energy load; and a security module operatively coupled to the monitor module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system that establishes a local dynamic data link between an energy management system (EMS) and a security system (SS) within a building. The present invention also relates to an EMS having the capability of communicating with a SS and performing any of a number of functions.
2. Discussion of Background
Many buildings contain both energy management and security systems. The energy management systems are primarily intended to manage energy usage through automatic control of lighting and HVAC units. In many cases, individual in-building energy management systems have wide area data communications capabilities so that multiple buildings can be managed centrally from a remote location. The security systems are primarily intended to monitor human access to the facility and to generate alarms when unexpected (unauthorized) access is detected. Security systems will generally have wide area data communications capabilities so that alarm indications can be routed to appropriate authorities, such as law enforcement agencies, in a timely manner.
The wide area data communications capabilities (wide area data link) associated with both the above mentioned systems (energy management and security) might include a telephone modem, wired network/Internet connectivity, or various forms of wireless wide area data communications such as via cellular phone systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,728,646 to Howell et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses an energy information system and sub-measurement board for use therewith which allows an energy information service provider to measure energy usage at a customer location. The sub-measurement board is connected to an energy distribution panel located at the customer location and measures energy usage of individual circuits of the distribution panel. The sub-measurement board outputs a load profile of the energy usage and transmits the load profile to the energy information service provider via a wide area network (WAN). The load profile is processed by the energy service provider and posted on a server for access by the customer. Voltages and currents are input into a microprocessor circuit, which compares the currents one at a time to the voltages to match the current with the voltage of the same individual circuit and to calculate the load profile of the individual circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,391 to Salas et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a power management control system comprising a computer (server) having standard RS485 interface cards and adapters installed in its I/O slots defining multiple industry standard Modbus RTU networks and Ethernet TCP/IP networks and the computer contains software for monitoring and controlling power usage/consumption captured by remotely controlled devices (Abstract). There is no on-board or downtoadable capability for software/firmware power management or for direct device-to-device communication.
US Patent Application No. 2005/0040943 A1 to Winnick, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an interconnected HVAC system and a Security system. The HVAC system uses a series of thermostats that transmit data via RF to a controller. The security system includes wireless controls or keypads, and uses an on RF frequency, modulation and a set of communication protocols that are common to both the security and HVAC systems. This commonality in transmission permits that the security system to receive communication from the thermostats, and the security system is capable of controlling the thermostats by manual intervention via a GUI or keyboard. The purpose would be, for example, if an IR sensor of the security system does not sense anyone in a room, this information can be transmitted to the thermostat in the form of a command to reduce the amount of heat or air conditioning. Also, if a fire or smoke detector is activated, the information can be passed on to the HVAC system to automatically power down the HVAC system as a safety precaution. However, these systems do not, for example, have controllers that directly communicate with one another, and there is no provision for communicating information on behalf of one system that might be down by the other system.
US Patent Application 2004/0024483 A1 to Holcombe, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system, method and article of manufacture for monitoring and optimizing utility usage in an entity. Paragraph 0069 at page 4 discloses as an option that a central control unit may interact with appliances or interface modules for altering their cycle as needed or can turn them on or turn them off at different times.
US Patent Application 2003/0050737 A1 to Osann, Jr., incorporated herein by reference, discloses an energy-smart home system (see FIG. 1) that requires energy monitoring and control points installed at switches, plugs, and other points of energy use and communication with a power line data link to a centrally located intelligent device such as a PC, residential gateway, and the like for viewing and energy control functions. A separate electrical breaker box supplements the distributed energy monitoring and control points. The energy-smart system of Osann, Jr. provides internet access to the centrally located intelligent device, utility company, and other service providers (e.g., security) as well as a utility company power meter. Subloads controlled can include direct wired subloads, such as an air-conditioner or furnace.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,233 to Leyde, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a power monitoring and regulating circuit and method having an analog input representing power delivery rate and a digital output for controlling the on/off states of a plurality of loads (see column 2, lines 37 to 67; claim 1). This invention contemplates the use of a settable set point which through circuitry (and not firmware) the invention seeks to attain to regulating the number of loads connected to the power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,679 to Leyde, et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses floating set point control circuit and method for use with electrical load control systems. Column 1, lines 1-36 and claims 1, 8 and 16 disclose an electrical load control systems that continuously measures the rate of power delivered to a plurality of loads and when a predetermined rate, termed a set point, is exceeded or conversely, then one or more of the plurality of loads is disconnected (shed) or connected (added).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,162 to Hammer, et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method and apparatus for load-shedding duty cycling that overrides a normal thermostat control (see claim 1). A signal from a power utility company is received to the thermostat, such as a radio signal. This invention does not measure power use and controls a single load.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,597 to Baldwin et al., incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a system of multi-function sensors and network sensor system. A common network communication and control processor is coupled to a common communication transceiver. The sensors are capable of reporting about a plurality of items sensed, such as light, temperature to a security system and/or an energy management system. There is no disclosure about measuring power use and neither is there disclosure about loads subsequently being controlled according to a measured power reading. This invention also fails to disclose the provision of an alternate path for reporting by linking communications of a security system and an HVAC system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,985 to O'Donnell et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a load shed module for use in a power distribution system that includes facility for delivering both electrical power and electrical power rate information from a utility supplier. This invention is physically placed between and interfaces to a utility power source and a load and requires manually setting a rotary switch on the to a threshold rate. The setting of the rotary switch is compared by the invention with a rate received from a utility supplier. If the received rate exceeds the manually set rate the invention disconnects a load from the power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,527 B1 to Butland, et al., incorporated herein by reference, discloses a Utilities Communications Architecture (UCA) compliant power management control system. Column 2, lines 9-25, discloses first and second intelligent electronic devices communicating over a first and second network with first and second servers that process data received from first and second intelligent electronic devices to manage power use. TCP/IP and RS-485 protocol are supported (claims 2, 8, and 10) as well as other protocols. This invention envisions software loaded into computers and servers to provide access to and control of power management data and functions, respectively, of intelligent electronic power management and control devices of an electrical distribution system. Dencor (http://www.dencorinc.com; Dencor Bill Reducer, [online], [retrieved on 2005 Apr. 22] which is retrieved from website of dencorinc.com using Internet <URL:http//www.dencorinc.com/thebill.html/>) provides an expansion module for controlling multiple loads via a single unit in order to reduce energy consumption. Reliable Controls (http://www.reliablecontrols.com; Reliable Controls Products Controllers, [online], [retrieved on 2005 Apr. 22] Retrieved from website of reliablecontrols.com using Internet www.reliablecontrols.com using Internet URL:
http//www.reliablecontrols.com/products/controllers. Reliable Controls MACH—System [online], [retrieved on 2005 Apr. 22] Retrieved from website of reliablecontrols.com using Internet URL:
http://www.reliablecontrols.com/products/catalogue/product_promotional.pdf>)
provides a MACH-Global Controller that provides LAN communication through nine ports to 128 universal input-output hard points, and a MACH1 and MACH2 controller each supporting communication ports and eight inputs and outputs as well as up to three expansion cards by the MACH2. These systems are described as providing cost effective management of power consumption, e.g.,                "The Reliable Controls® MACH-System is a computer-based system of hardware and software products designed to control the comfort and manage the energy consumption of the environment with commercial buildings. The system consists of: programmable controllers which have inputs and outputs that are connected to sensors and actuators used to measure and control the environment; network communications to network the controllers to facilitate sharing data and archiving data; PCs to run the various software programs used to program, operate and backup the system" (from web-site FAQ).

Energy management system with security system interface


This patent application discloses a camper shell for a vehicle. The camper shell may include folding sections, where a first folding section may include a forward top, a rear top, a right forward side, a right rear side, a right forward fold, and a right rear fold. The forward top may be connected to the rear top and the right forward fold, the rear top may be connected to the right rear fold, the right forward fold may be connected to the right forward side, and the right rear fold may be connected to the right rear side. The camper shell also may include a right post connected to the right rear side near a rear most bottom corner of the right rear side. The camper shell further may include a door connected to the first folding section and a base connected to the folding sections. The base may include a right channel and a left channel.

1. Field of Endeavor
The information disclosed in this patent relates to retractable covers that may be provided as a camper shell to enclose a load-carrying portion of a vehicle.
2. Background Information
Camper shells, sometimes known as toppers or caps, typically are mounted atop a pickup truck's rear bed to protect truck cargo from the elements. These shells generally cover the entirety of the pickup truck bed and may be large enough to be used for camping. However, camper shells most often are used for utility and cargo storage purposes.
There is a wide variety of camper shells available on the market for most pickup trucks. Some camper shells are hard tops fixed to a truck bed and others expand away from the sides of the vehicle. Still others are raised and lowered by pneumatic cylinders. A problem with most camper shells is that they are difficult to remove to permit full open use of a truck bed. It usually takes several people to remove and handle the heavy shell. Once the shell is removed, their large size makes them difficult to store.
Some inventors have attempted to avoid the need to remove the shell to have open access to the truck bed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,603 teaches a telescopic camper cap having individual segments. The individual segments may be telescoped into each other to allow some open use of a truck bed. Although a single individual more easily may handle the individual segments of a telescopic camper cap, a problem with this telescopic camper cap is that it does not permit substantially full access to the bed to haul larger or bulky cargo. What is needed is an apparatus and method to overcome these and other problems.


In an exemplary apparatus for cooling an electronic component, a housing defines an inlet port and an exhaust port and a foam member is disposed within the housing. The foam member has a shape that conforms to a shape of at least one surface of an electronic component such that the foam member is receivable thereon in thermal communication. The foam member has a pore size of no more than around 50 micrometers and a porosity of at least around 80 percent. The foam member is arranged within the housing such that coolant is flowable through the foam member. Pore size may be around 35 micrometers and porosity may be around 90 percent. Foam may be a ceramic foam that includes silica, aluminum oxide, and aluminum borosilicate fibers. In an application, at least one exemplary apparatus may be received in thermal communication on an upper case of an electronic chip.

Integrated circuit chips, such as micro-processor chips, and other electronic components generate heat during operation. These components are generally mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs). To help ensure proper operation, these components generally are kept at an operating temperature below around 160° F. This means that cooling of some sort must be provided for proper operation of electronic components.
As one example, cold plates are widely used for cooling PCBs where the coolant must be kept separated from the electronic components, such as PCBs used in avionics units on aircraft. Avionics cooling on aircraft is commonly provided by blowing cooled, conditioned air through cold plate heat sinks that are attached to the back sides of PCBs (that is, the side away from the upper case of the chip). A cold plate generally consists of an enhanced heat transfer surface encapsulated in a high aspect ratio rectangular duct. The enhanced heat transfer surfaces are typically some sort of fin arrangement or an open-celled, porous metal foam. Coolant flows through the cold plate from one end to the other end, completely wetting the enhanced heat transfer surface inside. This system cools PCBs mounted to the sides of the cold plate.
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) chips are designed to dissipate the heat they generate through the upper case of the chip. Therefore, such chips are best cooled by direct cooling of the chip case. Adequate cooling of these chips is not easily achieved by back side cooling, such as by blowing cooled, conditioned air through cold plates attached to the back side of the PCB away from the chip upper case. Because back side cooling of COTS chips is not thermally efficient, COTS chips have historically been used sparingly in military aerospace applications. However, modern military aerospace designs emphasize use of COTS chips as a cost saving measure. Additionally, future commercial aerospace and non-aerospace designs employing such chips will require higher capacity, direct case cooling methods because they are projected to generate significantly more heat than contemporary chips while still having an operating temperature limit of around 160° F.
Research has been conducted on increasing the cooling capacity of direct case cooling designs by increasing the surface area wetted by coolant. This work has centered on increasing the heat transfer area available for cooling the case by attaching fins or foam to the chip case. Machined microchannel fin and pin fin arrays as well as metal foam designs have been tested. However, machined microchannel fin and pin fin arrays involve complicated and expensive manufacturing methods. Typical methods for generating chip surface microchannels include photolithography, plasma etching, and photochemical machining. Furthermore, only a single row of microchannels can be created on the chip surface. Multiple rows cannot be stacked on top of each other, thereby greatly reducing the area available for heat transfer and the amount of cooling air that can be utilized for heat removal. Metal foams are limited as to how much the heat transfer surface area can be increased.
Machined microchannel fin, pin fin array and metal foam chip case cooling systems are also only attached to the top surface of electronic component cases. This constitutes a further limit on the area available for heat transfer from a chip case. Attaching fin designs to both the top and sides of a chip case and then getting coolant to flow in a controlled manner over all the fins would be a difficult, costly design problem to solve. Metal foam could be machined to conform to a chip case, but it would be expensive. Furthermore, the outer surface of the foam would have to be sealed using an expensive, complex brazing or welding process.
It would be desirable to improve the thermal efficiency of direct case chip cooling by employing a design having a larger internal surface area available for heat transfer than existing designs, and that could be inexpensively manufactured and easily machined to fit conformally over the top and sides of a chip case. Such an improved approach to chip cooling could enable the wide use of COTS chips in aerospace applications and could enable higher-powered computer chips to be utilized in commercial aerospace and non-aerospace applications.
Specifically for aerospace applications, more thermally efficient chip case cooling designs would be attractive because the cooling air would commonly be generated by an aircraft environmental control system (ECS). However, generation of this cooling air by an ECS constitutes a system performance penalty for the aircraft, because the ECS generates cooling air by extracting air from the aircraft's engine and cooling it with ram air ducted into the vehicle from outside. Extracting air from the engine reduces the air available for generating thrust while capturing ram air increases aircraft drag. These effects ultimately reduce range and/or payload for an aircraft.
Therefore, it would be desirable to reduce the amount of air required to cool avionics chips, thereby reducing the system performance penalty for an air vehicle by increasing vehicle thrust and/or lowering fuel consumption. It would also be desirable to address cooling of future high power electronics that are projected to generate significantly more heat than contemporary chips while still having an operating temperature limit of around 160° F. This will require making more efficient use of the cooling air available.
The foregoing examples of related art and limitations associated therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Ceramic foam electronic component cooling


A ball return mechanism for use with a table tennis table for returning a ball to a player. The table tennis table includes a net, a first side and a second side located on opposite sides of the net. The ball return mechanism includes a first return line including a net end and a terminal end. The net end is mounted to the net at a first joint and the terminal end is located proximate a first end edge of the first side. A first guide mechanism holds the first return line in position away from a playing area of the table tennis table.

Table tennis has been played throughout the world for many years. Table tennis is a game played on a table in a manner similar to tennis. The table includes a net extending across the center of the playing surface and players are positioned on opposite ends of the table. The object of table tennis is to hit a ball over the net and onto an opposing player's side of the table such that the opposing player is unable to return the ball over the net, thereby scoring a point. During play, the ball often comes to rest at or near the net when the ball strikes the net before going over or otherwise rolls to the net. The table is typically sized such that a user is generally unable to reach from their side of the table to retrieve the ball when it is positioned at or near the net. Accordingly, players often have to walk to a side of the table near the net to retrieve the ball or lean over the table while reaching for the ball at the net. While reaching for and leaning on the table, the table may become damaged or the player may strain or injure themselves. It would be advantageous for a table tennis table to include a mechanism that automatically urges the ball away from the net and toward one of the players such that the player does not have to lean on or stretch across the table to retrieve the ball.


An address match scheme is disclosed which allows the alternate selection of fuses blown based on either logic ones or logic zeros in an address.

Electronic devices and systems such as printers, copiers, electronic storage devices (memories) high definition television, enhanced definition television and computational devices (e.g. calculators and computers including personal computers, minicomputers, personal computers and microcomputers) requiring electronic storage devices, often provide data storage on an integrated circuit chip. Because these devices often require large amounts of storage space for many applications, these storage devices are embodied in memory, for instance, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Memory cells sometimes contain or are associated with defects. It is therefore necessary to replace this defect memory or defect associated memory with memory from alternate memory cells commonly referred to as redundant memory. Once defective memory is detected the address corresponding to this memory is noted and before the memory is used, the mechanism for implementing the redundant memory cells is usually embodied in a system based on blowing fuses. The scheme for producing a signal indicative of the desire to use the redundant memory or rather to match the address of the defective memory is of extreme importance. The redundancy scheme, particularly the address match scheme, forms an integral part of the dynamic random access memory. The address match scheme is also an integral part of the above described devices and systems, supplying substantial value to these and other devices and systems in which it is used.
Address match schemes in the past have been used wherein a fuse associated with a given bit position of an address is blown located in the path between a selected transistor from a plurality of transistors and a common node between the transistors. The fuse blown corresponds to a particular logic state of the address. For instance, fuses can be blown corresponding to the logic ones in an address. Alternatively, but not interchangeably within the scheme, fuses can be blown corresponding to the logic zeros in an address. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art address match scheme for a 4 megabit (4 meg) DRAM. A plurality of n-channel transistors 2 is illustrated with each transistor connected at its drain to a fuse 4. A plurality of inverters 6 are illustrated with each inverter connected to an associated gate of a transistor from the plurality of transistors 2. The input to each inverter 6 is denoted by labeling address factors F0 through F23 and nodes for receiving address bits A12 and A.sub.-- 12. The character .sub.-- used throughout in connection with a label herein indicates a node which receives the complement of a signal going to or coming from the node without such a character. Consequently, bit A12 receives the complement of the signal going to bit A.sub.-- 12 and vice versa. Each fuse 4 is connected to the input of inverter 8 whose output is capable of transmitting a signal in connection with the activation of a redundant row of memory. Pull-up p-channel transistor 10 is connected by its gate to the output of inverter 12 whose input is connected to each fuse 4 and the input of inverter 8.
The left half of FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic drawing of the logic circuit used in determining the signals used at nodes representing address factors F0 through F23. Complemented address signals from address bits A.sub.-- 0 through A11 are received by NAND gates 14 as shown. Every address bit from a set of two address bits and the complements of those address bits are NANDed together as shown resulting in 4 address factors for input into inverters 6.
Since every address and its complement from a set are NANDed together, only one such combination (the one with logic high inputs to a NAND gate) of NANDed addresses produces a logic low output as an address factor. The inverter from the plurality of inverters 6, which receives the logic low address factor signal will energize the gate of the associated transistor from the plurality of transistors 2. In order to activate a redundant row of memory cells the input of inverter 8 must remain at around roughly one transistor 10 threshold voltage drop below voltage Vdd, or rather at a voltage corresponding to a logic high. Output OUT at inverter 8 will output a logic low signal in connection with activating a redundant row of memory. Therefore, fuse 4 associated with the energized gate of a transistor from the plurality of transistors 2, must be blown to keep the input to inverter 8 a logic high. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 one fuse 4 associated with a set of four address factors must be blown in order to ensure that the redundancy row is activated. For the 4 megabit memory address scheme, there are 6 sets of four address factors, thus 6 fuses must be blown in order to activate the redundancy row. Additionally, in order to activate any redundancy row, fuses 4 for address bits A12 or A.sub.-- 12 must be blown as dictated by the most significant bit of the address in which redundancy is sought. Consequently if the most significant bit of the address is a logic 1, then fuse 4 corresponding to address bit A12 must be blown. Likewise, if the most significant bit of the address is a logic 0, then fuse 4 corresponding to address bit A.sub.-- 12 must be blown. As a result, a total of 7 fuses must be blown in the 4 megabit address match scheme illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 illustrates a prior 16 megabit (16 meg) DRAM type address match scheme. This scheme is similar to the 4 meg scheme discussed above. However, the scheme shown in FIG. 2 uses the plurality of fuse circuits illustrated. In the fuse circuits shown in FIG. 2, field effect transistor 14 is connected to field effect transistors 16, 18, and 20. Additionally, the fuse circuits comprise inverter 22 connected to fuse 24. Transistor 20 receives an address bit signal at one of its terminals while transistor 18 receives the complement of this address bit signal at one of its terminals. Transistors 18 and 20 generally have a lower threshold voltage than the other transistors shown in FIG. 2. In an effort to activate a redundancy memory cell corresponding to a selected address, fuse 24 is blown when the selected address bit corresponding to the signal sent to transistor 20 is a logic 1 or rather a logic high value. However, fuse 24 is not blown when the address bit corresponding to the signal sent to transistor 20 is a logic 0 or rather a logic low value. Note that when fuse 24 is not blown, the gate of transistor 18 is energized and the A.sub.-- signal at the terminal of transistor 18 is transferred to the address factor. Otherwise, when fuse 24 is blown, the gate of transistor 20 is energized and the A signal is transferred to the address factor. After receiving a start up pulse, at the gate of transistor 14, signals are produced as address factors RA0 through RA11 which are each input into the inverters from the plurality of inverters 6. In order to activate a redundant memory cell, address factors RA0 through RA11 are all at a logic 0 level such that a logic low signal results at the output of inverter 8. Address bit signals A12 and A.sub.-- 12 with fuses 4 function as discussed with respect to the 4 meg scheme. The minimum number of fuses blown in the 16 meg scheme is one. The maximum number of fuses blown is thirteen, while the average number of fuses blown is seven. In the drawing of FIGS. 2 there are fourteen fuses.
The main problem with the foregoing address redundancy match schemes is that the process of blown fuses takes a considerable amount of process time. Therefore, an address redundancy match scheme is needed that minimizes the number of blown fuses needed.

Address match scheme for DRAM redundancy scheme


Siloxanes having terminal hydroxy groups, and which have a content of cyclic siloxanes of not more than 5% by weight, are stabilized by addition of ammonia in gaseous form or as a solution in a protic or aprotic solvent or in the form of an ammonia-releasing compound in amounts of at least 0.01 ppm by weight and not more than 100 ppm by weight, calculated as ammonia and based on the total weight of the siloxanes having terminal hydroxy groups. Ammonia in gaseous form is preferably used.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of stabilizing siloxanes.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,688 describes the addition of ammonia or an ammonia-releasing compound to addition-crosslinking silicone compositions which contain platinum catalysts and siloxanes having alkenyl groups in order to reduce compression set without adversely affecting crosslinkability.
US 2007/0066783 A1 (DE 10 2005 045 336 A1) discloses the addition of ammonia or an ammonia-releasing compound to addition-crosslinking silicone compositions which contain pyrogenic, hydrophobic silica and SiH crosslinkers in order to improve storage stability; here, storage stability means a largely constant flowability and viscosity of the silicone compositions.
In US 2005/0137362 A1 (EP 1 544 252 A1), organic amines are added to resin-like organopolysiloxanes containing hydroxy groups and also residual amounts of Si-bonded chlorine atoms, in order to increase the storage stability, in particular to avoid viscosity increases through to gelling. The residual amounts of Si-bonded chlorine atoms are disadvantageous since they can lead, e.g. with silanol groups Si—OH, atmospheric moisture, or residual traces of water and alcohol, to generation of hydrogen chloride during storage, and this hydrogen chloride can act as condensation catalyst and lead to viscosity increases through to gelling of the resin-like organopolysiloxanes. The compounds containing amino groups contain 1, 2 or 3 organic radicals on the amino group and are used in large amounts, for example in amounts of 100 ppm by weight.
DE 10 2011 079 751 A1 describes the removal of cyclic siloxanes from short-chain siloxanes having terminal hydroxy groups with the aid of a stream of steam. However, the siloxanes obtained are not storage-stable over a prolonged period of time since the Si-bonded hydroxy groups Si—OH are unstable and form Si—O—Si siloxane bonds by self-condensation with elimination of water. This lack of stability results in the formation of water, clouding, ring formation, and lengthening of the chain, which are disadvantageous.

Method of stabilizing siloxanes having terminal hydroxy groups


A system includes a turbine fuel supply system. The turbine fuel supply system includes a first turbine fuel mixer configured to mix a first liquid fuel and a first deaerated water to generate a first fuel mixture. The first fuel mixture is configured to combust in a combustor of a gas turbine engine. The turbine fuel supply system also includes a deaerated water flow path configured to route the first deaerated water to the first turbine fuel mixer and a liquid fuel flow path configured to route the first liquid fuel to the first turbine fuel mixer.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to combustion systems, and, more particularly, to supplying liquid fuel to gas turbine engines.
Various combustion systems include combustion chambers in which fuel and air combust to generate hot gases. For example, a gas turbine engine may include one or more combustion chambers that receive compressed air from a compressor, inject fuel into the compressed air, and generate hot combustion gases to drive the turbine engine. Each combustion chamber may be supplied with one or more different fuels, such as gaseous fuels and liquid fuels. Certain materials may be mixed with the fuel to affect combustion efficiency and/or production of by-products, for example. Unfortunately, some materials may not mix readily with the fuel, thereby decreasing performance of the gas turbine engine.

System and method for turbine combustor fuel assembly


A method and apparatus for accommodating and retaining a communications cable of a vehicle diagnostic recorder device is provided. The apparatus is designed to house internal components of the vehicle diagnostic recorder device which communicate with an onboard control computer of a vehicle comprising. The apparatus may include an access hole for receiving a communications cable from an interior of the apparatus into a recessed cable channel which leads to a recessed channel portion. The communications cable may be further wrapped along an outer periphery of the recessed channel portion and retained via a clamp mechanism along an exterior thereof.

Vehicle repair stations generally diagnose and attempt to repair a variety of problems which may occur in motor vehicles such as automobiles. Often, a service technician may attempt to diagnose a simple, complex, or even repetitive problem occurring in a vehicle. Many times, problems are realized using a variety of diagnostic equipment, located on site for example, or such problems can be replicated and addressed using proper diagnostic and/or repair equipment. However, for intermittent problems, it may be more difficult for a service technician to discover the problem(s) even by using diagnostic equipment. This may be, because the service technician is unable to replicate the problem(s) while the vehicle is at the vehicle repair station for a variety of reasons.
For example, some vehicular problems may only occur during certain instances and/or under specific phenomenon(s). By way of example, such incidents may include driving the vehicle at a certain speed over a period of time, accelerating at a particular RPM value or range of RPM values, driving the vehicle in a particular direction or even perhaps under certain directional forces, etc. Such intermittent problems occurring under particular circumstances may be difficult to emulate while a vehicle is actually at a repair facility. Additionally, due to a volume of vehicles needing to be serviced, a service technician may not be able to spend a large amount of time which may be required to replicate the problem.
Hence, it may be possible that the problem is not addressed properly. This may be especially true for problems that only occur intermittently or for problems that simply may not be replicated on site at a service facility. If a service technician can not diagnose the problem(s) while the vehicle is in the service station, then the owner/operator may have to return the vehicle when the problem occurs again. It may not always be feasible for the vehicle owner/operator to return in a timely fashion. Additionally, this process can prove to be inconvenient, troublesome, and/or time consuming for the vehicle owner/operator. Thus, a source of frustration may occur for the vehicle owner/operator attempting to resolve intermittent problems or problems which cannot be replicated while at a repair site facility.
Attempts have been made to address such problems using, for example, diagnostic tools utilized within the prior art. One common method, has included utilizing diagnostic equipment to gather vehicle data and to subsequently analyze the data in an attempt to pinpoint occurring, reoccurring, and/or potential problems in vehicles. This may be done, for example by coupling the diagnostic equipment into an onboard control computer of a vehicle to collect the data.
Onboard control computers have become ubiquitous in motor vehicles, as safety, economy, and emissions requirements have continued to escalate, and conventional designs for reciprocating engines, friction braking systems, collision safety apparatus, and traction control devices have proven unequal to the requirements set out in law and the implicit demands of competitors' achievements. Successive generations of onboard control computers have acquired increasing data sensing and retention capability as the electronic art has advanced. Present external diagnostic and display apparatus, known to those skilled in the art as scan tools, have been connected to the onboard control computers in order to gather vehicle data. Such scan tools may provide complex analysis of the data collected in order to diagnose problems in a vehicle.
Because of the complexity of the aforementioned scan tools, service technicians are generally called upon to not only provide proper connection of the scan tool but to also operate them accordingly. This may include receiving and processing information collected by the scan tool. In operation, scan tools are typically connected to the onboard control computer of a vehicle via wire/cable connection. However, utilizing such scan tools by skilled technicians may only address vehicle problems detected while the vehicle is located at the vehicle repair site facility. For intermittent problems, or those problems which cannot be detected at the repair facility, the owner/operator would generally not have access to such sophisticated equipment, such as the scan tool, to diagnose an incurring problem. Additionally, since most scan tools require connection and operation by a skilled technician, most novice vehicle owners/operators would not be capable of operating the scan tool to diagnose incurring vehicle problems. Furthermore, while a technician could feasibly leave a scan tool connected to the vehicle onboard control computer, the connected hard wire(s)/cable(s) could impose difficulty to the owner/operator of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle. Thus, the prior art lacks the wherewithal and finesse to provide a novice vehicle owner/operator with a convenient and practical means to allow an owner/operator to collect vehicle data away from a vehicle service site facility.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus for collecting diagnostic information at the point when a problem occurs in a vehicle—the diagnostic informational data to be subsequently analyzed by a service technician. It is further desirable to provide a method and apparatus which allows a novice vehicular owner/operator to collect the vehicular diagnostic information for subsequent analysis by a skilled technician for example. Additionally, it is further desirable to provide a method and apparatus which collects vehicular diagnostic information in a convenient manner conducive, for example, to a compact and suitable design for integrating with the onboard diagnostic computer of the vehicle.

Vehicle diagnostic device housing assembly and method with cable wrap and clamp


A nitride semiconductor wafer includes a silicon substrate, a first layer, a second layer, a third layer, a fourth layer, a fifth layer, and a sixth layer. The first layer is provided on the silicon substrate. The second layer is provided on the first layer. The third layer is provided on the second layer. The fourth layer is provided on the third layer. The fifth layer is provided on the fourth layer. The sixth layer is provided on the fifth layer. A composition ratio x4 of the fourth layer decreases in a first direction from the third layer toward the fifth layer. A maximum value of the composition ratio x4 is not more than a composition ratio of the third layer. A minimum value of the composition ratio x4 is not less than a composition ratio of the fifth layer.

There is a nitride semiconductor wafer in which a semiconductor layer including a nitride semiconductor (hereinbelow, called a nitride semiconductor layer) is provided on a substrate including silicon. The nitride semiconductor wafer is used to manufacture, for example, a light emitting diode (LED), a high-speed electronic device, a power device, etc. Cracks occur easily in the nitride semiconductor layer of such a nitride semiconductor wafer due to the lattice constant difference and coefficient of thermal expansion difference between the nitride semiconductor layer and the substrate including silicon.

Nitride semiconductor wafer, nitride semiconductor element, and method for manufacturing nitride semiconductor wafer


A pixel structure of the present invention includes two metal plates and a transistor. The metal plates are electrically connected together. The gate of the transistor receives a scan signal. The drain of the transistor receives a data signal. The source of the transistor includes two extending portions. A store capacitor is formed between the two extending portions and the two metal plates. The two extending portions are plate structures.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a pixel structure of a display apparatus, and more particularly to a pixel structure with a storage capacitor formed by coupling two metal plates.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1A illustrates part of a conventional pixel structure in a display panel. A pixel 100 is controlled by a scan line SC1 and receives a data signal transmitted from a data line DT1. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the pixel 100 in FIG. 1A taken along a line A1-B1-C1.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a pixel structure of the pixel 100 includes an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer, a passivation layer, two metal plates, an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer, an oxide layer and a polysilicon layer. The pixel 100 includes a transistor 110 and storage capacitors Cp1 and Cp2. A gate of the transistor 110 is formed by a polysilicon area 160 to receive a signal of the scan line SC1. A drain of the transistor 110 is connected to a metal plate 130b. The metal plate 130b receives a data signal of the data line DT1. A source of the transistor 110 is formed by a doped polysilicon layer 150 and connected to a metal plate 130a. The metal plate 130a is connected to the ITO layer 120. A metal plate 140 is located between the metal plate 130a and the doped polysilicon layer 150 for receiving common voltage Vcom1.
The voltage of the metal plate 130a is the same as the voltage of the doped polysilicon layer 150. The storage capacitor Cp1 is formed by the metal plate 130a and the metal plate 140. The storage capacitor Cp2 is formed by the metal plate 140 and the doped polysilicon layer 150. When the scan line SC1 is enabled, pixel voltage related to the data signal of the data line DT1 is stored in the storage capacitors Cp1 and Cp2.
However, because metal particles often remain between the metal plates 130a and 140 due to manufacturing problems, a short circuit occurs between the metals 130a and 140 accidentally. As a result, the storage capacitor Cp1 between the metal plates 130a and 140 disappears, which causes a bright spot in the pixel 100.

Pixel structure and pixel structure of display apparatus


An apparatus is provided for detachably tethering a phone to a user's person, such as a belt or strap worn by the user. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a case configured to receive the phone, a holster configured to detachably receive the case, a retractable tether having a distal end and a proximal end opposite the distal end, the proximal end connected to the holster, and the distal end detachably connected to the case, wherein a portion of the tether is housed in the holster, the tether configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position, and a spring coupled to the tether, the spring configured to bias the tether into the retracted position.

Users commonly carry their phones on their belt or on the outside of other articles of clothing worn by the user for convenient and quick access to the phone. Additionally, carrying a cell phone on the outside of the user's person may make the phone readily accessible during particular activities, such as mountain biking, during which the user cannot divert his focus to retrieve a phone in the user's pocket or bag. However, carrying a phone on the outside of the user's person presents the risk that the phone may become damaged if it is inadvertently dislodged from the user's person and falls to the ground. Typically, phones configured to be worn on the user's person may be tethered to the user's person to mitigate the risk of damage to the phone. Conventional apparatuses for tethering a phone to a user may include adhering or otherwise permanently attaching the phone to a tether. However, such conventional tethers limit the versatility of the phone because the user is unable to use the phone independently of the tether.
Other conventional apparatuses include a phone case and a tether which are configured to separately connect to the user's belt or other article of clothing. However, such conventional apparatuses may be cumbersome or inconvenient to use because they require multiple connections to the user's person. Additionally, such apparatuses may appear unsightly.
Accordingly, it is desirable that an apparatus for carrying a phone include a quick-release connector for detaching the phone from a tether. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a compact apparatus for carrying a phone which includes a case configured to detachably connect to a holster housing a retractor mechanism.


Improving operating feelings and energy saving are aimed for a brake system of the type in which a predetermined differential pressure is produced between a master cylinder and wheel cylinders by a hydraulic pressure limit/changeover device during regenerative braking, and at the end of regenerative braking, the differential pressure is cancelled by increasing the pressure in the wheel cylinders with fluid sucked up from a reservoir for pressure increase by an electric pump. A reservoir for pressure increase, which is also used as a stroke simulator, is provided on the master cylinder side of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover device, an on-off valve and a check valve are provided parallel to each other on the inlet side of the reservoir for pressure increase.

This invention relates to a brake system for an electric motor-powered vehicle which uses both regenerative braking and hydraulic braking, and more specifically a brake system in which brake operating feeling has been improved.
In electric cars and hybrid cars which also use an engine, regenerative braking is adopted in which the electric motor for driving wheels functions also as a generator during braking to generate braking force while collecting energy. But since the braking force obtained by regenerative braking is limited, hydraulic braking is also used.
With a brake system using both regenerative braking and hydraulic braking, it is proposed to maintain good brake feeling even during changeover from regenerative braking to hydraulic braking in Japanese patent publication 11-198786.
In the brake system of this publication, in order to eliminate solid or rigid pedal feeling as felt in the system of Japanese patent publication 7-336806, and sudden extension of the pedal stroke during changeover from regenerative braking to hydraulic braking as felt in the system of Japanese patent publication 5-176407, between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders, a hydraulic pressure limit/changover means is provided in which a differential pressure valve, an on-off valve and a proportional pressure-reducing valve (or proportioning valve) are arranged in parallel, and on the downstream side (wheel cylinder side) of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means, a reservoir for pressure increase is provided to suck up brake fluid in the reservoir and supply it to the wheel cylinders when a pressure-increase command is issued from an electronic control unit.
In the brake system of Japanese patent publication 11-198786, the reservoir for pressure increase is used as a stroke simulator to eliminate solid or rigid pedal feeling. Also, it is possible to cancel a predetermined differential pressure produced between the master cylinder pressure (hydraulic pressure produced in the master cylinder) and the wheel cylinder pressure (hydraulic pressure in the wheel cylinders) during regenerative braking. Thus it is possible to also eliminate sudden extension of the brake pedal (which is felt when the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders are brought into communication with each other to change over from braking using both regenerative braking and hydraulic pressure to braking by hydraulic pressure only).
But since the reservoir for pressure increase is provided on the downstream side of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means as viewed from the master cylinder, it is necessary to keep the split point hydraulic pressure of the proportional pressure-reducing valve in the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means above the actuation-start pressure of the reservoir for pressure increase, and increase the pressure-reducing ratio of the proportional pressure-reducing valve to take in fluid into the reservoir for pressure increase. Thus start of regenerative braking is delayed, and the braking force by hydraulic pressure in the initial period of start of regenerative braking tends to be larger than required.
Also, during braking, since inflow of fluid into the reservoir for pressure increase especially during sharp braking is limited by the upstream proportional pressure-reducing valve, solid pedal feeling is temporarily felt.
Further, when the brake pedal is returned during regenerative braking, brake fluid in the reservoir for pressure increase flows out through a check valve on the pump suction side, the pump and a check valve on the pump discharge side. Thus fluid may remain in the reservoir for pressure increase. In such a case, the brake pedal is not smoothly returned.
An object of this invention is to eliminate such disadvantages and improve energy saving and brake operating feeling.
According to this invention, there is provided a brake system for an electric vehicle which uses both regenerative braking in which braking force is applied to wheels by an electric motor for driving wheels, and hydraulic braking in which braking force is applied to the wheels by supplying hydraulic pressure of a master cylinder to wheel cylinders, and during the regenerative braking, a predetermined differential pressure is produced between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders by lowering hydraulic pressure supplied from the master cylinder to the wheel cylinders by means of a hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means comprising a differential pressure valve, an on-off valve and a proportional pressure-reducing valve provided parallel to the differential pressure valve, and at the end of regenerative braking, the differential pressure being cancelled by sucking brake fluid from a reservoir for pressure increase, which serves also as a stroke simulator, by means of an electric pump and supplying it to the wheel cylinders in response to a pressure-increase command from an electronic control unit, characterized in that the reservoir for pressure increase communicates with a main flow passage at a point upstream of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means, and an on-off valve and a check valve for allowing only a fluid flow from the reservoir for pressure increase toward the master cylinder are provided parallel to each other in a flow passage leading from the main flow passage to the reservoir for pressure increase.
In this brake system, a module for antilock control may be provided for pressure increase and reduction control of the wheel cylinder pressure in response to a command from an electronic control unit provided between the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means and the wheel cylinders. As the module for antilock control, it is preferable to use a mass-produced antilock control unit comprising a reservoir for pressure reduction for introducing fluid discharged from the wheel cylinders, and an electric pump for sucking brake fluid in the reservoir for pressure reduction and returning it into the main flow passage.
Also preferably, a differential pressure generating means comprising a differential pressure valve and an on-off valve arranged parallel to each other is provided in the main flow passage on its wheel cylinder side of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means, and the on-off valve of the differential pressure generating means is opened and closed to change over the differential pressure produced between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders at least in two stages.
Further preferably, a flow passage for communicating a back-pressure chamber of the reservoir for pressure increase with a reservoir of the master cylinder and a pressure-responsive valve for opening and closing the flow passage are provided, the pressure-responsive valve is acted by hydraulic pressure in the back-pressure chamber of the reservoir for pressure increase in the valve-opening direction and by the hydraulic pressure on the wheel cylinder side in the valve-closing direction so as to open when the differential pressure produced between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders is below a predetermined value, and close when the predetermined value is exceeded.
Since the reservoir for pressure increase is provided upstream (on the master cylinder side) of the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means, the proportional pressure-reducing valve included in the hydraulic pressure limit/changeover means can be provided only for the purpose of replenishing brake fluid equivalent to fluid returned by piston back/retraction of the wheel cylinders. It may be one in which the split point hydraulic pressure is low and the pressure-reducing ratio is small or zero, and it is possible to make the hydraulic pressure at the start of regenerative braking unlimitedly close to zero.
Also, since the reservoir for pressure increase, which is also used as a stroke simulator, is provided upstream of the proportional pressure-reducing valve, so that brake fluid from the master cylinder flows directly into this reservoir, solid pedal feeling will not be felt even during sharp braking.
Further, if the brake pedal is returned during regenerative braking, since brake fluid in the reservoir for pressure increase returns through the check valve and to the master cylinder, remaining of fluid in the reservoir for pressure increase will not occur, so that no hitched feeling of the brake pedal will develop.
With the system using a mass-produced antilock control unit as the module for antilock control, although it is provided with two electric motor, using a mass-produced antilock control unit is inexpensive than using a single electric motor both for pressure increase during regenerative braking and pressure re-increase for antilock.
Also, with a system in which the differential pressure generating means is provided, it is possible to change braking force by hydraulic pressure in a stepwise manner. Braking force obtained by regenerative braking is, due to the characteristics of the motor, large in a low-speed region, and gradually decreases as the vehicle speed rises as shown in FIG. 7. Also, it decreases sharply from a certain point of time in which the vehicle speed approaches zero. Thus, it is preferable that between the braking from high speed and braking from low speed, the braking force by hydraulic pressure differs. With a system provided with a differential pressure generating means, it is possible to control so that the braking force by hydraulic pressure is large during braking from high speed and is small during braking from low speed. This permits braking close to ideal.
Also, if adjustment of the amount of brake fluid taken into the reservoir for pressure increase is carried out by controlling the on-off valve on the inlet side, a pressure sensor for detecting hydraulic pressure is needed. In contrast, with a system in which a circuit for bringing the back-pressure chamber of the reservoir for pressure increase into communication with the reservoir of the master cylinder is provided and a pressure-responsive valve is provided in this circuit, when a predetermined differential pressure is produced between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders, the pressure-responsive valve closes and taking-in of fluid into the reservoir for pressure increase stops automatically. Thus, no pressure sensor is needed and control of the system is simplified.
Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Brake system for electric motor-powered vehicle


A series of novel antivirals are disclosed intended to attack a broad range of DNA and RNA viruses, in which nucleosides closely related entities are linked via reaction with a diacid chloride of the general structure COCl--(CH.sub.2).sub.n --COCl wherein n is two or greater.

This invention relates to novel antiviral compounds and compositions for the treatment of human viral infections. The compounds contain various combinations of nucleoside moities and various combinations of purine moities and other heterocyclic structures shown to possess antiviral activity.
The mechanism of the interference with viral reproduction in the host is varied and may be any of the following: block virus attachment to cells, block uncoating of the virus, inhibit vivid protein synthesis, inhibit specific virus enzyme, inhibit virus assembly, inhibit virus release, or simply stimulate the host immune system. There are several organic structural classes of antiviral at present: such as aminoamatadines which apparently block attachment of the virus to the cell wall of the host; a wide variety of nucleoside structures, which is a combination of a DNA or RNA base, together with a six-carbon sugar, which unlinks DNA polymerase; pyrimidines with various attached moities which also inhibit DNA polymerase.
All of these antiviral compounds have several limitations. In general the range of viruses killed or inhibited is quite narrow, commonly a single type such as influenza type A. Also, surprisingly, resistance tends to arise rapidly in the virus, requiring an endless quest for new antivirals. Alternately, as in HIV therapy, complex combinations of agents are utilized consisting of giving three or more specific drugs in a complex regime of dosage requiring constant monitoring to be sure of effectiveness. This is difficult for the patient to comply with, what with the complex pattern of when and what medication to ingest, and it is even a puzzle to physicians at times. Also, resistance develops to the medications in many patients due to the ease of genetic change by the HIV entity.
It has now been found that an alternative to the above problems of the need for a broad-spectrum antiviral drug and a drug resistant to viral genetics can be realized via chemical combinations of known effective antiviral compounds. A single example is to link two or more anti-HIV drugs by means of reaction with a linking agents such as a diacid chloride, or the like. This can be extended to the many examples developed below. The synergistic effects can be remarkable when the virus is contacted simultaneously with attacks from several quarters at the key stages of its complex life cycle in the human host cell.


Apparatus for analysis of a complex system comprising elements to determine the effective elements of a system in carrying out a given task, the apparatus comprising: a sampler for carrying out successive silencing operations comprising silencing elements and combinations of elements of the system and measuring results of the given task, a predictor for providing predictions for predicting results for the given task for further element silencing combinations, and a contributions calculator for using said measured results and said predicted results to generate Shapley value predictions for said elements as indicators of an effectiveness of a respective element in carrying out the given task.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for identification of effective elements in complex systems, and, more particularly, but not exclusively to a method and apparatus that samples the activity of the complex system under selective silencing of elements and analyzes the results.
The "effective elements" approach to complex systems has its roots in computational neuroscience, and is derived from the research of the present inventors into the analysis of localization of function in neural networks. The classical problem of localization of function essentially translates to trying to answer the question, "which system elements contribute to a given task performed by a network/agent/animal?". The problem is a very difficult one, in neuroscience as well as in genetic and metabolic networks studied in functional genomics, since the network investigated may be capable of performing multiple and unrelated tasks, often in parallel, and individual elements may have functions that interrelate with other elements etc. Each task recruits some of the elements of the system, and often the same element participates in several tasks. This poses a very serious challenge when one attempts to identify the roles of the network elements, and to assess their contributions to the different tasks.
In neuroscience research there have traditionally been two main conceptual approaches aimed at addressing the central question of function localization. The first is termed the Correlational approach; employing various analysis methods it correlates between measurements such as electrical recordings of neural activity or functional imaging intensities on the one hand and other indices of network/agent performance on the other. With the correlational approach, it is difficult to correctly identify the "core set" of elements that contribute exclusively to the task in hand and hence are those responsible for it. This is because additional elements that are not really in the core set may be activated by core set elements and show high correlations with the task measured, even though they are in fact making no contribution whatsoever, and hence may be falsely included in the core set by such a correlational method. To overcome these inherent shortcomings, another parallel approach has been traditionally taken in neuroscience. This approach, known as the lesioning or silencing approach, has its roots in classical systems analysis theory, where the structure and dynamics of a system are studied by inducing lesions that perturb the system from its normal functioning state and then track its corresponding behavior. In contradistinction to the correlational approach, Lesioning in principle enables one to correctly identify the system elements that are really responsible for a given task, and to precisely quantify their respective contributions.
Because of the significant difficulties involved in conducting lesioning experiments in animals, the large majority of these studies have employed single lesions, where only one element of the system is ablated at any given time. Such single lesions (or, their conceptually equivalent "single knockout" experiments in functional genomics) are very limited in their ability to reveal the significance of elements which interact in complex ways in network processing. For example, when two elements have a high degree of redundancy with respect to the processing of a function to which they equally contribute, lesioning either element alone will not reveal its true significance, since no reduction in function performance will occur. Each time the function of the lesioned element will be fulfilled by the other element and the two elements will appear to be ineffective even though this is far from the truth.
The problematic and limited value of single lesion analysis has already been widely noted in neuroscience literature. Another classic example is the paradoxical lesioning effect, where lesioning area A alone is harmful but lesioning area A given that area B is lesioned is beneficial, hence the apparent "paradox". Importantly, it demonstrates that looking at a single lesion alone may be misleading, as the beneficial influence of an area depends on the general state of the system.
Given these inherent limitations of the single lesioning approach, it became clear to us more than two years ago that if one wants to obtain a precise description of how a given function is localized in a network performing that function, then two basic things should be done: First, one has to perform multi-lesioning (or, in functional genomics, multi-silencing) perturbation experiments to the system examined. In each such experiment, a set of elements is lesioned concurrently, and the resulting performance of the network is recorded. Second, after gathering a data set composed of many such multi-lesioning experiments and their corresponding performance measurements, one needs to find a method of analysis capable of using the data from numerous multi-lesioning experiments, and computing the contributions of each of the elements to the function (task) studied. The analysis should be capable of taking into account that some, if not many of the elements in the system may make vanishingly small contributions to any given task.
In previous work, the present inventors developed a novel Functional Contribution Analysis (FCA). The FCA multi-lesioning framework gives a rigorous, operative definition for the neurons' contributions to the system's performance in various tasks, and an algorithm for multi-lesion analysis to measure them by minimizing the performance prediction error over unseen test lesions data. The FCA was developed and studied in the theoretical modeling framework of neurally-driven evolved autonomous agents (EAAs).
The FCA enabled initial multi-lesion analysis of some simple small neurocontroller neural networks that had emerged in EAA networks. However, it was not sufficiently accurate and powerful for the analysis of biological "paradoxical" lesioning data of auditory processing in cats, see hereinbelow. Moreover, the conceptual core of the FCA is an operational definition, attempting to minimize the performance prediction error of the algorithm on new, unseen lesions. As such, there is no inherent notion of correctness of the solutions found, and the uniqueness of the solution is not guaranteed. Thus direct use of the FCA does not in fact characterize the contributions of individual elements.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a system for the analysis of the effectiveness of elements in a complex system which is devoid of the above limitations and in particular does provide a unique solution for a given input.

Identification of effective elements in complex systems


Range of the object of search is specified without specific designation by the user. In case changing of the image is instructed by an image operation portion, an image changing portion changes the image and displays such image on an image display portion, and the displayed image is held in a scope holding portion as the range of the object of search. The operation from a map operation portion also is similarly processed, whereby the range of the document constituting the object of search can be specified without specific designation by the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information searching apparatus, and more particularly to an information searching apparatus for searching information relating to an object designated with a camera or a map, and a control method therefor.
2. Related Background Art
With increase in the capacity of memory devices and with popularization of networks, there is being widely employed a document searching system for searching a desired document among the documents of a large amount present on a local disk or a network.
On the other hand, there is already developed a system having plural computer-controlled cameras and capable of viewing the images of such cameras through a network, and there is also developed a system of linking document information thereto and displaying information relating to the object viewed by the camera.
There is further developed a system of linking a map and document information and displaying information relating to the object designated on the map, and there is even known a system in which the above-mentioned system and a document searching system are combined.
In such system, however, the document search is executed on all the registered documents. Therefore, even in case the user is looking at an object, the result obtained in a search inevitably contains information not related to such object. Though it is possible to limit the object of search, the user is required to clearly designate the object in such case.

Information searching apparatus, method and memory medium therefor


A substantially uninterruptible backup power system to provide power to common household appliances comprises a rechargeable battery, a trickle-charging circuit to keep the battery fully charged at all times from the receptacle power, a DC to AC inverter to supply standard AC line voltage from the battery to the lamp, a relay switch, controlled by main power voltage, to switch to the backup system when main power fails, and a timing circuit to optimize a voltage output of the system based on current battery voltage and a desired time period for the voltage output. The system can be set to operate only when the appliance is turned on, which optimizes the current and power required to provide backup power to the appliance for a maximum period of time.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to back-up power systems, and, in particular, to a system for providing back-up battery operated power to an appliance in the event of a power failure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Power outages during times of floods, high wind, wildfires, ice and snow storms, and other natural disasters are relatively common even in the U.S. When power fails, one of the most disturbing consequences is being left in the dark, especially for the elderly or families with small children. To overcome this problem, multiple systems have been developed in the general area of uninterruptible power sources, emergency lighting, and home safety. However, there is still a need to have practical, reliable, cost effective back-up power in the event of an emergency.
Emergency lighting systems for commercial buildings have been continuously improved for many decades and fall into several broad categories of approach to the problem. Systems making use of low voltage alternative light sources, such as, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) that can be battery powered and separately controlled when main lighting fails have been in use in commercial establishments. Another system uses the main lights and a battery backup power system connected in parallel with the main power source. When power fails, a circuit senses the loss of power and switches to the backup unit. However, such systems are designed primarily for commercial application, either directly built into the lighting fixture, a light bulb, or into the control switch and automatically sense loss of power so that there is always some light to evacuate the building. They are complicated, expensive and may require rewiring the building. These are not well suited for the home.
Systems designed for home use include battery back-up night light systems that may be built into the wall switch or into a plug-in night light and become active when a power failure occurs. However, light output is very low corresponding to a night light or a single candle. Manually rechargeable flashlights that do not require batteries are another solution to the problem. In this case there is considerable physical exertion just to maintain enough light to see. This is fine for emergency evacuation but not for waiting in a kitchen or family room until power returns. Another approach is to build a backup battery system into the lamp itself or into the bulb. These devices may require a second switch in addition to the lamp switch to allow turning off the lamp without disabling the emergency lighting feature. Yet another approach is to build a decorative luminary. The problem with these systems is twofold. First, the consumer does not have the freedom to choose the lamp to match interior decor, and even if the backup unit is built into the bulb, the system typically is bulky, the consumer cannot choose the type or light output of the bulb, or a shade may not fit on many lamp systems. Further, due to mechanical size constraints, there is a limited battery size and therefore, a limited length of backup time, typically less than an hour.
There have been significant developments in fluorescent light bulbs to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs for ordinary table and household lamps. The fluorescent bulbs typically are designed for a seven year life, typically provide a variety of light outputs, and have internal phosphors that are warm in color emulating the traditional incandescent lamp. Fluorescent bulbs use approximately 20% of the power commonly used by comparable incandescent lamps. In addition, fluorescent bulbs may be considered "green" or environmentally friendly since they reduce the overall emission of greenhouse gasses, making such bulbs popular in consumer household lighting.
Attempts to put a standard fluorescent bulb into an adaptor for a table lamp and then use a battery backup circuit as a ballast to supply the high voltage and low current needed to operate the fluorescent light also have been developed. The advantage of the fluorescent light is that the power required for a given lumen output is very low and therefore the light will stay on for a relatively long time. However, drawbacks include large, bulky bulbs that may not fit many household appliances, as well as harsh fluorescent light. Finally, there are standby emergency generators that can be directly wired into the main power of a dwelling or building, but these are expensive. Additionally, because the generator power is provided to the entire home without selectivity as to what appliance is powered, the length of time for back-up is generally only two to three days with a single charge of fuel.
Thus, there exists a need for an inexpensive and easily portable back-up power system that is always ready in case of power failure, stays on automatically, may be used selectively for different lighting sources, and provides multiple output levels of power.


A flash memory file system logically divides at least a portion of the flash memory into memory fragments and headers associated with the memory fragments. The flash memory file system also includes a transaction information structure in support of transacted operations. The transaction information structure includes fields to indicate whether a transaction has begun, whether commitment of the transaction has begun, and whether commitment of the transaction has been completed. File system operations may be rolled back if a transaction was interrupted.

Flash memories may have file systems to hold files. Because flash memories are nonvolatile, files in a flash memory should be available after power to the flash memory is cycled. If power is lost when a file in a flash memory is being modified, the file may be corrupt when power is restored.

Flash memory file system with transacted operations


Provided is a crystalline (polymorphic) form of fexofenadine hydrochloride, denominated fexofenadine hydrochloride Form XVI.

4-[4-[4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinyl]-1-hydroxybutyl]-α,α-dimethylbenzeneacetic acid of formula (I) (fexofenadine) is an H1 receptor antagonist and a useful antihistaminic drug. It has low permeability into central nervous system tissues and weak antimuscarinic activity, causing it to have few systemic side effects.

The antihistamic activity of fexofenadine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,129, incorporated herein by reference. According to the '129 patent, fexofenadine can be prepared starting from ethyl α,α-dimethylphenyl acetate and 4-chlorobutyroyl chloride, which are reacted under Freidel-Crafts conditions. Chloride is displaced from the Freidel-Crafts product with α,α-diphenyl-4-piperidinemethanol to give 4-[4-[4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinyl]-1-oxobutyl]-α,α-dimethylbenzeneacetate, which is isolated as its hydrochloride salt. The ketone is then reduced with PtO/H2 and the ester group is hydrolyzed to yield fexofenadine hydrochloride.
Other methods of preparing fexofenadine are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,578,610, 5,589,487, 5,581,011, 5,663,412, 5,750,703, 5,994,549, 5,618,940, 5,631,375, 5,644,061, 5,650,516, 5,652,370, 5,654,433, 5,663,353, 5,675,009, 5,375,693 and 6,147,216.
The present invention relates to the solid state physical properties, i.e., polymorphism, of fexofenadine hydrochloride. These properties may be influenced by controlling the conditions under which fexofenadine hydrochloride is obtained in solid form. Solid state physical properties include, for example, the flowability of the milled solid. Flowability affects the ease with which the material is handled during processing into a pharmaceutical product. When particles of the powdered compound do not flow past each other easily, a formulation specialist must take that fact into account when developing a tablet or capsule formulation, which may necessitate the use of glidants such as colloidal silicon dioxide, talc, starch or tribasic calcium phosphate.
Another important solid state property of a pharmaceutical compound is its rate of dissolution in aqueous fluid. The rate of dissolution of an active ingredient in a patient's stomach fluid may have therapeutic consequences because it imposes an upper limit on the rate at which an orally-administered active ingredient may reach the bloodstream. The rate of dissolution is also a consideration in formulating syrups, elixirs and other liquid medicaments. The solid state form of a compound may also affect its behavior on compaction and its storage stability.
These practical physical characteristics are influenced by the conformation and orientation of molecules in the unit cell, which defines a particular polymorphic form of a substance. The polymorphic form may give rise to thermal behavior different from that of the amorphous material or another polymorphic form. Thermal behavior is measured in the laboratory by such techniques as capillary melting point, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and may be used to distinguish some polymorphic forms from others. A particular polymorphic form may also give rise to distinct properties that may be detectable by powder X-ray diffraction, solid state 13C NMR spectrometry and infrared spectrometry.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,738,872, 5,932,247 and 5,855,912, incorporated herein by reference, describe four crystal forms of fexofenadine hydrochloride which are designated Forms I-IV. According to the 872 and related patents, Forms II and IV are hydrates and Forms I and III are anhydrates. Each form is characterized by its melting point, onset of endotherm in the DSC profile, and PXRD. Form I is reported to have a capillary melting point range of 196-201° C., a DSC endotherm with onset between 195-199° C. and a powder X-ray diffraction ("PXRD") pattern with d-spacings of 14.89, 11.85, 7.30, 6.28, 5.91, 5.55, 5.05, 4.96, 4.85, 4.57, 4.45, 3.94, 3.89, 3.84, 3.78, 3.72, 3.63, 3.07, 3.04, 2.45 Å. Form II is reported to have a capillary melting point range of 100-105° C., a DSC endotherm with onset between 124-126° C. and a PXRD pattern with d-spacings of 7.8, 6.4, 5.2, 4.9, 4.7, 4.4, 4.2, 4.1, 3.7, 3.6, 3.5 Å. Form III is reported to have a capillary melting point range of 166-171° C., a DSC endotherm with onset at 166° C. and a PXRD pattern with d-spacings of 8.95, 4.99, 4.88, 4.75, 4.57, 4.47, 4.46, 3.67, 3.65 Å. In Example 2, Form IV is reported to undergo decomposition at 115-116° C. In the general written description, a DSC endotherm with onset at 146° C. is reported. Form IV is reported as having a PXRD pattern with d-spacings of 10.38, 6.97, 6.41, 5.55, 5.32, 5.23, 5.11, 4.98, 4.64, 4.32, 4.28, 4.12, 4.02, 3.83, 3.65, 3.51, 3.46 and 2.83 Å.
The '872 patent discusses methods of interconverting Forms I-IV. Aqueous recrystallization of Form I can be used to produce Form II. Water-minimizing recrystallization or azeotropic distillation of either Form II or Form IV can yield Form I. Form III is reported to be accessible by water minimizing recrystallization of Form II. Crystal digestion of Form III can be used to obtain Form I. Forms II and IV can be obtained directly by sodium borohydride reduction of 4-[4-[4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinyl]-1-oxobutyl]-α,α-dimethylbenzeneacetate as described in Examples 1 and 2.
International Publication No. WO 00/71124 A1, discloses that amorphous fexofenadine hydrochloride can be prepared by lyophilizing or spray drying a solution of fexofenadine hydrochloride. The product is characterized by its IR spectrum and a featureless PXRD pattern.
International Publication Nos. WO 01/94313 and WO 02/066429 are also directed to polymorphic forms of fexofenadine hydrochloride.
Fexofenadine hydrochloride Forms V, VI, and VIII through XV are disclosed in US 20030021849 and US 20020177608 (WO02/080857), both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
There is a need in the art for additional polymorphic forms of fexofenadine hydrochloride.

Polymorphic Form XVI of fexofenadine hydrochloride


A method of forming a ceramic layer, which is compact and rich in adhesion to a metallic body, on the metallic body without adding binders even though said ceramics is hard to be sintered ceramics such as various kinds of non oxide ceramics. Said method comprises a step of placing ceramic powders and/or a mixture of ceramic powders and metallic powders or a mixture of metallic powders and non metallic powders on the metallic body and a step of forming the ceramic layer on the metallic body in a moment by a reaction heat of the Thermit.RTM. reaction under the pressurized condition. In addition, a metallic insert member can be disposed between said metallic body and various kinds of powder placed on said metallic body. Furthermore, the resulting ceramic/metal composite member is subjected to a hot hydrostatic pressing or a hot pressing under high temperatures and high pressures.

As to the conventional methods of forming a ceramic layer on the metallic or the cermet body, there are known CVD and PVD vapor deposition methods and plasma spray coating method, etc.
Further, a method for sintering a ceramic powder, a metal powder, or a mixture thereof, which utilizes the heat developed by Thermit reaction as the heat source, is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. SHO 61-186404 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,262). However, as far as the knowledge of the applicant of the present invention is concerned, no techniques have heretofore been developed, which provide the method of forming a sintered ceramic layer tightly bonded to a metallic or a cermet base material.
The above-mentioned CVD and PVD vapor deposition methods, etc. quoted as prior arts have so far involved problems or points at issue, in particular, on the bonding of coating on metals and cermets, and are unable to provide excellent characteristics of ceramic layers themselves such as resistance to abrasion, resistance to oxidation, and resistance to corrosion, etc.

Method of forming ceramic layer on metallic body


A system and method of preloading a valve tester control assembly circuit includes a valve testing control apparatus comprising a fluid supply, a motor, and a fluid control assembly controlling working fluid flow from the fluid supply to the motor. The fluid control assembly comprises an operation valve fluidly connected to the fluid supply, an adjustable pressure-responsive valve fluidly connected to the operation valve, and a preload valve fluidly connected between the pressure-responsive valve and the motor. The method includes closing the preload valve so that fluid does not pass through the motor, opening the operation valve so that the fluid supply is in fluid communication with the pressure-responsive valve, operating the fluid supply to supply fluid to the pressure-responsive valve, and adjusting the pressure-responsive valve so that a pressure-sensing gauge in fluid communication with the pressure-responsive valve senses a desired maximum pressure for the fluid during testing of a valve.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to valve exercisers and testers and more particularly pertains to a new system and method for preloading a valve tester control assembly to facilitate accurate setting of fluid pressure-sensitive elements of the system prior to usage for testing a valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flow controlling valves, such as a fire hydrant valve or underground water supply valve, require periodic operation between open and closed positions for purposes of starting or stopping fluid flow through the valve, as well as testing the operation of the valve to make sure that it does indeed operate. Valve testing apparatus employ various means for controlling the torque applied to, and rotation speed of, the fluid control valve when operating the valve so that the valve is not damaged while operating the valve between open and closed conditions. Accurate control of the speed and rotation of the controlling valve during valve operation is thus important.

System and method for preloading a valve tester control assembly


Disclosed are embodiments of a semiconductor structure that incorporates multiple nitride layers stacked between the center region of a device and a blanket oxide layer. These nitride layers are more thermally conductive than the blanket oxide layer and, thus provide improved heat dissipation away from the device. Also disclosed are embodiments of a method of forming such a semiconductor structure in conjunction with the formation of any of the following nitride layers during standard processing of other devices: a nitride hardmask layer (OP layer), a “sacrificial” nitride layer (SMT layer), a tensile nitride layer (WN layer) and/or a compressive nitride layer (WP layer). Optionally, the embodiments also incorporate incomplete contacts that extend through the blanket oxide layer into one or more of the nitride layers without contacting the device in order to further improve heat dissipation.

1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the invention generally relate to heat dissipation away from heating generating devices, such as polysilicon resistors. More particularly, the embodiments of the invention relate to a semiconductor structure incorporating multiple nitride layers to improve heat dissipation away from a device and to a method of forming the structure using nitride layers deposited during standard processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, it is quite challenging to provide adequate heat dissipation away from heat generating devices, such as polysilicon resistors, which can exhibit significant temperature fluctuations (e.g., temperature fluctuations of up to 10° C. or more). This is due both to size scaling of such devices and to the fact that such devices are often sandwiched between materials having low thermal conductivity (e.g., between a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and a low-K interlayer dielectric, such as an oxide layer). Inadequate heat dissipation can impact both immediate and surrounding devices and can cause particular problems with respect to the maximum allowed current density of thermally sensitive structures (e.g., polysilicon resistors).

Semiconductor structure incorporating multiple nitride layers to improve thermal dissipation away from a device and a method of forming the structure

International Business Machines Corporation


A system redundancy verification method, which is to be executed in a computer system, the computer system comprising a first computer, a second computer, a storage system, and a management computer, the system redundancy verification method including: a step of obtaining, by the management computer, first hardware information on the first computer and second hardware information on the second computer; a step of obtaining, by the management computer, first storage area information on the storage area; a step of obtaining, by the second computer the second storage area information from the storage system, and a step of comparing, by the management computer, the first hardware information and the first storage area information with the second hardware information and the second storage area information, and determining whether a failover is implementable between the first computer and the second computer.

This invention relates to a technology for determining, in a computer system in which clusters are built, whether or not a failover function runs without affecting a running computer.
A related-art cluster system having a failover function includes an active server, on which an application for executing a service runs, and a standby server for running the application in place of the active server in a case where a failure occurs on the active server. See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-249343. As a method of verifying whether or not the failover function runs in the related-art cluster system, it is necessary to verify the following two points.
(Verification 1) A configuration (such as a type of a blade and I/O device) of the active server matches that of the standby server.
(Verification 2) The standby server is accessible to a logical unit (LU) accessed by the active server.
In particular, in order to carry out (Verification 2), it is necessary to verify not only whether or not the standby server is physically coupled (connected) to the LU accessed by the active server but also whether or not a logical coupling is established between the standby server and the LU. As used herein, the logical coupling refers to a setting of a switch for coupling the LU accessed by the active server and the standby server, and various settings made in a storage apparatus such as settings of a port and a path.
In the related-art method of verifying whether or not the failover function runs in the cluster system, it is therefore necessary to actually execute failover processing after the cluster system is built, to thereby verify whether or not the failover function runs normally.

System redundancy verification method and computer system


The invention provides synthetic chemical and chemoenzymatic methods of producing simvastatin and various intermediates. In one aspect, enzymes such as hydrolases, e.g., esterases, are used in the methods of the invention.

Simvastatin is a potent antihypercholesterolemic agent. It is marketed under the name ZOCOR® (Merck). Simvastatin, Mevastatin, Lovastatin and Pravastatin are hexahydronaphthalene derivatives used as inhibitors of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, the rate-controlling enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for formation of cholesterol in the human body. After oral ingestion, simvastatin, which is an inactive lactone, is hydrolyzed to the corresponding β-hydroxyacid form. This is an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, which is an early and rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of cholesterol.
Mevastatin, Lovastatin and Pravastatin are natural fermentation products which possess a 2-methylbutyrate side chain at C-8 of their hexahydronaphthalene ring system. Simvastatin can be derived synthetically from a fermentation product of Aspergillus terreus.
Compounds possessing a C-8 2,2-dimethylbutyrate side chain, including Simvastatin, can be better inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase than their 2-methylbutyrate counterparts. Thus 2,2-dimethylbutyrate derivatives may have greater promise for the treatment of atherosclerosis, hyperlipemia, familial hypercholesterolemia and similar disorders. However, these derivatives, including Simvastatin, are not naturally occurring and have to be produced synthetically. As a result, the introduction on the market of the more potent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor Simvastatin has prompted the need for efficient, high yielding processes for manufacturing it.

Methods for making simvastatin and intermediates


A switch mode power supply having an output terminal configured to provide an output voltage, the switch mode power supply has a first switch and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to provide a switching control signal to turn ON and turn OFF the first switch, an on-time period of the first switch is proportional to a first value when the switch mode power supply works in a power saving mode, and the on-time period of the first switch is proportional to a second value when the switch mode power supply works in a normal mode, wherein the first value is larger than the second value.

With development of electronic technology, many electronic devices such as mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet PC, netbook and ultrabook are widely used. While many electronic devices have to support AOAC (always on and always connected) mode, i.e., standby mode, in which an electronic device is active but draws lithe current. The standby time period, in another word, how long the electronic device can stay in AOAC mode is critical. As load only draws little current in AOAC mode, overall efficiency at light load is of vital importance.
Constant on-time controlled switch mode power supply is widely used in electronic devices for power conversion due to their excellent load transient response, simple internal configuration and smooth operation mode switching. An on-time period of a switch mode power supply is provided based on an input voltage VIN and an output voltage VO with traditional constant on-time control independent of load condition. Higher switching frequency Fsw is needed for faster load transient response, smaller size and weight. Take a step-down converter with 10V input voltage VIN, 1V output voltage VO and 1 MHz switching frequency Fsw as one example, on-time period TON is 100 ns within full load range, but driving loss and switching loss are dominant at light load and power loss of the step-down converter would increase with switching frequency at light load, which is not good for improvement of efficiency.

Switch mode power supply, control circuit and associated control method

CHENGDU MONOLITHIC POWER SYSTEMS CO., LTD.